Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Hidden in the rustling dust

A man brings an exotic spider he bought from a street vendor into his home, it escapes, and soon the entire apartment complex is infested with these buggers. These rapidly reproducing creatures grow to extremely large sizes, are a danger to anything that moves, and are difficult to kill. This French film has a nice dose of terror and some nastiness, but it's sometimes even too chaotic. The characters scream and panic to the point of boredom.

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Karma is a motherfucker

A good series, but not nearly as excellent as it has been praised on several occasions. The main characters in the series, from the writer to the FBI agents and the murderers, behave so stupidly in many situations that it eats away at the effectiveness of the narrative. It is exciting and interesting, excellently acted, but the story is haunted by instability and the writers have forgotten rational thinking in a few places, which is reflected in the characters in the series.

Monday, November 17, 2025

Deceit the lord of lies

This latest Mission: Impossible could be a very tiresome watch due to its length. It was even split into two separate films, but both films still clock in at almost three hours. But luckily, everything is done really damn well. Lots of polished modern filmmaking, but also old-fashioned action. The Final Reckoning even felt surprisingly boring at first, but once it got going, it required an incredible climax to stop.

A fight for supremacy

This is absolutely outrageous. It's even been seen as so wild that the number of remakes is reportedly breaking records. Seven friends have dinner and make it more exciting by sharing all the phone calls and text messages that come in during the evening. Wonderfully executed.

Peace on a plate

Maybe this case has been investigated to the fullest extent possible and justice has been served. But The Perfect Neighbor is a very one-sided - even unnecessarily accusatory - documentary about a neighborly war. The views of the other side were ignored and unaddressed, and we never get to know the whole picture. Bad, prejudiced and irresponsible filmmaking.

Friday, November 14, 2025

Like smoke in a hurricane

So much action, speed, and dangerous situations that it's challenging to follow the story itself due to the details, the world of lies, and the numerous plot twists. And after almost three hours of turbocharged stuff, the whole thing feels like it's on the verge of exploding all the time. Furthermore, three hours isn't even enough, but a sequel was made to the story, a whole other movie. While you're waiting for that, this is a great watch. If the plot lines sometimes wander and get lost in the mind, perhaps because of the endless chases and close-calls, the action is at least a thousand volts.

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Between nowhere and not much else

No other film has used the depiction of two different time periods as seamlessly, fluidly, and ingeniously as this one. Everything else in John Sayles's Lone Star (1996) is spot on, too. It has a western state of mind and its narrative, despite its apparent slow pace, is gripping. And the actors are brilliant.

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Heaven is dead

This is not a masterpiece. This is really stupid, but it's so bad that it's actually a delicious treat. The acting is so poor that you actually enjoy it, all the stuff (cars, weapons, hairstyles, equipment) that the crew has used as props for the film is incredibly kitsch. The best thing to do is guess whether this was done tongue in cheek or not. However, movies like this are so rare that you have to enjoy every minute, even if you don't really enjoy it.

We just think we rule the Earth

If the previous Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride (1987) was a pure adventure film without special effects, Gareth Edwards's Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) is something else. All the scenes were probably shot in a studio and operated by computers. Still, as an adventure and a story, the film is surprisingly enjoyable to watch and it is also very exciting.

Sunday, November 09, 2025

Death cannot stop true love

These days it's rare to see an adventure movie without CGI or AI clutter. Luckily, these were just a wet dream for filmmakers in the 80s. And that's why these movies are so warm and natural. Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride (1987) is a masterpiece, pure adventure without any extra junk.

Thursday, November 06, 2025

Sometimes he's pretty much a ghost

A perfect crime film, really. The drug trade has gone to hell and it escalates into a shockingly exciting and bloody story about scoundrels and ruthless murderers. The atmosphere remains tense right until the very end.

Brain beats brawn

This is a bit like browsing through a comic book or watching a video game, but it's entertaining enough. The film was made more comedic than previous ones, and therefore the Superman mythology experiences a kind of shock. But it still leaves a good impression.

Tuesday, November 04, 2025

We can defeat death

These are fun. Unique. These 80s horror classics. They haven't necessarily stood the test of time. And they're not special cinematic experiences at all. But these had to be made. And after all these years, their appeal doesn't just depend on their cult status. Re-Animator was directed by Stuart Gordon in 1985.

