31

Let´s travel back in time, to the year of 2003. This was the year when Limp Bizkit returned with their 4th album Results May Vary, it was also the year when the SARS virus was all over the news, with infected people. It was also the year when Kevin Costner returned to the western genre, with the unexpected well made film Open Range. Not only did he direct the film, he was also one of the producers. I strongly suggest you rent this film, especially if you love western films. Let´s leave this genre, and move on and talk about a completely different film. This year, Rob Zombie released his film House Of 1000 Corpses. Rob Zombie, the musician, artist ? Yep, that guy with the long beard. You could say that he was inspired by grindehouse films, with a 70´s style. And i have to say i think he managed to capture the feeling of the grindhouse cinema, using different tasteful ingredients. His first film turned out to be just a taste of what he was about to bring us next. His second film The Devil´s Rejects is a horror film, that proved what a great director he can be with the right material. The dialogue is stronger, the acting is even better, and the story is really insane and entertaining. Even today i have The Devil´s Rejects on my own list among top horror films, simply because it is a classic in my opinion. When Rob Zombie decided to remake Halloween, the classic 70´s horror film from legendary director John Carpenter, he actually made a film better than all the sequels. Not as good as the original film of course, but still better than i expected. His sequel Halloween 2 might have been brutal, but not as good as his first film. I think he focused more on the violence than on the characters, turned out to be a mistake. Rob then started working on a completely different project, a film like nothing he have done before. It turned out to be The Lords Of Salem. A very odd film, and this film actually upset many fans. This was not what they asked for, and the film did not get that many ticket buyers. I personally did not feel that it was a horrible film, it just was not strong as his first films. Rob continued working with his music, touring, and focused on all kinds of projects, and eventually he told the world he would go back to his roots, making his next film 31 more of his earlier films. So he asked fans to help him on Fanbacked, where you could be apart of his film, by supporting the project. He got a lot of money collected, i was one of the people who helped the campaign. I was really excited to see if 31 would bring Rob Zombie back, as one of the best horror directors of our time. So when 31 finally got released on VOD, i ran straight in and rented it, because i just had to see it. Is this the best film from Rob Zombie in many years, or should he have skipped this project from the beginning ?

It is the year of 1976. A group of carnival workers, including Charly ( Sheri Moon Zombie ), Roscoe Pepper ( Jeff Daniels Phillips ), Panda Thomas ( Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs ), Venus Virgo ( Meg Foster ), Fat Randy ( Michael " Red Bone " Alcott ) and Levon Wally ( Kevin Jackson ), are travelling on the highway, together in a van. They are forced to stop on a road, as they arrive to very odd road blocks. It turns out to be a trap, and the carnival workers are kidnapped to a isolated compound known as Murderworld. Here the compound is in control by game host Father Murder ( Malcolm McDowell ), who have a game waiting for the visitors. They have to survive inside the compound, against psychopathic serial killers, armed with different weapons. If they manage to survive, they will be released. If they don´t, they will be another victim among all the others corps. There is especially one serial killer, that Father Murder have hope for, the true champion known as Doom-Head ( Richard Brake ). When things don´t go as planned, Father Murder knows that Doom-Head will finish the job.

