EvilPhoEniX

Netflix surprised with a decent Danish thriller about infidelity. The film starts out as a classic drama/thriller about a married couple where everything seems to be going fine until the wife starts suspecting the husband of infidelity, and of course the husband does have a mistress. I like the fact that it doesn't behave like a classic infidelity thriller, but unravels a much bigger and more interesting mystery that makes the film appropriately quite unpredictable. It's interesting what direction the film eventually starts to take, and the outright first twist manages to properly shock (and the ones that follow are very good as well). You can say that the atmosphere and suspense works too; there is a little crime investigation and a pretty intelligent decision by the wife. Thanks to a playful script, decent actors and a fine atmosphere, this is an honest genre film that shouldn't offend anyone, on the contrary it can please most. Despite the slower pace, I enjoyed it very much. 7/10.

Best UFO movie in decade? Nope. Actually god damn YES! Jordan Peele is back and will once again divide audiences into two camps, though this time he'll get a bigger ovation than he did with the overrated Us thanks to the awesome material. Peele is a bit unconventional here, the social undertones aren’t as intense as in his previous films, there is a fair amount of humour and there are considerably fewer symbols and metaphors, yet he's made a unique and impressive genre film that again isn't as horror as it could have been, but I'm very pleased. Nope is definitely a horror film that manages to win the audience over with its strong cinematic aspects, and it looks really beautiful, especially in IMAX. The cinematography by Hoytema is a masterpiece in itself, some of the shots are breathtaking (and that's not something you see often in the horror genre), and the casting is great. Kaluuya is good, but next to Keke Palmer he seemed slightly like a shadow, because here she gives perhaps the strongest female performance in 15 years (emotions, screaming, speech, voice), an absolute acting tour-de-force from an unknown actress, whom I immediately want to see somewhere else. The music is well chosen and especially the atmosphere works fantastically, it's very uncomfortable, creepy, weird and unnerving in places. There are quite a few exciting and spectacular horror scenes that I will remember in the future (The chimp, a house covered in blood, a horse's head in a car, the digestive process of the villain and the screaming of the dead still ring in my ears). I'm perhaps only the final act away from a full score, which ironically is weaker than the previous ones (most people complain about the action-packed finale, but I wouldn't call it so, you can immediately imagine a spectacular Secret War style alien massacre and it doesn't really happen). I just wasn't sure if I liked the final scene or not, but you can't deny the creativity. Peele will definitely be making horror films in the future and I'd quite like to see a slasher or pure ghost story from him. Better than Arrival for me. Story 4/5 Humour 2/5 Violence 3/5 Fun 4/5 Music 4/5 Visuals 5/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Suspense 4/5 Emotion 4/5 Actors 5/5 Total: 8/10.

A decent survival flick with lions in the Savannah. If you accept the fact that Beast is a horror B-movie with no higher ambitions, serving only as a survival action/thriller with a bloodthirsty lion, it can be reliably enjoyed. If you start addressing the script – is anyone really addressing the script here? really? Only an intellectual brat can expect twists and turns and a compelling plot here. That sometimes someone doesn't act logically? Well, kids don't think, they act, and not everyone is logical, so I find these criticisms completely silly and irrelevant, but back to the film. It starts slower and gradually introduces us to the main characters. I appreciate the fact that there are not a bunch of stupid teenagers, but a family with a father and two daughters, whom the viewer can root for far more than annoying teens, plus Idris Elba is a likeable doctor, so he knows what to do in a situation like this probably more than any of the grumbling viewers, and Sharlto Copley as a zoologist and their guide (his dialogues about nature and animals are informative and fine) hugging with the lions is just great. Once the first encounter with El Diabolo takes, the real survival fun begins. The lion has great CGI, so that's a big plus (no one wants those rubber and plush animals seen in other similar movies), and he plays his role as villain perfectly. His entrance is scary and uncomfortable, he looks properly bad ass and they quite smartly explain why he does what he does, which I wasn't expecting. I also enjoyed the great visuals, the beautiful cinematography rounding off the African landscape there could have been more animals, I was hoping for a crocodile but was pleased with the snake at least), decent music, decent action (the scene with the poachers is pretty atmospheric), plenty of suspense and a few brutal shots (mutilated people), had there been some severed limbs I would have been very happy. The finale is a nice build up to 4 stars for me. An awesome intense duel that is brutal and raw (I thought of The Revenant right away) and a pretty clever ending. Beast is similar to Aja's Crawl, and anyone who loves animal horror like I do (if they are crafted with skill of course) should have little to complain. I was a bit disappointed with the music from the trailer, which wasn't in the film after all, I was looking forward to it, it sounded properly creepy. Beast meets those basic criteria, and that's enough for me, because genre films like this come out barely once a year. 7/10

