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

Queen Of The Ring

I can still remember one of the greatest TV moments in history of my childhood and that was back in the year of 1990 on April 1st. This was when one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time took place at WrestleMania VI between Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior where Hulk Hogan lost his title and that made Ultimate Warrior the new WWF Champion. I was only 12 years old at this time and that time period in wrestling was very unique. Not only this fight of course but you had so many great wrestlers back in 1990 such as André The Giant, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, The Bushwackers, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Earthquake, "Macho King" Randy Savage, The Undertaker. WWE Wrestling used to be my Saturday watch and i would imagine myself running in the ring making wrestling strikes. In my adult life i have not really followed wrestling that much and know all the latest big names. I pretty much stopped watching wrestling around the year of 2003 when i watched wrestlers like Chris Jericho, John Cena, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and many others deliver great matches. The one thing i do appreciate is that a lot of wrestlers started their own movie careers such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, John Cena and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Obviously Dwayne Johnson is the biggest movie star coming out of the wrestling community but i enjoy seeing others trying to hit the big screen. Speaking of movies and wrestling just 2 years ago in 2023 we had a really good drama film called The Iron Claw released in cinemas, based on the true story of the American wrestling family known as The Von Erichs. It´s a very tragic story knowing how much this family went through and the film does a really good job capturing the curse of this family. The acting in general is really good but the strongest acting performance comes from Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich. If you love powerful drama movies you need to see The Iron Claw from director Sean Durk. It´s not very often you hear about female wrestlers unfortunately so when i saw a film have been released about the female Amercian wrestler Mildred Burke. I did not know about her story so i was very curious to see if this film would do a good job telling her own incredible story. Is this a film everyone should see this summer or is Queen Of The Ring a film that doesn´t really manage to make this story interesting at all?

Mildred Burke ( Emily Bett Rickards ) is a hard working single mother working at a diner. She visits a wrestling match one day and feel a big passion for the sport. At one moment she meets wrestler Billy Wolfe ( Josh Lucas ) and ask him to train her. At first he doesn´t take her seriously but decides to give her a chance. This is where the journey for Mildred Burke begin where she becomes one of the first women to win the world champion title in wrestling for women, while raising her son as a single mother.

I think it is very important that we have stories that are being told how women all over the world had to fight to get their respect. Just because you are a woman shouldn´t mean you are treated differently than a man, she deserve to be treated respectfully. And this is one of the reasons why this film Queen Of The Ring is an important film how women such as wrestler Mildred Burke made a big change in the world of wrestling. There is a charming approach in this film how it all started and why Mildred felt so much passion for learning wrestling. Speaking of wrestling we do get to see quite a lot of wrestling scenes and they do look good from a technical perspective. I also feel that we get to know the personality of Mildred and what her values are as a single mother ( this was seen as normal back in the 1950´s, you were supposed to have a traditional family ). Lead actress Emily Bett Rickards ( who i enjoyed in the DC superhero TV series Arrow ) does a great performance as Mildred Burke and i think she balance this character in a realistic way. I also feel that her wrestling performance ( yes she actually does wrestling in the actual film ) looks good in the ring. We have other great performances from actor Josh Lucas as Mildred´s manager and husband Billy ( who can forget him from the brilliant Russel Crowe film A Beautiful Mind ) and of course The Wire actor Waltor Goggins as the wrestling manager G. Bill. Not only is this a solid film in general but i do feel Queen Of The Ring manage to show what an impact Mildred and other female wrestlers made in the 1950´s. On the negative side i would say knowing this film is supposed to take place during the 1950´s i wonder why modern music is playing towards the end. They did a good job on costume design as well as locations taking place during this time period, so getting the music right shouldn´t be very difficult. Overall this is a well made biographical film and this film leaves an important message especially towards women. No matter what passion you have in life do not let any man tell you not to follow your dreams. Director Ash Avildsen ( who directed the controversial 2017 film American Satan ) is clearly inspired by the story of Mildred Burke making this film and you can feel that in the atmosphere of the wrestling ring. Worth a watch if you want a different story in the world of sports.

Rating: DDD

In The Lost Lands

There are certain director´s who don´t care about movie critics and if they are disliked for not doing Oscar winning films. These director´s make movies with stories that they love to do and create them out of passion for movies. A perfect example of a director that have always been passionate about making movies of genres that he loves is the well known director Paul W.S. Anderson. I can still remember the very first time i watched his first full feature debut film Mortal Kombat ( based on the extremely popular video game franchise ) back in 1995 in cinema with my school friends. It was a cinema experience i really enjoyed and my school friends enjoyed it as well. Mortal Kombat the live adaptation had so much to be pleased about. Lots of martial art fighting, cool action scenes and most of all characters that matched well with the story. It is still today one of the better movies based on a video game and have been a best seller on VHS, DVD and blu ray as well. Paul continued making other great films such as the sci fi horror classic Event Horizon, sci fi action film Soldier with Kurt Russel and of course all his films based on the extremely popular video game franchise known as Resident Evil. I actually enjoy the Resident Evil films and even if i think the final film Resident Evil - The Final Chapter was the least good one ( it was edited far too much that it became hard to see certain action scenes ) i still feel director Paul W.S. Anderson did a good job on this franchise. Of course it is well known that his wife actress Milla Jovovich played the game character Alice in all of the Resident Evil films and i think she did a great physical performance. Speaking of Milla and Paul i am one of those who openly admit i am a fan of the 2020 sci fi action film Monster Hunter ( also based on a video game ). I think this film is far better than some movie critics said back in 2020 and i had a great time in the company of Monster Hunter. During the pandemic i heard that Paul and his wife Milla was working on a project called In The Lost Lands. At that time i didn´t know much more about it until i saw a picture from the set of the film. It did look like an apocalyptic story and this is definetely something in my taste ( i have seen a lot of films taking on different stories regarding the apocalypse ). This film was delayed for several reasons but i was finally able to check this film out on blu ray. Is this another entertaining release from husband Paul and wife Milla or is In The Lost Lands their worst collaboration so far in one of their movie projects?

In the apocayptic world of Lost Lands, the Church ruled by Overlord is trying to execute the witch known as Gray Alys ( Milla Jovovich ) by hanging her. She manage to use her powers to make a man release her as she is able to escape. While Gray Alys is back in her home she is visited by The Queen Melange ( Amara Okereke). The Queen needs a werewolf to be killed by Gray Alys so The Queen can steal the powers of the beast. Gray begin her journey to find a hunter to help her named Boyce ( Dave Bautista ) to face the werewolf in the Lost Lands location known as Skull River.

