EvilPhoEniX

After the excellent animation film Big Hero 6, Chris Williams tries his luck again and even if it's not such a hit, it's still very good within the genre. Sea Monster is a mix of Pirates of the Caribbean and How to Train Your Dragon, and I enjoy that combination. It's got gorgeous visuals, decent action, fun characters and a nice adventure. On the other hand there's a lack of humour – which is slightly reprehensible and the story isn't exactly original, but I don't mind it here, the setting and the premise were entertaining. Netflix animated flicks are fine. 7/10

The behavioral agent said he's a typical abused child. He's sad and he doesn't smile. Netflix has hit the bullseye again, serving up a sad, twisted and engaging true crime drama about kidnapping, murder, abuse, identity swapping and prostitution. If this were a movie, most people would complain about the over-the-top twists and plot, but it's a documentary based on true events, and as we've come to know, the most powerful stories are written by life itself. The documentary is nicely shot and unravels the mystery surrounding a dead woman found by the roadside very nicely, where we gradually learn who she really was and also the man who is supposedly her husband. There are plenty of twists and turns and they are solid. There is a sad, depressing and mysterious atmosphere throughout and thankfully the documentary only has a 100 minute running time, which I welcome, as the usual 3 hours tends to be too much for me. A fan of true crime but also suspenseful thrillers should give this a chance. 8/10.

Comic book fuck! Amazon's big phenomenon presents itself with a 3rd season, and as expected, it's brutal, twisted, perverse, but also smart, emotional, wacky, and damn funny. The new season brings a number of interesting surprises where the cards are shuffled brilliantly and the whole thing paces from start to finish with no significant deaf spots, though I still have minor reservations that make me unable to go for the full rating. Once again, stealing the whole show for himself is Anthony Starr, aka Homelander, who seems to have been born for this role, a wonderful prototype of a cold psychopathic bastard who has no mercy, but for the first time in the series he gets scared and it's quite a sight to behold. Alongside Homelander, Butcher also classically excels, and for the first time in the series he also becomes a full-fledged rival to his arch nemesis. Of the other characters, I enjoy Starlight and Kimiko, who provides some decent action. Of the new characters, Soldier Boy is worth mentioning, he has an interesting development and an interesting denouement. There could have been more action, but once it comes to the meat-grinding, it's incredible, R-rating driven, pushing the boundaries far beyond other TV series. The very opening gay gore scene will definitely stick in my memory for quite some time, but there are plenty of nasty and juicy deaths throughout the series as well, where a gore fan is bound to get downright creeped out. There were a few unexpected character deaths and few plot twists, making The Boys the best R-rated comic-book adaptation ever for the third time. My one criticism is the fact that it doesn't make full use of the potential of the individual superheroes. The Seven are pretty haphazard and they should change – A-Train and Deep are downright useless, Black Noir has minimal space again, and Maeve doesn't get much time here either. I wouldn't be at all upset with the recruitment of new heroes with new abilities and interesting characters, maybe something like Stormfront, which revitalized the 2nd season nicely. So we'll see next time, but satisfaction definitely prevails and no one should miss The Boys. 8.5/10.

The biggest phenomenon of Netflix and these days, which is experiencing a similar hype as Game of Thrones or Squid Game. Once again it is a great retro horror spectacle that is hard to fault. The Duffer brothers are smart, and Stranger Things is already one of the highest rated horror series ever. Season 4 brings an interesting villain, Vecna – I praise the unpleasant appearance and the original way of killing (breaking bones in the air was awesome), and I liked his background and plan. Of the new characters the most interesting are Eddie, who will please Metal fans, and Jason the teen bully. I was impressed by the splitting of the story into several lines (similar to GOT) where some are less interesting (Winona Ryder didn't amuse me much and both Will and Mike, except for the emotional scene in the car, also had weaker arcs), but the line with El is again perfect, and she finally gets her powers back (that bothered me about the previous season). The best is without a doubt the line with Hooper with Kamchatka, Alaska and demogorgons. There were dialogues, action, a immersive atmosphere, everything in abundance. What I love about Stranger Things is the big budget and the many references to older horror films; the fact that the series is in the vein of A Nightmare on Elm Street is a prime example of this, not to mention the touch of Lovecraft. We'll see how the creators handle the final 5th season, but everything is in good hands and I believe we'll get a worthy ending to another great era. 8.5/10.

Phase 4 is without a doubt Marvel’s weakest – Black Widow, Eternals and Dr. Strange are all mediocre comic book movies and it shows in the ratings (the days when every new Marvel movie was in red are over). The new Thor may not be a revolution, but it is definitely the most fun and the best of the aforementioned three. I would have preferred to see someone other than Taika Waititi in the director's chair, his style doesn't suit me that well, I wasn't too keen on Ragnarok either, probably because it was too similar to Star Wars, but I enjoyed Love and Thunder. The plot is simple and it doesn't bring anything particularly interesting to the MCU universe, which is a bit disappointing, but as a fun, colorful, funny and effective blockbuster it works reliably. The chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman is awesome, Christian Bale plays a solid creepy villain for the first time in a long time in a Marvel movie, Gorr the God Butcher. He stole all the scenes to himself and added some darkness to all that colour. The humour is rather juvenile but there were a few laughs (Korg and the goats were the most entertaining – their roars always made me laugh). the music was also good and the emotions work in the end. The action isn't exactly spectacular and it's not my style, but it suits the film. (I have no idea if I will ever get more intimate and contact action like in Captain America: Winter Soldier). I was disappointed with Russell Crowe as Zeus. Story 3/5. Action 4/5, Humor 4/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 6.5/10.

