EvilPhoEniX

For me a pleasant surprise from Cambodia. It has a simple story, but on a subject I always enjoy. An undercover police officer ends up in a no-rules prison somewhere in the middle of the Jungle, where a group of hunters just arrive to pick prisoners for a hunt. They accidentally pick the main character, but he is skilled in combat and the victim becomes the hunter. Nicely filmed, with good pace, a charismatic main character, and great fights, though unfortunately fewer them than I wanted (there are more shootouts), but I still had a good time. strong three stars. 7/10.

A girl's account of Denmark with typical Nordic flair, strong narrative value and rough form and content. The story takes place in a school setting where a girl gang is terrorizing the neighborhood (as it usually happens, they are the prettiest girls), but things soon get complicated when Christina snitches on her friends during a robbery and is not only ostracized from the gang, but has to submit to the bullying of her former friends, which she herself used to do. The last 20 minutes represent the pinnacle of the bully sub-genre and at times the film is really uncomfortable to watch. 8/10.

A nice little festival thriller with the lovely Maika Monroe and the likeable Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise!). A couple of amateur thieves break into a house where two strange psychos happen to live, and getting away won't be easy. What we have here is a home invasion turned inside out, and it's rather a shame that the director didn't dare to step out of the standard. It's nicely shot, occasionally suspenseful, well acted and a couple of times pleasantly funny, but it could have done with some spicing up on both the violence and the atmosphere. In the end, just an inoffensive one-off that could have been a successor to Funny Games, but won't. 6/10.

The action movie of the year arrives just before the end of a year where Netflix is clearly winning on the full front. Michael Bay is let off the chains like a hungry pit bull and serves up perhaps the purest action ecstasy, orgy and orgasm I've ever seen. From start to finish, this is an adrenaline-fueled, uncompromising, explosive, glammed-up wild ride that features two potentially iconic scenes (the opening chase in Florence and the finale with Magneto). Ryan Reynolds is traditionally excellent and his actor boost is nearly 100%, but the rest of the crew is impressive as well, with everyone being a pro at something different. On the action side of things, there's pretty much everything you can think of ( fast cars, beautiful women, parkour, shootouts, slow motion, location changes, explosions, destruction and juicy gore). The only thing I found lacking here was a proper fight, but otherwise a Bay beauty that I would love to have framed. Those who complain about the script should run against the wall to realize they're watching an action movie, not an Oscar-winning existential art sophisticated drama. 10/10.

Jeff Chan made a short film in 2016 and since it was a success he decided to make it a feature film, and it's a very enjoyable sci-fi B movie. The film has an interesting world that happens to be similar to the recent Freaks (X-men from the other side), except here the police have robots, there are drones patrolling the air, people are being destroyed by the new drug Psyke, and people with superpowers can't work normally and if they do, it's illegal and they can be shot. The protagonist can control electricity and is one of the most capable of his kind, and he nods at a black job for a local gang, and since his powers make him useful, he starts working for them until things go classically wrong. The script could have been more interesting, I wouldn't have been angry if the film had an extra half hour and made better use of the well-chosen premise, but if a good idea, a likable main character, great technical aspects and very solid action are enough for you, you should be as satisfied as I am. 7/10.

A solid film depicting the conflict in Northern Ireland, specifically in Belfast, where a likeable British soldier is accidentally left in the middle of a city torn by a chaotic war and everyone is after him. Even though the Irish hate the British with all their hearts for what they have done to them in the past, the film emphasizes that they were no saints either. Gritty, authentic, suspenseful and very interesting. Silly me for ignoring this film for so long. 8/10

Lilja 4-ever is a Swedish-Danish film set in Russia in a small town after the fall of socialism and follows the disturbing story of a 16-year-old girl who experiences a living hell and perhaps the worst possible fate a woman could ever face. As soon as she is left by her mother and her new boyfriend, her life goes downhill and she goes from one bad situation to another, and you as a viewer feel anxious, uncomfortable and sad all at the same time. A hopeless, disturbing, authentic, uncomfortable and very sad film (I had tears flowing at the end). The Scandinavians in full force, no one can present human trafficking as raw as them. I also see the music as a big plus, in the form of hits of the time like Rammsten and Nas ne dogonyat. 8.5/10.

This film flew under my radar, but it’s definitely enjoyable and entertaining show. Jon Favreau is very good as a chef, and even though it's more about the relationship between father and son, the cooking comes through and it's very nice to watch. The icing on the cake is the gorgeous Sofia Vergara and the hilarious verbal shootout with the renowned critic. 7/10:

A solid film in the style of End of Watch. The film takes place over the course of one night, with a rookie LAPD officer and a seasoned veteran experiencing their first night of crime and bleakness together. Great dialogue, great actors, solid cinematography and an intense finale. I was entertained, intrigued and surprised, really good. 8/10.

Netflix heats things up at the end of the year and serving up literally the best animated movie of the year, and from Spain! Visually, it may not be Pixar's equal, but the story is so magical, emotional and immersive that it gets under your skin. A very nice and informative origin story of Santa Claus, set in the ugly looking town of Smeerenburg, where two families have been at war with each other for centuries. Funny, sweet, touching and decently suspenseful towards the end. Good stuff. 9/10: