Ash

There is something special about films that combine the genres known as horror and science fiction. We have seen some great examples of that in cinema when certain director´s combined these genres such as Ridley Scott´s 1979 sci fi horror film Alien, John Carpernter´s The Thing, Predator, Fire In The Sky ( a film not that many talk about unfortunately ), John Carpenter´s They Live and several more titles. I could easily talk about all of the titles that i mentioned for a number of reasons. Some of these films have some really good character development, they also have great looking practical make up effects as well as simple and effective story telling. Then we have the sci fi horror films that were huge box office bombs at the time they were running in cinemas worldwide but turned out to be worth a watch on physical media or VOD. A perfect example of this is the 2009 sci fi horror film Pandorum from director Christian Alvart. If you have seen James Cameron´s classic 1986 sci fi horror film Aliens then you will most likely see that this film have influences similar to Aliens. Since humans have overpopulated Earth and used most of the planet´s resources, humanity builds an interstellar ark, the Elysium. It carries 60.000 people on a 123-year trip to colonize Tanis, an Earth-like planet. The passengers are placed in hypersleep, and some of the crew are awake at certain moments to maintain the ship. Several years later, two members of the flight crew, Corporal Bower ( Ben Foster ) and Lieutenant Payton ( Dennis Quaid ), awaken. They are about to find out that they have a different lifeform on board the Elysium. What makes the film Pandorum enjoyable is the combination of a sci fi action film and the humanoid creatures attacking the crew. In a way it feels like a B movie but the budget is clearly bigger than most B movies. I personally believe Pandorum might be a cult film in the future and you should check it out, especially on physical media. Earlier this year i saw a sci fi horror film going around film festivals called Ash from director Flying Lotus, this seemed to have some kind of alien theme and this is definetely my kind of genre within the horror community. I decided to check this film out on Amazon Prime hoping it would surprise me. Is this the sci fi horror film you need this summer or should you choose the 2009 film Pandorum instead?

Riya ( Eiza González ) wakes up in a space research station on the planet known as Ash. There seems to have been a battle across the space station, where she finds dead bodies lying in different rooms as she seems to get flashback memories, not entirely sure if she is involved somehow. As she look around for clues to get a bigger picture what caused all of this, the truth will change the full image completely.

One thing you should know before watching Ash is that this is not a film where you have a lot of things happening. The film takes it´s time to try and explain a certain timeline that includes the main character Ryia ( played by actress Eiza González who i recognized from the TV series From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series ) because she have trouble remembering everything. In a way you could probably call this a slow burn film since it doesn´t rush into anything and tries to actually tell a story instead of just using CGI effects. What i appreciate about this is that you get a different depth in a sci fi horror film, it´s not all about facing a dangerous lifeform, this film also tries to go on a deeper level and focus on the story instead. If you would rather have a more violent driven sci fi film then this might not be for you. But hang on for a moment, there are some violent scenes in this film so you just got to be patient. Let´s get into some of the details i appreciate about Ash and i have to say i love the colorful look of the planet. It almost looks like a painting that moves the colors around the amtmosphere. I also appreciate the story part of the main character Ryia trying to remember what happened, who killed all the people she woke up discovering? Actress Eiza González does a good performance as Ryia and almost feels like a younger version of Ripley from Alien in certain scenes, where you feel the empowerment of strong women. Aaron Paul ( who is brilliant as the character Jesse Pinkman in classic TV series Breaking Bad ) gives a solid performance in this film as the character Brion. The Medbot robot who can fix your body from injuries and wounds is clearly the future of health care we need. The alien parasite looks pretty cool from a design perspective. Of course there is something i need to mention that is negative, there are a couple of scenes where we get a bit too much dialogue that didn´t feel necessary. Director Flying Lotus ( who directed the odd but wonderful 2017 film Kuso ) is from a technical standpoint a good film maker. Ash is clearly a love letter to those who grew up watching 80´s sci fi horror and in general this film manage to capture that magical VHS feeling of the past. Definetely worth a watch on Amazon Prime this summer.

