EvilPhoEniX

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%

This house is definitely not on the feft! The days of home invasions with an exploitative edge are definitely over. Rape, revenge and gore are not modern anymore, they have been replaced by boring dialogues and substituted for drama which doesn't work because there is a lack of well written characters. One pretty woman, one gore scene and a rather interesting twist, that's woefully short even by my standards. Most of the time nothing much interesting or exciting happens here, the home invasion terror element is missing, there’s no proper Inferno, no savagery, no screaming takes. The makers are stingy with the blood, the film shot in a plain way, without any camera flourishes. The ambition to shock is missing and the purpose to entertain is definitely not there either. It didn't impress me, it didn't entertain me, it annoyed me. Story 3/5, Action 2/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 2/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 4.5/10.

A cheaper but decent horror adventure comedy from Czechia! The story focuses on two youtubers, one of them is getting tired of it, so they decide to do one last video for the fans: a documentary about the mystery of the nice crosses, featuring even a Bloody Bride! As a comedy, it is funny mainly thanks to Štěpán Kozub (knowing his previous works is an advantage). His acting style and more abrasive humour are always welcome for me. The film has a nice pace, good actors and a lot of interesting ideas and especially an unexpected ending where a buddy-comedy with ghosts turns into a minor splatter, and I like that. Story 3/5, Action 2/5, Humour 4/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 4/5. 7.5/10.

A great prequel that is the guilty pleasure of the year for me, and the most entertaining heist film this year, leaving Red Notice biting the dust. The skilful Matthias Schweighöfer directs and plays the main character and he is again very funny, likeable and fair. The rest of the team is also a good, with the wonderful Nathalie Emmanuel and Stuart Martin, who looks like a Wolverine lookalike. The story is pretty straightforward but incredibly stylish and entertaining throughout. The opening of the safes not only has an interesting mythological background, but also suitable and attractive locations (Paris, Prague, St. Moritz), and the unlocking itself must be to the locksmiths what The Queen’s Gambit was to chess players, an imaginary climax. I was surprised by the fights. There weren't many, but when it came to them I immediately thought of the stylish Matthew Vaughn, with slow motion, camera angles, R-rated action – Awesome! Visually, it very good, the wisecracks work, and there are plenty of them. I was also surprised by the quite unexpected twists and the dream sequences with zombie have something to them as well. The title scene with the Army Of The Dead tie-in is also great. I haven't had as much fun as I did here in a long time, though there a few little things are missing for a full score (Gore and zombies are more attractive to me than safes, but still a very well spent two hours). Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humour 4/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Tension 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10.

Paranormal Activity: Found Footage Revival! I'm not a fan of Paranormal Activity or found footage, but I'm very pleased with this one. It's clear that the film will divide audiences into three camps, with two being the disgruntled ones: those who expect more PA and those who love found footage. I welcomed the new direction and made it through the 90 minute horror ride in one breath. The found footage genre had a boom a few years back and has been on the decline for the last few years, which is perhaps a good thing because now it's showing up modernized and in full force, and it works great. By horror standards the film has an attractive plot where we get a glimpse into an Amish community, which makes it incredibly attractive, engaging, disturbing and interesting from the very beginning. Somewhere around the 45 minute-mark some very unpleasant things start to happen, bringing a strong cannonade of intense jump-scares, dark music, a surprisingly decent portion of three twists, I think, and a great half hour finale with a demon that makes you clench your ass and hold your breath even an hour after watching it. I liked the digestible cinematography and the fact that even though, the makers were inspired more by The Blair Witch Project, unlike that film, they had the balls to show something. I was also surprised by the cool slow-mo effects shots and the pretty chaotic carnage in the finale. Some scenes even made me consider a full score. Eubank is definitely a director who can still bring a lot of new things to the genre, and I'm already curious to see what he comes up with next. I want a double feature immediately, Next of Kin is, along with The Deep House, this year's biggest haunted attraction. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10.

This is London, where someone has died in every room of every building and on every street corner of the city. I like Edgar Wright very much, everything he does. Baby Driver, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim were no fluke and this retro mystery horror outing is very well done, in fact I'm surprised at how satisfied I am. There is a mix of genres throughout the film, but thankfully it all holds together and not once does it fall apart under the director's hands. It mixes drama, retro-crime, coming-of-age, dreamy fantasy, horror and mysterious psycho thriller. The whole thing relies on the excellent young actresses Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy, my darling and who excels again. The horror elements are impressive, there are some pretty nasty scares as well as a few brutal scenes, so in that respect I'm satisfied. The retro soundtrack, atmosphere, engaging plot with a surprising climax, strong stylization and very well-written dialogue are also good. It's definitely not a pure horror film, but it's a good enough film in almost every respect, so I have nothing to complain about. Together with Malignant, the most outstanding mainstream genre film this year. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humour 1/5, Violence 3/5, Entertainment 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 5/5. 8.5/10.

An enjoyable Czech family comedy, and one of the best been made in the country in recent times. It’s not as good as Waking Up Yesterday, but definitely better than average. The humour is good, Jiří Mádl and Tereza Ramba are a great duo and it has a very feel-good atmosphere. I had fun. 75% .