Imagine for a moment if you mixed the apocalyptic films of Priest, The Book Of Eli and throw in some western influences in there are you pretty much have the look of In The Lost Lands. This is a film that clearly have inspiration from a lot of different styles, and since i have not read the short story In The Lost Lands ( written by author George R.R. Martin ) that´s found in the anthology book Amazonas II, i don´t know if this film capture the look or feeling of the short story. So i will only give you my opinion of the film itself not knowing much about the source material. The film itself may not be original in any way and i have seen several films in the past that use certain similar details as this film, but one of the things i think this film does right is use the Christian church in a completely different way. In this version of the Christian church they send out deadly hunters to kill sinners, especially witches of course since they have never been approved by church. I like the idea of followers of Jesus arming themselves with guns and other weapons in a more modern version of Christian crusaders. The church palace itself looks pretty cool and different from a traditional church. The apocalyptic world of Lost Lands have some cool looking locations. Even though i will say some places do have bad CGI effects i do like the idea behind the locations and how depressing it looks, as if there is no hope there and just misery. The chemistry between actors Milla Jovocich as the witch Gray Alys and Dave Bautista as huntsman Boyce may not be perfect acting wise, they both have some issues delivering dialogue but i will say this. I do enjoy seeing them travelling together in the Lost Lands fighting against humans and beasts. Their journey together reminded me of western films in the 1960´s and 1970´s except here it is in a completely different world. I also enjoy seeing actress Arly Jover ( who played the character Mercury in the original Blade film ) as the Christian huntress Ash. On the negative side i will definetely say some CGI scenes look bad. I can accept bad CGI as long as the film is entertaining but in certain scenes it feels like they didn´t made an effort to make the scenes look good. There are some terrible acting as well from certain characters that you will soon forget about. In general i would say In The Lost Lands is worth checking out if you enjoyed the apocalyptic films of Priest and The Book Of Eli. This film have issues but i can accept that, i just happen to enjoy apocalyptic action films and i do feel this is something worth watching this summer on physical media. Not one of director Paul W.S. Anderson´s better films but enjoyable enough to recommend buying a physical copy. In The Lost Lands is a film that´s made for B movie lovers and im definetely a part of that audience.

Rating: DDD

A Tribute Movie Review Of Tony Todd: Immortal

In a world filled with anger and sadness, no matter if someone lost a job, lost a family member, perhaps you have an illness that´s very difficult to deal with, no matter why you feel this way know that there are people out there who actually care about you. When some people may seem cold there are still good people out there who will take their time to hear your voice, help you any way they can. At some point some of these good souls have to leave our world to begin their next chapter. One of the people i have in mind who unfortunately passed away in November last year is the actor known as Tony Todd. I never met him unfortunately but i have been told he was one of the most kindest, good hearted men who walked on this Earth. That he was very supportive and cared about many people in his life. When i have heard so many positive words regarding him for who he really was, i wish we would have more people like him in society. My first encounter with the name Tony Todd happened back in 1993 at the VHS rental store Videomix. The brand new horror film Candyman just came out and of course i had to rent this film. My friend Pierre who worked at the Videomix rental store said it was his favourite horror film of the year. I was about to find out why he enjoyed this film so much and i personally felt that actor Tony Todd delivered a very strong performance as Candyman. The first film is still today seen as one of the true classics in horror society all over the world and there were 2 sequels made as well. I would recommend you to check them out as well, especially because of the character Candyman who is unique. Tony proved his powerful acting skills once more in the cult classic The Crow in 1994 and of course in the Final Destination franchise as well. Since i have seen several films with Tony Todd over the years i try to check some of the films out where he is included, films that may not have been in cinemas worldwide and relased on other platforms. One of Tony Todd´s closest personal friends reached out to me and asked if i could review one of his films called Immortal and of course i said that i would be honored to do so. Is the film Immortal one of the films from legendary actor Tony Todd that more people should watch?

4 different stories told by four different director´s where each story have a connection with each other, especially on a subject that may be sensitive for some.

Before i watched Immortal i didn´t read about this film at all to know as little as possible. I personally love to know as little as possible for certain films and i felt that Immortal would be perfect to visit. This is an anthology film with 4 different stories and each story have something important to say, especially the subject of immortality. What if you suddenly found out that you can not die? How would you react? How would you deal with this if you discovered you can not die as an ordinary human being? There are several questions i think most of us would think about regarding if we found ourselves in this situation. But there are some other details as well in each story that´s connected to immortality. For example in the third story ( and my personal favourite of the 4 stories we are presented with ) called Ted and Mary and this is where legendary actor Tony Todd really give a heart breaking performance as the husband Ted taking care of his cancer sick wife Mary ( played powerful by actress Robin Bartlett. One of the reasons why this segment touched me personally is because i lost my grandfather in cancer and i feel this segment really captured how heavy it can be emotionally seeing your partner ( or family member ) dying. I have to be honest and say that this might be one of the best acting performances i have seen Tony Todd do in his career. It feels honest, realistic and i am pretty sure a lot of people can feel a connection to his character if you have someone you love struggling with cancer. The first segment Chelsea surprised me with an unexpected twist between the main character Chelsea ( played by actress Linday Mushett ) and cult film Trick r´ Treat actor Dylan Baker as her teacher Mr Shagis. I do appreciate the acting between both of these characters and how the plot of this segment is constructed. This is an anthology thriller that will make you think about life in general, and this film may also make you think about the things that really matters in life instead of material things or money. Directors Tom Colley, Jon Dabach, Danny Isaacs and Rob Margolies have all directed interesting stories that all look great as well from a technical perspective. Immortal is a film you should see if you want to experience a film that´s well told and have some very important things to say.

Rating: DDD

Revelations

I have been a huge fan of foreign films since the early 90´s and i can still remember the very first time i watched the Indian drama film Salaam Bombay! on VHS in 1990. This film really emotionally touched me of the story of the homeless child Krishna ( played brilliant by child actor Shafiq Syed ) who tries to survive in the city of Bombay among criminals and drug addicts. There are several very powerful scenes in this film and i feel this is one of those classics you should see. Then we have other classics from countries such as South Korea and they have made plenty of quality films for many years. One of the titles from South Korea i feel doesn´t get mentioned often anymore is the 2000 South Korea mystery thriller known as Joint Security Area directed Park Chan-wook a true legend who directed classics such as Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. All three films are included in the so called Vengeance trilogy from director Park Chan-wook. Joint Security Area was actually released before this trilogy and this was my introduction to this beloved director. The first time i watched this film was on a Swedish DVD release from the distribution company Atlantic Film, which is a 2 DVD disc release. Joint Security Are tells the story of an investigation regarding a shooting incident involving two North Korea soldiers in the Korean Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ ) in the Joint Security Area at a North Korea border house. A very well made film with powerful acting performances and i have to say a very interesting plot. Definetely worth a watch on physical media and Arrow Video released a great blu ray release of this film filled with special features. Let´s stay with films from South Korea and how many of you watched the very effective zombie horror film Train To Busan back in 2016? The director of this wonderful film Yeon Sang-ho released his latest film Revelations on Netflix this spring so of course i had to check this out ( considering how much i enjoy Train To Busan ). Is this anotherr high quality film from director Yeon Sang-ho or is this not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Pastor Sung Min-can ( Ryu Jun-yeol ) leads a small congration and tries to welcome everyone from society without judging anyone. One day he is visitd by an unknown man he have never seen before known as Kwon Yang-rae ( Shin Min-jae ). He welcome him for a cup of coffee and offer to write him in as a new member of the church. Pastor Sung get a phone call and leave for a short while. As he return back to the room Kwon Yang-rae is about to leave. Pastor Sun notice that he have a foot shackle, not knowing what crime he have comitted. When Pastor Sun get a phone call from his wife that their daughter is missing he immediately think of the new visitor. Does he know anything about his daughter?

