When you are lost in the darkness

Everyone said how good it is and, sure enough, The Last of Us season #1 definitely lived up to the expectations. A few sensational episodes and as a whole one of the greatest series ever created. Needless to say, but the best adaptation based on a video game thus far!

Hell in the Arctic Circle

It's just horseshit really. Obnoxious comedy that's nowhere near funny. One of those films you want to see just because you want to know what to hate. Otherwise, utter waste of time.

Tapestry to the world

Cairo Conspiracy by Tarik Saleh. Fisherman's son, Adam, is offered the privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Soon he becomes a pawn in the conflict between Egypt's religious and political people. Both elite parties are ridden with corruption. A poignant, provocative and incendiary topic, so much so that the movie is banned in Egypt.

Last mournful whisper

A detective is obsessed over a woman suspected of killing her husband. A bit of a strange love story trapped in a web of deception and secrecy. A beautifully shot South-Korean film by the Oldboy director Park Chan-wook. Involving the unnecessary subplots in the story its only mistake.

Blood from melodramatic people

So low-budget torture horror that it isn't even funny. Western tourists are making mockery and indulging in their own Sodom and Gomorrah in the fictional island of La Tolqa. An annoying little shit. Starring people like Mia Goth, Alexander Skarsgård and Cleopatra Coleman. Directed by David Cronenberg's son Brandon Cronenberg.

You have to be alone forever

Based on Dennis Lehane's short story Animal Rescue. Last film appearance of James Gandolfini. He died one month after shooting had wrapped. And it's just a damn solid crime film. Cousins Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) and Marvin Stipler (James Gandolfini) run a bar which the Chechen mafia uses as a drop for illegal money. There hardly are no heroes in the story where people are constantly getting clipped, beaten or vanished, but the way it presents itself is somewhat smooth and stylish.

Surrounded by emptiness

Hassisen Kone is one of the most iconic rock and roll bands in Finland. The documentary, by Mika Kaurismäki, got the old crew back together and they performed their last show at the Ratina stadium in Tampere in 2022. High quality entertainment and exceptional music.

Reeking of racial hatred

A true story of Emmett Louis Till (1941-1955), an African American boy who was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi and who posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement. The movie, by Chinoney Chukwu, is powerful and it's done through the mother's eyes and Danielle Deadwyler is amazing. Still, appalling shit.

A conspiracy of the elite

A high school student finds out her mother has an affair with a woman. Of all people, her school's social worker. The news hit hard on the wee girl and the top student gets all depressed. Or she just plays it out for spite. The movie's kind of a good start fizzled out quickly and the promising set-up never ignited.

Blacker than the ace of spades

Black Diamond (Michael Jay White) is a bad ass. He's a vigilante for justice keeping the streets safe. He declares war on drug dealers, wiping smack off the streets. He's also mercilessly trying to find the people responsible for his brother's death. Hits the mark as a homage to the 70s blaxploitation genre.

Last train to spectrum obscure

Ida goes missing and his new boyfriend is being interrogated by her family. An emotionally charged Danish drama, melancholic as if paving way for horrible and heart-breaking outcome. Pretty flat otherwise.

Requim for the white lines

A black bear high as a kite on cocaine terrorizes a Chattahoochee National forest on Blood Mountain. The drug has made the bear all vicious and he's grown a habit to it. And loves it now. The park rangers, police, backpackers and the people who lost the drugs in the woods are fucking petrified. A crazy splatterish comedy doesn't run for Academy Awards, but there's always a time and place for movies like this.

Lonesome in living free

A Polish Holocaust survivor Polsky residing in Columbia gets a new neighbor who bears a strong resemblance to Adolf Hitler. Other things match as well. The neighbor's temper, he's a left-handed vegetarian and has a passion for art. Mr. Polsky starts an independent investigation to prove his suspicion. Quirky and kind of downbeat a story, but a surprisingly light-hearted film still.

It doesn't matter what we believe

A true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Guantánamo Bay detention camp prisoner, who other people wanted to liberate and the other call for execution for allegedly being the head recruiter of 9/11. He spent 14 years and two months incarcerated. He was tortured 70 days straight. Until he was proven innocent. A powerful film, a real page-turner had it been a book. An excellent cast of Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster and Benedict Cumberbatch.

All Gods shall die

It's still entertaining and visually engaging, but on the same token it's more throwaway popcorn comedy than ever before. Thor and his pals are after God Butcher who intends to wipe out all the deities to kingdom come and leaving nothing but chaos in his wake. The cast is versatile and the stars in it are endless: Chris Hemforth, Christian Bale (his great performance absolutely wasted here), Natalie Portman, Chris Pratt, Idris Elba, Russell Crowe, Dave Bautista, Matt Damon and so on.

Your place in the sun

Petite Maman by Céline Sciamma (Tomboy, Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) is a unique drama and the twin sisters in the lead are natural talents, but it's not one of those movies you'd watch all over again. Emotional almost a meditative film.

