EvilPhoEniX

The anticipated exploitation flick The Farm unfortunately failed to live up to expectations and the curse on my favorite subgenre continues. The story revolves around a couple who accidentally end up at a local farm where a group of uncommunicative people in masks keep tourists in cages and treat them like animals. The idea itself is perverse enough, and the women being artificially inseminated to supply milk to the local restaurant is quite powerful, but there’s no gore (apart from one shot), and the acting is appalling to the point of amateurishness. You have no connection to the characters, the music is quite wacky but doesn't build tension or momentum, it's quite slow and uninteresting in places, and the finale is unfortunately neither action-packed nor satisfying. It's a shame about the unused theme. The whole film builds on a perverse idea that could have benefited from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but nothing worthy of attention is delivered. For me, I don't recommend it. 40%.

The story focuses on a professional hitman who has to kill someone and deliver their body to a certain place, but the dragging corpse wrapped in plastic gets people on the streets excited and becomes the attraction of the evening. Tom Bateman plays the professional with enthusiasm and leaves no witness alive, but the murders didn't particularly interest me and at times it comes across as too silly. Fortunately, the series keeps a decent pace and doesn't get boring. The participation of Pablo from Ash vs Evil Dead is also a pleasure.

The Hungarians present the case of a brutal serial killer who murdered young women in 1960s socialist Hungary. It is a very nice surprise that captures the story, the atmosphere and the form of treatment, and the case itself is more than interesting. A sleazy killer is based around the Hungarian countryside, picking off random victims while an innocent guy is wrongly convicted and stuck in prison. The murders are pretty decently brutal and the killer even likes to strip his women, and I really enjoyed the young determined cop who tries to catch the killer while proving the innocence of the wrongly convicted man. A very decent piece of work from Hungary. 75%

The Poles are trying to follow the example of the French and the Spaniards, and they are definitely going in the right direction, but they still fall short of their quality. This film is a bit reminiscent of Wild Tales and maybe even draws a bit from it, but script-wise it's somewhat underdeveloped, although the finale is good, everything fits together nicely, but the typical shock effect doesn't come through. The humour works occasionally and boredom doesn't set in, but it could have been a lot better with a better director. Still, a cautious thumbs up for the Poles. 65%.

David Mackenzie is awesome and after Hell or High Water he serves up the best historical film of the decade with the excellent Chris Pine improving film by film. Absolutely everything works here, the accurate history, the spectacular production design, the impressive costumes and sets (gorgeous castles), the naked queen is not missing, the impressive milking of emotions throughout the film, and most importantly, the spectacular battles where blood and bodies are certainly not spared. The scene with the horses is an absolute highlight of the genre and will probably make horse lovers cry. High praise also goes to Douglas, who steals most of the scenes for himself and is horrifically brutal in them. A wonderful and near-perfect film and experience, where my only regret is that I couldn't see it on the big screen. One of the best films of the year. After a second viewing the enthusiasm has waned slightly, but still good. 80%

The ultimate guilty pleasure and the best war horror movie ever. Hereditary is the most essential horror film of the year, Ghostland the most intense, A Quiet Place the most original and Overlord is the most emotional and brutal. Overlord serves up a whirlwind of eye-candy attractions from the 5th minute that don’t let up and leave you gasping for breath until the closing credits. A technically perfect polished action spree with breathtaking cinematography, an atmosphere driven by a nostalgic “Wolfenstein”, a likeable bunch of soldiers whose fate you care about and spectacular action backed by juicy gore. The make-up artists are incredibly skilled and serve up some very nice shots. The film manages to build solid tension on several occasions, there is no shortage of shocking jump scares and killing Nazis has never been more effective and entertaining in a film than here. There are fewer zombies, but they are all the more unstoppable bastards. Story-wise, the film doesn't wow, but anyone expecting Oscar nominations from a WWII horror film is out of their mind. Here clearly form wins over content, which not everyone will buy, but those who agree to the rules of the film will literally gush with excitement and thrill. It's a pity that Overlord probably won't make it to local cinemas, it will lose its charm at home on TV. The last time I left the cinema this excited was Deadpool 2 this year.

The Swedes deliver a solid mix of genres and if it wasn't for the slow first half, it would be a blast. The first forty minutes are really excruciatingly slow and I think a few viewers will give up on the film. There are some pretty unlikeable characters so it's a bit odd to watch, but then it's like the director changes and some very shocking and eye pleasing stuff happens, mixing the catastrophe genre with thriller and mystery. The Swedes have made a really brave piece where unpleasant things happen, but they don't reveal the cause of the threat, which makes it original, and I think with the last shot they risk a world war. Anyway, visually the film is shot very capably, the music is reminiscent of Hans Zimmer, the action is very realistic and there is unexpectedly a lot of it (dead birds falling from the sky, numerous crashes, falling helicopters, a power plant explosion, one very solid fight, and a gritty grand finale). It's also nicely suspenseful and the atmosphere works, exploiting the viewer's uncertainty, so there are many elements to praise. Just a pity about the first half which slightly spoils the impression. Still, an admirable achievement. 75%

A solid debut and Danish one man show starring Jakob Cedergren. The main character is a former police officer with a troubled past who works on the 112 emergency line, and just before his shift ends he gets a call that turns his night into a stressful, exhausting and challenging one. The film takes place entirely in the office and the camera never leaves the protagonist's side for a minute. It features a realistic performance backed by decent dialogues and a fine plot, and the director delivers a solid twist at the end. The film is indeed nicely suspenseful and emotional in places, but, it didn't pull me in as much as I had hoped. Yet I give it a thumbs up and it's definitely worth seeing. 75%

The anticipated third season is different than the two previous ones, but still excellent. Rather than typical Marvel, the series is close to those dark thrillers from the 90s where the bad guys rule (Kingpin has everyone under his thumb) and the new villain Bullseye is cool. Matt Murdock is really destroyed in this series, losing everything, learning to fight again, training and regaining his powers. He doesn't even put on his suit for the whole series and I'm not that satisfied action-wise (apart from the prison scene, nothing really impressed me), but the amount of twists, emotions, thick atmosphere and impressive dialogue is enough to make me extremely satisfied with the third season. 85%

Spike Lee made a decidedly interesting film about the first black cop and his infiltration of the Ku Klux Klan, which is both unprecedented and attractive stuff, but it lacked balls. John David Washington is unexpectedly good and if he becomes a star I won't be angry at all. Adam Driver surprised me as well and Jasper Pääkkönen was a proper sleazeball. The film is a bit too long for my taste and offers no eye candy sequences; it’s emotionally cold, there’s no action empty, and the humour passed me by, but still I wasn't bored and finished it with curiosity without any problems. But I am not the target audience.60%