Since i found the first 2 films of Rob Zombie really entertaining, i was hoping that 31 would be a step back into his roots of the grindhouse genre. He have returned to some of the style of the previous films, but perhaps not as much as i was hoping for.  Another detail is the lack of strong characters. Both films House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil´s Rejects had characters you remembered especially Captain Spaulding, brilliant played by Sid Haig. And of course Otis, who did a wonderful performance from legendary actor Bill Moseley. I would dare to say that these 2 films are much better than most horror films i have seen since the millenium. Especially The Devil´s Rejects, now here is a film with power. From the start to the finish, there is so much violence, vulgar language and brutality that ( some ) religious people, will most likely call this film demonic. In 31 you also get lots of violence, but perhaps a bit softer, and not as brutal as we would have hoped for. If you are going back to your roots, you might as well go insane and bring some really disturbed shit. Because that´s what you would expect from Rob Zombie, he have proved himself in the past. Now, i would not say that 31 fails completely. Simply because there are some good ideas here, especially being another version of the classic 80´s film The Running Man. And this chase does have some highlights, where characters wearing makeup try to murder the chosen guests, in every possible way they can. This time we do have a few great characters, especially Doom-Head, played by Richard Brake. I will say that he is perhaps the strongest character in this film, and i love to see his disturbing anger break out, fits great with the films concept. Of course we get to see Sheri Moon Zombie, always great as usual and looks fantastic as well. I also enjoy the performance of legendary actor Malcolm McDowell, a true professional at doing different characters. Once the chase really begin, we get to see different surviving fights, and most of them work. My problem with 31 is that Rob promised from the beginning, ( as he was going to make this film ), that it would be filled with gore and violence. But it does not feel like the good days of his first 2 films. And that is a shame, because i like the concept that he tried to do here. Apart from this, i can´t complain much more, there is still something positive to see about 31. As a horror film, we do have ingredients here that feels tasteful, and who does not enjoy chainsaw battles with insane people ? Even though i feel a little bit disappointed about 31, i still feel this is still a fun ride, especially because of some fun characters. 31 is a film that will most likely be divided by fans, some will enjoy it, some will not. But remember one thing, since the horror genre is filled with many mainstream films, we still need Rob Zombie to make his films. Without him we would not have the gore that some directors don´t dare to experiment with. This explains why you should give 31 a chance, i hope you heard that Salvation Army ?

Rating: DDD

Will there be a Fifty Shades Darker review ?

Hello everyone worldwide!

Hope you all have a great weekend out there, I am preparing my first reviews for october, and i got all kinds of films coming our way. We will of course have some box office films in here, and some smaller films, just as i usually try to mix it up. Now, about a few days ago i was asked if there will be a Fifty Shades Darker review in here, when the premiere is set in early 2017. So i wanted to take the time and tell you what it looks like in my scheduele.

Fifty Shades Darker will not be reviewed in here, and i will tell you why.

Because we don´t need to see it, none of you do. Why ? Let´s think for a moment. How good was the first film ? Let´s just say i wanted to jump from a balchony after seeing it, that might explain how i feel. So sorry Fifty Shades fans, i will not write a review, not even how much anyone of you would pay me to do it. Ok, if you happen to offer at least 32 million dollars, then i might suffer myself to do it, but only then. And if that includes an evening with Kirk Cameron´s Saving Christmas special screening, we might have a deal.

So there you go folks, i better get back to what i was doing, it includes latex gloves and hand cuffs, this means Thomas Deutgen ( the dansband guru ) is waiting for me. See you soon and thanks for enjoying my reviews.

Cheers from Daniel

Blood Father

When i was a kid, i enjoyed seeing actors from the classic actors in Hollywood. There are many names i could mention, but let's do some of them. Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Gene Hackman, Kurt Russel, Kevin Costner, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Robert Redford, and the list goes on. There are so many of them, and i am happy to say that almost all of them are still working in films, even if though they are old. But there is something special about actors from another time in Hollywood, they have something special that not most young actors can replicate. I would like to take the time and focus on one legendary actor, who have been in the movie industry since the 70´s. Let´s talk about Mel Gibson. Most people probably know him from his australian action films Mad Mad, or perhaps as Martin Riggs in the Leathal Weapon film series. But the nice thing about Mel Gibson, is that he can do so many different films, and still manage to do a great character. One of the films i am thinking about, that some of you might remember, is a film called The Man Without  A Face. Seeing him play a man with a deformed face, who become a father figure for a young boy, is a film that deserves a view. This film was also directed by Mel Gibson, and from what i understand he wanted to do a smaller production, and take a break from the action genre. He made a good choice. Of course we all know that Mel Gibson have worked well in action films, and he have proved himself in several titles. I was one of the people who enjoyed his action film Payback from 1999, even though i know critics had very different opinion about this film. We could talk about his classics, and the films he directed that became huge successes. But there was a time when Mel got himself in trouble, perhaps some of you remember when he talked about jews. This became a very big issue and it did affect his career. Mel did continued making films, but either The Beaver or Meet The Gringo got fans interested, and they both bombed at the box office. It was not until he landed a role in The Expendables 3 we got to see him in better shape, and i have to say he gave this film a touch of Mel magic. Recently i got a chance to see his latest film Blood Father on VOD, and i was curious to see if he still got that sparkle in him. Is Mel back in his best film in years, or is this another one that no one will care about ?

