EvilPhoEniX

Welcome to the motherfuckin’ Night Shift! JJ Perry made a dream debut, the best Netflix blockbuster and the best vampire movie in a decade or so at least. Fucking awesome carnage! I've never seen so many heads blown off and limbs ripped off in my life, the absolute pinnacle of bliss and satisfaction. John Wick crossed with Zombieland in a buddy comedy with insanely brutal and well shot action and a very cool imaginary world with vampires. Jamie Foxx is an incredible badass and likeable (quite possibly his best role ever). Dave Franco is also good as the weepy side-kick from the office, and Snoop Dogg, well he just stole the finale for himself – a black cowboy with a rotisserie and a cigar – stylish as fuck. Day Shift has an interesting and intelligently devised world with vampires where cool rules work. There's a bunch of innovative and effective ideas to disable the vampires, and I liked the trading of their teeth. I was also thrilled with the frantic cadence of wisecracks, it's an incredible melee, they should be carved in stone, I was rolling on the floor laughing, and the action is incredibly brutal, intense, choreographed with a lot of ideas and tons of honest to goodness gore. I will remember some of those fatalities, combos and kilts till my grave! There is also a good cameo by Adkins, literally kicking heads! I didn't mind anything at all, for me, this is an instant cult classic. Freakin’ Loved that shit. Works every time. Story 4/5, Humour 5/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10

A very pleasant surprise for me. Lightyear is an awesome animated sci-fi ride across time and space with really amazing technical aspects (the computer animation is revolutionary), fun characters (Buzz and Sox the cat rock), great action (robots Warhammer style, amazing), alien bugs, impressive alien landscape, plenty of humour and one unexpected twist. I found it not only entertaining, but also quite refreshing in the animation genre. I felt like I was watching a new sci-fi blockbuster with a compelling story and cool action, rather than a children's fairy tale, and I’m not far from a full rating. 8/10.

Interesting scare from the Dutch. The Dutch don't make many horror films and when they do, they usually aren't worth much. Moloch is one of those lighter moments, but it's still not great. It's a slow and atmospheric folk horror film that has an unusual setting, an interesting ancient curse, solid visuals and some pretty spectacular scares (there are two jump-scares that worked decently for me). Unfortunately, however, it's a bit boring at times and I found the characters very unlikeable and uninteresting, which is where it falls down a bit. It's quite that the haunting comes from normal people again, like in It Follows, it just doesn't grab me as much, but it will definitely find its fans, and since there is a horror drought now, it's recommendable. 5.5/10.

The hit series of the summer and a huge success for Apple. With most series I grumble about the unnecessary length (shortening episodes from eight to six etc.), but with Black Bird I found six episodes to be insufficient, because it is great to watch and there were so many interesting storylines that had to be rushed because of the shorter length, which is a shame because I wanted a hell of a lot more and that's the only reason why I’m not giving it a full score. Black Bird has a very appealing plot about a drug dealer who is going to serve a 10 year sentence, but gets an interesting offer from the FBI. He's moved to the toughest maximum security prison to get a confession from a serial killer and find out where he buried the women's bodies, because there’s a risk of him getting out, and the reward is freedom. There are two storylines here. One a detective storyline where two likeable detectives search for dead girls (some people say it evokes True Detective, but I see this as far superior). In the other storyline we are in a prison where Taron Egerton (who has fucking grown up since Kingsman and has matured into a major league actor) tries to subtly befriend Paul Walter Hauser (discovery of the year! The guy gives the performance of a lifetime, a masterful performance that will give you chills, his creepy voice will wake you up from your dreams and give you nightmares!). The creators really make do here with two perfect actors, a gritty setting, great dialogue and musings worthy of reflection, perfect technical aspects, it's filmed beautifully and there's a lot of disturbing, uncomfortable and chilling atmosphere that has a strong Mindhunter vibe. I see Mindhunter as a quintessential detective series, which has taken my film knowledge much higher and made watching Black Bird even more enjoyable. The highlight for me were episodes 3 and 4 that featured one ultra brutal prison riot – one of the best I've seen – and also strong flashbacks of both protagonists, especially Larry – digging graves, carnage!!! It's a series that had me glued to my seat, and every week I was incredibly excited for the next episode, which is why I'm sorry it didn't build up in the finale in the style I expected. Minor spoiler alert: I definitely would have welcomed an extra episode set in the trial. I can imagine a tense court battle with Larry. I was looking forward to this, but in the end only about five minutes were devoted to it, too bad. I would have welcomed another episode in the prison where it uncomfortably led to another riot, I was kind of hoping for a final showdown on all sides. The toughest prison in the world after all, but there's not much on gangs and murder or bullying as there's no time left. And also, I wouldn't be at all angry if each episode was dedicated to one dead girl, I believe it might have boosted the emotions, then we could be talking about the best series ever, but still a great show. 85%.

