EvilPhoEniX

It's not as bad as the ratings and reviews say, but from one of the most anticipated films of the year and the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Last Boy Scout, the untapped potential hurts quite a bit. As an action B-movie, though, the film works reliably. There's quite a bit of action, blood is not spared, and especially at the end it's a pretty decent carnage and the characters are pretty good. The prevailing triple combo is the likable Boyd Holbrook, the beautiful Olivia Munn and the witty Keegan-Michael Key, who finally has a role tailored to him and quite a lot of space. Disappointingly, the atmosphere is almost non-existent, the suspense is also lacking and I couldn't find any Wow effect or scene that made me want to see the film again. That the story is uninteresting and naive I won't criticize, because the old Predator doesn't have a sophisticated script either. For me, the film is hurt quite a bit by the fact that it takes place in a city instead of a jungle. Anyway, the film fulfils its purpose of entertaining, but unfortunately you will not take anything more away from it this time. 65%

A solid political thriller starring the likable John Krasinski. I like the guy more from film to film, but I think he looks better with a beard, here he was a little too slick, but he does an extraordinary job throughout the series and draws full attention to himself. Suleiman, the villain, was also good and I liked the actual war with Islam a lot. Visually it feels more like a film production than a series and for that a big plus. There is not much action and the best shootout comes in the first episode, but I didn't mind it so much, as there are interesting issues being dealt with all the time (e.g. the final episodes with the Ebola), and the tension and pace are nice. I got through the eight episodes in two sittings and I certainly don't regret the time spent. I'll happily watch a second season. 80%.

A fun bizzare romp set in the Budapest metro that offers a glimpse of the work of the ticket inspectors. I found the film very funny in places, there are some good lines, the main characters are good and the film is unexpectedly gritty at times. Definitely a thankless job. Interesting, weird and unconventional, but I liked it. 75%.

I didn't enjoy this one very much. Adrien Brody is an actor nobody cares much about anymore, and Mark Ruffalo is only making money thanks to the Hulk in the MCU. So I don't find this duo very funny, and it's more of a crime story about two con-artist brothers. Nothing much interesting happens in the film, it's not smart or even very entertaining let alone funny. The only thing worth mentioning was the strange reclusive Rachel Weisz, who was great. 45%

A fine entertaining comedy, where I was surprisingly entertained by goofball Paul Rudd, who plays a hopeless good-for-nothing who gets out of prison and stays overnight with his three sisters and screws up their personal lives. A laid-back comedy that is fun to watch and fixes the mood. 70%

A very authentical portrayal of the hell of a concentration camp that focuses on the Sonderkommando, auxiliary Jews who send other Jews to the gas chambers and also to the ovens. What annoyed me was the main character, as the camera took close-ups of his face quite often and he wasn't a very pretty sight to look at, which might still be passable if he didn't also annoy me with his behaviour, as he spends the whole film looking for a rabbi and wanting to bury his son, and that didn't sit right with me as the central plot. If the film had focused more on the riot or shown footage of the gas chambers or the ovens, it could have been a competition to A Serbian Film. Still, this is a disturbing film from a horrific setting and I don't envy anyone who had to endure it. The unconventional cinematography is interesting. Decent, but I could imagine it being better.70%

Christian Clavier and Jean Reno are back together and it's a French comedy romp again. Quite a funny premise where two lesbians would like to adopt a little girl from Thailand, but it takes a man to do it and so one of them asks her brother if he could be a temporary husband to her friend. Clavier is again excellent and takes care of the humour, Jean Reno is also great as he is in charge of assessing whether the couple are suitable for adoption. There are plenty of comic situations, the film is enjoyable to watch and can be touching at times. France hardly ever disappoints. 80%.

A cult western with Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. It's definitely a solid piece of filmmaking, but it's probably not a film that made me fall on my ass. This western isn't about the action, as there's only one shootout at the end and it's still not worth much. It's more about the performances and the production design, which I can't fault, but I expected something more from it. I would definitely have liked a sleazy bad guy with thugs (no, a sheriff is not enough), at least one train robbery, a more spectacular shootout or a horse chase, and all of that is sadly missing here. Still, I'll give the film 70%, as I wasn't bored and it's quite good to watch, but I can't help being slightly disappointed.

Two lesbians go to celebrate their one-year marriage anniversary at a cabin in the middle of nowhere, but one of them soon starts to have a serious breakdown, the sins of the past slowly come to light and the wife is now in danger of her life as her partner gets a psychotic break and goes over dead bodies. A fairly brisk survival thriller that, while not exactly groundbreaking, doesn't offend at all. I liked the music, the suspense works well at times, and the finale is pretty much fine, so a digestible affair. 60%

High hopes were pinned on The Nun this year. Horror films been hugely successful bot at the box-office and with audiences, but The Nun has been a slight flop in terms of audience. The current 65% isn't a downright disaster, but compared to The Conjuring it is a downward slump, but still more successful than Annabelle. The cinema was packed though, so at least commercially I hope the film succeeds. Although I was slightly skeptical, there was no proper trailer at all, in fact I only watched the one minute teaser, in the end I am both pleasantly surprised and pleased. The Nun has the advantage over the competition of being set in a beautiful Romanian castle featuring nuns, which I find much more appealing than a simple house with a family and a demon. The film picks up the pace quite quickly and there is no long wait for the haunted attractions, which is a very good thing. The Nun is also unexpectedly grittier and darker than I was hoping for compared to other mainstream horror movies. There are quite a few jump-scares, but only one worked for me, but the atmosphere itself pulled me in decently and the finale is set up perfectly. Taissa Farmiga is charming in a similar way to her mother and they nicely tie the film together with the The Conjuring at the end. What's a bit of a bummer is that the demon Valak only draws attention to himself at the end, the rest of the film he either can't be seen or there is another evil at work, which I take as a minus as Valak is a great demonic character. Story-wise it could have been more substantial, but that doesn't bother me so much as I haven't seen a better horror movie with nuns so far. For me, a decent job. 80%.