Very nice surprise. The Good Neighbor seemed to me like an unremarkable thriller with a simple plot, ordinary actors, ordinary title and poster – well, in short, it was uninteresting – but I am all the more surprised by the honest old school thriller I got. The story revolves around David, who moves to Latvia to start a new life and befriends his neighbor David, who is rumored to be a weirdo. One night they go out for a drink to get to know each other better, but while driving home drunk they hit a woman on her bike, killing her, and a very unpleasant situation in their new town begins. David is a journalist and he gets to handle this case, which I thought was very cool and unconventional. David and Robert have to stick together to keep the truth from coming out and of course there will be obstacles. It's skillfully shot, very suspenseful, there's a pretty solid load of twists and turns, maybe every 20 minutes something interesting happens, sometimes predictable, but with that load I don't mind it at all, sometimes you wish something wouldn't happen and it does! There were even a few dead bodies (no gore but I didn't mind this time), I enjoyed the atmosphere and the whole situation escalates interestingly, and Rhys Meyers plays the weirdo really well. It has a touch of Nordic thrillers, maybe because of the setting in Riga, and I enjoyed it a lot and recommend it. Small but very effective and fun thriller. 75%

The Korean John Wick or a variation on The Man from Nowhere. Korea's summer season is on fire and this is another great entry into the action genre. Story-wise, it's an action classic that just won't get old. A retired hitman gets the nod to take care of a young teenage girl, but when he gets involved with the wrong people he has to not only save her, but kill a bunch of bad guys too. We're used to more convoluted and original stories in Korea, but when there are top visuals and great action, there's not much to complain about, unless you're an intellectual brat and universally hated nitpick. Jang Hyuk is a new rising Korean star who has already impressed me in the blockbuster The Swordsman and here he proves once again that he has what it takes to be a solid action hero. He doesn't have the charisma of Lee Byung-hun, and it's not as good as Man from Nowhere – that one had stronger emotions and a more interesting story, but there's no point in comparing all the time. The main character does everything one cool expression and I liked that. They could have shown a flashback of his past, we don't learn much about him, but there's simply no time for that because 90 minutes is not enough and the action is waiting. I think there is plenty of action and it's filmed well. The R-rating is used enough, the head shots in particular are cool, and there’s plenty of them! There's some decent fisticuffs or knife fights – Korea is the best at that, so they are a joy to watch. The best part is the longer passage in the brothel, where the body-count is about 50, and of course the final duel with the mailn villain, a Korean Russian dyed blonde, a first class scumbag and arrogant bastard, a pity he didn't get more space, because he could have become iconic, but the fight was really great. Quick exchanges, great cinematography, there were even knives – everything was there to keep me satisfied. It lacks something for a full score, but I'm satisfied, I enjoyed it. I'll never grow out of this. I'm glad Korea is still making these realistic and manly stories, because I wasn't impressed by the second Witch or Carter. Story 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 4/5, Action 5/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 8/10

Welcome to the motherfuckin’ Night Shift! JJ Perry made a dream debut, the best Netflix blockbuster and the best vampire movie in a decade or so at least. Fucking awesome carnage! I've never seen so many heads blown off and limbs ripped off in my life, the absolute pinnacle of bliss and satisfaction. John Wick crossed with Zombieland in a buddy comedy with insanely brutal and well shot action and a very cool imaginary world with vampires. Jamie Foxx is an incredible badass and likeable (quite possibly his best role ever). Dave Franco is also good as the weepy side-kick from the office, and Snoop Dogg, well he just stole the finale for himself – a black cowboy with a rotisserie and a cigar – stylish as fuck. Day Shift has an interesting and intelligently devised world with vampires where cool rules work. There's a bunch of innovative and effective ideas to disable the vampires, and I liked the trading of their teeth. I was also thrilled with the frantic cadence of wisecracks, it's an incredible melee, they should be carved in stone, I was rolling on the floor laughing, and the action is incredibly brutal, intense, choreographed with a lot of ideas and tons of honest to goodness gore. I will remember some of those fatalities, combos and kilts till my grave! There is also a good cameo by Adkins, literally kicking heads! I didn't mind anything at all, for me, this is an instant cult classic. Freakin’ Loved that shit. Works every time. Story 4/5, Humour 5/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10

A very pleasant surprise for me. Lightyear is an awesome animated sci-fi ride across time and space with really amazing technical aspects (the computer animation is revolutionary), fun characters (Buzz and Sox the cat rock), great action (robots Warhammer style, amazing), alien bugs, impressive alien landscape, plenty of humour and one unexpected twist. I found it not only entertaining, but also quite refreshing in the animation genre. I felt like I was watching a new sci-fi blockbuster with a compelling story and cool action, rather than a children's fairy tale, and I’m not far from a full rating. 8/10.

