EvilPhoEniX

This short is awesome! Amazing CGI visuals of a polluted underwater world where mutated creatures eat each other. The shark is again a bad ass villain. Great, suspenseful, dark, brutal, breathtaking. I want a feature film immediately and in horror!

Solid retro psychological-detective-supernatural kidnap thriller. The Black Phone was talked about as one of the potential horror films of the year, unfortunately that didn't happen, but it's still a solid film and one of the better ones. Scott Derrickson is well-versed in the horror genre and is one of the better filmmakers of the last decade, but I found his previous horror release Deliver Us from Devil to be sharper. From the start, The Black Phone impresses with its chilling 1970s visuals that add to the sultry atmosphere of gloomy Denver, where there is a man who kidnaps local children and kills them known as the Grabber. It has that feel of an proper crime drama, too bad we don’t get to really enjoy the investigation itself. The film is not officially based on real events, but it’s inspired by them. The main characters include sibling duo Gwen and Finney, both impress with strong child acting. Gwen in particular steals all the scenes for herself in the beginning of the film – the conversation with her father is downright uncomfortable and emotionally powerful to the point of being Oscar-worthy. Finney is the boy who is kidnapped and even though he comes across as a pushover at first, he shows skill and talent as the story progresses. The film flows at a slower pace, there are purely only two horror scenes, and they are two decently executed scares. Ethan Hawke is solid as the bad guy but I agree he could have had more space and the mythology around him could have been explained to the viewer in more detail. I enjoyed the concept where Finney has the ability to communicate through a black phone with previous Grabber victims. Pulling it up to above average for me was the nicely paced finale, where there was a bit of violence in a well put together duel. All in all, the film builds more on atmosphere, acting performances and confident direction, but those expecting first-rate horror may be slightly disappointed. Story 4/5. Action 2/5, Humour 2/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 7/10.

An Average Korean gangster movie. The lack of any names both in front of and behind the camera makes it clear that this is more of a cheaper film. Although the Korean visuals are again on a decent level, it just doesn't have the necessary style and flair. The story doesn't have the necessary build-up and I didn't find it very interesting. The material itself has been done several times before and much better. The main character has been working for a mob boss for 20 years, but wants to get independent and start something of his own, yet a guy comes to town who is a murder suspect and starts causing mischief around town. There's not much action, occasionally someone gets disemboweled with a knife, which looks pleasantly gritty, and there's some pretty good music in one sequence, but that's not enough for me. What to do with a film where there's little action and the story isn’t very engaging? A watchable average. 5/10.

It's more of a romantic drama than a comedy, which is a bit of a bummer because the idea and the dialogue make a decent relationship drama where two different people get dumped at the same time, meet by chance and agree to help each other out and get their old partners back – I could really see myself in some of the situations. It's intelligent and the characters behave mostly rationally. In the end it does turn out exactly as the viewer wants and hopes, but I don't mind. Add a funnier element and it would have been 4 stars. The threesome scene the funniest. 65%.

The second part of the excellent action comedy The Fable is a slight disappointment for me, but it is still a decent genre average by Japanese standards. The first part is a big hit for me, it has amazing action, a nice R-rating, a comic touch, effective humour, good visuals and awesome pacing, but the second lacks most of that. The sequel rule definitely doesn't apply here, it neither bigger norm action packed. It's a shame that the main character keeps his promise of not wanting to kill anyone, because he is an awesome Hitman, an unrivalled, fast, an unstoppable machine in close combat, and he's good with weapons too, but they pretty much kill his potential. The sequel focuses much more on the story, adding a romantic element, the humor didn't work for me at all and there are only two action scenes, one in the opening with a car and awesome choreography and cinematography, and the other in the middle, again well shot, but because of his promise the protagonist shoots blanks, so there’s no blood. The finale, on the other hand, is presented in a more intimate way, and that's where the film lost me, because it's really pitiful to squeeze 15 minutes of action scenes out of 130 minutes of running time, especially when they are shot so well. The film itself also works as a drama and it will find its fans, but I wanted an action flick in the style of the first, and that doesn't happen. Story 4/5. Action 3/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 3/5. 5.5/10

A clever little horror thriller from the director of Disturbia. Shut In is a surprisingly solid thriller that obviously didn’t cost much, but works well as both a survival drama and a thriller, and surprised me quite a few times. The film is set in a house with a mother with two young children who accidentally lock themselves in their pantry and can't get out. A pretty scary situation for both the main character herself and the small children behind the door, where practically anything can happen. Her drug-addicted ex hangs around with his friend who is known for abusing children and the problems start. Rainey Qualley is both likeable and gutsy, and for a film that takes place mostly in a pantry, there are a surprising number of tense situations (the hand under the door scene definitely leads the way). Of course there are a few illogical situations and the film itself doesn't have much ambition to deliver anything more than a suspenseful genre piece, but if you don't mind that, Shut In can reliably entertain on a dull evening. Story 2/5. Action 2/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 3/5. 6/10.