You may have noticed over the years that it´s not often i watch many Swedish films because they are mostly not good, or they don´t have powerful acting performances. I feel that a lot of Swedish directors should learn how to construct a high quality film by watching this Netflix film Revelations. There are several details i appreciate with this film and let´s begin talking about some of the details that makes this a strong film experience. I have to say the characters in this film are very strong, especially the character known as Pastor Sung Min-chan ( played really good by actor Ryu Jun-yeol ). What i find so interesting about this character is that he have so many things to deal with. His wife is cheating with him plus his daughter is vanished. She is eventually found but an accident happens within this timeline that will change the life of Pastor Sung Min-chan forever. Ryu Jun-yeol plays this character very emotional who is clearly struggling inside himself, while he tries to keep the positive Christian Pastor image alive for his congregation members. Knowing that he have comitted sin and he should tell the truth, instead he tries to hide the truth while there is another young girl missing. We also have the story of Detective Lee Yeon-hee ( great performance from actress Shin Huyn-been ) who is consumed by guilt ever since her sister killed herslef after she was kidnapped by a sadistic sex offender. Revelations have different stories to tell that connect along the way, there is a reason to why these stories are connected especially in biblical terms. I wouldn´t say that this film does anyhing original but what it manage to do is show us how vulnerable we can be in life, when we are forced to face consequences that may change our lives completely. Director Yeon Sang-ho clearly felt inspired by classic thrillers while making Revelations and he manage to craft this film with his own personal touch. It looks great, deliver strong diaogue and the psychological perspective from different angles of humans dealing with personal crisis hits the right spot. Not the best film from director Yeon Sang-ho but definetely one of the better thrillers i have seen this year. Revelations say a lot about human guilt and you should definetely watch it on Netflix.

Rating: DDDD

The Bayou

As much as i love being in nature and explore different areas, i am aware that there is a possibility i could face a bear where i live in the north of Sweden. There have been several bears witnessed in different parts of forest areas here and some bears have even stepped into house areas. For example a male friend of mine who owns a house outside of the city he had a bear walking close to his parking lot. He had this recorded through his security system so you can imagine how shocked he was seeing a bear walk close to his garage. This only happened one time for him specifically but he have heard other house owners who have seen a bear get close to their home. As long as you stay inside your home you are safe, the bear will not attack you if he / she doesn´t feel threatened. I would imagine the bear was looking for food, because my male friend noticed that some apples were gone from the ground when he got back home. He didn´t mind the bear ate the apples i think he was more concerned if the bear would return since he have 2 children to think about. Event though i love animals and love to see bears from a distance i am very careful. One time i actually sat and watched a bear family from a mountain, as i witnessed a bear family walking together. I did keep a far distance because i know i should not get too close. When it comes to lakes or the ocean i have not witnessed more than fishes of different kinds. I have been thinking about visiting the Alligator Bayou in Louisiana, USA, simply because it would be fascinating to see alligators for real. Alligators have been included in a lot of different movie adaptations over many years and there are some classics that you should see. Perhaps one of the most well known classics when it comes to alligator horror films has to be the 1980 horror film Alligator from director Lewis Teague ( director of the classic Stephen King film adaptation Cujo from 1983 ). Gruesome murders are happening around the city´s sewer system where different body parts are found, Detective David Madison ( played by legendary actor Robert Forster seen in the classic Gregory Peck western film The Stalking Moon, worth a watch ) is on this case where he tries to find out who is behind all these horrible murders. Alligator is a classic creature feature horror film worth a watch and i highly recommend the UK blu ray release of this film from distribution company 101 Films, it has some really nice special features included. Speaking of alligators i have been curious to see a animal horror film simply called The Bayou that i saw a trailer for earlier this year. It looked like something similar to the 1980 horror film Alligator but takes place in the swamp instead. I picked up a physical DVD copy of The Bayou to see if this would be something in my taste. Is this one of the horror films you need to see this summer or is The Bayou a film so dull that you would be more excited watching British Chess Campionship?

Houston university student Kyle ( Athena Strates ), is on vacation with a group of friends. While they are flying in a smaller plane with some other  passengers as well the plane crashes into a swamp. Out in the middle of nowhere with no radio, they don´t know what´s waiting out there for them

Imagine if you mixed the 2023 action film Plane with Gerard Butler, spiced it up with a different version of the 1980 classic film Alligator and add influences from the film Cocaine Bear. There you pretty much have The Bayou and what audience this was made for. This is one of those horror films that clearly feel inspired animal horror films in the past and i have to say this is actually better than i expected. Don´t get me wrong, this is not going to be a future classic that everyone will talk about The Bayou. I do believe though that this could be a film that might find it´s audience if you happen to love this genre in the same category as Alligator. There are a few smaller details i feel could have been better but let´s get into the positive. I do think the alligator attack scenes work pretty good in this film and this is quite a brutal film at certain moments. The alligators design looks quite realistic except for the fact that these alligators have become stronger thanks to drugs. The story is very simple but works for this particular formula. One detail i actually think this film manage to do that a lot of horror films fails with is to have a big cast and manage to pull this off. I feel that the casting of this film is well done and in general the acting performances are alright. I especially enjoy actress Athena Strates as her character Kyle who have a lot of knowledge on alligators, so clearly she is the perfect person to have around if you are stuck in a swamp. I also enjoy actor Adonis Anthony ( who i remember from the 2015 war movie Soldiers Of The Damned ) as the character Frank who tries to find solutions of suvival in the swamp. So to the negative and i find the character known as Rufus ( played by actor David Newman ) to be annoying. His negative attitude and his phone scenes doesn´t really add anything to the story. The Bayou ends up being a positive surprise for me and this really feels like a love letter to B horror movie fans. Directors Taneli Mustonen and Brad Watson must have been inspired by the 1980 film Alligator while they made The Bayou, and i really appreciate their effort to bring back animal horror films to a classic formula that VHS fans will recognize. Definetely worth a watch, The Bayou is my kind of cup of tea.

