EvilPhoEniX

An action-packed flick from India from the makers of WAR! I visit exotic India once a year, they can also make something slick, but it really has to be a huge hit of blockbuster parameters to entice me and Pathaan is just that. It caught my attention with the trailer and the film itself certainly didn't disappoint. It's a sort of variation on Mission Impossible, slightly over the top in a few scenes (typical of India, but not so much that it becomes annoying or too ridiculous). I definitely appreciate the fact that the film is half an hour shorter than the traditional three-hour Indian running time and also that there are only two dance numbers, and one of them is in the end credits (surprisingly, both dance numbers are good, as they make use of pretty destinations, attractive models and lively music). We have a top agent, played by Shahrukh Khan, looking very good at 57 (women will be tearing their panties off!!), who has to take on a traitor to his own country who plans to destroy it. John Abraham is a great bad guy with decent motivations, commanding respect, dangerous and sneaky, in short a well written villain for an action film. To top it off, Deepika Padukone is one of the prettiest women I've seen in a while, her hypnotic and seductive gaze will put male viewers in a trance and her character exuding sex-appeal induces unstoppable erections several times during the two and a half hours. (+ for the great choice of outfits, the woman is a treasure and manna from heaven!!). I must also praise the great technical aspect and the amazing choice of locations – we see Dubai, Spain, France, Afghanistan, Russia, India and Pakistan. The music is excellent, it adds verve in the action sequences and the entrance of the bad guy with this soundtrack gave me chills. There are a couple of plot twists that can surprise and the emotional side works at times. The last big draw is of course the action itself, there is plenty of it and it is filmed very well. The fights have great cinematography and decent choreography (the highlight for me is the fight with the Russian prisoners on the train, I was drooling with bliss and thinking, this is an Indian version of The Raid!). The shootouts may lack blood and the CGI sometimes hiccupped on the bigger action set-pieces, but you can see better progress in India too, so definitely the biggest progress I've seen in India so far. For me, a very mature and complex piece of filmmaking that reliably entertains for the entire runtime and pulls up a lot with great likeable characters and rip-roaring action. A proper ride for me. 8/10.

A Romanian folk horror based on the well-known fairy tale about goats and wolves, only it features children and has an A24 studio feel to it. It's a praised hit in Romania (7.8 pm IMDB), but overhyped mainly because Romania doesn't film anything interesting and it's their national folklore, so most automatically overrate it just because of that. From my point of view, it's nothing remarkable, though the effort is undoubtedly there. The film is set in 19th century rural Romania, where a single mother lives with her three children. As soon as the mother leaves the house, an unexpected visitor, Marius Bodochi (who is to play the wolf), arrives at the house with one intention and that is to murder the children. Admittedly, Bodochi plays the psychopath brilliantly, he is unpleasant in appearance and I have no complaints here, but he lacks the motive to commit such a horrific act. The whole home invasion sequence is rendered fine (it's actually the only horror scene in the film), but it's a bit of a bummer that the slitting of they slit the child's throat off-camera – the shocking effect would definitely have been more intense. The final showdown is still interesting, but unfortunately nothing much happens beyond that and for me it's more of a grim drama with one grittier sequence. Watchable, but don't expect miracles. 5/10.

