EvilPhoEniX

The skillful Banjong Pisanthanakun is arguably the best horror director from Thailand. He has the legendary cult-classic Shutter and the awesome anthologies 4bia and Phobia 2 under his belt, and still he deserves more attention. After a long hiatus he comes with a new horror film that is worth your time. This time he takes on Taoism, Buddhism, Animism and religious folklore and delivers it in an authentic semi-documentary found footage form that takes an interesting approach on the shamanism and rituals of local demons and gods. The material is undoubtedly interesting and, thanks to a culture unknown to us, very informative. The downside for me is the running time of 130 minutes and the slower pace; it is interesting but not that entertaining. The night vision scenes where the possessed girl runs around the house are solid, with the director managing to deliver some chills there, and the final 30 minutes of action are also good, though it could’ve been even wilder, but in this year's drought it's enough, especially for Asia, which hasn't shown much this year. In terms of craftsmanship, it's a quality film, the cinematography, production design and the setting are all top notch. The atmosphere is uncomfortable and the suspense works, so even though I won't be watching Medium again, it's a horror film that will stick in the memory for a while. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 7/10.

First half is five stars, second half is four, but very good. The humour diminishes and the basic concept is also more or less gone, but thanks to the great characters, it holds together well and tears flowed more than once. But I am not too happy with how the various relationships turned out and was really annoyed with Ruby, who didn't have any space in the second half, a shame. Still an enjoyable eight hours. 8/10.

After The Connection, the skilful Cédric Jimenez serves up another true story, this time from the high-risk sector in Marseille, which is dominated by drug gangs and high crime. The film is quite similar to Les Misérables and I have a soft spot for films like that, so I had a great time. It's not as striking and raw, but the depressing atmosphere, frantic pace and excellent actors (Gilles Lellouche and François Civil are great) make it an above average film that turns from action and crime to drama at the end, but the intriguing denouement definitely makes it interesting. It's good that Netflix has bought good stuff from France again after a long time. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 7/10.

Shyamalan's original and ambitious thriller does not live up to its potential. The premise is certainly imaginative and interesting. The idea of a beach where a group of people start to age is very cool and it's a bit disappointing that the director kept his head down and didn't go too extremes. Of all the people who die here, none will stick in my memory – maybe just the cave scene, that one was excellent, but for a horror film, those elements are quite few. The final twist is satisfying and rational, but it doesn't quite take your breath away. I wasn't downright bored, and for an afternoon Old is an easily digestible genre film that deserves attention, but it needed more emphasis on the material itself and the savagery. Story 4/5, Action 2/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 3/5. 6/10.

Batshit bonkers! Even Wan has realised that you can't live without gore. Emotionally, maybe at four stars, but genre-wise I have to give it a full score, because James Wan has once again delivered a horror film that is essential, that will not be forgotten and that has brought something out of the ordinary. Argento, Bava, Carpenter and Cronenberg, you can see them there to be felt and it's an homage to giallo, body horror, crime and most importantly Italy in the 1970s and 80s. Gloves, a stylish murder weapon, a black cloak and dark red. The beautiful Annabelle Wallis suffers from visions where she sees gruesome and raw murders (gorgeous!). Malignant will certainly not please fans of PG-13 ghost stories and probably won't say anything to teenagers as they need to have the term giallo explained to them, but I enjoyed it. Visually, it’s very appealing, the music is downright banging (the soundtrack already has a cult-classic feel to it). Like Wan's Saw, it has a likeable B-movie like story with a creepy twist that, while guessable beforehand, is disturbing and refreshing enough to make you forgive it. Everything culminates in the insane third act, where Wan gets unleashed like a lion that hasn't eaten in days. The prison scene is so stylish and insanely paced that even the The Raid would bow before it. I screamed with delight again and again and will probably replay this sequence every time I'm in a bad mood. When I read that violence makes people sick, it makes me sick. Not for fancy people. Story 4/5, Action 5/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Funny 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 3/5. 8.5/10.