Rating: DDD

Heart Eyes

The 80´s were full of slasher horror films and had a lot of classics released in this specific genre. You have the Friday The 13th franchise of course ( who released 8 films in this franchise up until 1989 ) and then you have the Halloween sequels of course. But then you have completely different horror slasher films in the 80´s that didn´t have franchises but were good anyway, For example some of you might have seen the 1981 slasher horror film The Burning from director Tony Maylam ( who also directed the Rutger Hauer sci fi horror classic Split Second, worth buying on physical media ). The Burning is a great example of 80´s slasher horror classics. You could say that this film is similar to Friday The 13th but im ok with that, this is just a fun horror film with practical make up effects and cheesy dialogue. Interesting fact, did you know that in the film The Burning you find actor Jason Alexander ( mostly known from classic comedy TV series Seinfeld as his character George Costanza ) playing the character of Dave. If you love 80´s slasher horror then you should check out The Burning on DVD or blu ray, no matter what format you prefer watching movies in. Another 80´s sasher horror classic i have to mention is the 1981 horror film My Bloody Valentine from director George Mihalka ( who actually directed 2 episodes of the classic thrilller TV series The Hitchiker ). I remember i saw this film for the very first timee on rental VHS back in 1991. This is a very simple slasher horror film where a masked miner killer is murdering the people of a small town where the miner mask is what this film is known for. I will say that for a slasher horror film that especially uses a Valentine´s Day theme i think My Bloody Valentine is a good choice if you want something to watch in this specific genre where it is considered to be cult classic. Also check out the 2009 remake My Bloody Valentine 3D from director Patrick Lussier ( director of the horror cult film Dracula 2000 ), i actually enjoy this remake as well. Speaking of Valentine´s Day and the horror genre we did have a slasher horror film released earlier this year called Heart Eyes that had quite a lot of positive reviews. I was planning to see this film in cinema but plans changed so i decided to rent it on VOD instead. Is this a solid horror slasher film or is Heart Eyes a film that will most likely be forgotten on the DVD shelves in the future?

For the past several years, the "Heart Eyes Killer" have wreaked havoc on Valentine´s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. Valentine´s Day is here once again and Heart Eyes is ready to end more human lives.

When it comes to the genre of horror slasher films i personally enjoy if you can mix a bit of comedy into the slasher genre. I don´t mind serious slasher films but if you mix a bit of comedy that can actually be a very effective tool in this genre. It becomes clear that Heart Eyes is one of those films that actually doesn´t take itself seriously at all and have plenty of comedy moments between the slasher scenes. Knowing that this is a film that brings up the holiday known as Valentine´s Day this is a theme that actually works for this film. Considering how many romantic films and romantic comedies that are made for this special day i think it´s great to make fun of this day, not everyone loves Valentine´s Day and for some people it can actually be a difficult day. So let´s talk about what i enjoy about Heart Eyes and i have to say the mask of serial killer Heart Eyes looks good. It is definetely a different design of a serial killer mask than for example Ghostface in Scream ( im honestly not a big fan of the design of the Ghostface mask ). There are quite many killing scenes in this film so if you love brutal kills or classic killing ingredients you will definetely find all of this in this film. Lead actress Olivia Holt ( who i have only seen as an actress in the 2023 slasher horror film Totally Killer ) as the charming character Ally is a good match for this film. I especially like her scenes when she is challenged to survive against Heart Eyes and how she is able to fight back with the help of character Jay. Speaking of Jay i have to mention actor Mason Gooding ( known from the Scream franchise ) and i do enjoy his acting performance as well. I can´t really say anything negative about Heart Eyes because this is just a fun slasher horror comedy that manage to balance both horror and comedy effective. Director Josh Ruben deliver a surpringly solid horror film that will definetely be loved by those who love holiday horror themed films and is definetely worth a watch. Just let Heart Eyes fill your heart with joy and a big blade, to me that sounds like the best way to end a romantic day bleeding at the dinner table.

Rating: DDD

Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare

I used to read several children books back in the early 80´s at our local library. My mother had a library card so we could basically borrow as many books as we wanted. I remember in the year of 1983 when i was 6 years old i was sitting in the library reading the book known as Treasure Island from author Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the children´s book version and not have as many pages as the original book released in 1883. I loved reading about a pirate adventure and the images in the book looked good as well. This was the first time i encountered the story of Treasure Island and i would begin to read the original version of the book at the age 12 back in 1989. I remember that i really enjoyed reading the real book compared to the children´s version because there were so many more details and events compared to the shorter version for smaller children. Just 2 years later in 1991 legndary director Steven Spielberg released his film adaptation of the classic story of Peter Pan known as Hook, inspired by the 1911 novel titled Peter & Wendy, written by author J.M. Barrie. I did see this film in cinema but not until in the spring of 1992 when the Swedish premiere took place. Hook is a charming fantasty adventure that really feels like a Peter Pan movie. The cast is really good with legendary actors such as Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hopkins, Maggie Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow and Phil Collins among many others. Unfortunately the film became a big box office bomb at that time but i still enjoy the film Hook. It is a fun family film if you are in the right mood. In 2003 a new updated version of Peter Pan was released in cinemas worldwide from director P.J. Hogan ( director of the 1994 Australian romantic comedy classic Muriel´s Wedding ). I enjoyed the 2003 version of Peter Pan and i think the casting was great and there are some fun adventure scenes in this film adaptation. The character of Captain Hook in the 2003 film played by actor Jason Isaacs is especially enjoyable. I know that there was a Disney movie released in 2023 called Peter And Wendy, i have not seen this film though. However, i did decide to check out the horror film Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare that seemed to be doing something similar to the low budget slasher film Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey II ( a film i actually enjoyed ). Does the story of Peter Pan work well in a horror format or is this film just as bad as the original Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey film?

Fifteen years ago, Peter Pan ( Martin Portlock ), worked at a fantasy-themed circus where he performs as a mime for many children. After a show that night, Peter attempts to abduct thirteen-year-old James Hook ( Charity Kase ) in his house. James mother, Roxanne Hook ( Kierston Wareing ) fights Peter and mutilates his face, but is overpowered and murdered while Peter abducts James. In the present day, Wendy Darling ( Megan Placito ) lives in a complex family dynamic with her younger brothers John Darling ( Campbell Wallace ) and Michael Darling ( Peter DeSouza Feighoney ), and their mother Mary Darling ( Teresa Banham ). On Michael´s birthday, Wendy gives him a ride to school and promise to pick him up later. However, she gets distracted while talking to her boyfriend, and does not notice Michael leave on his bike. While Michael rides through the woods he gets abducted by Peter Pan. Michael´s family get a phone call from Peter who promise them that he will take Michael to Neverland, where all the other children goes.

Ever since i saw the poster of Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare i was curious to see how on Earth they would do a different take on the classic character Peter Pan. Considering how bad Piglet was as well as Popye´s Revenge ( two films who are also based on famous children book and comic  book characters ) i knew there might be a chance that this film would not be good either. I will be honest and say though i actually enjoy this film for a number of reasons. I have to say i really appreciate seeing a completely different take on the Peter Pan character. This is the serial killer version of Peter Pan which makes this a completely different version than we are used to see. The way he kills his victims is a fun slasher surprise plus this is not the flying Peter Pan you might remember from the Steven Spielberg film Hook, this is basically the mentally disturbed version where he doesn´t play ordinary games. This film have some really brutal kills and they are all made with practical make up effects. As some of my readers might know after all of these years i really love horror films that uses practical make up effects, simply because it actually makes the horror scenes more effective. Seeing the character Peter Pan slash bodies open in different way is of course a jolly good time. Actor Martin Portlock as Peter Pan deliver an acting performance that´s actually better than i expected and i especially love the scenes where he goes completely nuts and hunt his victims. I do enjoy the acting performance of actress Kit Green as Tinker Bell and her scenes with Martin Portlock are effective from a horror perspective. Actress Megan Placito also surprised me with a very physical performance that matches the film. The horror scenes in general of Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare works well and i appreciate that this film doesn´t go in the traditional Peter Pan pattern and try a different approach. To be honest this is my favourite of the British independent horror films recently compared to Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey franchise, Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare is a gory enjoyable slasher horror film that will please fans of this genre. Director Scott Chambers manage to deliver a horror film that actually refreshing and different, and that is something you don´t see everyday. I picked up a physical copy of this film and so should you if you enjoy fun slasher horror films.

