10 Years Anniversary Of Doomsday

The Apocalyopse!

This is of course known as the end of days, when everything goes straight to shit. Many people have different opinions on when the end of days is here, but if you ask Jim Bakker then he would say those days are here. He said it years ago, and he still says the end of days is here, and so far the only sign i have seen that this is happening is the release of another TV series from director Colin Nutley. For those of you who don´t know who this man is, be happy you don´t know anything. You see, you don´t need to know he made the horrible trilogy Änglagård, but now you know. Let us never mention this again, ok ? Many Movies that have portrayed the apocalypse One of my personal favourite movies that did this really well, is the 1981 movie known as Mad Max - The Road Warrior. Directed by legendary director George Miller, this sequel is actually much better than the first Mad Max film with Mel Gibson. One of the biggest reason why The Road Warrior is such a great action film is the highway scenes. They look really good, and the action scenes are really well made for the low budget. Since this was early in Mel Gibsons career, he was a really good choice as the character Mad Max, and in The Road Warrior he really found the best way to do this by using less dialogue and more violence. another classic film that shows the apocalypse is coming, is a very underrated horror action movie End Of Days with Arnold Schwarzenegger. This was a very different kind of film for Schwarzenegger, but he did a good job portraying an alcoholic cop. One of the things i enjoy about End Of Days is the feeling that you get to see an ordinary human become possessed by Satan himself, portrayed by legendary actor Gabriel Byrne. We have to mention that this film is also directed by Peter Hyams who have directed the classic Jean-Claude Van Damme movies Timecop and Sudden Death. Let´s be clear though, that the End of Days don´t show the apocalypse from the beginning but gives you the vision of how it could turn out unless Satan is stopped. If you have not seen none of these film, i think you should. Especially get The Road Warrior on Blu Ray, because this is a film that deserves to be seen with a great picture quality and really good sound. In the year of 2005, English film director Neil Marshal brought us the really well made horror film The Descent. The story of a group of women who are attacked deep down inside a cave system by savage creatures. A must see if you are a horror fan. 3 years later director Neil Marshal released his next film called Doomsday. A film that failed at the box office unfortunately, but have over the years become more respected and appreciated. I have not seen the film since the film came out, so decided it was time to have a look again, 10 years later to see if it still holds up in 2018. Is this still a good science fiction movie, or has the quality level changed over these 10 years ?

In 2008, a killer virus, known as the "Reaper Virus " has infected the country of Scotland. Unable to contain the outbreak or cure the infected. To solve this problem the British government build a massive 30-foot wall that isolated Scotland from the rest of Great Britain. The quarantine is seen as successful, but because of the extreme method employed government destroys diplomatic and economic relations between the UK and the rest of the world, causing the UK to collapse into a dystopia. 27 years later, after the quarantine, a group of armed police officers discover people infected in London by the Reaper Virus. The Prime Minister John Hatcher ( Alexander Siddig ) shares satellite footage with domestic security chief Captain Bill Nelson ( Bob Hoskins )  of survivors in Scotland. Prime Minister order Captain Nelson to send in a team inside of Scotland, because they believe a cure might be found there. Major Eden Sinclair ( Rhone Mitra ) is chosen to lead the team who will track the cure. But inside the streets of Glasgow, everything that used to be humanity have turned into a complete different world.

I usually don´t do 10 Years Anniversary of movies, but in the case of Doomsday i feel that this film did not get the respect it deserved when it was released in 2008. In my view, Doomsday is a well made sience fiction movie that stands out from most releases since it looks like a mixture of Mad Max and Escape From New York. And this is something i feel this film did well, give us a different look on the apocalypse and on a virus outbreak. One thing we have to mention about Doomsday is the strong female characters that this film have. Especially lead actress Rhona Mitra ( who most of you probably remember from the solid horror movie Highwaymen, released in 2004 ) as Major Eden Sinclair, exactly the right character to kick ass on screen. Another really strong female character is portrayed by actress Lee-Anne Liebenberg as the insane Viper. We have to mention the performance from actor Craig Conway as Sol, leader of the marauders. The scene where Sol dances to the classic 80´s song Good Thing by the band Fine Young Cannibals is both insane but also fun. That they actually choosed this song for that scene shows you that they knew that the audience would have a good time. The settings where the marauders rule is also really cool. I especially like the scene where you get to see them taken over the city of Glasgow, attacking Major Eden Sicklair´s team. This movie is clearly inspired by John Carpenter´s cult classic Escape From New York, and there are a number of scenes where you recognize the same concept as that film. I don´t see a problem with that, since it works well for Doomsday without ripping too much off John Carpenter. I also like the idea of the city of Glasgow being closed for the outside world through a wall ( reminds me what Donald Trump is trying to do with Mexico, something i don´t support ). Because it works with the story of the infected of the Reaper Virus, and you can understand why this wall was made for that reason. Is it very humane ? Not at all, but of course a reason for survival of the human race. The action scenes do deliver as well, and i can tell that director Neil Marshal ( who directed the cult classic werewolf film Dog Soldiers ) have tried to bring back some classic concepts from classic action movies of the past ). I would not say this is one of the best films from director Neil Marshal, but he clearly made this movie with a passion for apocalyptic story telling. If you love Mad Max or Escape From New York, you have to give Doomsday a chance on Blu Ray. This is a fun tribute to both science fiction and action movies of the 70´s and 80´s, especially if you had enough of romantic comedies with Jennifer Aniston.

Rating: DDD

A Personal Thank You

Cheers everyone!

Daniel here, getting ready for a new exciting movie year in 2019. But i have something i have to do, before i publish my final mvoie review of 2018. You see, this year meant a lot to me because something completely unexpected happened that have never happened before. A couple of official Facebook movie pages, including one actress, published my movie reviews online. And when i saw this, i was so happy that i did not know what to say. This made my year very special, and i would like to say thank you to the following movies for publishing my work online, including a personal thank you also to a wonderful actress.

To the following movies, thank you from the bottom of my heart for publishing my reviews this year.

Dead Shack

Death Kiss

Dead Squad: Temple Of The Undead

And at last i want to especially thank you actress Reine Swart from the movie The Lullaby, who was the first one to publish my review this year.

To every single one out there, both who made these films, actors and movie teams, i really appreciate your support. I look forward to see you all making new movies, and i would gladly review them if you want me to.

This weekend i am publishing my last review for the year, a 10 Years Anniversary Review Of Doomsday. So everyone have a great New Years Eve, enjoy your holidays with loved ones and family. And i will see you in 2019 with fresh movie reviews.

Cheers from Daniel

White Boy Rick

For us who grew up in the 80´s, we remember the year of 1984 for different reasons. For me personally i remember this year for a couple of reasons. This was the year when legendary director James Cameron released his cult classic The Terminator that made Arnold Schwarzenegger one of the biggest action stars of the 80´s. This was also the year when comedian Eddie Murphy made his first Beverly Hills Cop movie as Axel Foley, and the only really good movie of the 3 movies he made in this franchise. Of course we have to mention that this was the year when the first ( and best ) Ghostbusters was released from director Ivan Reitman. I actually watched Ghostbusters just a couple of days ago on TV during Christmas, it is still a damn good film. Maybe the cast made this film magical, but i also feel that director Ivan Reitman managed to combine comedy and the supernatural in a very solid combination. 1984 was also the year when British rock band Queen released their studio album The Works, a much better album than their odd release Hot Space ( perhaps their worst album if you ask me ). The Works proved that Queen have found their way back to what they knew best, making great rock songs for all ages. I also remember the U2 album The Unforgettable Fire that was released this year. A classic U2 album, where especially the single Pride ( In The Name Of Love ) can still be appreciated even today. The 80´s was a special time, and plenty of movies have portrayed this time period. And it seems that more directors are trying to go back to this time period in recent years, and i am pleased to see that people want to experience this time period. One movie that really affected me personally, that took place during the 80´s, is the drama movie known as Dallas Buyers Club from director Jean-Marc Valleé. A very sad and emotional movie, based on the true story of AIDS patient Ron Woodroof ( played brilliant by actor Matthew McConaughey ). There are not many movies that have made me felt tears coming down my eyes in a Cinema, but this film did. It is both really powerful, and tell a story that needs to be told. Speaking of actor Matthew McConaughey, he have really made some solid films over the years. The Lincoln Lawyer, Dallas Buyers Club, Mud, The Wolf Of Wall Street and Interstellar. Since he did some terrible ones in the past, it seems that he have moved on and chosen quality films instead. I got a chance to see his latest movie called White Boy Rick, based on the true story of Richard Wershe Jr, who became the youngest FBI informant ever. Is this a really solid crime drama, or is this a film that has nothing interesting to offer the audience ?

Detroit, 1984. A city where drug sales are growing and more people are becoming junkees. A young man known as Rick Werse Jr ( also known as White Boy Rick ) is making a name on the streets. He arrange gun sales, and is ready to make some more money. After some problems with the law, Rick agrees to be an undercover police informant inside the world of drug sales. His father Richard Werse Jr ( Matthew McConaughey ) is also a well known criminal, who is trying to stay out of problems. But he is worried his son will end up dead, while his daughter Dawn Wershe ( Bel Powley ) is stuck in a heavy drug addiction. Will Rick found a way out of this life, or is he forever stuck inside the world of criminals ?

When you make a criminal drama, you can go the easy way and just make everything look exactly the same as many similar films. The good news is that White Boy Rick actually does manage to tell an interesting story, while trying to balance the typical criminal characters. This film could have easily just told the story without any depth, but the good thing is that this film actually have interesting characters. I especially enjoy Matthew McConaughey as the father Richard Werse Sr, a man who have a passion about guns and money but don´t know how to raise his son and daughter in a positive way. But you can tell he wants to help them, for the years he spend doing criminal activities. The character known as White Boy Rick is played by young actor Richie Merritt. I think he does a good job portraying a young man, who clearly have no plans for the future. It is sad seeing such a young man throwing his life away selling drugs and guns, when he is about to become a father for the first time. But i have to say, one of the most strong performances in this film, comes from actress Bel Powley as Ricky´s sister Dawn. She is a drug addict who clearly is out of control, and Bel Powley give exactly the right kind of performance for her character, to make her feel realistic. I am so happy to see actor RJ Cycler here ( who did a great performance in the latest movie adaptation of Power Rangers ), as the character Rudell " Boo " Curry, a young criminal who hangs out with Ricky. He proves once again why he is such a talented young actor, and i hope to see him do a lead role in the future. Even if this film is based on the true story about Richard Werse Jr, i find this film more interesting when we get to see the father Richard trying to help his kids. This is where the film becomes emotional, especially one scene when you seen him carrying his daughter Dawn out of a house completely worn out of drugs. And the performance that Bel Powley gives here as a junkee, hits you right in the face.  The FBI investigation surrounding Richard is not the most interesting part of the film, it is the story surrounding this family who is clearly torn apart from criminality and drugs. Director Yann Demange is perhaps most known for his powerful drama thriller ´71, the story of an abandoned solider in the middle of riots in Belfast, in the early 70´s. A really good drama film, and very solid performances from the cast as well. I don´t think White Boy Rick holds up on the same film quality as ´71, but is still a great criminal drama. If you enjoy watching films based on true stories, give White Boy Ricky a chance. This is a film that actually might make you think about why family is important, and why a life in crime is a life full of misery.

