The Electric State

Robots have been a part of cinema history for many years in Hollywood. I remember one of the very first robot films i watched on VHS back in 1987 and that was a film known as The Terminator. Most of you probably know this is the classic science fiction action film that really gave director James Cameron a big career step into Hollywood. Of course this was also the film that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a huge cinema star as the cybernatic assassin The Terminator. I remember back in 1987 when my school friend Nicklas had a VHS copy of this film in their living room among their VHS video collection. In this VHS video collection they had a lot of Clint Eastwood films because both Nicklals and his parents loved the spaghetti western films with Eastwood. It was here in this collction i saw one of the coolest VHS covers i had seen at that time and it was of course the VHS cover of The Terminator. Nicklas let me borrow the film and i watched this film constantly. Imagine being 10 years old watching a film like this that looked like nothing i have ever seen before. Seeing Arnold Schwarznegger as The Terminator was definetely one of the true epic moments in 80´s cinema history as we were introduced to iconic female character Sarah Conner ( played by actress Linda Hamilton ). During this time back in 1987 i remember my father rented a film called Short Circuit on VHS. It was a science fiction comedy telling the story of robotic soldier, S.A.I.N.T. Number 5, who is struck by lightning and gains a human-like intelligence, managing to escape the NOVA Laboratory facility. The robot finds itself in Astoria, Oregon and is found by Stephanie Speck ( Ally Sheedy ), an animal caregiver, who mistakes him for an alien. She takes him home and begin teaching Number 5 different things through "input", a way for Number 5 to learn new information. Short Circuit is a really charming 80´s classic robot family movie that´s definetely worth watching on physical media. If you get the blu ray listen to the commentary track. The sequel Short Circuit 2 is also worth a watch if you are able to get a blu ray copy. Speaking of robots i heard early this year a new robot film was coming to Netflix known as The Electric State. When i heard the budget was over 300 millon U.S. dollars i knew this probably would have a lot of technology in the film. With a big famous cast ( where some of the actors do the voice of some of the robots in this film ) and a big budget based on the illustrated science fiction novel by autor Simon Stålenhag , is The Electric State a film better than i expected or is this almost as bad as the entire Twilight franchise?

In 1990, a war between humans and robots has left the world in disarray. With the help of Sentre CEO Ethan Skate ( Stanley Tucci ), who developed Neurocaster Technology that allowed humans to upload their minds into drone robots, humanity managed to win the war, while robots were banished to the exclusion zone. However, the success of this technology meant many people opted to live their virtual lives in a semi-vegetative state while drones did most the work, In 1994, teenager Michelle Greene ( Millie Bobby Brown ) lives with her incompetent foster dad, Ted Finister ( Jason Alexander ). One day Michelle get a home visit by robot Cosmo who have been looking for her. He can only communicate using gestures and pre-recorded words, but convince her that he is controlled by her deceased younger brother Christopher ( Woody Norman ), who was a child prodigy. It turns out that Sentre found Christopher´s body after the accident and they decide to use his exceptional intellect and integrating his consciouness into the Neurocaster. Cosmo and Michelle travel to locate her brother, while teaming up with some new faces along the way.