Lydia ( Erin Moriarty ) and her boyfriend Jonah ( Diego Luna ) go with a criminal gang, armed with weapons, to go kill a tentant family who have stolen money. As they arrive, Jonah asks Lydia to watch the back exit. Something goes terribly wrong, and Jonah is killed. Lydia takes off, and run away, as she tries to figure out a safe location. She finally decide to call her father John ( Mel Gibson ) to come and pick her up. John comes to the location, and he can tell Lydia is in trouble, especially when he knows she have had trouble in the past. John lives out in a desert area, working as an tattoo artist, and have tried to leave his criminal life behind him. The criminal gang is out to locate Lydia, but they don´t know that her father is a well known ex con, and he knows how to take care of bad situations.

When you have no big expectations at all, and see a film that is better than you expected, you have to feel pleased. Blood Father is in no way original in any way, but that´s ok. Because the story between a young teenage daughter, and a father who tries to help his daughter, works better than many similar films i have seen in recent years. And the reason for that is Mel Gibsons acting performance. His character Link is a man with a rough past, and now he wants to leave all that behind. Of course he can´t eventually, but that is the way life is. His daughter Lydia played well by Erin Moriarty, combine really well with Gibson, and they match on their scenes together. There is plenty of violence here, but somehow it is a good idea, because this family have always had trouble, so you realise that this will never change. To see Gibson fight against drug criminals is actually a fun ride, he is an old school fighter and he will not give up that easily. Since the plot is not very interesting, you have to rely on the acting and the action scenes instead, and i have to say director Jean-Francios Richet have managed to combine this, in a positive way. He clearly have tried to make this film a classic revenge story, and made sure to use Gibson as a rough man, who gets another chance to clean up the problems. I also like the enviroment, where Gibson lives. A trailer wasteland with nothing but sand and simple people, living in a community, helping each other out. Nice to see William H. Macy here as well, as his friendly neighbor Kirby. If you think about it, when you look at the previous work of director Jean-Francois Richet, he have worked on effective action films before. He directed the remake of John Carpenter´s Assault On Precinct 13. For a remake, in a more updated version, i think he did a pretty good job. Blood Father is of course a completely different story, but from from a action perspective i feel that this is a film for people who enjoy classic action elements. Time might have passed, and Mel might be older, but he is still a great action actor, there is no doubt about that. Want to enjoy a film on a popcorn night with some drinks of Ron De Jeremy Rum ? I suggest you watch Blood Father and enjoy your evening, especially with that best rum in the world.