Rating: DDD

Commando Ninja

Action movies of the 80´s had so much quality. You got big guns, big explosions, ninjas, big muscles, cheesy dialogue, best soundtracks ever and hot girls of course. Just look at the classic Invasion U.S.A from 1985 with legendary action actor Chuck Norris. The scene where he drives right into a shopping mall and massacre terrorists is so beautiful. This is exactly what we needed back then, just see Chuck Norris shoot down 240 people with 80 different guns, because that was the best way to solve problems. Let´s stay within the year of 1985 and talk about the cult classic action movie Commando. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the bad ass character John Matrix, is a perfect example of what i loved about the 80´s. John Matrix would kill anyone, in all possible ways to get to his kidnapped daughter, and Commando really showed you the real American way. Commando may not be one of the best films that Schwarzenegger did in his career, but this is an action film that still works well today for being so brutal. And this movie is also really macho, just the way you want a Schwarzenegger movie to be. While we are talking about the year of 1985, let us also mention the cult classic action movie American Ninja with legendary action actor Michael Dudikoff. The first movie where we were introduced to his iconic character Joe T. Armstrong, an American soldier who also is a ninja. I still remember watching American Ninja back when i was a child. It was a film that found a special place in my heart because i loved B action movies with ninjas included. And i have to say, actor Michael Dudikoff proved himself to be a solid action star. The sequels that followed did bring some nostalgic action scenes, especially in American Ninja 4 - The Annhiliation when both Michael Dudikoff and David Bradley teamed up to fight ninjas together. I am happy to say that there are film makers that want to make movies that throws you back into the 80´s. Just look at what director David Sandberg managed to do with his movie Kung Fury, throwing in martial arts with guns, fast cars, nazis, dinosaurs and vikings ? Kung Fury is an outstanding tribute to the 80´s and i love this movie. The campaign for Kung Fury on Kickstarter did really well, so fans clearly want to see more of 80´s styled action films. Very early in 2018, i started hearing about a new action film that was going to be filled with ninjas and lots of action called Commando Ninja. I watched the trailer and it looked fantastic. The movie was released on YouTube last week, so of course i was excited. Is the new movie Commando Ninja a masterpiece, or a movie that does not deserve any respect ?

John Hunter ( Eric Carlesi ) is a Vietnam Green Beret Veteran, Half commando and Half Ninja who is living a quiet life in the countryside. When his daughter Jenny Hunter ( Anaelle Rincent ) is kidnapped by a secret Ninja Organization, John is determined to destroy everything that stands in his way, to get his daughter back. When Commando Ninja strikes, you will feel the eternal pain.

Do you remember that first time you fell in love, and never wanted to let go ?

That feeling is exactly how you will feel when you watch Commando Ninja. Not only is this the masterpiece of 2018, this is also the most beautiful movie of the year as well. Everything you wished for is here. Fantastic characters, hot naked girls, ninjas, dinosaurs, big guns that fire of 600 bullets in 4 minutes and dialogue so fantastic that you will have an orgasm. Commando Ninja is not only a film that educates our younger generation, it also shows that you show all your problems with a grenade launcher, instead of talking. And i have to say, this is exactly what we needed to hear now during Christmas week in 2018. In some ways, this movie looks very similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger´s classic action movie Commando.  The main character known as John Hunter, feels like Schwarzenegger´s classic character John Matrix with only a few differences. When his daughter is kidnapped, you get a really crazy wild ride with a lot of B movie classics as influences. Actor Eric Carlesi in the lead role as John Hunter is absolutely brilliant. He capture the right feeling of a true American action hero who don´t listen to bullshit, he let his bullets do the talking instead. Do we have any other great characters in Commando Ninja ? Of course we do, we have Leeroy Hopkins, played by actor Phillippe Allier. Leeroy is a mixture of a true American patriot and a racist, who is actually damn fanny in this film. He brings most of the comedy scenes with his bad jokes, and the cheesiest dialogue that i simply love. Let´s not forget character Oscar Kowalsky, played by actor Stéphane Asensio. At first a tough Vietnam veteran, later turned into a deadly machine. You might think that Commando Ninja is just another B movie release. If this is what you thought, then you are wrong. Commando Ninja should be an education video for all the schools worldwide ( at the right age of course ), so a younger generation learns why video violence of the 80´s made us who gre up at this time period so intelligent. We did not need math books, we did not need to read books about boring subjects, we learned everything from watching Cyborg with Jean-Claude Van Damme and especially Red Scorpion with Dolph Lundgren kicking ass. Director Benjamin Combes have managed to bring back the beautiful 80´s back into 2018, in a very loving way. He knows exactly what will make people fall in love again, and there is nothing more powerful in the name of love with the help of Commando Ninja. People all over the world, there is no doubt that this is the best movie of 2018. You must experience Commando Ninja, and i guarantee that you will remember the feeling of true love more than you ever thought was possible.

Rating: DDDDD

The House With A Clock In Its Wall

We all have memories of certain films that made an impact on us from our youth. For me personally one of my earliest memories of a movie that did make a strong impact on me, was the 1984 movie The NeverEnding Story from 1984. I must have been around 8 years old when i first watched the film. and i was really scared. Especially the scene with the wolf-like creature Gmork attacked Atreyu. The NeverEnding Story had everything you could wish for in a fairy tale way, and the special effects looked really good for being made in the early 80´s. Director Wolfgang Peterson ( also known for his cult classic Das Boot ) managed to make a movie for both a young audience and for adults as well, who love to dream away into a fantasy world where anything is possible. Let´s not even talk about the horrible sequels, since i only watched the second film. I decided not to see the third The NeverEnding Story movie after hearing it was beyond awful. Let´s move on to another film that enlightened my youth, the 1991 movie adaptation of The Addams Family from director Barry Sonnenfeld. This movie ( based on the classic 1964 TV series ) turned out to be one of the most insane black comedies of the 90´s with a really good cast including legendary actor Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd and Christina Ricci. I still think this movie adaptation is really funny today, especially because of the chemistry between Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, who played the perfect combination of Gomez Addams and Morticia Addams. There was a sequel made called Addams Family Values, released in 1993. The sequel was a actually not bad, and managed to continue the story of the family, with a different but interesting plot. In 2004 we got ourselves a really good family movie adaptation of Lemony Snicket´s classic stories from A Series Of Unfortunate Events from author Daniel Handler. Jim Carrey as Lemony Snicket is absolutely brilliant, and made this film a really enjoyable comedy with some nice horror elements included. This is a must own on Blu Ray, and will most likely be a cult classic in the future. Director Eli Roth may be most known for his 2005 horror film Hostel. He have continued making horror mocvies since then in very different qualities. But when i heard he is releasing a family fantasy film called The House With A Clock in Its Wall with Jack Black and Cate Blanchet in the cast, i just had to check this out. With a great cast, and a director who have delivered some good films in the past, is this one of the biggest surprises of this year ? Or is this the family fantasy movie that never should have been made at all ?

10 Year old Lewis Barnavelt ( Owen Vaccaro ) lost both of his parents in a car crash. He moves in to his Uncle Jonathan Barnavelt ( Jack Black ). In this house Lewis also meet´s Unlce Jonathan´s best friend Florence Zimmerman ( Cate Blanchet ) who is also his neighbor. Lewis see that something strange is going on in Uncle Jonathan´s house. It turns out that the house is filled with magic, and that Jonathan is a warlock and Florence is a witch. The previous owner of the house was a sinister warlock named Isaac Izzard ( Kyle MacLachlan ). Lewis want to learn magic, even if Jonathan is not happy about this. So he begins to read books, how to learn how to control magic spells. In school Lewis is a bully victim, and he only have one friend named Tarby Corrigan ( Sunny Suljiic ). To become more popular, Lewis suggest that he will prove to Tarby that he can do magic. At the house of Jonathan, Tarby finds the key to open the forbidden room, with a book that will bring back the dead. Lewis knows that he will get into trouble, but agree to go to the cemetery to awaken the corpse of Isaac Izzard. They succeed, but this will come with very serious consequences, since Isaac is determined to use a hidden clock, that could turn back time so humanity never existed. Lewis has to stop this, with the help of Jonathan and Florenze.

The House With A Clock In Its Wall reminds me of a combination of Goosebumps and The Addams Family. You get both horror elements here, and a bit of comedy as well. And since it has been a while since i have seen a good family movie with horror elements, i have to say that this film manage to mix it all together on a nice level. In some ways, this film also brings me back to my childhood, when you appreciated family movies with magic and horror. I would not say that this film is like Harry Potter, even if magic is included. It feels more like The Addams Family with more creepy elements instead. One of the things this film does right, is make great characters. The young bullied boy Lewis, played by child actor Owen Vaccaro gives a great performance. You feel sorry for him, at the same time you can understand why he loves being in control while learning magic. Jack Black does another wonderful performance, this time as Lewis Uncle Jonathan, who teaches Jack how to control magic. One of the reasons why Jack Black fit perfect with this character, is that he knows how to portrait the odd relative. We have to talk about the performance of Cate Blanchet here, as Florence. She is without a doubt the strongest character of this film, and her attitude is both charming and funny. The horror elements is something i enjoy in this film as well. There is a creepy feeling here, that feels right for the location of this film, a very old house where magic have been around for a very long time. The evil pumpkins is one of those scenes where the tone of this film manage to deliver some nice Halloween elements, without becoming too predictable. We also have to mention legendary actor Kyle MacLachlan ( who have been in classics such as Twin Peaks, and the 1987 cult classic The Hidden ) as the dead Isac Izzard. To see Kyle deliver such a solid zombie performance is a delightful moment in this film. Is there anything negative to say about this film ? Not really, since i feel that this film manage to combine different classic elements in a positive way. And i have to say this is one of the best Eli Roth films in many years, since he kind of lost his path for a while. I will say that this film might be a bit too frightening for smaller children, that you should consider not showing the movie if they are too young. But if you want to see a good family movie with some fun horror moments, then The House With A Clock In Its Wall is a guaranteed good time. Finally a family horror movie that actually feels like a throwback to the 90´s, that does not happen very often.