The sequel to the successful Escape Room is similarly solid, and anyone who likes these variations on Cube and Saw as much as I do shouldn't grumble. The sequel picks up right after the first film and this time we watch an unsuspecting group tackle the escape room, except that they are all former champions – they are smarter, and so solving the puzzles isn't such a problem for them, though they are certainly challenging for the audience. Again, the film is PG-13, so we have to do without the gore, but in this case it doesn't really matter that much, as the deaths wouldn't have looked any better in a different rating. The design of the escape rooms is impressive, the puzzles are nicely intricate, no tension is spared, and the whole thing is well and intelligently thought out enough that you have no chance of getting bored as they go from room to room. Completely realistic it may not be, but that's a good thing, as if it kept it down to earth it would be as boring as real life. The final unexpected twist was also nice, so for me, a fine respite and entertaining genre film, of which there aren't many, so I have no problem giving it a higher rating. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotions 3/5, Actors 3/5. 7/10.

I like action movies as much as horror movies, so I can forgive them a lot, Kate is a fine action female movie that definitely doesn't offend. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is poisoned and has a day to find her killer, and blood will flow through the streets of Tokyo. In terms of story, it's a straightforward revenge movie, which I personally don't mind, I just found the little kids who sidekick the main character a bit annoying, something that's been popping up in every other action movie lately. The heroine is badass and the role suited her (definitely more than Karen Gillan, for example) and the action is pretty good ( thankfully, they don’t spre blood and the fights are decent, though of course it can't be compared to Korea, John Wick or Indonesia, those are on another level). I also liked the neon Japan, the Yakuza and the solid pacing, which doesn’t leave room to be bored. I was little disappointed with the weaker finale, it definitely had more potential. Add more action and I'd be happier. Still, I had a good time, but bookworms who only care about the script will of course suffer. A tad better than the recent Sweet Girl. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 6.5/10.

Don't Breathe 2 is a bit of a pointless sequel that nobody needed, but luckily it came out in a time of a horror drought, and I welcome a technically superior film with open arms, though without Fede Alvarez's style, it doesn't work as well as it should. It was a bit bothered that the first half is very similar to the first film, another home invasion, where instead of robbing Stephen Lang they go after his adopted daughter, but the flow is pretty similar. The twist in the second half is quite interesting, it has a bit of an exploitation feel to it, but the downside for me is the action. Lang just doesn't suit me as a tough blind man (when I compare it to what Jason Momoa does in See, Lang is more of a minion than a boss), and also the lack of any significant carnage – three gore scenes out of a possible fifteen is really not enough, and shooting four opponents in three seconds like that is a downright waste of good material. The film is definitely worth seeing. Don't Breathe 2 is definitely one of the better films in the last month, but it didn't blow me away or entertain me as much as I had hoped. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Tension 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 6.5/10.

An enjoyable Marvel origin story that turned out better than we all expected. I’m a lover of Asia and I was quite looking forward to Shang-Chi because who wouldn't be tempted to see the Marvel version of an Ip Man, right? In part, Marvel succeeded, even if the film is split into two halves, where the first one is significantly better. The protagonist is the unknown Simu Liu and he is surprisingly proficient and likeable enough for the viewer to root for him. the scene on the bus is the clear highlight of the film (greetings to Nobody), and the action scene with the Ninjas was awesome – that physical and high contact kung-Fu action was handled very well by Marvel and even though it's not completely realistic, it's spectacular and gripping enough for me to forgive it. The second half slows down the pace considerably (Shang-Chi runs out of breath for about half an hour). Fortunately, the finale is nicely spectacular, it's rendered in a fantasy style, China's second most popular genre after martial arts, so for me a perfectly logical explanation for why to split the film into two different genres, and the spectacular battle of the two dragons was absolutely killer (I can't remember a bigger fantasy barrage since GoT or Lord of the Rings). I also lie the awesome soundtrack, every single track is already on my playlist. The film has a few flaws, though, for example Awkwafina, who is quite unbearable for me, the humour, which downright missed me – I really don't know what was supposed to be funny here – and the villain, who although had a clear motive, didn't really show much in the end. Visually, it feels a bit like Marvel in the early days, but you can turn a blind eye to that. I'm glad Marvel stuck with Wu Xiu. Overall, decent, definitely better than Black Widow, but I'm not buying into a second screening. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 7.5/10.

I enjoyed it more than The animated Witcher. There’s gore, fatalities, Xraye is again awesome even for anime standards, there’s enough action. It doesn't linger with any unnecessary story and goes straight to the point, and the tournament takes up a good part of the film. Johnny Cage does a great job with the announcements and there’s plenty of fun. 7/10.