Two Graves

Every year we get new criminal drama TV series or mini series released on streaming. You have so many really well made crime TV series from Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Germany, and Denmark as well. It doesn´t really matter if it´s about murder cases, sexual molestation cases or any other very serious crime i always find it fascinating seeing how police detective´s investigate each case. I am a fan of criminal TV series in general and i do have a personal favourite on Netflix and that is the 2017 psychological crime thriller TV series known as Mindhunter. One of the reasons why this series is so damn good is because of director´s such as David Fincher ( director of classic thrillers such as Seven and The Game ) and Tobias Lindholm ( who directed the powerful Danish 2015 war drama film A War, definetely worth renting on VOD or pick up a physical copy ). Each director add something unique to each episode that they directed and they clearly understood the importance of capturing the time period to look realistic. The biggest reason why Mindhunter is such a well crafted TV series is the main plot. We follow FBI Agents Holden Ford ( Jonathan Groff ) and Bill Tench ( Holt McCallany ), along with psychologist Wendy Carr ( Anna Torv ). Together they launch a research project to interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their psychology with the hope of applying this knowledge to solve ongoing cases. Knowing that this criminal TV series is based on retired FBI agent John E. Douglas interviews with well known serial killers makes this TV series even more interesting. It must have been incredibly rough hearing these serial killers describe details about their disgusting crimes, and even if we don´t hear too much details in each interview we get a wider picture of each crime. The three main actors Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany and Anna Torv all deliver strong performances. Definetely worth watching both seasons of Mindhunter on Netflix. Let´s stay within the Netflix community for a while. I sat down and watched a Spanish criminal TV mini series called Two Graves that looked like something i might appreciate. I am a huge fan of Spanish films in general but have not seen that many Spanish TV series yet. Is this a must watch before Christmas arrives or should you watch something completely different on Netflix?

During a night out on town 16-year-old Veronica ( Nadia Vilaplana ) and her friend Mandy disappear. While police begin an investigation trying to track down where the girls were last seen, Veronica´s grandmother Isabelle ( Kiti Mánver ) is completely devastated. Not knowing if her granddaughter is alive or not, she decides to dig deeper into the truth doing her own investigation since police doesn´t seem to find many answers. The more details she finds about the real truth, this also put her in a very serious situation were certain criminal people don´t like nosy people.

One of the things i feel is very important when you are telling a story of a criminal case is that you make the case interesting. Im not talking about you have to show any dead body, but you have to be able to build suspension regarding the investigation. This helps the mystery of the case become more interesting for the viewer. In the case of this Netflix mini series Two Graves i will say that i think they did a pretty good job telling the story regarding a mystery of two teenage girls. At first you may think you know what exactly happened, but as we get to dig deeper into the investigation we see the real truth finally coming out to the surface. Even though the story is well told there is especially one detail that really makes this TV mini series work and that is the acting performance from Spanish actress Kiti Mánver ( who i especially remember from the 2003 Spanish domestic abuse drama film Take My Eyes  ) as the grandmother Isabel. Ever since her grandchild is gone missing she constantly looks for her, at any hours of the day and i personally feel that actress Kiti Mányer manage to capture the tortured soul of a grandmother who want nothing more than her granddaughter to be home back safe. I can´t even imagine the pain you would feel going through something like this, so this performance feels both realistic and powerful. Another really good performance comes from Spanish actor Álvaro Morte playing the criminal character Rafael. This is the kind of character a TV mini series like this needs, especially showing a character that have no sympathy and just want to get the job done. The young female actors also does a good performance so in general i can´t really say anything negative about the acting. It´s a well made TV series that capture the colors of Spain as well as the atmosphere of the rich Spanish family culture. The only detail i do feel could have been more interesting is if we got to see some more intensive police interrogation, there are a few scenes but for some reason i was hoping for a little bit more with some more edge put into the police interrigations. Overall i would say this is a solid TV mini series if you enjoy criminal cases and especially if you enjoy Spanish quality acting. Director Kike Maillo clearly know how to tell a story of a criminal case and proves this by delivering a quality TV mini series on Netflix. Worth a watch if you are looking for something in this category of TV series.

