EvilPhoEniX

An excellent action ride and one of the best gang war films I've seen from South Korea. The Black Dragon gang comes to Korea from China to collect money from people who don't pay, and those who don't pay lose an arm or a leg. The local gang don't like that and of course the police, ruled by the absolutely fantastic Ma Dong-Seok (the guy is quite possibly the biggest current Korean star, his upcoming nine films are awesome), and here he takes down almost everyone on KO. Yoon Kye-sang does a very good villain again, he's the only one who can technically punch even though he often uses an axe or a knife. There is a lot of action, almost every moment there is some kind of brawl or someone getting hacked to pieces. The pace is very dynamic, the great visuals are a given, there are plenty of fights, they are more like street fights with knives, axes, baseball bats, but very good and decently brutal. I like that the film looks very real, it is not exaggerated, it does not play for effect, every blow hurt, even me, and when an arm is broken at the you have the feeling that it was really broken. The highlights are definitely the big gang clash in the hotel and the final fight in the toilet (technique vs force), which is begging for a fifth star. In the end I'll give a very strong four stars because I think it lacked a twist or a more interesting story, but otherwise I'm totally satisfied. Asia is having a very successful year. 85%.

Steven Soderberg has never convinced me with his direction, but I loved this redneck version of Ocean’s Eleven. A very entertaining and likeable film with an enjoyable cast (Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig and Hilary Swank are excellent) and quite possibly one of the most thoughtful and original heist films I've ever had the opportunity to see. There's the occasional funny scene, no shortage of tension, great chemistry between the characters and I really stared with rapt attention for the final 40 minutes. A very nice surprise, I hadn't even hoped for such satisfaction. Almost 5 stars. 85%.

A decent film from an exotic setting with a young James McAvoy as a doctor and Forest Whitaker as a dictator in Kampala. I was expecting something grittier and more intense due to the theme and the harsh setting, but thankfully I didn't slip into boredom. Still, the film left me somewhat cold. 65%

I'm surprised I hadn't seen the film until today. A great comedy at a time when Adam Sandler was still making funny and decent films. The film impresses mainly because of its idea and the humour that derives from it. I had a good laugh. 80%.

The Koreans come again with another original premise, but in my opinion they failed to exploit it to the fullest. The idea of victims coming back to life to take revenge on their killers, as they were not punished enough, definitely sounds attractive, but it is a pity that the film focuses on only one case, which is not very interesting. There are a few familiar faces but no big stars, there is virtually no action, no violence and even with an unusually short running time of 91 minutes the film drags quite a bit, especially in the middle. The final denouement is okay, but nothing groundbreaking. It's good for one viewing, but not great. 60%

Takashi Miike is a director who sometimes suits me and sometimes not at all, but his 100th film is quite possibly one of his best ever, the best samurai romp I've ever seen. The very charismatic main character is a one-eyed, scarred and immortal samurai who survives alone in the woods, his life is spiced up by a little girl who seeks him out to help avenge the death of her father, who was killed by a clan of ruthless samurai led by the heartless Anotsu. The movie mixes my two favorite elements of the revenge and road movie genres and I watched it in one breath. During the journey to find Anotsu, the main character must fight his way through his cronies. Each villain is excellent, has perfect looks, amazing costumes and great skills (I have never seen so many interesting villains in one movie). There is plenty of action, of course, and it's a decent massacre, with blood spurting slowly from the screen and limbs flying around the living room. Visually it's gorgeous, story-wise it's engaging, the pacing is dynamic, the costumes and all manner of samurai weaponry are simply a joy to behold. No one else in the world can make a better samurai film than the Japanese, as they showed in Rurouni Kenshin. A great experience. 90%

Replace is another fine body horror film in a similar vein to Contracted, Starry Eyes, Thanatomorphose, Bite and Let Her Out, I liked them all and Replace brings something new to the small subgenre again. The main character starts suffering from skin problems, her skin starts to age and peel off quickly (not pretty to look at). The doctors don't know what to do so she has to experiment on her own and finds she can replace her skin with another, but it takes a toll: she has to kill and flay another pretty lady. A very interesting and offbeat film from Canada that has elements of lesbian drama, neon-colored visuals that reminded me of Dario Argento's giallo in places, and an interesting plot with a solid twist that you just don't see in horror films. There's some gore and lots of exposed boobs, so definitely satisfaction. 75%.

That didn't sit right with me at all. I went into the film without any knowledge of the source material, but even the decent acting and fabulous visuals didn't pull me out of the ultimate boredom, where I fell asleep for twenty minutes for perhaps the first time ever in the cinema. I found Hercule Poirot to be a very uninteresting detective and Kenneth Branagh with his horrible accent didn't add much to it. I didn't find his detective work interesting at all, so the only good thing is the final reveal, which I didn't expect and certainly surprised me. The film is neither suspenseful nor dark at all, the dialogues are not very interesting and there is only one murder, this is simply not a film for me. 45%

There aren't many expected horror movies left before the end of the year, I'm not even sure if we'll get anything interesting yet, but Mayhem is definitely worth a look, although I expected more based on the trailer. Mayhem certainly doesn't escape comparison with the recent The Belko Experiment. We're slowly building a new subgenre of office rat, but as with The Belko Experiment, Mayhem falls short of the promised carnage potential – with 300 employees, the lack of gore is unforgivable. The film also has a rather slower pace and is very talky, and though there is some witty and intelligent dialogue at the same time (which perhaps explains the 80% on the Rotten Tomatoes), I wasn't overwhelmed by immense fun and excitement. I loved the seductive Samara Weaving, last seen in the sexy The Babysitter (could she be a new horror star?), the interesting and well chosen main characters (the likeable protagonist, the tough boss and his bodyguard). The action is decently filmed, dynamic and the fights are pretty badass, but it’s all sorely lacking a scene I'd like to watch again or something that would downright knock me on my ass. The entertainment is decent though and you won't find many films like this, but there's no reason to get too excited here, even though there should be. 65%

A decent war film with Taliban starring a likeable Diane Kruger and the cool Djimon Hounsou. France has shown it can handle this genre too and it's not too different from an American production. There's quite a lot of shooting, but it bothered me that the film isn't R-rated and the shootouts aren't that exciting. But the second half switches more into survival and that also decided the final four stars. 70%