Don't make things complicated

Probably the best buddy cop action-comedy of all time. Two very different detectives - Riggs and Murtaugh - must find common ground to track down a drug smuggling ring and arrest a group of ruthless criminals. The film is a great mix of suspense and witty dialogue, and the chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is wonderfully relaxed. Directed by Richard Donner

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Circle of funeral pyres

The Danish district of Nørrebro in Copenhagen is bustling. Accusations are flying about the disappearance of a young boy and the underworld is starting to sort things out. A bag of cocaine has also disappeared. A crime film with a surprisingly bland plot, but impressive enough in execution to be worth watching. A surprising ending, although it's watered down by the fact that it's pretty ridiculous.

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Adversity builds character

A bit of a nostalgic filmmaking feel. Paul Hunham teaches privileged boys at an elite New England prep school and he has to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit a few students who can't go anywhere. Not exactly a dream job for this gruff teacher. Makes a cinematic eye candy. The comedy in the film is warm-hearted, ingenious and, in places, downright funny. The acting (Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph) is absolutely top-notch. Directed by Alexander Payne 

Friday, October 24, 2025

We're very fragile creatures

World War II. A young Frenchman, for no real reason, joins the German police force to fight against the French resistance, his fellow countrymen. In his sense of power, he imagines that he has the right to do whatever he wants. However, falling in love with a Jewish girl is against Nazi ideology. Lacombe, Lucien is a classic by Louis Malle from 1974. Unfortunately, the career of the main actor Pierre Blaise was cut short by a car accident in 1975, at the age of 20.

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Somewhere beyond the sea

A textbook romantic drama that balances joy, sadness and immense tragedy in waves. An Italian couple and their friends experience different phases of life over a period of 10 years. The film's jumping around between different time periods is a bit annoying at first, even confusing, but it gets better towards the end when you start to get a sense of the film's message. Still, it's far from Paolo Genovese's best work.

Only the dead bereave

A unique sci-fi film. The space freaks have found themselves in a rather strange Estonian apartment block where the everyday lives of a few people change quite a bit. The Black Hole is a bit too stretched out and therefore boring in places, but it could have been made into quite a cult hit if it had been edited better. The film's satire simply doesn't have the bite. And the wackyness turns into annoyance.

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Guns have their uses

An old-school action flick, a thing of beauty. It's easy to forgive the clumsiness and naivety of these films. This is honest movie rock'n'roll, straight-up action where the bad guys are real no-good villians and the honesty of the good guys wins. For many, the action films of the 80s and 90s are the true golden age of cinema. Final theatrical film of Charles Bronson, he was 71 when Death Wish V: The Face of Death was filmed. 

God bless the wicked

What a tedious piece of shit. Unfortunately, this movie will only be remembered for the incident in which Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed one of the film's crew members, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. To honor her memory, they should have made an intensely captivating movie. But it was left undone. 

Monday, October 13, 2025

Deeper demons

Hopefully the Serbian horror scene has better things to offer than this. A very confusing and therefore meaningless story about two estranged brothers and a small village that is entangled in a mystical pagan cult. One of those completely useless horror films that has no entertainment value. Complete nonsense. 

A single cell of energy that explodes with a bang

There's nothing wrong with the acting (Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli) and the director (Paul Schrader) is already a respected one, but it's a boring movie! An idealistic and eccentric documentary filmmaker and professor talks about his life to other filmmakers on his deathbed. And there's absolutely nothing interesting in it.

Saturday, October 11, 2025

One well placed bullet can change the world

A John Wick spin-off. There's really nothing here but skillfully choreographed fight scenes with firearms, knives, axes, grenades, everything possible to harm another person. You can watch it for a while, but the repetition is exhausting.  

We were just here gravedigging

It's quite fun to watch. Started out interestingly and the pleasant tension continued for a while, but towards the end things got out of hand as the story was being woven together in a terrible hurry. Still, a sufficiently gripping thriller with a bit of Hitchcock-esque features. 

