MrHlad

An entertaining underwater horror b-movie that paces and looks great from start to finish. However, when it slows down a bit at times, it turns out that all the characters are terribly simple and flat and you don't really care who lives to see the end credits. Most of the time, though, it has a very solid pace and the result is an above average underwater variation on Alien. If you're missing something similar at the cinema, definitely don't resist Underwater. Don't expect a revolution, but the above average craftsmanship isn't lacking either.

I've always liked Rian Johnson and I like how inventive his films are, and I think the best word to describe Knives Out is ‘cunning’. Johnson manages to lull the audience initially by making the film look more or less like a classic whodunit, with several suspects and a killer hiding among them. But after about twenty minutes, Johnson starts playing with genres, procedures, story and overall directorial delivery. He makes several drastic style changes, manages to poke fun at the audience, the clichés and his own characters, and is one step ahead of everyone in the room the entire time, for just when you think you've got Knives Out figured out, you find that Johnson has once again outsmarted you. And you're going to love it. By the way, I haven't seen a movie in a long time where it's so terribly obvious in all the actors how much they are enjoying their work and characters.

A biography of the man who was the first to set foot on the South Pole and who disregarded his loved ones for his voyages of discovery. But rather than an adventure piece, expect a drama, whose hero is an unfortunately unapproachable stubborn man, with whom the two-hour running time drags quite a bit. Neither his family nor the director could find a way to reach him.

The four heroes are back, still killing man-eating monsters and still trying not to kill each other. But now one of the girls has disappeared and the rest must find her and possibly save her. And as they make their way across zombie-infested America, they encounter not only the undead, but also other survivors, Elvis and hippies. The sequel to Zombieland could be considered a carbon copy of the first one, as it doesn't bring much new stuff, but it's still just as fun and if you enjoyed the disposal of the undead and the antics of the survivors last time, the second one won't disappoint.

Disney reap what they sow, and it's not a pretty sight. Episode VII bet on nostalgia, so I've forgiven the new boring protagonists. Episode VIII took a different direction, but the studio found they didn't like where it went. So in Episode IX they try to fix everything from the previous film and we're with Rey, Kylo Ren, Poe and Finn for the third time and they're actually still utterly boring and empty characters. And now, as a viewer, I am supposed to be interested to see how they turn out. I just don't give a shit. J.J. Abrams isn't actually wrapping up a trilogy here, his main job is to clean up the mess that came from not knowing what they wanted at Disney. He may have done the best job he could, but that doesn't change the fact that whenever there’s no action and Rise of Skywalker attempts some emotion and relationships, it's awfully boring and annoying. The movie has no foundation to build on in that regard and out of desperation even has to make up new rules for how the world works. And yet it fails to evoke any emotion other than a sense of giant disappointment. The ninth Star Wars did succeed at something I didn't think could ever be accomplished. They stifled my enthusiasm for the franchise. I sure as hell hope not forever.

We are on the same track as two years ago with lots of adventure, some humour and overall a relaxing film for the whole family. Unfortunately though, it plays by slightly different rules, with the characters switching avatars, and it turns out that Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart may be likeable, but they don't pull off everything as well as they should. Still, this sequel is fine harmless fun for the whole family that doesn't put the first film to shame.

Boring, with ugly production design, it’s hard to find anything worth praise in this expedition into the world of the Norse gods. You'd better go shopping for Christmas presents.

Martin Scorsese delivers the ultimate gangster film, letting the legends of the cast shine with rejuvenated faces, but also switching directorial styles in a way he probably could never get away with in the cinema. The Irishman can be fast and riveting, but also slow, talky or surprisingly emotional. Scorsese didn't have to compromise this time, and it's definitely worth seeing what he can deliver when he's given a lot of money, a dream cast and a free hand. Still, it might have been a good idea to have someone at his back to at least tactfully point out the moments when his big film drags a bit.

Disney gave up on finding new ideas and made more or less the same as last time. If you watch Frozen every other weekend, you'll probably be happy. But if you're looking for an animated film that shifts the story of Elsa and Anna and tries to be a little more daring, adventurous, or touching, you're probably in for disappointment. Here, they played it safe. Too much.

Roland Emmerich directed a film with big battles in which the visual effects occasionally are quite dodgy, but otherwise it's an epic spectacle. It's just that when they are not fighting, Midway is pretty rubbish. Mostly because of poor character work, a dysfunctional attempt to evoke some emotion and pathos, and an inability to make interesting characters out of twenty sailors, pilots, and officers. Fans of big war films won't be offended by Midway, but don't expect anything exceptional either.