Rating: DDD

Cell

There are many great horror authors out there, who have written some really good novels over the years. Depending on what kind of horror novels you enjoy, you will most likely find an author who tell a story in their own unique way. One of the most famous, and still very popular horror authors, is of course Stephen King. His classic novels are still read by millions of people, in all ages. I have some of his books, and i have to say that he knows how to tell stories. No matter if it is supernatural, black magic, psychological, he have explored many different areas where the horror genre fits in perfectly. I will say that i have not read all of his books, just a few, so i have a lot of reading to do if i want to be updated on his latest work. One of the novels i still love, is his novel called It. Some of you may have seen the classic film adaptation, made in 1990 with Tim Curry. It is one of those classics that worked really well, considering it it based on a Stephen King novel. Of course we have plenty of films that worked out really well, made from his books. Carrie, The Shining, Salem´s Lot, Cujo, Pet Sematary, Misery, The Green Mile, the list goes on and on. Oh i almost forgot Creepshow, where Stephen King wrote the screenplay for the movie. He also had a role in one of the short stories, as a hillbilly boy. Now here is something that some of you may not remember. Stephen King actually directed and wrote a horror film called Maximum Overdrive, released in 1986. This film is nowhere near as good as his books, or the film adaptations based on his books, it is just a funny silly 80´s horror film with awful dialogue and bad acting. As years passed by, Stephen King novels got more film adaptations, and we finally hit the jackpot with a really good release called The Mist. This film looked great, had great acting, and from what i understand, this film managed to get some of the details from the book correctly. In more recent years we have had some smaller films, based on Stephen King books, and stories. One of them is called Bag Of Bones, but i have not seen it, simply because people told me not to. During summertime this year, i read that a new film, called Cell was coming out. It is supposed to be based on the book by Stephen King. When i read the cast, i noticed that Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack is back together. They actually did really well with their performances in the horror film 1408. This film was based on a short story of Stephen King, and i love how director Mikael Håfström managed to make this film so frightening. So with 2 big lead roles, and another film based on the work of Stephen King, do we have another winner this time around, or is this going down by a knockout, into the drain ?

Clayton Riddell ( John Cusack ) is at the airport, waiting for his flight. Suddenly an electric signal is broadcast across mobile networks. People who are on their cellphones, suddenly begin to go completely insane, turning into some kid of rabid killers. Clayton manage to escape down to the subway. He meets Thomas McCourt ( Samuel L. Jackson ) inside the subway train. They make the decision to escape, and find a way out. No one knows why this have happened, or where this started. In an attempt to find answers, Clayton and Thomas go on foot, picking up other survivors, on their way through a nightmare. Where did this electric signal come from ? Is there a reason to why humans are being controlled ?

There are so many horror films coming out, inspired by zombie outbreaks, or they borrow influences from classic films. Cell is in some way a typical zombie film, but still looks different. How many times have you seen people turning into zombies, from a cellphone? To be honest, the idea looks pretty silly at first. Then i got to understand more of why this is happening, and it makes a little bit more sense. Eventually, you try and understand the plot, but realise that it is not really interesting. The main reason why you watch the film Cell, is to see Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack. Without them in the cast, i doubt we would have watched the whole film. You can tell that most of the other actors are not on the same professional level as these two are. The biggest problem for me with this film, is that it does not really make any sense. Ok, you can understand what the film is trying to say, but the final result is not done correctly. If you want to make a different type of zombie film, you better make sure it works with the plot. One positive surprise is to see legendary actor Stacy Keach show up in the film. Who can forget his classic 80´s thriller Road Games with Jamie Lee Curtis ? Even if his character is not very strong, he still gives a performance better than most actors in here. Too bad he is only in the film for a short time. Cell tries to be some kind of apocalyptic survivor horror movie, with a touch of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Once you get into the film, you realise that director Tod Williams have problems getting it all together. If he only have worked harder, fixing details in the plot, and executed the combination of science fiction and horror, we might have had a different film. As it stands now, you are most likely to forget that you saw this film, and that is not a good sign. Knowing that this film is based on a story from Stephen King, you have to wonder why director Tod Williams did not put more effort into production. If you are doing a story from such a legendary author, make sure to please the fans. Cell is not the worst film i have seen based on a story by Stephen King, i can tell you that Dreamcatcher from 2003 is even more awful. Still, with such a cast and a messy plot, there is much left undone here. Good to see Samuel and John though, they should return again, hopefully in a better film.