Interesting scare from the Dutch. The Dutch don't make many horror films and when they do, they usually aren't worth much. Moloch is one of those lighter moments, but it's still not great. It's a slow and atmospheric folk horror film that has an unusual setting, an interesting ancient curse, solid visuals and some pretty spectacular scares (there are two jump-scares that worked decently for me). Unfortunately, however, it's a bit boring at times and I found the characters very unlikeable and uninteresting, which is where it falls down a bit. It's quite that the haunting comes from normal people again, like in It Follows, it just doesn't grab me as much, but it will definitely find its fans, and since there is a horror drought now, it's recommendable. 5.5/10.

The hit series of the summer and a huge success for Apple. With most series I grumble about the unnecessary length (shortening episodes from eight to six etc.), but with Black Bird I found six episodes to be insufficient, because it is great to watch and there were so many interesting storylines that had to be rushed because of the shorter length, which is a shame because I wanted a hell of a lot more and that's the only reason why I’m not giving it a full score. Black Bird has a very appealing plot about a drug dealer who is going to serve a 10 year sentence, but gets an interesting offer from the FBI. He's moved to the toughest maximum security prison to get a confession from a serial killer and find out where he buried the women's bodies, because there’s a risk of him getting out, and the reward is freedom. There are two storylines here. One a detective storyline where two likeable detectives search for dead girls (some people say it evokes True Detective, but I see this as far superior). In the other storyline we are in a prison where Taron Egerton (who has fucking grown up since Kingsman and has matured into a major league actor) tries to subtly befriend Paul Walter Hauser (discovery of the year! The guy gives the performance of a lifetime, a masterful performance that will give you chills, his creepy voice will wake you up from your dreams and give you nightmares!). The creators really make do here with two perfect actors, a gritty setting, great dialogue and musings worthy of reflection, perfect technical aspects, it's filmed beautifully and there's a lot of disturbing, uncomfortable and chilling atmosphere that has a strong Mindhunter vibe. I see Mindhunter as a quintessential detective series, which has taken my film knowledge much higher and made watching Black Bird even more enjoyable. The highlight for me were episodes 3 and 4 that featured one ultra brutal prison riot – one of the best I've seen – and also strong flashbacks of both protagonists, especially Larry – digging graves, carnage!!! It's a series that had me glued to my seat, and every week I was incredibly excited for the next episode, which is why I'm sorry it didn't build up in the finale in the style I expected. Minor spoiler alert: I definitely would have welcomed an extra episode set in the trial. I can imagine a tense court battle with Larry. I was looking forward to this, but in the end only about five minutes were devoted to it, too bad. I would have welcomed another episode in the prison where it uncomfortably led to another riot, I was kind of hoping for a final showdown on all sides. The toughest prison in the world after all, but there's not much on gangs and murder or bullying as there's no time left. And also, I wouldn't be at all angry if each episode was dedicated to one dead girl, I believe it might have boosted the emotions, then we could be talking about the best series ever, but still a great show. 85%.

Dan Trachtenberg has revived the Predator brand and even though no one believed in the film after the first trailers, it is a success and I am happy with it too. I appreciate that Prey is set during the Comanche era, it has an Apocalypto feel to it and we don't get many gritty films with Indians, much less in the horror subgenre, so I applaud the period and the setting. I liked that the first half is like survival flick where we watch a bunch of animals hunting each other (cougar, bear, wolf, snake, rabbit). I could easily imagine a whole movie where a bunch of CGI animals eat each other in the jungle accompanied by a dense R-rated action, it would probably drive me crazy (so hopefully I'll get to see it one day). The Predator slowly gets acquainted with a new planet and a lot of time is spent hunting, which I enjoyed. The second half turns into a decent action inferno where the Predator attacks the French colonizers and that is one of the best scenes of the film, the final duel is also good. There are some impressive deaths, though the gore could have been more nutritious, but it's sufficient. Amber Midthunder is likeable and surprisingly skilled in combat, so I had no problem believing her. The music and atmosphere were also good. The only minor issue I have is with the Predator's invisible camouflage, which didn't make a good impression on me, but once the hunk showed up in full glory I was satisfied. For the new generation that probably won't put on the original Predator anymore, I think Prey is a cool notch in the franchise. Story 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10