EvilPhoEniX

The wow effect of the first 2 seasons may be gone, but it's still an enjoyable afternoon. I'm really enjoying this series not only because of the topic but also because of the nice characters. I was interested to see how it would turn out and I'm happy with the outcome. I don't know if there will be a 4th season, but I certainly wouldn't mind. 7/10.

Before the highly anticipated 5th season of Money Heist, the same creators serve us the second season of Sky Rojo and it's once again a fine, fun, stylish and sexy ride. I liked the first season a bit more, this one has lost some of the charm of the brothels and there is a little less philosophizing and main pimp, which is quite a shame. But there is more action, it still has a great pace, the characters are great again (a bit of a bummer that there are no new ones), and thanks to the short episodes, the whole thing goes by like water and I didn't get bored for a minute, which is the main thing, though one would expect a something bit more ambitious from the creators of Money Heists than just a chase between hookers and pimps. If you weren’t impressed by the first season, don’t expect much of an improvement here, but if you were impresssed, you will probably enjoy this one too. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humour 2/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5. 7/10.

It’s good that we have Netflix. This is a beautiful ending to the Samurai epic series, which ends with a prequel, which is how it all began. This is the episode I was looking forward to the most, because it takes place during the time when Kenshin was still killing people, thus finally satisfying my insatiable taste buds for blood (unfortunately he doesn't kill people in the previous episodes and that was my biggest problem with the whole series). When it comes to action, it's pretty much a big deal, with blood spurting aplenty, it's properly raw and uncompromising, Kenshin is a great and fast samurai, and invincible machine, and watching him in action is a joy. Unfortunately, his enemies are not as diverse and don't have the pure anime/manga elements as in the previous episodes. It must be said that there is a lot of emphasis on story, romance and melodrama, which is a problem with me, but others will probably be happier, because after all, nobody cares about action and blood anymore, right? Visually it's amazing again and the snowy finale in the forest is beautiful. I probably won't watch this again, but I'm really happy for the uncompromising R-rated action. It's a nice ending to the series. Story 4/5, Action 4/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 2/5. 7/10.

Jaume Collet-Serra is a talented director, his first film Orphan is great and I liked his collaboration with Liam Neeson (that was back when Liam was still making fine films). Unfortunately, I didn't like this feel-good film. It takes something from Indiana Jones, Jumanji and Pirates of the Caribbean, but it can't come close to any of the them. It lacks its own edge, it lacks epicness or anything downright wow. I like The Rock a lot, but I wasn't entertained at all here; the humor went absolutely me, even Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was more interesting than this whole expedition. Emily Blunt is good, she's nice to look at, but I didn't trust the chemistry between the two protagonists. The jungle sets are quite nice, and even though it's too colourful and digital, the setting is probably the most interesting thing about the film. The villain here is not interesting at all good. The human one was chosen in a completely inappropriate and uninteresting way, and Edgar Ramirez as the "zombie" looked cool, but for my taste he had little room to do anything downright great. The action scenes didn't entertain me, nothing much explodes, there's a lack of physical action, it's more of a jungle chase with the occasional animal. Yes, the kids will be happy, but it's not enough for me and it's about half an hour longer than it should be. In the cinema I hoped it would be finally over and that's never a positive calling card. Two stars seems harsh as I'm obviously not the target audience, but for me it's the weakest cinema visit so far and a mild ordeal. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humour 2/5, Violence 0/5, Entertainment 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5. 5/10.

The ending of Netflix's Event Fear Street Trilogy is surprisingly the weakest link, and that touted big things. I'm still happy for this trilogy, though, because it brought a fresh wind to the almost half-dead slasher subgenre, and there are plenty of winks and references to older films that will please many a horror veteran. The year 1666 beckoned with its period setting with a touch of The Witch, but it's a shame that the third installment lingered barely an hour in that period, because some shots were definitely worth it (eyes gouged ut in a church with a mad parish priest or a hell of a lot of unpleasant hand chopping, this scene definitely stuck in the memory). the second half is where all the killers clash and the whole plot is explained. The finale definitely could have been more intense, but it didn't offend or annoy me enough to bury the whole series because of it. This episode will find its fans as well. Personally I regret the lack of breasts, and there could have been more humor and gore as well. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5. 6/10.