Rating: DDD 

Revenge Of The Boogeyman

Independent movies are incredibly important in today´s society. Without independent films we would not have the same level of creativity and passionate film makers as we unfortunately don´t have within the big studios of Hollywood. This is why i support independent film makers to be able to create films on limited budget who actually care about their project. One independent film distribution company who is well known on the independent scene is known as Breaking Glass Pictures. Over many years i have tried to see several of their releases both on VOD and in some cases on DVD as well. There are several titles that i feel worth checking out released by Breaking Glass Pictures such as The Special, Halloween Party, Butchers and The Mad Hatter. These are just some good recommendations that are worth a watch but let´s talk about one specific film that Breaking Glass Pictures released during the pandemic on DVD. And that is the 2019 horror film Exit O from director E.B. Hughes. I actually bought this film during the pandemic since i ordered basically everything online during this time. This film tells the story of a young couple Billy ( Gabe Fazio ) and Lisa ( Augie Duke ) who are spending a weekend in an old hotel that Billy have stayed at in his childhood. This weekend will not only turn out completely different than Billy and Lisa expected, where especially Billy is in for a shocking truth. As a supernatural horror film with some surprising twists i feel that Exit O does a great job telling a solid story, and i do appreciate the acting performances in general. Worth checking out if you are a fan of independent horror. Last year i reviewed an anthology horror film called Beware The Boogeyman telling 4 different stories, in my opinion the best film that Breaking Glass Pictures have released so far. So here we have a sequel called Revenge Of The Boogeyman and i was of course excited to check it out. Is this just as good as the first film or does this film fail to reach the same level of quality the first film have?

Calvin ( Calvin Morie McCarthy ) is a struggling addict who decides to go on a cabin weekend with his friends Tim ( Tim Coyle ) and Jax ( Jax Callington ). What may have started as an ordinary weekend is about to turn into a nightmare.

One of the things i noticed right away with Revenge Of The Boogeyman is that this is not an anthology horror film like Beware The Boogeyman. I do appreciate that they tried a different approach with this sequel instead of just making a similar film as the firs one. However, there is a big problem with this sequel that damage the film in some ways and that is the comedy tone in certain scenes. They attempt to act funny and to be completely honest that doesn´t work at all. I do think horror and comedy can work well if you combine these genres in an effective such as the Evil Dead franchise. In this film though it just don´t match well with the story of the Boogeyman. There are three positive details at least and first i have to say i appreciate the look of the Boogeyman. He kind of looks like Carrot Top combined with the cave troll from The Lord Of The Rings after using extremely high doses of botox. I do think the acting from Calvie Morie McCarthyy ( who you might recognize from the independent horror film Exocism in Utero ) is pretty good considering this is a low budget horror film. The practical make up killing scenes have some gory moments. That´s pretty much it when it comes to the positive. The rest of the film is a mixed bag of so called funny scenes mixed with the Boogeyman killing at a few moments. This film could have been a worthy sequel if they skipped so many of the comedy scenes and focused on the story of the Boogeyman. And why is the Boogeyman so little in this film? Director Erik Skybak ( who also directed the independent horror film Exorcism in Utero ) tries too hard making a funny horror film that failed to entertain me as much as i was hoping for. Watch this one only if you enjoy the first film but i can´t recommend this one. Not completely terrible but could have been much better. Revenge Of The Boogeyman proves that sequels does not always succeed.