Rating: DDD

Y2K

If you happen to be a big movie fan ( no matter what country you live in ) then you might have seen at least a couple of films released by distribution company known as A24. They have a long list of quality films where i could easily pick some of the films you simply need to see. For example i feel that more people should see the 2019 psychological horror film known as Saint Maud. Directed by Rose Glass ( who later directed the great romantic thriller Love Lies Bleeding ) this film tells the story of newly-converted religious private carer Katie ( brillant played by actress Morfydd Clark, also really good in the British folk lore horror film Starve Acre ) who is assigned to take care of Amanda ( Jennifer Ehle ), a former dancer who is terminally ill with stage four lymphoma. At first you might think Katie is a sweet private palliative care nurse but there is something seriously wrong with her. This film is really effective from a psychological perspective where the acting performance from actress Morfydd Clark really stands out. Unfortunately the film flopped during the pandemic but i highly recommend buying a physical copy of Saint Maud or at least rent it on VOD. I should also mention that the cinematography from Ben Fordesman is really beautiful in this film. Another A24 film you should check out was released quite many years ago and we find ourselves in the year of 2015. I am especially thinking about the American comedy-drama known as Mississipi Grind from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. This is a very well made film that really show how destructive it can be having a gambling addiction. The acting performances from both Ben Mendelshohn and Ryan Reynolds are both really good as they travel across the country playing poker and other gambling games. If you cant find Mississipi Grind streaming it´s cheap to buy on DVD, definetely worth checking out. Last year A24 released a horror film called Y2K, a film inspired by the millenium events since the year of 1999 was seen as very special as we moved into the 2000´s. I remember back then how afraid people were about what would happen when the year 2000 started, will the computers stop working? Nothing happened really but it´s fun this film tries to capture this time period. The film flopped at the box office but did become a streaming hit instead. Is this a horror film worth checking out or is Y2K just as boring as Popeye´s Revenge ( a film i reviewed last month ) ?

In 1999, best friends Eli ( Jaeden Martell ), Danny ( Julian Dennison ) and Garrett ( Kyle Mooney ) discuss plans for New Years Eve while their parents are out. Eli have a crush on his classmate Laura ( Rachel Zegler ) but he´s too nervous to talk to her even though his best friend Danny try to talk him into making a move on her. Eli and Danny decide to crash a party, stealing alcohol that´s locked inside to prepare themselves to party at the last night of 1999. When midnight strikes nothing will ever be the same again.

I have some things to say about this film and it´s not all positive. But we might as well get into what i did feel works with Y2K and i definetely feel that they captured the time period right of the year 1999. I was 22 years old at this time so i do remember a lot of things so i could definetely recognize the clothing style, the music we used to listen to ( for me i used to listen to the Limp Bizkit album Significant Other in 1999 ) during this year and of course the legendary VHS rental stores that were a big part of our young years. I also feel that some of the characters feel like they behaved like teenagers back in 1999, the way some of them talked and how cool it was do chat rooms back then. There is a funny dance scene at a house party of the Sisqó classic Thong Song where the character Danny goes all in at his dance moves. Speaking of characters i do like the chemistry between best friends Eli and Danny, played by actors Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison. That was some of the positive and we have to talk about what doesn´t work with Y2K. This is supposed to take place during the end of 1999 and you would want to feel like it really is the end of the 90´s and the millenium crisis. That´s one thing this film fails to capture and i feel that is a big missed oppurtunity. If you are going to capture the end of the 90´s correctly as it was you should have gone all in like it was, how hysterical some people were worried about the millenium. The horror elements in this film are not as effective as i were hoping they would be. Sure, we get people killed by machines and i do like the idea. But it worked much better in the 1986 sci fi horror classic Maximum Overdrive to be honest and that film actually knew how to make machines come to life in a cool way compared to Y2K. Since this is supposed to be a sci fi horror comedy i feel that the combination doesn´t work all the way through. It´s not a terrible film, there are a couple of charming moments ( such as Fred Durst showing up ) and i like the concecpt of the plot. Unfortunately it´s the horror elements that feel too weak for Y2K to function. If you grew up in the 90´s you might want to check it out just for nostalgic reasons. Director Kyle Mooney have made a film that may please some fans of the 90´s, i just wish he could have used more effective ingredients than what we got.

Rating: DD

Night Call

There was a time in the early 2000´s i used to watch certain French films in cinema between the years of 2000 up until the year of 2016. I still watch French ( and Belgian films as well ) but usually rent the films on VOD or buy some physical releases. I will be honest and say that sometimes French films can be far more better than American films when it comes to acting, telling a powerful story and how professional the film looks. One genre especially where i feel French films have proven to be really good is the genre known as action. A true French action classic is without a doubt the 2000 psychological thriller action film The Crimson Rivers with French actors Jean Reno and Vincent Cassell. A well made film with great performances and the murder invstigations are effectively constructed. I reccommend this film if you enjoy crime films in general and i know there is a sequel released in 2004. Jean Reno returned to the sequel as his character Commissaire Pierre Niemans. I have not seen the sequel so far but it´s on my future watch list. If you want to watch a great French film on streaming i would recommend you to watch the French action thriller Netflix film known as The Stronghold ( BAC Nord ) directed by Cédric Jimenez ( director of the really good French crime action thriller The Connection, a must watch). This film tells the story of three Marseille cops, Grég Cerva ( Gilles Lellouche ), Antoine ( Francois Civil ) and Yass ( Karim Leklou ) who are fighting against drug gangs every day in the city with the highest crime rate of France. It takes a little while before The Stronghold really kicks in with the action scenes, but when it does you get some intensive police action. A well made film from director Cédric Jimenez and definetely worth a watch on Netflix. Last year i remember seeing a poster of a French / Belgian action thriller Night Call. I later found out that this is the directorial full feature debut film for director Michiel Blanchart and i did find the plot to look interesting for this film. I also noticed that Belgian actor Jonas Bloquet is in this film who i recognized from the horror films The Nun and the sequel The Nun II. Is the action thriller Night Call one of the better French movies in recent years or should you avoid this one and watch The Stronghold on Netflix instead?

