Remedy

Red rover, red rover, Luc Besson and his painted sets are over. A mannerist, over-stylized CGI wank that is so self-absorbed in its visuals that it almost parodies itself in certain passages. That said, the story itself isn't completely silly, and if a filmmaker with a real vision had taken it on, it could have made a fine intergalactic spectacle with a diverse world of its own and (in the future) perhaps a rather interesting mythology, who knows. The whole thing struck me as an aging and once-famous filmmaker fulfilling an adolescent wet dream. And with a few exceptions, it had really bizarre casting.

A dense psychological spectacle in which the murderous clown himself plays second fiddle. The fear and trauma of his victims are often prefigured by dysfunctional family backgrounds, in which parents (at best) discourage their offspring through inertia or (at worst) treat them in an unhealthily possessive or violent manner. The characters themselves come to the fore, which results in a certain amount of realism and an absolutely serious psychological depth to the story. Moreover, Andy Muschietti was clearly inspired by the hugely successful visuals of Stranger Things, when he wrapped the fictional Maine town of Derry in a cool 80s retro look and directly cast a child actor from Stranger Things in one of the main roles. I haven't read King's novel and haven't seen the original 1990 TV version. I am, however, planning to try both.

I'll be in the minority here, but for me it's still better than the first installment. The Incredibles sequel actually goes much more in depth on the family issues, and most importantly isn't afraid to plant an even more complicated evil into the plot than the previous installment. While the central plot is predictable, the character of the main villain aptly reflects the risks and confusions of today's times, where the greatest danger by far is the virtual environment and the unlimited ways to misuse information technology for your own interests. The film is once again pushed high above average among animated films by the very respectable action scenes and of course the Incredibles family in all their glory, where the brutally cute Jack-Jack still steals almost all the attention for himself.

A romantic upgrade similar to that of the third Ice Age; unfortunately, one that is a lot less funny. This culmination of the entire How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is only slightly better than average in the animation field. What’s more, the third one limps far behind the previous installments. The kids will no doubt be enthused, though, because there's still the cutest dragon ever and the likably svelte Ruffnut as a symbol of defiance and rebellion against pretty much everything. Still, I thought at the beginning that perhaps the creators would be a bit more courageous and add a bit more fatality in the final installment, or perhaps subject the main characters to some really crucial life test or decision. After all, the first one dates back to 2010 and I kind of expected this series would want to grow with the viewer. Unfortunately, from that perspective, this is a rather tepid ending to an otherwise bombastic series. I still have the first installment in my top ten cartoons, and I still really enjoy the second one, but in my opinion the series could probably do without a third in this form.

A wonderful story about a special friendship that also has considerable resonance. Of course, it can be seen as a simple narrative where "the son, against his father's expectations, takes a path other than the predetermined one and actually opens everyone's eyes in the end." How to Train Your Dragon offers much more than that. It is, in fact, about a precipitous change in deeply ingrained thinking and beliefs. Here the means to achieve it is an extraordinary interspecies relationship that until now has been considered fundamentally unacceptable. I'm not afraid to say that this is truly one of the best animated films I've seen yet. And the cool thing about it is that it works for all ages. There's something for everyone that grabs them by the heart.

A psychedelic tale about how to manage a visit to Dinopark, almost bring a smile to an underage black girl’s face, bond with a strange dog, and do something good for the family in a few hours. Watching this hard-to-classify ride, which is probably closest in poetry to Refn or Noé, is in any case a blast. It's not as visually striking as Refn or Noé, but it has an exceptionally unique atmosphere. It's basically one big night trip in which damn near anything can happen.

Way too much unnecessary fluff for my taste, which reduces some scenes almost to a joke. One of David Ayer's weakest scripts ever, this time unfortunately drowning in clichés, infantilism, and flagrantly unbelievable characters. But if you put the childishness aside and just don't worry about it, you get a pretty brisk action ride with a heap of stellar acting. But the entire stellar cast comes across as self-indulgent at the very least, given the shallowness and superficiality of the entire film.

A fine script, but what can you do when Claire Foy doesn't even come close to brimming with the charisma of Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara. The film adaptation (both Swedish and American) of the Millennium series benefited in particular from its great cast, as well as its distinctive visual style. When you watch The Girl in the Spider's Web, you'll end up drawing those comparisons whether you like it or not, and with respect to the direction and acting, it's simply a weaker reheating of the previous films. Which sucks, because the story is very interesting.

Alita: Battle Angel has excellent fight scenes with totally professional choreography. Surprisingly, the film devotes quite a bit of space to the romantic storyline, which isn't emotionally crushing in the truest sense, but works well as part of the whole. Honestly, I was actually expecting the whole thing to be a bit more wild and crazy. Except that it's both appealingly down-to-earth and at the same time cautiously earnest, resulting in an immensely enjoyable romp with a touch of 90s camp in a futuristic setting. Plus, the main character is very convincing indeed (which is true of both the CGI and the acting imprint of Rosa Salazar) and comes across as a nice girl who might be impossible not to root for. For Robert Rodriguez, it's actually an unexpectedly smooth and compact spectacle, in which he capitalizes on the best of his directorial skills.

A stylish one-off that works in a relatively creative way with the concept of the "revenge movie", as it manages to portray a truly suspenseful and frightening atmosphere on the very limited space of home computers. Still, it is a bit of very simple "fun", which is fine to watch, but doesn’t require you to do a lot of thinking during (let alone about) the film. It's just a bit cheesy, but it's undeniably got its qualities. A better 3 stars.