Rating: DD

G20

Over my 47 years i have seen several American presidents take office at the White House in Washington DC. The earliest memory i have of my first moment of seeing the American president was on Swedish TV back in 1981 and that was Ronald Reagan. He was elected President on November 4, 1980 but i was too young to remember that ( i was 3 years old at that time ). So why do i remember seeing President Reagan just a year later? My grandfather Ingvar watched a lot of news coverage regarding the assassination attempt of President Reagan in 1981 and he wanted to know the latest details. Obviously i was too young to understand at that time what have happened so when i was a litte bit older in 1986 ( i was 9 years old at this time ) i read about this assassination attempt in a history magazine at our local library. That´s when i had flashbacks from the TV news coverage of President Reagan in 1981 but i only remembered a few images. Since the 80´s a lot of things happened with different Presidents and who can forget the President Bill Clinton scandal in 1998 where he had sex with White House intern Monica Lewinsky? A classic American historical moment that sold a lot of gossip magazines and news papers worldwide. Did you know that Monica moved to London in 2005 and studied social psychology at the London School of Economincs? Since then she have done a lot of different things and of course will always be marked over this 1998 scandal. Speaking of Presidents in the year 1997 director Wolfgang Petersen ( director of the 1984 children movie classic The NeverEnding Story ) released his action film Air Force Down with legendary actor Harrison Ford as U.S. President James Marshall. This is definetely one of the best action films with a President kicking terrorist ass and Harrison Ford did a great performance. Legendary actor Gary Oldman as the Russian terrorist leader Egor also gives a wonderful acting performance. Air Force One is one of those 90´s action movies that came at a perfect time when action movies were very entertaining and you should definetely check it out on streaming or physical media. I woud also recommend the 2013 action film Olympus Has Fallen with Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart ( where Aaaron plays President Benjamin ). This spring a new action film was released on Amazon Prime where female President Danielle Sutton ( played by actress Viola Davis who i always remember from the 2009 vigilante action thriller Law Abiding Citizen ) kicks terrorist ass in the action film G20. I thought it would be interesting to see a female President showing her combat skills so i decided to give this film a chance. Is this the action film to watch this summer or is G20 as predictable as Smokie´s full discography ( where all the albums sounds the same ) ?.

President Sutton ( Viola Davis ) travel to South Africa with her husband Derek Sutton ( Anthony Anderson ) and their two children Serena Sutton ( Marsai Martin ) and Demetrius Sutton (Christopher Farrar ). Sutton have to attend the G20 summit meeting leaders from all over the world. But this G20 summit is suddenly stopped as a group of terrorists lead by their leader Rutledge ( Anthony Starr ). He have specific demands and want to capture President Sutton to be able to complete his mission. What Rutledge doesn´t know is that Sutton knows how to deal with terrorists, especially if she needs to use more violent tactics.

If you were hoping that G20 was going to be an action film that reminds us of action films such as Die Hard and Air Force Down then this is the film for you. It is not a classic such as the films i mentioned, but what G20 does that is a bit different is bringing out a female President who does not only hold speeches, she actually fight and handle different guns as well. Other than that there are no big surprises in this film. That does not mean this is a terribe film, i think i should be honest though and let you know this is a very basic action film. So let us get into the positive about G20 and i have to say it is a good idea to hold this terrorist attack at a political event for world leaders. If you want to make an impact and put fear into highly respected people then the G20 meeting in South Africa is definetely the right location. The characters of this film is a bit of a mixed bag, a couple of the characters function while others are pretty forgettable. I do think the strength of this film comes from the performance of actress Viola Davis as President Sutton. Not only is she rough and not afraid to face fear, she is also willing to protect innocent lives that crosses her path. Viola have no problem doing a physical action performance and you can tell she must have had fun making this film. I do appreciate actor Anthony Starr ( who you recognize from the very popular TV series The Boys ) as the main villain Rutledge. Some of the action scenes look alright and to see Viola Davis fight against big men is quite charming. To the negative i have to say the crypto money part of the story didn´t interest me at all. I would have prefered a different approach by these terrorists, because not all of us care about crypto money or crypto currency. I would still say that G20 is an action film that manage to entertain me for trying to go old school with physical fights and gun battles. Director Patricia Riggen ( who directed the interesting film The 33, based on the true story of a copper mine in Chile collapsing with workers stuck inside ) may not deliver an action film that may be remembered for bringing anything new, but she still manage to bring back old school action that VHS fans may appreciate. If you just want to be entertained with violence this summer, give G20 a chance on Amazon Prime.