Rating: DDD

Osiris

One of the genres in cinema history that clearly have been struggling at the box office is science fiction. Not every science fiction film is a flop, there are a couple of exceptions of course. But if you take a look at a lot of sci fi films in general there are not many box office hits, while some films only get a very limited screen time or even might head into streaming instead ( because the studio knows they won´t get tickets sold ). I am still a fan of this genre though and even to this day i still appreciate sci fi box office bombs such as the 2008 sci fi action horror films Outlander and The Mutant Chronicles ( which you can see Hellboy actor Ron Perlman in both of these films ). I personally feel that both of these films are worth watching on digital or physical media for different reasons, but if i were to choose one of them just for the fun of it i would go with Outlander. This is almost like a viking version of the 1987 sci fi action classic Predator with some differences of course. To see actor Jim Caviezel as a spaceman who lands of Earth in 709 AD fighting against an alien among viking villages, you got to admit this is a cool concept for a film. What this film does right is to combine viking combats ( to a certain degree ) with modern technology. I will admit the CGI effects on the alien creature may not look as good today, but if you can let that go and just enjoy the film for what it is then you might actually enjoy this one. This is actually the last full feature film that director Howard McCain have done so far, he only directed the short film A Boy´s Life in 2014 after this project. I am hoping to see him return someday, if it is possible. Speaking of science fiction action most movie lovers have seen The Terminator and of course Terminator 2 - Judgement Day by now. One of the most iconic characters in both of these films ( except for Arnold of course ) is Sarah O´Connor played by actress Linda Hamilton. It was especially in the second Terminator film we got to see actress Linda Hamilton become a true action female icon. She did return to the franchise Terminator - Dark Fate which unfortunately became a big box office flop, still worth a watch if you enjoyed previous films in this franchise. Linda decided to do another science fiction action film called Osiris, a film that looked like something similar to Aliens and was released this year. I got myself a physical copy to see if this would be any good. Is this the perfect film for Halloween weekend this year or should Osiris be dumbed in the nearest trash can?

Special Forces commandos are on a mission in the middle east fighting against terrorists, when suddenly the night sky lights up and a space ship abduct the whole Special Forces team. They wake up on board the space ship not knowing where they are or why they are abducted. Who are these visitors and what do they really want?

I might as well warn you if you are not a fan of sci fi action films such as Aliens, Pandorum, Event Horizon or The Last Days Of Mars ( a film that seems to be forgotten in movie discussion forums, which is unfortunate ), then you are definetely not going to enjoy Osiris. This is a sci fi action horror film that is clearly made for fans of Aliens and similar films, and considering how Hollywood is obsessed with making sequels, prequels and remakes i definetely feel that this is the right time for a film like this to get some respect. Let´s just do a classic throwback to the sci fi action films of the 80´s without taking everything seriously, where we throw in big guns, cool looking characters and some cheesy fun dialogue to spice things up. I just have to talk for a moment about the beginning of this film and how the beginning surprised me. It starts of like this is Ridley Scott´s film Black Hawk down where American soldiers take down Islamic terrorists in the middle east and these action scenes are actually quite intensive. Lots of shooting and physical violence, a great way to open a film like this that you think would start inside a spaceship. We do get to the spaceship right after this gun battle and let me tell you i am impressed. The interior design of this spaceship looks cool but most of all the practical make up effects on the aliens looks way better than i expected from make up effects designer Todd Masters ( who worked on the 2008 remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still ). What we do get eventually is almost like a Doom inspired movie ( you remember the popular Doom games from the 90´s and early 2000´s ? ) with battles between army soldiers and aliens. The acting is perhaps not top class all the time from the military force but i think it works considering films like these usually have some characters with terrible acting. I especially enjoy the performance by actor Max Martini ( who played the cool character Herc Hansen in the sci fi action film Pacific Rim ). Actress Brianna Hilderbrand ( from the popular TV series Lucifer ) is the bad ass character Ravi who takes shit from no one. Of course actress Linda Hamilton deliver as always, even though i wish she had more screen time. Osiris is a pure love letter to sci fi horror fans who love the 80´s and if you feel a connection with these words then you are guaranteed to have a good time. Director William Kaufman did a really good job with this film and i would love to see what he works on next. Osiris could be on my list of favourite sci fi films of 2025, not completely without flaws but i had a great time with this film. Old school sci fi action is always the best way to go.