Dan Trachtenberg has revived the Predator brand and even though no one believed in the film after the first trailers, it is a success and I am happy with it too. I appreciate that Prey is set during the Comanche era, it has an Apocalypto feel to it and we don't get many gritty films with Indians, much less in the horror subgenre, so I applaud the period and the setting. I liked that the first half is like survival flick where we watch a bunch of animals hunting each other (cougar, bear, wolf, snake, rabbit). I could easily imagine a whole movie where a bunch of CGI animals eat each other in the jungle accompanied by a dense R-rated action, it would probably drive me crazy (so hopefully I'll get to see it one day). The Predator slowly gets acquainted with a new planet and a lot of time is spent hunting, which I enjoyed. The second half turns into a decent action inferno where the Predator attacks the French colonizers and that is one of the best scenes of the film, the final duel is also good. There are some impressive deaths, though the gore could have been more nutritious, but it's sufficient. Amber Midthunder is likeable and surprisingly skilled in combat, so I had no problem believing her. The music and atmosphere were also good. The only minor issue I have is with the Predator's invisible camouflage, which didn't make a good impression on me, but once the hunk showed up in full glory I was satisfied. For the new generation that probably won't put on the original Predator anymore, I think Prey is a cool notch in the franchise. Story 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10

Another big hit from Ron Howard (Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, Solo). He chose a very strong subject that deserved to be made without question. I wanted to watch the documentary a week ago and I'm glad the time didn't work out as the experience wouldn't have been as intense. The film is set in Thailand and describes one crazy rescue mission where 12 boys and their teacher get stuck in a cave that is slowly flooding due to torrential rains. The best divers from around the world are called in to come to the rescue, and they are Colln Farrell and Viggo Mortensen, both of whom are great as always. The film has a decent pace, it speeds up practically from the beginning and doesn't let the viewer breathe until the end. There is one complication after another, time is running out and the fact that it really happened only accentuates the whole crazy situation. The underwater shots in the cave with the divers are excellent, they are very suspenseful, and the claustrophobic atmosphere in the cramped cave space works perfectly, An intense survival drama based on true events that has all the ingredients to be a quality film. Howard gambled on a sure thing and it paid off. In many moments the film evoked the series Chernobyl for me. Story 5/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 8/10

Quite likeable and rewarding thanks to the refreshing topic. It depicts an original and clever business venture where two friends come up with a plan out of thin air to make millions on fake coupons. I enjoyed the whole plan a lot thanks to Kristen Bell, and it builds up interestingly. Once Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser come on the scene things start falling apart, although there were some interesting moments there as well. In terms of comedy, however, I was definitely expecting more, and didn't get much, the crime-drama line works better here. It's worth seeing because of the crazy premise. 6/10.

So far, this looks to be the highest rated romcom from Netflix and it's really very fine, for fans of the genre that is. Quite an unconventional story of two attractive people, a beautiful and promising singer and a Marine getting married for financial benefits and subsidies, but having to fake their fictional relationship in front of everyone to avoid going to court. Of course, nothing is without complications. The cast is very good and easy to root for, Sofia Carson not only looks good but sings amazingly and there are a few plot surprises. For my taste the humour is lacking, it's more serious and sad at times, which suits the film, but it’s not something I look for. Surprisingly entertaining and I recommend it to fans of the genre. The fairer sex will definitely be satisfied. 65%.

