EvilPhoEniX

The third part of the successful Hong Kong series Kill Zone is behind me and this time I'm not so impressed. The second part remains unsurpassed as the line-up of Jacky Wu, Tony Jaa and Max Zhang is just somewhere else, and story-wise I found it more interesting and entertaining. Tony Jaa has little space, stealing actually only one action scene, which is a shame. The rest is left to Louis Koo, who surprised that he can handle anything, as he hasn't shown much so far, but I was more impressed by Yue Wu as a police officer who handles kung fu superbly. The villain is also great, and while he's terrible in acting, he's a decent asshole in a fight. There are only three action scenes, two of which are great, one in the middle with Tony which is awesome, and the final 20 minute finale was also perfect, but probably won't go down in history. Visually it’s fine, but the story is unnecessarily drawn out, the action is great, dynamic, gritty and clear, but unfortunately there’s not that much of it. I liked Headshot and Wolf Warrior 2 more this year, but this one is still a decent martial arts brawler that's way ahead of the Americans. 80%.

The decent director Park Hoon-Jeong didn't make me too happy this time and it hurts when my favourite Jang Dong-Gun from the blockbuster No Tears for the Dead is available. However, it's worth noting the new discovery, Lee Jong-Suk, who portrays a pretty sleazy metro-sexual serial killer, but his spree ends a quarter of the way through the film and then it's just South Korea, North Korea and the American Interpol arguing about who gets to take over, which I didn't much enjoy. At the beginning the film looked very dirty and brutal, with scenes of a murdered family in a house and one decent murder by strangling a naked girl with nylons, but that's the end of it. No other action is shown, apart from the final shootout in a building, which was fine. The story is not engaging enough, the suspense is also lacking and there is no twist, there is not much to praise. I was expecting much more, at least it was nice to see Peter Stormare in a brief role. Disappointing. 60%

This film doesn't offer anything innovative and interesting, maybe if it was an original, so be it, but this way it doesn't impress much. While I wasn't bored and the first hour is interesting with medicine and the experiments, the second part with the ghosts is not so interesting. The scares don't work, the atmosphere is nil and the characters don't die, so it's weak in terms of horror. An average film and a pointless remake, but it is watchable. 55%

Along with The Punisher, the clear series event of the year and the hit of the century for the western genre. This really has everything the genre should have from a likeable protagonist, a great bad guy with his 30 member band of thugs, great music, beautiful locations, cracking gunfights, amazing acting, great direction and writing, I imagine if TV shows got Oscars, Godless would pick up statues for every category. The final thrilling and nerve-wracking 30-minute shootout, where 40 widows defend a saloon with Winchester and Colts against the bad guy and his henchmen, may well be one of the best I've ever seen. An amazing piece of work, a gem, a tribute to a dead genre with clear cult-classic potential. 100%

I was quite surprised by this film. Idris Elba and Kate Winslet are both excellent and they fit together nicely. The film has a few suspenseful moments, keeps the pace, has an unobtrusive romantic line and you sympathize with the main characters. It may have lacked a little something I haven't seen before in this genre to make me rate it higher, but otherwise I had a good time. 70%

Well, I don't know, for the Spaniards it's quite unusually dirty and bizarre, but I can't say that I was entertained for the whole two hours. It's quite funny at the beginning, there are a few jokes, but it's quite boring to watch it until the end. It's not much about gore, it's more about vomit and shit, which I don't find very satisfying, but I definitely won't forget the male childbirth. Maybe if the director had cut the running time by half an hour and focused more on the gore than the feces I would have been more satisfied. 60%.

Kathryn Bigelow is not a bad director at all, and this sensitive racist theme was surprisingly very fitting for me. Will Poulter's performance as the unlikely pissed off bastard was top notch and I hope he gets to portray more villains because he is very well suited to it. Despite the longer running time the film holds your attention, it's quite gritty, shocking and emotional in places, and it all culminates in a 20 minute scandalous trial scene that has decent balls and confirms a respectable 4 stars. A good film. 80%.

The adaptation of Jo Nesbø's The Snowman definitely had more potential. I haven't read the book, but it was certainly more interesting than this bland detective story with mediocre visuals and a bored Michael Fassbender. These cold Nordic serial killer thrillers are usually top notch, here the Americans must have interfered a lot in the film, otherwise I can't really explain the failure. The murders are almost non-existent, so forget about the blood, the atmosphere is not very good and the only thing that surprises is the identity of the killer, which I didn't figure out. It is watchable, but the film lacks any WOW effect, which is a shame. The best scene from the trailer doesn’t even appear in the film. 55%

A decent post-apocalyptic thriller from the United Arab Emirates. A decent film for the Arabs, technically competent, and although it doesn't bring anything new to the table, it is still a theme that doesn't get boring. A devastated landscape and a small group of survivors take refuge in an aircraft hangar with a water tank, defending themselves from infiltrators who are not welcome. Decent suspense in places, there's a bit of blood, the main villain is an ex-Marine so he gives everyone quite a hard time, and there are some unexpected deaths. Comparable to The Divide in quality, but a level worse. It was even close to 4 stars for me, but in the end I'll stick with a strong 3. 65%.

Jackie Chan, under the direction of Martin Campbell, has made quite possibly his best film in the last five years and it's nice to see that he is still in form, it's just a pity that the real action only comes at the end. The fight in the woods and the confrontation in the house are very solid, Pierce Brosnan is fine as the villain. Story-wise it could have been more interesting, and I found the first half hour a bit annoying as the stubborn Jackie went a bit overboard with the constant questioning of his daughter about the killer, but otherwise a decent flick that doesn't offend. Next time less politics and more action and it'll be a 4. 70%.