Rating: DDD

Final Recovery

Addiction can destroy humans lives, no matter if you are addicted to drugs or alcohol. I have witnessed this myself when i lost a childhood friend of mine called Marcus who i went to school with for many years. He had a well paid job at Volvo Trucks, a nice apartment and a lovely girlfriend who i met several times. But just before Swedish Midsummer weekend in the year of 2010 i got a phone call from my mother. She was completely devastated telling me that Marcus was found dead in his apartment from a drug overdose. I remember i completely froze all of me, i could not believe a word she said. My childhood friend gone just 32 years old. I knew Marcus had tried drugs in his early 20´s but i didn´t know he got deeply addicted. You see he was good at hiding it in public, at least the moments we were seeing each other in our youth. But i still remember all the good times we had and i do miss him, he was my friend. Sometimes i wish i could have done something to help him from his problems but he never showed any signs of addiction. He must have learned how to hide the addiction like Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, 2 different personalities. Addiction is not always easy to see and some people learn how to try and hide it. There is a perfect example of this in the 2012 film called Flight with Denzel Washington playing air pilot and Captain William "Whip" Whitaker. He uses both cocaine and drinks alcohol in his private life. While he is supposed to fly a SouthJet Air flight, co-pilot Ken Evans ( Brian Geraghty ) takes over while Captain William discreetly mixes vodka in his orange juice and takes a nap. William wakes up as the airplane is crashing because a mechanical fault and he still manage to land the plane in a field. As he wake up in a hospital he finds out 96 passangers survived out of 102 aboard the plane. An investigation begins on the crash and they find out his alcohol level during the flight. This is a very well made film about addiction, but also the damage addiction can cause not only to yourself but also to people who care about you. A must see from legendary director Robert Zemeckis. Speeking of director´s who keep making quality films we have to talk about director Harley Wallen. I have seen so many of his quality films over the years such as Eternal Code, Ash And Bone, The Devil´s Left Hand, Beneath Us All and of course one of my personal favourite TV series known as Tale Of Tails. He have a new film out called Final Recovery that seems to be connected to the subject of addiction as well as rehabilitation for addicts. A very interesting plot indeed. Is this another quality film from Harley Wallen or did i have too high expectations for Final Recovery?

Drug addict Rodney ( Jasper Cole ) have a long history filled with bad decisions. He checks into the secluded Sage Treatment Center, hoping for a second chance. After a while he sees something isn´t right. Patients vanish without explanation and the facility´s matron Louise "Nanny Lou" Stamey does not want to answer any questions. Rodney begin to dig deeper into the truth what is really happening at this facility.

If you think that this film is only about the subject of addiction this film actually have a diffrent twist included into the plot. We do have people struggling with addiction which is a very important part of this film, but the surprising twist actually have to do with how the people working as this rehabilitation clinic if they really are helping the patients or perhaps damage them instead. This is the most interesting part of Final Recovery where you see that these addicts are not in a safe place, while this is supposed to be a place where they should be getting the right treatment. The medical treatments is clearly something that doesn´t look serious in this facility. There are several interesting characters in this film i feel that i should mention so let´s start with the addict known as Rodney ( played by actor Jasper Cole ). You can tell that Rodney have been a drug addict for many years, where his only hope is to get high and everything else doesn´t really matter. I feel that this is a strong acting performance from Jasper Cole who manage to portrait an addict with facial expressions, body language and sounds like an addict. The facial wounds also capture the rough life of an addict, where you can tell he´s gone through some really rough moments. Actress Cherish Lee as the wild and loud character Tonya is another great performance that captures the personality of an addict. Cherish especially capture that personality through her wild body movement. The most powerful acting performance comes from actress Charlene Tilton ( legendary actress from iconic TV series DALLAS ) playing the disturbing character Nanny Lou. This is clearly a woman who should not treat any patients and the performance definetely capture her evil personality. Actress Kaiti Wallen just keep getting better and better for each film i see her acting in, and i really appreciate her realistic performance as the character Cindy. Harley Wallen have a role as well and of course he deliver as officer Jacob Cramer ( Harley always look cool on the big screen ). Final Recovery is a cleverly put together medical thriller that tries to show the dark side of addiction but also the dark side of medical treatments as well, how easy it is to use humans who are already struggling with their lives. Who cares if some addicts dies, who would miss them? Harley Wallen proves once more that he is a talented film maker who knows how to tell realistic stories and captures the dark side of humanity. If you are going to see a good thriller this summer i can tell you right now Final Recovery is a great choice. Addiction is a subject that needs to be talked about and this film might help people to see different angles of addiction.

