The Crisis For Superhero Films, Why We Need Independent Films!

Cheers everyone!

It´s been a very long time since i did one of these blog posts about a specific subject but i feel that this is a good time to bring this up before Christmas arrives. So i think we have all seen how superhero movies have been doing in recent years, where especially films such as Shazam - Fury Of The Gods, The Flash and now recently how the new film The Marvels is doing at the box office. Black Adam may not have done really good but at least wasn´t the biggest box office bomb. People are not interested in seeing superhero films anymore as they used to be and the tickets sales proves that. I know there are a lot of comic book fans out there who love seeing these new films, but clearly both DC Films and Marvel Studios doesn´t make films that pull in the ticket sales that they need to make some kind of profit. But i believe i know what to do about this situation what more cinemas should be thinking about. 

What do you do when you see empty cinema seats and you know the audience want to see a new film?

You bring in independent films into the bigger cinemas instead to show the audience that just because a film doesn´t cost 200 million U.S. dollars doesn´t make the film bad. In fact there is a lot of independent films that doesn´t get discovered because the bigger studios have the money to promote their films that independent film studios doesn´t have. What they do have though is great quality films that should be experienced on the big screen so actors you have never heard of might get a chance to be seen, as well as film makers also get a chance to show that they are actually talented directors. I have seen a lot of independent films over 30 years in all categories from a lot of different directors and honestly i am more interested in what independent films are doing these days than the bigger film studios. Just look at directors such as Harley Wallen and his latest film Beneath Us All that should be running on screens across all over Sweden and Scandinavia this year, unfortunately that is not the case. But my hope is that in the future we do see Harley Wallen films showing here, because he and many other independent film directors deserve more respect for the hard work they do making these quality films.

Will for example the new The Marvels become a box office bomb this year? As it looks now it seems to be doing poorly at the box office and i think it really shows a perfect example of why superhero movies isn´t as popular as they used to be. So cinemas worldwide i think we need a change, and give indpenendent film makers a chance to show their films and let you see talented actors that doesn´t get the respect they deserve. Hopefully we will see a change coming and i personally hope to do a cameo role in an independent film as well, since i review a lot of titles and would love to actually show up in a film. If that happens i guess we well see but i definetely think people should be supporting independent films. Watch them on Shudder, Tubi, Amazon Prime, most of all rent them if you can or buy physical films such as myself.

Until my latest reviews shows up in here, remember that Commando Ninja II - American Invasion is getting closer to get a release date so stay tuned and remember....the more bullets you use, the more clearer it becomes you are on the right path.

Cheers from Daniel!

Quicksand

Every summer i like to go to a lake and just relax. I go swimming for a while, try some fishing to see if im lucky and i always go look for dead wood just lying around to make a fire. Making a fire by the lake is such a pleasent moment. Usually i bring out hot dogs and make them by the fire and enjoy them with mustard, dried garlic, boston cucumber, cucumber mayonnaise and some ketchup. Since i usually drive to this lake i can´t drink any strong alcohol so i bring alcohol free beer instead. That´s ok because it is still beer that taste good. I think we need moments like these just to get out of the city traffic, focus on ourselves instead where you don´t need to stress. Just to experience nature surroundings and hopefully enjoy a day in the sun. What if you were caught in a very complicated situation in a forest where you have no other option but try and survive? This is exactly what a couple got to experience in the 2014 survival thriller Backcountry from director Adam MacDonald ( who directed 8 episodes of the great crime drama TV series Tribal, worth checking out ). Backcountry is basically about a couple who get lost in the forest and is forced to face a predatory black bear and try and find a way to survive. Backcountry is definetely a survival thriller that may have a simple plot but is effective, especially the survival battle. How do you handle a situation like this when you have no other option but fight for your survival? If you love nature films and thrillers as well, i think Backcountry is worth checking out. For a while i have read about a survival thriller that came out a while ago called Quicksand that looked interesting. I am a fan of survival film in general, as long as they have an interesting plot. Is Quicksand one of the films you should put on your watch list or is this film just as horrible as Take That´s cover version of Nirvana´s classic Smells Like Teen Spirit?

Sofia ( Carolina Gaitan ) and her husband Josh ( Allan Hawco ) are getting a divore but have decided to go together to Colombia and Sofia follow her husband to go hiking in the Colombian wilderness. While walking around they notice that a stranger is trying to break into their car, Josh decides to try to talk to the man but he is armed and ready to shoot them both. Sofia and Josh run away as Sofia accidently falls into quicksand. She is almost drowning until Josh jumps into save her. Now both are stuck inside this quicksand not knowing if anyone will find them.

