Like nothing you've ever seen

Curtis (excellent Michael Shannon) has bad dreams and he sees signs everywhere that something awful is looming on the horizon. It's catastrophic storm of the end of the world magnitude or his mind is playing tricks on him. Either way, it's better be prepared with a proper tornado shelter and some psychoanalysis. A superb drama of severe paranoia with a truly all-powering oppressive atmosphere.

An arrow shot into the sun

Late 18th century, England and France are fighting for the possession of the American continent. Native American tribes such as Hurons and Mohicans have joined the war and if people aren't bombing themselves to death, the more primitive ways like scalping and burning humans alive are as effective causing chaos and increasing the bodycount. It's a Michael Mann film from 1992, often cited as a masterpiece and a timeless classic. Were I to say it's decent but overrated and not aged particularly well, I'd prob'ly be wrong.

People should know when they are conquered

I've been wanting to see this even though I've seen it a dozen times already, know and remember every scene by heart. It's one of those things. You sit down with it and you are terribly entertained. Gladiator is an emotionally charged story, revenge flick, suspenseful adventure and an epic drama in one brilliant piece of cinema.

Wiser than men or wolf

Fuckers steal a goofy massive dog Buck to sell it to prospectors to utilize its strenght finding and transporting gold from Yukon. A very long way from home, unaccustomed to snow and ice, let alone open sky, the final frontier of earth sends Buck from one adventure to another. He's very much on his own in the wilderness, until he hits it off with another lone soul, an experienced frontiersman John Thornton (Harrison Ford). Based on Jack London's classic novel. The dog is entirely computer generated, a bit cheesy, but surprisingly likeable at that, and overall an entertaining family movie.

We all have blood on our hands

An Austrian farmer voices his opinion that he ain't too pleased with the values of fascism. For speaking his mind, he and his family are ostracized from their home village and things are worsening by the minute. He either has to join the Third Reich army in World War II or hide in the woods, thus possibly captured, executed. Three hours is a little excessive to tell the true story of Franz Jägerstätter,  a conscientious objector, but Terrence Malick keeps it interesting. And, as always, watching a Terrence Malick film, it's like watching hundreds of works of art in a row. Michael Nyqvist's and Bruno Ganz's last film.

Luton is a four-letter word

It's Luton, late 80s, the city like the rest of England is overrun by poverty and bigotry. It's not particularly easy for a Pakistani student Javed, a gifted writer, who is controlled by a stern traditional family and a hostile society. But once he discovers the music and words of Bruce Springsteen, he is in for a massive dose of self-confidence. In spite of bleak British environment that was delivered brilliantly, it's still a rather uplifting and heartwarming a movie.

Under the hammer of malignancy

The Grudge: The Untold Chapter is just a collection of jumpscares caused by a super haunted house on 44 Reyburn Drive, Pennsylvania. There's a Japanese spirit - or curse - that terrorizes people and families in connection with the residence. Nothing is interesting or entertaining, it's just a terribly bad movie.

Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration

The year is 10191. The people in the known universe are fighting over a precious substance, spice called melange, that extends life and expands consciousness, and it's vital to space travel. Denis Villeneuve will have his say to the story later this year. The David Lynch cut, cult movie or not, is surreal and somewhat confusing with crappy and unintentionally funny special effects.

Friends are the family you choose

An orphan dude with a Down syndrome escapes from a nursing home and ends up in the company of a poacher, who is also on the run. The two baddies on the road make a pretty fun bunch and their adventure across the marshlands of North Carolina an eventful one. Can't help it though that it's a bit too naive and goofy. A well-meaning little thing nevertheless.

Home crap home

Sometimes I wish these kind of movies came with a laughter track, so you could at least pretend to laugh at the right places. A Finnish remake of the 1986 American film The Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, that already was a remake.

The bruises left behind

Tinder matches are on a date. While returning home they're pulled over by a police officer who gets killed and the couple have a nationwide manhunt on their back. However it's not really a high-speed chase across the nation, they more or less leisurely drive around Kentucky and New Orleans, take occasional breaks and casually chat what to do next. And the people, obviously, support them because killing cops is so nice and wonderful.

The jackrabbit always wins

It's like a fox hunt, but humans have replaced the foxes. Group of people are kidnapped, left in the forest and rich liberal elite start hunting them for sport. A dark comedy that starts out great, but unfortunately uses too much of its ammo midway, still a rather great and fresh approach to survival horror.

Should the mountain crumble to the sea

From hero to zero. Security guard Richard Jewell saves dozens of lives from an exploding bomb at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, but the incompetent fucks at the FBI incomprehensibly treat and profile him as the primary subject. Clint Eastwood's take on the case is excellent, without too much fuzz and nothing over the top, he keeps the story going forward, with unwavering intensity and top notch acting by Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates.

Shores in flames

Well, there are not that many films or TV shows that make me laugh out loud, but Norsemen does that, numerous times. Season # 3, unfairly only six 30 minute episodes, but what a fucken hoot.

Full of misery from top to bottom

A young woman wants to get her revenge for sickening stuff a few British officers did to her family. Travelling with a local guide, she goes through ruthless Tasmanian wilderness and hopes to find the murderous bastards. A low-budget indie that nourishes itself on disgusting shit as the hunt itself, criss-crossing across the island, has a bit of an aimless feel to it, but above average revenge flick nevertheless.

First dig two graves

A James Bond movie directed by John Glen in 1981, starring Roger Moore as the agent 007, Carole Bouquet as the Bond girl Melina Havelock, Desmond Llewelyn as 'Q' (the head of Q division), Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny (MI6 secretary) and Julian Glover as Kristatos, the main antagonist. Title song performed by Sheena Easton. There's a missing British vessel with secret nuclear intelligence called A.T.A.C. (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) underneath the water and James Bond has to get there first. And it involves lots of driving, diving, skiing and rock climbing.

Happiness loves company

The Jesus Rolls tries its dearest, but Big Lebowski's legacy is far too great to be tarnished. It's a shame though, I'm sure John Turturro's intentions were sincere and good, but this is all bollocks and embarrassing. Jesus Quintana repeats the phrases he already uttered in Big Lebowski as he and his buddy Petey (Bobby Cannavale), both on parole, are involved in petty crimes. A sad attempt coat tailing a cult movie.

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise

A day in the lives of three police officers in a working-class suburb of Montfermeil, Paris. They are head to head with the underworld, try to maintain peace with the influential community leaders and tread a tightrope between the demands of the law and real life. All hell breaks loose when one arrest goes tragically wrong. A pretty hard hitting drama of police brutality and racism.

Hope is a dangerous thing

The cinematography is probably the greatest that I have ever seen. The film, it looks absolutely amazing and the way it is executed - like it was done all in one shot - is magically cool. It's WWI, couple of soldiers has an important message to deliver to the troops in the frontline and it's a bloody dangerous adventure. Easily one of the best movies I've seen all year and more weight to the fabulous cinema of 2019 (alongside Joker, The Irishmen, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Ford v Ferrari and Parasite).

When the lion is hungry, it eats

 

After Aladdin, this is more trademark Guy Ritchie. In fact, it's back to the roots, somewhere he's truly good at, the crime shit; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch as the reference points. Michael Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) is the new cannabis baron in London, and lots of people - motivated either by greed or revenge - try to outwit him, his wife Rosalind (Michelle Dockery) and his secretatary/bodyguard Ray (Charlie Hunnam). The outcome is terribly entertaining and cool, bits violent, but with plenty of laughs. A great cast, where particularly Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell stand out.