EvilPhoEniX

A decent war movie about the Georgian army wanting to take over territory. For Russian standards, there are decent visuals and lighter fantasy elements that include a little boy having fantasies with a giant robot (the finale is like Transformers), but otherwise it's 80% war drama. There is quite a bit of action, but it lacks gore and isn't very intense, which deducts points. Nevertheless, it's enjoyable to watch, there are no dull moments, and from a historical perspective, the film is also interesting. Had I seen it eight years ago I would have probably rated it at 4 and a half stars. Story***, Action***, Humor>No, Violence*, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Tension***. 6/10.

I got myself a copy of Unfriended: Dark Web, which for unknown reasons I ignored back then, and I am definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The main character is a teenager who finds a laptop and upon logging in, discovers that the owner not only watches him, but also wants his laptop back and is willing to go to extremes. The film has a very good pace, something is constantly happening, it is interesting, manages to surprise, and rather than being terrifying, it is disturbing and uncomfortable, and to some extent, quite psychotic. It's a bit disappointing that the scenes with disturbing videos don't last longer, and there are a few unnecessary decisions, but overlooking that it is a bit silly, it kept my attention for 90 minutes more than well. I have a weakness for these Skype horrors, as they feel more realistic than anything else. Story***, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence*, Entertainment****, Music****, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Tension****. 7/10.

An excellent and tough martial art short from Power Rangers. It has great visuals and great fights that meet the strictest parameters. There is also a twist and the dark side definitely suits it. Awesome! 8/10.

A solid and original short with a nicely done villain, a good twist, a bit of gore, and decent atmosphere. Definitely worth sacrificing the time. 7/10.

I postponed watching this movie for eight years, but in the end, I gave it a chance and it turned out exactly as I had hoped. Unfortunately, I cannot appreciate this. Across the River is extremely slow, cheap and uninteresting horror where there is no dialogue and nothing happens at all. I don't see a reason why I should watch a man smoke, drink, sit, sleep, and warm his hands by the fire, this wouldn't pass as drama, let alone horror. It seems to me that for some people, the word "atmospheric" is synonymous with boring and unexciting. If at least there were some scary moments, but it's not suspenseful, entertaining, or interesting in any way. No gore, no jump-scares, no apparitions. The screenplay is missing, the visuals are terrible, the acting is nothing special, and even the atmosphere didn't seem very unpleasant to me. I'm trying to find something positive about this movie, but no matter how hard I look, I can't find anything. Artsy film for a niche audience. Story**, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence*, Entertainment**, Music***, Visuals**, Atmosphere***, Tension*. 3/10.

Mad Max in space with amazing CGI Animation. It is a very enjoyable movie, it has an interesting story, beautiful locations, solid action, interesting characters, and decent pace. More or less everything that should work in such a movie works here. Perhaps it lacks humor, and I would definitely add more action scenes, but still a very decent achievement. 8/10.

A very good 13-minute sci-fi short from Germany! It could be said that it is a detective story on a spaceship in the style of Knives Out, where one crew member starts killing and the viewer's task is to guess who it is. It cleverly pulls the wool over your eyes and the resolution is not completely predictable. The visuals and the atmosphere are great, good stuff. 8/10.

The Legend of El Cid is a bit of a disappointment for me, but it's not outright bad. It was nice to see Denver from Money Heist in a different role after a long time, and he is the main reason why I started watching the series. The Legend of El Cid has a relatively engaging story, the protagonist starts as a squire and has to build his career from the bottom, which is a theme I enjoy. The visuals and historical setting seem to be accurate, the intrigues, betrayals, and political schemes work more or less as well as in any other historical series, but the biggest letdown is unfortunately the action, which is almost nonexistent. I wouldn't mind so much if the first four episodes were plot-driven and the creators served up the expected long historical battle in the finale, but getting a battle of not even ten minutes in five hours felt like a betrayal to me. While I wasn't bored and the series moves quickly, I'm angry that it's once again heading in this direction. Why bother with any large battles when the audience is satisfied with political intrigues, right? Story****, Action**, Humor>No, Violence**, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Tension***. 6.5/10.

For me, this overhyped comedy and Kevin Smith don't really click. There are a few decent lines (the discussion of Lord of the Rings vs Star Wars was cool), but otherwise it just flows without much surprise or interest. There's no downright burst of laughter and the story didn't seem very interesting to me either. Maybe ten years ago, it could've earned four stars, but definitely not today. 6/10.

Great Russian fantasy film! Although it is as intense as The Witcher, it is rather of a more fairy-tale nature, but still excellent and I appreciate the fact that the fantasy genre is slowly dying out. The film has a quite good and original story about a man who is transported from the present to the fantastic land of Belohoria, and I like that he can use abilities that he knows from normal life. There are plenty of classic fairy-tale elements. There is a water sprite, a giant, a witch with a walking house, a powerful wizard, and a dragon, and the movie manages to combine this world with effective humor, which was welcome. It also has great visuals and likeable main characters. Story****, Action****, Humor****, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music*****, Visual****, Atmosphere****, Tension***. Solid. 8/10.