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.

An interesting look at a modern war conflict of Russia vs Ukraine in the Lugansk region in 2014. It’s been much maligned abroad (I guess Ukrainians don't like the film), but warmly received here. It's quite a strange film. The topic itself doesn't interest me that much, the characters didn't grow on me, the plot lacks pace (2 hours and 15 minutes is just too much), and the film doesn't avoid the deaf spots. But when it came to the action, it's surprisingly a decently gritty and raw spectacle. The opening looks like something out of a gritty exploitation movie, with the Ukrainians acting like a bunch of pigs, and the first ten minutes reminded me of my favourite I Spit on Your Grave, thumbs up for that. The film doesn't really shy away from anything, and that includes rape, shooting a shotgun into a pregnant woman's belly (WTF), beating a toddler to death and bombing children at school. Now, that's pretty powerful. If it had a shorter running time and a slightly more engaging plot, I'd be satisfied. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 2/5. 6/10.

No One Gets Out Alive, not even those who came out of the Midnight Mass. A horror film that is disgustingly underrated here and needs a bit of a revival and a phoenix boost. Santiago Menghini has shown he has talent and what seemed like an ordinary ghost movie (atmospheric in a few sequences, there are definitely some functional scares for some) gradually morphs into light exploitation crossed with monster horror. Yeah, that's not on my menu every day. The monster looks stunning, and the final twenty minutes are pleasantly gritty and intense, as if Pascal Laughier had come running to the rescue to remind us of his Ghostland. Small, likeable, unpretentious, nicely shot and I'll gladly throw a star up for the awesome finale. A slight resemblance to The Ritual and sacrifice as well, reminiscent of Aztec civilization. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 3/5. 7/10.

A pretty decent walk through Ireland occupied by the British with all the horrors that go with it. The protagonist is a likeable guy and he's pretty handy in action, working quite well with a knife. Hugo Weaving is traditionally decent. The film got rather cheaper visuals, some chilly weather and scenery, the finale is pretty action packed. Definitely interesting to watch and learn about Irish history. 6/10.

Very cheap and short, but shocking enough to be a bit of a surprise. You don't see that every day. + ominous music. 6/10.

Praised abroad, this horror anthology from South Korea has likeable ideas but lacks juice in places. A reporter collects stories from a supposedly haunted apartment complex where the tenants have disappeared. It’s told in five short stories. The good thing about South Korea is that the technical side is always up to scratch, so the viewer rarely sees a pure cheesy B-movie like in America or other countries. The stories are all mostly average, with the fourth and the fifth being even slightly above average, I would say. There are some good make-up effects, the stories are connected in details, occasionally there is a decent atmosphere and most of them have an interesting idea, it’s just a pity that nobody dies here (the gore is completely absent and there are also not many scares). Ghost Mansion doesn't offend, but it won't stick in your head for a long time. Story 3/5, Action 2/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 15, Actors 3/5. 5.5/10.

South Korea and their favourite theme serial killers is back. It is a bit of a variation on the 2011 Korean film Blind, where a serial killer goes after a blind girl. Here we have a girl and a deaf-mute mother who disrupt the killer at work and become his next target. Certainly nicely made for a debut, the main character is likeable and the killer is properly sleazy, I enjoyed his manipulative antics – the scene at the police station is really good and there are quite a few suspenseful scenes, which are underlined by the well chosen music. It's a shame that the Koreans skimped a bit on the violence and there was something missing that would have stood out to me compared to other related films, but as a one-shot thriller, Midnight is definitely a good affair that shouldn't offend anyone. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 3/5. 6.5/10.

Flanagan, give me back my god damn time you motherf*cker! Flanagan's religious borefest at its most repulsive. A fanatic, extremely slow and unentertaining religious drama where the only horror is watching this show without harm. I'd play this to captured terrorists as a torture device instead of electric shocks. If I had known in advance what depravity I was going to be subjected to, I would have eaten a Bible without hesitation. After the first episode, you think okay, so far it's going strong, but by the fifth episode you start to think someone forgot to fill up the tank and they never meant to get really going. There's a bunch of unlikeable random ordinary characters and nobody is interesting. They completely cold characters and I didn't care about the fate of any of them, everyone is dealing with horribly uninteresting adult stuff like trauma, alcohol problems, abortion, God is the best and praise him, which is way more interesting than Vampire carnage, right? If only it had at least worked as a Wicker Man style mysterious and strange community on an island, but no Flanagan goes for his heartfelt drama in endless and never ending dialogue, and I'm off to enjoy the similarly paced but totally in every way more distinctive and better Chapelwaite. Here there is priest preaching during mass for perhaps ten minutes in each episode, the music is horrible and I'm getting physically nauseous (I was secretly remembering the Malignant soundtrack!), it's full of monologues and dialogues where the characters are either sitting in a church, on a boat, in alcohol therapy or on a couch, and of course the horror is nowhere to be found. Scares? Nonexistent. Atmosphere? Where? Suspense only in church. Gore only in fantasy. Action five minutes at the end of each episode and sometimes not even that. Well, that's what I ordered. The worst spent seven hours in at least five years. Evangelical martyrdom! This shouldn't have been greenlit. An experience that made me go grey and physically a great test of patience and self-control. I may have a problem with Flanagan, his directing style has never appealed to me and I didn't enjoy his much lauded The Haunting of Hill House either, but that at least had decent atmosphere and solid haunted attractions, which unfortunately are here. I was not at all, but not at all entertained by this ugliness. Story 3/5, Action 1/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 0/5 Music 1/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 3/5. 2/10.

More of a dramedy than a comedy, but decent by Czech standards. An adult film about adult people and adult problems. Marek Taclík takes care of most of the humour and Jana Plodková hypnotizes with her beautiful body. The finale is quite emotionally strong also thanks to the well-chosen musical score. Yeah not bad. 6/10.

Hollywood is done, Korea dulez!! The combination of Netflix and South Korea is the best thing anyone has ever thought of, and it has once again resulted in an awesome spectacle with all the Korean parameters, traits and attributes, and the same big names have come together to make South Korea a powerful mainstream hit that is shaking up the world. A variation on Battle Royale and Hunger Games along the lines of Japan's Alice in Borderland has never been more entertaining, smart and disturbing. Squid Game follows the die-hard Korean template and has all the elements every fan expects: an original twisted theme, perfectly written and acted characters with strong progression and changes, the requisite dose of action, violence and high body-count, built-up suspense, believable twists, ornate visuals, compelling dialogue, well-conceived melodrama toying with the audience's emotions, and it wouldn't be Korean if there wasn't also people trafficking. Only the Koreans can incorporate so many elements and present it confidently with a raised middle finger, and they do it again with clarity and breathlessness. Episode 6 is probably the strongest for me and the reveal of the White Horse put a smile on my face, I didn't expect it in the least. Excellent Job. I loved the cameo by Gong Yoo and Lee Jeong-jae in the lead, but in a very unconventional role. Story 5/5, Action 4/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 9/10.