EvilPhoEniX

Warning! Only for a brave, marginal, and minority audience. The twisted and artistically oriented director Marián Dora serves a shocking story based on true events. Really strong stuff. An obsessed cannibal searches through the internet for someone willing to be voluntarily eaten, and soon he receives a response from an impatient victim. The first hour passes very slowly, we witness the acquaintance between the cannibal and his victim, and their mutual "playfulness", where it's noticeable that the victim is surprisingly more dominant, but otherwise it's a bit boring and watching two naked guys isn't exactly something that entertains me. But the final half hour is extreme and pure depravity that shocks even after years. We see a detailed dissection of a human being, where nothing is left in the end. Sleazy dirty atmosphere, realistic gore, depressive piano music, an artistic touch, and thorough character psychology. In one sentence: deviant, extreme, unrewarding, dirty, nasty, shocking, crossing all possible boundaries, that's Cannibal from the artistic twisted soul of Marián Dora! I do not recommend it to people who feel nauseous from violence. Watch only at your own risk, it may result in lifelong psychological problems 😃 6/10.

Uff! This one went over my head. Adam Ford is another sick bastard, but unfortunately, his style doesn't suit me. A warm, fat, washed-up clown tortures and rapes two men in his house. The film is silent, which is maybe good, but at times it's a bit boring. It’s disgusting, sleazy, and perverse, it's quite a lot, but in a direction that doesn't appeal to me. There's almost no gore (just one severed head, which is really not enough) and most of the time it focuses on sex and anal play, which may please homosexuals, but watching 70 minutes of torture gay porn is unbearable for me, I really wished for it to end. If he tortured two women, it might have been more tolerable, but this really didn't interest or entertain me. The attempt to shock definitely works, and for that, I'll give it two stars, I can't give more. 3/10.

Korea is coming!!! This is a really nice surprise in the style of Spy with Jason Statham. The film has a great and quite original story about a female secret agent sent on a deadly mission against arms smugglers, and another secret agent is supposed to help her, but he is currently in the hospital and someone else (Kim Yeong-kwang) is sleeping in his office and desperately needs money, so he pretends to be the agent. An excellent action comedy that does not have the typical awkward Asian humor, but is presented very tastefully, and the chemistry between the two main characters works flawlessly. The male lead, even though pretending to be an agent, is luckily not completely clueless (he is a former Marine and an expert in close knife combat), so when it comes to action, it's a real blast. The first hour has a slightly lighter style, but it also offers two decent shootouts. As the film approaches the finale, I was shocked by what the inexperienced director and an unknown actor are delivering! In the finale, the hero goes against the henchmen one on one, and fortunately, it takes a rougher path. Excellent knife duels that will remind you of the cult film The Man from Nowhere. Dynamic, impressive, and fast-paced exchange of moves, exactly why we all love Korea. Unexpectedly very good. 8/10.

A really great animation film from Sony. It has an excellent and original idea about a quirky genius who invents a machine that makes food fall from the sky, and since no one in the city has eaten anything other than sardines for a long time, it becomes a huge hit. The black policeman (a humorous touch) and the crazy mayor are good, and in the end, everything turns upside down in the classic way. The animation is not breathtaking, but thanks to the idea and cool characters, it's a great thing. 8/10.

Park Hoon-jung did not disappoint and serves up a crazily brutal and raw gangster film, another solid addition to his collection. After all the dramas and soft thrillers in 2021, South Korea steps in with its own style and presents a strong and captivating story with dense characters, where everything has its proper place. Visually, it's cool in a Nolan-like way, the pace is occasionally really slow (that's my only criticism), the music is good, the atmosphere is sometimes surreal, the cinematography is more artistic, and when it comes to action, the violence is presented to such an extent that it's almost a celebration of it. Every bastard gets what they deserve here, the atmosphere is bleak, raw, and unpleasant. The film is absolutely uncompromising towards its characters. The finale in the warehouse builds up nicely and the scene in the restaurant is downright shocking and brutal (shootouts reminiscent of Gareth Evans's Gangs of London), and when it came to knife fights, I purred with delight like I haven't in a long time. It's proper masculine stuff and a powerful film. If had a faster pace and added more action scenes, it would be a five-star masterpiece. This film is not for mainstream viewers. 7.5/10.

A watchable thriller a bit in the style of Funny Games, but it lacks bite. A couple is isolated in a luxury smart-house and terrorized by the Voice, which more or less gives them tasks. It's a shame that the tasks are stuff like cook dinner for your husband, open the door first as a man, etc., so it gets boring at times and unfortunately, there is no violence. As a psychological pressure on the victims, it may be alright, but for my taste, it was sometimes too light and soft. It gets to average thanks to the final twist and the idea, which is unexpected and definitely interestingly devised, so at least there's something, but I probably won't remember this film in a week. 5.5.