Rating: DDD

High Rollers

Even though i appreciate seeing brand new young actors on the big screen there is something special about iconic Hollywood actors. There are so many legendary actors we could mention and all of their classic films so let´s talk about some of them for a moment. Michael Douglas as an example who have not seen classics such as Romancing The Stone, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Black Rain, Falling Down ( one of my personal favouite films with Michael Douglas ), The American President, Wonder Boys and so many other titles. Let us focus for one moment on one of his films that i feel everyone should see at some point and that is the 1997 psychological thriller The Game from director David Fincher. I can not tell you how many times i have watched this film over and over again ever since i watched this film in cinema back in the 90´s, i have watched this film in different formats such as VHS, DVD and on blu ray. This film tells the story of investment banker Nicholas Van Orton ( Michael Douglas ). A very rich man but is living unhappy and lonely, no matter how pretty his house is and have a home maid. He is still struggling with the suicide of his father who killed himself on his 48th birthday jumping of the roof of the family mansion. So Nicholas is not looking forward to his own birthday. However, on his birthday his younger brother Conrad ( Sean Penn ) suprise him with a special gift, a voucher for a "game" offered by a company called Consumer Recreation Services ( CRS ). Doubtful at first he decides to visit the CRS office. This is a very clever twisted psychological thriller with really good acting performances that should be seen on physical media. Another big Hollywood star who have been in so many classics is of course John Travolta. Who have not seen him in classics such as Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, Blow Out, Pulp Fiction, Face/Off, The Thin Red Line and of course the 2009 remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123. Last year he was in a heist action film called Cash Out and i have seen this film. It wasn´t anything special in this genre and i almost forgot about it, until i noticed that a sequel to this film have been released. I didn´t review Cash Out last year but i decided to review the sequel High Rollers anyway since i have not reviewed many heist films. Is this a perfect movie to enjoy this summer or is High Rollers even more forgettable than the first film Cash Out?

While Mason Goodad ( John Travolta ) and his partner Amelia Decker ( Gina Gershon ) and their friends attend the beach wedding ceremony of Link ( Natali Yura ), a boat suddenly explode out in the ocean. 2 helicopters with armed soldiers drop them off to take Amelia as a hostage. The kidnappers demand that Mason and his team pull off a casino heist owned by Zane Black ( Demián Castro ). Mason have no other option than to accept this mission.

If you have seen the 2001 heist comedy Ocean´s Eleven from director Steven Soderbergh you know this is one of the best heist films ever made. The casting of this film is brilliant with actors such as George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Elliott Gould and many others. What made Ocean´s Eleven work so well as a heist comedy was the characters of the heist and the heist itself was told in a very effective way. The other films in the Oceans Eleven franchise are enjoyable but the first film is definetely the best. High Rollers tries a similar path as Ocean´s Eleven since this film is also taking place in Las Vegas, where the gang from the first film Cash Out is told to do a heist in a famous casino. This could be a fun idea for a film if you know to make an effective heist action film. Unfortunately i have to say this is quite a boring heist film to be honest. The action scenes ( when they finally happen ) are not very exciting. This is pretty much a very basic heist film you find in High Rollers with no surpises at all. It would be one thing if this film had some charming moments during the heist operation and we could enjoy ourselves that way. This film does not have that either for the most part. To the positive i will say i enjoy the heist gang at least in certain scenes played by actors John Travolta, Lukas Haas, Quava, Natali Yura, Noel Gugliemi and Swen Temmel. In a way it is nice to see them all return in another film, too bad they could not get a much more fun mission to do. John Travolta does a very standard performance with no surprises. Nice at least to see actress Gina Gershon ( especially good in the 1999 drama The Insider with Al Pacino ) in a role as former FBI agent Amelia Decker. At the end of the day this is a very predictable heist film that is actually worse than Cash Out. Not the worst film in John Travolta´s career ( that would easily be Battlefield Earth ) but still a very forgettable heist film. Director Randall Emmet is making a third film with the same gang, i hope it will be much better than this one.