There may be mild spoilers, but nothing major to the plot, more of a scene-by-scene tease. The best Wick and quite possibly the best action flick that already fully competes with The Raid 2, and in some ways even surpasses it. Stahelski is an incredible dude who made a 3 hour action orgasm; I died in the cinema, saw my funeral, was reincarnated and rose from the ashes as a brand new Phoenix whipped up with fire and pumped full of adrenaline. The whole movie is so sexy and exciting it makes me horny as fuck. (Never happened to me in any movie before!!). The film has four action sequences that are around 20-30 minutes long each and could serve as a finale for another film. (Seeing 4 finales at once makes is awesome!!). The samurai massacre in Osaka Continental had a strong Asian feel to it and I definitely purred with bliss. The likable Rina Sawayama and Hiroyuki Sanada are a great addition and the whole thing has a very dense atmosphere, you slowly hold your breath. The next chapter belongs to Scott Adkins in Berlin, who plays a kingpin and his character is a nice caricature. The table scene definitely has its charm, and is topped off with a gnarly fight at a swanky rave party that I would love to attend as well. The sequence on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris impresses with its unconventional setting. Incorporating fights and gunfire during rush hour traffic is a brilliant idea, and the whole scene is breathtaking in its adrenaline rush. Wick here makes nice use of oncoming cars to take out his opponents – delicious! Then the highlight is the shootout in a building with the use of a 2D camera, where Wick uses fiery shotgun blasts (heart attacks!!!) – one of the best ideas in the history of action movies ever, those camera raids were simply breathtaking. The final set-piece on the stairs to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica are again impressive with the setting and the barrage of adversaries. It simply has the feel of a computer game, with one enemy after another coming at you, and I dig that. The new characters on the stage were a great pleasure. Apart from the aforementioned Adkins and Sanada, the character of Hitchhiker Nobody was very good, as he and his dog were in great sync and it was again a solid insert in the action passages. Bill Skarsgård is not a fighter, so less kudos to him, but he was definitely very confident in the dialogue passages. Marko Zaror is also a decent surprise, he has perhaps the best role of his career and entertained me. The biggest draw, though, is without a doubt the blind Donnie Yen (I understand the filmmakers decision to make him a blind man, otherwise no one would have had a chance) who does some nice stunts with a katana. (A bit of a minor criticism here that he didn't use his famous Wing-chun, but I'll get over it). He's got great character and charisma, and an incredible assassin code. So much for the characters and action, what about the rest. Visually this is a masterpiece, all the locations, interiors and exteriors look sumptuous and lavish, the colours, the staging, the use of the environments to the max (rain, neons, lighting, monuments a great feast for the eyes in that respect), the music is great too (it's great throughout the franchise, but I found it the most intense here). For my part I have to praise the lore around the high table and the assassins, some complain that it could have been more in depth, but I don't know of any action movie that has a more interesting mythology than Wick. I was also excited by the detailed introduction of the Pit Viper gun! My only criticism is the bit of overkill (falling out a window and down some stairs), but a proper fan will just smile nicely at this and move on. This is what it's all about. Stahelski and the entire team should be applauded for their incredible creativity, attention to detail, and all sorts of different ways to disarm a person. It takes more work to come up with all this than any script for an Oscar-winning drama. I once again enjoyed this sublime and luxurious ride and look forward to visiting the cinema again. An amazing 3 hours spent and I would take another hour. I don't understand why someone who doesn't like or understand action movies goes to a preview. Instant bullet to the head. 10/10.

Donnie Yen in a new historical Wu-xia big film, which he is also directing this time. It looks like Donnie's dream project, but I'd rather see him in another variation on Ip Man or a pure action movie – he chose the least attractive material out of the whole of Asia. (Luckily John Wick 4 is around the corner). The film is based on a well known story, which in China is probably what Arthur and Merlin is to us. The main character is a feared and respected warrior who is accused of murder and voluntarily leaves his group to find answers, and those who falsely accused him, and beats up a bunch of enemies along the way. Visually the film is classy, Donnie has fine charisma and the action is passable (as long as he stays on the ground it's not bad at all). However, once he starts flying and jumping on rooftops my interest went sideways. It's a shame they had to incorporate elements of magic, so instead of Donnie using his martial arts abilities, you see him creating a wind-blow many times. Personally I'm not into that kind of stuff and I like straight up brawlers with hands and guns, unfortunately this has always gone past me, and it's mostly PG-13 stuff. I guess the Chinese are into it though. But those who like movies in the style of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers might find something to like here. 5.5/10,

Christopher Smith was an interesting horror filmmaker worth watching. His Triangle and Black Death are both decent horror flicks for a lot of fans, but nowadays he's just a routine guy whose films don't impress anymore, and Consecration is a nice example of that. Once again he has chosen a rather unconventional subject and setting. We have nuns, a Scottish convent and a murder mystery. You almost wonder what could have gone wrong here, except that it's a slowburn that has little to do with horror, and it's not very engaging. The attractive elements are minimal and Smith has quite a problem keeping the viewer's attention. In terms of the story, it's not a completely bad effort, the craftsmanship is relatively fine and the childhood flashback is probably the most interesting thing about the film (creepy father in action), the finale is also interesting, there is some blood and some twist, so in summary it's not a shit film, I just didn't enjoy it and I didn't care about the characters at all. It's a pity that the atmosphere and violence were spared, the result could have been more interesting. For me it's more like meh. 4/10.

