EvilPhoEniX

Blomkamp and a good video game adaptation! Blomkamp made his second best film after Disctrict 9 and not much was expected from Gran Turismo. The trailers were mediocre, we all know the curse of video game adaptations and thus the result itself is more than satisfactory. A fan of racing films will definitely be satisfied, if only because genre films like this don't come along very often. Story-wise, of course, it's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a likeable story that has heart, likeable characters, emotion, suspense and a proper adrenaline rush. The main character is a great video game player who gets the chance to race in a real car against pro players, but he will have to go through tough training and it won't be for free. Archie Madekwe did his best in the See series, so here he has his first proper role and he does a decent job. The best thing about the whole film is David Harbour, who has one of the best roles of his career, tasked with preparing the players for the real "Fight", and he is a joy to watch. The races themselves are good as well. They are thrilling, have great cinematography, when it comes to crashes it is spectacular and nasty, the rivalry between the other players works and the final Le Mans race is a really adrenaline-pumping and thrilling ride. I found myself tearing up a few times during the film, which I hadn't counted on at all here. I enjoyed it immensely, I would definitely put the film in the stellar racing trio, Le Mans, Rush, Gran Turismo. I will definitely watch the film again. 8.5/10.

Another Korean Revenge actioner with a female protagonist has arrived on Netflix, but the result is less than satisfying. Lee Chung-hyun shocked us three years ago with the brilliantly intertwined thriller The Call, so I believed him, but is better in mystery thrillers than action movies, as he doesn’t deliver much action. The plot is quite simple, unusually for Korea (this is typical of US productions): an ex bodyguard is going to get revenge for her best friend who had a last wish. Since the plot is less than two sentences long, it's a wonder the action takes up less than 15 minutes of the running time. It's admittedly shot well, it's brutal, with great cinematography and decent choreography, it's easy to watch and manages to raise the adrenaline which is important – though it was more about the shootouts than the fights. The heroine is a total badass and technically the film is traditionally good – they stick to the classic Korean proprieties – but it’s quite boring. It definitely needed a more interesting plot when there’s so little action. 5.5/10.

A surprisingly decent religious horror film for me. It focuses on a pregnant nun who is expecting twins, all indications point to a prophecy that she is expecting the Messiah and the Antichrist. The church doesn't like that and plans to kill the children, but she manages to escape with two priests. I have to say, the first quarter is solid. There's machete decapitations and flayings as early as the second minute (I wish every movie started like that!!), the subsequent escape is also executed in a suspenseful way, and I enjoyed all the nightmares and visions which are decently creepy. But the film starts to stagnate by the middle and there's a lot of shifting in place. Thankfully it picks up slightly towards the end (the wolves eating are shot in a very raw and uncomfortable way and the disposal of the cops offers some nice gore). There was also some sex and I liked the music. The craftsmanship is also fine, I found the plot interesting and I wasn't bored, so for me a fine one-shot that could have been more stripped down, but certainly didn't annoy me. The atmosphere could have been handled better, but at least the unexpected brutality was pleasing.

Decent Australian revenge caper. After a very long time we have an Ozploitation flick for a very marginal audience and it fulfils its purpose. The story is almost non-existent, the script contained must have been one A4 page, so if you are one of those for whom the script is the mainstay of a film, avoid this one. Here we have a protagonist who literally suffers through the entire film, being beaten and tortured almost to death, experiencing an unbelievable martyrdom, fighting against men, against nature and against his own sanity, gradually descending into madness. It's low budget, but it feels quite realistic, it can be very unpleasant in some scenes (the eye gouging is a real treat), it's very raw, minimalistic and uncompromising – the very final shot is shocking! At times it's a bit boring though, as it's a bit of a chase through the Australian countryside, where bad things happen, but it's not delivered in a completely engaging way, which takes points away, but those who like similarly themed films should give it a chance. 6/10.

A dark neo-noir crime drama from Netflix and the evil Benicio Del Toro! This is what a double win should look like. An unknown outsider makes one of the crime dramas of the year and straight to Netflix, which was in acute need of a better film already (fall at Netflix is always more packed than the rest of the year). Reptile is an intimate, old-school, atmospheric and dark crime drama where seasoned detective Benicio Del Toro investigates the murder of a real estate agent (the guy almost never leaves the frame). Everyone knows that slow movies and I don't get along, but sometimes a miracle happens and I can enjoy a movie of this cut and that's what Reptile is. The film won me over from the opening and kept my attention throughout – this is very important in a film where not much happens. It's great that most of the time they actually investigate and do some honest crime work (I was worried that they were going to deal with family issues and that there would be uninteresting plot diversions, as is the habit with other crime films, but thankfully that doesn't happen here), everything is built on great actors, great atmosphere and an uncomfortable stuffiness in the air. Among the supporting cast, Justin Timberlake and Michael PItt stand out. I was also intrigued that a classic whodunit about a manhunt for a killer, morphs into something bigger, more complex and unexpected in the second half. I have to say that the twist worked for me and was a pleasant shock. Good film. 8/10.