I have seen several reviews of The Electric State and i understand why some people don´t like this film. But im going to give my own opinion regarding this film and it´s completely fine if you disagree with me, after all not everyone likes the same kind of movies. When it comes to a film like this i think you need to enter it without holding high expectations. I mentioned the Short Circuit films earlier in my review and those films were pretty simple family entertainment films made for a family to watch. The Electric State feels like a family movie just like the Short Circuit films did back in the 80´s. The story is very simple, the characters are not complicated at all and there is a lot of robots in this film with different designs ( which is good since i like diversity ) and in some ways you could say this film may have been inspired by films such as Short Circuit. The fact that this film takes place in the year of 1994 makes everything a little bit more fun, especially when certain robot designs actually reminded me of 90´s influences from films of that time period. Chris Pratt ( who plays the beloved character Peter Quill in the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies ) is without a doubt one of the most charming characters in The Electric State. His character Keats is loud, want to look cool but fails by having a similar hairstyle of Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger used to look like in the early 2000´s. Actor Stanley Tucci is here as well and even if his performance is nowhere near as good as his best film, i do appreciate seeing him in here. The CGI scenes of robots do look pretty good so you can tell they have spent a lot of money for a reason. So on to the negative side and i don´t think that many robots have some kind of personality. Johnny 5 in Short Curcuit had some kind of personality and i would have liked to have some robots with a different look. Actress Millie Bobbie Brown´s ( who i do enjoy in the Netflix TV series Stranger Things ) character Michelle doesn´t come off to be interesting at all. Since she is one of the main characters that is a big missed oppurtunity. The robot war itself doesn´t feel that dangerous, at least not compared to what a war looked like between robots and humans in the 2011 sci fi action film World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles. I will say though that what we still have here is a charming robot adventure that might entertain certain ages in your family. Directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo have made a film that feels like a throwback to the 80´s and we need adventures like these films in modern days. The Electric State do have flaws but i find this film more enjoyable than i expected. Worth a watch on Netflix if you just want to get into the 80´s or 90´s vibes without a complicated plot.

Rating: DDD

Kraven The Hunter

Let us be reminded of a glorious moment in cinema history that will forever be remembered especially by comic book lovers. Let us go back to February of 2024 when the film Madame Web opened up in cinemas worldwide that was the latest ( at that time ) Sony Pictures superhero movie after they had released several Spider-Man movies and Morbius as well. The hype of the film Madame Web was kind of big at that moment because we would get to see actress Dakota Johnson ( mostly known as her character Anastasia in the Fifty Shades Of Grey franchise ) as the superhero character Madame Web. What happened after the premiere weekend of Madame Web was a disaster, not only the box office numbers but even actress Dakota Fanning regretted being in this film who even left her agency WME because of this film. Reviews of Madame Web was in general really bad where some movie critics already predicted that this could be one of the worst movies of 2024. I even remember reading one film critic from England calling this one of the worst superhero movies he have ever seen. I have never honestly never read any of the comic books of Madame Web so i basically knew nothing about her. As a kid i always read The Incredible Hulk at our local comic book store and Conan The Barbarian, so Madame Web was someone i knew nothing about. I did see the film Madame Web but not until it landed on VOD so i could rent it. I will say this it´s not the worst comic book inspired film i have seen ( that could be the 1990 film Captain America from director Albert Pyun, a really terrible film in so many ways ) but i can understand why people dislike this film. It has a lot of problems such as terrible acting, bad dialogue, bad CGI effects and a story that´s not interesting. Madame Web ended up getting 6 nominations to the Razzie Awards 2025 and ended up winning three awards. Not bad right? Speaking of Sony Pictures late last year they released their superhero movie known as Kraven The Hunter, a film that also became a box office bomb like Madame Web but at least had some more positive reviews. I was supposed to see this film in cinema but waited for the blu ray release instead and picked up a copy. Is this film far more better than Madame Web or is this just as bad or possibly even worse than i expected?

Crime lord and drug trafficker Nikolai Kravinoff ( Russel Crowe ) is taking his two sons, Sergei Kravinoff and his half-brother Dimitri to a hunting trip in Ghana after they find out their mother killed herself. During the hunting trip a lion suddenly appear and Sergei is badly injured by the lion while he tried to protect his brother. The lion carry Nikolai away as a young woman named Calypso watches the lion drop him infront of her. Calypso heals him with a serum and calls for rescue, leaving a tarot card behind. Sergei wakes up at the hospital and finds out he was declared dead for a few minutes and clearly something has happened to him. He begin to learn that he have physical attributes that are animalistic. When Sergei finds out his father Nikolai killed the lion to teach his sons a lesson, a disgusted Sergei flees to a sanctuary owned by his mother in Russia. Sixteen years later, Sergei ( Aaron Taylor-Johnson ), now going by Kraven, is a vigilante who hunts criminals. After killing an arms trafficker in a Russian prison, Kraven travels to London for Dimitri´s ( Fred Hechinger ) birthday. The reunion is short-lived when mercenaries abduct Dimitri. When Nikolai refuses to pay the ransom, Kraven tracks down Calypso ( Ariana DeBose ), now working as a lawyer, and convinces her to help

