POMO

Perhaps even the screenwriter himself didn’t know what was reality and what was only in the protagonist’s head. Or at least which of her imaginings would have an effect on reality and, if so, what kind of effect. It seems likely that he also didn’t know exactly what happened at the end. The Forest is supposed to scare with ghostly interpolations in the mold of the American version of The Grudge, and even the idea of angry ghosts of people who have committed suicide in the woods is borrowed from the Japanese original Ju-on: The Grudge. However, it lacks the clarity and balance between reality, childhood demons and frightening illusions in the forest, and the visual sophistication of the camerawork and editing that we’re used to from high-quality horror films are surprisingly missing here. This below-average film is a waste of the subject matter’s strong potential (that suicide forest in Japan really does exist).

In terms of craftsmanship, Train to Busan is excellent, with interesting plot twists in the ingenious opening scene and a pleasantly prolonged ending intended to give viewers as much of the train as possible. Only the middle third is rather laid-back (the zombies are suddenly slower and can be beaten with fists because we can’t resolve the situation otherwise in the screenplay). And those Asian emotions again go over my head. The characters are archetypally okay and all of the relationships and their tense moments work, except for the main one. When, in the most dramatic and would-be heart-rending scene, the father flashbacks to the kitschily over-lit birth of his daughter, with whom he has been on the train ride to Busan through the whole film, it was the only time the movie made me laugh out loud. Which was surely not the intended result.

A remote Scottish island with dramatic rock formations and windswept vegetation... The atmosphere of the location and the depiction of the cult mentality of its inhabitants make this a unique film, for a near B-movie debut of a director who then gave up on filmmaking. The equivocation of everyone present, the seductive sexual undertone, the helplessness of the main character of the police sergeant whom no one respects, and the almost spectacular sophistication of the people’s strange beliefs and their origins make The Wicker Man an absorbing, plot-driven flick.

Here we have an attempt at a touching story with a big heart, but it failed on all fronts. The two faces of the film, each in a different genre for a different audience, are poorly combined, giving rise to naïve absurdity that elicites laughter instead of suspense and the subsequent “awakening”. Though the first half starts off well and promises an attractive – though not original – plot in an appealing setting with interesting characters and fine actors, Steven Knight didn’t follow through with that.

Tiger King is the kind of documentary that amazes you with how much behind-the-scenes and intimate material the filmmakers were able to collect and how much real-life time they cover. And how they pieced together a true story of several people’s lives that examines the main characters in detail and has dramatic development with unexpected twists like those found in a fictional movie. Not to mention how cleverly it shifts between the different perspectives of those involved in the mysterious events, leading to an FBI investigation in the final stage. The viewer just has to be resistant to watching the documented creatures, whose thinking and actions are so bizarre that you have to clear your head with a bottle of gin after spending five hours in their company.

Something about the interplay of this film’s characters was grating. Mainly, it lacked a perceptible friendship between the boys, which was supposed to be its foundation. Anyone can fall in love with a girl, but that doesn’t make him a morally good character that viewers will care about. And the cool editing and references to ’80s blockbusters don’t add dramatic depth to the film, but only make it more stylish. The focus on the two romantic storylines, which sidleine the gangsters and drugs, is excessive and superficial. Functionally blending a crime drama with romance requires extra effort (Baby Driver, True Romance). But I wasn’t bored by Hot Summer Nights. Maika Monroe from It Follows is nice to look at and the actors were generally well cast.

In terms of production values, Uncaged is an attractive B-movie with nice underwater caves and a wet Tomb Raider in panties, minus the fins. Even the predator looks scary and makes for one decent scare. Otherwise, however, things happen here that not even the shark from Zombi 2 experienced. It’s impossible to believe that the filmmakers intended this seriously, much less that they were behind the well-made first 47 Meters Down.

This trashy would-be erotic flick is just uninteresting. The scenes in which various characters tell the protagonist about Greta in flashbacks are in 3D, which is supposed to enhance the experience of delving into her uninhibited sex life, so you see them split and recolored. The plot itself is feeble, has no build-up and the eroticism is only hinted at. Pretty girls, weak screenplay.

Audrey is magical in this sweet film, but Peck is stiff, though charismatic. Or maybe you noticed the look of being in love on his face? Still, that doesn’t detract from the chemistry between them. Roman Holiday offers a playfully imaginative screenplay, the foolishness of Italian culture, humor and adventure, and mainly a nice idea derived from the premise on which the romantic plot is based.

Lesbianism, cannibalism, butchering and dismembering of men, sexy costumes ranging from a pink princess to a fascist dominatrix, a cripple in a cage, and fetish-porn queen Belladonna in the most innocent role of all involved. The Ladies of the House is an amateurish-looking exploitation flick with a certain aesthetic level, a seductively twisted mood and well-cast, stylish girls. And the guys didn’t deserve anything else in this case, so why not? The film is unpredictable in its second half and has an interestingly conceived and edited ending. I’m rating it as if I had seen it at a trash festival or at Sitges in Spain, where it would surely have been applauded at the end. But these are three very different stars that I would give to normal films! It’s available in Prime Video’s VOD offer in the US, like it’s nothing usual.