Rating: DD

Lights Out

Sometimes when you read a movie title, you can instantly think of a song with the same name. When you think about it, there are so many movie titles out there, that it is not hard to find songs that are called exactly the same as a film. As an example, the 1976 horror classic film Carrie, most of you have probably heard the rock ballad of the same name by swedish band Europe ? Not that they are related in any way, the film came out many years before this song was released. Another example is the Queen song Play The Game, and we have a film called the same released in 2009. So if you just look around, you can find many similar titles. When i read a title called Lights Out, i instantly thought of the P.O.D. song Lights Out. This song is actually from my favourite P.O.D. album Testify, a nu metal album mixed with reggae influences. Even if the song Lights Out is not one of my favourites on the album, it still works if you want to trash your hotel room, throw a sofa out from a balchony, and feel like a true british EastEnders soap tv fan. Lights Out by the way, is a short film that director Adam Sandberg released in 2013. The short film was praised, both by viewers and critics, that he have found a scary concept that worked very well. I will admit that i enjoyed the short film, because it was simple, but still effective. Around early 2016, i heard news coming out that a feature film was going to be made from the short film Lights Out. The same director as the short film, David Sandberg, was going to direct the full feature film. It is always hard to know how the results will be, when you make a feature film, based on a short film. Somehow, you have to get the feeling from the short film, to be captured on a feature film. I was not sure if this would work, because most of the time we are used to see adaptations from original material become complicated. However, i wanted to have a positive mind, as i went to the cinema to see if the transformation works in a longer format. With a director who seemed to have the ability to make horror material work on camera, and with James Wan as one of the producers, is Lights Out an effective horror feast, or is it the same dull release we have seen so many times before ?

In a mannequin warehouse, co-worker Esther ( Lotta Losten ) is about to leave, but experience something very strange. When she turn of the light, a woman appear from nowhere. When she turns on the light, the woman is gone. For each time she turn of the light, the woman comes closer. Esther warns owner Paul ( Billy Burke ), that he should leave right now. Paul does not take her seriously, until he also notice the woman in the dark. Unfortunately, Paul have no way out, and is brutally killed in the warehouse. Paul´s stepdaughter Rebecca ( Teresa Palmer ) is living life, as a young woman, with no plans of having a serious relationship. She is seeing Bret ( Alexander DiPersia ), who she really enjoy being with, but don´t try to get too emotional with him. When Rebecca is contacted from school, about her little brother Martin ( Gabriel Bateman ), she understand that something is wrong. Their mother Sophie ( Maria Bello ) is suffering from mental illness and depression, and can no longer take care of her young son. Rebecca decide to take her little brother to her home instead, without permission from their mother Sophie. When Rebecca start to experience a visit in her home, from a woman in the dark, she is terrified. The woman who appear in darkness, is known as Diana. She used to be a friend of mother Sophie, but when she died, her spirit continued to follow Sophie and her family. Rebecca know how dangerous Diana is, and that she is after her, and her brother Martin. Somehow, this needs to stop, before it is too late.

To make a short film, into a feature film, is a very difficult thing to do, especially if the short film was good. But the good news is that Lights Out works as a full feature film, simply because of the simple details. This film only cost around 5 million dollars, but looks much better than Gods Of Egypt did that had a budget of 140 million dollars. Insane right ? But this proves that you don´t have to make a film on a massive budget to make it look good. One of the main reasons why Lights Out works is also because of director Adam Sandberg. He clearly knows how to make a horror film feel scary, even if he is not James Wan. The story of Lights Out is very simple, and we have seen similar stories before. So the film relies on being scary, and this is where the puzzle pieces click together. Director David Sandberg tries to match traditional creepy horror influences, with unexpected turns. And i have to say, since this is his feature debut film, he have managed to deliver a horror movie that feels good. The practical effects looks great, and the jump scares actually work. The acting is for the most part great, especially from Maria Bello and Teresa Palmer. So is there anything negative to say ? The only thing i can think of, at the moment, is perhaps that i would have wanted to know more about the character, known as Diana. We find out some details, but i feel that there is more to tell about her, before she died and returned as an evil spirit. Could this be more scary ? Sure, but i can´t complain, since this film is much better than most horror films that comes out recently. Not as good as The Conjuring 2 of course, but still a solid film. Knowing that David Sandberg is from Sweden, makes me feel proud. I always knew we should have hope about swedish directors, especially since so many of us have suffered the awful, horrible films of Colin Nutley for 60 years. That long ? The nightmare never seems to end. So David Sandberg, if you are reading this review, thank you for giving Sweden hope again, please make more films so we can forget that Änglagård really exist. Lights Out may not be a horror classic, or feel unique. But as a traditional horror film, this is better than i expected. I suggest you run down and see it in your local cinema, but remember, always keep the light on, or Colin Nutley will swallow your soul. 