Remember the action horror film The Last Witch Hunter from 2015 with Vin Diesel kicking witches ass? Kraven The Hunter reminds me of that type of action film, it feels like a throwback to simple action films of the 90´s with super powers and no complicated plot is needed. I am actually a fan of The Last Witch Hunter and in fact this is one of my personal favourite Vin Diesel films. Kraven The Hunter is not as entertaining as that film but i still appreciate what they were trying to do here. This is a very simple film in so many ways and to be honest that can actually be a good thing. If you just want to be entertained and don´t need things to be complicated then this could be something that you would appreciate. Since i have not read the Kraven The Hunter comic books i don´t know the background story. This film does tell you how he got his super powers and how the lion attack led him on a completely new path in life. So let´s get into the positive regarding Kraven The Hunter and let me say that the action scenes are fun enough to appreciate. I wouldn´t say they are unique in any way but for a superhero movie i would say there are some scenes where they manage to find the right balance. There are some unexpected brutal action scenes where bodies get ripped open, i do appreciate that. His way to communicate with animals reminded me of the classic adventure 1982 film The Beastmaster with Marc Singer ( which is worth checking out if you have not seen it ) except Kraven clearly have more super powers than The Beastmaster. Lead actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is alright in the lead role as Kraven, not a unique performance in any way not matches the character. Ok so some of my issues with this film. The acting from Russel Crowe as Kraven´s father Nikolai is not a good performance. We have seen Russel do several great performances over the years but here is not even trying and his Russian accent is honestly terrible. The film feels a bit too long, some dialogue scenes are way too stretched out and uninteresting for you to care about their conversations. At the end of the day Kraven The Hunter is not a superhero movie that will be remembered for being different. Interesting that this film is directed by J.C. Chandor ( director of the really good crime drama A Most Violent Year ), and this is without a doubt his most polished Hollywood film for sure. This is a very simple film made purely to entertain people who just want action scenes and bad dialogue. If this is your thing then i would say give this film a chance. Definetely a better choice than Madame Web.

Rating: DDD

In Memory Of Val Kilmer

Greetings everyone.

This is a very sad day when im doing this blog post after hearing that actor Val Kilmer passed away at the young age of 65 years old this week. Since i was a lot in VHS rental stores during the 80´s of my childhood i remember seeing Val Kilmer on VHS shelves in films such as Top Secret! and Real Genius. By that time i had seen Top Gun of course and let´s be honest, without Val Kilmer as his iconic character Iceman this film would have never been the same. Iceman was the man every man wanted to be and will always be one of the true 80´s legendary characters. In 1988 it was so awsome to see Val Kilmer take on the role as Madmartigan in legendary director Ron Howard´s high fantasy adventure Willow. I remember seeing this film on VHS after it was released here in Sweden renting the film with my grandfather. Seeing Val Kilmer as a swordsman was really fun and he had great chemistry with actor Warwick Davis as the main character Willow Ufgood. Willow had everything you could wish for in an 80´s sword fantasy film and this is a film you simply have to see. For me personally it was in the year of 1991 when Val Kilmer proved his incredible acting abilities in legendary director Oliver Stone´s American biographical film The Doors. A film that tells the story of the legendary American rock band The Doors where Val Kilmer gives an amazing performance as The Doors singer Jim Morrison. To really understand what a great actor Val Kilmer really was you simply have to see The Doors. In my opinion no one could play Jim Morrison other than Val Kilmer, he was the perfect casting choice for this character. In the 90´s he continued delivering unforgettable films such as Thunderheart, Tombstone, True Romance ( this is one you simply have to see ), Heat and of course playing Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever. This is a film that have divided a lot of Batman fans, some fans love it while others have issues with it. I personally feel that Val Kilmer did what he could with his Bruce Wayne character and i do think he did a good job acting in the Batman suit. The cast in this fim with Chris O´Donell, Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones and martial arts legend Don "The Dragon" Wilsson in a smaller rolle, all of this makes Batman Forever a fun ride with the unique style of director Joel Schumacher.