Mady Bala ( Jonathan Feltre ) is a student by day and during night he works as a professional locksmith, always helping anyone who needs his assistance. While sitting in his work car he gets a phone call from a woman who says her name Claire ( Natacha Krief ). She needs help to get inside her apartement. Mady travel to her adress and help her in, but she doesn´t have any cash on her so need to get money from the cash machine. While she is there she calls Mady to get out while he is waiting in her apartment, apparently this is not her place after all. A large man attacks Mady and it all ends with the man dying. A group of men arrive to the apartment looking for a bag, finding the dead man. Mady is captured and being interrogated by a criminal gang, why was he in this apartent? No one have seen this locksmith before and they see no other way out, they have to take him out. Mady have no time to wait and have to try and escape.

Making a film in general takes a lot of work and your very first full feature film is of course something you will always remember as the director. If you make your very first film to turn out to be good then chances are you will be noticed around the world. When it comes to Night Call this is actually better than i expected. Not that i had very high expectations from the beginning but this film have a lot of redeeming qualities. Not only does this film look really good with many beautiful night scenes over the city, but the acting in this film is one of the true highlights from several characters. You can actually sense that some of the actors really went all in for their characters and that´s exactly what you want in a criminal action thriller such as this. When the characters give strong physical performances with hard hitting dialogue, it feels like we are inside the underground criminal world where there are no rules except getting the job done, no matter what it takes. I feel that the character of Mady ( played really well by actor Jonathan Feltre ) is a great match as the main character in Night Call. How do you react when someone tricked you as a locksmith to get inside an apartment to find out they used you? Worst of it all is of course is that Mady kill another person while hes protecting his own life. He have never killed a person before, how do you go on after something like that happens? There are several questions Mady struggle with and it´s not getting any easier as criminals chase him around the city. Thankfully Mady is a professional locksmith and this is something he will be able to use his knowledge of, especially in one specific scene in this film. The violence and the high speed of the film Night Call is a very effective combination, it´s very difficult to get sleepy by this film as intensive as certain moments are in specific scenes. Director Michiel Blanchart deliver a really effective action thriller and show that he knows this genre really well, even though this is his full feature directorial debut film. This is a must see for everyone who loves criminal thrillers and i am already looking forward to future films of Michiel Blanchart. Night Call is definetely one of my personal favourite thrillers of this year.

Rating: DDDD

We Kill Them All

A perfect season to make especially thriller films a bit more complicated is when the film takes place during winter time. The weather is rough, if you get stuck out there in the wilderness without the right clothes you could freeze to death. You may also die because you may get ill because of the terrible weather, let´s say you may have a heart problem or other health issues. Then you also have wild animals out there who may attack you, especially in wild nature locations such as in Alaska. Speaking of Alaska and the bad weather there are several films that takes on these subjects combined. One film that comes to my mind instantly is the survival thriller film known as The Grey from director Joe Carnahan ( director of the really well made neo-noir crime thriller Narc from 2002, one of my personal favourite Jason Patric films with legendary actor Ray Liotta ). The Grey tells the story of a group of oil-men workers travelling by plane in Alaska during rough weather and the plane crash. The men who survives try and make the best out of the situation by using what´s left of the airplane but have something far more dangerous to worry about. A pack of grey wolves have found their location and they are hungry for flesh. Sharpshooter John Ottoway ( Liam Neeson ) and the surviving men realise they must change location to be able to survive. But how do you survive out there with no cabin in near sight and the grey wolves coming after you? The Grey is a very well made survival thriller with great acting performances and the cinematography from Masanobu Takayanagi ( who also did the cinemaography for the really well made martial arts sports drama film Warrior from director Gavin O´Connor ) looks really beautiful. I would argue that this is one of the better Liam Neeson films in his film career if we are talking about the films from the early 2000´s up until the late 2020´s. Worth checking out on Netflix, Amazon Prime or on any other streaming service where you can find The Grey. I try to check for thrillers that takes place during winter now and then since i feel these films can be interesting in this category. Doesn´t have to be survival thriller just being a winter film may caught my attention. And here we have one example of a film i discovered on VOD and that is the winter thriller known as We Kill Them All. I love the movie title, it sounds like something i would wear on a tshirt if Jehovas Witnesses keep knocking on my door. Is this a solid winter thriller worth a watch or is We Kill Them All as forgettable as the American news show The Culture War with Tim Pool?

Megan Hughes ( Chloe McClay ) is travelling with her girlfriend Lane Davis ( Emma Newton ) to a secluded hotel resort, that´s owned by her criminal father Lee Hughes ( Kent Allen ) to spend time with her father and introduce her girlfriend as well. But that all changes when Meghan arrives when she founds out her father´s dark past have come to haunt him with a criminal gang run by Jimmy Montague ( Leo Fafard ) ending his life. Out in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness Megan have no other option but trying to survive.

If you are looking for a winter thriller similar to The Grey with Liam Neeson i can tell you right now that We Kill Them All is not as good as that film. I would say that this is more of a simple winter thriller that reminds me of a Lifetime movie except with more guns and more physical violence. This film also reminded me of thrillers such as the 2007 horror thriller Vacancy from director Nimród Antal, except this would be the low budget version of Vacancy with a diffrent plot and completely different characters. So let´s get into what i enjoy about We Kill Them All and i have to say the resort hotel is quite impressive. This is the perfect location to make a thriller during winter time considering the weather conditions, and i also feel that this location is perfect since this resort is supposed to be far away from any town so you have no one to ask for help. When it comes to the characters we do have a few that stands out and my personal favourite is the criminal boss known as Jimmy Montague ( played by actor Leo Fafard, who fans of the B movie world knows as the actor who plays Wolfcop in both films ). Jimmy is the kind of character you remember seeing in 80´s and 90´s gangster films. He doesn´t care about anyone but himself and will do what it takes to make money, that included killing anyone if he have to. The second character i feel works well is the large criminal known as Roman Burke ( played by actor Michasha Amstrong who i remember from the horror film Underworld: Evolution ). Roman is a ruthless mean criminal and this is the kind of guy you need to start chaos. Female actors Chloe McClay and Emma Newton gives performances that matches their characters. Anything i feel could have been improved? Considering the limited buget and this is not supposed to be a very intensive thriller i feel that We Kill Them All have enough qualities to appreciate rather than finding any negative details. It´s a throwback to TV thrillers we used to watch in the 90´s that looks good and works as a basic thriller. Director Jeremy Drummond have directed Christmas movies in the past but i think he proves with We Kill Them All we need him to make more thrillers such as this one. A simple but enjoyable film for TV audiences who appreciate a classic thriller formula.

