EvilPhoEniX

I hate this cashgrab movie! The first blockbuster of the year where I physically suffered to finish watching it. The Matrix trilogy was revolutionary, but I'm not as die-hard a fan as others, so from the new Matrix I expected at least an entertaining action film, and what I got was an insanely talky romantic crap with cheap effects, boring actors, uninteresting dialogue, a convoluted plot where I was downright lost, a slapdash pace, and damn painfully dull and uninteresting PG-13 action – it was a shock. Just about everything was wrong here, and there wasn't a single scene that I liked in the least, which for a property like this is a big bad. Jupiter Matrix Fail. A downright offensive movie. Story 2/5, Action 1/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 2/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 1/5, Emotion 0/5, Actors 3/5. 3/10.

Definitely one of the better Czech fairy tales of the last few years. The acting and directing were very good, but the plot itself was not to my taste. I prefer more classic fantasy and fairy tale features. 6/10.

Adam Mckay and political comedy satire at it's best! The timing for this film couldn't be better. I'll admit I had low expectations, it's not exactly my cup of tea and I'm definitely shocked that it ended up being one of the best films with the most stellar cast this year. The film benefits the most with an attractive (read topical) plot where two low level astronomers discover an approaching comet that is hurtling straight towards our planet and it's funny that no one actually cares about it properly. DiCaprio is traditionally excellent (the scene where his nerves snap is a clear acting highlight), but for me the film was pulled mostly by Jennifer Lawrence, who stole most of the scenes to herself and made it clear that she is a strong rival to Sandra Bullock in the battle for the Oscars. The dramatic and tense moments worked well, giving me goosebumps several times. The film has so many amazing and memorable scenes where I said to myself many times “this is powerful!”, and I definitely don't say that often with conversational films. The humor wasn't the strongest point, but that didn't bother me that much. I also liked Ariana Grande's performance and the epic sci-fi finale of Emmerich proportions with a downright top notch post-credit scene. Stylish, apt, funny, disturbing, entertaining and very chilling. Netflix got their shit together and once again made one of the films of the year. A filmmaking and acting treat that I will happily repeat. Story 5/5, Action 2/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10.

A video game zombie flick that will disappoint gamers, but will delight the fans of zombie movie. For me, better built than the series with Anderson. Right from the start the film establishes a dark and intense atmosphere backed by a hell of a soundtrack (excellent, by the way), and goes from one action scene to the next, which in today's flood of romantic chick flicks, dramas and musicals is slowly becoming a rarity. The characters are more likeable than anyone from Dawn of the Dead, but I agree that Leon in particular, who was supposed to be the driving force, is more of a nuisance in the end. I liked the incredible load of jump-scares, which any ghost movie would happily give an arm for, the zombie make-up effects are also okay, and the gore could have been more, but by today's horror standards I think it's enough. There wasn't much time for story, characters and slowly even dialogue, it gets down to business straight away and the priority is zombies and carnage, and I bloody love that. It's not a good movie but it's an entertaining guilty pleasure, enough to make me okay with it. It still amazes me that people shake their heads at characters acting stupid in horror movies, it's like going to the zoo and wondering if there are animals there. The visual effects are weak at times, but hell, in Dawn of the Dead they didn't even have the budget for zombie make-up. Along with Army of the Dead the only zombie winners this year. Story 2/5, Action 4/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 3/5. 7/10.

The Advent Calendar was one of the last horror films of the year that had a chance to break through, but unfortunately it too will only rank among the more mediocre pieces. It is getting quite a bit of praise abroad, but I guess that's more because it's primarily a drama with light horror elements, and people usually like that. It's a story about an attractive girl in a wheelchair who gets an antique advent calendar from a friend. She has to eat a chocolate every day and the surprise that appears will cost a few people their lives. The premise is fine, and if the makers had been more playful and daring this could have been a little sibling to The Final Destination, but there was not a single kill that grabbed me, there's hardly any atmosphere or suspense, and the only thing on the horror side that I liked is a decent-looking demon, but it doesn't appear very often. The rest of it wasn't worth much. Too bad, France their feet too close to the ground, the film drags quite a bit at times, but thanks to the original premise and a few interesting scenes it's not downright discardable. Story 3/5, Action 1/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 3/5. 5/10.

One of the best Czech films (comedy) in recent years. Great characters, mid-life crisis, funny, touching, entertaining and well acted. I recommend it. The film and the premise are on par, and most importantly it features about 50 Czech well-known actors, which was a damn pleasure. Hofmann again is the best. 8/10.