Rating: DDD

Guns Up

The year of 2022 became a little bit special for me for personal reasons. You might wonder what on Earth could it be that year that made me happy? Well, there are a couple of reasons such as Wales rock band Stereophonics released their 12th studio album Ouchya! ( that may not be their best studio album but still better than their 6th and 7th album ). This was also the year when action director Roland Emmerich released his box office disaster Moonfall, a film i actually enjoy just for being a disaster film with lots of CGI effects and had a good cast with actors Patrick Wilson ( The Conjuring franchise ), John Bradley ( who played the character Samwell Tarly in the TV series Game Of Thrones ) and Hale Berry ( the James Bond chick Jinx in Die Another Day ). Oh, we do get to see legendary actor Donald Sutherland as well for a short while. The bigger reason why the year 2022 felt special was that legendary action icon Bruce Willis was in a trilogy of action films called Detective Knight: Rogue, Detective Knight: Redemption and Detective Knight: Independence. Now, i know at the time these films were released we found out he have an illness known as the cognitive disorder afasia. And even if you can tell at certain moments he is not as he used to be, i do enjoy these tree films for being simple action movies. I actually ordered all three films on physical media from the UK. The first film Detective Knight: Rogue tells the story of Detective Knight ( Bruce Willis ), a very dedicated cop on the streets of Los Angeles, who will make sure justice is prevailed. As the city prepares to celebrate Halloween, mask-wearing armed robbers critically wounds Knight´s partner in a shootout following a heist. With Detective Knight in hot pursuit, the criminals behind the heist flee from L.A. to New York as they are hoping to succeed their mission. To say that Detective Knight: Rogue have anything different to offer than any other police action films would be wrong. What this film does manage to do is just deliver simple action entertainement if you just want a streaming evening with popcorn and sodas, especially if you grew up watching Bruce Willis on VHS back in the day. All of these three film is directed by Edward Drake and i found out this summer he released a new action comedy called Guns Up with comedian / actor Kevin James and actress Christina Ricci. Since i used to enjoy action comedies in the 80´s and 90´s, would this film be a positive surprise or is Guns Up just as forgettable as Los Del Rio´s dreadful 1996 Christmas single Macarena Christmas?

Mob henchman Ray Hayes ( Kevin James ) is fed up with his job working for criminals. He wants to start an ordinary life with his wife Alice Hayes ( Christina Ricci ) and their two children Sihobán Hayes ( Keana Marie ) and Henry Hayes ( Leo Easton Kelly ). Their plan is to run their own family diner to actually pursue their dreams. But as it turns out, leaving the mob is not the easiest way to go.

One of the issues i had with the Detective Knight trilogy was that some of the action scenes were not always that fun to watch. It was like director Edward Drake didn´t go all in to make certain scenes more effective. Thankfully in the action comedy Guns Up he seems to have made a decision to make much more memorable action scenes than in the Detective Knight franchise. I do have some issues with this film but let´s talk about the positive first. Actor Kevin James ( who i used to watch a lot in episodes of his comedy TV series The King Of Queens ) as the character Ray is quite different from some of his movies in the past. Much more tougher while he also seems to be a respectful man in his profession plus being a good family man. I like the combination of this character that he´s not only stone cold and can kill, there is a different side of his personality. Actress Christina Ricci as Ray´s wife Alice is in my opinion one of the better acting performances in this film. Always been a fan of Christina and love her ability to take on any kind of character. The strength of Guns Up is the most fun action scenes and when the action scenes becomes a bit over the top. On a technical level i think this is director Edward Drake´s best looking film, where he especially manage to capture some really nice action sequences. Now, we have to talk about what doesn´t really work. This is supposed to be an action comedy and they do attempt to try and be funny in certain scenes. If you are making a combination such as this you need to have comedy material that matches the action scenes and this is something that Guns Up unfortunately doesn´t have. It is basically some of the characters and the action scenes that makes this film work, where it misses out on certain important details. To be completely honest this is not a film that many people will remember because of the plot, you will be entertained for the moment and that´s good enough if you just want something not too complicated to watch. If you want shootouts, fighting and 90´s styled action film then Guns Up should fall into your taste. Director Edward Drake clearly knows how to make violent action films so im actually hoping for a sequel. What can i say im easy to entertain.