A milestone in the computer screen thriller genre and a unique masterpiece with an instant contender for Thriller of the Year. Searching was already a hit, but Missing enriches this subgenre even more and creates a clear cult-classic potential. Combine the best true crime documentaries from Netflix, give it a load of twists and turns with a touch of Oriol Paul, the uncomfortable and oppressive atmosphere of the best thrillers, all the apps of today's world and you'll come out with a tasty thriller cocktail that will make you shiver and hold your breath like never before. A young girl starts searching for her mother who hasn't returned from Colombia and starts an investigative and intelligent show that piles up one twist after another. Your theories will be twisted every 5 minutes, that's what I call a decent fuck you to the viewer, you don't see that kind of clever tug of war in Hollywood these days. Each new twist is more bizarre than the last (I was physically uncomfortable at times, imagining what was really going on). It oozes authenticity and you really get the feeling that this really happened, which is an excellent calling card. The main character's acting is very good and she handles the PC to a tee, so everything is spot on. The film also has an excellent pace, it manages to keep the viewer's attention to the maximum, the atmosphere is riveting and uncompromising, they don't coddle the viewer here (it's filmed in a style where they don't care if you faint or have a heart attack in the living room, they simply won't spare you). A film that, when it's over, immediately starts to resonate in your head and makes you want to watch it again to catch all the details and enjoy the experience even more. This year with Babylon and Creed 3 the strongest five star. 10/10.

Overhyped. I haven't played “The Last of Us”, but I've seen the gameplay, so I'm not that enamored with the premise, but the result is embarrassing for me anyway. Craig Mazin, the creator of the brilliant Chernobyl, had a very good chance, unfortunately he chose the less attractive option for me. Instead of horror, he delivers us a post-apocalyptic drawn-out drama, where nothing much interesting happens most of the time, until you think that you definitely wouldn't want to play such a game. Fortunately, he had a lucky hand in the casting. Pedro Pascal is a great choice, but we don't see him much in action, so he's not used to his full potential. Bella Ramsey is not likeable, but she's a great actress, so I was less bothered by her in the end than I would have expected. Visually, the series is good, but that's to be expected, so I won't give plus points for that. Story-wise, it's not bad, but I can't say for myself that you will get any significant twists or emotions here, unfortunately. The best episodes are 1, 2 and 5, which were also the only episodes to feature the Runners and Clickers – the look is great, but the creators skimp on them. On the other hand, episodes 3 and 7, purely flashbacks that don't move the plot anywhere, seemed completely unnecessary to me (the fact that they are about gays and lesbians is another thing I won't comment on). The finale could have kicked it up a notch, but it's barely 40 minutes long and again we don't get anything worth paying attention to. There is zero gore, minimal action and zombies, little atmosphere, the pacing is slow – in short it’s lacking all my favorite attributes. That the relationship between the two protagonists develops brilliantly? Fine, that didn't have to take place in the post-apocalyptic world, but in the present day without zombies and ideally in some idyllic LA neighborhood. The creators have made it clear that they are fans of drama, so anyone hoping for something to change in the second season is naive. We'll get shit again. For me, the biggest disappointment of the year so far. The best video game adaptation is still Warcraft. Hopefully Apple will fix my taste with their Silo. 6/10.