Rating: DD

Silent Zone

In different cultures we show respect to the ones who have passed away. In Sweden for example we have a very traditional funeral since Christianity is our main religion. Did you know that the Malagasy people of Magadascar open the tomb of their loved ones every few years and rewrap them in fresh burial clothes? This may sound odd to some people but this is a way for the Malagasy people to both show respect to the dead plus speed up decomposition and push the spirit towards the afterlife. This ceremony includes dancing and music which is a part of this burial ceremony. I don´t know if i would want to watch someone i love have their coffin opened like this every year but i respect the burial tradition of the Malagasy people of course. I personally don´t fear death ( at least not at this moment ) because this is a part of life that no one can escape. But what if people suddenly woke up from the dead and how would we deal with that? This is something we have seen happened in a lot of horror films that brings up the subject of the undead, also known as zombies. I have seen so many zombie films over the years that i sometimes forget certain titles because there are so many similar releases. When it comes to zombie films you have a very big variety in this genre. You have the traditional zombie films that´s clearly inspired by legendary director George A. Romero and then you have zombie horror films that tries a different path such as the British horror film The Girl With All The Gifts. Let´s talk about another title instead that im sure not everyone have seen and that is the 2010 horror film known as The Dead. A well made British horror film from directors Howard J. Ford and Jon Ford. This film almost feels inspired by legendary director Lucio Fulci´s classic Zombie Flesh Eaters except this film takes place out on the wilderness of Africa. I like the practical make up effects, and i also enjoy the characters of this film. I suggest you pick up a DVD copy of The Dead if you want to watch a good zombie film during this summer. During spring time i heard that there was a German DVD and blu ray release of a zombie horror film calld Silent Zone. Since i am a big fan of this genre i was of course curious to check this film out just in case it would be something in my taste. Is this the best zombie pick of this summer or should they have skipped production of Silent Zone and made a completely different film?

In a zombie-ravaged world, a resourceful teen Abigail ( Luca Papp ) and her protector Cassius ( Matt Devere ) fight for survival, facing relentless dangers and testing the limits of hope and loyalty.

It would be very easy to say that Silent Zone looks very similar to a lot of low budget zombie films, and in some ways that is just the case. Even of there are films i could mention that reminded me of similar films there are some positive details about Silent Zone that makes this a solid film in this specific genre. For a zombie film that stretches almost 2 hours in playtime i have to say they have managed to make it work both when it comes to the plot, characters and of course zombie attack scenes as well. What especially makes Silent Zone stand out is the main two characters known as Cassius ( played by actor Matt Devere, who you might recognice in the 2018 film version of Robin Hood as the character Gerald the Crossman ) and Abigail ( played by actress Luca Papp who can be seen in MAX Tv series Dune: Prophecy as the character Acolyte ). Even if they are not father and daughter in this film they have a very close relationship on their journey through this fallen world. They argue like father and daughter, they deal with pain and sorrow together while at certain moments they manage to find smaller moments of joy. I think their screen chemistry matches the story and i would imagine especially fathers and daughters might recognize themselves. The plot itself of Silent Zone is very simple and not complicated at all. And that´s ok because you don´t need to make it complicated as long as the plot matches the characters. The zombie attack scenes are for the most part fast and effectfull, with plenty of shootings and violence. The zombie make up effects look ok i would say, nothing to complain about. One detail i noticed is that these zombies dies no matter where the bullet hit them. so they are far more easier to kill than the ones who only dies from head shots. We also get to know some other characters along the way who add some interesting scenes about survival. So to the negative i would have to say there isn´t anything special to be found here and no surprises. Perhaps they could have added a surprise twist into these 2 hours of playtime but instead they play cards a bit too safe. Still i feel that Silent Zone have enough qualities for fans of this specific genre who willl most likely appreciate this film. Director Peter Deak have made a full feature directorial debut film that looks good, included a good amount of effective action scenes and knows how to make zombie attacks scenes look good on the big screen. If you are a fan of this genre i see no reason not to pick up a physical copy of Silent Zone. This is a B movie old school throwback that reminds us of good times at the local VHS store.

