EvilPhoEniX

Melissa McCarthy is one of the few actresses I like for her acting and not for her looks. Her humor suits me and I had a few good laughs here. The film has a pretty original premise too, it's set in a school, something I never get tired of, so a fine flick for a better 3. 65%.

I didn't want to see the film at all, but it was a pleasant surprise in the end, worthy of recommendation. Steven Soderbergh is no amateur (Ocean’s Eleven, Contagion, Side Effects, Logan lucky) and he decided to make his first horror film on an Iphone in just 10 days, and the result is surprisingly very good. The protagonist, Claire Foy, finds herself involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she sees the man who haunted her in her everyday life. It has a very strange format and clearly the film comes across as cheap, but the camera doesn't shake and it's shot cleanly. The film has excellent performances, both the main character and the central psychopath. The scriptwriting is also top notch and the final half hour is decently psychedelic. I was very happy with and I can never have enough mental-hospital movies… there are not many of them! 70%

A romantic survival drama in Antarctica from China. A man and his wife crash land in Antarctica in the middle of nowhere. The struggle for survival is not portrayed too harshly, but rather realistically. There are three survival Attractions and are definitely worthwhile, but most of the time the film is more of a romantic drama. It's nicely shot and acted, magically atmospheric, just a little too subtle for me, maybe that's due to how many survival films I’ve watched. 65%.

A film I never want to see again!! Hereditary has received a lot hype much like A Quiet Place, but the difference is that the former is loved and raved about by critics but hated by mainstream audiences, while the latter garners raves on both sides. Hereditary is not audience-friendly and can be placed in a similar variety of films to The Witch and Mother !, and it also features a twist that pisses-off most viewers. The film is a little over two hours long and is told at a very slow pace, thus impatient viewers may yawn with boredom, but if you can get sucked into the atmosphere, you will get an extraordinary experience that will make you very anxious to the point of being uncomfortable. The film is creatively shot, the camera angles are breathtaking for a debut, but above all it's the acting of Toni Collette, who delivers one of the most impressive female performances I've ever had the opportunity to see and if she doesn't get an Oscar nomination I'll be very surprised. Praise also goes to Milly Shapiro who wins the award for ugliest little girl I've ever seen, she’ll give you chills! Hereditary sets a new direction in horror and is very close to The Exorcist and The Shining. Definitely don't expect any jump-scares or gore, rather expect a disturbing, psychological, emotional horror drama, but one that has one of the most intense finales I've seen in a long time. A couple of scenes are very uncomfortable to the point of hard to watch and will definitely stick in my mind for a long time. I felt anxious and uncomfortable after leaving the cinema and the two near crashes on the way home didn't add much to the mood. 85%.

A British oddity that bothered me. I went into the film without any information, which I rarely do, and it didn't pay off at all. I like oddities in general, and maybe if this film had been a thriller I would have liked it, but it is a comedy that I unfortunately didn't find funny at all. It was raunchy at times, weird most of the time, and I found it awkward at times. Shame, but this wasn't my cup of tea. Finished with great difficulty. 20%.

The Northerners are scoring points this year and they are certainly not slacking off. Unknown Soldier brings us up to speed on the conflict between Russia and Finland, which hasn't been talked about much, so as history lessons go, excellent. We don’t get to know much about the characters though, only as they go along. Antero Rokka gets the most space as the most brazen of the whole battalion, and the scene where he single-handedly shoots up an entire Russian unit is one of the best of the film. There is quite a lot of action, especially in the first hour and the last one, but the middle part seemed tedious at times (the 2:20 director’s cut seems to me to be the right choice, but only the three hour version is available). The war is realistically filmed, nicely alternating locations – snow, the water, trenches and forests – but it’s a shame the director didn't care much for the gore. Plus point for the excellent visuals complemented by the beautiful Finnish countryside. Solid filmmaking and a decent war movie, where the only downsides are the running-time and the fatigue that sets in after the end. However, I liked the Norwegian 12th Man a bit more. 80%.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the summer, unfortunately it flopped and earned itself the biggest disappointment of the year. Colin Trevorrow delighted most of us with his 2015 debut, but the sequel has been taken on by veteran director J.A. Bayona, and ironically fared worse, which is a shame because his previous The Impossible and The Orphanage are very good genre films. Almost nothing works in this sequel. I'm not going to praise the visuals, because they are a given and I can't really praise anything else. Story-wise, the film is uninteresting, unnecessarily talky with uninteresting characters (Chris Pratt is no longer likeable, he’s annoying), the T-Rex shows up for a total of two minutes, and the finale, which should be scary, is rather laughable and annoying because of the little girl squealing constantly for about half an hour. The only scene worth mentioning is the volcano eruption and the dinosaurs escape, but I find that rather underwhelming from a film that cost 170m to make. The final seconds nicely tease a third installment, which Trevorrow will take on again, so hopefully it will turn out better. A better average for the return of the dinosaurs although they don't have that much space here. Tired, tedious, lacking pace, adrenaline and suspense, I didn't expect such a blow. 60%

A feel good coming of age genre film with a gay theme, but fortunately it's not raunchy or inappropriate, on the contrary, it's easily digestible. The main character is a nice guy and his friends are all great, the film is well paced, nice to watch and the director even manages to milk the tears out of the viewer towards the end, so unexpected satisfaction. 75%.

Pascal Laugier, the director of Martyrs, is on a rampage again this year! After a long hiatus, the French are waking up and a new French Wave may be starting! This year they surprised with the stylish Revenge and now they are rocking with Ghostland, so thumbs up. Ghostland is an unpleasant, evil, psychological emotional nightmare that simmers for almost the entire film. Not much can be written about the story without spoilers, but it's important to mention that the film can seem confusing at times and you need to use your brain. The beautiful Crystal Reed excels in the lead role, I have grown to love her in the series Gotham, so all her agony made me sympathize with her far more than I should have. A big plus are the deranged bad guys, especially the giant hulk who reminded me of the wrestler Glenn Jacobs, who starred in See no Evil and made me feel really uncomfortable. Another big plus is the setting of the old house, with its creepy dolls as decoration, which creates a great horror atmosphere. The action, the chases, the screaming, the violence, the physical and psychological terror throughout the film makes Ghostland a very intense spectacle that will be at least in the top 3 this year. If Pascal had gone a bit further with the gore, it would be a clear number one for me. Still, an excellent experience. After the second screening I'm upping it to a full score. The experience is more intense. 85%.

The Spaniards strike again! Last year the strongest Spanish genre film was The Invisible Guest, since then nothing, and now they are back in force with another shocking thriller that meets classic Spanish features. The whole film takes place in one room, in an apartment where a family and their daughter's kidnapper are sitting. The kidnapper doesn't want money, he wants a confession of secrets from one of the family members, and they have until 6 am or their daughter will die. While visually the film may seem poorer, its greatest strength lies in the script and the performances. As the family's horrifying secrets from the past are revealed, you begin to root more for the kidnapper, which is pleasantly paradoxical. The film spices up the psychological terror to the max and manages to be pleasantly shocking on several occasions, especially the final twist is utterly disarming and very uncomfortable for the male audience. A great little film that fans of Spain should definitely not miss. 80%