EvilPhoEniX

An uninteresting, unfunny road movie from New Zealand with unlikeable characters. I was quite looking forward to it, but I didn't get anything interesting, I didn't laugh even once and instead of entertainment I was rather bored. Not good. 30%.

A postmodern, feminist, politically incorrect, social-media and, most importantly, disturbing thriller that offers a little bit of everything and mixes multiple genres at once, including the excellent home invasion, revenge and grindhouse. Definitely not a film for everyone, but I enjoyed every second of it. The very idea of private details and photos being leaked onto the internet is disturbing in itself and when it happens to half the city suddenly there is uncompromising anarchy and chaos. The acting is first class, audiovisually the film is impressive and rightly far-fetched. There are executions, kidnappings, nudity, eroticism, suicide, humiliation and killing. I don't think I've ever seen a more intense teen massacre. Interesting line from the film: “When i grow up, I wanna be a director and only make male rape revenge films. Like Deliverance? Ew no. That's gross. I want it to be sexy. Like, if someone remade Straw Dogs, but instead of Susan George getting raped, Dustin Hoffman gets raped.” 80%.

Fede Alvarez, the director of the Evil Dead remake and the thriller Don't Breathe, has a go at the action genre with a well-known book and, though I would have been happier if he had stuck to horror, he doesn't put spy action thrillers to shame. I liked Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander and she is unexpectedly deft in the action. Story-wise the film doesn't surprise that much, though there are a few plot twists, but none outright breathtaking, and the action itself is very accomplished, especially the original sniper finale enriched with elements I don't think I've seen before. The contact fights are also good. It's not as good as the Swedish trilogy or David Fincher's version, but the film didn't offend in the cinema and those who are in the mood for a spy action flick shouldn't be downright disappointed. Visually and directorially it was done to perfection. 70%

Belgium comes up with a stylish and raw gangster flick that won't leave fans of similar films cold. In the 1980s, Belgium was in the grip of a gang of ruthless thieves who left a trail of dead bodies in their wake, and they didn't care if they were women or children. They were never caught, and that doesn't play into the hands of Valken and his crew, who are now the prime suspects. The performances are excellent (Olivier Gourmet is classically great and I also liked the policewoman plpayed by Lubna Azabal). It's nicely Western, dynamic, adrenaline-fuelled, twisted and properly manly. Belgium pulled it off. 80%.

Pierre Morel's weakest film, it's a wonder that after a three-year break he came up with a completely bland B-movie that seems to have fallen out of the 90s. Thankfully Jennifer Garner is hot and she's pretty pissed off the whole movie, so watching her for 102 minutes doesn't hurt at all, but action-wise there's not much to stand for and the story follows the same template. I wasn't bored, but that's not enough for Morel. 60%

Once again I was lured by a decent trailer, but in the end I got an generic demonic movie that differs from its competitors only by the attractive setting of a morgue. A technically solid horror film with a decent opening exorcism, a likeable protagonist and the chilling corpse of Hanna, but I can't write more praise about it. The jump-scares are of the cheapest kind and only work on viewers unfamiliar with horror. The finale ends before you realise it even started and the few horror elements occasionally conjure up a decent atmosphere, but most of the time it's more like wandering around the morgue and nothing much of note happens. 45%

I'm very satisfied, unless you count the fact that I went to the cinema three times, as I didn't get to see the film because tickets were sold out. I liked the world of Harry Potter because great wizard fantasy is scarce, so when it was discontinued I had no choice but to hope something similar would come along, and Fantastic Beasts is a great substitute (like The Hobbit for Lord of the Rings). Compared to Harry the casting is much better. Johnny Depp as the bad guy is excellent and finally appears in a film that won't flop financially, Jude Law as the young Dumbledore is great, and though I don’t Eddie Redmayne’s weird expression, he is a young undoubtedly talented Oscar winning actor, so it's worth a try. The production design is great and the return to the familiar world is pleasantly nostalgic, the numerous Easter Eggs are a delight, the action is decently handled, although there isn't much of it, and the finale with the blue fire dragon is spectacular. I can strongly feel that the cards are still being dealt and something big is being promised, but I don't mind it at all, because the first two episodes of Harry Potter were similar and since Azkaban it's was a ride. I'm looking forward to the pentalogy. 75%.

The Coens may have a lot of filmmaking years under their belt, but reviving a half-dead genre and enriching it with a short story style is a very good idea and definitely makes for good entertainment. The first two stories are absolute carnage and the best of the western genre of the last ten years, with no sparing of black-sarcastic humour and a decent dose of violence, so I think it's a great pity that the remaining four short stories are much slower (I'd skip the third and sixth altogether). The fourth one impresses with the idea, the setting and the surprising finale, and the fifth one has a slower pace, but the action-packed ending is satisfying enough including an unexpected twist. Overall, then, I'm satisfied, it's playful, absurd, gritty, funny and smart enough to keep the viewer's attention, but if the whole film had stuck to the opening two stories, we'd be talking about the best film of the year. 70%

A pretty decent retro period male gangster film from Spain with an excellent Luis Tosar - you don’t know whether he’s a good or bad guy until the very end. In terms of the direction and acting, the film is definitely good, but the pace is a bit too slow for my taste and the action is not much and it doesn't exactly dazzle either. I was looking forward to it, wishing I liked it more, but I can't give it more than three stars. Still, I don't regret watching it. 65%.

I haven't seen the original Papillon and I admit I've never even heard of it, so I'm actually glad for the remake and even though I can't compare, I'm definitely impressed with this film. In terms of the cast, the film is quite packed with the great Charlie Hunnam, the likeable Rami Malek or Michael Noer's famous Danish friend Roland Møller, whom I respect in every film. I like prison movies and this isolated island setting with its harsh rules suited me very well. The escape finale is built up to the max and there are a few fights and one great decapitation. Thrilling, entertaining, well acted and well shot. For me a great satisfaction and if it was not a remake this film would be in the red. 80%