Rating: DDD

Flesh Of The Unforgiven

There are those who believe there is no heaven up there, that when we die we end up on the other side where we will face something else than God. Some believe we may face demons, while some believe that we will face something even more sinister such as evil spirits full of so much hate. I personally want to believe that we who are good people will end up in heaven, at least that´s what im hoping to do. But what if you could open a portal to another dimension into a world that we believe is known as Hell, would you do it? That is exactly what happened in the 1987 British cult horror classic movie known as Hellraiser from director Clive Barker, a film that is still today considered to be one of the best British horror films of all time. The original film begins in Marocco, where a hedonist named Frank Cotton ( Sean Chapman ), buys a puzzle box said to open the door to a realm of outerworldly pleasures. At home in his bare attic, Frank solves the puzzle and hooked chains emerge, tearing him apart. Frank´s brother Larry Cotton ( Andrew Robinson ) moves into the same house hoping to rebuild his relationship with his second wife Julia Cotton ( Clare Higgins ). Larry is unaware that Julia had an affair with her brother Frank before her marriage to him. When Larry accidently cuts his hand moving furniture, his blood drips on the attic floor and ressurect Frank in a ghoulish form. To fully become himself again Frank needs fresh human bodies to drain them. Hellraiser really is a very unique film and it´s mostly because of the character Pinhead ( brilliant played by Doug Bradley ). I love the design of the Cenobites that lives in Hell and feed of human souls and the puzzle box looks really cool as well from a design perspective. I do enjoy some of the Hellraiser films in this franchise, for example the 2018 horror film Hellraiser: Judgement turned out to be a positive surprise. Considering the low budget of this film they did a good job capturing the look of the Hellraiser universe. I highly reccomend you pick up a physical copy of Hellraiser: Judgement and see if you agree with me. During later summer this year i heard about an independent horror film called Flesh Of The Unforgiven, that clearly seemed inspired by films such as Clive Barker´s Hellraiser. I have not seen the work of director Joe Hollow before so i thought this would be a interesting first introduction to hiw work as a director by watching Flesh Of The Unforgiven. Is this a horror film that may actually find an audience outside of the Hellraiser fan community or is this film not what i expected at all?

Jack Russo ( Joe Hollow ) is working desperately to find inspiration to a brand new novel and he only have a couple of days to finish it or his publisher will drop him completely. His marriage to his wife Sienna Russo ( Debbie Ruchon ) is clearly struggling and especially after she cheated with one of her husband´s friends. While trying to find ideas to write a new story, Jack recieve a strange VHS tape that will open a whole new world for Jack that he never expected to visit.....

While i was watching Flesh Of The Unforgiven i was reminded of another film than just Hellraiser and that film is called Secret Window by director David Koepp. In the film Secret Window we follow a struggling writer named Mort Rainey ( played well by actor Johnny Depp ) who is trying to write his latest book alone in a cabin after finding out his wife had an affair with a friend. There are some big differences between Secret Window and Flesh Of The Unforgiven, but you can get a feeling that the author character Jack Russo ( played by actor Joe Hollow ) could be inspired by similar characters such as Mort Rainey, I do feel that it´s interesting seeing the progress of writing once Mort find inspiration to write, especially when things begin to fall out of control completely and Mort find himself in a completely different mental state. The best part of this film is when we finally get to see the most gory disturbing scenes done with practical make up effects, where you get a sense of the inspiration from the Hellraiser franchise. The more disturbing it gets the more i feel fascinated in the storyline. The struggling writer Mort is of course the center of this story and actor Joe Hollow tries to capture a character in his most vulnerable situation. I like the chemistry between actor Joe Hollow and actress Debbie Rochon ( playing his wife Sienna Russo ) as you can clearly see they are struggling through marriage. How do you move on in life when you lost that spark that you used to have together? The character Death Dealer ( Joe Hollow ) clearly have inspiration from Hellraiser characters such as Cenobites without being grotesque. Flesh Of The Unforgiven is a horror film that tries to show how demonic powers can transform individuals, while also bring out dark thoughts that they never would have imagined seeing within themselves. Especially when it comes to sexual fantasies and the pleasures of torture combined, there is something very deeply disturbing and yet fascinating about this combination where you can tell the BDSM influences are very clear in this film. Director Joe Hollow deliver a fascinating horror film that´s not for the sensitive audience that will be appreciated if you enjoy the Hellraiser franchise, with a little bit of influences from A Nightmare On Elm Street as well. A film for those who love disturbing twists and dark sexual fantasies, if this sounds fascinating then by all means give this film a chance.