After releasing several films during the late 90´s i feel that Val made some interesting choices regarding different characters and different genres of films. For example in the year 2000 he played the character Robby Gallagher, an engineer in the sci fi action film Red Planet. A film that didn´t do well at all at the box office but found an audience on VHS and DVD instead. In fact i actually bought a DVD copy of Red Planet to several of my movie nerd fans back in the day. Red Planet is actually not a terrible film, i think the film has a cool look and i do like the acting performances from actors Carrie Anne Moss, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker, Tom Sizemore and legendary actor Terence Stamp. If you are a Val Kilmer fan i think you should check this film out, seeing him do a big budget science fiction film like this is a fun reminder of his diversity in trying different genres. In the year of 2002 we saw Val Kilmer play the wild character Danny Parker in the neon-noir crime thriller The Salton Sea. This is quite different film experience in Val´s career and this film almost have some Quentin Tarantino vibes in the style of this film. Another really good performance by Val and i have to appreciate how bizarre this film is in certain places from director D.J. Caruso. Let´s move forward to the year of 2003 when Val Kilmer got some positive reviews not only for his performance as the adult film character John Holmes, but the film Wonderland did get some positive reviews as well ( except from some, for different reasons ). I think Val did a great job playing legendary adult film actor John Holmes and this film have a very impressive cast with actors such as Kate Bosworth, Carrie Fischer, Lisa Kudrow, Josh Lucas, Christina Applegate, Tim Blake Nelson and Janeane Garofalo. The look of the film matches with the time period and captures the look of the adult movie insudstry as well the crimes that were commited during this time. A film worth picking up on DVD if you are interested in the story of adult actor John Holmes and what a crazy life he lived. Just 2 years after Wonderland came out Val Kilmer released one of my personal favourite films in his career in the film known as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with legendary actor Robert Downey Jr. This is such a fun neo-noir black comedy crime film from director Shane Black and the acting performances between Val and Robert are both brilliant and you simply have to see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ( i know the title is silly but i promise this is a really good film ).

We can go on for hours talking about some of the amazing films Val Kilmer did in his long movie career but you might have some good advices now of films you should check out. The memories of Val will always be with us and we are grateful for the cinema magic he gave us for so many years. Let´s all check out his different films and remember the good times and i will be doing a special movie tribute review of Val Kilmer to one of his films called Spartan from 2004, directed by David Mamet ( who directed the 2001 crime drama film Heist with Gene Hackman ).