This year's Spanish gem in partnership with Netflix scores again and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a sort of Spanish variation on Bonnie and Clyde combining multiple genres in one, and while it may seem simpler in terms of plot, there's absolutely nothing to fault in terms of filmmaking. It's a story about an introverted young man who gets involved with the wrong crowd and becomes a teenage gangster, and I'm kind of inherently sympathetic to that theme. It's true to life, there's a lot of truth, working emotions, romance, and decent action. The dramatic moments are great too, they have a properly steamy atmosphere thanks to great performances. There's a twist or two, and you could say the film is decent entertainment as well, which shouldn't offend either women or men – everyone will find their own thing here. Definitely a film that deserves more attention. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 8/10.

It's been 12 years since one of the immensely popular online games “League of Legends” and we've finally seen the first project, and of course thanks to Netflix for making true the dream all nerds, gameboys and anime freaks. If it wasn't for them we might have to waity another 10 years. For my part I feel a strong foundation here to create a similar universe to Marvel, I wouldn't be surprised at all if there are like 5-10 different series with different characters, and we’ll an Avengers style carnage in the finale, that would be cool. I've been playing the game for a few years now so I was really looking forward to it, and while Arcane is a great thing in many ways, there were still a few things that didn't quite satisfy me as I'd hoped they would. It’s a story about two sisters, about war and peace, about loyalty and betrayal, about the rich and the poor, all mixed together in a nice steampunk animation that is really beautiful. The music is good too, with at least three tracks already running in my playlist, the emotions work, the story is interesting and engaging enough, and the action is great too, but there is less of it than I would have expected and wanted for my taste. It's CGI, it's the game, and the makers have bet more on the now popular drama and story, albeit of top quality, but it's a shame that not a single action scene matches even one CGI trailer from Riot. What also slightly bothered me was the fact that for how dark, adult and evil everything is, how little blood there is, and I would definitely have liked to see more involvement from other game characters (I felt there were too many random and side or unknown characters featured). Even though I come across as slightly disappointed and my expectations aren't quite met, this is still one of Netflix's best crafted anime series and a rightfully deserved hit this year. Best Character: Jinx (Harley Quinn) Story 4/5, Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 8.5/10.

Even my least favorite genre can surprise once every five years and this is definitely one of those exceptions. Along with Cherry, the best, most intense drama of the year. It's a bit of drama with crime elements, which is fine, it's not some socially boring shit for introverts and pensioners, but a properly uncomfortable and gritty film from a harsh setting and a harsh reality, with Sandra Bullock reaching for an Oscar and giving one of the best female performances of the last couple of years. (I believed her all the way.) It’s the story of a woman who is released from prison after 20 years for one of the worst crimes, shooting a police officer. A harsh return to a reality that definitely does not treat such people nicely and the pain is just about everywhere (housing, work, wherever). Great atmosphere, excellent soundtrack, amazing actors (apart from Sandra, Jon Bernthal, Vincent D'Onofrio and Viola Davis are also brilliant), with tense and stifling scenes that instantly give you goosebumps, and the emotions escalate so that at the end tears just flow whether you want them or not, and most of there are all a load of pretty decent twists and turns, with the final one being one of the best in a long time. One of those movies where after it's over I think to myself, this was damn good and I'd love to see it again. Netflix hit one of the genre highlights of the year.Story 5/5, Action 2/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10.

The end of a great era. The End Game amongst the series and it's a very worthy, serious, spectacular and impressive five-year ending to something that changed my life, changed my perspective on movies, and had me emotionally choked up and tugging at my balls for five years. The only series I've watched twice and one of the few that contains absolutely every cinematic element, attribute and sub-genre honed to perfection. Money Heist has sex appeal and balls that creates, redefines and enhances the heist subgenre to absolute perfection. For me, the series of all series that made me squint with tension, gasp, cry with sadness and emotion, scream a fan at the world championship during action scenes, immediately pick up pencil and paper during philosophical musings of the Professor, and smile beautifully from ear to ear. The here dialogue was scripted by God himsel, the music was shaped by a genius, the characters were chosen by a master, and the twists were served up by an abnormal talent. I have absolutely no compliants or quibbles about each of the seasons. The finale is once again thought through and once again the creators prove that they are definitely not running out of ideas. It's remarkable to look back at the series, how already in 2017 they knew what was going to happen in season 5. Of course, the series has detractors, but for me it's just a handful of posers who are both trying to make themselves visible, interesting and look more intelligent than the entire crew that was involved in the writing. Ha! Jokes on you bitc*hes. Story 5/5, Action 5/5, Humour 4/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 100%