Rating: DDD

The Worst Movie Of 2018 Is........

Cheers everyone !

Daniel here, getting ready for writing the final reviews of 2018. It has been a year filled with great movies, but also a year where some films have turned out to be really bad. I have not reviewed some films that i watched, that turned out to be awful. But one film clearly proved that there is still movies being made that are not supposed to exist. Sometimes you come across something that you did not want to experience, but once you do you will never forget it, unfortunately. So......i have chosen the worst movie i watched in 2018, and the winner is........

The Trump Prophecy

Congratulations, i wish we never met at all. Could it really be that bad ? This movie is beyond bad, this is a pile of turds thrown together, that leaves a sour taste that will never go away. Where do i start ? The acting in this film is so horrible, it feels like they have no idea what kind of characters they want to portrait. They just seem to stand in front of the camera and talk. The story is so cheesy you want to cry in pain, that this is supposed to be a serious drama. The special effects in the fire scenes ( this film is basically based on a true story about a fireman ) looks really bad. It looks like CGI fire, on the lowest budget they could find to make it look cool ( and they can´t even get this right ). What about the music ? Well, remember the Hallmark Channel back in the 90´s when they made super cheesy pop songs, that made you even more depressed than you ever thought was possible ? This is exactly how you feel hearing the songs in this film, because they are so polished, and so soft that you just want to find the nearest exit. 

I am telling you every single person out there worldwide, do not suffer like i did and avoid this film at all cost. I almost did not survive watching this film, i might need therapy for several months to become normal again.

So there you go, let´s leave this behind us and look forward to the last reviews of 2018 that i am working on right now. I have a few left to post once they are finished, and i hope you will enjoy them. I will see you soon, and enjoy your week in the best possible way.

Cheers from Daniel

Slay Belles

Christmas time!

The one time of the year when we gather family, have a nice Christmas dinner, talk to relatives we never meet ( except at weddings, funerals or birthday party´s ). In my family we have a tradition that every Christmas, you have the chance to taste The Masters Of All Masters, that is Ron De Jeremy Rum of course. So why is Ron Jeremy´s rum such a great part of Christmas in our family ? Because we know the happiness of Christmas, that is why we do it in such a positive way. For me personally, i love watching Christmas movies that are not the classics running on TV. so i prefer to watch the B horror movies that includes the holiday celebration. One good example of a great Christmas B horror movie is a film that is called Red Christmas from director Craig Anderson. What makes this such a nice treat, is that the film manage to capture the right Christmas feeling, perhaps more violent than the traditional holiday. And i do enjoy some of the characters in this film as well. Legendary actress Dee Wallace ( who have been in a lot of classic films such as The Hills Have Eyes, The Howling and Critters of course ) is one of the highlights of Red Christmas, it is so nice to see her still doing more movies in the horror genre. I suggest you pick up the DVD, or check it out on VOD with your family. Another good Christmas horror film that should be seen, is the 2015 movie known as A Christmas Horror Story. This film is like a horror anthology, telling different stories about Christmas. And i have to say, if you enjoy anthology movies then you should see this film. I also appreciate seeing legendary acor William Shatner as a radio DJ host, known as Dangerous Dan. Pick up A Christmas Horror Story on DVD, it would also be a great gift for the family. Every year there are many B horror movies released with a Christmas theme, and i think it is great that small budget movies are made, to show another side of the happy, colorful season of the year. Besides, some people prefer to have a good time with an Axe, or perhaps a nail gun, just to get that party started. So i have a tradition every year, i go to the YouTube channel known as Geek Legion Of Doom in the late autumn to check out the latest Christmas reviews. And this year i came across a review of the new movie Slay Belles. This looks like a fun Christmas movie, and the review did make me curious about the film as well. Since i love a wonderful, happy, heart warming Christmas with flesh wounds, pretty women and Krampus ready to party, i just had to see if Slay Belles would be surprisingly good. Do we finally have a Christmas movie that should be seen by the whole family, or is this movie that should have been dumped at the nearest garbage station ?

Three girls known as Alexi ( Kristina Klebe ), Dahlia ( Susan Slaughter ) and Sadie ( Hannah Wagner ) all go to the closed down Santa Land. They intend to film some social media videos for Adventure Girls. But while looking through Santa Land, they see the real Krampus walking around. The girls head inside a cabin, where Santa Claus ( Barry Bostwick ) is protecting himself from Krampus. Santa tells the girls that Krampus are looking for children, that he takes away. But the girls agree to help Santa stop Krampus, so he never can take any child ever again.

I have to say, while watching Slay Belles i am reminded of the good old days of the 80´s. Back then, movies were made with passion in a different way than today. You could say that Slay Belles is a look back at how we used to enjoy Christmas, and it was ok for women to dress sexy without being seen as sexual objects. They are just dressed up to give some Christmas joy. Because let´s be honest here, Slay Belles is supposed to be a fun horror movie, especially for those who enjoy B movies from the past. This is in no way a very original film in any way, but if you can accept that then you should have a good time with this film. There is a really crazy mix here of different Christmas elements thrown together, in a positive way. Let´s talk about the positive first. The costume design of Krampus looks really good. In fact, this is the best Krampus costume i have ever seen so far in a Christmas horror movie. The girls played by actresses Kristina Klebe, Susan Slaughter and Hannah Wagner all make a wonderful performance, as the happy Christmas girls helping Santa Claus to defeat Krampus. By the way, we have to mention legendary actor Barry Bostwick here who plays Santa ( known from classics such as Spy Hard and TV Comedy Series known as Spin City ). He also gives a solid performance, and clearly have good comedy timing in his scenes. The dialogue is funny as well ( for the most part ), and give this film a funnier tone than most Christmas horror movies. I have to mention i also appreciate that the film is not showing any snow at all, that Santa is hiding in a closed down park called Santa Land. It is nice to see a different perspective outside the traditional Christmas locations. Now to some negative. I feel that i would have liked this film to be at least 10 minutes longer, with more flesh wounds and violence. That does not mean i am complaining of the practical effects or the flesh wounds we get to see, but some more of this would have been nice. Other than that i can´t really complain about much. Director Dan Walker have made a Christmas movie that will please both horror fans, and people who loves to celebrate Christmas. i have to say that this is the best Christmas movie i have seen this year, and who knows, maybe we can have a sequel in the future ? Slay Bells is a fun tribute to the 80´s with something for everyone to enjoy. Of course you should see it, because remember what Santa says:- Polish the Christmas balls, or Santa will be naughty this year. I know he means serious business, so i guarantee i will be polishing really good this year.....

Rating: DDD

Mile 22

Every year movie critics around the world are not very excited about one specific month. We are of course talking about the month of January, the month when most movie studios release films that no one will care about. There are quite many films that have been released in the month of January that critics have panned for different reasons, such as The Bye Bye Man, The Green Hornet, Dirty Grandpa or Friend Request. Of course movie studios are mostly focused on the big seasons such as summer time, or holidays like Easter or Thanksgiving. It is not hard to understand why, because they might get a big cash hit if people run to the cinema to see some big names on screen. But in 2013, something happened in January that not many people would have expected. A film was released that month that was both enjoyed by critics and did well at the box office, the war drama movie Lone Survivor from director Peter Berg. Based on the true story of what happened with United State´s Navy Seal´s counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings, in Afghanistan. What made this film so good, was that the acting surprised me in a very positive way. And i have to say that the action scenes was also well made by director Peter Berg. If you have not seen Lone Survivor, you should check it out. Director Peter Perg and actor Mark Wahlberg continued working together in their next collaboration called Deepwater Horizon. A really well made drama action film, based on the true story of the explosion of oil rig Deepwater Horizon. A really strong cast, and a very strong story is included, that made this film so good. But the collaboration between Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg continued with Patriots Day, another strong film based on the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Director Peter Berg proved once again why he is so good with making powerful films, and Patriots Day managed to tell this story in a very emotional way. After Patriots Day came out on DVD and Blu Ray, i was hearing rumors about another collaboration with Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg. Of course this made me curious, since they have managed to deliver quality films since 2013. The film is called Mile 22 and is described as an espionage action thriller. I was supposed to see this film in a Cinema, but that never happened, so i watched the movie on Blu Ray instead. Since this is the fourth time that Berg and Wahlberg work together, do they strike another homerun with Mile 22, or is the magic gone this time with a much weaker production ?

CIA Agent and former U.S. Marine veteran James Silva ( Mark Wahlberg ), leads a Special Activities Division team code-named Overwatch to raid a Russian FSB safe house. Under the remote supervision of James Bishop ( John Malkovich ) and his team. The mission is to locate and destroy shipments of caesium, to prevent it from being used as a radioactive weapon. A firefight takes out most of the Russians and Overwatch operate Greg Vickers ( Cedric Gervais ) is killed. But the caesium is destroyed. James executes the last survivor, a teenager who warns him that they are making a mistake. 16 months later, in the South Asian country of Indocarr, police officer Li Noor ( Iko Uwais ) surrender himself to the U.S. Embassy to negotiate for passage out of the country in exchange for information. Li is carrying information about the caesium on a disc. He will unlock the information, if they let him out of the country. Unless they follow his rule, the information will be destroyed since it is programmed to self destruct. Silvia´s team is instructed to take Noor to an airplane at an airstrip 22 miles away. John Silva´s team is about to face their hardest mission yet.