R.I.P. Val Kilmer

Alien: Rubicon

If you ask most people about what their favourite flight action drama film is in Hollywood history there is a slightly big chance that most people would say the 1986 film known as Top Gun. Most people have seen this film at least in my generation of people who were kids back in 1986. I personally don´t mind Top Gun for what it is, a macho tribute to the American Naval Fighter Weapons School with some fun flight scenes. But if im being perfectly honest i actually prefer the 1986 action flight film known as Iron Eagle. This is a much more fun film than Top Gun, it may be more cheesy, have a smaller budget than Top Gun but this is the film where legendary actor Louis Gossett. Jr plays his iconic character Colonel Charles "Chappy" Sinclair and we also have legendary actor David Suchet ( the best Hercule Poirot actor if you ask me ) as the terrorist character Ministry Of Defense Colonel Akir Nakesh. Iron Eagle is a simple but great 80´s action film that should be seen. Speaking of flight action films how many of you remember the 1991 action comedy known as Into The Sun with actors Anthony Michael Hall and Michael Paré? If you rented VHS films in the 90´s there is a chance you will recognize the VHS cover, it almost looks like a Top Gun rip off with a couple of differences. I remember enjoying this film back in 1991 for what it was, an entertaining flight action comedy where the chemistry between actors Anthony Michael Hall and Michael Paré was what made this film especially enjoyable. Let´s stick to actor Michael Paré for a while and he have done a lot of movies in his very long acting career. To be honest i have not seen all of his films, there are plenty i need to check out at some point. One film you should see him in is the 2018 horror film Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich ( one of the best Puppet Master films in many years ) where he plays the character Detective Brown. I recently sat down to watch one of the films that Michael Paré was included in last year called Alien: Rubicon produced by legendary B movie company The Asylum. Is this a film you should put up on your watch list this spring or is this sci fi action film not worth your precious time at all?

A series of alien spheres land on planet Earth destroying everything in their path with ease. It´s up to scientist Dr. Jeff Morrow ( Preston Geer ) and President McCoy ( Michael Paré ) to find a way to stop the alien invasion.

As most of you know by now i have been a fan of several films produced by The Asylum such as Planet Of The Sharks and Empire Of The Shark in the past, and then we have the titles that´s definetely not worth a watch such as the 2013 film Atilla ( i promise this is a terrible choice ). I can happily say that Alien: Rubicon is definetely not one of The Asylum films that doesn´t have any qualities. In fact there are a couple of things i especially appreciate about Alien: Rubicon and let us begin with the rubicon sphere itself destroying buildings and military veichles. I wouldn´s say the CGI effects look great but at least the spacecraft looks good enough for this type of sci fi action film. In a way this film reminded me several times of the 1996 sci fi action classic Independence Day in certain scenes. Obviously this is nowhere near as good as that classic but i still found myself enjoying the battles between the rubicon spheres placed in different cities worldwide fighting against human kind. The best part of this film is without a doubt Michael Paré in this film playing President McCoy and this is the most fun acting performance i have seen him do in several years. I really like to see him as the actual President of the United States and i feel he does a good job portraying this character, it´s almost as if i want Michael Paré to be President in real life ( please consider running a campaign Michael ). Actor Preston Geer is also in this film, some of you might recognize him from another The Asylum film called 4 Horsemen: Apocalypse. I would say his character Dr. Jeff Morrow is functional in this film and he does bring some charming moments. In general the flight action scenes looks ok, at least for a low budget film like this. On the negative side i have to say it´s too bad we didn´t get to see more of the actual aliens attacking, that happens towards the end when they storm out of a rubicon sphere. If they would have more battles between humans and aliens this film could have been even more fun to watch. In the end i do feel Alien: Rubicon is enjoyable enough if you are a fan of The Asylum films such as myself. If you just want a simple alien invasion film then this might be what you are looking for. Director Adrian Avila uses all the classic B movie tools you can imagine and it works, Alien: Rubicon shouldn´t have a problem finding it´s way to your watch list on VOD.

Rating: DDD

Homestead

Every now and then there are films that no one expected to blow up the box office charts and defeat big budget films. When Hollywood think they have a created a film that everyone wants to see, that is not always the case and there are plenty of titles to mention to prove that. A perfect example of this was the summer of 2023 when you might expect that Transformers: Rise Of The Beast would be the big ticket seller. That was not the case and instead a criminal thriller drama known as Sound Of Freedom would become the big surprise that none of the bigger film studios were prepared for. Sound Of Freedom only had a budget around 14 million U.S. dollars and ended up having over 250 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales. If you do the math of these numbers you will clearly see that this is an enormous profit for the film. I remember when i heard that this film had reached over 200 million U.S. dollars and that alone was incredible. But the fact that it managed to climb even higher i seriously don´t think many of us expected that to happen. I did see Sound Of Freedom when it landed on VOD here in Sweden and i did review this film. This film did bring up a very important subject and that is the fight against human trafficking that´s happening worldwide. I personally don´t know if this film is really based on true facts regarding the main character Tim Ballard ( played by actor Jim Caviezel ) but i feel this film is very important because it really brings up the importance of fighting against human trafficking. A well made thriller that the production company Angel Studio got a lot more attention worldwide for releasing this film, because of the controversial subject of human trafficking. A film you should see no matter if you buy a physical copy or rent it on VOD. Speaking of Angel Studios last year they released a film called Homestead, a film completely different from Sound Of Freedom that seemed to bring up the subject of what could happen if a country is attacked by a foreign country. Interesting topic considering the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine for example and people being worried over World War III. Is this a film worth watching or is Homestead not as good as i was hoping it would be?