One thing that actually makes Quicksand interesting is that the couple in the film have decided to divorce, and knowing that they are both stuck in quiksand definetely makes things complicated. They don´t love each other as they used to and now they have to find a way to help each other out. I believe when we are forced to survive we have to find a way to get along, even if someone would be enemies and we can actually learn from that situation. That´s exactly what this couple are forced to do, understand why it is important to help each other even if life have changed between them. Especially when we find out they are parents then you understand instantly why they are forced to do everything they can to survive. For a survival thriller i have to say Quicksand works pretty good even though we mostly see scenes from the quicksand itself. The discussions between this couple makes you realise that they become very aware that they should be thankful about many things in life, especially when you are stuck like this not knowing if they ever will be found. The acting from actors Carolina Gaitan and Alan Hawco ( who you probably will recognize as the character Douglas Brown in the Netflix series Frontier ) is actually good and i do feel they have a good screen chemistry. There is a side story as well regarding a criminal who attacked the couple in this forest but that story is not as interesting as the survival plot. If you are looking for a original thriller i can tell you right away that Quicksand will probably disappoint you. However, if you enjoy survival films then this is definetely worth checking out. Director Andres Beltran use the nature scenes in a effective way and actually manage to capture the panic of being stuck, especially in a scene where a snake attacks. Even if this is no classic in any way in the survival category, Quicksand delivers a solid thriller that can actually show you the danger of being in nature. I think i will stick to my lake fires from now on and not go too deep into the forest after watching Quicksand.

Rating: DDD

The Nun 2

One of the three trips i did to Scotland back in the 2000´s i especially remember walking among some of the most historical parts of Edinburgh. There are some very interesting places to visit in this city and especially if you want to hear stories from the plague during the year of 1350. I remember visiting an exhibition that showed artifacts from this time period as well as giving information on what happened during this time period. Once i had looked around and this exhibition we continued to some other different historical buildings in other areas in the city. I remember passing by St Catharine´s Convent, a Catholic convent of the Sisters Of Mercy and a centre for the homeless in Edinburgh. As we were passing by i was thinking as i looked across this huge convent how important it is to have nuns like these helping people in need. Just imagine how much a meal matter to the people who have nothing, just being able to eat. Nuns have been seen in several films no matter if we are talking about a drama film, a comedy or even a horror film with nuns. I thought it would be interesting to bring up a film that probably not many of you remember or have seen at all. If i say the title Agnes Of God does that ring any bell ? If not it is actually a good drama mystery film from 1985 from director Norman Jewison ( director of the really good crime drama ....And Justice For All with Al Pacino ). Agnes Of God tells the story of psychiatrist doctor Martha Livingston ( Jane Fonda ) begin looking into what happened to a pregnant nun who were found dead at a Roman Catholic convent in Montreal. Agnes Of God is actually an interesting story where you see what might happen when faith can cause damage as well. Even if Jane Fonda does a great performance, a very young Jennifer Tilly steals the show as the nun Sister Agnes. Definetely worth checking out if you want to see a good crime drama. Speaking of nuns most of you have probably seen the Demon Nun ( Bonnie Aarons ) in The Conjuring 2 and later on in her own film The Nun back in 2018. I enjoyed parts of The Nun but remember having issues with some of the acting and lack of really scary scenes. So here we are with a sequel The Nun 2 that i sat down to watch on HBO Max. Is this a better sequel to The Nun is or this just as bad as Lindsay Lohan´s 2004 solo album Speak?

In 1956, Father Noiret ( Pascal Aubert ) and young Jacques ( Maxime Elias-Menet ) perform their daily chores in their church in Tarascon, France. While investigating a disturbance, Father Noire is raised into the air, set on fire, and burned to death before a terrified Jacques who then flees. Four years following the events at Saint Cartha´s monestary, Sister Irene ( Taissa Farmiga ) now serves in a convent in Italy. Suddenly Sister Irene is dispatched by the Cardinal to investigate a series of deaths across Europe, attributed by the demon Valak ( Bonnie Aarons ), due to her previous experience with the demon. She travels to Tarascon with the help of Sister Debra ( Storm Reid ) to face the demon again. 

One of the big issues i had with the first The Nun movie was that there were not a lot of scary scenes in the film. A couple of scenes were alright while other scenes felt too simple and should have been constructed more effective. I am happy to say that The Nun 2 does not only work better as a horror film but also deliver better acting than in the first film. There are some other details i also appreciate about this sequel so let´s talk about that for a while. I really enjoy that this film takes place in the year of 1960 in France. The costume design feels realistic and the old buildings match perfectly with the environment. I also feel that this films looks really good thanks to cinematographer Tristan Nyby ( who also worked on The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ) who clearly knew what this film needed to capture the right look for this type of horror film. If the first film didn´t manage to scare as much with the character Demon Nun, i can happily say actress Bonnie Aarons works better this second time around as the evil nun. She may not use dialogue, but just the way she stares at her victims and use her face is quite effective. Lead actress Taissa Farmiga ( who also stars in the first The Nun film as well ) definetely gives a stronger performance in this sequel. It is like she listened to the feedback from the first film and actually improved her acting. There is especially one scene i love with a magazine and newspaper stand that looks really good. So anything negative to say? Perhaps there are a small details such as CGI effects that could have been improved. Otherwise i don´t have much to complain about since this film is actually better than i expected. Director Michael Chaves ( director of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ) proves that you can make a great sequel if you find a way to capture the right tone for a horror film such as this. The Nun 2 may not be a future classic but is definetely one of the better horror releases this year. 