Rating: DDD

The Bunker

I know that some people don´t like the idea of living inside a bunker underneath the earth, i actually wouldn´t mind living that way. As long as i have electricity, clean water, some kind of kitchen, canned food, rice, pasta, books, magazines, if possible a TV and a DVD player, enough clothes to make it through seasons when i have to go outside and a bathroom, i don´t think i would need much else. Well ok, i might put up my signed Dolph Lundgren poster from The Expendables 3 just to make it feel like home, other than that i should be just fine. It would be nice to be able to plant something down there, but most plants need sun so that would be a problem. If it was war outside the bunker i would have to rely on canned food instead. Bunkers have been a subject in many different kinds of films over the years no matter if we are talking about traditonal war movies, horror movies or perhaps drama movies as well. One good example of a solid film that takes place inside a bunker is the 2013 post-apocalyptic sci fi action film The Colony from director Jeff Renfroe ( director of 6 episodes of the crime TV series Cardinal, worth a watch ). The year is 2045, the whole world have turned into a new ice age. The only way to survive the extreme cold weather is to live underground in bunkers, where the remaining civilization tries to build an ordinary lifestyle. Inside the bunker known as Colony 7 there are two soldier leaders, Briggs ( Laurence Fishburne ) and Mason ( Bill Paxton ). After receiving a distress call from another bunker called Colony 5, Biggs decides to go there to see what happened with two other men Sam ( Kevin Zegers ) and Graydon ( Atticus Mitchell ). As they enter Colony 5 they realize that something is terribly wrong. The Colony is a well made post-apocalyptic sci fi film with descent acting with effective action scenes, and i have to say for the most part the film looks good ( except a few CGI scenes ). I do like the argument scenes especially between Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton, not getting along at all. Worth a watch on streaming or rent on VOD. I was recommended a film called The Bunker, a sci fi horror film that stars two horror icons legendary actors Tony Todd and Tobin Bell. Clearly with a cast such as this i was excited to check this film out. Is this a must watch this autumn or is The Bunker unfortunately not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Mysterious alien spaceships are floating in several cities across the world. No one knows what they want or why they have decided to visit Earth. To be prepared in case the aliens are not here for a friendly cause, Dr, Michelle Riley ( Chelsey Edmundson ) and a group of scientists are drafted in by the U.S. military to create a bio-weapon to use on the aliens. Each scientist is placed in their own bunker to communicate through video calls. While working on the bio-weapon, Michelle begin to experience strange events in her bunker as well as seeing her scientist working colleagues hurting themselves.

I think you should know that The Bunker is not a typical alien invasion sci fi film that you have seen so many times before. This is a sci fi film that tries to tell an actual story instead of just focusing on violence and special effects. If you do like science fiction films that focus more on characters then this film should please you. We follow a team of scientiests with very different personalities, and i like the idea of each of them being inside their own bunker while staying in contact online as a working team. How do you adjust life living on your own for the most part? Does that affect you mentally in some ways not being able to see your loved ones or not living an ordinary life? The main plot is simple and yet matches well with the characters, it´s not difficult to understand what the company require their workers to achieve- The most interesting part of the film is when suddenly team members begin to struggle mentally. Are they being used as an experiment? Is someone controlling their minds? The best acting performance comes from legendary horror icon Tony Todd as the character Major Frank Lawrence, it is actually nice to see him do a character such as this that feels different from films in his past. I will say lead actress Chelsea Edmundson ( who i recognized from the great wrestling drama The Iron Claw ) as the character Dr. Michelle Riley gives a solid performance as a female scientist whos having a really rough time in her bunker. Horror icon Tobin Bell have no problem delivering his dialogue in his own unique way that only he can do. The violent scenes looks good and i appreciate the gore effects that´s actually more bloody than i expected. To the negative i would probably say that a few dialogue scenes feel a bit drawn out. In general though i would say im pleasantly surprised over how well The Bunker works as a sci fi mystery film. Director Brian Hanson clearly know how to make good looking films in this specific genre, as well as telling a story that´s fascinating. The Bunker should be appreciated by true fans of science fiction films.