A nuclear bomb detonates in Los Angeles, causing widespread chaos and societal collapse across the United States. Families flee their homes, seeking refuge from the devastation. Among them are Jeff Eriksson ( Bailey Chase ), a former Green, with his family. They are drawn to the Homestead, a fortfied compound owned by billionaire Ian Ross ( Neil McDonough ) and his wife Jenna Ross ( Dawn Olivieri ), rumored to be a safe haven. When the gates of Homestead gets flooded with families asking for help the pressure is on Ian to try and keep stability. If they give away too much food they won´t survive very long. But the food supplies is not only their problem, not knowing what will happen outside the gates is even more problematic.

If you have been wanting to see a very American patriotic film where you can both taste and feel the American soul all across your TV screen, then this is the film you have been looking for. Homestead is without a doubt a film made to be a tribute to the country of America as well as to true patriotic Americans who believe in carrying their guns, who are always prepared for war against everyone who hates America and in this case also have contacts of doomsday preppers ( where they saved a lot of supplies if the Apocalypse arrives,  possibly World War III ). Now, since i am not an American i will pretty much tell you what i think about the movie itself without getting too political ( even though this film does have several political messages ). Let´s talk about the positive parts of Homestead and i think it´s great this film tries to tell you the importance to be aware if something serious happens in this world and you know what to do. Where you should go to protect your own family and what supplies you might need. The importance of having your own food supplies. The people that gather at Homestead have different opinions about what´s more important, help people on the outside and i think this is a good approach, we all have different views on what really matters in real life. The image of being attacked by a foreign country is of course very possible and this film show the impact of that, especially in the beginning of this film. I also feel that this film also tries to show us how important it is to help each other in society, that everyone can do something no matter what you are able to do. Actor Neil McDonough ( who i especially enjoy in the TV series Legends Of Tomorrow ) is the actor who gives the strongest acting performance in this film. On the negative side i think the patriotic image becomes a little bit too much, doesn´t really make the film look more powerful. Like the armed patrol cars going all over the Homestead property becomes a little bit too cheesy. As a drama film i would say overall Homestead is a film that will be appreciated if you want a film that talks about the importance of humanity and supporting each other. Not as powerful as Angel Studio´s mega hit Sound Of Freedom but a descent choice if you just want a solid drama film.

