EvilPhoEniX

The best pilot of this year so far! It instantly hooked me into the seat. It's brutal, it's action packed, it's got great visuals, top simulation, cool characters, a interesting world, it's smart and a little scary at the same time. This is the dog’s bollocks.

A mediocre relationship comedy from Amazon that meets quotas even more strictly than Netflix, so it's going to give the bigots a hard time. I'm a little disappointed that the film doesn't take place at a wedding, I was looking forward to an hour long wedding full of annoying people shitting all over each other, because weddings have good potential to be funny, but this is more about wedding preparation and family relationships. No one here is famous except for Kristen Bell, so it's a second-rate comedy, but it does get the occasional laugh. (the gay threesome was funny, but had even more potential), and Kristen Bell is funny in places, though she acts like a typical woman and thus lost my sympathy. Americans can't do comedy as well as Europe anymore and that's been true for a good few years now. 55%

An average Revenge flick from Italy. The Italians rarely come up with a good film, they don't have it in their hands as well as the Spaniards or the French, so I didn’t anything great. My Name is Vendetta follows the most classic revenge subgenre template and doesn't try to add anything to it. We have a former Sicilian mafia man who wants to start a new life with his family in the countryside, but when his daughter takes a picture of him and posts it on Instagram it alerts his old friends who immediately take a chance and murder his wife and brother-in-law. He takes his daughter with him and goes to exact revenge on everyone. So much for the story. It's nice to know that the protagonist is not a wimp, but a tough guy who has no problem taking revenge, which is very important in this genre. Technically, it's also well handled, it even has decent visuals, and there's quite a lot of action, but it’s so bland, it's not even too brutal, which is a bit disappointing, because violence is the only thing this film could have shone with, but even on that level it stuck halfway. I like these genre flicks, so I was relatively entertained, it paces well and I've seen worse representatives, but on the other hand, experienced viewers can easily skip this one. 5/10.

I was looking forward to this sequel, but I'm not as satisfied as I was with the first one, and maybe the change of director is to blame. Visually it's again of course up to standard, the Korean quality we're all used to, the acting is great, the central couple is joined by the likable Daniel Henney, and villain is also good, played by Jin Seon-kyu, who is easy to remember thanks to his unusual image. The action is again decent, but this time there is quite little of it and especially the fist fights are fewer, which is quite a pity, the new director seems to prefer shootouts. The opening shootout in the street is very intense and manages to lure you in. But it’s PG-13 (I don't understand why South Korea is making an action movie with a kid's rating) and then there is a lull of almost an hour where the film concentrates on the plot, which I didn't find that interesting and the humour again missed me by a wide berth – I'll probably never get a taste for that with Asia. It gets better during the finale, with the promised fight, which luckily had everything (fists and knives) and is one of the highlights of the film, but it's not enough for a higher rating. I had fun, it's a nice diversion, but to satiate my cravings the director would have had to step on the gas. 65%.

An enjoyable Spanish comedy that benefits from a fresh idea. Three brothers-in-law decide to ruin their daughters' relationship because they are not happy with the choice of their new boyfriends, so they devise various traps for it. The characters of the fathers are funny, the daughters are likeable, it has a feel-good atmosphere and a touching ending. Overall, a very enjoyable flick. I could imagine even more gags, France can hit the diaphragm more in this respect, but I had a very pleasant time. 7/10