Rating: DDD

30 Years Anniversary Review Of Just Cause

Usually when we talk about movies we mostly think about who directed the film or perhaps the cast of the film as well. But it´s not often you hear who the producer is / producers behind the film. If you know how the making of a film works you know that a producer is very important. For example did you know that the 1988 film Dead Ringers from legendary director David Cronenberg have Marc Boyman as on of the producers, who also produced David Cronenberg´s 1986 horror classic The Fly? So this is clearly a nice teamwork from both of these gentlemen considering both of these films should be seen. It is possible you might recognize Marc Boyman in one of the episodes of Mr. T TV series known as T and T, where he played the character known as Lorne. Speaking of producers and let´s stick to the year of 1988, some of you might remember the very dramatic and powerful drama film known as Gorillas In The Mist from director Michael Apted ( who also directed the 1992 film Thunderheart with Val Kilmer, a film worth checking out ). One of the producers of Gorillas In The Mist is known as Arne Glimcher. If you don´t recognize the name you might if i mention that he directed the 1992 music drama film The Mambo Kings. When ever i am asked about a really good drama film i highly recommend Gorillas In The Mist for a number of reasons. First of all because of the fantastic performance from actress Sigourney Weaver playing Dian Fossey, who was an American primatologist and conservationist. Sigourney really took her role very seriously and you can tell in this film, where you get to understand how passionate Dian Fossey were in studying mountain gorillas and later protect them from hunters. The cinematography from John Seale ( who also did the cinematography for the 1986 thriller classic The Hitcher ) looks really good in this film and the jungle locations matches very well with the plot. Not only is this a very dramatic and powerful story regarding how much Diana really struggled to save gorillas, but this film also show the price she had to pay for standing up against evil people. This is a must watch on DVD, blu ray or on streamimg. Speaking of Arne Glimcher in the year of 1995 he released his film Just Cause. a crime thriller based on the novel by the same name from author John Katzenbach. I watched this film in cinema back in the 90´s and rented it on VHS as well. Since this film turn 30 years old this year i decided to make a 30 years anniversary review to revisit the film and see how it feel about it today on DVD. Is this still a solid criminal thriller or have Just Cause lost some of that cinema magic over these 30 years since this film was released?

Paul Armstrong ( Sean Connery ), a liberal Harvard professor and former lawyer opposed to capital punishment, during one of his lectures an elerly woman named Evangeline Ferguson ( Ruby Dee ) give Paul a letter where she explain that her grandson Bobby Earl Ferguson ( Blair Underwood ) is convicted of raping and brutally murdering a young white girl named Joanie Shriver ( Barbara Jean Kane ) eight years prior. Evangeline tell Paul how badly her grandson was mentally and physically abused by two police detectives to get a forced confession. All she ask is that Paul take a look at this case and see if he might be able to help her grandson. At first Paul isn´t sure until his wife Laurie Prentiss Armstrong ( Kate Capshaw ) read the letter Paul was given and she convince him to take this case.

The thing that made thrillers from the 90´s was not only the casting but especially the characters in several classic thrillers from this time period. When it comes to Just Cause this film also have some really good characters included, but what i especially appreciate with a film such as this is the twists and turns this film takes. Who is really guilty? Who really did murder that young little girl? Is there enough evidence to tell the real truth? Just Cause manage to feel like a matching 90´s ciminal thriller that have the classic ingredients of racism, pedophelia and murder all mixed together in a smoothly told plot. I think most people wouldn´t be surprised if i said that legendary actor Sean Connery absolutely deliver in his brilliant acting ability as the character Paul Armstrong. Just the way Sean give his dialogue and it feels like you don´t want to stop listnening, he had a very unique way to make a powerful impact through his characters. It feels like the character of Paul Armstrong could be inspired by a former lawyer in real life, or perhaps Sean just wanted to make his character feel realistic so you could sense that he took this role seriously. The acting performance that really stands out in this film is legendary actor Ed Harris as the mentally disturbed serial killer Blair Sullivan. This is definetely one of my personal favourite acting performances i have seen Ed Harris do and i have watched a lot of his work for more than 35 years. I love the way Ed tries to portrait this seriously disturbing man by using certain facial expressions, anger and mix it together with bible verses. There is especially one magic scene where Blair feels like hes losing power where Paul knows that he has to remain control and don´t let Sullivan believe he can manipulate him. Legendary actor Laurence Fishburne as the rough but honest Detective Tanny is a perfect match for this character while actor Blair Underwood deliver as well as the convict Bobby Earl. The investigations through the whole film is told effectively and it´s easy to follow along without getting lost in criminal facts. Even though this is a great thriller with great performances i still feel that the 1995 thriller Seven is still my personal favourite if i had to choose of thrillers relased this specific year. With that said Just Cause still manage to stand on it´s own and is definetely worth a watch from director Arne Glimcher. A 90´s classic thriller in the amazing filmography of Sean Connery.

Rating: DDD

Sonic The Hedgehog 3

During the year of 1994 i used to play a lot of different video games. I owned a lot of games on my Amiga 500 computer but also had quite a lot of video games on Nintendo 8-bit home video console as well. I used to go over to my school friend Anders home because he owned both Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive ( or Sega Genesis as it´s called as well ) and his parents bought a lot of games. For example it was in their home i tried the video game adaptation of Bram Stoker´s Dracula on Super Nintendo, clearly inspired by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola´s 1992 horror film. I still remember the game and how cool i thought it was back then. If we would play this game today i think a lot of young people would probably not think it looks cool considering the game graphics. I still have good memories from the hours we spent playing this game. On the Sega Megadrive i got to try a lot of different cool games such as Castlevania: Bloodines, Cliffhanger ( based on the Sylvester Stallone film of the same name ) wich is pretty much a kung fu game while you play the character Ranger Gabriel from the film. This was also the very first time i played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 ( i actually never played the original game or the sequel at that time simply because i was much more interested in martial art games, action games and sci fi games ). In general i thought Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was an ok game, nothing wrong about the game graphics but it just wasn´t my type of game. So on the Sega Genesis i would rather play Double Dragon 3 than Sonic The Hedgehog 3 to be honest. I didn´t really play any other Sonic games after this one, even though many more were releasd. For many years i heard rumours on a live movie adaptation of Sonic The Hedgehog and i wasn´t really interested to be honest. But in 2020 we did get a film adaptation released by director Jeff Fowler and i ended up watching the film. Actually better than i expected and legendary comedian / actor Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik really was the perfect casting choice for this role. In 2022 we got the sequel Sonic The Hedgehog 2, also directed by Jeff Fowler and this turned out to be a charming surprise. I did not see the sequel in cinema either so picked up a physical copy instead. So here we are with the third film in this franchise that i picked up in physical media and the question is, does this sequel deliver even more entertainment compared to the previous films or is this the worst film in this franchise?

In 1974, a meteorite containing the alien hedgehog Shadow crash lands in Oklahoma and is seized by the U.S. military. Shadow´s power is experimented on by Professor Gerald Robotnik ( Jim Carrey ) at a Guardian Units Of Nation ( G.U.N ) research facility under thee supervision of  Captain Walters ( Tom Butler ); Shadow also develops a close friendship with Maria Robotnik ( Alyla Browne ), Gerald´s granddaughter. One night, as Gerald, Maria and Shadow try to escape the facility to prevent Shadow from being taken away. Maria is accidently killed in an explosion. Walters shuts down the facility, imprisons Gerald, and places Shadow in suspended animation. Fifty years laterr, in 2024, an unknown individual hacks into G.U.N. prison facility´s system off the coast of Japan and release a vengeful Shadow. In Green Hills, Montana, Sonic celebrates the anniversary of his arrival on Earth with Tails, Knuckles, and their adoptive parents Tom ( James Marden ) and Maddie Wachowski ( Tika Sumpter ). Their celebration ends when G.U.N Director Rockwell ( Krysten Ritter ) arrive to recruit Sonic and his friends to apprehend Shadow in Tokyo.