Rating: DDD

Suicide Squad

DC Comics films have had some issues in the past, especially since the Green Lantern film bombed at the box office, and upset fans of DC Comic books. To try and gain respect to the fans, and get fans to be pleased, we were going to get some surprising news, with the announcement of a certain project. Spring of 2016 became very important for many comic book fans worldwide. This was the time when Superman V Batman: Dawn Of Justice was going to be released in cinemas worldwide. But the long journey to the premiere have been filled with drama. A lot of fans of comic books, and the superhero films, questioned how they could cast Ben Affleck as Batman. This was something a lot of people were not happy about, but of course they still wanted to see the film. I was confused at the time, could Ben Affleck do a great performance as Batman, considering it is a very hard role to do ? Most of all i was confused of the choice of Lex Luthor, the role was given to Jesse Eisenberg. My first reaction was, what the hell ? You always want to give a film a chance, and should not judge it unless you have seen it. As the cast showed up at Comic Con, to talk about the film, and discuss the combination of Batman and Superman in the same film, i think people got curious after all to see if this would work. Director Zack Snyder did manage to make Man Of Steel a good superhero action film, so why would he not make it this time again ? As the trailer was shown for the first time, i remember the confused fans looking at each other. Was this going to work ? As the film finally landed in theatres, critics were upset, fans were upset, while some were pleased. I was somewhere in the middle of all of this. Most of all i did not like the way Zack Snyder tried to mix the combination of Superman and Batman, and not giving us the epic battles he promised. Some scenes look ok, but that´s it ? I was mostly upset of why Jesse Eisenberg was Lex Luthor. Who ever thought this was a great idea should have been fired, it was all wrong. Remember how good Gene Hackman were in the Superman films from 1978 and 1980 ? He was Lex Luthor, and always will be. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice failed to give us what we deserved, a film that could bring the legacy of 2 major comic book characters to a new level of cinema experience. I will say that Ben Affleck was not terrible as Batman, so that was at least something positive. After all the negative reviews, and people were upset of the film, it seemed like DC Comics would not dare to give another film a chance. But the news of Suicide Squad have been out there for sometime, and this was a project people actually were happy about. When the first images came out from the set, and a first trailer, the fans went wild. This actually looked like it could be really good from the DC Comics universe.The cast also looked great, so we had something more to be positive about. As the film finally got released in august, i had to see it in the premiere week, really excited to see if this could be the film we all hoped for. Is this film version of Suicide Squad a worthy adaptation of these crazy comic book characters, or does it fail completely to give the fans what they deserve ?

After the tragic death of Superman ( Henry Cavill ), intelligence operative Amanda Waller ( Viola Davis ) is forced to put togther a team of criminals, locked up at Belle Reve Prison. The team is named Task Force X, and the criminals chosen to be a part of this team is Deadshot ( Will Smith ), Harley Quinn ( Margot Robbie ), Boomerang ( Jai Courtney ), Diablo ( Jay Henrnandez ), Killer Croc ( Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ) and Slipknot ( Adam Beach ). Their mission is to stop Dr. June Moore ( Cara Delevingne ), who was possessed by an ancient evil, and turned into Enchantress. She is ready to revenge everyone for being imprisoned. Task Force X is going to be send into a battle zone, clean up, under the orders of Colonel Rick Flag ( Joel Kinnaman ). Every criminal in the team have a nano bomb inplanted in their heads, so if they try and run away, they will be killed. Knowing that they have to complete this mission, they agree to do this. But Harey Quinn have other plans, her boyfriend The Joker ( Jared Leto ) is going to get her out of here, somehow. Time is running out, and Enchantress is ready to destroy humanity, unless this team can find a way to work together.