Since director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg have delivered some solid films in recent years, Mile 22 does not reach the same quality level as before. This is a pretty ordinary straight in your face action film, that does not hold any big surprises. You could say that this is the movie that director Peter Berg, decided to follow the predictable action genre, like he did with Battleship. The difference here between Mile 22 and Battleship, is that Battleship is a stupid action film that does have some entertainment value. Mile 22 do have some action scenes that works, but at the end of the day there is not a lot more to be happy about here. The film starts off good, and you would have hoped that Mile 22 would have continued delivering some solid action scenes. But then this film slows down, and become a bit boring for a while. And that is not a good sign when you know this is supposed to be an action film. Mark Wahlberg, who plays the lead character James Silva, talks a hell of a lot. In fact, there are moments in this film where i want him to stop talking and just shoot people down instead. I have to say that this is one of the worst performances i have seen Mark Wahlberg do in a very long time, and he ususally never does a bad performance. But his character is not very interesting, just annoying at times. Actress Lauren Cohan as the character Alice Kerr is more interesting than James Silva, but for some reason i don´t feel that she deliver enough power. I would have wanted her to be more rough, and just rip some balls off. The best character in this film is martial arts action star Iko Uwais. When he starts to fight ( especially in one scene where he is handcuffed ) you finally get the right stuff. Fast, really furious fight scenes, just the way we like it. And to be honest, without Iko Uwais in this film, Mile 22 would have fallen very flat, because he is the reason you want to watch this film, not because of Mark Wahlberg. I am happy to see legendary actor John Malkovich here as the character Bishop. But what i love most about his character, is that he have the same hair as Kurt Russel in the Science fiction action movie Soldier from 1998. Could it be that John Malkovich love the 1998 B movie so much, he wanted to make his tribute to the film in Mile 22 ? If so, he did do a good job. But his performance is not very strong, and he is not in many scenes either. So is there anything else you should know ? Not really, but this is by far the worst movie with director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg. It is such a shame, because i have enjoyed their previous films. Let´s hope they work together again, and do something better than Mile 22. This is a film you will most likely forget about, i know i have already forgotten i watched this film. Wow, that does not happen very often.

Rating: DD

What Movie Will Critics Call The Worst Movie Of 2018 ?

Cheers everyone!

Daniel here, the amazing movie review guy from Sweden, the country where everyone is obsessed in Anna Books ABC album, actually the only hit album she had with.....2 hits ? I am not sure, i might have to contact Carl Jan Granqvist for further information. So the final reviews of the year are on the way, and as i am counting now i might have 6 reviews all together, ready before the year ends, and i will also announce the worst movie i have seen this year. Now, i am curious to see what movie most critics will call the worst movie of 2018 ? Will it be Fifty Shades Freed, or could it be Forever My Girl ? 

I have not seen these films, and i have heard that there is some other titles out there that are terrible such as Show Dogs, Hurricane Heist, A Wrinkle In Time, Truth Or Dare or perhaps Gringo ?

No matter what the lists will look like, i love wathcing the lists of Worst Movies Of The Year, because you know that the movie reviewers will be so upset, and pissed by the time they get to number 1, you are guaranteed to have a good time. Something tells me that Fifty Shades Of Freed will be the winner as Worst Movie Of 2018, but i could be wrong. I am really looking forward to see the winner, and if Fifty Shades Freed wins, i will celebrate with champagne, and some more champagne, because that would be worth celebrating. The final movie reviews are coming soon, so i am hope you are excited. And....a special surprise on New Years Eve will also be done. Take care of yourself, have fun with the Christmas balls, and remember, if you are naughty, you get to sit on Santa´s lap. That would make my dreams come true.

Cheers from Daniel

The Trump Prophecy

America!

The greatest country in the world, if you ask Trump supporters. Let´s be honest here, i have heard some really stupid things from Trump supporters about my country Sweden, and i would like to share with you now what some of them have actually said.

* There are more murders in Sweden than in America
* The health care system in Sweden is really bad compared to America
* If we would have more people wearing guns in Sweden, we would solve crime much better

These are just a few things i have heard Trump supporters say, i could probably write down a whole list but that would just make you all fall asleep. So let´s just mention one more thing, that Trump supporters believe that chemicals in lakes are making frogs gay. Sounds fantastic right ? It has now been over 2 years since Donald Trump became The President Of The United States. I remember back in 2016, when i heard the news that Donald Trump won the election, i felt that this is not going to help America back on track. And boy was i right, i have never heard a President so crazy as this one. He have no compassion at all, and don´t seem to take anything seriously. I know that Barack Obama got a lot of criticism while he was President, but he actually did do some good things, if you compare to what Trump is doing at this moment. Now, what shocks me most of all is how ( some ) American Christians believe anything Trump says. Just look at evangelical TV host Jim Bakker, who loves Trump more than anything. Of course he has the right to do that, since we are all allowed to like anyone we want. But you can tell by Jim Bakker´s show that they clearly see Trump as the only answer for America´s future. With so much going on right now with Trump in power, i hope that the people of America will make sure to get a new president for 2020. Recently i came across a trailer of a film, that was released in October called The Trump Prophecy. I thought the title was a parody, like a satire comedy about Trump. But no, it turns out that this is a film made by Christians who loves Donald Trump. I watched the trailer and i got a bad feeling about this film. But i decided to watch thew film, just in case i might think that it´s not that bad. A movie that tributes the latest President of America, is this the masterpiece i always wanted to experience, or is The Trump Prophecy a movie that will make our lives miserable for all eternity ?

Fireman Mark Taylor ( Chris Nelson ) can no longer work any longer. Since a very sad tragedy happened inside a burning building, where a child died, Mark don´t have any power left to continue his job. He decides to quit, with the support of his wife Mary Jo Taylor ( Karen Boles ). Every night Mark has nightmares, as if a demon visits him. He has to struggle each night, not knowing why this demon is out after him. But suddenly one day, Mark have a vision, that Donald Trump will become the next President Of The United States. Most people think this can´t be true, but it turns out Mark is right. Is it possible that Donald Trump will lead the people of America into a brighter future ?

I already had a feeling that this propaganda film for Trump supporters would be awful. But this is actually a film that is so bad, i might have problems sleeping soon. Really ? Yes, i am serious. Everything feels wrong about this film. The acting is really awful, the cinematography is as cheap as a bargain sale at the dollar store, and the music is as cheesy as a Hallmark production left from the late 90´s. The story is supposed to be very dramatic, about a firefighter who can´t deal with his job anymore. And this could have been good, if they actually tried to make an interesting story. Most of all, if they actually tried to act, and they don´t really even try to do that either. Even the firefighter scenes looks incredible cheesy, and that is a really bad sign. Let´s talk about the characters for a while. Lead character known as Mark Taylor ( played by actor  Chris Nelson ) is supposed to be the hero of the movie, being a former firefighter and a Trump supporter. But to be honest, you don´t really care about him since he can´t act out any emotional scenes. The moments when he tries to act like you should feel sorry for him, you just don´t buy it. His wife Mary Jo Taylor ( played by actress Karen Boles from the good TV series Sleepy Hollow ) is perhaps one of the few characters that actually make something out of her character. That does not mean she is acting good, but give us a better acting performance than Chris Nelson. What about the other actors in this film ? Let´s just say that their performances are as predictable as a Ronan Keating album, you know exactly what it will look like. Is there anything positive about the story ? Honestly no, because this is clearly a film made to be a tribute to Donald Trump as the greatest man on this planet who will save America. I have no problem that this is a Christian film, but what i do have a problem with is that this film is so awful. The Trump Prophecy is without a doubt one of the worst movies of 2018. Director Stephan Schultze ( who worked as a cinematographer and producer on several films ) does not seem to know how to make a powerful drama film. Instead he makes a film that you want to flush down the toilet. I heard that the new Robin Hood film in cinema, have some really bad reviews out there. I can´t imagine it is that bad, if you compare it with The Trump Prophecy. If you want to be depressed and dig yourself under the ground, just watch this film and you will not want to see the sunlight ever again. Not as bad as Saving Christmas with Kirk Cameron ( i seriously doubt any film can be worse than that film ), but still bad enough to wish The Trump Prophecy never existed.

Rating: D

Dead Trigger: Unkilled

In most countries around the world, we celebrate Christmas to spend time with family, enjoy food and be nice to each other. In Sweden, we do it in a very different way. You see, here in Sweden, Christmas for us is about celebrating the greatest Icon of Swedish history ever, Dolph Lundgren of course. If you go on a Christmas market in Sweden, you will of course see Santa Clause, but in every heart of the Swedish population, they are all thinking about Dolph. So why is Dolph the true way of Christmas ? It all started in 1987, when Dolph Lundgren became the iconic Russian character Ivan Drago in Rocky 4. Ever since then, Swedish people are reminded of why Dolph means so much to us. If you visit Swedish people in their homes, i guarantee that they have classics on DVD such as Red Scorpion, Showdown In Little Tokyo, Universal Soldier or The Expendables. Speaking of The Expendables, that was the big return to the big screen for Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen, and i love these films so much. To see all those big action stars together on screen have really made my life wonderful. And i am so excited about The Expendables 4, that is said to be released sometime during 2019. Dolph have continued working hard in the B movie industry and i try to watch all of his films. I still have a few left, and hopefully i will get a chance to see them next year. A few B movie highlights with Doph we have to mention is of course Skin Trade, released in 2014. An action film that turned out to be one of the best action films of that year, and director Ekachai Uekrongtham managed to mix classic martial arts with fast action scenes in an effective way. If you have not seen Skin Trade, you should buy it on DVD or Blu Ray ( and you also support B movies this way ). Another film i have to mention is of course Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning. A sequel that turned out to be much better than i expected, and gave us a lot of fantastic fighting scenes. Especially between legendary action actor Scott Adkins and Andrei Arlovski. I also love the fighting scenes where Scott Adkins fight against Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme, this feels epic in so many ways. This is also a film you need to buy, because it is worth having in your collection. When ever i see Dolph releasing a new film, i always feel joy in my heart. So i got a chance to see one of his latest films called Dead Trigger: Unkilled, that looks like a zombie horror film. Not to be mixed up with Battle Of The Damned, another zombie film with Dolph released in 2013. Is the new zombie film Dead Trigger: Unkilled one of the highlights of this year, or should Dolph stay away from this genre completely and just do simple action films instead ?

