EvilPhoEniX

The screenwriter of The Orphanage has made a dull, uninteresting thriller with excellent young actors. It was very unattractive on the surface, the plot didn't engage me at all (only the final twist could be praised), the pace is very slow and the fact that nothing much of note happens for the whole film hurts. I didn’t like this. A weaker moment for the Spaniards. 35%.

Duncan Jones is a solid director with three triumphs to his name, but his new release Mute with 44% is quite a mystery. Personally, I didn't find it as terrible as the ratings here. Alexander Skarsgård is likeable and makes the film quite interesting by being a mute, Paul Rudd plays a wacky bad guy and was actually unrecognizable. Visually it's not very appealing, at times I felt like I wasn't watching a sci-fi movie but a movie from our world, occasionally a drone or flying car flies by, but compared to Blade Runner the film is visually poorer. The action is pretty good, but there's not much of it and the storyline is a bit lacking, but I liked the denouement. I didn't get bored. 55%.

Yorgos Lanthimos is so weird to the point of being fun, and after The Killing of a Sacred Deer I gave a chance to the the two year older The Lobster and I'm thrilled. Colin Farrel may be the man for these weird projects. The film pulls you in right from the start with its very bizarre idea and unusual hotel with strange rules and harsh punishment. Surprisingly, it was quite gritty in places, but very funny in others and managed to make you tense or downright shock you. I love that combination and some of the scenes were downright brilliant. The scream of the woman who jumped from the 10th floor to the ground was so realistically portrayed that I had goosebumps all over. For me it was a blast, but it won't suit everyone (not everyone likes this kind of controversial bizarre stuff). The only disappointment is the open ending. 85%

A bland Canadian artsy zombie new release that didn't make much of an impression on me. I had the feeling that the film doesn't start or end in any way, you learn almost nothing about the characters, so you don't even root for them. Visually I found it almost repulsive with dull locations. Also 90% of the deaths are out of frame and one blown off head didn't put impress me, though this scene was one of the best. The only thing that could be theoretically praised is the gloomy atmosphere and the naturalistic look, but these are attributes I don't look for, so for me it's average for trying and bringing something new. The film will find its fans, but I won't be one of them. 55%

Six visits to the cinema and the first full score. I may be going against the tide, but for me, Black Panther is the most interesting and best Marvel movie since Winter Soldier. I haven't been a fan of Marvel movies much lately (Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy or the new childish Thor, which I downright suffered through), but Black Panther set my favorite serious, dark thriller tone and took away more or less everything that bothered me so far. There's no CGI Mess, just the gorgeous and impressive Wakanda, the villain is not an alien or mutant but a human, and right off the bat we have the best villain in the entire Marvel Universe, who also has a different plan than everyone else so far (Michael B. Jordan was incredible), and I can actually praise Andy Serkis, who was reminiscent of the Joker in his awesomeness. It's not fought in space or on an alien planet or dimension, but in Korea or Africa and it immediately feels not only more real, but more intense. The R&B and Hip Hop soundtrack is a big plus and the new track by The Weeknd, which was played in a local bar, was a real treat. I have only minor reservations about the action, and that's the faster editing, but it's intense and effective enough that I was able to enjoy it to the fullest. The finale is decently epic and tense, the characters are all great, the female cast also excels, the Rihanna-lookalike sister of the Panther was very funny, cute and technologically gifted, M'Baku provided funny interludes that were totally apt and appropriate and I really liked the African rituals, costumes and traditions. After a second viewing, the enthusiasm has waned.

I must admit that phantasmagoria from Asia in particular is not my cup of tea at all, but the Koreans are different in terms of direction, visuals and narrative style and this project with a rating of 7.8 on IMDB seemed quite likeable, but in the end I had mixed feelings. The premise is undoubtedly interesting. The protagonist is a fireman who is killed in a fall from a window and immediately after his death three guardian angels appear around him with an offer of an afterlife, as he seems to be the chosen one (he has never committed any sin) however he will have to undergo seven trials (the Sins of the Buddha) to complete his reincarnation. The trials are great and nicely drawn out, so I found the first half of the film very good. The second half sort of faded out the concept, a few trials were skipped and I found myself getting so lost in all the overwrought flashbacks that I ended up getting tired and annoyed. Quite a shame, it had a decent start. Still, an interesting film with passable CGI. Fantasy fans can probably add an extra star. 60%

For me, the first satisfying Hong Kong film of this year, which breathed some fresh original air into the genre in the form of a gangster film, with Donnie Yen playing a drug lord, and doing it perfectly. Andy Lau as a policeman and Donnie's friend is also a treat. There could have been more action, Donnie Yen really only shows off three times, which is due to the director's twist in the first half, which is rather a detriment, but as long as he stuck to realistic basics there's no reason to blame him. I also enjoyed the bloody shootouts in the second half. I liked the plot, I wasn't bored, the visuals are traditionally solid and the action is varied. Colombia had Escobar, Hong Kong had HO. Loved it. 75%

I wasn't that impressed by this anticipated Cambodian prison carnage. The comparison with The Raid is completely out of place. Cambodia has a lot to catch up not only with the art, but also with the acting, editing, cinematography and the action itself. At times it comes across as a bit cheesy, but given the country the film comes from I can't be too surprised, though there's definitely a big effort to be seen. The action is varied and pleasingly unedited and the camera has a decent shot at times, the choreography is not bad, mixing in various martial arts elements and the performers themselves are no doubt mastering something, but sadly the fights lack verve, punch and proper sound design. The ending is usually very fast, the lack of broken limbs and the minimum of brutality (they cut each other with machetes and no blood spurts, that’s weird). The only impressive fight is a katana duel of a woman with a black man, but it ends before we get into the fight, which I rather regretted. As a martial arts fan, I'm definitely glad for this entry, but I couldn't enjoy the fights as much as I have in other similar films. Still, the film is worth watching. I have higher hopes for Hanuman. 65%

I honestly didn't believe that Scott Adkins would make a good action movie and I didn't trust Jesse V. Johnson at all, but miracles can happen and these two made quite possibly the best and most crystallized B-movie of recent years. It impresses not only with uncompromising fights with broken limbs and a choreography that leaves your breathless, but also with a very compelling story revolving around assassins (where every single person involved is interesting and different), at times I felt like I was watching an unofficial Tarantino. A big plus are also the excellent wisecracks that made me go to my knees a few times and the surprisingly intelligent dialogues. This B movie has everything that any other should have. Michael Jai White and Ray Stevenson are a nice cherry on an already pretty tasty cake. Great, this was a good one and after the trailer I didn’t want to watch it. 90%

Crap from head to toe, it would Winchester himself to shame. The trailer a few months ago had me hyped up for a gothic horror film with an unusual setting and decent actors, and the Spierig brothers gave me hope as I liked their Jigsaw, but this was really, really bad. The acting was solid though. Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke are both above average actors for the horror genre, and visually it's not downright bad either, but to make such an impressive house so uninteresting and especially lacking in atmosphere is really a shame. The film has no atmosphere whatsoever, not a single scare is functional (if you are an experienced viewer, of course), even the teenage girls behind me were yawning and that's saying something. If James Wan had taken up a similar material we could have had another potential Insidious, but have the useless film of the year that is more boring than scary and after a long time I regret the money I spent going to the cinema 40%.