I was one of the people who were actually looking forward to see Suicide Squad. And i have to say, after seeing this film, i feel divided into two parts. This is an improvement from Batman V Superman, no doubt about that. But considering we have so many great comic book characters here, i feel that we should have had more of everything served to the fans. This does not mean that Suicide Squad is a bad film, and i will try and explain why it works ( when it does ). The characters Deadshot, played by Will Smith, is one of the coolest characters of this film. Will Smith manage to make this character the way he does, combining fighting and dialogue. Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie, is without a doubt the strongest character in Suicide Squad. Her evil look, while she loves to go crazy, is exactly what this film needed. The other characters have some charm in there as well, but some of them don´t really get a chance to show their abilities, since there are other things going on around them. Since we have so many bad characters, i would have wanted to see them be even more insane, and turned up the volume on insanity. The action scenes works for the most part, and when it does get violent, you can´t complain, especially when Harley Quinn is kicking ass. Jared Leto as The Joker does have a few good moments, but with an actor that made fantastic performances, as in Dallas Buyers Club, not get the chance to really shine, we have a problem. Since we all remember the amazing performance of Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight, i think most of us were hoping that Jared Leto would give us something unexpected, and thrilling with this iconic comic book character. The scenes where he does deliver, is the ones with dialogue, but they are not as many as we would hope for. If you know these comic book characters from the comic books, and if you enjoyed the previous Batman films, you might find yourself confused. Batman shows up here as well, again played by Ben Affleck. I can´t complain about his performance, but he is here for such a short moment, you will most likely forget that he was here. The story where Deadshot is faced to meet Batman, is very short, and quickly moves on. So the film basically needs the main story to work, with the Suicide Squad. In some ways it does, but not strong enough. Director David Ayer is perhaps known for his films Harsh Times and End Of Watch, where he portrait a realistic life in society. Suicide Squad is a completely different genre, but i will say that he does find a certain tone of the comic book characters. I also enjoy his vision of the team, even if it could have been more developed. Suicide Squad is not as good as i was hoping for. Still, from a comic book perspective, with so many characters brought together, i had a good time watching this film for what it is. Let´s be honest though, without Margot Robbie, we would not have enjoyed ourselves as much as we do now. I read she is getting her own Harley Quinn film, sounds fantastic. But please, cast Dolph Lundgren in one of the roles, he deserves to be in this film.

Rating: DDD

Captain Fantastic

It is always interesting to see smaller films, the ones that big audiences never find, unless a miracle happen. I can say i have seen a lot of really good independent films, that most people have never heard of. Why is that ? Well, there are of course different reasons. It may be that cinemas go for the safe card, and show films they know will get a lot of tickets sold. And it could also be that these films are usually not promoted very much, so they tend to disappear quickly from the cinema. Some films even get a straight to dvd release. Just look at one film, that no one of you probabkly have seen, called Cop Car. A really good independent film, about 2 young boys who steals a police car, being chased by Kevin Bacon ( doing his best performance in many years in this film ). If you have not seen it, i suggest you buy it and support independent film makers. We also have other really good films, that more people should have seen. How many of you have seen Mississippi Grind with Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds ? Also a really good independent film, about gambling and personal issues. The smaller films are usually stronger than the big box office hits, because they rely on stories that are more deeper, and usually have a lot more to say. Since it is hard for independent films to find a large audience, you need to talk more about them, through friends, neighbors, relatives, anyone you can think of and recommend what you have seen. I just remembered one more title, Holy Ghost People. A story surrounding a young woman, looking for her missing sister in a cult group, turned out to be a nice surprise, and the best film so far from director Mitchell Altieri. I suggest you rent this one on your Tivo box, or rent it on other streaming sites. Since i always look around for smaller films, i heard very positive feedback at the Sundance Film Festival, where critics were praising a film called Captain America. I did not know much about the film, so i started reading some more articles, and some early reviews before the cinema release. As the film finally got a premiere date in Sweden, i was very happy. I just had to experience this film in a cinema seat, because with all the positive feedback from many critics, i understood this could be something special. With Viggo Mortensen in the lead role, is this a independent film that could be a future classic, or is the hype surrounding this film way too big to be true ?