Rating: DDD

28 Years Later

We all would like to live in a world where we help each other, support each other and make a better society together. Unfortunately this is something that is very difficult to do as long as we have political violence, wars and racial hate across this beautiful world. Thankfully in my almost 26 years working in health care i have met people from all over the world who are trying to make a difference. Especially in war zones such as the Russia-Ukraine war where i personally know both nurses and doctors who travelled to Ukraine to help hospitals with patients who have been seriously hurt during the war. People like these are incredbly important to give families hope, a chance to heal and come back to ordinary life. But what if you woke up one day and find yourself one of the few remaining human beings in society, whiley you find out that the rest of the people are infected by a aggresive contagious virus? This is exactly what happened in the now known cult British horror film known as 28 Days Later from legendary director Danny Boyle. I remember the Swedish premiere week of this film in cinemas because there were massive posters everywhere, really promoting this film to be the next big cinema release. This was in February in 2003 and i even remember the cardboard popcorn buckets had 28 Days Later markers on them. I have read about this film for several months in movie magazines right before the release so i was very excited to see this film. It turned out to be better than i expected and it was without a doubt one of my personal favourite films of 2003. What made this film work so well was how this film was filmed almost to look like a documentary, which in my personal opinion made the horror scenes very effective. Really good acting performances from Cillan Murphy, Naome Harris and Brandon Gleeson. The infected people were really effective in their attack scenes and the atmosphere of the dead big cities worked really well and made a powerful impact. In 2007 we had a sequel released called 28 Weeks Later this time directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Not as effective as the original film but i enjoyed this film for what it was, a fast thrilling zombie horror film with a solid acting performances from actors Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Renner and Idris Elba. After many years of waiting it was announced that director Danny Boyle would return with a brand new film in the 20 Years franchise and here we are with the latest chapter 28 Years Later. Is this a worthy sequel to this franchise or is this not as good as fans was hoping it would be?

28 years have passed since the outbreak happened. There are no more ordinary cities or ordinary society that we used to have in the past. On the British Isles of Lindisfarne, the people are protected naturally by the path being flooded by the tide. Only at certain hours of the day they can cross to the main land until the tide comes back again. In this society lives scavenger James ( Aaron Taylor-Johnson ), his son Spike ( Alfie Williams ) and his very sick wife Isla ( Jodie Corner ). Since there are no doctors in this community Spike wants to find one for his mother on main land, where he heard of one known as doctor Ian Kelson ( Ralph Fiennes ) to help her become healthy again. With the infected controlling the main land, this will make things more complicated with a seiously ill citizen.

I personally believe it is best to see the previous films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later to understand the premise of this latest film in the 28 Days franchise. It has been a while since we saw a Danny Boyle zombie film and i can happily say that he still proves that he knows how to tell effective horror stories. What makes this film different from the previous films is that we finally get to see how society have changed trying to adjust itself against the infected. The community that lives on the island of Lindisfarne is an attempt to rebuild a society again where everyone helps, and i love the fact that the population is very supportive of each other. Considering society have changed so much since 28 Weeks Later i think this was a good idea to approach how humanity have moved on to adjust itself during these dark times. What else can you do? You have to be able to feel some kind of meaning in life, nothing will ever be the same again so having a community that works is clearly very important. The two main characters Jamie ( well played by Kraven The Hunter actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Spike ( Alfie Williams ) have a great father and son chemistry on screen and it is interesting to see their family arguments over Spike´s ill mother Isla ( played really well by actress Jodie Corner ( who i recognized from the 2021 historical drama The Last Duel ). There are some emotional scenes between mother Isla and her son Spike, where you see how vulnerable seriously ill people are when there is no hopital to get help. The most interesting part of 28 Years Later comes later in the film when we get to meet the odd doctor Ian Kelson ( played really good by actor Ralph Fiennes ). He have managed to surivie out in the mainlands in a very unique way. The impressive skeleton head monumental where Dr Ian lives is quite unique and gives a deeper meaning to what he was trying to achieve with this location. I think this skeleton monumental gives a deeper meaning to this film how we honor the dead ones that are no longer with us. I would say he is the most fascinating character of this film. The horror scenes in general works well with the infected but is this as strong as the original film 28 Days Later? Unfortunately not, but i still feel this is a well made horror film and tell a fascinating story about survival and how to honor your family. Director Danny Boyle still knows how to make quality cinema films and 28 Years Later is definetly worth a watch. Already looking forward to the sequel coming in January next year.

