EvilPhoEniX

A proper craftsmanship and acting show. The story focuses on Michael Peterson (Colin Firth), a writer accused of murdering his wife who was found dead under the stairs, and it makes for a 16 year-long judicial struggle that I really enjoyed. The first four episodes are excellent, there's an uncomfortable sultriness in the air, a thick atmosphere, the emotional hell of all involved is palpable, there's a proper and thorough investigation by the defence and the prosecutors with very detailed gathering of evidence, I really felt I was watching people who do this for a living doing their best. The court-scenes are also very tense, the dialogue is good and the various alternatives to falling down the stairs are raw and unpleasant except there’s no blood. The second half falls slightly and shortening it to six episodes would definitely have been more acceptable. The scenes with the family and the kids were the least interesting and for me unnecessary – kind of the mandatory filler of today's shows – and the flashbacks are downright annoying and at times quite confusing, and too frequent frequent, but still for me it was quality filmmaking and entertainment, I’m definitely glad I gave it a chance. Also, praise for the soundtrack and the theme song, it was divine. Story 4/5. Action 1/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 7.5/10.

The French can do it better. The premise is interesting, the main character is a doctor who works as an emergency physician during the Christmas holidays, he accidentally injures his back in an encounter with a pizza delivery man, who now has to fill in for the doctor when he treats patients. Rather a black comedy, there aren't many wisecracks and it could have been sillier and wackier, but it was passable for one viewing. 55%

Loved it. Adam Sandler has matured and as most actors stagnate in their old age (Willis and co), he is having a decent acting heyday. I like these zero to hero motivational sports stories, so far none have outright pissed me off, and since they really only come around once a year I appreciate the present qualities enough. The storyline isn't surprising, but that doesn't matter at all. The film has heart, drive, decent dialogue, a charismatic cast, emotion, tension, power, energy, motivation, humour, great music and thrilling matches (especially with the central rival, he was a proper son of a bitch)There are few wisecracks that will stick in my memory, and overall it is a very enjoyable film (basketball fans will be ready for one more star). 8/10.

A likeable romantic comedy that playfully uses the trendy theme of the time loop and slightly varies it. The main here character does not repeat a day, but each day for him means a year has passed, which is quite original and unconventional, and the whole film builds on it and benefits from it. Every day the main character explores what has changed in the last year and it's funny and at times emotionally sad. The actors are likeable, the idea is great, the emotion and wit works, the dialogue is top notch. A very feel good genre film. 7.5/10

One of the movies of the year and one of the best sequels ever. Joseph Kosinski isn't a standout directors for me, Only the Brave is a big emotional hit, Tron was interesting and Oblivion was mediocre, but Top Gun: Maverick is definitely his best and most ambitious work to date. We've been waiting a long time for the film and the trailers already indicated that it was going to be one hell of a ride, but I didn't expect it to hit me and pull me in so much, as fighter jets aren't exactly the stuff I seek out in movies. Everything here is just right from the performances (Tom Cruise is excellent and really cool, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller and Glen Powell are also great), the precise technical side caught up to perfection, great dialogues, emotional scenes, decent pacing, occasional humour, great music with Lady Gaga's final song included, intense tension and great action from the training to the 30 minute finale, which is built up ad absurdum – I stopped breathing there and lost track of time. The story itself may not be sophisticated, but that doesn't matter at all. The film has heart, balls, juice and drive and won't leave anyone cold, certainly not anyone who loves movies. What Le Mans 66 is to racing movies, Top Gun 2 is to aviation movies. Definitely the best movie with fighter jets and with The Northerner for me the movie of the year so far. Story 4/5. Action 5/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10.

Kazakhstan has made a redneck slasher comedy and it’s fine for one viewing. Quite possibly my first horror film from Kazakhstan, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. It can't compare to other countries, the qualities are not that great, from the actors, the visuals, the action etc, but it's definitely an effort. A group of friends go on a fishing trip, but they witness a murder and a bunch of dangerous bastards go after them. To make matters worse, there's a one-eyed maniac who goes against everyone. It's a classic murder mystery spiced up with the kind of redneck humour I like, though here it teeters on the edge of awkwardness at times, but a few jokes work. There's a bit of gore and sometimes the not so great skill of the make-up artists is visible, but that ripped jaw on the other hand looked great. It could have been more brutal and funnier. I have it on the borderline of 2-3, but I'll give it the average rating for Kazakhstan's attempt. The film will find its fans, but I believe some won't even be able to finish watching it. Just at your own risk. Story 2/5. Action 3/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 2/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 2/5. 5/10.

After a mediocre second film, there is a return to the qualities of the first one. It's a French quality standard where everything is fine, but of course it doesn't have the same quality as the Lacheau/Boudali duo, who are closer to my heart. Vyšehrad reigns supreme in the comedy department this year (I almost fell over laughing in the cinema, even during the second screening). In the trio, Christian Clavier and Pascal N'Zonzi again score the most points, and they are joined by the daddies of the other couples, which was a safe bet. New characters, a new infusion of racism, xenophobic innuendo and cultural insults and it works again. Although only two or three scenes have stuck in my mind, there is not much situational humour and some of the innuendos are not understood unless you are very familiar with the cultural differences of the countries, hence the film is also targeted at the 30-40+ age group. Overall, a pleasant 90 minutes spent, and since I like comedies right after horror and action, I'm glad they are still making them, even though the Americans have been completely stagnant in this genre for a few years now. The atmosphere in the cinema was not great, not many people laughed (I was one of the few). 7.5/10.

