EvilPhoEniX

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

Another big hit from Ron Howard (Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, Solo). He chose a very strong subject that deserved to be made without question. I wanted to watch the documentary a week ago and I'm glad the time didn't work out as the experience wouldn't have been as intense. The film is set in Thailand and describes one crazy rescue mission where 12 boys and their teacher get stuck in a cave that is slowly flooding due to torrential rains. The best divers from around the world are called in to come to the rescue, and they are Colln Farrell and Viggo Mortensen, both of whom are great as always. The film has a decent pace, it speeds up practically from the beginning and doesn't let the viewer breathe until the end. There is one complication after another, time is running out and the fact that it really happened only accentuates the whole crazy situation. The underwater shots in the cave with the divers are excellent, they are very suspenseful, and the claustrophobic atmosphere in the cramped cave space works perfectly, An intense survival drama based on true events that has all the ingredients to be a quality film. Howard gambled on a sure thing and it paid off. In many moments the film evoked the series Chernobyl for me. Story 5/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 8/10

Quite likeable and rewarding thanks to the refreshing topic. It depicts an original and clever business venture where two friends come up with a plan out of thin air to make millions on fake coupons. I enjoyed the whole plan a lot thanks to Kristen Bell, and it builds up interestingly. Once Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser come on the scene things start falling apart, although there were some interesting moments there as well. In terms of comedy, however, I was definitely expecting more, and didn't get much, the crime-drama line works better here. It's worth seeing because of the crazy premise. 6/10.

So far, this looks to be the highest rated romcom from Netflix and it's really very fine, for fans of the genre that is. Quite an unconventional story of two attractive people, a beautiful and promising singer and a Marine getting married for financial benefits and subsidies, but having to fake their fictional relationship in front of everyone to avoid going to court. Of course, nothing is without complications. The cast is very good and easy to root for, Sofia Carson not only looks good but sings amazingly and there are a few plot surprises. For my taste the humour is lacking, it's more serious and sad at times, which suits the film, but it’s not something I look for. Surprisingly entertaining and I recommend it to fans of the genre. The fairer sex will definitely be satisfied. 65%.

The expected action romp from South Korea is unfortunately a huge disappointment. We've noticed on Netflix lately that even quality directors are missing a hand there and that's definitely the case of Byung-gil Jung, who has two awesome flicks under his belt: Confession of Murder, an intelligent action crime drama that has become a cult hit, The Villainess, a groundbreaking actioner with POV camera. With Carter the director wanted to push the level a bit higher, unfortunately he missed the mark and the film oozes less is sometimes more. At the same time, the film has a very appealing premise, perfect for the action genre, with the main character waking up with memory loss, a voice in his head, and a clearly defined mission to take down a bunch of enemies; simple, straightforward, effective, more than enough. However, incorporating a zombie into it was a misstep, socks and sandals – tasteless, inappropriate, wrong. Furthermore, the director had a clear vision and wanted to make a film based in one take, something that had already been made elsewhere (Hardcore Henry), but not yet in Korea, and it has to be said that the time is not right – there is simply a lack of resources and quality CGI to make it work. Korea is strongest in realism, authenticity, detail, visuals and violence, which are lacking here. The camera hurts your eyes, it's crazy jittery, there are slow motions and fast motions, very bad CGI inserts like from old video games, and it's artificial, annoying, and a hell of a long way from reality. The film falls down on the director's vision. If it had been conceived in a more classical style without trying to please Hollywood, we could be talking about the action movie of the year, but as it is, most people will ignore it. To be fair, the opening fight in the spa, which has a decent body-count, lasted a long time and was decently bloody (the CGI blood was visibly artificial though and I can tolerate that from China, not from Korea). The rest of the action scenes are more in the Fast and Furious style, with in interesting stunts and car chases with the occasional interesting moment, but then they are ruined by the CGI or the camera. Although I wasn't bored and the runtime is very excessive for such a film, I'll only pull it up to 3 stars because of my love for Korean filmmaking and a few interesting moments. Disappointing. Story 3/5. Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 2/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 2/5. 5/10.

David Leitch and an incredibly awesome ride. I was really looking forward to Bullet Train from the first announcement, it's right down my alley, but my expectations were even exceeded. Leitch hasn't just made a straightforward action ride this time, he's taken something from Tarantino and something from Ritchie, and together he mixed a genre-complex cocktail, one that reminds me of my favorite Kingsman, which the film comes damn close to in its stylishness, over-the-top intelligence, and fierce nature. Brad Pitt is a great choice, and as he's winding down his career, he's picked a terrific film for one of his final projects. He is a hired assassin suffering from bad luck, a very interesting element itself. He is tasked with stealing a briefcase on the world's fastest train, the Shinkanzen – the modern setting of the train itself is also a great asset to the film. But there are other dangerous people on the train, each with different but similar intentions, and their clash is royal fun. Bullet Train has incredible style, insane pacing, well-dosed black humor, a bunch of crazy but original and clever ideas, great actors – every single character here has plenty of room to show off and most of the time has a very impressive flashback background, which I appreciate, and the viewer can form a relationship, both the good and the bad, with each character. The soundtrack is also good, there are a couple of unexpected cameos that are meta. Plot-wise, the film is unexpectedly mature, there are a bunch of solid twists and turns, each better than the previous one; the whole thing is incredibly cleverly interwoven and everything fits together nicely in the end – I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff and on top of that there's great fun R-rated action – the finale is pretty brutal (a train derailment scene that even Emmerich would approve). The last time I had this much fun was with Suicide Squad and Kingsman, all three films have R-rating, proper fun and tremendous style in common. I look forward to going again. Ps: I was really blown away by the water bottle scene – which has its own story here!!! Story 5/5. Action 5/5, Humor 4/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10.