The expected action romp from South Korea is unfortunately a huge disappointment. We've noticed on Netflix lately that even quality directors are missing a hand there and that's definitely the case of Byung-gil Jung, who has two awesome flicks under his belt: Confession of Murder, an intelligent action crime drama that has become a cult hit, The Villainess, a groundbreaking actioner with POV camera. With Carter the director wanted to push the level a bit higher, unfortunately he missed the mark and the film oozes less is sometimes more. At the same time, the film has a very appealing premise, perfect for the action genre, with the main character waking up with memory loss, a voice in his head, and a clearly defined mission to take down a bunch of enemies; simple, straightforward, effective, more than enough. However, incorporating a zombie into it was a misstep, socks and sandals – tasteless, inappropriate, wrong. Furthermore, the director had a clear vision and wanted to make a film based in one take, something that had already been made elsewhere (Hardcore Henry), but not yet in Korea, and it has to be said that the time is not right – there is simply a lack of resources and quality CGI to make it work. Korea is strongest in realism, authenticity, detail, visuals and violence, which are lacking here. The camera hurts your eyes, it's crazy jittery, there are slow motions and fast motions, very bad CGI inserts like from old video games, and it's artificial, annoying, and a hell of a long way from reality. The film falls down on the director's vision. If it had been conceived in a more classical style without trying to please Hollywood, we could be talking about the action movie of the year, but as it is, most people will ignore it. To be fair, the opening fight in the spa, which has a decent body-count, lasted a long time and was decently bloody (the CGI blood was visibly artificial though and I can tolerate that from China, not from Korea). The rest of the action scenes are more in the Fast and Furious style, with in interesting stunts and car chases with the occasional interesting moment, but then they are ruined by the CGI or the camera. Although I wasn't bored and the runtime is very excessive for such a film, I'll only pull it up to 3 stars because of my love for Korean filmmaking and a few interesting moments. Disappointing. Story 3/5. Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 2/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 2/5. 5/10.

David Leitch and an incredibly awesome ride. I was really looking forward to Bullet Train from the first announcement, it's right down my alley, but my expectations were even exceeded. Leitch hasn't just made a straightforward action ride this time, he's taken something from Tarantino and something from Ritchie, and together he mixed a genre-complex cocktail, one that reminds me of my favorite Kingsman, which the film comes damn close to in its stylishness, over-the-top intelligence, and fierce nature. Brad Pitt is a great choice, and as he's winding down his career, he's picked a terrific film for one of his final projects. He is a hired assassin suffering from bad luck, a very interesting element itself. He is tasked with stealing a briefcase on the world's fastest train, the Shinkanzen – the modern setting of the train itself is also a great asset to the film. But there are other dangerous people on the train, each with different but similar intentions, and their clash is royal fun. Bullet Train has incredible style, insane pacing, well-dosed black humor, a bunch of crazy but original and clever ideas, great actors – every single character here has plenty of room to show off and most of the time has a very impressive flashback background, which I appreciate, and the viewer can form a relationship, both the good and the bad, with each character. The soundtrack is also good, there are a couple of unexpected cameos that are meta. Plot-wise, the film is unexpectedly mature, there are a bunch of solid twists and turns, each better than the previous one; the whole thing is incredibly cleverly interwoven and everything fits together nicely in the end – I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff and on top of that there's great fun R-rated action – the finale is pretty brutal (a train derailment scene that even Emmerich would approve). The last time I had this much fun was with Suicide Squad and Kingsman, all three films have R-rating, proper fun and tremendous style in common. I look forward to going again. Ps: I was really blown away by the water bottle scene – which has its own story here!!! Story 5/5. Action 5/5, Humor 4/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10.