Inventing reality

A thought-provoking exploration of Russian power dynamics and the mental landscape therein. Jude Law doesn't humanize his portrayal of Vladimir Putin, nor should he. He is excellent in his role. The other lead actor, Paul Dano, as Putin's henchman Vadim Baranov is also good, although his face starts to get boring over time, there's just too much of him in the film. And after the cornerstones, stumbling blocks, and various catastrophic twists of Russia's recent history have been quickly presented, the film's narrative begins to drag. Still, better than what is being said and written in the reviews.

Singing the sorrows to the swamp

One of the most important rules of entrepreneurship and product development: don't fall too much in love with your product. Two middle-aged sisters in a Finnish village who brew sahti beer have never heard of such a rule. They promise to brew 100 liters of sahti for a wedding and it turns into chaos! Teemu Nikki's slightly farcical comedy describes the Finnish landscape of the soul well. Even if it is a tad exaggerated.

We are old and still work

 

An easily spreading fungal organism turns people into deadly zombies and they must be killed. And the fungus isolated. Liam Neeson is one of the veterans specializing in bioterrorism and he knows what to do. Hopefully it's not too late because the preservation of the fungus has been handled a bit carelessly. Cold Storage is a really funny, entertaining and somewhat charming horror comedy.

Never desert a lady in trouble

An elderly woman disappears on a train journey and her traveling companion is led to believe that she is imagining the whole thing! Classic Hitchcock, his early production (1938), but undoubtedly one of his masterpieces! An interesting story interpreted and acted wonderfully, and the tension is present throughout the film.

What we leave behind

Maybe there is a category for these flicks that are educational and that arouse interest in history. Quite often that is the most important value of these films. After Patricia Font's The Teacher Who Promised the Sea, you want to study the Spanish Civil War and history before World War II. Yet it works perfectly as a movie as well. 

A first class cunt

This is actually pretty damn brilliant. You can say whatever you want about Take That or Robbie Williams or all that boy band crap, but you can't help but be moved by Michael Gracey's Better Man. A great story from obscurity to stardom and Robbie Williams is played by a CGI monkey, a wild idea that works brilliantly.

A rite of passage

It's quite disgusting to be chased by a sadistic serial killer. Of course, it would be easier if you could escape using logical reasoning. However, quite often in film art, that is impossible. Baltasar Kormákur's Apex (2026) stumbles upon infuriating little mistakes and goofs. It could be a very exciting survival film, in the style of John Boorman's Deliverance (1972), because the right kind of atmosphere has been sought here, but unfortunately the execution falls short.

Lord of ages

The idea is that a person could relive their life, go into the past knowing what they know now and change the future for the better. Of course, if the time machine has such a structural flaw that they go back to the past in a completely different body (and the wrong brain), that's a big problem. And what if you come back as a dog! Then good luck trying to make an impact on the well-being of humanity and the planet. After Us, The Flood by Finnish director Arto Halonen explores existential questions. The subject matter is very interesting and thought-provoking, but the execution is annoyingly lacking. In fact, this would have made for a great, opinionated and emotionally engaging film, but it would have perhaps stretched the story too far.

You need to look like a fucking burglar

Out of inspiration and sheer boredom, an author begins to follow people at random. Although he creates certain and relatively clear rules for his hobby, the activity is somewhat stupid, but also scary, why not dangerous. Especially when the following turns into breaking and entering. With his debut work, Christopher Nolan manages to tell a lot in an hour. The powerful and interesting story even has a clever ending.

We must forget if we want to go on living

A unique and epic courtroom drama about the Nuremberg war trials. One of the landmark works in film history. A three-hour masterpiece bursting with star power (Burt Lancaster, William Shatner, Richard Widmark, Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell) and powerful storytelling. One of those films that you have to see in your lifetime. Directed by Stanley Kramer in 1961.

Burnt to a crisp

Osgood Perkins has made some pretty good horror films. Not groundbreaking by any means, but engaging and unique. Like Longlegs (2024) and The Monkey (2025). Unfortunately, there's nothing really worth mentioning here. Painfully boring and incredibly uninteresting, pretty rubbish, almost amateurish horror. A weekend trip to a remote cabin turns nightmarish and then the story just stops there.

A time uncountable by days

Two little brothers are adopted. They are separated at such a young age that they can't remember anything about it. More than 30 years pass and when one of the brothers needs bone marrow from a close relative, the truth is revealed to the boys. And so is the fact that the other one got a better start in life. A longer stick, so to speak. Emmanuel Courcol's The Marching Band is sufficiently touching and warm-hearted French drama.

Curses are lifted

A previous work from Hokum creator Damian McCarthy from 2024. And like Hokum, stylish horror storytelling, very true to the genre and as horror films should be, it's scary and atmospheric. The stone house a couple is reconstructing is haunted, and a blind medium arrives there to investigate his sister's death. A stone house a couple is reconstructing is haunted, and a blind medium arrives to investigate his sister's death. And the house's dead spirits give no one a moment's peace. 

The fog that stole souls

One of the best series of recent times, the ten episodes of which are easily devoured with enthusiasm. A wonderfully old-time horror story brought to the present day and suitably tongue-in-cheek. Overall, a nicely executed series created by Katie Dippold, with a new season already on the horizon and one can only hope that they understand how to end the series early enough so that it is not sadly just artificially revived in the future like it happened to Lost (2004-2010) and as is happening to From (2022-).

It's clobbering time

This is pure nonsense. Entertaining and well-made cartoon-like action, but there's no point in expecting anything great from this. Overall, a very mediocre and overly safe Marvel movie. The story is nothing special and the characters seemed pretty shallow. Their development has been badly overshadowed by CGI technology.