EvilPhoEniX

Pretty much about nothing. Michael Peña occasionally entertains with a decent joke, but I don't find Alexander Skarsgård funny at all. The plot is bland as hell. Not enough humour. 50%

I, too, feel split about this film, but given that it's celebrating a milestone (it has correctly topped the 3000 rated film number) it deserves a weaker four stars. So I'll start with the praise. James McAvoy, I've noticed a marked improvement in him lately and few could deliver such an intense performance as he does here, but the biggest discovery is Anya Taylor-Joy, who has already shown in both The Witch and Morgan that horror is the way to go. Here, on top of that, she shows that she has more than just kissable tits and her naturally beautiful shape literally took my breath away. That at 20 she can even play tears so believably, hats off to her, this girl is going to do great things. I also liked the appealing cinematography and definitely a breath of fresh air to the kidnap thriller genre. The finale is pretty intense, too. There are more issues though. The first thing that jumps out is the level of humour, not that I didn't laugh, but it didn't really suit a disturbing psychothriller. Also, the trailer and promotion touts 23 different identities in one body, but in the film we only get 5, of which 3 are interesting. The flashbacks and scenes with the psychologist severely slow-down the pace and are boring. And don't expect thrills or gore, this is a pure psychological thriller. I liked last year's The Visit much better, yet I admit that Shyamalan and James Wan are the only ones who can serve up solid mainstream horror. 70%

I'm actually surprised at how good it was. At first I found the film boring, but from the first big shootout it got my full attention and didn't let up until the end. Action alternated with action, the gunfights are perfectly shot both visually and in terms of setting, they are slightly bloody, I liked the local intransigence where Korean warlords will shoot anyone just for suspicion. Liam Neeson didn't have that big a role here, still a pleasure to see him in the west. I had fun. In places the film reminded me of last year's gem Assassination. 75%.

Dante Lam is a whiz, all of his films have ended up with four stars from me and Operation Mekong is no exception. This time he chose the rather gritty setting of drug dealers which is not typical for Hong Kong. There are kids with guns playing Russian roulette, snorting coke, well it's not very nice to look at, but I welcome unusual things. There is quite a lot of action and it's decent, the finale is almost half an hour long and it reminds me of the jungle carnage from a Rambo film. Fortunately the film is proper R-rated and the top technical aspects are nice to look at (especially the car explosions or slow motion cars in the air). Good enough. 80%.

France in its element. Here again they show what they do best. They come up with an original idea, tasteful and intelligent humour and a solid dose of romance and emotion. Everything works as it should and I had a great time. 80%

Denis Villeneuve is a decent director who tries out different genres (hopefully horror or action will come soon). I liked how the film is quite realistic, the atmosphere of the first hour is nicely unsettling, the acting trio of Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are great. Unfortunately I found the finale rather unsatisfying, unengaging and emotionally cold. I was also hoping that the aliens would be less friendly. 70%

A cool action crime drama from France. It's got a decent pace, except that the bank robbery plot seems to go on and on and it's not very refreshing. Plus for realism. 65%.

A very enjoyable, modern, original and highly high tech comedy with an excellent James Franco and Bryan Cranston. The film puts the viewer in a good mood from the beginning and entertains from start to finish. I found Franco's villa the most interesting as it had lots of innovative devices (toilets!). I also loved the rather large role for the great comedian Keegan Michael Key, who added a touch of zest. I laughed. 85%.

I'm not too happy. I admire Ben Affleck for being able to direct, write the script and play the lead role, not many people can do that, but the film itself is rather bland. Of the modern gangster flicks I like Gangster Squad the best because of the fast-paced and gritty action. Live by Night features only two action scenes really, and that's at the beginning and at the end, which were very good, the intense car chase and the final shootout had some oomph. I enjoyed the few brisk deaths, but I found the flow of the film itself very uninteresting and tedious, if it was 30 minutes longer I probably couldn't handle it. 60%

If France doesn't give a shit, the Spaniards must take over the revenge genre. They may not reach the intensity and brutality of the French, after all the Spaniards have always been interesting with their twists, atmosphere and mystery, but the effort is worth it. The film has an interesting protagonist, a gradual build-up and the revenge itself is not among the worst, but it doesn't pull the viewer out of their seat. I was slightly bothered by the TV look and the pacing could definitely use some punch, but it's decent. 65%