Rating: DDD                                                           

The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep

You can not deny that Netflix have not produced both really good films or especially wonderful TV series. Every year we get to see a lot of different categories no matter if you prefer criminal TV mini series, documentary films or perhaps a horror film. The positive thing about a streaming service such as Netflix is that you can always find something to watch. One of the TV series i would definetely recommend is the criminal TV series Mindhunter, especially if you like TV series that brings up real well known criminals from the past. Mindhunter basically tell the story of FBI agents Holden Ford ( Jonathan Groff ) and Bill Tench ( Holt McCallany ), who works together along with psychologist Wendy Carr ( Anna Torv ), who operate the FBI´s Behavioral Science Unit within the Training Division at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Together they launch a research project to interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their psychology with the hope of applying this knowledge to solve ongoing cases. Mindhunter is not only very beautiful to look at with the cool 70´s look but i really feel that the chemistry between the main characters Holden and Bill works really good in this TV series. I also feel that Mindhunter is interesting for trying to give a different approach on the subject of understanding how a serial killer function. The fact that legendary director David Fincher is one of the executive producers is of course a very good sign that this is a quality TV series and you should definetely watch both seasons of Mindhunter. Speaking of Netflix TV series one very popular and beloved TV series for several years is the show known as The Witcher. Based on the book series of author Andrzej Sapkowski, this series tell the story of the monster hunter Geralt of Rivia ( played by actor Henry Cavill ). I have seen two seasons of this TV series and really enjoy it, of course Henry Cavill left this show after the third season. We have had an animated film released in 2021 called Nightmare Of The Wolf as well as a prequel miniseries called The Witcher: Blood Origin. So early this year Netflix released a new The Witcher animated film called Sirens Of The Deep and i decided to give this film a chance, even though i don´t watch animated movies very often. Is this worth checking out on Netflix or should you stick to the TV series instead?

Hired to probe seaside village attacks, mutant monster hunter Geralt of Rivia ( Doug Cockle ) unravels and age-old conflict between humans and sea people that threatens war between kingdoms. Aided by allies, he sets out to solve the mystery before hostilities escalate.

I think it would be fair to say that this is the kind of animated film that true fans of The Witcher tv series would enjoy, or perhaps fans of animated action film that has a similar style from MANGA classics. This film almost feels like it´s been inspired by animated classics such as Blood - The Last Vampire, even though they barely have nothing in common at all other than certain details from the animation and similar styles in action scenes. The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep does not hold back on the violence in this film and i personally feel that this is a very good idea. If you ask me i think an animated film about The Witcher should be very violent since the TV series did have some wonderful violent moments. The animation looks good for the most part and i especially enjoy some of the monsters in this film. Voice actor Doug Cockle ( who does the vioce for the character Geralt of Rivia in the video game The Witcher 3:- Wild Hunt ) does a great job capturing the right kind of personality of Geralt. Another animated character i appreciate in this film is the female character Yennefer of Vengerberg ( with voice actor Anya Chalotra who plays the same character in the TV series of The Witcher ) The battle scenes between monsters and Geralt are fun, well made and there are some scenes where i found myself surprised over a few unexpected surprises. The plot is pretty easy to follow and i think they did a good job capturing the spirit of the character Geralt in an animated version. Anything negative to say? I would probably say a few attempts of being funny in this film doesn´t really work. At least i didn´t find myself laughing but of course others might find these scenes funnier than me. In general i would say that The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep is good enough to recommend, especially for fans of the TV series and if you like this style of animation that this film uses. Looking for an animated action film for a lovely popcorn night? Then this might be a good pick if you appreciate lots of violence, just like i do.

Rating: DDD

Nosferatu

I have always loved standing on a high view at night, looking out over a city or over a small community underneath the night sky. Watching all the stars in the skies and hearing different sounds with no people around, it is without a doubt relaxing and makes you think about many different things. Some people fear the night not knowing if there is anything out there among the trees, if they walk along a path there might be an animal looking at them. When i visited my grandfather´s cabin on the West Coast of Sweden i could take a night walk along the small forest walking path towards the ocean. I never felt any fear but actually felt like the night helped me appreciate the darkness, respecting it as well. Most people fear of something no matter if it´s being afraid of the unknown or if you are afraid in general for the dark itself. What if there is something out there that might actually harm you if you enounter a truly evil personality? Whenever i think off the novel Dracula by author Bram Stoker i always feel that this book definetely capture that kind of description of what true evil might look like. This is in my opinion one of the best horror books i have ever read and still to this day remains as one of my favourite novels. Not only is this a very well written novel but i also feel this book explain the fascination we have for the darkness and the fear we might feel for such a evil personality as Dracula. Most of you have probably heard of this story before ( based of the Wallachian prince Vlad The Impaler ) and some of you might have seen the 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Sympathy Of Horror or perhaps the 1979 remake known as Nosferatu The Vampire. One of my personal recommendations on horror films based on the novel Dracula is the 1958 horror film Dracula from director Terence Fischer. This was the first film legendary actor Christopher Lee played the character known as Dracula and it is a true classic. The best film adaptation so far based on the novel of Dracula is without a doubt Francis Ford Coppola´s 1992 horror film Bram Stoker´s Dracula. This film have everything you could wish for, powerful acting performances, lovely costume designs, very well made practical make up effects and really effective horror scenes. The performance from Gary Oldman in this film is absolutely timeless, one of his greatest acting performances in his career. If you have not seen either Dracula from 1958 or Bram Stoker´s Dracula from 1992 you definetely need to see them. So here we are with a new film adaptation of Nosferatu and this version is directed by Robbert Eggers ( mostly known for his 2015 horror film The Witch ). I picked up a physical copy of this film to especially see the extended cut of Nosferatu since i love to see longer versions than the cinema release. Is this one of the horror films you need to see this spring or have they made a new version of Nosferatu that doesn´t really offer anything exciting at all?