Rating: DDD

Sound Of Freedom

Every child should have the right to have a normal childhood where they live in a safe home, with people who make sure they are taken care of and feel loved. A lot of parents worldwide take good care of their children as well as family members. But what happens when your child is suddenly taken by a stranger and no one knows where your child is? This has to be one of the worst nightmares possible for any parent, not knowing if your child is ok or even alive. Unfortunately child trafficking is still today a very big problem worldwide and a lot of pedophiles worldwide work together to find new victims. Not all of them work together of course, some of them work on their own and find children online. No matter what country these pedophiles operate or no matter what they do in society, everyone of them should be locked up for life. Personally i would all want them all to be tortured to death but i know that is not allowed. When it comes to films regarding sex trafficking there are a couple of titles i have seen in the past that are powerful and disturbing for a number of reasons. One of my personal favourite films is actuall a Swedish film from director Lukas Moodyson who in the year of 2002 released his sex child trafficking film Lilya 4-ever. A very disturbing and powerful drama film that tells the story of 16-year-old Lilya Michailova ( Oksana Akinshina ) who lives with her mother. One day her mother suddenly decides to abandon Lilya to move with her boyfriend to America and leave her daughter with her aunt instead. Things doesn´t go well between Lilya and her aunt either so Lilya hangs out with her best friend Natasha ( Elina Benenson ) where she tries to talk Lilya into becoming a prostitute. Lilya refuses but ends up being raped by a group of young boys. Lilya finally thinks she will find hapiness with a young man she met, Andrei ( Pavel Ponomarypv ), who becomes her boyfriend and convinces her to move to Sweden. What Lilya doesn´t know is that Andrei have tricked her into seeing a pimp who imprisons her and rape her. Lilya 4-ever is a very strong film that should be seen, in my opinion the best film from director Lukas Moodyson. A film that really show the evil world of child trafficking. This year a film known as Sound Of Freedom made a lot of buzz in the media and online after doing really well at the box office, beating out big summer movies such as Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny. A film that takes on the very serious issue of child trafficking and how big this problem is worldwide. I got a chance to finally watch the film and the question is, is this one of the best films of the year or is this film hyped too much in media?

In 2013, Roberto Aguilar ( José Zúniga ) a poor father of two from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is approached by a former beauty queen, Giselle ( Yessica Borroto ). She offers to sign his young children, Rocio Aguilar ( Cristal Aparicio ) and Miguel Aguilar ( Lucás Ávila ), to child modeling contracts. He accepts and take them to the photoshoot. When he returns to pick his children up they are gone. It is revealed that the children were sold to be used as sex slaves. In Calexico, California, Tim Ballard ( Jim Caviezel ) is a Special Agent for the Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI ). His job is taking a lot of toll on his personal life, considering how much horrible material he get to see finding pedophiles during the operations. He tricks a pedophile that they arrested Ernst Orshinsky ( Kris Avedisian ) that he also is a pedophile to get information out of him. Ernst believe Tim is also interested in children and give him very important information that helps Tim save the child Miguel from a pedophile. He meets Miguel´s father who thanks him for bringing his son back, but his daughter is still missing out there. Tim decides to take a very big risk and do an operation that is not approved by anyone, just to get Rocio and other children back to their families who are trapped in Colombia.

I have not personally heard more than two interviews with Timothy Ballard that this film is based on, regarding his work hunting down sex traffickers so i only know that this film is loosely based on the work that he did. What is true or not of the facts we find out in this film? It is possible that some details may have happened in real life and they decided to try and make a film trying to show how he and his team worked to catch criminals in action. I know he have been accused by five women of doing sexual acts on them during his operations. I have no idea if this is true or not so i choose to look at the film itself of what it is trying to say. The most important message of Sound Of Freedom is that no child should be living as a sex slave for anyone, no matter what age we are talking about. The film manage to get this message out there in a way that´s either too violent or show any sexual content. Since this is a very sensitive subject regarding child trafficking it´s hard not to be emotional by a film such as this. Especially when you find out how many children are victims out there worldwide, it is hard to believe we live in such an evil world where adults are attracted to innocent children. Lead actor Jim Caviezel ( perhaps mostly known from Mel Gibson drama film The Passion Of The Christ ) plays the character of Tim Ballard deliver a performance that may divide the audience. He doesn´t use a lot of dialogue in certain scenes but use more facial expressions and emotions as he tries to deal with the situation regaring missing children. I personally feel that Jim manage to portrait Tim in a way that matches well with the story and his profession. One of the performances that really stands out is the character Vampiro played by actor Bill Camp ( who is excellent in the Netflix mini series The Queen´s Gambit, a must watch ). Actor Gerardo Taracena also deliver a solid performance as the dangerous El Alacrán ( The Socrpion ). Sound Of Freedom may not be a film everyone can watch if they are too sensitive but it is a film that should be seen to show the crule world of child trafficking. Director Alejandro Monteverde clearly wanted this story to be told to make people aware of that you can´t trust anyone completely. Sound Of Freedom is a film that will affect you, i can promise you that.

