EvilPhoEniX

Creator was supposed to be the sci-fi hit of the year, but the actual result was almost unwatchable, I suffered unbelievably. In short, Gareth Edwards made a film that, in its style, evoked the Star Wars I hated. I was kind of hoping it would be something along the lines of Independence Day, only with UFOs replaced by an artificial intelligence, but I was sorely mistaken. The film gave me the impression that with 40 minutes gone by, I still didn't know what was going on, there was no introduction to the characters or plot, just one scene after another, with zero viewer engagement. It's like putting episode 6 of a random series and trying to get my bearings on the plot. I was absolutely not entertained by Washington, and the rest of the characters didn't engage me either. The action was dull, I found it to be childish and unexciting. There’s nothing epic, no wow moment, no suspense or atmosphere, just something happening and I didn't really care by halfway through the film, I just wanted it to end. In the end I'm glad I didn't go to the cinema, I've never seen more boring action sci-fi. Disappointment of the year. 3/10.

A three-hour Indian blockbuster that is mature and complex. This is the first project of director Atlee Kumar and it is a huge global hit, and the second biggest blockbuster from India this year after Pathaan, also starring 58-year-old Shahrukh Khan, one of India's biggest stars. The story focuses on Vikram Rathore, the warden of a prison who to fix a corrupt society and right the system by taking revenge on both the rich and the corrupt scumbags. It's a bit of a mix between Robin Hood and Money Heist, which suited me just fine. I thought it was genius that the main character is helped by women from prison, so the police are looking for someone who has been locked up for a long time, I liked this a lot. Jawan is a three-hour massive blockbuster that combines maybe ten genres, but is interesting on every level and it really holds together as a whole. The story works, on the one hand it grabs the heart, can be touching (the scene with the children dying in hospital is intense), the surprise moments works – I like how India can pull off twist after twist, the viewer is really shocked to the core at the end! The romantic line works here too, the main character starts dating the police inspector who is looking for him. The humour works at times, the dramatic scenes also have a charge, even the musical numbers with the dances and songs are spectacular and a good watch (especially when you realise how much work must have gone behind it). The action itself is also worth praising. It's not so overdone and doesn't have much CGI, it’s down to earth for Indian standards, though there are a lot of slow-motion sequences, but at least it's nice and spectacular, in short it's great to watch. The three hours go by very quickly, the pace is engrossing and with such a diverse number of genres, you never get bored. For me, a great ride. 8/10.

A great detective thriller from Czechia of European cut that will not be a disgrace in the world, and for me the best thriller ever made in our country. The story focuses on a provocative influencer who goes silent out of the blue. A 15 year old girl accidentally finds her photo on her dad's phone and begins an investigative hunt for the truth that is not entertaining, but also manages to thrill and fuck with the viewer several times. The actors do a very good job by Czech standards, the film nicely points out the pitfalls of today's modern times around social networks and the music is excellent (there are few nice songs, but the droning element added to the atmosphere and tension incredibly). The film manages to keep the viewer at attention throughout , which is not always the case with foreign productions, let alone in our country. I liked that the whole film keeps the viewer guessing who is behind it all and when you think the cards have been revealed, another ace is brought out, and I have to say that the finale is more than surprising. Normally I would give it a strong four, but since this is a domestic film that is unrivalled in quality, I don't hesitate to give it a full score. It is really good, I still can't believe it. 85%.

A weaker moment for David Fincher. The trailer touted an attractive thriller about a hitman, which seemed to be his strongest point, but the result is not very satisfying. The first half hour is excellent, as we watch Michael Fassbender in an apartment preparing to shoot someone with a sniper rifle. I liked the attention to detail, his preparation and the excellent monologues, which consisted of various statistics and philosophising, I that enjoyed a lot (too bad the whole film wasn't in this style), but then it takes a bit of a turn and starts to fall rather flat. The second half in particular is already quite contrived. I was kind of hoping that Fincher would focus on the hitman style, that we'd be watching a professional assassin going from target to target and various forms of defusing with high attention to detail, but this another personal revenge that doesn't stand out from the competition in anything interesting, and Fincher's signature isn't very recognizable. Fassbender's acting is good, likewise of course with the craftsmanship, but plot-wise it doesn't have any balls, there's not much action either, no satisfying twist (at least the fight in the apartment had balls, it was pleasantly gritty, with great cinematography and interestingly shot, it was very palpable, it was the highlight of the film for me), the ending is completely devoid of zest. Shame, the potential here was definitely higher. 6/10.

An Italian slasher/exploitation flick with a kick! It is a bit of a throwback to ten years ago when these genre flicks were made on a treadmill and the cravings for gore were satisfied very often, but today it is a rarity and I am happy that at least the Italians have come up with a flick from my favorite subgenre. Plot-wise, the film could be described in two sentences, it's very simple. A bunch of female students go to an anti-nuke bunker for the night to get ideas for their bachelor thesis, only to find a cannibalistic mutant who likes fresh meat lurking there. Pleasingly, the director took the trouble to choose pretty Italian girls who are nice to look at. The direction of the film is surprisingly up to par, the craftsmanship is decent (yes the acting and dialogue are not great, but the technical side is very decent, including the make-up effects and the gore). The mutant also looks good and is a decent nutter, plus he gets the show moving very quickly, so the viewer doesn't have to wait 50 minutes for a introduction, in the first minute dinner is served in the form of a toddler. The gore is good and there's plenty of it (a decent body-count too). The scalping and skinning can be decently uncomfortable and the eating of guts and brains is always a pleasure. Occasionally the camera does wander, but I don't think it was the budget, rather the filmmakers were afraid to cross the line where they thought this would be too much. The film is objectively at 3 stars, but since this my favorite sub-genre where all the main attributes are adhered to and the film moves along briskly, I'm happy to rate it higher. 7/10.