A decent and original intimate survival from Spain. Albert Pinto once surprised me with the solid ghost story Malasaña 32, confirming that he is another new interesting Spanish filmmaker. This time he's chosen a survival darma set in a single location, and those who like these genre flicks won't be disappointed. The director conceived the film in an original way, we haven’t seen a survivial drama in a container in the middle of the sea (it's hard to come up with something new here, so plus points for the idea). The protagonist is a pregnant woman trying to escape during the war and wants to transport herself with the container, but it gets shot up and only she survives. To make matters worse the container falls off the ship and she finds herself alone in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't really imagine what was going to happen for almost 2 hours, but to my surprise the director had quite a few interesting ideas. The main character is a likeable woman, so it's impossible not to root for her. I found her to be intelligent and some of her ideas wouldn't have occurred to me, so this was entertaining. The best scene of the film for me was the actual birth during a storm, where Mia strips naked and the viewer really believes she is literally giving birth. It must have been a crazy scene for the woman. DiCaprio ate a bison liver in The Revenant, here the heroine eats her own placenta! The uncomfortable tearing of the leg and the subsequent stitching was even more interesting. What's a little bit disappointing is that there is no significant danger of environmental phenomena to the heroine, i.e. the only thing that gives her a problem is the lack of food and water, but because of the setting nothing extra could be invented. It’s not groundbreaking, but this is a watchable, well done and original survival genre film. 6/10.

A likeable alien abduction Invasion. A month ago, the trailer for No One Will Save You pleasantly shocked me and promised a new Sci-Fi horror flick, which it didn’t deliver, but it's definitely a decent genre addition and since we get very few of these alien genre flicks, the film certainly doesn't offend. The film hinges on the likeable Kaitlyn Dever fighting alone against an alien invasion, which thankfully picks up very quickly and has a lot to offer. The craftsmanship is up to par, the music and cinematography are decent, the atmosphere is slightly uncomfortable in a few scenes, the look of the aliens is traditional, but that's exactly the look I like (too bad she didn't kill off more of them). I didn't mind that there is hardly any talking, at least everything moves forward quickly and there is no room for boredom. The finale is a bit meh and deprived the film of a 4th star, as it had a solid path to it. I liked Nope a bit more, but this definitely doesn't put the Sci-Fi genre to shame. 6/10.

Definitely a Meta film, a great financial success, playful and clever filmmaking, with an excellent Robbie and Gosling, great dance numbers and songs, good philosophical musings to ponder, enjoyable cameos and an originally conceived world. A few things are annoying and cringeworthy, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. The best part is definitely Barbie's trip to our world – it's a shame they don’t spend more time, as there were a few humorous interludes – but the patriarchy in Barbie's world had its moments too. Hard to rate, I don't need to see it again, but it entertained me. 65%

Taylor Sheridan and one solid undercover special ops operation in a series dominated by female protagonists. An excellent Zoe Saldana, an even better Laysla De Oliveira, an uncompromising Nicole Kidman, and the insanely sexy Stephanie Nur, who gives you an instant boner with her gaze. It's a bit of an unconventional series where we don't get much action, it's a spy political thriller that's blends family drama, but the two levels work so well that the series gets by without action. Sheridan knows what he's doing, so the dialogue is precise, the emotions work, the political intrigue packs a punch and doesn't get boring despite the slower pace. The craftsmanship is of course top notch, the music is excellent, all the actors are spot on and the action from recruiting the main character, training, infiltration and defusing is rendered very realistically. The final episode is the highlight (the last 15 minutes are awesome!), so for me a job well done. I enjoyed a lot the military politics, which nicely pointed out that everyone is just puppets and everything is controlled by the scumbags behind the desk. There could have been more action, the plot could have been better paced and overall it could have been more intense, but it is still a decent genre piece above average. If you like these undercover operations to take down a terrorist, you won't go wrong. 7/10.

An entertaining, light-hearted and wacky action comedy about a stand up comedian against the Russian Mafia. The main character befriends Igor on a trip in Russia and during the course of the evening becomes a legend of Russian folklore, gets involved with the Russian Mafia and steals a valuable watch. 20 years later, however, the past comes back to him and the Mafia comes for the watch. The film has a fun premise, the main character is a stand up comedian (even for real) so he can be funny and has decent lines, it's full of pop culture and movie references, which I always like in movies. The Russian Mafia is well rendered with lot of interesting assassins and oligarchs (and weird characters), it's well paced, has a likeable cast – even Mark Hamill, the father of the main character, is excellent – and there is the occasional brutal scene (a hand jammed down a throat!!), though the action scenes are average. The film has two storylines, one is present day, the other is a flashback where we see the main character become an icon of the Russian nation overnight. I liked both. Nothing great, but an enjoyable little fun movie with a wacky premise that knows how to make fun of itself. I wasn't expecting much, but it hit my mood. (Most people want to be Batman, not the one who killed his parents) 7/10.