Rating: DDD

Nowhere

I will never forget my visit at the sea border between Spain and Marocco back in 2002. We came by boat to Marocco and one of the first things i encountered at the beach border was seeing families wanting to leave Marocco to start a new life in Spain. Some of the families only had a plastic bag of clothes and nothing else. I remember especially one father of 2 children trying to climb over a barricade, where border patrol threatned him with guns if he didn´t get down. Imagine seeing this with your very own eyes, a desperate father just trying to make a better life for his children and wife, being threatened with guns. This is an image i have never forgotten and this is exactly 21 years ago. I remember i asked a man who was one the same boat as me, if this is something he sees very often. And he said:- Yes everytime i go back to the border, it´s not unusual to see families gather to try and get out. This man was a salesman living in Spain but made business in Marocco by selling clothes and shoes. So he would take this boat with supplies instead of flying, because it was cheaper as well. He did tell me that we should be thankful we have a home and we have food on our table. And i agreed with him and started to think about we really don´t have much to complain about. Speaking of refugees there are some very interesting films that i can highly recommend that brings up the subject of refugees. One of the most powerful refugee drama films i have seen is the 2018 drama film Capernaum from director Nadine Labaki. Capernaum tells the story of the young boy Zain ( Zain al-Rafeea ), a 12-year-old Lebanese boy who fled from his negligent parents and lived on streets. This is where he meets Ethiopian migrant worker Rahil ( Yordanos Shiferaw ), who provides him with shelter and food, as Zain takes care of her baby son Yonas in return. Zain get in legal trouble and is thrown in jail for commiting a violent crime, but Zain is not giving up seeking justice. This is a film that everyone should see that really capture how difficult life can be for refugees and how you survive on the street. No matter where you find Capernaum on streaming or a physical copy it´s a must watch for everyone. Not that long ago i watched a Spanish thriller called Nowhere that´s basically about refugees but have a very special twist in the plot. So the question is should you watch Nowhere on Netflix or should you find something else to watch there instead?

A young pregnant woman Mia ( Anna Castillo ) tries to flee pregnant with her husband as they are both refugees. As they manage to get on board a container that´s supposed to hide refugees, the border patrol find the secret door and kill everyone where Mia is stuck, while her husband is transfered to another container. Luckily Mia managed to hide up on a box and survive, but as the container is moved from a cargo ship Mia hits her head and faint. She wakes up and see outside the bullet holes in the container that it´s floating out in the ocean. She is all alone with her baby and no one else is anywhere to be seen.

Nowhere feels fascinating when it comes to telling a futuristic and dystopian story from a refuggee perspective. What do i mean by that? Well i would say for two different reasons. First of all the fact that the government give orders to wipe out elderly, children and mothers as well because of over-population and lack of space. This almost feels like we are back in World War II where the nazis wiped out Jewish families but in this film it is done as a more modern take on solving refugee problems. The second detail is that pregnant women are not allowed to be refugees, in fact our main character has to cover her belly to be able to get herself and her husband to safety. Imagine living in a world where a woman being pregnant is considered to be a bad thing, i can´t imagine accepting a society that is this cruel towards women. Just because a woman is a refugee and is pregnant doesnt make her any dangerous at all, in fact she bring hope with a child coming in the future. When the film switches to telling a story surrounding our main character waking up inside of floating container in the sea, this film becomes like a different version of Tom Hanks classis Cast Away. A very interesting idea for a survival themed film and something we have never seen before, at least nothing i have experienced in any survival films from the past. Leac actress Anna Castillo as the main character Mia does a really good performance considering her very difficult situation out in the sea pregnant. To see her try to find ways to get out of the container while being ready to give birth to her child makes the situation extremely difficult. Nowhere is a well made drama thriller that does not only look great but is actually intelligent as well as a survival thriller. Director Albert Pinto deliver a film that definetely give us a different portrait of a pregnant woman in a film that not only manage to capture our attention effective, but also tell a story that´s fascinating. Nowhere is a Spanish thriller that should be experienced on Netflix, especially if you want to see a strong female character in a very complicated situation.

Rating: DDD

Bloodthirst

Imagine living in a future where no one is really safe, where laws are not what they used to be since society has changed. Where clean water is no guarantee and you have to find different ways to survive. Living in an ordinary neighborhood doesn´t exist anymore and there are no traditional schools as they used to be. This may sound like a nightmare for most people but imagine if this was just a small part of how life was? This scenario is exactly what we got in the 2011 post apocalyptic horror film Priest from director Scott Stewart ( who also directed the great 2010 action horror film Legion ). What made Priest such a different film is that they combined action with horror where there is a theocrazy under an organization called The Chuch. Basically a church who serves one special purpose to save human lives. These are trained priests who are chosen to fight against vampires who have caused a lot of damage. The Priests managed to turn the tide. After the war ended between humans and vampires, the Clergy disbanded the Priests since they are no longer needed. One particular Priest ( Paul Bettany )  is approached by Hicks ( Cam Gigandet ), the sheriff of the free town of Augustine. Priest learns that his brother, Owen, and his wife, Shannon, were killed in a vampire attack while his niece Lucy ( Lilly Collins ) was kidnapped. It seems that there are still a group of vampires out there causing chaos and Priest asks the Church to reinstate his autority, but leader Monsignor Orelas ( Christopher Plummer ) does not believe there is any threat of vampires and decline his request. Priest is a fun film for a number of reasons. It is like a cheesy throwback to action films of the 90´s with horror influences included with religious messages. And i do like the idea of the battle between humans and vampires in this apocalyptic world, Definetely worth checking out on streaming or physical media if you appreciate similar films like this. I did not think we would see any apocalyptic vampire film in a while until i heard about Bloodthirst. I didn´t watch the trailer for the film just to avoid knowing as little as possible and just saw the poster instead. Produced by the very well known brothers Sonny Mahal and Michael Mahal who are really creative and have produced films such as Attack Of The Unknown, Death Count, Bridge Of The Doomed and Night Of The Tommyknockers. Bloodthirst is also directed by Michael Su who also directed one of my personal favourite western horror film in recent years Night Of The Tommyknockers. Considering several great titles in the past from Sonny Mahal and Michael Mahal, is Bloodthirst one of their best prodced films so far or is not not as good as i was hoping it would be?