The year is 2025, in Terminal City. Billions of humans have died from a mysterious virus, while a lot of people have turned into zombies taking over cities. Unable to stop the virus, the government develops a video game called "Dead Trigger " that shows what´s going on in the world. A special team of people are chosen to be a part of the Dead Trigger team, including Samantha ( Bleone Qereti ), Daniel Chen ( Justin Chon ), Chris Norton ( Chris Galya ) and many other members, led by Military leader Kyle Walker ( Dolph Lundgren ). Their mission is to take out zombies, and try and locate scientists trapped inside a medical facility, who may have answers to find a cure. But are they too late ? Is the virus spreading faster than they could have expected ?

Seeing another zombie action film might not be the thing we have all wished for. But the good news is that Dead Trigger: Unkilled is actually not a completely awful zombie film, and that is thanks to the characters of the special team, send out to kill the infected. There is a lot of shooting, decapitations, blood and some gore as well, so this turns out to be a B movie feast. Let´s talk about the characters. First of all, Dolph Lundgren is the biggest highlight in this film as Kyle Walker, one of the leaders of the Dead Trigger team. Dolph looks bad ass, he delivers the best dialogue, and he is the perfect choice for a zombie killer. But that´s not all, we have more great characters. Actor Keil Oakley Zepernick as the super developed zombie Project Alpha is really cool, a special designed zombie that don´t die from ordinary bullets. Actress Bleone Qereti as Martial Arts fighter Samantha is also a character this film needed, a strong female character ( unfortunately she does not get many scenes, and she should have had more honestly ). There are of course some awful characters as well, but let´s talk about something else thats positive. If you like a very simple zombie action horror film, where you don´t need to think, then Dead Trigger should be appreciated by you. Now to something negative. The make up on the zombies is not very effective. Especially one scene where a zombie scientist have an eye hanging down, looks pretty silly. The plot is of course not anything special, but that´s ok, since this is almost looks like a video game ( as we see people wearing special designed googles ). Does this film bring anything new ? Nothing at all, this is basically a very typical zombie movie that is designed for B movie lovers that love traditional zombie movies with no big surprises. If you are a fan of zombie movies i think you should give Dead Trigger: Unkilled a chance. Just to see Dolph Lundgren as a bad ass zombie killer is something you don´t want to miss. Directors Mike Cuff and Scott Windhauser clearly love this genre, and they manage to deliver some B movie fun for the audience. I am actually hoping for a sequel, just to see if we could see this team return for another mission. I would love to see B movie legends like Michael Madsen, Eric Roberts, Gary Busey in a sequel, so we really get to have some fun. If you don´t feel like watching traditional Christmas movies this year, why not put on Dead Trigger: Unkilled instead, and give Christmas a really jolly good zombie feeling instead ? I am sure Santa Claus will approve that, since i know he probably want to take down some zombies as well ( he probably have a shotgun in Santa´s sleigh, or a chainsaw, since he is filled with surprises ).

Rating: DDD

Mandy

In Hollywood there are certain actors that have made cinematic history for some of their classic performances. It would be very easy just to pick out some of the most well known films, but i choose to talk about one actor that did make history with some really crazy films from the 80´s and the 90´s. One of the most crazy comedies of the 80´s, has to be Raising Arizona from director Joel Coen. The story of robber Herbert McDunnough ( Nicolas Cage ) who steals a baby, because he is sterile and can´t make his wife Edwina McDunnough ( Holly Hunter ) pregnant is such a delightful cult classic. If you love crazy comedies, you need to see Raising Arizona and see a real 80´s classic. What made this comedy so funny, is the insane atmosphere in the Arizona desert, and the odd characters. Legendary actor John Goodman as the bounty hunter Gale Snoats is one of those characters you won´t forget. He really nails it and knows how to put up a performance on a high level of quality. Nicolas Cage continued delivering really good films, and especially in 1990 when he went completely insane in David Lynch cult classic Wild At Heart. Now, to appreciate a film like Wild Heart you have to have a good taste in movies. This is one of the most fascinating movies of the early 90´s, that does not look like anything you have seen before. Nicolas Cage is simply brilliant as the wonderful character Sailor and his lover Lula ( brilliant portrayed by actress Laura Dern ). I must have seen Wild At Heart at least 10 times since the 90´s, and this is still one of my favourite movies from director David Lynch. This film is really violent, funny, dramatic, and filled with crazy scenes, and i love the combination. If you don´t have Wild At Heart in your DVD or Blu Ray collection, you should be ashamed of yourself. This is a film that should be seen by the whole family every Christmas Eve. Leaving Las Vegas is also a masterpiece with Nicolas Cage, directed by Mike Figgis. The alcoholic character Ben Sanderson ( Nicolas Cage ) is a really sad image of how shitty life can be, and when you reach to that point that you might as well kill yourself. Another fantastic performance by Nicolas Cage. But after a lot of good films, Cage started doing a lot of different movie projects. Some of them were ok, while some of them were not good. The 2003 film Matchstick Men is of course a big highlight, but after this things went downhill. How many of you remember the remake of The Wicker Man, or perhaps the 2012 film Stolen with Swedish actress Malin Åkerman ? But then in 2013, a small film called Joe by director David Gordon Green made a big change for Cage´s career ( finally getting great reviews again ). A really strong drama film, with Nicolas Cage doing his best performance for over 10 years. Early this year i started hearing a lot of positive words about Nicolas Cage in a new film called Mandy. And after early reviews on film festivals, i could tell that Many seemed to be something unique. Do we finally have a future Nicolas Cage classic in our hands, or is Mandy a disaster that should be buried with other terrible Cage films ?

The year is 1983 near the Shadow Mountains, Red Miller lives with his girlfriend Mandy Bloom ( Andrea Riseborough ) Red works as a logger, while Mandy has a day job as a cashier at a nearby gas station. One day when Mandy is on her way to work, she passes a van with the deviant hippie cult known as Children Of The New Dawn. Cult leader Jeremiah Sand ( Linus Roache ) is struck by the beauty of Mandy, and orders one of his disciples, Brother Swan ( Ned Dennehy ) to kindnap Mandy. At night, Brother Swan summon the Black Skulls who head out towads the cabin of Red and Mandy. The Black Skulls break into their home, and Red is gagged and tied with barbed wire, as he is forced to watch as Mandy is burned alive. Red Miller survives, but he is determined to revenge the death of Mandy, and destroy both Black Skulls and the cult of Jeremiah Sand.

I had a feeling that Mandy would be an odd experience, and i can tell you that this is film that deserves a lot of respect. Mandy is a movie that does not care about how things are supposed to look like. This is a film that shows many levels of insantiy, and shows a very disturbing world of evil, passion and religion. I would not call this a religious film completely, even if you get a sense that there is some kind of religious cult involved here. Imagine a world made from influences of legendary directors David Lynch and David Cronenberg, and you might understand that Mandy is not for fans of The Princess Diaries with actress Anne Hathaway. Let us be very clear here, that Nicolas Cage does his absolute best performance in Mandy, since the last 20 years. Is it possible ? Yes it is, he proved his professional acting performance in the 2013 film Joe, and he does it even more this time in Mandy. Cage´s character Red Miller is clearly a man with a lot of hate, who sets out to revenge the murder of his girlfriend Mandy Bloom, played by actress Andrea Riseborough. To see Red on a hunt for the hippie cult that took Mandy´s life, have a lot of brutality and darkness along the way. We also get to see some other powerful performances as well, especially from cult leader Jeremiah Sand, played by actor Linus Roache. It feels like Linus have really tried hard to capture the essence of a religious cult leader, and he does this really well on screen. We have to mention that actor Bill Duke ( most remembered for his character Mac Elliot in the 1987 cult classic Predator ) does a nice performance here. You don´t see him for very long, but i really enjoyed seeing him here, capturing the feeling of the 80´s. The cinematography by Benjamin Loeb looks absolutely gorgeous, and capture the right atmosphere of the story. You might think that a revenge story is nothing interesting, but in this case i have to say that Mandy manage to go in a completely different direction than most revenge horror films. Director Panos Cosmatos ( known for his directorial debut film Beyond The Black Rainbow ) have created one of the most powerful odd horror films in many years. Mandy is a pure trip into hell, with a completely different level of insanity that you don´t really get to see often. If you want to experience a film like nothing else this year, you simply have to experience Mandy on Blu Ray, and buy this film. Nicolas Cage is so damn good, i am jumping of joy right now that we finally get to see him deliver really solid acting. I have no problem saying this, Mandy is one of the best films of 2018. Go out and buy the film, and support this wonderful piece of cinematic pleasure.

Rating: DDDD

In 2019 A New Segment Is Coming

Cheers everyone!

Daniel here, the fantastic movie review guy from Sweden ( the country who have the last surviving viking known as E-Type, who released the same album for over 20 years, amazing ). Sometimes you need to make a change for fun, just to spice things up. So, next year i have decided to do a new segment that is called......

Is It Really That Bad ? 

The idea is that i watch a few selected movies that i have not seen, that are hated by movie critics worldwide, to see if i dont enjoy the films either, or....maybe i do enjoy them ? There are no certain categories, so i will pick different titles from different years. Sounds like fun right ? I think that this will begin in February, hopefully. But im working right now on the final movie reviews of this year, and....a special surprise right before New Years Eve. So thank you everyone for reading my reviews, and i hope you are excited to see the final reviews of 2018. See you soon in here. 

Cheers from Daniel

Cube Zero

Prequels to great movies can be interesting, or a really bad idea. It all depends on how the director works with the source material, and if the director knows how to make a worthy prequel. Unfortunately, most prequels never become as good as the original film. But there are exceptions of course, and i would like to mention 2 prequels that actually turned out to be good. Let´s start with X-Men: First Class released in 2011. A prequel to the very popular X:Men film series, and this film is directed by Matthew Vaughn. What made First Class such a great X-Men film was thanks to the cast of Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon and many others. Just to see actress Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is a delight all the way, because she does her performance so well as this classic comic book character.  Another thing i really enjoy about this film, is how we get to find out more about the mutants from a younger age. Of course we have to mention that this film is directed by Matthew Vaughn, who have directed both Kingsman films ( the first film is the best of course ). The next film that i enjoyed as a prequel is the horror movie Ouija: Origin Of Evil, released in 2016. This film is a prequel to the horrible Ouija released in 2014, and the biggest reason why the prequel is better than the 2014 film is because of the cast. Actress Elizabeth Reaser as the spiritual medium Alice Sander is a character that you feel compassion for, a woman who wants to help people but at the same time scam people for money. Young actress Annalise Basso as the older daughter Paulina Sander, gives a strong performance. And we have to mention child actress Lulu Wilson as the youngest daughter Doris Zander. Her performance is really powerful as the possessed little girl, and she really give her character a lot of depth and darkness. If you have not seen Ouija or Ouija: Origin Of Evil, i suggest you skip the 2014 film, and go right into the prequel instead. A much more solid horror film from director Mike Flanagan ( who directed a number of other horror films such as Oculus ). When it comes to making prequels to classic films, we have seen this been done many times, such as in the Star Wars franchise, and of course in The Lord Of The Rings franchise. There was even a prequel made to the cult film Cube from 1997. Since i reviewed the previous film, now it is time for my final review of the Cube franchise, with the film known as Cube Zero. A prequel that may not be mentioned very often, but is this a surprisingly good film or a prequel to a cult classic we did not need at all ?