A pleasant surprise. I like conversation dramas that take place in one place with an interesting idea, interesting thoughts and dialogues and nice actors. A film about sex, pleasure, self-acceptance and human connection. Emma Thompson is 55, a widow, has only had her husband in her life and he sucked in bed, so she decides to book a male escort to experience the thrill she wasted in her youth. Emma's acting is great and I enjoyed watching and listening to her past and problems. Daryl McCormack as the male escort is confident, likeable, very empathetic, smart and funny, and also with an interesting past. An unconventional couple of different ages in an unexpected situation. In the right mood, this can be a very enjoyable film, and it also has the typical British black humour. 7.5/10.

Brilliant. I enjoy the hell out of these sports biopic dramas, whether it's basketball (Hustle), tennis (King Richard and Borg/Mcenroe, skiing (Eddie the Eagle), figure skating (I Tonya), car racing (Le Mans 66 and Rush). Mow I'm adding baseball to the collection thanks to Moneyball. I'm also one of those who will probably never understand the game, but that doesn't matter here, the sport itself doesn't matter that much, as it is about the behind the scenes of managers and player trading, which I surprisingly enjoyed – selling people in a different way. The whole idea of putting together a team of players that no one trusts just based on computer stats is awesome. Brad Pitt is excellent as usual, Jonah Hill is also fine, and they carry the film. The well-written dialogue, a few unexpected twists, the great direction and a thrilling finale make this a nice piece of filmmaking as well as an entertaining sports movie. Really great. 8/10.

A medieval martial arts B-movie, but relatively entertaining. The Princess is silly and a proper B-movie, and it is aware of that, so if you tune into that wave, it will hold up as a one-off. The story keeps it very simple, the princess doesn't want to marry a sociopath so she'd rather escape the tower on her own and have it out with all the guards. It wants to be a sort of variation on Die Hard and The Raid at the same time, which works at least because of the novel setting, but Joey King is neither Iko Uwais nor Bruce Willis, and unfortunately that's where it falls down for me, because I didn't believe the teenage actress with the badass role at all, and she's not convincing in action either. The film has a decent pace and is quite entertaining, but the action is only slightly above average (there could have been more gore ), no action scene evoked screams or excitement in me, not even sweat let alone adrenaline. Visually the film is average, you can tell it's a B movie (awful CGI fire), the actors are ordinary, and of course it's both naive and stupid, but that's what's expected. If the film was given a proper budget, better actors, a more experienced director and a better choreographer, it would have stood up as a hit even without a proper story, but as it is, it's a very forgettable B-movie, but not offensive for one viewing. Personally though, I don't see how an R-rated movie called Princess can show up in Disney, it will be a shock for unaware parents. Story 2/5. Action 3/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 2/5. 5.5/10.

Action Mayhem from China!! A completely unknown and inexperienced director delivers an attractive, spectacular and wild action ride that has almost no competition from Asia this year. The film has quite an appealing story where the main character (Andy On, a beautiful comeback!) is the captain of a SWAT team and in a botched operation he loses his eyesight and then has his daughter kidnapped by a criminal organization dealing in people trafficking, specifically young girls. The protagonist, however, has excellent hearing (a bit like Daredevil) and even blindfolded, he is an awesome martial arts machine. There are some amazing characters, besides Andy Ono, who is not only likeable but also an excellent fighter, there’s the unknown Xing Yang (a Chinese Julie Estelle), who was sold into slavery and trained as an assassin from a young age, and she is a delight – she plays a downright twisted female character, a total nutcase, an emotionless killing machine who teams up with the protagonist to kick the ass of the criminal underworld. I like the team up of the blind hero and the twisted anti-hero, it’s an unprecedented pairing and it works well. There's plenty of action, hardly ever off the gas, lots of gunfights (rotary machine gun, shotgun), amazing fights – it’s quite unprecedented in a Hong-Kong production to have more punching than shooting, but it cuts to the chase with amazing choreography and awesome cinematography, accompanied by a thumping soundtrack that beautifully pumps adrenaline and euphoria into the viewer's blood. There are a few minor plot surprises and most of all, it's a lot of fun and a joy to watch. I never get tired of these R-rated action rides with high craftsmanship (a John Wick style finale!). I enjoyed it immensely and love this movie. It is a very strong showing from China that is close to a South Korean production. Story 4/5. Action 5/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 9/10.

Nick Fuckin’ Cage is back! The 90's star actor hasn't made anything decent in years, he's found himself in B horror films a bit, which suits him better than the C actioners made by Willis, Gibson and other former stars. But this is a very enjoyable film where Cage plays himself, makes fun of himself and alludes to the shit he's bee making over the years. The film itself is nothing special. The story is simple, the action is mediocre and the humor is fine at times, but not as much as the premise calls for. But the feel good vibes, the joy of making movies, all the movie references to Cage's works (they're top notch) and starring again after a long time in a movie that isn't cheap crap is the best part of it all. I enjoyed Cage's relationship with Pedro Pascal, who also has a very interesting role; both of them give decent performances and bring out the best in each other. I enjoyed the allusion to the Agent Nicolas Cage sketch, those who have seen it will understand and that's what the film builds on. I should probably catch up with Paddington 2 in the near future ! Anyone who likes Nicolas should pay attention to this. 7/10.