For me a superbly chilling weird artsy festival film that is bizarre, disturbing and very uncomfortable. Riley Stearns is good, his previous debut The Art of Self Defense was already a big hit and he goes for a similar style here. His style reminds me a lot of Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) and after a long time I enjoyed the dialogue so much that I'm able to tolerate the lack of gore and action. The film is set in the near future where people who die have the opportunity to clone themselves, and that includes Karen Gillan, who learns she is terminally ill and doesn't have much time left. The actors act slightly like robots, but I found it strange and definitely interesting (the reasoning, the dialogue, the unprecedented language – this kept my attention a lot), plus there's a really nasty system with harsh rules; in short a world you don't want to live to see. The acting is great, Aaron Paul is downright excellent, the atmosphere is very depressing, there are some interesting twists and turns, and there's definitely an interesting ending. I loved this provocative and disturbingly bizarre downer. If I can talk about the film for half an hour after it's over, that's a good sign. I was so uncomfortable in places (the situations the main character experiences are hellish) that it had horror elements for me. Story 4/5. Action 1/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 7.5/10.

The biggest guilty pleasure and the most powerful ultimate cinematic experience in a hell of a long time. A multi-genre revolution and evolution all in one. Breathtaking visuals, sphincter-clenching action, philosophical insight, wild fun and Fincher off the rails... Uff I experienced multiple orgasms. 1. Three Robots- Exit Strategy: a trio of famous robots return to explore human survival strategies in a post-apocalyptic world. Nice visuals, a more narrative tale with nice shots of skeletons and a funny final insert. I could have done without the robots, but as an entry it's decent. 3.5/5. 2. Bad Travelling: David Fincher shocks right from the start. Completely out of control, dominating everyone. Riveting animation, densely dark atmosphere, a huge and brilliantly designed crab, uncompromising gore, a load of twists and turns, and a powerful story about morality, loyalty and betrayal. Wonderful. And calls for a feature film! 5/5. 3. The Very Pulse of the Machine: For me the weakest and most useless short. I didn’t like the animation that I don't like, it’s unnecessarily long, with a slow pace, no action or gore, just a psychotropic trip and exploration of the moon (It could have been more substantial in CGI animation), the final music decent. 2/5. 4. Night of the Mini Dead: A crazy zombie satire starting with cheesy sex in a cemetery and ending with a worldwide zombie apocalypse in 2D animation. An unconventional and original concept, funny, gritty, morbid, entertaining, short and with references to zombie classics. 4/5. 5. Kill Team Kill: Another classic animation short, but thankfully the last one (only 2 in this season), it's a silly thing about a badass team up against a giant mecha grizlly. Lots of blood, great lines, simple but fun. One of the funniest of the lot. 4/5. 6. Swarm: Again, very impressive CGI animation about two scientists exploring an ancient alien civilization. Interesting thoughts and musings, decent dialogue and decently suspenseful and surprisingly gritty towards the end. Shame about the truncated ending, but definitely cool. 4/5. 7. Mason's Rats: This is unbelievably awesome! Ratpocalypse! A farmer has an army of evolutionary rats in his barn and decides to call in exterminators with high tech gadgets and it's World War 4!!! Great animation, amazingly wacky idea, funny interludes, incredibly brutal action and a surprise ending. This was incredibly well done. Again, a short worthy of a feature film. 5/5. 8. In Vaulted Halls Entombed: Another epic experience. Deep in Afghanistan, a group of soldiers are tasked with freeing a hostage from terrorists, but encounter an alien evil! An action-packed inferno with alien spiders and Lovecraftian Ctulhu and visuals so impressive that I was at times hesitant as to whether it was animation or reality. Add on top of that the raw and uncompromising gore and you have the best Alien experience since Alien. 5/5. 9. Jibaro: The final blast! An artsy, folkloric reimagining of the fairy tale ballad about a siren who lures men to their doom with her singing. A brutal ballet of death wth knights on a lake with impressive CGI animation, chaotic and wild camerawork that adds to the rawness and unpleasantness. For me it was quite a horror chill with a slightly weird but crazy ending (the most brutal gold heist I've ever seen) Wow! The only minus is again the fact that it could have had then more short stories, but this is still a unique piece of cinematic entertainment that stands out thanks to today's modern times. Blown heads and ripped balls at the same time. 5/5. The overall experience is full house. Only a chosen few will appreciate it.

For some people the film of the year, for others an insufferable piece of shit, and for me somewhere in between. It's definitely one of the most original and weird films of recent years, but bizarre and wacky isn't necessarily great. The story is, in one sentence, about a woman who files her taxes while having to save the world through parallel universes. The plot itself is by no means revelatory or sophisticated, I found the acting below average (the Chinese speaking English brought the whole film down a level, the whole acting came off as awkward), the action is quite low and it's not my style. I used to dig Jackie Chan when I was 13, but by the time of The Raid and The Night Comes for Us, this kung fu style, though obviously self-parodying, is a bit boring. The whole world has no set rules, almost nothing makes sense and it's chaos, yes there's a lot of creative invention and a lot of interesting ideas, but at what cost huh? Even beyond the point of awkwardness, cringefest. The film is an homage to Asia, but it mostly takes from it what I like the least: obscure and bizarre madness from Japanese culture and parodies of 80s kung fu and Hong-Kong. It's a shame the film wasn't R-rated, maybe the gore would have given it more aesthetic cachet, but for me it's sadly unsatisfying and the exorbitant footage doesn't add much to it. I didn't even find it funny except for a couple of minor moments (the rock scene) and the light moments that I found entertaining were quite few, certainly less than I expected. The final fight with the quick change of locations was impressive though, and the playful direction pulls it up to at least a better average for me. I won't give more than that, certainly not sober. However, I'm quite surprised at the positive reception, for how borderline it is in places to the viewer's common taste. Story 3/5. Action 3/5, Humour 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 2/5.