Two men known as Eric Wynn ( Zachary Bennett ) and Dodd ( David Huband ) are controlling the cube, a secret military project where a group of selected people are placed inside different rooms inside a cube. Eric and Dodd can control the cube, but they also have to follow orders from their superiors. A group of selected people wakes up inside the cube, including Cassandra Rains ( Stephanie Rains ). She finds more people inside another room, and they have to find a way out. Eric who sits up in the control room, feels a personal connection to Cassandra, and want to get her out of the cube. He leaves the control room, breaking the rules to help Cassandra. He knows how the cube works, but can he really figure out the right exit ?

Making a prequel to the 1997 classic film Cube could of course have been a disaster. But i am happy to say that this is actually a better film than the sequel Cube 2: Hypercube. Now, this prequel is of course not as good as the original film, but let´s talk about the positive first. We get to find out how the cube is controlled, and how the chosen ones are controlled. The two characters you see controlling every room in the cube, is Eric Wynn ( Zachary Bennett ) and Dodd ( David Huband ). To see them controlling human lives with the help of technology, gives you a feeling of fear. Just imagine if you could kill anyone you want, if you feel that they don´t deserve to live ? We also get to see a few scenes how one of the women in the film was trapped, and put inside the cube. The classic concept of the original Cube film is recognized here of course, and i think it looks better than in the sequel this time. The traps feels more original, and the cube rooms looks more effective. The cast is also better in this prequel, such as Stephanie Moore ( who you might recognize from TV series Queer As Folk ).  She is both tough, and determined to survive. Actress Terri Hawkes as Jellico is another great female character in this film, that makes sure her voice is heard. Now to the negative. Martin Roach as the character Robert P. Haskell does not give a performance that you will remember. He could have done this right if he delivered some more power into his character, but instead he don´t leave any impressions. Another thing i would have liked to know since this is a prequel, how was the cube made and how did they construct it ? I´m not saying they should reveal everything, since i understand it is supposed to be some sort of secret, but a few details would have been nice. Apart from this i would have to say that Cube Zero manage to tell a story that both stands on its own, and give you a bigger picture of how the cube is operated. I especially like the scene where Eric and Dodd, who controls the cube get their meal, served as a pill. It kind of reminded me of Matrix in some ways, but here the pill you choose is instead a choice of what meal you want to have. Director Ernie Barbarash ( who actually have directed 3 films with Jean-Claude Van Damme known as Assassination Games, 6 Bullets and Pound Of Flesh ) manage to do a prequel that actually works. Instead of doing the mistakes as the sequel Cube 2: Hypercube, he tries to dig deeper into how the cube works and who is controlling it. I have to say that he also manage to do more interesting characters here than in the sequel, something that is important in a film like this. The original Cube film is of course still the best film, but Cube Zero is a prequel you should see if you enjoy the previous films. One thing is for sure, it will be interesting to see how a new remake of Cube will be ( that is supposed to come out at some point ).

Rating: DDD

Elizabeth Harvest

Marriage!

The one time in our lives when we make the most important commitment of our lives, to live together with the one you love. But marriage is not easy, you have to work hard to make it work. I know how it can be, being a married man. I am also grateful for being in a relationship. But for those men who are thinking about getting married, i would like to give some good advices.

* Never talk bad about Iceman in Top Gun, played by Val Kilmer. This is one of the most loved characters for all women worldwide. If you do, your future wife will not accept your ring, i guarantee that.

* Women do not want to watch Bridget Jones anymore, this is 2018, so they prefer to watch Gator Boys on Animal Planet. Why ? Because nothing is sexier than watching Alabama men wrestling alligators. Ask any woman and you will see that this is true.

There you go, 2 fantastic advices for a perfect marriage. Should i help married couples in therapy with such fantastic advices ? Yes i probably should, i might actually become a marriage therapist. When it comes to movies that deals with marriage, we have a lot of titles to choose between. We have the usual marriage drama, and we have the marriage thrillers as well. Let´s focus on marriage thrillers for now. And one of the best classics in this genre is of course the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction. This is one of the thrillers of the 80´s that really shocked a lot of people, especially how brutal the character Alex Forrest ( brilliant played by legendary actress Glenn Close ) is on screen. The boiling rabbit scene is a nightmare for the perfect family image, and shows that cheating is not the best idea. What made Fatal Attraction such a great thriller, was the psychological level of how bad things can turn if you cheat on your wife. Of course you can tell that Alex is a very disturbed woman, who clearly have a lot of personal problems. Legendary actor Michael Douglas also does a really good performance as the cheating husband Dan Gallagher. Another great thriller that takes on marriage as well is the 1992 movie known as The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. The story of a very disturbing nanny named Claire Bartel, played really well by actress Rebecca De Mornay ( one of her most iconic performances on the big screen ). But we have plenty of good actors here as well, such as Julianne Moore, Annabella Sciorra and Ernest Hudson. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is actually one of the better thriller films where a nanny is included, and a classic from the early 90´s. Recently while looking around what to watch on VOD, i came across a film called Elizabeth Harvest. The first thing i noticed was that actress Abby Lee is in this film. If you don´t know who she is, i suggest you watch her in one of her films, especially The Neon Demon from director Nicolas Winding Refn. The combination of a sci-fi thriller sounded interesting, and that is why i decided to watch Elizabeth Harvest. Is this a film that should be seen by a larger audience, or is this film one of those titles that you won´t remember ?

Newlywed Elizabeth ( Abby Lee ) arrives with her brilliant scientist husband Henry ( Ciáran Hinds ) to his magnificent estate. Elizabeth don´t need to think about anything, her husband Henry have staff named Oliver ( Matthew Beard ) and Claire ( Carla Gugino ), who will serve her. The only thing that Henry demands, is that Elizabeth does not go inside a secret room. Elizabeth have no idea why this room is so secret, but she decides to go inside anyway. What she is about to find, will change her life completely, and give some answers to what her husband is really doing.

One of the things that makes Elizabeth Harvest more interesting than most ordinary thriller dramas, is that the film completely changes the plot after the first 30 minutes. At first it seems to be a story about a young woman, married to a wealthy man. But this is not really the main plot. Instead the film focuses on science instead, and become more complicated. And this is where the strength of this film grows, when we find out what is really going on inside this house. In some ways, i could feel this film might have some similar ideas as from director Nick Hamm´s sci fi thriller Godsend . Not that these films have much in common, but the style of Elizabeth Harvest and the clinical issues do remind me of Godsend, with some differences. The idea of playing God is something that both films have in common, when we break the laws of science to control human lives. Lead actor Abbey Lee ( known from films such as The Neon Demon, Gods Of Egypt and The Dark Tower ) does a great performance as the young woman Elizabeth. It feels like she is a great choice for this character, and she knows how to make Elizabeth look vulnerable. But when we see a completely different personality in Elizabeth later in the film, this also shows that this character is not who you might think she is. Another character i also enjoy in this film is Oliver, played by Matthew Beard ( known from films such as An Education and The Imitation Game, both really good films ). What makes Oliver interesting, is the fact that he is blind and takes care of the house of Elizabeth´s husband Henry ( played by legendary actor Ciarán Hinds from films such as Road To Perdition and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ). His character as the millionaire scientist Henry is also interesting, who is clearly carrying a big secret. I don´t want to reveal what the film really is trying to bring up, from a scientific perspective. So i suggest not to read about the real plot and see the film not knowing too much. The thriller influences becomes more clear, when the real story reveals itself. Director Sebastian Guiterrez ( who you perhaps recognize for his film Rise: Blood Hunter with Lucy Liu as a vampire ).  His film Elizabeth Harvest is pretty different from most releases, and he clearly wanted to tell a story that has a deeper meaning than most ordinary releases. I will say one negative thing, some scenes are very slow. Even if Abbey Lee deliver with her performance, she can´t save the slow scenes. Other than that, this is still an interesting movie that dares to go in a different direction. So if you want to see something different now when Christmas is getting closer, give Elizabeth Harvest a chance. Not a film for everyone, but definitely a film worth checking out if you enjoy science. 

Rating: DDD

Thunder Road

It is honestly amazing what funding pages like Kickstarter and Indiegogo can do, to help short films or full feature films be made with the help of fans. I have helped different flim projects myself, such as Kung Fury, Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance or the fantastic documentary You´re So Cool Brewster - The Story Of Fright Night. The reality is that every film studio may not have the money to support film makers, so even how good an idea is it can be hard to make reality. This is why fund pages like Kickstarter and Indiegogo can make dreams come true. Of course not all projects are good, i have seen some films on trailers that have not felt interesting. But there are always a few films that stands out, that turn out to be interesting. One of the films i remember really enjoying, is a film called Blue Ruin. This film was launched as a Kickstarter campaign, and thanks to fans the film was able to be made. Blue Ruin is the story of Dwight Evans ( powerful portrayed by actor Macon Blair ) who is determined to revenge the murder of his parents, as he tracks down their killer Wade Cleland. But this is not what the whole film is about, and Blue Ruin becomes even more interesting as we get to follow the life of Dwight, as he tries to handle his personal problems. The budget of Blur Ruin was made on a 420.000 dollar budget, but the film looks really good. I think director Jeremy Saulnier proved that you can make a really emotional and strong drama, no matter how small the budget is. Every year both short films and full feature films find funding from movie fans, and this seems to continue to work very effective. One example of a Kickstarter campaign that managed to do well, is for a short film called Thunder Road. The short film told the story of an American police officer who dances at his mother funeral. The critics loved the short film, and the short film won several awards such as Short Film Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Jury Prize For Acting at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. Actor Jim Cunnings, who both directed the short film and played the lead role, decided to make a full feature film of the character known as Officer Jim. Since i read so many positive reviews, i was curious to see if Thunder Road would fit my taste. Is this a really well made independent film, or is this a film that you don´t need to waste your precious time on ?

