EvilPhoEniX

First cinema disappointment this year. I only know Ghost in the Shell as a game, I haven't come into contact with the anime and I have no idea what the film benefits from more, anyway it's rather bland. This is hardcore sci-fi with a cyberpunk twist that won't be very appealing to many viewers, I think the film is aimed at a very narrow audience, i.e. to the average viewer who is unfamiliar with both the game and the anime, it doesn't have much to say. Scarlett Johansson was surprisingly good here, visually the fictional world has something to it, the action scenes are rather average except for the opening one (which was flawless) and the finale is unfortunately the weakest part of the film. In some places I was a bit bored, so there is no question of great fun. It was watchable, but I would skip the cinema. 60%

As an appetizer before the upcoming Alien flick, it was solid. What are we going to say, sci-fi horror movies are like saffron and with a 60 million budget and such a stellar cast, even more so. There's not much attention paid to the story here, after the opening 20 minutes the film deals out its cards clearly and it's a cosmic whodunit with a very creative creature feature that is definitely engaging. The atmosphere thickens decently, there's no shortage of tension, the music builds wonderfully and the final shot is bound to please any fan who grew up on horror films. I'm satisfied, well made entertainment. 75%

After watching the trailer for Get Out, I was very excited and nearly flew through the ceiling when I found out it was directed by Jordan Peele. I've been watching the Peele brothers and their sketches for two years now and for me personally they are the funniest comedians not only in America but in the world, and I know very well how big movie fans they are and horror is one of their favorite genres. Keegan-Michael Key has made it into acting, where he recently surprised in the comedy Why Him and is set to star in next year's Predator, and Jordan just took the director's chair and is tearing up records in every aspect with his debut. Not only has it already grossed thirty times its budget, but its ratings (83% from 25k people makes Get Out the highest rated horror film of the last 30 years, even beating The Exorcist, and that's saying a hell of a lot). The Dublin cinema was packed with both seniors and teens and surprisingly no one ran out of the theatre. But now to the film. Get Out has only one downside, and that is the longer running time, otherwise everything is absolutely brilliant and creatively playful. Not much happens in the first half, but from the beginning the film carries a mysterious and disturbing atmosphere, where every member of the family is special in some way, even strange,but after the arrival of a major and very unsettling twist (the last time a twist like that killed me was in The Visit) the film picks up the pace densely, more twists and turns appear, and a lot of humour starts to build up, taken care of by a black policeman (and he was really funny! ) and surprisingly, it's also very fitting here, culminating in a very intense and gritty killing spree that will give you flashbacks to both SAW 3 and Inside, but it's all carried out in digestible standards, i.e. the killings are spectacular but don't involve much gore, which I don't mind at all in this film. The playful cinematography and excellent acting by all involved is also a big plus. I personally feel Get Out has a cult status carrying the statuette for best paranoid horror film ever. A well-deserved success and I hope you enjoy it in the cinemas next month as much as I did. 95%

The best Korean director is again excellent and again different. Kim Jee-woon is truly a class act, as he is one of the few who can handle multiple genres at once, his I Saw the Devil is still one of the best thrillers from Korea, The Good, The Bad, The Weird is still the best western from Korea, and his actioner Bittersweet Life has a spot in the top rankings. His new release The Age of Shadows is unfortunately not entertaining enough for me to happily spit it out (I suffered slightly for the first hour), but once the action shifts to the train, the attention span rises considerably and here I began to thoroughly enjoy the master at action, perfectly portraying the calm before the storm atmosphere, culminating in a Tarantino-style shootout and the ensuing non-stop action until the finale, which was pleasingly brutal and aesthetically classy. Of the stars, Song Kang-ho is classically the best, Gong Yoo and in a smaller role, Lee Byeong-heon, who for the record played the lead in each of the director's three aforementioned gems, were also good. 75%

I didn't really believe in it, and I didn't even bother going to the cinema, but now fresh from watching it I am very pleasantly surprised. Yimou Zhang is a skilled director and his visuals can easily compete with Hollywood. Matt Damon was more than excellent as the archer, and Willem Dafoe was also impressive, while among the Asians, Andy Lau, Eddie Peng and Princess Tian Jing, who also had a role in the new Kong, were good. The action starts at the 15th minute and the siege of the Great Wall of China is very spectacular. I was impressed by the strategy, the synchronisation of the army and all the tools and technologies were very good. I also liked the look of the monsters, which had acceptable CGI. For me, a very entertaining and engaging film that I had a great time with. 80%

The new film from director Sean Byrne, who is responsible for the excellent exploitation flick The Loved Ones, but I wasn't too pleased with this one. Rather than horror I would label the film a thriller. Most of the time nothing happens, there is no gore at all, so it only stands on atmosphere, which starts to pick up speed especially in the end, yet I am sure that if the bad guy had a razor or an axe instead of a gun, the finale would be much more interesting. The heavy death metal music is interesting and fitting, but otherwise I don't have much to praise. There’s no twist, and the fact that the film takes place in darkness for most of the time was quite irritating. 60%

A nice comedy with a Christmas atmosphere and decent actors. The beginning is a bit tedious, but once the party starts the fun is taken care of until the end. Those who like similar films won’t be disappointed. 75%

Absolutely nothing and I'm surprised anyone is still into this. The story is completely lame and it seems to me that every episode deals with exactly the same thing: Racoon City, Alice, over and over again. Instead of zombies, there are dragons flying and the bad guys are human, so instead of a zombie horror movie, we have a fantasy action movie that takes place entirely in the dark where you can't see a thing, with about 20 cuts in each shot, making it almost unwatchable. The visuals look like something out of a very cheap horror C-movie and the repetitive laser scene is downright shameful. The gore is also almost non-existent. Shit. 15%.

You won't find a more fun adventurous expedition. Kong; Skull Island has the advantage of having a very good cast, something that can't be said much about competing blockbusters. Tom Hiddleston is a likable hero, Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson adds pizzazz, Samuel L. Jackson is once again a great psychopath, and even the wisecracking John C. Reilly is impressive. The biggest plus is the visuals of the breathtaking island and the monsters, whose appearance is one of the best we've seen so far. The spider scene is begging for a horror sequel, and it's a shame that the ants don't make an appearance. The biggest highlight is the final fight with Kong and the giant lizard, which was very spectacular. What disappointed a little that they didn't show more monsters, I believe this island had a lot to offer and the film runs out of breath halfway through, with the viewer just waiting for the finale. I was surprised that the film was quite gritty and uncompromising in places, I was amazed at how many kids were sitting in the auditorium. Personally, I wouldn't take kids to see it. The post-credit scene is a nice touch. 85%.

An interesting piece, very unconventional, but unfortunately I found it irritating in its narrative style. The film is divided into four chapters that are scattered in time, making it unnecessarily confusing and over-complicated, which I personally don't like very much. What bothered me the most was when a character dies in one chapter and lives again in the next, I hate that. Another downside is the strong resemblance between the actresses Dakota Fanning and Emilia Jones, I had a hard time telling which one of them was on the set, which is a great shame because the visuals are perfect, the atmosphere is raw and no violence or sex is spared, for which I give a big plus. The highlight for me was the second chapter. The running time is also too long for my taste, so despite the excellent scenes, I can't give it an above average rating. PS: Guy Pearce was really diabolical. 65%.