After the end of this series, I feel like going to buy whiskey and celebrate that I managed it without any harm to my health (at times I thought I really couldn't make it). The Serpent has its qualities and I would have appreciated more in a two-hour feature format. But in this eight-hour series, it feels like an old Fiat driving through a village at 30 km/h, not willing to accelerate even once. So, let's go through the positives: the series captivates with its faithful depiction of the 1970s and the exotic settings of Thailand, Nepal, and India. The hippie theme and the relatively unknown serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who doesn't impress as a killer because anyone can do the trick with poisoning – Bundy, Dahmer, and others would probably roll their eyes – but what really captivates is the unconventional manipulation of people and Tahar Rahim's acting performance, which is possibly the best thing the series offers, but is it enough? Most likely yes, but unfortunately it didn't satisfy me. The negatives include mainly the unengaging and slow pace, with too many dull moments for my taste, and halfway through I even considered stopping watching. It took me a week to finish it, which is a bad note for me, because if a series captivates me, I can finish it in a day. There are also annoying flashbacks – countless of them. In one scene, it jumps ahead by two years, then back two weeks in five minutes, then three years ahead ten minutes later, and at times I didn't even know which country they were in. The fact that there is no murder or explicit scene is also disappointing. There no darkness, rawness, or chills down the spine to speak of, and this time the creators even avoid erotic scenes. Personally, I had a problem with the positive portrayal of an unlikeable bureaucrat. If an intelligent badass detective had been investigating the case, it could have been a much more interesting duel. Normal viewers, however, like the series, I belong to the minority here, so form your own opinion, but those who are not patient will most likely suffer. I'll give it a neutral 3, but emotionally I'm more inclined towards 2 stars.

An unknown debutant delivers a pleasant little horror surprise that will satisfy most fans after a long time. The story takes place in the 1970s, in old London, in a hospital where the protagonist played by Alicia Vikander is applying for a nursing position. Right on her first night, there is a power outage and with it comes the scares! After the initial 20 minutes and getting to know the characters, it immediately gets to the point and scares continuously for almost an hour! Bravo! Finally a filmmaker who knows that horror should scare and not put the viewer to sleep with dialogues, and it works great. The hospital in the dark is nicely spooky and you definitely won’t envy the main character’s situation. The camera, the excellent soundtrack, the creepy sounds, the claustrophobic atmosphere, and the fear of the unknown all contribute. There are also a few smaller jump-scares and plot surprises. The twist at the end is definitely unexpected and I liked it. The performances are also very good (the seizure the protagonist has is played shockingly well), and there is also an emphasis on the misogyny of that time. Strong and captivating in many aspects. Girls will scream and close their eyes, I have no doubt about that. Thematically similar to the Spanish film Fragile. 8/10.

Awesome blast, candidate to animated movie of the year! The story takes place 2000 years after 2019’s Nezha. The film works on its own, but there are, of course, references to the first one. Anyway, the 3D CGI visuals are among the best I have ever seen, it so captivatingly beautiful! It could be said that it is somewhat of a gangster movie with a superb car chase, which looks like it came out of Mad Max, and an amazing underwater sequence, reminiscent of Aquaman. (The crab riding a lobster shooting a crossbow chasing Ne Zha riding a shark with steel jaws is really cool), and there are also fantasy elements (dragons and the classic Wu Kong!). In terms of action and visuals, it definitely belongs to the best that has been created in the animated genre for a very long time. Additionally, the characters are likeable and the story is gripping, it has excellent pace and also great music. Everything worked out perfectly here. China may have the strongest year in the last decade. I recommend it, 9 out of 10. 9/10.

A crazy zombie comedy from India about the Coronavirus!! Zombie Reddy is a fairly decent hit in India and I have to say that I am satisfied as well, even though I do not consider myself a fan of Indian movies. The film has a fairly current and captivating story, where a Coronavirus infection breaks out in India and a mad scientist tries to invent a vaccine. However, his vaccine turns people into zombies and the apocalypse is on its way. The film has attractive visuals and beautiful locations (beautiful Indian temples), likable main characters, lots of pop culture and gaming references, crazy humour, great pacing, entertaining slow-motion scenes, amazingly filmed action, and literally awesome music (after watching, you’ll feel like downloading the entire album because the music is truly great). It's a bit disappointing that the film leans more towards comedy and the horror aspect doesn't really stand out (the zombies have nice make-up effects, but they are slow, they are not those fast aggressive beasts), and the gore is not very prominent, either, even though the Indians are not afraid of decapitations. I had a good time, there were no dance scenes, and the final action sequence where the protagonists use unconventional weapons (a trident, a shield, a whip, a shotgun) is the highlight of the whole film. It's also nice that the resolution of the apocalypse here is one of the most original ever created in the zombie genre. Easygoing fun with zombies from an exotic country. 7/10.