Police Officer Jim Arnaud have just lost his dear mother, as he decides to do a Bruce Springsteen dance tribute to her at her funeral. He fails completely, and embarrass himself. But Jim tries to focus on helping his young daughter Crystal Arnaud ( Kendall Farr ). That does not go so well either, even if Jim believe he is a great father. When Jim work with his Police partner Officer Nate Lewis ( Nican Robinson ), Jim feels happy. He feels that Nate and him have a friendship. Jim´s ex-wife Rosaling Arnaud ( Jocelyn DeBoer ) is a drug addict, and demand full custody of Crystal. Jim does not agree with this, and go to court. Nothing is going as Jim have planned, and everything seems to be going against him. Will Jim finally find a way out of all the misery ?

I did not expect to see a comedy, that is both tragic and really funny this year. But this is exactly what Thunder Road manage to combine. The main character Officer Jim ( brilliant played by Jim Cunnings ) must be the most embarrassing cop i have ever seen. Just the opening scene, when he does a dance to a Bruce Springsteen song ( and he cant get the Hello Kitty CD player to work ) at a funeral is hilarious. Just the idea of him doing the most odd dance ever with a dead person in a coffin behind him, is of course the worst idea ever. Or...maybe exactly what we should do at a funeral, just let out all of our emotions ? There are more really funny scenes that will make you feel embarrassed about Officer Jim, how he manage to keep his job is amazing. Of course, things do not go well later on in the film. Even if Jim Cunnings gives the strongest acting performance in this film, i think there are some other performances worth mentioning. Child actor Kendal Farr does a wonderful performance as Jim´s daughter Crystal. You feel sorry for her, especially when her father does some embarrassing things at the school development meeting with her teacher. Jocelyn DeBoer as Crystal´s drug addicted mother Rosalind also does a good performance, and you can tell she have personal problems. While this film have some really funny moments, there are also some really sad scenes as well. It becomes very clear that Jim have no idea how to behave as an adult sometimes, and make some bad decisions. Of course, many adults can make bad choices in life, but Jim just does not seem to know how to behave at certain moments. It is like he just says what he thinks, but don´t understand this can make things even worse. I would like to mention that this film would probably categorize this film as a dark comedy, and i love that combination. Director Jim Cunnings ( who also have the lead role ), manage to balance comedy and drama on a very high quality level. He knows how to tell a story about a man who have a very complicated life, and does not seem to know how to be in control. I think he also manage to show us how hard it is being a parent, especially with a father who wants to do everything for his daughter. If you have been looking for something different to see, and still want to laugh and feel sadness, Thunder Road should be what you need to experience. Finally a film that dares to go into a different direction than most drama comedies. Make sure you see Thunder Road, and learn how parenting should be handled.

Rating: DDDD

Dead Squad: Temple Of The Undead

Tropical places always make me happy. When i feel the heat, and the tropical forest is right in front of me, i feel at home. No more snow tsunamis, no more snow avalanches, just palm trees, drinks and great food. The people who live in these places, be happy. Because when you live in Sweden with 10 days of sun, the rest of the year is covered in ice and Gudrun Schyman´s cult followers pray for more snow. When it comes to films that takes place in tropical environment you have plenty of titles to choose between, but let´s focus on one specific category. Horror movies that takes place in tropical locations. Let´s start off with the horror comedy Club Dread, released in 2004. A film that actually works, mixing horror and comedy together, and we also get to see legendary actor Bill Paxton ( watch him especially in the movie Frailty as a religious maniac ) as a different kind of character than his usual films. While some horror comedies failed to make fun of classic horror, Club Dread managed to mix it up without making too many mistakes. I would not call this a comedy classic in any way, just a fun throwback to B movies we grew up with. Another film that is a pure horror film instead, is the 2008 movie known as The Ruins. A film that takes place in the jungle, where a group of young people are victims of a flesh eating plants, that can grow inside their skin. The Ruins may not be a very original film, but the film have some really brutal butchery scenes that makes this film stand out from the ordinary release. I remember one scene especially, where one of the young women cut her own flesh inside the leg, and even the face, to get out what is crawling in there. The Ruins is worth checking out, if you enjoy brutal horror that does have some tasteful treats. Not that long ago, i was listening to a movie review of the YouTube channel Geek Legion Of Doom ( one of the best B movie review channels you should check out ), and came across one of their reviews of the new B movie Dead Squad: Temple Of The Undead. Since i never heard about this film before, it looked like a classic concept of tropical B movie horror, mixed together with other influences. I have never heard about the cast either, so being the B movie lover that i am i just had to check this out. Do we have a quality B movie here for the whole family to enjoy, or is Dead Squad so bad that you want to bury yourself on the bottom of the sea ?

A group of young people, including Aanesha ( Alina Carson ), Daniel ( Jonathan Looper ), Ethan ( Guy Talon ) and many more, go on a journey into the Amazons. As they stay to enjoy themselves at a waterfall, their boat floats away. They have no idea where they are, so the decide to follow a path they found. It seems that this path lead them to an Inca temple. They go inside to see what they can find, but no one is prepared of what´s waiting inside the temple.

Have you ever watched a movie that is so bad, that you actually enjoy it ? This is exactly the kind of movie Dead Squad: Temple Of The Undead is. How bad is this film ? Well, it is so bad that i actually laughed quite a lot, and that means it does work as a comedy. And if you have a good time with a film that is supposed to be a horror film, you can´t be disappointed right ? I think to enjoy a film as this one, you have to be in the right mood. Remember the cheesy 80´s and 90´s B movies you rented on VHS, that had awful acting and bad special effects but were still entertaining ? This is exactly that kind of film, made for an audience that loves cheesy B movies from the VHS stores. Just the title gives you an hint that you are in for a treat, almost at the same level as Swedish TV show Hela Sverige Bakar. The plot is very simple, and very predictable. But that´s ok, in a film like this you don´t really need a plot as long as it is entertaining. Of course the bikini girls are included, what else would you expect ? Something tells me that the extreme feminists will hate this film, and call it Satan´s work. The characters are nothing you will remember for their performances, instead you will probably enjoy their stupidity for making so many bad decisions. When it comes to the make up effects i have to say that the main evil Zombie Queen ( played by actress Erika Ervin ) makes a pleasant entrance. What does the Zombie Queen looks like ? Imagine a mixture of a vampire and Boy George on a bad hair day, and i think you can imagine what we have here. We also have another bad ass monster, that used to be a man named George, who was mutated by Nazi experiments. And he is actually pretty cool, looking like a mixture of The Hulk and a demonic Smurf. By the way, my favourite character in this film is without a doubt Peer Metze as the Nazi Dr. Baumgartner. How can you say no to a Nazi doctor who makes mutant monsters ? I know, it is the perfect combination. Even if this film is really bad, this is still a really funny film. To be honest, it has been a long time since i laughed so much as i did watching Dead Squad. You have everything you need here, vampires, zombies, nazis, bikini girl, body parts flying, so yes you should see this film. Director Dominik Hauser ( who worked as an music orchestrator on films such as Aeon Flux and Pineapple Express ) have made a film clearly with passion for bad B movies, and he knows what the audience wants. Will Dead Squad: Temple Of The Undead be seen as the worst film ever made by extreme feminists ? Yes, of course this film will be that title in their minds. But who cares, this is a film made for the B movie lovers of the 80´s and 90´s. Unplug your brain cells, and have a good time with Dead Squad.

Rating: DDD

Calling Out To All You 80´s Movie Fans

Cheers everyone!

Daniel here, the fantastic movie review guy from Sweden, with a very good movie taste of course. I am calling out this time to see if you people, all over the world can help a movie. Especially because if you love the movies made in the 80´s, then you want to see The Barn Part 2. If you have not seen the first film, don´t worry. You can find it and buy a copy right under this link, it is a film worth your time, especially if you love Halloween horror movies.

https://screamteamreleasing.com/collections/the-barn-merch-store/products/the-barn-blu-ray

Now, a new campaign has been going on for a couple of weeks, and a sequel is on the way, especially if the funding is growing. They have a lot of ideas how to make this sequel really tasteful, so i guarantee that you will have fun with this film. I have supported this campaign, and i really hope you all do worldwide. We need more 80´s styled films in our lives, and The Barn Part 2 would be exactly what we have been looking for. I will leave you a link adress down below, so check out the campaign site on Indiegogo. I tell you what, if this campaign goes well, i will write movie reviews on both films on my movie review blog, how can anyone say no to that ? I know, that would be beyond amazing.

Good luck on the campaign, and let´s bring back the 80´s with The Barn Part 2! Because let´s be honest, nothing fits better than a quality B movie in our lives.


https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-barn-part-ii-80s-horror-feature-film-sequel#/

In 2019, We Need To Celebrate The Boondock Saints 20 Years Anniversary

Cheers everyone!

Daniel here, the amazing movie review guy from Sweden. Can you believe that we have a new year coming our way soon ? I know it is crazy, 2019 is on the way. With a new year comes a lot of new movie reviews of course, and some special surprises as well. But i think we need to talk about one thing that makes 2019 special. This is the year when the cult movie The Boondock Saints turns 20 years old. A film that became very popular on DVD, and got a lot of new followers ever since the film came out in 1999. What made The Boondock Saints different from other films during this time, was the look of the film. The film have cool characters, and a very fast paste. I have not seen the film for many years, so to celebrate the 20 Years Anniversary of this film in 2019 would be perfect. Who knows, maybe some cinemas worldwide plan to show the film again on the big screen ? We will have to see. But i will do a 20 Years Anniversary review of The Boondock Saints, and i hope you look forward to read this.

I can´t say exactly when this review will be posted in 2019, but don´t worry, i will let you know when it is time. Right now i am starting to pick out the last reviews for this year, and i am sure they will be interesting to read before New Year´s Eve arrives. More fresh movie reviews are on the way, so have a great week, and i will see you soon with new reviews.