The Devil is in the detail! An excellent mind fuck miniseries from the Brits that will mess up your brain. Almost everyone will find something to like here, fans of serial killers, elaborate stories, dense mystery, parallel worlds, psychological drama and proper detective stories, in short, everything is here and it doesn't feel overdone at all, on the contrary, everything is thoroughly thought out. Devil's Hour is a series that seems unremarkable (it still has only some 352 views after 2 months of premiere!) and will definitely fight for mini-series of the year. It manages to draw the viewer in from the very first episode and also engages with likeable characters. Jessica Raine is a likeable actress and does a great job playing a caring mother who takes care of her emotionless weird son (definitely another creepy weird kid the movie world won't soon forget). The duo of detectives are also great, Alex Ferns, in particular, entertained me with his wisecracks and accent (he’s the chief miner from Chernobyl!), and without a doubt the enigmatic grey haired character played by Peter Capaldi shines, though it’s a bit disappointing that most of his deeds have to be left to the viewer's imagination. With 6 episodes, the series keeps a great pace, the atmosphere is mysterious until the very finale, there was a bit of horror and one awesome raid on a gangster's lair – a very cool and memorable scene for me. But the whole story picks up in the final act, where a full hour of flashbacks explains everything, and it is without a doubt an intelligent story thought through. The final episode literally wipes the eyes of the viewer and is one of the most intense conclusions to a miniseries in a long time. Recommended to anyone who likes thoughtful mystery thrillers, there is no question of any disappointment. 80%.

Quentin Dupieux is not one of my favourite directors from France, he makes strange films and rarely hits my taste, and this time he didn't quite hit the mark either. Visually it’s awful, the cinematography is also not great and it has the feel of a TV movie, so I don’t know what this film is doing in cinemas. The very theme of a house that hides something in the basement that changes the couple's life has something to it, but I didn't find it used engagingly enough. The satirical tone is obvious and the electric dick story is the funniest – and the only funny moment for me, which is really pathetic for a comedy. Alain Chabat is a likeable guy, but this is one of his weaker efforts, he doesn’t show much acting or comedy. More drama than comedy. Despite the modest running time of 70 minutes, I wasn't too entertained. 5/10.

China is really a few years behind when it comes to SFX and CGI because it all looks like it was made 20 years ago. It's a pity that the film wasn't made in Korea or Indonesia, it would have been a real treat. The plot is also terrible nonsense, which doesn't bother me as much as the aforementioned CGI, and the action itself is surprisingly alright. When it comes to the blood, it's not great, but the sequence that seems to have fallen out of Hardcore Henry was decent, and the fight in the elevator was solid, with a nice sense of physicality and adrenaline. I also liked the finale, where again there was no shortage of interesting choreography. As a martial arts B-movie it's quite OK to watch thanks to the short running time, you just have to survive the tragic story and effects, but the fights can be enjoyed. 5.5/10.

A person's actions always reveal their character! A decent hunt for a serial killer from Japan. Japan has definitely outdone themselves technically, Character has really high level of craftsmanship (what is a certainty with South Korea is rather an exception with Japan). The protagonist is a good guy to the bone, he has a knack for drawing manga, but can't create a proper villain, but that changes when he finds a family of four dead at the table while also catching a glimpse of the face of the killer. He hides this from the police and decides to use that image as a villain in his comics and suddenly it's a huge hit, which even the killer is blown away by, as he sees a likeness of himself and starts copying the murders the writer makes up for the comics. The villain is a good sleazeball, he's a famous pop idol, and he definitely fits the role. I was intrigued that he only chooses families of four members as victims as a symbol of happiness, although I was annoyed that the murders themselves are left to the imagination of the viewer, but at least they show the aftermath. Japan would probably take it badly if they showed the killing of children on camera. The film flows at a slower pace, I enjoyed the detective part, and the best part is the finale, where there was one unexpected twist and the climax is nicely edgy – the film earned a fourth star there, otherwise it would have been a decent three. Those who like serial killers should definitely give this film a chance, especially fans of Japan and Asia. Definitely one of the better films from Japan. 7/10.

Peter Farrelly is an interesting director and his Oscar-winning Green Book is one of my favourite films; it’s amazing how someone who's been around silly comedies all his life could finally make something like that and I was curious to see how he'd handle this one, but the result is mediocre. It's definitely an interesting and unconventional true story, with Zac Efron playing both a likeable guy and a fool, but there wasn't anything particularly distinctive for my taste. The humour didn't work for me at all, I didn't find it funny, visually it seemed like made-for-TV at times, and when it came to Vietnam there wasn't even any proper action. Something interesting started to happen only in the last half an hour, where the Viet Cong attack on the city didn't lack tension. At least and Russel Crowe had an interesting role again after a long time, but still, all in all, for me better average at best. 6/10