Netflix has released a special episode for the awesome zombie series Kingdom and I think even those unfamiliar with the series can watch it. The film focuses on the character of Aishin, who is seeking revenge for the loss of her tribe and family, as well as the origin of a mysterious plant. It has a slower opening, the zombies enter the scene somewhere after an hour into the film and the plot honestly didn't grab me much either, but the visuals are absolutely awesome (the colors and the scenery are gorgeous), and to see a zombie tiger so soon after Army of the Dead is something I didn't expect either (though Snyder's is obviously better). The zombie make-up effects are great, the tension escalates well in the last half hour, and Aishin with does a great job the bow, too bad that there is less gore (I already have high standards). I hesitate with the rating, but there are few zombie movies, the film has its qualities and, even though I won't watch it again, I'll give it a reluctant 4 stars (quite possibly for the tiger). Story 3.5/5, Action 4/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5. 7/10.

A decent German vampire movie from Netflix. Personally, I was expecting something better, but since the vampire movies of the last few years have been going more in the art direction, it would be unfair to shoot this one down with an average rating, even though I'm closer to 3 stars after watching it. On the plus side, it has an attractive airplane setting from which there is no escape, and the cramped atmosphere works well. The make-up effects are good, it has decent technical aspects, a fine pacing, and I like the idea of combining the hijacking of the plane by terrorists with vampires, that's quite original. The downside for me is the running time of two hours, 90 minutes would have been more than enough for a film of this calibre (which is also affected by the slower start). The gore, unfortunately, is almost missing (you don’t see any guts, limbs or severed heads), and there’s not enough blood for my taste (it's not even close to Army of the Dead), but I'll turn a blind eye, I wasn't bored. The film deserves the genre four stars from the absence of decent vampire movies at least in the last five years. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5. 7/10.

An enjoyable martial arts caper in an attractive Japanese setting. I'm not going to say that Snake Eyes is a great movie, it's not, and it's not a movie that you will want to see again when it's over. On the other hand there are a lot of familiar and favorite faces of mine, ninjas, the yakuza and a lot of action scenes, so I had a great time and got what I expected. Henry Golding is likeable, Andrew Koji is the biggest draw, Iko Uwais has less space but is good, and the duo of Samara Weaving and Tokyo is a dream threesome; the acting is very good. I have a few reservations about the action scenes and the most disappointing is the absence of R-rated action – had there been blood spurting in the rainy streets of Japan I'd probably be moaning with bliss. The messy editing bothered me at times, but the decent choreography, the fine fighters in front of the camera and the hard contact punches more or less made up for it. Plot-wise, the film doesn't impress with anything, of course, but by action standards I think it's good enough. I had fun. A fan of Asia and action should not be disappointed. The rest of the audience can skip the cinema. PS: I consider the jump-scare during the snake scene to be the most sneaky in perhaps the last ten years. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5. 7/10.

The fifth and perhaps last episode is, together with the first, the weakest. It's very obvious the the Purge franchise is a cash cow without higher ambitions, but this time I felt that they didn't try to stick to what I enjoyed in the previous films. It's nice that they still manage to come up with something relatively new and interesting, but this sequel lacked juice for me. There is not much gore, the setting of Mexico is fine, but when I remember Sicario, where I had an uncomfortable feeling with every shot, that is definitely not the case here. The action is routine, the shootouts are not impressive (at times it felt like a cheaper 90's B-movie), even the Masks, what Purge is famous for, I can't think of any cool one after watching it. There definitely won't be a Halloween costume sale after this one. I'd rather not see another sequel. Story 2/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 3/5. 5/10.

After almost two years, a Marvel movie finally hit the cinemas and the result is nothing to write home about. For me, a pretty useless movie about a useless character. The first hour is surprisingly solid, it's well paced, the action is kept down to earth and the fights have decent choreography – they're Bourne style so I enjoyed them. I'm also pleased with Florence Pugh, whom I like a lot, and the Taskmaster's entrance is awesome. By the second hour, however, I felt that perhaps the director had been replaced, the action goes by the wayside, and so does the fun goes, the humour is completely absent, the Taskmaster goes by the wayside! (it's reprehensible to sideline such an interesting villain like that!), and the finale was perhaps the weakest of all the action scenes, so I'm quite disappointed. I rate the first half as 8/10, the second half is about 5-6, and in the end I'm rounding up more towards 6, because for Marvel I found it unbalanced, the effects aren't too dazzling either, it felt a bit like it was going half throttle and quite possibly the first Marvel movie I definitely won't watch again. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5. 6/10.