In a post apocalyptic world run by vampires, the only ones who will survive are the ones who strikes back. John Shephard ( Costas Mandylor ), Vampire Hunter, is one of the humans who isn´t afraid to take on a fight against them. John´s main goal is to track down the Vampire Master ( Robert LaSardo ) and end his life, no matter what he has to do.

Imagine if you were inspired by certain ideas from classic films such as The Road Warrior and John Carpenter´s Vampires and made a completely different story. This is one way to explain the concept of Bloodthirst without giving away too much of the plot. Since i have always been of fan of vampire films in general i especially appreciate films that give us a apocalyptic approach. And this especially makes me happy to see that Bloodthirst tries to go the old school way just like James Carpenter´s Vamires did with the desert as a playground. Having vampires in the desert is actually a really good idea since they could easily attack from anywhere here, no matter if they are found in a house or a desert mine. One interesting detail that Bloodthirst does is that the vampires are not harmed by sunlight. They can attack at any hour of the day and that definetely makes them more fearful than the ordinary vampire. Since this film have plenty of characters i feel that we need to talk about some of them. Let us begin with a very well known actor known as Robert LaSardo as the character Vampire Master. I have to say i am impressed how well Robert manage to portait a vampire master, not only in his body language but especially his approach towards each victim. The way he make each victim understand that there is no way out if he have chosen to transform you comes across very clear in his attack scenes. I was especially surprised to see actress Tara Reid here as the character Vampire Queen since i have never seen her do any character like this before. I would have liked to see her do more human attacks considering she is the Vampire Queen but i still enjoy her performance. Outside of the vampire characters there is especially one character i think fits very well in the plot of this film. It is actor Costas Mandylor( who plays the character Hoffman in the Saw franchise ) as the character John Shephard. He almost feels like a combination of Mad Max and Walker Texas Ranger with a futuristic look. Always lovely to see actress Sarah French and im not surprised that she deliver another great character. Bloodthirst may be one of the more interesting vampire films i have seen in recent years for trying to combine different ideas and dare to try a different path in the apocalyptic horror genre. The vampires are effectful and the horror influences are fun enough to make this film entertaining. Director Michael Su deliver another solid film and proves that the vampire genre is surely still alive and doing well. Bloodthirst is not only for you who love some bloody fun but this is also a film especially for vampire fans in general.

Rating: DDD

Reptile

There are a ton of cop thrillers out there to enjoy, no matter if we are talking about murder mysteries, criminal investigations or how it is being a police officer in general in society. There are a number of films i can easily mention as some of my favourites but you should definetely see the 1971 classic Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood. Russel Crowe is really good in the 2007 gangster / cop thriller American Gangster from legendary director Ridley Scott. Of couse i have to mention the serial killer thriller Seven with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman because this is one of those films that you simply have to see. But let´s talk about one film specifically that i can watch over and over again, and never get tired of in the cop thriller genre. And that is the 2001 film known as Training Day from director Antoine Fuqua. This is one of those cop films that does not only show how corruption could look like in real life, but the film does a really good job capturing the mentality of police officers and how difficult their job is. How do you say no to bribes? How can you turn down gifts or even women offered to you, as long as you keep your mouth shut? Training Day circles around two main characters known as L.A.P.D Detective Alonzo Harris ( Denzel Washington ) who is assigned to train rookie Jake Hoyt ( Ethan Hawk ) over a 24-hour period. At first Jake is excited to learn the job, but once he sees how Alonzo works out on the streets he begin to question if he really should work as a detective. Training Day manage to capture the perfect tone between cop mentality and criminals mentality, and also give a very realistic view on the rough streets where laws have no meaning. Denzel Washington as Alonzo is absolutely brilliant in this role and this is without a doubt my favourite film with Denzel for sure. Ethan Hawk delivers a really strong performance as well as Jake and their screen chemistry is really powerful. You simply have to see Training Day if you have not seen this film. Speaking about films about cops, i recently sat down to watch a new police thriller called Reptile on Netflix. I did hear some positive reviews about this film so i was curious to see if this would be anything interesting. Is Reptile the best cop thriller in many years, or is this another predicatble cop film we have seen so many times before ?