I stupidly gave it a chance again and it didn't work out, for the third time. Hercule Poirot for me is probably the most boring and least interesting detective of them all (for example comparing him to Sherlock it's 100 and 1). Again it is filmed and presented in a way that could have entertained my grandmother and grandfather, but for me, and I believe the younger generation. the film is hard to digest. This time the cast wasn't worth much either, which reflects the actors lack of interest in acting in this one. The whole film is very slow with no hint of suspense or atmosphere (no, I didn't see any horror elements here), the fact that it lacks momentum and drive is one thing, but the fact that I didn't enjoy the dialogues, story and characters is another. I didn’t guess the killer, but the final denouement did nothing for me, the final explanation is supposed to deliver a proper build-up (like in Saw), but it never happens. I really don't enjoy this style of detective stories without murders, where the whole movie is spent listening to people bored by Branagh. Delete, forget, honor. 4/10.

Though a big success in cinemas, for me this is quite possibly the most useless mainstream horror film of the year. It is based on a famous game I've never played, but given the premise, I can't really imagine what it's about (I wonder if the game is as uninteresting as the film). Anyway, horror-wise, the film offers nothing appealing and I couldn't find anything to sympathize with. It's PG-13, so the gore, the only thing that could have livened it up a bit, is missing. Ironically, the jump-scares are also missing and there's no dark atmosphere either. The animatronics simply don't look scary or creepy, they look awkward, and this combination just can't work for me. Add to that uninteresting characters, a weak story and an unengaging pace, where I was really bored out of my mind. Really bad, (Cage's Wonderland at least had a great Cage and didn't lack gore). This is a horror movie for the kids (like budding future horror fans, OK), for horror veterans who have seen a thing or two it’s an ordeal 3/10.

Joe Lynch with an adaptation of a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. It's a bit of a made-for-TV horror thriller that seems to have fallen out of the 90s and will be off-putting for some, but I have no problem with it. There's sex, there's blood and there's dark humor and that's plenty enough for 3 stars for me. It's proper B-grade retro trash, but anyone who doesn't have a problem with that can enjoy it. A psychiatrist becomes obsessed with one of her patients, who seems to have multiple personalities, but the whole thing goes a bit awry. I enjoyed Heather Graham a lot, especially in the final act, which has great lines and is kind of racy and creepy, quite fitting. Whether the film can be recommended I don't know, it obviously didn't sit well with many people, but if you likes offbeat oddities, you might give it a try. 5.5/10.

I like these films, but it lacked more drive, a fiercer pace and better situational humour. Wall Street and Dumb Money are maybe a level or two up, but Pain Hustlers still has its bright moments. It terms of plot it follows a familiar template and goes sadly without surprises. Emily Blunt gets lucky with an interesting job and starts making some decent money, but a person can only on top for a while and classically things start to fall apart again and you kind of wait for it to end. There are a few deaf spots, unfortunately, but the insight into the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry was good. The trial turned out interesting and surprising to me and Emily Blunt stole it nicely for herself. 65%.

I went for a full meal and got a full meal. INSANE!! Demian Rugna has already managed to shine once with the awesome creepy Terrified, and this film clearly makes him a strong player in the horror field with unprecedented talent (Flanagan could learn). This is some really thick horror fodder, properly off the rails that was right down my alley. But it's a very evil film, unpleasant, dark, it crosses genre boundaries, the director knows how to shock and there's some very nasty things happening to everyone, including children and animals, so weaker characters watch out! This is rural demonic horror from Argentina set in a village where two brothers find an infected man (possessed by a demon). The demon possession spreads like a plague and the man rots alive! I have to say that the premise is not only original but also quite realistic, if there ever was a demonic possession I believe it could have manifested itself in these symptoms. I really liked that the movie gives seven rules to avoid the evil. From the very beginning, the director throws an uncompromising atmosphere, from which you can feel the hopelessness, despair, helplessness against an unknown evil. It has a very fierce pace, which I appreciate, excellent music that perfectly complements the tension and the atmosphere. The characters are well acted, the direction is of course top notch, and now we come to the most important thing: the horror scenes themselves. They are so good that every single one would be a highlight in another film. On the one hand there are scenes that I have never seen in my life, but then they shock in such a way that they are hard to breathe (the dog scene is really something crazy!). The obese Uriel, rotten to the bone will probably haunt my dreams, and eating the brains out of his child like popcorn is also a pretty good freakout and it definitely doesn't stop there. For me, an absolute horror beauty that scores on all fronts. It has an original theme, great gore, great make-up effects, good pacing, great visuals, it’s shocking, it's uncomfortable, it has a sultry atmosphere, it breaks down cinematic boundaries. I don't know what more to ask for, this is what a Horror movie with a all the trimmings should look like. In short, the demons have taken over the horror fair this year. Oh and by he way, complaining about characters behaving illogically when the town is being eaten by plague, rot and demons is really logical. It's like some introvert accidentally strayed from drama to horror. My only regret is that the film wasn’t half an hour longer. 9/10.