"This is the only passage in the Bible where Christ says: A man who commits sin against a child deserves to die." Ultimate hell! Patryk Vega! The Polish butcher delivers a new film in which he crosses absolutely all boundaries and taboos, this is heavyweight exploitation of the greatest evil that will make you scream, cry, have your stomach clenched and hold your hands in fists! After mobsters, football hooligans, hookers and gritty crime dramas, Vega now takes on the most sensitive subject of all, pedophilia, human trafficking and child prostitution, and it's an insane emotional chilling hell. The Russian mafia kidnaps Polish girls and smuggles them into Ukraine, Moldova, England and Thailand, turning them into brainwashed sex-slaves, and I couldn't believe my eyes at how unashamedly Vega presents this material to the audience. The main character is a police officer who has been fighting pedophiles for 12 years and promises one mother that he will bring her little girl back, and this turns into an international manhunt for the fastest growing criminal organization in the world- Trade-sex-slaves. 1.5 million children are sold annually! From the beginning of the film, Vega had me riveted to my seat and swept me away with an uncompromising atmosphere with chilling dialogue and scenes (the gore is less than usually is in his films, but here I say thank God). There’s a scene where an 11 year old pregnant girl dressed as a prostitute jumps in front of a train and then they show what's left of her; it shattered me to millimeters. To make matters worse, Vega also manages to cram in a crazy Satanic cult that performs ritual sacrifices on children, and I have to say that the den, with its caged children and perverted rich men in masks accompanied by screaming and pain, was reminiscent of a living hell on earth. A nasty, evil, authentic and chilling flick that will sway even the most hardened. In Poland, weaker characters fled the cinemas, so watch out, you're in danger of a few days of depression. Emotional inferno and Polish exploitative twisted purgatory! The only downside I see is that the better half of the film is spoken in English and it slightly devalues the performances, but given the theme and form, this is a Vega genre masterpiece. Story 4/5. Action 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 3/5. 9/10.

A decent folkloric, religious and ritual found footage from Taiwan. As an Asian outsider, Tai-Wan is making a decent bid for attention this year (The Sadness is still this year's top pick), and Incantation doesn't have much competition within the found footage genre either. The Buddha has a dark side! The film has two timelines, it's two hours long and there are some duller spots, which lead to the film failing to fully immerse the viewer in the plot, which, regardless, it’s interesting and fresh in itself, but not completely engaging. The film evokes a lot of the cult-classi Noroi and I believe this one will be a small cult-classic for Tai-Wan as well (the reviews are very favourable). Incantation relies on an unsettling atmosphere, haunting music, local curses and folklore, and elements of found footage, which are among the better ones. There are two sequences in the middle and at the end that are among the most poignant with an atmosphere that could be chopped up and that is appropriately quite creepy and uncomfortable. There is one nasty scare and some blood - I was expecting a lot more gore (the teeth falling out and the head smashed against a wall was cool, but I wanted more). Cutting it by 20 minutes would have definitely benefited the film, as it is a decent contribution to the genre, but due to the slightly confusing plot and slower pacing it didn't blow me away that much. Story 3/5. Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 6.5/10

Hercule Poirot for the second time, and another borefest. Murder on the Orient Express is one of the few films where I fell asleep in the cinema, and Death on the Nile has a similarly leisurely pace, but thankfully it didn't cost me my cinema ticket. Nothing happens for an hour, nothing at all. They introduce uninteresting characters in an uninteresting way with uninteresting dialogue, but fortunately in a fairly attractive setting (Egypt, the Nile) – a minor plus point compared to a Train – but I still found it woefully underwhelming. I don't find Hercule Poirot interesting as a detective, he doesn't have any gripping, revolutionary investigative methods, nothing to stand out, he's an intelligent gentleman doing his job but it doesn't add much to the viewing experience. The wait for a murder here is longer than the wait for a payday, and on top of that it's just the usual uninterestingly rendered murders in every other B-grade crime series. I don't see how a fan of Se7en, Hannibal and the like, where everything from the murders to the actual investigation works, can be satisfied with the outcome here. I was counting on at least the final reveal, where an interesting twist might come, but even that is readable from the opening minutes, even without knowing the source material. For me, the prototype of the most useless and least attractive crime drama that the world may see. Only pensioners can be entertained by this. Decent visuals, fine actors, but everything else completely passed me by both cinematically and as a viewer. Story 3/5. Action 0/5, Humour 2/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 2/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 4/10.

The South Korean version of The Transporter. Too sterile and ordinary for my taste, an action thriller, which adheres to the parameters of South Korea: good visuals, decent actors, R-rated action, though not much of it, there is something bigger at the end, but even that seemed not enough compared to other films. The film focuses on a likeable courier who is transporting unusual goods and is now tasked with picking up a client who wants to run away, but instead him, his young son is waiting there with the code to a 30 million dollar account, and as you would expect everybody will go after him. The storyline is a bit too simple even for Korea, I found the little kid quite annoying and the film comes across more as a family drama wrapped between car chases and with a bit of action. Unfortunately I wasn't too keen on that, but I suspected it so I'm not too disappointed. The girls will probably enjoy it, I'm off to get something more manly. Story 3/5. Action 3/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 6/10.