Will Grady ( Justin Timberlake ) finds his girlfriend Summer Elswick ( Matilda Lutz ) brutally murdered in a rural Maine house that they had been showing for sale as realtors. When questioned by the police detectives assigned to the case, Tom Nicols ( Benicio Del Toro) and his partner Dan Cleary ( Ato Essandoh ), Will reveals that he was planning on marrying Summer but could not because she was technically still married to Sam Gilford ( Karl Glusman ). He is released. As the detectives tries to find out the truth, Tom is about to discover some details that may not only affect his career but his private life as well.

We might as well be honest and say Reptile doesn´t offer anything new to the table. This is a cop thriller that reminds me of many other similar films in this category, but the one thing that really stands out with this specific film is how good the cast of this film is. And let me be clear by saying this, actor Benicio Del Toro does one of his best performances in several years as the character Detective Tom Nichols. This might actually be one of the best acting performances i have seen this year of 2023. Benicio manage to capture so many emotions with his acting ability in this character. The way he uses his body language and especially his facial expressions doesn´t need any words. Just by looking at him you can sense what he is feeling. To be able to act that good you have to be able to make a powerful impact on the audience. Of course that also makes it difficult to the rest of the cast to be anywhere near as good as Benicio´s performance but i have to say most of the actors does a great job. We have to talk about Clueless actor Alicia Silverstone. Now, i have not always been a fan of her since there are moments in her career where she picked pretty weak films. Thankfully here in Reptile she proves her great acting abilities as Tom´s wife Judy. I think it´s great she proves once again that she really does have Hollywood star quality, when she is offered a role where she is able to show her strength as an actor. Justin Timberlake actually surprised me in this film. So what about the film Reptile in general, is it a solid thriller? I would say yes since the story is told very effective. You can tell that director Grant Singer ( this is actually his full feature directorial debut film ) really love old school detective cop thrillers since he really want the audience to be interested in the murder case and he manage to do this very well. Reptile actually bring back cop thrillers to the surface after so many films in this genre have not really made an attempt to tell a powerful story. I have no doubt saying that this is one of the best thrillers i have seen in 2023 and i have a feeling that Reptile will continue to find it´s audience on Netflix. Director Gary Singer does not only manage to deliver a very professional film with Reptile but he also manage to show that you don´t have to make a film complicated to make it really good. Reptile is definetely a must watch on Netflix.

Rating: DDDD

Twisted Metal Season 1

Back in the 90´s i used to play a lot of computer games and PlayStation games as well. I used to play a lot of Amiga 500 games until we got a PC computer at home and i could play more advanced video games. Most of the time i would play the games on my PlayStation and i had several school friends who also owned one. So we would switch games now and then and i would especially borrow games from my high school friend Anders who´s parents always made sure he had the latest games. I especially loved Tekken 2 back in 1995, it felt like the ultimate fighting game and had such amazing graphics and so many great characters. It was in 1996 when i was at home at Anders where i tried the game Twisted Metal for the very first time. A very apocalyptic car shooting game where you would drive different cars or veichles trying to survive against others who tried to kill you with different weapons. A very simple basic game idea but it was actually fun. I remember we used to see who would survive the longest when Anders invited his friend Robert over and we would switch turns playing. I can tell you i was always the one who didn´t survive very long. Still we had a great time playing Twisted Metal and we had so many weekends playing that game. A year after we finally got to play Twisted Metal 2 that had even better graphics, even bigger missions than before and much more fun car shooting levels. It was like they knew we have to improve everything and make this sequel even more fun. I bought Twisted Metal 2 on PC in Germany actually while i was there on vacation that year and i played that game like a maniac. I still love Twisted Metal 2 even today and still have the PC game. I did play Twisted Metal 3 around 1999 i believe but it was not a good game and after that i gave up on the franchise. I know they released a 4th game but i never played it, maybe because i knew it would be difficult to beat the game quality of Twisted Metal 2. Since then Twisted Metal have survived on different platforms and actually managed to get back on track with Twisted Metal Black on PlayStation 2 ( not everyone might agree on this, but that´s ok ). Being a fan of this franchise i had no idea that a TV series was going to be made from the video game. When i heard about this i was skeptical, how do you turn Twisted Metal into a great TV series? So here we are with the very first season of Twisted Metal and i wonder, is this much better than i expected or is it just as bad as Göta Kanal 3 - Kanalkungens Hemlighet ( a really horrible Swedish comedy sequel that never should have seen the light of day )?

In a post-apocalyptic world after a large-scale cyber attack, cities have become walled fortresses. Criminals have been exiled outside the cities and live in a lawless area. Oustide of the cities you have to arm yourself since no one will help you, especially if you own something valuable. Milkman John Doe ( Anthony Mackie ) survives by delivering packages at different locations with his special built armored car, and he never knows what dangers he will face along the highways. He is offered his own safe home, in a safe location inside a city where he can live a normal life if he does one very special delivery for Raven ( Neve Campbell ) to one very dangerous city. John knows this could change his life forever and agree on doing the mission. But he will find out it is much more complicated than that.