Get whipped and go to bed hungry

Samurai Kuroda Jubei (Toshiro Mifune) and cowboy Link Stuart (Charles Bronson) are after a stolen golden sword and bagfuls of gold. Of course they also want to make things straight with the people who took them, particularly the leader Gauche (Alain Delon). Shouldn't be too hard for the two seasoned hardcore warriors, unless they don't kill each other first that is. Red Sun, by Terence Young, is a brilliant western movie from 1971.

As pure as the driven snow

Roman Polanski directs and Harrison Ford in the lead. Exciting albeit a little confusing thriller of a US doctor first losing luggage and then his wife. And instead of trusting the local police he opts to crack the case open himself. Solid but nothing overly brilliant.

Hot riding around the universe

Blob is a great ball of mucus from outer space and as it feeds on people, it grows bigger. And deadlier. And more difficult to kill. Makes a proper horror cult classic. From 1958. Starring Steve McQueen. Directed by Irwin S. Yeaworth Jr. and Russell S. Doughten Jr.

Hostage to the light

Tried to watch the series Sorjonen (Bordertown) but never got past the first episode. The movie The Mural Murders is even worse. It's so painfully slow that it's frustrating and so embarrassing and pathetic that it hurts.

Stuck in revenge

Hands down, some of the craziest and the most acrobatic action sequences ever in cinema. Just mesmerizing and mind-blowing. Defies the laws of physics, I'm sure, but you're drawn into its magic. A decent enough a story too. Chock-full of bullets and unhinged gung-ho.

Poisonous darts piercing our lungs

These climate change movies or documentaries aren't too uplifting. And they shouldn't be. Without understanding the obvious warning signs and the hardcore facts of how things stand, humans are slowly but effectively killing themselves extinct. We are running out of fresh water and clear air. If we don't scorch ourselves to death first. And it seems no one gives a shit. We are deserved to die. Invisible Demons, by Rahud Jain, deals with one of the worst cesspools, Delhi, India, where pollution is more or less a public disease. I just can't fathom the stupidity.

The part where you run

A decent thing, but on the same token, a bit lame. No surprise because it originally should be Rated R, but it’s toned down to PG-13, so not that much horror or apocryphal imaginary. Not that it matters much anyways, it’s more or less Child’s Play all over again. A robotics engineer at a toy company builds a life-like doll that begins to take on a life of its own. Nothing to see.

God's fingers scorching the Earth

A definitely proper M. Night Shyamalan movie! Brilliant take on the four the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. A family of three confused of the fucking weird shit such as drowning cities, plagues, falling skies and everlasting darkness unfolding before their eyes. Only their sacrifice will stop it.

A disgrace to depression

Fun little shit ainnit? Prob'ly never going to be remembered as the greatest of drama comedies, but a feelgood little fucker. Directed by James L. Brooks and starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear and Cuba Gooding Jr.

The dark side of the moon

65 million years ago visitors crash land on Earth. Back then the globe was inhabited by dinosaurs. Those mean sons of bitches. Of course the intruders don't want to prolong their stay, so they need to find an escape vessel fast! As an insult to injury, a life-ending asteroid is approaching them! Or perhaps their stupidity catches them up first.

Dream yourself away

June’s mother goes missing and she leaves no stone unturned finding her. Using online tools, her investigation throws unexpected events, surprise twists and even secrets! Similar to Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching (2018) and Missing (by Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick) is almost as suspenseful and exciting as that one.

Wiping out entire timelines

Ant-Man and his posse are trapped outside space and time, in a place called the Quantum Realm. Perhaps an adventure of sort, but it's a little mystery how people like Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer participate and churn out this kind rubbish with straight face. This is how running of out gas looks like.

Markers of malevolence

I think this was fucking great. Not long ago I watched TV Mini Series American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (by Floyd Russ) thus wanted to see Peter Berg's 2016 film as well. Obviously both about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath finding the terrorists. And both, at the same time respectful of the victims as well as a thrilling and gripping manhunt.

A buffer against reality

Jope Ruonansuu was a gifted Finnish comedian. He was a funny man, a jester, who wanted to be recognized as a serious artist too. But as always, the comedians have difficulties escaping their niche. His relatives and colleagues speak their mind.

Sometimes mysteries don't get solved

Suddenly all the citizens of the village of Midvich blackout only to wake up couple of hours later and realize all the young women are impregnated. And they are going to keep their babies. Ain't that creepy shit. It's not called Village of the Damned for nothing! A John Carpenter movie, starring people like Kirstie Alley, Christopher Reeve and Mark Hamill, but it's pile of shit.

A simple gold heart on a chain

Another emotionally charged season. It feels like it’s on the edge all the time and feels like the beginning of the end for most of the characters. The plot thickens, so to speak. The Sopranos season # 4.

Dark angel of merciless death

Yeah maybe if the story wasn't so much lost in its own asshole, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre by Guy Ritchie, would be alright. Now it looks like an overlong action scene smothered with bullets, explosions, dialogue that's supposed to be funny but ain't and the characteristics of every Jason Statham movie. Guy Ritchie has hit his bottom low.

