EvilPhoEniX

A nice bloody zombie killing spree set in a Belgian hospital. A young couple travel to a shabby hospital specializing in plastic surgery. The protagonist would like to reduce her overly large breasts, but instead of surgery they will be fighting for their lives against blood thirsty zombies. I was a bit bothered by the actors, who perform rather poorly and the fact that they speak English just makes the whole thing worse, but fortunately the horror is action-packed enough, the make-up effects are good, the gore is substantial and there's plenty of it; there's even some nudity, so as an entertaining romp Yummy works more than well. Too bad the humour rather passed me by and it's not really suspenseful or atmospheric either, but considering this is probably my first horror film from Belgium, I'll be nice. Story***, Action****, Humor**, Violence****, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere***, Suspense**. 7.5/10.

It's a crazy comedy about two friends who start a business (stag-dos in Budapest) and at times it feels like a French version of The Hangover. It's not bad, there are pretty women, it has some nice music, and the actors are likeable. Too bad the film is more fun than funny. The gags are almost non-existent. Story***, Action>No, Humor***, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere***, Suspense>No. 6/10.

A decent psychological thriller with the traditionally good Kevin Bacon and the beautiful Amanda Seyfried. The film moves at a very slow pace and nothing much interesting happens apart from the final act, something I don't like. It should and could have been scarier and more atmospheric, the film rather just leans on horror. At least the craftsmanship is good, the dream sequences are decent and the denouement is quite interesting. An easily forgettable film that I probably won't remember in a week. Story***, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence>No, Entertainment***, Music***, Visuals***, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 5.5.

This anticipated action flick that could have been the successor to The Raid is ultimately just a better average that, while not offensive, had a lot of things that bothered me. Malaysia isn't Indonesia, Thailand and certainly not South Korea, and the filmmaking differences are very apparent. Acting-wise, the film is pretty bad and sometimes they start speaking English out of nowhere, which I didn't understand, and it only made things worse. The villain is uninteresting (an old geezer) and the story isn’t very engaging, either. Of course these are all things I can overlook in an action movie, but I have my complaints about the action itself. Those who don't have a lot of experience will like the action, those who are more demanding like me will have a problem. Two things bothered me. Firstly the film is absolutely bloodless and it bothered me mainly because everyone uses knives, machetes and katanas, but no one cuts, stabs or kills anyone, which I thought was weird. And the fights themselves, although they have minimal editing and occasionally pull off a nice move or scene, I didn't believe them in most cases. The punches very often don’t land and it feels very mechanical and rehearsed. The main character doesn't really move much (as if he knows where the punch is coming) and it felt more like two people training than fighting, which I personally don't like, but some might find it fine. It gets a bit better in the ending, where Ruhian, the star of both The Raid and John Wick, appears and the final fight was the best scene of the film, but in any other Asian film it would have been mediocre. Malaysia's effort is good, but it lacks the budget and the actors to compete with the masters. Story**, Action***, Humor>No, Violence>No, Entertainment***, Music***, Visual***, Atmosphere***, Suspense**. 5/10.

A decent abduction debut. Abductions are the most popular theme in Korea right after serial killers and it's been a while since something like this has been made here, but I was expecting a bit more. A mother searches for her kidnapped son, but trouble arises when corrupt police are involved and it's a fight that can't be won legally. The story is engaging, the acting and visuals are good, but that's the case with any South Korean film. I was disappointed by the lack of violence and action, there is a little something, but the film tends to lean more towards drama and rarely leans on thriller. Emotionally it didn't hit me much either and lacked drive. It's okay to watch though. Story****, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence*, Entertainment***, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 6/10.

Gritty, raw and bleak French crime drama following the 10-year hunt for serial killer Guy Georges! The resemblance to David Fincher's Zodiac is definitely spot on. The film has an interesting narrative style, following two timelines. One is set in a court trial and in the other we follow the work of the police as they try to solve the increasingly frequent murders of young beautiful girls. Very nicely portrayed, as such work goes. Frustration, helplessness, lack of evidence, no leads and no cooperation. You won't envy the detectives. The film has a slower pace, but the topic makes it very engaging, the acting is perfect, and the court scenes also have a lot of charge. For a film that is 6 years old it still hasn't got into people's minds, needs to be rectified! Story****, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Suspense***. 8/10.

A Japanese whodunnit in the style of Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie should not offend fans of such work. I enjoyed it perhaps a little more than the recent Knives Out, which is probably due to my favourite hotel setting, but the running time was excessive and if the film was half an hour shorter I wouldn't have been angry. The actors are fine and the last half hour is suspenseful and there's no shortage of fine set-ups, so decent within the genre and for the Japanese. Surprisingly, the visuals are good too. Story****, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence>No, Entertainment***, Music***, Visual****, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 6/10.

An inoffensive home invasion flick in the style of Home Alone, with Kevin James playing a Nazi (he will hopefully get a prequel set in prison) and a believable Lulu Wilson, who will be on a rampage in Wick 5 in a few years. A quartet of prisoners manage to escape from a transporter and break into the house where Becky is spending the weekend with her father and his new girlfriend, but Becky is cunning and imaginative and gives them a good kicking. It's an inoffensive one-off that doesn't really impress with anything, though the murders are imaginative (pencils, ruler, key) and the actors make it easy to watch. Story**, Action***, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals***, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 6/10.

This year's Spanish Renaissance continues and this is definitely the best work I've seen from them this year. The film is a proper disturbing extravaganza full of dark humour, unexpected twists and shocking revelations, just the way we like it from the Spaniards. Critics have compared the film to Wild Tales and I have even seen the phrase "Wes Anderson on LSD!" to describe it. The story focuses on a woman who meets a psychiatrist on a train who tells her a story about one of his patients, and from this the film mines multiple intertwined stories of strange people with shocking revelations. This time the Spaniards go off the rails and serve up scenes I wouldn't expect from them. The film includes Snuff with kids, a woman being raped by a dog, sex between two mentally challenged people and even one brutal scene with brains out (but nothing is gratuitous, though). We also learn some interesting things about garbage that will definitively change your view of the world. Shocking, twisted, excellently acted (give Luis Tosar an Oscar!!), disturbing, hypnotic and an excellent piece of filmmaking in all respects, Oscars will fly for all categories in Spain. It may be too bizarre for some, but I found it incredibly fitting. Story*****, Action>No, Humor***, Violence***, Entertainment*****, Music***, Visual****, Atmosphere*****, Suspense***. 8.5/10.

A weaker moment for Netflix. The film has a fine idea and quite likable actors (Edgar Ramirez and the gorgeous Anna Brewster are fine), but it suffers from an overlong running time and mediocre action that can't interest anyone who has watched a thing or two. The premise didn't bore me, though, as I like movies like this, so it's not a bad movie to kill an evening. Story**, Action**, Humor>No, Violence*, Entertainment***, Music***, Visual***, Atmosphere***, Suspense**. 4.5/10.