Rating: DDD

Everyone Is Going To Die

Home is where the heart is they say. A home you feel comfortable in is very important, where you get to show your personality and what kind of design you like to have. No matter what kinds of chairs, tables, even paintings, make your home feel like this is a part of you. I personally am a simple man when it comes to my home. My favourite room is my guest room where i have my DVD shelves where you can go through my movie collection. If you love classic films from legendary director´s such as Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Mann, Quentin Tarantino, Joel and Ethan Cohen and many more, i basically have all of their films on DVD ( and some blu rays as well ). The thing i love having a guest room this way is that if i have any guest over for a visit they can choose if they want to watch any of my movies at night from my collection since i have a TV set attached to the wall. I have some ideas making it into a movie room one day, i just have to figure out something good that matches the size of the room. I do feel comfortable in my apartment but what if your home was suddenly invaded one day by a stranger, someone you have never met before? What would you do? Would you try to force the stranger out of your home or would you call the police? This is a good setup for several films in this subject, there are plenty of good home invasion thrillers and horror films to choose between so let´s mention one that´s worth a watch. The 2008 psychological horror film The Strangers tells the story of James Hoyt ( Scott Speedman ) and Kristen McKay ( Liv Tyler ) are staying at James childhood home after attending a wedding. While they attempt to have sex there is someone knocking at the door. A young woman is standing there, asking if Tamara is home. None of them know any Tamara so the woman leaves. While James goes out to buy cigarettes the woman return to ask for Tamara, but what Kristen doesn´t know is that a masked person is already inside the house. The Strangers is an effective psychological horror film with great acting performances and is well made on a technical level. Worth a watch on streaming. During spring i heard about a British home invasion thriller known as Everyone Is Going To Die that looked interesting. Since i a am a big fan of British cinema in general i thought i should give this film a chance. Is this a solid home invasion thriller that you should see or would it be better to skip this one and watch The Strangers instead?

Wealthy entrepreneur Daniel ( Brad Moore ) lives inside a beautiful house and seems to have it all. Except a good relationship with his daughter Imogen ( Gledisa Arthur ) who´s coming over to celebrate her birthday at his house. Daniel is hoping to patch things up with his daughter during this celebration. Suddenly Imogen notice someone with a mask standing on his property, until they find out it´s actually two women who are forcing themselves into Daniel´s home. They are here to celebrate Imogen´s birthday and there are certain rules that needs to be followed.

When this film starts it looks like a pretty basic home invasion thriller at a very nice house with a rich father living there from his successfull career. But then after a while this film takes a completely different turn than i expected with some surprising twists. And this is where you find the strength of this psychological thriller that it actually have some surprises along the way. There is another detail i found myself appreciating but i will get into that later. When it comes to home invsion films there are several of titles that don´t have strong characters. This film actually manage to deliver two fascinating characters and they are Comedy ( played by actress Jaime Winestone who i recognized from the powerful British drama film Farming ) and Chiara D´Anna ( who is brilliant in the 2014 drama The Duke of Burgundy ) and the character Tragedy. These are the home invasion characters that causes chaos inside this home and honestly they match well with the plot. These are the kind of characters you want in a film such as this to make the plot more interesting. I feel that both actors Jaime Winestone and Chiara D´Anna developed their characters to be fascinating, where especially one of them is really mentally unstable. There is some violence in this film but i wouldn´t say it´s too much, i would rather say that the violence scenes works well for a good reason. To the detail i also appreciate about this film is that the dialogue is simple but effective. I could possibly find smaller details that could have been done more effective but in general this is a good home invasion thriller that actually works. Director Craig Tuohy deliver a thriller that looks good, have good acting performances and create a solid story for this genre that´s usually hard to do something different with. Everyone Is Going To Die should be appreciated this summer for those who enjoy British quality films so of course i recommend this one.