Kings of the carnivore creation

Just a crazy cool western. And it's easy to tell that the actors are having a blast as well. A sheriff (Kurt Russell) and his posse (Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and Richard Jenkins) set out to rescue their town's doctor from cannibalistic indians. Movies like this don't come too often. Entertaining as shit.

No idea what real people go through

Not really that scary a horror movie, but an outstandingly creepy and uneasy bit. Chris (absolutely brilliant Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) visit her parents for the weekend. And the most unsettling things happen. Outstanding dark shit dabbled with some well-timed satire.

No rejection, no guilt, no remorse

It’s not the first time I’m following Seinfeld and The Sopranos at the same. My favorite television shows and completely on the other end of the field of each other. Seinfeld season 8 with cool as hell episodes as The Bizarro Jerry, The Package, The Abstinence, to name only a few.

Go around looking for bogeymen to blame

To no surprise, another mind-blowing season. There’s the much-talked rape episode, as well as Pine Barrens, often heralded as the best television episode anywhere, directed by Steve Buscemi. Exceptional. Ahead of its time.

The temple of everlasting black night

A documentary of ordinary Finnish people. Singing karaoke is these people's means of surviving the pain, the misery and the short span of human life engulfed in everydayness. Reminds me a lot of Joonas Berghäll's excellent Miesten vuoro (2010).

Death came calling

If someone is deserved to be eaten by a giant lion, it's these folks right here. In fact, you'd root for the lion if the poor thing wasn't such an imbecile himself. Beast by Baltasar Kormákur is very bad.

Don't be an idiot out loud

Santa Claus is real. He's doing his things. Dropping off presents in the middle of the night. He's also alcoholic. He drops down the chimney of the most private residence in the country and lands in the middle of a burglary. A violent Christmas movie, sort of a comedy version of Die Hard, but a disappointing execution.

Those who want respect, give respect

They were killing off the main characters in the first season already, but it sort of skyrocketed in the season two. After twenty years, The Sopranos is still the best show on television.

Standing together with angels and ghosts

Set in 1920s Hollywood. Babylon is movie about movie making which at the same time celebrates the life of cinema and ridicules its depravity. It's so much full of energy and unbridled chaos that you fear it may blow out of proportions any second. And considering the runtime, you are truly nailed to your seat. A cool fun thing.

Some things are older than science

They're building a bypass over a sacred ground in Six Mile Hill, Ireland. The contractors are in for a nightmarish adventure when they awake a beast from the underworld. Nothing much, but a fun little vampire indie.

Viper of the living dead

Bruce Willis is The Lobe, some kind of leader inside the world's most dangerous maximum security penitentiary for all sort of freaks and mutants with superpowers. And Michael Rooker is Waltor Devlin, the prison warden who likes to be called 'The Overseer'. Right. It's all particularly crazy. And fucking dumb.

Hall of starlight and stone

The novel A Man Called Ove (2012) by Fredrik Backman was great. Hannes Holm's film (2015) was a brilliant adaptation. And Marc Forster's A Man Called Otto (2022) follows suit. Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a 63-year-old widower in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is preparing a suicide after retiring from his job at a steel company. But something turns his world around. An emotionally rewarding piece.

If you're lucky, you'll remember the little moments

Season # 1 of The Sopranos. I'm currently reading Michael Imperioli's and Steve Schirripa's (with Philip Lerman) book Woke Up This Morning - The Definite Oral History of The Sopranos and that triggered me to watch the show. Yet once again. The definite best television series ever created (courtesy by David Chase). James Gandolfini as Anthony Soprano and his performance is unfathomable magical.

Shadows on fire

Deliciously creepy and uneasy horror. Uncanny curse follows from one person to another causing havoc and death in its wake. Somewhat similar to David Robert Mitchell's It Follows (2014). Overall a decent scary movie. Stupid ending though.

Beneath the old long coffin

Swedish Intelligence Service intercepts a smuggling of a Russian warhead, but one missile remains to be found. Jan Guillou's Carl Hamilton pieces are one of the most exciting espionage and spy novels ever. The 1998 adaptation starring Peter Stormare is one of the better adaptations, but lost its focus a moment or two too often.

The wind casts its shadow

Maybe I saw another documentary of it, or read a book or something. At least read the news and saw the Mark Wahlberg movie Patriots Day (by Peter Berg). Based on the Boston Marathon bombing, the terrorist attack on April 15, 2013 and the manhunt that followed within. An awful tragedy caused by evil fuckers. A gripping documentary.

Scars remind us that the past was real

It was like watching an entirely new movie. Red Dragon by Brett Ratner, based on the 1981 novel by Thomas Harris, is already a 2002 thriller. An excellent adaptation. A scary and truly suspenseful piece. One of the greatest serial killer flicks. Includes a great cast of Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Harvey Keitel, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson and Philip Seymour Hoffman.