Thursday, October 09, 2025

Lost in the wildfire

From the very beginning, you sense an ominous atmosphere and, as a result, a terribly sad ending. A very emotional and memorable film, but so ruthlessly cruel that you won't enjoy it to the fullest. It will hang in the tentacles of the mind for a long time. 

Hot smoke of the infinite void

A pretty nice biographical gangster drama. Rapper Xatar is involved in many things. This refugee ventures into the circles of violence and drug world, sometimes flirting with old love and trying to get a boost for his music career. 

Tuesday, October 07, 2025

The mighty fall at last

East meets west in an embarrassing western movie. Reckon we are expected to laugh at this parody and all its graphic bloodbaths, but no one bothers. Pays homage to old western classics and their gunslinger myths, nothing else. 

They are my losers

Slow Horses season #3. You can't help but enjoy the fireworks of humor, violence, and excitement that this series offer. MI-5 is breaking apart for whistleblowing and things get volatile as shit. Somehow it feels like a privileged pleasure to watch this. 

Sunday, October 05, 2025

No one answers to prayers

It's style over substance. Wes Anderson should do something normal for a change. And stop this masturbation nonsense. The quirkiness has run its course. His black comedy is no longer funny (if it ever truly was for that matter). The actors are put out of their comfort zone and normal acting shenanigans and it's kind of hackneyed fucking thing as well. The viewers are left cold and bored. 

Dungeons of diabolique

A film about a donkey and its odyssey. In its sacred simplicity, nothing else. Endearing and cute, if only it weren't so ominously sad. A very different and memorable film nonetheless. 

Duck is in the water

Quite interesting in many ways. A thriller made in 1995 and somehow it seems even older, perhaps because we're not used to seeing modern-day experienced actors Nicole Kidman, Joaquim Phoenix, Matt Dillon and Casey Affleck as almost teenagers. The plot is about a ruthless woman who will do anything to become famous. Even murder. 

Friday, October 03, 2025

Dancing in blood

A good war movie, although there isn't really any proper plot. Navy SEALs fight against Iraqi soldiers in Ramadi, Iraq. They are mostly stuck in one building, and the movie tells the story of their struggle for survival. There's a lot of shooting and explosions, violent and chaotic all around, probably quite close to authentic warfare. Based on a true story.

Every proctologist story ends in the same way

There is nothing wrong with this season either. Extremely enjoyable comedy that you can easily spend several hours a week with. Introduces couple of wonderful characters, namely David Puddy (portrayed by Patrick Warburton) and J. Peterman (John O'Hurley). Notable episodes: The Face Painter, The Secretary, The Fusilli Jerry, The Diplomat's Club and The Understudy.

Saturday, September 27, 2025

No mind, no soul

Fantastically weird, visually stunning and, as a zombie feature should, disturbing and gory. But halfway through the movie it lost its focus. Sure then it introduced Ralph Fiennes's character which is great, but at the same time the movie switches its tone and the entire story starts falling apart. Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later is not bad in any sense, it's disgusting horror as it should be, but it's still the weakest of the three films in the series.

Friday, September 26, 2025

Everybody's getting laid after lunch

Brian De Palma's erotic thriller.  The thematics of the film owe a lot to Alfred Hitchcock. Although this is a predictable murder mystery, it's quite interesting and enjoyable to watch because the story is not paced with quick editing and it flows smoothly and the brilliant actors (Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Angie Dickinson and Dennis Franz) follow along.  

Thursday, September 25, 2025

An avalanche of indifference

It's still the best shit right now. It's almost impossible not to watch the next episode. A true TV series royalty. A thrilling British thriller. 

Monday, September 22, 2025

Death is a relentless son of a bitch

Death is the fate of each of us. It will reach us all sooner or later. But imagine Death who, just for his own pleasure and amusement, throws a bunch of people at the mercy of his sadistic pursuit. Sixth installment in the Final Destination film series, Final Destination Bloodlines is a nice modern horror film, the first few scenes in particular were brilliantly diabolical and executed to perfection. 

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Fear lives in the guts

Jackson Lamb, the leader of the rogue agent organization Slough House, played by Gary Oldman, is a completely contradictory character: a foul-mouthed, ruthless, untidy, booze- and cigarette-hungry bastard, and on the other hand an incredibly smart, in his own way caring professional who seems to be one step ahead in everything. He is a Cold War relic who cares little for the sophicated methods of modern MI5 terrorism investigation. But he, with his team, gets things done. Slow Horses is a fantastic agent series. Unbelievably good. It's based on the series of novels by Mick Herron, created by Will Smith (English-born comedian).

