EvilPhoEniX

No time to Breath! If I was an army general, I'd mobilize my entire army of fans and make a mandatory trip to the cinema with everyone. What an exquisite film. I'll freely admit that Bond films have never been my cup of tea, they never earned a star studded full house from me, I’ve always preferred tom Cruise with his Mission Impossible, but once Sam Mendes wass deposed and replaced by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film took on a completely different dimension, and for me No Time to Die is the best Bond film ever, I can't imagine it could have been done better. Everything here works as perfectly as a Swiss watch and, after three hours in the cinema, I said to myself I want another hour because it's a hell of a ride. From the opening the film rushes from one action scene to the next; PG-13 action, admittedly, but this time I’ll turn a blind eye. Daniel Craig is literally diabolical (the guy deserves an Oscar), Rami Malek and Christoph Waltz are a double villain feature, Ana de Armas doesn’t have much space, but even for that moment she managed to fully grab my attention. The whole story raced incredibly forward, you could tell this was the finale and every single shot and moment was delivered with utter precision and excellence. I hadn’t held my breath for so long as I did here during the dialogue exchanges (maybe the last time was with The Dark Knight), and this is coming from someone who practically can't do without gore. Hans Zimmer’s score once again game me goosebumps. There’s an hour long action opening, an hour long action finale, I couldn't have asked for more. The ending of the film is downright heartbreaking though. The New Bond film put me on the edge of my seat at the end and kept pulling until the final credits. Tears were flowing and the packed cinema hall was blown into space as I was, otherwise I can't explain that three-hour long silence. Together with Suicide Squad 2 the film of the year for me. Story 5/5, Action 5/5, Humour 2/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Tension 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10.

Probably the most original comedy of the last few years and surprisingly from the Germans. Two best friends drunkenly bet that they will give up all their possessions for 100 days, with the understanding that they can get one thing back every day. A great premise that makes for a number of comical situations and when you add in the two likeable protagonists you've got a winner. The film manages to mine emotion towards the end as well and I was both pleasantly surprised and pleased with the whole experience. 80%.

The most praised film of last year from South Korea is finished and it is a very important historical work for country. 1979 was a very dark time in Seoul, where a coup was carried out after the assassination of the president, with various military factions fighting for power over the Korean state. It's a dense atmospheric political-war piece that will grip even the uninitiated viewer. There are two top actors on both sides of the barricade, with Jeong-min Hwang playing the bastard who wants to take over the state and Woo-seong Jeong the good guy who wants to stop him. I'm not a big fan of political thrillers, but this one has such a sinister and uncomfortable atmosphere woven throughout, where the tension builds and builds incredibly, that I almost didn't breathe. Top craftsmanship, top actors, top dialogue, top atmosphere and there was some action (not much of that though), and all the intrigue and power struggles are rendered very believably. A scary and crazy night on 12.12.1979, where the ending quite pissed me off. 8/10.

A madcap and occasionally slightly awkward horror comedy set in a hospital with a hunt for a kidney. Of the cast, Angela Bettis, who we all know from the horror film The Woman, and David Arquette from Scream in a smaller role are good, the rest are basically numbers. The funny scenes are unfortunately few, I enjoyed the policeman the most. and the few gory shots won’t faze anyone nowadays either. It's not great, but it's watchable. Story**, Action>No, Humor**, Violence***, Entertainment***, Music**, Visuals**, Atmosphere*, Suspense**. 4/10.

This year's second visit to the cinema. Another modern war flick set in Afghanistan, where a 12-strong group of soldiers are tasked with taking down the Taliban with the help of an Afghan warlord. In terms of the cast, the film is packed: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, and for a debut it has very solidly executed action scenes, with explosions like Michael Bay, plenty of rawness and the combination of horses with M4s against tanks has something going for it. I'm not as intense as 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, but still a decent affair that I enjoyed in the cinema. 75%

A film with a strong theme, but unfortunately nothing for me. The acting is very good, Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o give solid performances. Unfortunately, even though the film has a strong story it ends exactly as you expect. It's funny that the supposed 12 years in the film feel less than a week, one would think that much more happened in those 12 years than the film presents. But I didn't care much for the characters, the emotions left me cold and it has a very slow pace that drags on perhaps even more than the main character's 12 years. That blacks were slaves and had it tough back then everyone knows, but I don't know why I would watch a two hour movie about it. 5/10.

The new series from the Baran bo Odar, creator of the successful Dark and the great Who Am I: No System Is Safe, is a decent mystery thriller, but it’s not the discovery of the year, the rewriting of the charts, and the new Netflix smash hit, and I'm actually disappointed with the project. The series can rely on quality craftsmanship, it has great production design, the setting and the exploration of the ship new and old has its charm, the soundtrack always at the end of each episode is very fine. The acting is decent, although no character really impresses, the atmosphere is nicely mysterious in places, and the mystery itself seems ambitious and I don't doubt the director's qualities, he's devised it skillfully, but I absolutely stopped caring about it halfway through the series. At the beginning I was surprised, as I had no idea what to expect and one question after another was thrown at me without any answer and as soon as I got answers to those questions, I actually stopped being interested, because I find the concept is quite trendy these days and crammed in almost everywhere (I don't want to say what it is, but it bothered me). I would have much preferred if they had kept it more down to earth and relied more on the mystery or horror side, which is more or less absent here. It's really dense mindfuck in places. When there is a twist, no proper action comes out of it. I would have preferred if there were ghosts or clones on the other ship, I would probably have cheered. The pacing is also a problem, it's painfully slow and by the end I was suffering slightly and had trouble finishing it. I gave up on Dark for a similar reason, and this didn't sit well with me as a result either. However, fans of Dark and slow mystery stories should give this a chance. 6/10.

Stephen King's adaptations have been on fire this year, and today we have another of his short stories, which didn't knock me on my ass, but is definitely more interesting than the recent and boring Gerald's Game. My favorite Thomas Jane is in the lead role, and for the first time in a while he has a role tailor-made for him, and without him the film would definitely lose its charm. The film is set in the 1920s on a farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere, which makes for an interesting atmosphere, but there were quite a few horror elements for my taste. The intense conspiracy murder in a bed and a couple of scenes with rats definitely stand out, I was expecting a lot more of these but unfortunately they were skimped on, which is a shame because a good horror film with rats would be more memorable. As a horror film it doesn't shine too much, but it does as a mystery drama with solid performances and decent cinematography. The slower pace may be a detriment for some, but I surprisingly wasn't bored. 65%

A well made war film from Russia, but I wasn't too entertained. The opening action scene is very decent, but the characters didn't win me over, the pacing is drawn out and the atmosphere didn't grab me at all. I don't know, it didn't suit me. Story***, Action***, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment***, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere**, Suspense***. 5/10.

A decent film that is solidly shot, well acted, atmospheric and I believe historically accurate, but failed to pull me in as I had hoped. A young student dies during an interrogation by the police that included torture, and everyone tries to cover it up, but the truth comes out and the students in the streets start rioting and demanding justice. It's not exactly a genre I would seek out, but the Koreans can make even a not-so-appealing theme attractive to me. 6.5/10.