Rating: DDD

Captain America: Brave New World

When you think of certain actors for their most famous roles or movies it is very easy to pick what films comes to your mind. For example, when you think about legendary actor Al Pacino you might think of The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Heat or Donnie Brasco. And i can completely understand why you would think of his most classic films. But how often do you hear about his other films such as Serpico, ....And Justice For All, Cruising or even the 1999 drama film The Insider? He have done a lot of really good films that doesn´t get mentioned these days which is such a shame. The Insider for example is a film that was critically acclaimed back in 1999 and even if the film was a box office failure i feel it deserves more respect for telling a very important story. If you can´t find The Insider on streaming get a physical DVD copy, you can find this film very cheap. Let´s bring up another actor who a lot of you are familiar with known as Anthony Mackie who most movie fans have seen in 8 Mile, Million Dollar Baby, Eagle Eye, The Hurt Locker and playing the comic book character Falcon in the Avengers. But how many of you remember his performance in the 2012 action horror film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? This is a film i really enjoyed and it managed to balance over the top action scenes combined with horror that almost felt like a tribute to B movies. Ok so some CGI scenes are a little bit over the top in this film, but i still feel Abaham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter hits the right spots. In this film Anthony Mackie played a character called Will Johnson, a very close friend to Abraham Lincoln ( played by actor Benjamin Walker ). Definetely worth checking out on physical media. Last year Anthony Mackie was seen in the post-apocalyptic action thriller Elevation and i actually enjoyed it. Not a favourite in this genre but i think if you enjoy films that brings on the subject of the apocalypse you might enjoy this one. This film have an interesting plot and i do like the creature design. So here we are back into the world of Marvel and we get another action release especially focused om the character known as Captain America. Anthony Mackie takes over the role as Captain America after actor Chris Evans decided to stop playing this character in a lot of previous Marvel films ( i enjoy them all, especially Civil War in this franchise ) . I decided to get myself a blu ray and give this film a chance. Is this another Marvel treatment for fans of comic boook movies or is Captain America: Brave New World a big disappointment that should have been a lot better?

Five months after Thaddeus Ross ( Harrison Ford ) is elected president of the United States, he sends Sam Wilson ( Anthony Mackie ) and Joaquin Torres ( Danny Ramirez )--the new Captain America and Falcon, respectively--to Oaxaca, Mexico, to stop the illegal sale of classified items stolen by Sidewinder ( Giancarlo Esposito ) and his mercenary group Serpent. Wilson and Torres recover the items, but Sidewinder escapes. Wilson and Torres meet up with Isaiah Bradley to train ( Carl Lumbly ), a super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented by the U.S. government. President Ross invites Wilson and Torress to a summit with world leaders at the White House, and Wilson accept on the condition that Bradley is also invited. During the summit, Ross ask Wilson to help him reform the Avengers. During the summit, Ross explains that a new metal, adamantium, has been discovered on "Celestial Island", which was formed when the Celestial Tiamut emerged in the Indian Ocean. To aviod an arms race, Ross proposes a treaty to govern adamantium´s mining and distribution. As he is talking, the song "Mr Blue", plays and causes several men, including Bradley, to begin shooting at Ross and other dignitaries. Ross is not injured but Sam is suspicious of who caused this incident. Who wants to hurt Ross that badly and for what reason?

This film have had some bad reviews since the world premiere back in February, not by all movie critics of course there have been a couple of exceptions. One of the big issues some movie critics have with this film is the political messages. If you don´t like political issues or politics in general i can fully understand why this would be seen as something negtive. However, i have no problems with the political messages in this film personally. In fact i am poltically interested in my personal life so this actually helps this film creating some interesting angles in this subject. I am on the positive side for Captain America: Brand New World and i will get into some of the details i appreciate about this film. Actor Anthony Mackie as Captain America works great and even if he is very serious in his role i do like his approach in this comic book character. I have always enjoyed the diversity of Anthony Mackie´s acting ability and he does fit in well into the Marvel universe. Legendary actor Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross give this film some old school acting vibes. I would say i enjoyed his performance as President James Marshall even more in the 1997 action classic Air Force One, but considering his age i think Harrison Ford still got that magical screen presence in this latest Captain America film. Breaking Bad and of course Better Call Saul actor Giancarlo Esposito as the character Seth Voelker is definetely one of the more interesting characters i feel should have had more screen time. I do enjoy the scenes we do get to see him in, especially in the action scenes. Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns may divide Marvel fans considering his look, i think it´s ok but could have been made more effective. The CGI action scenes look good in general and deliver some enjoyable moments. Red Hulk is of course a highlight that reminds us of nostalgia memories of The Hulk. To the negative side i would say there are some side characters i just don´t care about. They are there to make the film longer basically and not much more. Captain America: Brand New World is definetely not one of the better Marvel films but is entertaining enough if you want hard hitting comic book action similar to The Avengers. Director Julius Onah ( director of the Netflix film The Cloverfield Paradox ) deliver a superhero film that may not give the audience anything new but this is definetely a worthy poporn moment. Worth a watch on Disney + or VOD unless you prefer physical media.

Rating: DDD