The sequel to the excellent The Outlaws is a supercharged action ride from South Korea. Ma Dong-seok is back as a beast cop, and this time in Vietnam, where the mad Son seok-Koo is on a rampage kidnapping and murdering tourists. Once again the film has great visuals, great cinematography, you can see the money, the actors are great, the action is awesome and there is no shortage of suspense. Ma Dong-seok is quite a variation on Bud Spencer, he blasts all the enemies from meters away with one shot and it looks great. I liked the villain, he's a very sneaky, slimy, ruthless bastard who slashes and cuts absolutely everyone who comes his way with his knife, he's definitely the villain that pulls the whole film off. The film is well paced, there's a decent load of action scenes with great choreography and cinematography, plenty of violence – though there could have been more blood for my taste, but never mind. I wasn't too thrilled with the comedy interludes, Korean humour is not really my thing, but it may please some viewers. The story is engaging and interesting enough even for the action genre, and it all leads up to a promising finale on the bus (greetings to Nobody), where there is one hell of a satisfying fight between the two arch rivals. I don't think there's been a bigger action flick from South Korea this year, so even though it feels more like 4 stars, I'm happy to give it an upgrade, there's simply never enough of these quality pieces. For how disappointed I was with the Korean witch, this one turned out to be a clear winner. These realistic and gritty cops vs gangsters flicks are what Korea does best. Story 4/5. Action 5/5, Humour 3/5, Violence 1'4/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5.

A solid drama/crime miniseries from Apple that, along with See, is the biggest driver of the entire platform. I'm kinda starting to come around to similarly-tuned series, though I don't consider Defending Jacob to be one of the best (I have Your Honor and Black Bird a level above), but it's still a very solid job. The series has an uncomfortable theme where a family is torn apart by a son who is accused of murdering his classmate, and the father (Chris Evans) is a successful prosecutor. It relies on excellent performances, solid direction, decent music, good visuals and a bleak atmosphere. I was a little bothered by the slower pace and wouldn't have minded cutting it down to six episodes from eight. There's the occasional mandatory family filler that no one really cares about, but the closer the series gets to the end, the more it wins the viewer over. There are a couple of decent twists and turns, and the highlight is episode number 7 set in the courthouse, I was munching away in bliss because I love court verbal shootouts. However, the final episode is a disappointment as it is rather unsatisfying in terms of verdict and clarification. All in all, for someone who has a soft spot for this sort of thing, Defending Jacob is a noteworthy affair. Story 4/5. Action 0/5, Humour 1/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 7.5/10.

First disappointment of the year from South Korea. The Witch part 1 was an awesome and brutal action ride with emotions, packed with twists and great action scenes. The second part was of course one of the most anticipated films of the year, but unfortunately I'm not very happy with the result. There were too many things that irritated me to enjoy it. Plot-wise it's average and actually quite similar to the first one, only with a different girl in the lead role, but I wasn't really rooting for her. I missed the transformation of an innocent girl into the ultimate killing machine, here she just walks around, waves her arms and everyone flies away like a piece of paper. Of course, the film has good visuals, although the visual effects are very dodgy. The CGI is visibly bad here, and Korea needs to work on that a lot. The “marvelization” of South Korea is a direction that doesn't quite appeal to me, and I'd love a return to the old uncompromising and realistic carnage. Surprisingly, there's not much action. There are only three action scenes in the first hour and a half and they didn't completely blow me away. The finale itself is almost twenty minutes long, but it didn't grab me. It felt artificial, overdone, everyone has abilities ranging from flying to immortality with no set rules, and it gives the impression of Man of Steel with an R-rating. When it comes to Gore, I was satisfied, but there wasn't as much as I would have liked. In the first one I liked the fact that the main character kills normal people, here it's mostly just people with superpowers fighting and it didn't have the right grit and juice. The digression with the mobsters was interesting and I would much rather see this as a classic gangster movie. where they cut themselves with knives than fly through the air. In short, it went into Marvel/Anime style and it will find its fans, I was unfortunately bored at times and didn't get the action satisfaction I needed. Of course it's good enough for a decent average, but it's far from the movie of the year. 6/10.

More of a social drama than a comedy. It's a festival film, so visually it looks cheap and the actors are rather average, but thanks to the quite unconventional and interesting premise it's watchable. The protagonist is a former porn star who returns to his hometown and the film illustrates how such a person has trouble fitting into society – getting a job, etc. – much like a convict, and when it's all redneck and loser all around, the future prospects aren't too rosy. Simon Rex may be a douchebag, but I was rooting for him, and here again, the biggest assholes are the women. I believe that with a bigger budget and better actors, this could have been a big hit, this way for me it’s a film I'll quickly forget. It could have been funnier and more daring. 6/10.