I was curious to see if they were able to pull this off, transforming the TV series and make it look like the video games. And i have to be honest and say this really feels like they showed the franchise respect by using similar weapons and cars as you see in the games. Even though this also gives a completely different look into this world with more characters and more information than in the games themselves, the atmosphere of the games are definetely here with the apocalyptic approach we recognize from the games. One big difference is that there are certain details where this TV series goes much deeper than the video games regarding certain characters. The whacky comedy tone is dedinetely still here, but there is a more serious tone in here as well to make it work into a TV series format. What i really enjoy are the most funny parts such as a tribute to R´n´b artist Sisqó and his 1999 hit song The Thong Song and how his studio album Unleash The Dragon being the greatest ever. There are also some other really funny references in here such as how good the very first Hanson album is from 1997, and they actually play MmmBop in a gun battle scene between cars, absolutely brilliant combination for the apocalypse. If you want to see a gun battle you want to hear Hanson in the background, that´s something i have always hoped to experience. Speaking of characters there is no doubt that my personal favourite character in Twisted Metal is the character known as Sweet Tooth played by actor Joe Seanoa ( yes the professional wrestler ). Sweet Tooth is the perfect character for a TV series such as this where anything insane can happen, and body parts can suddenly fly off when he is around. I do enjoy the chemistry between the main characters John Doe and Quiet, played by actors Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatrize. Twisted Metal is definetely one of the most fun action horror comedy TV series i have seen in many years, and this is exactly my kind of TV series with the right combination of insane characters, lots of gore mixed with a good sense of humour. I really hope we get a second season because i would love to see Twisted Metal for another round, this is exactly how you want a video game adaptation to be transformed in a respectful way. Guns, head exploding, chopped off body parts? Don´t mind if i do, i actually feel right at home at this party.

Rating: DDDD

Megalodon: The Frenzy

Most people who know me might believe they know the things i am very passionate about. All of them know i love movies in a lot of different categories, but there is one detail that not many of them know. Wherever i travel in this world there is especially one thing i always have to carry with me outside of my travel bag. The most precious thing i own out of everything that i ever bought and that is my Beverly Hills 90210 lunch box. It is the most beautiful lunch box ever made in the history of mankind, where you see actors Jason Priestly, Iam Ziering, Luke Perry, Shannon Doherty an many more cast members on the front of the luch box. If i have a really good day i dance outside on the street with my Bevery Hills 90210 lunch box thinking about the theme song of the TV series, because no other theme song is cooler than that. Do i have all seasons of Bevery Hills 90210 on DVD? Of course i have and i plan to get myself a towel with the whole cast on as well, you know to look amazing on the beach. Speaking of the beach i do appreciate to watch shark movies whenever i get a chance. I have seen a lot of shark movies since the 90´s and especially low budget shark films. If you just look at the numbers of how many low budget shark movies have been released in the last 10 years i can tell you they are quite high. One of the films that comes to my mind speaking of low budget shark movies is the 2018 film Megalodon from director James Thomas. A film that actually had better acting than i expected but way too little scenes of the shark megalodon attacking. If you are going to make a shark film fun you better have some shark attacks. Legendary actor Michael Madsen is in this film and i wish he could have had more screen time. The film is terrible in several ways but not a disaster at least. Then in 2021 a sequel called Megalodon Rising was released which i have seen. Similar to the first film but with more action scenes and more megalodon attacks . So here we are in 2023 with a third film in the Megalodon franchise called Megalodon: The Frenzy this time with legendary actor Eric Roberts. Is it possible this third film is actually more fun then i expected or is this another horrible shark B movie you will never remember once you have experienced it?

The USS King survived the megalodon´s attack, but Captain Lynch ( Wynter Eddins ) was killed. Lieutenant Commander Sharp ( Eric Roberts ) is now in charge of the badly damaged ship. However, when an underneath water passage is opened during an operation run by Dr. Rylie Clark ( Caroline Williams ). What they don´t know is that this new opening will make it possible for even more megalodons to attack anything that comes in their way.

If you are expecting a lot of surprises or even a very solid story in Megalodon: The Frenzy i can tell you right now you will most likely leave this film. This is the kind of The Asylum film made for B movie shark fans who don´t care about a plot and who just want to see sharks attack and Eric Roberts look serious. So if we compare the previous Megalodon films are there any differences in this sequel? Yes, especially two details that are actually very important. The shark design in this third film have definetely improved and some of the shark attack scenes are more fun than in the previous films. This is definetely what this sequel needed because i do believe that B movies with sharks should include fun shark attack scenes. I have to mention that this film is actually connected to the past from an early start, so if you want to understand what happened you do get a small introduction before the real film kicks in. As you might expect since this is a film produced by The Asylum the acting is not perfect in any way, and i am completely fine with that part because all i want to be is entertained with a film such as this. So what´s my biggest issue with Megalodon: The Frenzy? One of the issues i have had so far in the Megalodon franchise is that the characters in these films are not very interesting at all. There are no character that really stands out or feel like a lead character, it feels like most of them are just defending themselves against megalodons and that´s pretty much it. You don´t have to act great in a film like this but you can at least make your character fun or entertaining to watch. Ok so i can accept Eric Roberts as Lt. Sharp simply because he have always had a charming screen presence no matter what kind of film he does. Legendary actress Caroline Williams ( yes the one from the cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ) is of course nice to see here as Dr. Rylie Clark, but they should have made her character even more tough than what we get. We should have seen Dr. Rylie killing megalodons all over the place with a grenade launcher, that´s how you make a great megalodon film. Overall there isn´t much more to say about this film that´s positive since the best scenes end too soon. Director Brendan Petrizzo ( director of the 2020 low budget horror film Monster Hunters ) have at least improved the shark attacking scenes in this sequel compared to the other Megalodon films and that´s about it. Megalodon: The Frenzy will not be remembered as The Asylum classics such as Planet Of The Sharks. Only watch this film if you are a Eric Roberts or Caroline Williams fan, otherwise you might as well skip this one.