Friday, September 19, 2025

Acts of violence don't win wars

This Gillo Pontecorvo film (1966) is said to be one of the best of all time. It's rare to see why, but once a film is labeled with classic status, it's not easy to shake it off. Still, The Battle of Algiers is arresting and impressive. A touchingly realistic black and white depiction of the fight of Algerian partisans against the French invaders. 

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Don't get lost in the clouds

Pretty good. Perhaps a little more than that. Nothing excellent though. A CIA decoder has a lot to do, he has to find and kill his wife's killers and at the same time expose the bad apples in his organization. In addition, he has to protect himself from those people. But no worries, he's smart. Not a physical deterrent, not a gunslinger, but his strength lies in his intelligence. A good movie, but ultimately a rather narrow story. 

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Conscience won't let him sleep

In the sleepless nights of Alaska, a detective, investigating the death of a local girl, finds himself in a dead end and digs his own grave deeper and deeper. Insomnia (2002) is Christopher Nolan's masterpiece featuring Al Pacino at his best and Robin Willians in a rarely serious role. A remake of the 1997 Norwegian film by Erik Skjoldbjærg 

We are all fucked to hell

A horror film constructed with an excellent sense of style. Based on a short story by Stephen King, so there's a lot of his typical black humor here, which pops up in the strangest and most unconventional places, and it's certainly not for everyone. The story centers on a wind-up toy monkey, a death-spreading bastard. The film's wildness wanes a bit towards the end when the story doesn't really have much more to offer, but a hilarious piece nevertheless.  

Lethal on the losers

In this Marvel film, the heroes' opponents are not so much overpowered anti-heroes or fire-breathing villains, but human emotions such as depression and loneliness. But there's still action and excitement here. Quite enough. And in places, it's quite fun. Entertainment worth watching at least once. 

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Obscure plains

A failed sequel to the 1999 film Häjyt. Both directed by Aleksi Mäkelä. The film features petty criminals' escapedes and experiments in the international drug trade. At the same time, family and friendship life are put to test. This is by no means a solid and exciting crime story, it's an exhaustingly long-winded piece which you get nothing out of. 

Two of everything

What? A Mel Gibson film? It's such rubbish that it's unreal. In this story, everything is as shitty as it could ever be. And the actors? How about some respect for the profession? Movies where you just turn your brain off are sometimes quite funny, but this is an embarrassment.  

Under the canopy of heaven

At times this is outrageously funny. Still, bodies pile up and things get hysterically violent. Ma Dong-seok's portrayal of detective Ma Seok-do, with his old no-shit methods, is a delightful addition to the somewhat overly stylized police characters in modern movies. 

Tuesday, September 09, 2025

Conscience can drive you nuts

The life of longshoremen is violent and corrupt. The port is dominated by organized crime. Former boxer Terry Malone's (Marlon Brando) - working for gangster boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) - conscience begins to bother him because he gets involved in a murder and becomes aware of inhumane working conditions and shady employers. Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954) is a powerful depiction of the crumbling of the golden age of criminal organizations.

Monday, September 08, 2025

Sooner or later someone gets a bullet

The stars were probably not aligned here. There's been talk about Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt's crappy chemistry. And how the movie isn't what was initially promised because the script was revised during filming. And, indeed, there's a bit of an unfinished feeling here. But a decent late 90s thriller about an IRA operative traveling to the United States to get some firepower for his homeland's battles and his own personal revenge. Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Wednesday, September 03, 2025

Suffer in illusions

A standard thriller with a comedic undertone. There's nothing terribly bad to say about this, but nothing good either. A movie that you might remember seeing years later and say it was probably okay, but you don't want to watch it again. A young man thinks he witnesses a kidnapping, but the cops don't believe him, so his next-door neighbor helps him finding the missing person. Pretty useless entertainment. 

Hidden in the rustling dust

A man brings an exotic spider he bought from a street vendor into his home, it escapes, and soon the entire apartment complex is infested wi...