If you have read my movie review blog for many years you may have noticed that i never reviewed any of the previous Sonic The Hedgehog films in the past. Even though i enjoyed each film i just didn´t end up writing any reviews, simply because i picked other films instead to review. Considering that Sonic The Hedghehog 3 was the very first game i tried of the Sonic games i figured this would be a perfect timing to review the third film. Let me start of by saying if you are not a fan of the previous films then this sequel will definetely not change your mind. It has a similar tone when it comes to the style of the previous films, and lots of speed scenes combined with family friendly action scenes. To the positive i would definetely say that the CGI effects of Sonny and his friends do look good. Especially in the most effective action scenes and i feel that this film manage to find the right balance of humour and violence combined, but still make it family friendly enough to be entertaining for all ages. Sonic The Hedgehog character is charming as always with sarcastic dialogue. His friends Tails and Knuckles also bring some charming moments as well with their different personalities. The biggest surprise of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is definetely Shadow The Hedgehog ( voice done by actor Keanu Reeves ) and his scenes fighting against Sonic and his friends. You do kind of feel sorry for Shadow when you find out his background story that might explain why he looks so angry. Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnick is exactly as you might expect, crazy and a funny performance that i appreciate. James Marsden ( who i always rememember from the X-Men franchise as Cyclops ) matches well with his character Tom. I have to mention Criminal Minds actor Shemar Moore, he is more charming than i expected in his role as Randall. In general i would say that Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is a great choice if you want to be entertained by a simple, but well made family film. It may not be perfect or bring anything ground breaking to the table but will definetely be appreciated by fans of the character Sonic. Director Jeff Fowler knows how to make video games come to life in cinemas and he understands how you transform videogames into a movie fomat. A great choice this summer if you want to be entertained on physical media and i recommend the previous films as well.

Rating: DDD

Babygirl

Aound autumn of 1988 i was at a birthday party at the home of friends of my family known as The Robertsson Family. They lived in a pretty big house quite far above the city known as Uddevalla ( my hometown ) and we would spend time together many times, especially during certain weekends. The Robertsson Family had 3 children, André, Marcus and David. At the time i was 11 years old and while the adults sat downstairs, me and the other kids of the family watched movies on VHS. I remember Marcus running into his room getting a VHS tape of a film called 9 1/2 Weeks and this was supposed to be some kind of erotic film that Marcus have heard about. We watched the film but being as young as we were we only wanted to see the erotic scenes to be honest. So i remember Marcus trying to find certain scenes rewinding the VHS tape forwards and backwards and i honestly had no idea what the film was about. This was the very first time i witnessed certain scenes of 9 1/2 Weeks and i didn´t really remember anything else other than how hot actress Kim Basinger was. Fast forward to the year of 1992 and i noticed in the TV magazine that Swedish TV channel TV3 was showing 9 1/2 Weeks on a Saturday. Since i was a Mickey Rourke fan at this time ( especially for the action comedy Harley Davidsson And The Marlboro Man ) i had to record the film 9 1/2 Weeks and watch the film completely from start to finish. I remember thinking that it was alright for what it was, but still nowhere near as good as the Mickey Rourke classics Year Of The Dragon or Angel Heart with Robert De Niro. I have watched this film again a couple of years ago and i would pretty much say the same today, it´s ok but not much more. I think it was more shocking for that time period in the 80´s and we are so used to sexual content in modern cinema films so there are plenty of more erotic films to choose between. I personally think that when it comes to erotic films then i would definetely say the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct worked much better than 9 1/2 Weeks, this film have a more powerful story and a great plot as well. And how can you aviod not mentioning how hot actress Sharon Stone is in this film? Another really good film from legendary director Paul Verhoeven and a film you should see. Last year there was quite a buzz on film festivals regarding actress Nicole Kidman´s erotic thriller Babygirl where some people were surprised over the sexual scenes especially. I enjoy a lot of Nicole Kidman´s films in the past ( especially Stanley Kubrick´s last film Eyes Wide Shut and the brilliant 2001 horror film The Others ) so of course i had to give this film a chance. Is Babygirl another proof of how brilliant Nicole Kidman really is as an actress or does this film not deliver as much as i was hoping for?

Romy Mathis ( Nicolee Kidman ), the CEO of a robotic process automation company in New York and she is very fustrated with her private sex life with her husband Jacob Mathis ( Antonio Banderas ), a theatre director. All the years they have been together she had to fake having orgasms and it turns out she have never experienced a real one with her husband. While on the way to work one day, she is almost mauled by a dog until a young man stops and calms it down. That young man, Samuel ( Harris Dickinson ) turns out to be an intern at Romy´s company and picks Romy as his "mentor" through the company´s mentorship program. As they spend more time together a wild sexual affair begins. Romy knows if this gets out in public it could destroy her life completely, but can she resist her wild urges?

I know some might say that Fifty Shades Of Grey were hot erotic films, and they might be for those who are not used to see something similar. I can tell you right now that Babygirl beats all of the Fifty Shades films when it comes to capturing the feeling of sexual power, being in control over someone and finding a sexual tone that matches the characters in certain dominant scenes. The most fascinating parts of Babygirl is where do we draw the line to what sexual needs we might need? Is it ok to cross certain boundaries just to please yourself or is this perhaps a sign that this can become more destructive than actually do something positive? There are several issues i feel this film manage to balance very professional, especially when it comes to the subject of sex and how important this might be for some people to be able to function in their lives. There is also the story of a very respected, successfull mother who seems to have it all, a beautuful family, a beautiful home, but still something is missing in her life? I love that this film uses songs from the 80´s such as INXS classic Never Tear Us Apart and the George Michael classic Father Figure, almost as if they wanted us to be reminded of erotic films of the 80´s while reminding us how magical the 80´s really was. I have to say that lead actress Nicole Kidman have no problem showing how incredible she is using both facial expressions, dialogue and body language in her powerful performance as the character Romy. Antonio Banderas as her husband Jacob is another perfect example of how he knows to express himself with his unique acting skills. The cinematography by Jasper Wolf ( who also did the cinematogaphy for the powerful Dutch drama film Instinct, worth checking out ) looks really good in this film. To the negative detail of this film i simply have to mention actor Harris Dickinson ( who you might have seen in the great wrestling drama film The Iron Claw ). He is not terrible by any means but compared to Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas in their scenes he have a long way to go until he can reach their level of acting. If it wasn´t for the less strong performance of Harris Dickinson i might have given this film a higher rating but this is still a solid film and worth a watch. Director Halina Reijn deliver a smooth erotic thriller drama that not only feels very sexual but looks great as well. Babygirl knows what audience it was made for and i am definetely a part of that audience.

Rating: DDD