Cheers from Daniel

Bohemian Rhapsody

I remember when my father bought the Queen album A Kind Of Magic on cassette in 1986. He was driving his Nissan Sunny car, and the song A Kind Of Magic on max volume. That song made my summer of 1986 magical, and this album was the start of my Queen collection. From the age of 9 i was hooked up on Queens music, and i listened to their music constantly. I even got some of my friends from school to become Queen fans. Then suddenly in 1991, i heard on the news that Queen singer Freddie Mercury died of the disease AIDS on November 24. I don´t usually cry, but that day i cried. Freddie was a very big part of my youth, and it felt like a piece of my soul left this planet. Right after he passed away, i started collecting Queen items even more. I bought all their albums, posters, VHS concerts and magazines. I used to mix Queen tapes to neighbors, family members, and friends. The final songs that were recorded with Freddie Mercury before his death, was released on the 1995 album Made In Heaven. A collection of songs that goes deep into your heart, because there was something magical about Mercury´s voice. It may be many years since we lost him, but the music lives on. And i have no problem saying that Freddie Mercury will always be one of the greatest rock singers of all time, no one can ever replace him. When i look at shows like The X Factor, i can see that there are singers with talents. But i feel more aware of the fact, that no matter how hard they try, they can never find another Mercury out there. His stage personality and his voice will forever live on, for many generations to come. Of course Queen would not have been complete without the band members Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, they all made the band Queen unique in the British rock industry. For many years it seemed that we would not see a film based on the band of Queen, or the life of Freddie Mercury. Until rumors started coming out in 2010 that a movie was going to be made, with actor Sacha Baron Cohen on board to play Freddie Mercury. I was surprised by the fact that Sacha was chosen, knowing his background as a comedian. But in 2013, i found out that he left the project. It seemed that it would be difficult to find the right actor, but in November of 2016, actor Rami Malek ( known from the critically acclaimed TV series Mr. Robot ) signed on to play Freddie Mercury with director Bryan Singer on board the project. This combination seemed to be very interesting, since i enjoy Rami Malek as an actor, and director Bryan Singer have made several great films in the past. As i was in Stockholm, just one week after the release of this film, i had to go and see it. is this the epic movie about the band Queen we were hoping for, or is this an epic failure that should be avoided ?

The year is 1970, and a young man named Farrokh Bulsara ( Rami Malek ) works at Heathrow Airport as a bagage handler. He is a a college student, filled with passion for life. One night Farrokh goes out to check out a live band called Smile. After the show he goes up and talk to band members Roger Taylor ( Ben Hardy ) and Brian May ( Gwilym Lee ). The band needs a new singer, and Farrokh knows he is the right one. After some positive live reactions with  a brand new singer, Roger, Brian and John Deacon ( Joseph Mazzello ) realize that they might be up for something big. The form the band Queen, as Farrokh changes his name to Freddie Mercury. Queen becomes very popular, and their music is finding it´s way across the world. When they are about to record their third album named A Night At The Opera, their whole world is about to change with the song Bohemian Rhapsody. From this day on, Queen is now one of the biggest rock bands worldwide. But Freddie is struggling with his personal life, when he realize that he is homosexual. Can he keep this secret hidden, and still keep his career going without any scandals ?

To all those critics out there that have been negative to this film, i have something to say.

If you think this film is bad, you clearly don´t know what a quality film looks like. Bohemian Rhapsody is a film made for Freddie Mercury fans, and for Queen fans as well. But even if you have not heard the band before that much, i guarantee you will fall for this film. This is a film that will touch your heart, and make you realize why Freddie Mercury is such a legend. Rami Malek in the lead role as Freddie Mercury is phenomenal and deliver a really powerful performance. It feels like you are watching Freddie on stage, and when you can make an acting performance that good, you know you made it. He manage to use the right body language, the right stage presence that we all remember made Freddie special. But that´s not all, the rest of the band actors do their performances really well. Roger Taylor played by Ben Hardy ( known from X-Men: Apocalypse ) is a great choice as Queen´s legendary drummer, Brian May played by Gwilym Lee ( known for the TV series Midsomer Murders ), does his best acting performance so far in his career as the guitar master. John Deacon played by Joseph Mazzello ( known for his perfomrnace in The Social Network ) also does a great job portraying the legendary bass player. All of these four actors on stage shows you that you can make a really good music biographical film about a band, with the right chemistry. The story takes us all the way back to before the band recorded their first album, and how they managed to make a powerful impact on the British rock scene. We also get to see some of the more personal issues that Freddie Mercury faced in his life, such as the relationship between him and Mary Austin ( played wonderful by actress Lucy Boynton ). I also enjoy seeing the scenes where we get to see Freddie trying to deal with the fact that he knows he is homosexual. You also get a sense that this must have been difficult for Freddie, to try and tell his family about who he really is. The film does jump forward to different periods of the bands career, so you do get to see different parts of Queen´s musical catalogue. I know that some people have reacted that everything may not be correct, like the cameo from Mike Myers as the EMI Executive Ray Foster. But for me that´s ok, that part is done well anyway, and a funny part of the film as well. There are a few other details i know some other people have complained about, but i look at his film as a very strong portrait of Freddie Mercury and the legacy he left us. Director Bryan Singer have made a very powerful and interesting view inside the life of the band Queen, and their magical years. If you love their music, you are going to love this film. An Oscar Academy Award for Rami Malek should be announced, for delivering such a powerful movie for the whole world to enjoy.

Rant: DDDD

Bad Times At The El Royale

There are certain films that don´t care about what is supposed to be modern, and go back to the old school cinema style instead. Films that dare to step outside of the typical Hollywood pattern, is always welcome to me. And i am especially thinking about certain directors that rather bring back the old school cinema, than making it look modern. Director Quentin Tarantino is of course one of the best evidence for this, who have made several really good films. His directorial debut film Reservoir Dogs, is still today one of the most iconic cult classics of the early 90´s. The story in Reservoir Dogs, surrounds a group of selected criminals who is chosen to do a diamond heist. What makes this film so good, is especially the characters and the cast. Steve Buscemi as Mr Pink is outstanding, Michael Madsen as Mr Blonde is pure brilliant and Harvey Keitel as Mr White is pure gold. Of course there are other characters here that make this film special as well, but i have to mention another very important detail. The 70´s homage in this film looks really good, it feels like a pure throwback to the golden age of 70´s cinema, and Tarantino knows exactly how to capture this time period. Tarantino continued making quality films for many years with Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2. His remake of Inglorious Basterds is of course a tasteful delight. Let´s move on and talk about The Coen Brothers, known as Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. These legendary directors have brought us some of the best American movies in many years, that includes the classics Raising Arizona, Miller´s Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo and The Big Lebowski. But it was in 2007 when The Coen Brothers really took the world by storm, with their masterpiece No Country For Old Men. The film released in 2007 won 4 Academy Awards, and the movie won the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. The story is set during 1980 in Texas, where hitman Anton Chigurh ( brilliant portrayed by actor Javier Bardem ) is on a killing spree. The film surrounds different characters, but i have to say that Javier Bardem is one of the biggest reasons why No Country For Old Men is such a powerful film. Earlier this year i was reading about upcoming films, and came across a titles known as Bad Times At The El Royale. This seemed to be a different movie from the ordinary releases, and i could tell that this could be interesting with a cast that includes Jeff Bridges, John Hamm, Chris Hemsworth and many others. When the trailer finally landed, i became even more curious to see if this film would be interesting. Is the film Bad Times At The El Royale a film that should be experienced in Cinema, or is this film nothing you should waste your precious time on ?

in 1959, a bank robber buries a bag of money under the floor of a room at the El Royale hotel. He is killed inside this room, and the money is left buried. 10 years later, a number of people including Priest Daniel Flynn ( Jeff Bridges ), Soul singer Darlene Sweet ( Cynthia Erivo ), vacuum salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan ( Jon Hamm ) and Rose Summerspring ( Cailee Spaeny ) check into the hotel with the hotel´s only worker Miles Miller ( Lewis Pullman ). At first it seems that all of them are just ordinary guests. But when everything unfolds, these guests are carrying secrets on their own.

I was hoping to see a movie this year that would bring back the influences of Tarantino and The Coen Brothers. And i am happy to say that Bad Times At The El Royale manage to do this is a very solid way. This film does not only look good, it also have a lot of great characters included. Let´s talk about the characters for a while. Legendary actor Jeff Bridges as criminal Daniel Flynn ( disguised as a priest ) makes a powerful impression in this film. At first he seems to be a good hearted man, but of course you see the real him later on. John Hamm as the undercover FBI Agent Seymor Sullivan, pretending to be a home supplies salesman, is another highlight in this film. John Hamm knows how to make this character fit in with the story. I also like the mystery surrounding his undercover mission, that you can sense while you get to know his real personality. Soul singer Darlene Sweet, played wonderful by Cynthia Erivo, is a female character that clearly have a lot to offer in a film like this. I especially enjoy the scenes between her and Jeff Bridges, where you get a sense of cinema magic. Without a doubt, one of the stongest highlight characters of this film is Rose Summerspring, played by Cailee Spaeny. Her performance is really good, and she give some of her scenes a whole different level of quality. Chris Hemsworth as the cult leader Billy Lee is surprisingly good, as he goes completely nuts later on in the film. I love the way that this film tells the story from different angles of each character, so you get a bigger perspective of what is going on at the El Royale. This film feels like a mixture of The Coen Brothers and Tarantino, but without feeling too predictable. The cinematography by Seamus McGarvey ( who also did the brilliant cinematography on the powerful film We Need To Talk About Kevin ) looks gorgeous. He clearly have worked hard to capture the right essence for this film. Most of all we have to thank director Drew Goddard ( who directed the horror highlight The Cabin In The Woods ). This is his second film as a director, and in my opinion is best film as well. Drew really bring out Cinema magic with Bad Times At The El Royale, and make this his own homage to the good old days of classic films. He clearly have a passion for another time period, where films did make a strong impact. I have noticed that many people never heard about this film when i have mentioned it, and this is such a shame. Bad Times At The El Royale is a tasteful delight that needs to be seen in Cinema, and you should buy tickets and experience a real quality film. There is no doubt, Bad Times At The El Royale is one of the most unexpected movie highlights of this year.

Rating: DDDD