A decent and entertaining crime drama based on the famous TV series Luther. I don't know the series, so I can't compare, but the film holds up even without knowing it. I enjoyed the plot, where Luther goes to prison and has to escape to catch a maniacal killer who is terrorizing London, and the police are all over him. It is a cool and fun storyline that I liked from the start. Idris Elba's performance is deft and you can root for him. Cynthia Erivo evoked The Outsider for me and I'm glad to see her in a detective role as well. But the absolute best thing about the whole film is Andy Serkis, who plays the villain with grace. He's nasty, he's got crazy plans, he's intelligent, in short a great killer as it should be; he pulls the whole film off without a hitch. Visually it's passable, but it's not the strongest point of the film, in short a better Netflix Look. The action is average, but it's not an action film, so I take it here more as a bonus (in how many crime dramas we get to see a prison riot, right?). The music is good though, it adds to the atmosphere and I liked the pace of the narrative, where something is constantly happening and not standing still at all, which is rather rare in this genre, so I give Luther plus points for that. I also liked the actual ideas of the murders (the hangings are properly chilling). The script occasionally hiccups and a few things don't quite make sense, but as an entertaining, well acted crime flick it worked reliably for me.

A strong addition to an already pretty consistent franchise. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have already shown in Ready or Not that they're a great choice to formulate the horror genre and they're making very audience-friendly genre films, I'm curious to see what's next. For the first time in the franchise, we leave Woodsboro and move to the big city of New York with a group of survivors who want to forget. But Ghostface returns more brutal than ever, this time, he doesn’t mind killing in public. The opening cameo with Samara Weaving is fine, and the unexpected twist right at the beginning is intriguing. It would be interesting to watch Scream from Ghostface's point of view, so hopefully we'll see it sometime. All of Ghostface's attacks are properly ferocious and intense, even quite brutal (although not much blood spurts when he's slicing with the knife, which bothered me slightly). The attack in the apartment is nasty, the attack in the shop is uncompromising, and the subway is nicely suspenseful and atmospheric with a wink to other horror icons. The reveal of the killer works in the finale, which again isn’t predictable. This is something the whole franchise has done very well. I also enjoyed all the familiar horror clichés and poking fun at franchises - I found that very entertaining. On the other hand, the fact that most of it is surviving the impossible is a bit of a bummer; that's about the only criticism I'd have. Otherwise, this is the best mainstream horror film of the year so far. 7.5/10.

An epic Masterpiece by Damien Chazelle and a future cult classic! I'm sorry I missed the film at the cinema and I deserve a bullet in the head, this one of the best films I've ever seen. Movies, jazz and cocaine clearly define Babylon, a film divided into three acts and they all have their own angle. The first act is one crazy sick and epic party, where my only regret is that I didn't attend it. The 1920's and depravity of the highest caliber, drugs and sex at every turn, that’s the first 30 minutes. Thanks to the daring, crazy dance creations and the incredibly dynamic music, it draws the viewer fully into the plot and keeps them there until the end. (I'll be watching this act a lot, it’s properly wild!!). Act Two – The Birth of Hollywood – is a wonderful peek behind the curtain as it was and is still going on with all the bad and the good. The journey to fame for ordinary people, the making of movies – incredibly chaotic and people are getting hurt at every moment – the battle of the big companies (Warner, MGM), the transition to talkies, in short, it was incredibly engaging for me and it was great to have been able to experience from the beginning the film industry I could not imagine life without today. Chazelle's strong ambition made my dream come true. The third act takes an unexpected turn into a twisted underground exploitation hell. The underworld of early Hollywood is reminiscent of the world's greatest evil and my mouth was wide open with all that was happening on screen again. The whole film is uniquely shot, 3 hours passes like water thanks to the incredibly fast pace, the dynamics ( the pace here is better and faster than in Avatar 2, and that's saying something). Thanks to the great jazz music, even an ordinary scene can get incredibly dramatic, and I felt like the whole movie was one crazy action ride, pumping me up with one awesome remarkable scene after another. Margot Robbie gives the best performance of her career, she steals the show and outdoes even the excellent Brad Pitt, while the likeable Diego Calva is brilliant. The film isn't afraid to be twisted, bizarre, sick and even brutal (I really didn't expect to see gore here!!), and if that crocodile had eaten someone at the end, I would have been over the moon. A film that has heart, incredibly explosive energy, a compelling script, top actors, top direction and top ideas. I have nothing to complain about. 10/10.