The year is 1838, Ellen Hutter ( Lily-Rose Depp ) lives in Wisborg, Germany with her husband, Thomas Hutter ( Nicholas Hoult ), an estate agent. Thomas, eager to secure a lucrative deal, accepts an assignment to sell a crumbling castle in Wisborg to the enigmatic Count Orlok ( Bill Skarsgård ), unaware that this arrangement is a part of a sinister pact between Orlok and his employer, Herr Knock ( Simon McBurney ), Despite Ellen´s ominous warnings, including a confession of a pre-wedding dream in which her bridegroom was Death, Thomas departs to Orlok´s castle in the Carpathian Mountains, leaving Ellen in the care of his friend Friedrich Harding ( Aaron Taylor-Johnson ). This decision to travel will soon prove to be the biggest mistake Thomas have ever made in his life so far.

If you are familiar with other films from director Robbert Eggers you know he is a very talented film maker and he makes that very clear in Nosferatu as well. Not only is this a really beautiful dark film but this film also manage to capture the true feeling of Dracula that true fans of Bram Stoker´s novel is familiar with. Since i have seen several versions of this novel in different film adaptations i can say that Robbert Eggers version of this classic novel may be one of the better versions in modern years. This film looks so elegant with all the darkness floating around and the colors matches so well in this time period filled with misery and pain. There are other details i must mention that makes Nosferatu such a lovely film experience. Just look at the beautiful costume design this film have and how well it matches with the time period. I feel that the horror influences is very well crafted where you get a sense that true evil may be surrounding each corner, there is no real escape from the dark forces once you encounter it. The acting in this film deliver a lot of really solid performances, especially from actor Bill Skarsgård ( who most of you horror fans are familiar with through the IT films as Pennywise ) as Count Orlok. Now, i have to be honest he is anot as good as Gary Oldman is in Francis Ford Coppola´s film Bram Stoker´s Dracula, but this is still a very powerful performance and show that Bill can take on very challenging characters. Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter is another perfect example of really good casting choice where Nicholas proves hes become a better actor over the years ( especially since Jack The Giant Slayer ). Legndary actor Willem Dafoe is no big surprise that he nails his performance eactly how i would have imagined, delightful and charming as well. I must mention legendary actor Simon McBurney as well, i promise you will be pleased by his performance. Nosferatu may not carry a lot of new ingredients compared to other film adaptations but this is definetely a worthy remake of a true classic. Thanks to really effective horror influences and very professional film making, this latest version is full of details that matches the ground material so well and make this film a exquisite cinematic experience. I am impressed how well director Robbert Eggers managed to make this film look so good as it does. Not as good as Bram Stoker´s Dracula but still a lot better than most modern horror films i have seen in quite some time, Nosferatu should be picked up on a physical copy and be placed next to your Dracula collection. 

Rating: DDDD