The sleeping giants

Nothing beats a good nature documentary. By the MRP Matila Röhr Productions production company at first there was Metsän Tarina (Tale of a Forest), it was followed by Järven Tarina (Tale of a Lake) and now Tunturin Tarina (Tale of the Sleeping Giants), probably the best of the lot. Amazing cinematography of the almost otherwordly northern wilderness and the greatest animals (wolverines, bears, owls, moose and reindeer). Prepare to get mesmerized.

The undertakers win

The war is not his, widower farmer Charlie Anderson's. He just wants to grow tomatoes, herd chicken, cows and horses. Live a peaceful life. But the Civil War, the State of Virginia and ultimately Abraham Lincoln want him and his six sons to fight the war. They are having none of that, so they're caught in a crossfire of two sides. Only when things gets personal, war concerns them. Quite an entertaining western from 1965.

Becoming a passenger

Sam and Tucker are a couple. One of them is seriously ill. The fucking Alzheimer's disease is eating him out. You shouldn't mourn someone while they are still alive, but what if you exist but lose control of your life? An emotional feature that deliciously dwells in its misery and the heavyweights Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci pulled it off incredibly well.

For the glorification of the massive ego

A slow-burner season # 5, but when things got cookin' it was fireworks all the way. Classic episodes such as The Opposite, The Hamptons, The Puffy Shirt and one of their most highly rated The Marine Biologist.

The nastiest stuff you've ever tried

Life is not too complicated in Slab City, a trailerpark area in the Sonoran Desert, Southern California. The people who live there are a varied bunch, offbeat somewhat troubled souls, but they enjoy the company of themselves, the sun and the heat, and the morning brew in a ramshackle internet cafe.  A documentary feature.

Flying out into the darkness to fight ghosts

Due to a hiccup in Doctor Strange's spell they've summoned monsters from other universes and dimensions. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) now must catch and release them to their natural habitats. It would be fascinating if you'd give a fuck. Guest starring Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maquire, revisiting their roles as a Spider-Man.

The darkness in you

Just ridiculous and weird. A guy on parole goes to his brother's wake at an armor-plated bed and breakfast establishment in an island in the Pacific Ocean and he's followed by an army of bad guys and the feds. Everything is askew. The story is fucked. The actors even more. Mel Gibson is alright, but he's there just for an advertisement. Interesting to follow Scott Eastwood's career, he was quite good in The Outpost (2019), but hits rock bottom with this one.

Lying is easy when you tell the truth

Back in the day I read a lot of Charles Willeford fiction and they were a lot different to The Burnt Orange Heresy (also known as Picture of Lies) that is based on one of his books. I obviously missed that one. I wish they had filmed New Hope for the Dead, Miami Blues, The Way We Die Now or any of the pulp classics because this thing never ignited. An art collector (Mick Jagger), an ambitious and desperate art critic (Claes Bang), a reclusive artist (Donald Sutherland) and a random woman (Elizabeth Debicki) in a collision course.

Blood is thicker than evidence

What a bloody treat. Prob'ly hadn't seen this classic before. Released in 1957, directed by Billy Wilder, based on an Agatha Christie novel, starring Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich. Stars are aligned. A wealthy woman is murdered and they have to find out who fucking did it.

Talking loud and saying nothing

Every time Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) says a word, a leaf falls from his garden tree. And when there's no leaves to fall, he dies. There are 1,000 leaves in the tree, so if he must speak he has to use the words wisely. A far-fetched and ludicrous story, a comedy that too desperately tries to be funny and without a proper household name and an expert for physical and verbal comedy for a leading role, the movie would be - quite honestly - qualityless.

The night, it's deafening

A different kind of vampire movie. Jesse Hooker (Lance Henriksen) leads a pack of merciless bloodsuckers across redneck USA. Their latest recruitment Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) has a bit of a hard time adopting to the ways of these night-time predators. Kathryn Bigelow's (Point Break, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) earlier pieces from 1987 and it's groovy.

No more room in hell

It's not from the classic era of zombie movies nor it's done with limitless budget, but Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (a remake of George A. Romero's '78 original) probably is the greatest zombie film out there. It's full-blown undead entertainment from the first minute!

Take the sunshine away

It has been a downhill struggle for The Walking Dead. It lost its edge several seasons ago. I followed it but wasn't enjoying or paying that much attention. Then the COVID-19 came and it put the show on hiatus and I forgot its existence. Got the change to watch the remaining episodes of the season 10 to mark it finished. It's crap. Unfortunately though, the final episode Here's Negan is centred upon the character Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) past and it actually is pretty good, so I reckon I still have to follow the series.

Right back in the jungle again

After over 50 years, Steven Spielberg's Duel is still one of its kind. A simple story of road rage. A mysterious truck driver - an unnamed and faceless figure behind a steering wheel - torments a business commuter driving a Plymouth Valiant. Shot in 12 days in 1971, but still stands the test of time.

The dead travel fast

All is not well in a castle. Family members are dying and the creepy place seems to be haunted. Everyone is a little freaked out. Howling winds, flickering candles and ghastly illusions only emphatize the fear. A Mario Bava movie from 1963.

Pack of wolves all out for blood

What is life worth? Is it the same for, say, window cleaner and a business executive? As the 9/11 lawsuits began pouring in the U.S. government needed to find a way to make people equally satisfied with the compensation. Some people saw it as blood money to cover up mistakes where surviving familes became numbers and victims statistics. The true life tragic losses melt into a stand-out drama.

It's about nothing

And just like that I realized I had - once again - watched another season of Seinfeld. Over 20 episodes went by in a blink of an eye and it was the funniest shit. Packed full of classic episodes including The Contest, The Bubble Boy, The Outing, The Junior Mint and The Pilot. Starring Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander. Wayne Knight, Heidi Swedberg, Estelle Harris, Liz Sheridan, Jerry Stiller and Barney Martin provinding outstandinly strong support.

The greatest griefs are silent

Basically I just put it on. Didn't know what to except. Knew nothing beforehand other than Mark Ruffalo stars in it. It's a 6 episode mini series (clocking somewhere in 6 hours) of twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey. A brilliantly crafted drama although it's just awfully miserable and downtrodden, everything is so screwed up that it's borderline uncomfortable.

The followers of fire

There's a war coming. It's ignited by gangsters, amateurs, deadly priests, corpses in a back of a car and bagful of stolen drugs. Every character seem a little shady and over the edge except for Pixie (Olivia Cooke) who has brains and who is comfortable midst the crazy shithousery. Somewhat an entertaining Irish crime comedy.

Close your eyes, baby girl

Hitman Sam (Karen Gillan) gets all too sentimental and fucks up her gig thus betrays her organization and has a target on her back. The idea of making this pretty delicate young woman a ruthless mercenary I guess it's supposed to be funny, but it fucking backfires. A crime comedy on the John Wick bandwagon that is forgotten before it's finished.