Rating: DDD

Jurassic World Rebirth

Everyone have nostalgic memories from their youth, no matter if it is a certain movie that you loved or perhaps a favourite cinema that you used to visit. In my case there are a lot of nostalgic movie moments since i have been going to cinemas since the late 80´s. But the biggest nostalgia memories are actually from the 90´s if im being completely honest, mostly during the summers since there were so many wonderful box office blockbusters. Let us go back to the year of 1993 for a moment and let me tell you about my experience in cinema. It was the Swedish premiere of legendary director Steven Spielberg´s latest film Jurassic Park ( based on the novel by the same name from author Michael Crichton ). I had seen dinosaur B movies in the past on VHS but this film would prove to be something completely different from what we have seen before. The concept of Jurassic Park felt like it was inspired by B monster movies of the 1950´s and the 1960´s, but with a much higher budget and a really good cast included with actors such as Sam Neil, Richard Attenborough, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Samuel L. Jackson. The dinosaur effects look incredble for a film being made in the early 90´s and i remember having a blast in the cinema at the age of 16. I can still watch this film today and enjoy it just as much as i did back in 1993. The sequels that followed all had something to offer, i don´t have a problem either with the 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park ( hearing Swedish actor Peter Stormare swearing in Swedish was a highlight ) because it had some enjoyable action scenes and actress Julianne Moore included in the cast. The more modern sequels Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World Dominion all became huge box office hits and did really well on physical media as well. I only reviewed Jurassic World back in 2015 ( a review im not very happy about today, could have been a lot better ) and i enjoyed that film. During this summer we had a new Jurassic World film released in cinemas called Jurassic World Rebirth. My plan was to actually see this film in cinema and plans changed for some reason. So i decided to rent it on VOD instead to see if this would be something i might appreciate. Is this the best Jurassic World film in many years or is this just a desperate cash grab to make money and give fans nothing in return?

In 2008, InGen is operating a dinosaur genetics laboratory on Ile Saint-Hubert in the Atlantic Ocean, housing transgenic and mutated dinosaurs that deemed ghastly by their owner. One of these creations, a deformed six-limbed Tyrannosaurus dubbed  "Distortus rex" escapes containment. It kills an employee who carelessly responsible and wreaks havroc, forcing the personnel to abandon the island. In 2025, most of Earth´s climate has become inhospitable to sustain the de-extinct dinosaurs. The remaining animals survive in locations around the equator, which resemble Mesozoic climate, making them no-go areas. Martin Krebs ( Rupert Friend ), an executive at pharmaceutical company ParkerGenix, recruits Zora Bennet ( Scarlett Johansson ), an ex-military covert operative, to collaborate with Dr. Henry Loomis ( Jonathan Bailey ) on a top-secret misson. Their goal is to retrieve biomaterial samples for the three colossus specimens, which hold the key to a new cardiovascular disease tretment. With the right team chosen for this mission they travel towards Ile Saint-Hubert.

I think it is fair to say that if you are walking into a film such as Jurassic World Rebirth you can pretty much guess what you are going to get. This is dinosaur action that reminds me of the 2017 action horror film Kong: Skull Island but without the Vietnam war and with a completely different plot instead. If this doesn´t excite you then you might as well stop reading here. If you happen to enjoy Kong: Skull Island and similar films then you might atually have a good time with thís one. By now we can pretty much say that both the Jurassic Park films and the Jurassic World films have used the formula of the original film pretty much to the highest degree. How do you make anything different from the past and still keep the influences of the original film for the fans of this franchise? What this film Jurassic World Rebirth manage to do is use especially more water scenes than in the previous films, especially in the first 40 minutes of this film. That´s actually not a bad idea since we usually see dinosaurs on land for the most part, and it´s nice to see that they tried to approach this story by using a different location than we are used to see. Sure, they do travel to an island eventually but adding action scenes on the ocean was a positive change. When it comes to the characters in this film there is a mixed bag, where some of them work while others are just....there. I personally enjoy actress Scarlett Johansson as the character Zora Bennet, she has a good heart but shes also a strong woman who is not afraid to take on any challenges. It´s nice to see actor Mahersala Ali ( especially brilliant performance in the 2018 comedy-drama Green Book, a must watch ) as the character Duncan Kaid. The CGI scenes of the dinosaurs look good and there are some good looking action scenes as well. My biggest issue with this film is that there isn´t anything special about this sequel that makes it stand out compared to the previous films. I enjoy this film for what it is, a basic dinosaur action film but other than that i can´t really find anything that makes this film unique in this franchise. Director Garet Edwards ( who did direct the great looking British sci-fi horror film Monsters ) clearly know how to make monster movies and he proves that with Jurassic World Rebirth. I just wonder how will they manage to move on from here and dare to do something original? If they do decide to make another one, i hope they take a completely different approach. Worth a watch if you are a fan of this franchise, just don´t keep your expectations too high.

Rating: DDD