Ben ( Viggo Mortensen ) is the father of 6 children, who he all train in combat, finding food, philosophy, and let them survive in the forest. They builded a home here, with their mother , who have been in a hospital for a long time. Ben tries to check up on how she is doing, and one day as he phones home to his sister, he finds out that she is dead. Devastated about the news, Ben decides to tell his kids what really happened, their mother killed herself. The children all suffer tremendously of these horrible news, and don´t know what to do. All the kids want to go to their mother´s funeral, but Ben says they can´t go, because their grandfather Jack ( Frank Langella ) forbid them to come, because he belive that Ben is the reason she killed herself. Ben knows that he should not go, but he decides to go anyway, so their family can say one last goodbye to their mother. A family who have lived away from society, how do they handle the modern life on this journey, and will they reach their destiny ?

There are a few moments every year, when you come across a film that makes you feel complete. A film that gives you so many emotions, and will effect you in different ways. And this is how i feel about Captain Fantastic. This is a film that will grab you, make you laugh, bring you tears, and make you feel like you never want to leave the cinema seat. After the first time i saw this film in the cinema ( i have seen it twice in 2 different cinemas ), i just sat there and felt a warm feeling. The cinematography is brilliant, the acting is brilliant, the emotions are captured so natural, that you can actually feel what this family is going through. Viggo Mortensen have just done the best performance of his career, so far. His character Ben is a sort of a hippie father, who don´t believe in living a modern life, and you can´t deny that his is a wonderful person. This simple story of a family, going to their mother´s funeral, reminded me a lot of the film Little Miss Sunshine, a really good drama comedy. But of course the story in Captain Fantastic is much more emotional, in some ways. The children actors are absolutely fantastic, i seriously doubt you will ever see a film this year with kids acting as good as in this film. Frank Langella delivers a very powerful performance, he is truly one of the greatest in his generation. We have more quality acting here, especially from Kathryn Hahn and Steve Zahn. From the moment we follow the family on their journey, there will be some really fun moments, and very powerful emotional break downs, so you will not feel bored. There are so many famaily issues brought up here, but i feel that director Matt Ross have managed to capture so much of them, and put the pieces together in a wonderful way. You can tell that director Matt have really worked hard to make this film feel so warm, and emotional. Every scene where the emotions breaks out, when the kids let their feelings out, you can´t help yourself from being emotional with them. When you manage to make a film that powerful, you have to be respected for the hard work. Captain Fantastic is a story that takes 2 different sides, one from the hippie family, and one from the ordinary family, and who is right ?`Are we supposed to follow the same pattern in life and do everything, just because people want you to ? There are many important issues in this film, and i had a really good time, especially the way Ben is honest to his kids. Whatever they want to know, he tell them like it is, no holding back. Have you been looking for a film, that will make you feel, think and smile, all at the same time, then this is the film you need to see.

I have no problem saying this, Captain Fantastic is the best film of 2016, you are not going to see a better film this year. I know it is september now, and we have a few months left, but i seriously doubt i will change my mind. Run to the cinema today, and experience a film you will never forget, this is the film of this year. 

Rating: DDDDD