Rating: DD

35 Years Anniversary Review Of Beetlejuice

When you think very intelligent people you might think about people like Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton or perhaps of Leonardo da Vinci. The list is very long and we could probably talk about a lot of historical people who made a great impact on this world. But not all very intelligent people are only people who made paintings or worked on physics. You also have very intelligent people who are very creative, such as making films in a very creative way. One of the people i am especially thinking about is legendary director Tim Burton. In every single film he have made so far in his incredible career he have proved that as long as you dare to take chances and find original ideas, it doesn´t matter what the story is all about. The thing i especially love about director Tim Burton is that he have a very uniqe style in making his films that i can´t really compare with anyone else. No matter if we are talking about Edward Scissorhands, Pee Wee´s Big Adventure, Batman, Ed Wood or Mars Attacks!, each of these films capture the feeling of Tim Burton´s own world where anything is possible. One of my personal favourite Tim Burton films ( even if i love many of his films ) is the 1999 horror film known as Sleepy Hollow. This is a film adaptation loosely based on Washington Irving´s 1820 short story "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow". The film Sleepy Hollow takes place in the upstate Dutch hamlet of Sleepy Hollow in 1799, where Ichabod Crane ( Johnny Depp ) is needed to investigate the murders that are said to be caused by a headless Hessian mercenary from the Revolutionary war. Time is running out and more victims are found along the way, while Ichabod Crane tries to find a way to stop the headless horseman. Sleepy Hollow is filled with delightful horror influences and it really feels lik director Tim Burton tried to capture the tone of the story of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow in this film adaptation. I highly recommend this film if you have not seen it. Speaking of Tim Burton i was reminded a while ago that his film Beetlejuice have turned 35 years this year and i felt that it would be a great time to revisit the film. Is this still today a very entertaining film or have Beetlejuice aged a lot over these years and have lost some of the magic along the way?

In Winter River, Connecticut, Barbara Maintland ( Geena Davis ) and her husband Adam Maitland ( Alec Baldwin ) dies in a drowning accident when their car fall off a bridge. Not knowing they are deseased at first, they learn that they both died. As Barbara try and leave their house she finds herself in a desert with a sandworm attacking her. She manage to get back to the house but they realise they are stuck there. A new family is ready to move in and neither Adam and Barbara want people to move in. They try to scare them but fails completely, until they discover that there is only one way to really make the new people go away, if they get help from a very odd bio-exorcist known as Beetlejuice ( Michael Keaton ).

To really enjoy a film like Beetlejuice you have to be a fan of Tim Burton in general and especially the combination of comedy and horror from the 80´s. Some of the jokes they have in this film would not go home among feminists in modern times, especially how vulgar the character Beetlejuice is in some scenes. We have to remember that in the 80´s they were able to joke about anything and that´s exactly the way i want a comedy to be. Beetlejuice is no ordinary horror comedy though, because the story of a deceased couple who has to learn to deal with their death have never been portrayed as we get to see in this film. Just the agency where you go to meet your caseworker is filled with crazy details such as hanged dead people dealing with paperwork, while suicide victims works as a secretary. Im not surprised at all why director Tim Burton doesn´t hold back joking about different kinds of death scenarios in these scenes, because he knows how to push boundaries in his own unique way. Let´s talk about the characters for a bit and we might as well begin with the main characters Adam Maitland and Barbara Maitland played by actors Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. Their screen presence in this film works so well, and their comedy timing hits the right spot every single time they do certain scenes together. However, the real highlight of Beetlejuice is without a doubt Michael Keaton as the character Beetlejuice. This could be one of his most iconic acting performances in his career, because i honestly believe that everyone would love Beetlejuice once they see his personality and how different he is. Beetlejuice feels like a combination of Rodney Dangerfield and Ace Ventura combined, but being a corpse of course. Michael Keaton does not only uses his body language brilliantly but he also deliver some really funny dialogue as well. Glenn Shadix as the character Otto really stands out as well for being rude, ignorant and cares about no one else but himself. I have to mention a young Winona Ryder as the charming young lady Lydia. To be able to joke about death in a brutal way you have to be a director who knows how to do it without having limits, and that is exactly what director Tim Burton does. No matter if he takes us to the sandworms in a desert or creatures from the other side attacking, there are so many creative moments in this film to be pleased about. Beetlejuice is a film like no other, and therefore i have to say it is just as effective today as it was 35 years ago. Director Tim Burton is a genius when it comes to combine horror and comedy and he have proved this for so many years. Time may have passed but Beetlejuice still remain as one of the true classics of horror comedies.

Rating: DDDD