EvilPhoEniX

A very pleasant surprise that took my breath away. I like animated films with animals the most and I honestly didn't expect much from this one, but I'm even more surprised what a hit Migration turned out to be. Honestly Universal and Netflix are knocking it out of the park and kicking the ass of Disney and Pixar, who both suck lately. Migration doesn't have revolutionary visuals and plot-wise it doesn't bring anything new to the table, but it features a very likeable duck family that decides to leave the nest for the first time in their lives and emigrate to Jamaica specifically, having wild and unseen adventures along the way. So yes, even though it's only about getting from point A to point B and also about parent-child education, I didn't mind that at all because the humour is awesome. I really don't remember when I've laughed as hard at an animated movie as I did here and to my surprise it's also pretty suspenseful – the scene with the heron is actually pretty creepy, it might scare the kids, and the kitchen heist has a bombastic build-up. After the arrival of the parrot (Keegan Michael Key) my excitement increased even more and the duck paradise with meditation, water slides and massages was a nice touch. Very funny, enjoyable, beautiful and touching. 8/10.

A pleasant Spanish surprise. The film has a very original premise. The protagonist is a Projector, he has the ability to create illusions in the minds of others and it's very original. His father is also a likeable Berlin from Money Heist and he has a nice friend, Maria Pedraza (coincidentally the teen hostage from Money Heist, who then grew up to be a proper babe). A secret agent agency is after them and another Projector appears on the scene. It's very well paced, there's a lot of action (the fights are very stiff and have a lighter Matrix feel to them, so I'm not too put off by them), but I liked the well dosed twists and turns, and overall, thanks to the novel premise, it's an interesting film that got my attention. Fine for me and pleased with the playful and cool ideas (the spider illusion!). This needs an American remake with a proper A-list budget. 7/10.

The Danes are putting together a decent trilogy. The first part was more The Punisher style, but the second was also very good. The first half hour takes place in a Danish prison and it manages to hook the viewer to the screen immediately. Then, after a deal with the police, the protagonist is tasked with infiltrating an Arab gang and is released. Here the pace slows down slightly to kick things up again with a decent action packed final 40 minutes. Dar Salim's performance is excellent, and even though the plot is predictable, you still eat it up, and the bad guys are good, with the viewer wishing nothing but death for those Arab scumbags. There are some decent suspenseful sequences and the fights are also nicely rough, so for me again, satisfaction. 75%

Minimalistic, simple and straightforward, but at the same time inoffensive and cool for one viewing. The whole film takes place in a police station where a policewoman is alone with no backup. She becomes the target of rednecks, only two, though, so forget about carnage and body-count. The film relies more on suspense, the actors and the atmosphere and that is never enough to make me happy. 55%

I knew after a few episodes that I wasn't going to be the target audience. I like Greek mythology and fantasy, but this was just too childish for me, even if it's not the creators fault, but I couldn't get over the 12 year old kids in the main roles, because seeing all those overpowered monsters facing a bunch of dumbasses who can't really do anything interesting; it seemed like they always got rid of someone more by accident or luck (and seeing a little kid fighting with a sword is just boring). Visually it's pretty ok (the final two episodes of Underworld are probably the best), but the rest of it didn't really entertain me. There's too little action, the humor is absent and the characters didn't win me over. Fortunately, it's all short episodes so it doesn't get tedious, but nothing special for me. 55%

A pretty cool comedy for Czech standards, a laugh-out-loud comedy without any higher ambitions. Even a month after the premiere the cinema was packed like at the premiere of The Avengers, I was very surprised, and the atmosphere of an entire theatre hall laughing adds plus points to the film. The characters (Vojtěch Kotek has the best role) pull it all together and there are some really nice girls. Some scenes are very funny, some are cringe, it's kind of half and half, it doesn't have the balls that Vyšehrad has, but I would rank it among the better Czech comedies. 6/10.

An enjoyable, simple, effective and gritty action flick from the old school, for fans of intense action. Jason Statham is an actor I'm always happy to see in an action film and this one is rather reminiscent of his films of 10 years back, but that's okay. Here we have a former agent of the mysterious Beekepers organization who goes to execute revenge on the scumbags who are robbing innocent and old people (phishing scams) (thanks to the organization's novel lore, it's at least a little more interesting). In short, we all love these roles of retired agents who have to get back into action, and Statham takes them down for the whole movie! There's a lot of action, Statham takes on both SWAT and Delta teams (no ordinary people, but all tough guys with experience, but even they don't stand a chance). There are some of those army tricks (the elevator scene is the best), or how Statham marches alone like the biggest dude among the whole SWAT unit, so that was a very cool moment. Too bad there weren't more agents from the Beekepers organization after him. The final act is cool too, with a bunch of assassins coming to the rescue, and the final duel with the fighter without a leg is intense and brutal as fuck. Statham uses maybe four types of martial arts – Aikido, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kung Fu – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. David Ayer made me happy with this actioner right off the edge of the year. 8/10.

The first season was a bit more likeable as it was set in a small town and very much evoked my favourite Banshee. It was also only Reacher's, here he gets a team so he has a bit less space, but apart from the sexy Serinda Swan, I wasn't too impressed with the team, but never mind. Alan Ritchson is a good fit for the role, he's put on some muscle and is a decent beast, breaking limbs with a swipe (I like the contact and brutal action, where limbs are broken in bulk). However, there's a lack of a more pronounced fight like the one in the prison toilet in the first season. Plot-wise it's not bad either, the terminator-like villain is cool and there's definitely no shortage of tension and fun. This series still has a lot to offer. And now I’d love to see an action movie with Ritchson. 8/10.

I originally thought it was a TV series, but in the end I'm glad it's a movie, and a fun post-apocalyptic romp at that. It is supposedly a sequel to Concrete Utopia, but the only things it takes from that movie are the single tower block and the fact that there was some sort of earthquake that destroyed the world, so there's no need to watch that talky, boring utopia. It's everything I expect from a quality post-apocalyptic film. There's a mad scientist, a Korean Mengele, super soldiers, mutants, zombies, a street gang, a pretty interesting scientist with a vision of the future, decent gore, and likeable characters. Ma Dong Seok is always incredibly likeable and when he gets going a shotgun, a machete or his fists you can't help but jump in joy. It was great to see the warrior girl doing some decent martial arts stunts. Overall, the final 40 minutes are a really decent action inferno with good choreography. As a bonus, there is a nice catchphrase every now and then, and they even chop-up a crocodile. I had a great time. A brutally entertaining Korean romp. 80%.

I'm satisfied. The world of drug dealers is a rewarding film theme, and even though it's always the same, it's always fun for me to watch. It's not as loaded as Narcos, but I had a nice time. Sofia Vergara as the narco-baron is excellent, the series shows nicely how hard she had it as a woman in that all-male business and a lot of people wanted to screw her, only it mostly worked out the other way around. Of the supporting characters, I liked Dario the most and it was nice to get to know Ochoa Cartel better. The fact that the series is set in Miami and not Colombia gives it a slightly different feel, but of course hookers, drugs and murder happen here too. My least favorite line was the one with the detectives, where I wasn't rooting for anyone. On the plus side, the retro visuals are nice. A cool four stars. 75%.