Quick Review: Spicy, outrageous, and ultraviolent, if sweet, poignant, and darkly comical, "RoJ" blends a personal 'anger issues' story, family drama, black 'buddy' comedy, and revenge thriller about a bunch of guys connected due to unfortunate circumstances, and the final result is a tonally balanced Danish hybrid of cinematic quirkiness, led by the captivating turn from Mikkelsen, who the rest of the cast complement so brilliantly, they work like a well-oiled machine for vengeance.
Quick Review: The deftly-crafted intro is superb, but the rest hardly lives up to it, due to an incoherent plot with a bunch of origin stories, dull protagonist, cheesy acting and writing, rushed pacing, and sub-par editing, but the quick-cut fights are as thrilling as the gory fatalities, and though "MK" dares to neglect a few characters, some really stand out -- Sub-Zero is 'freezing' cool and Kano brings the comic relief, but it's Kung Lao that steals the show straight up from his flashy entrance.
Quick Review: It's a bit overlong, and loses some of its steam in the mid-part, but this Korean sci-fi flick with both humor and heart manages to create a truly sweeping futuristic 'space' world, mostly thanks to the phenomenal use of special effects, plus, every single one of the lead characters has enough distinctive personality to stand out, even if the little Ye-Rin Park steals the show as the little adorable humanoid robot, being even more fun to watch than the thrilling action itself.
Quick Review: Painfully sluggish, moody, and tedious, more muddled than perplexing, and devoid of any suspense or sense of mystery, this wannabe psychological thriller not only fails to live up to its intriguing premise, or to benefit from its solid cast, who all struggle to deliver due to a poor script, but the film never manages to subvert all the tropes it uses, hence to avoid predictability, even if the 'big reveal' towards the end hardly makes sense.
Quick Review: Straightforward, but in a good way, this set-in-the-'60s historical spy thriller has all the right ingredients to be a successful entry in the genre -- a captivating lead turn, sleek cinematography, pretty authentic vintage looks and gripping story driven by the bond between a British spy and his Russian source, with enough intrigue and emotional weight to sustain your interest, so if you don't expect any big twists and turns, you'll enjoy "The Courier" for its vibe and consistency.
Quick Review: Very "John Wick"-ish, but with a more 'fun' approach, without compromising on the rough fights, bonkers violence, body count and blood splatter, especially during the mayhem of a final act, "Nobody" is a flashy revenge flick crafted with edge, style and flair, whose biggest weapon is Odenkirk as the full-of-surprises weary family man Hutch, who transforms into a badass killing machine, and it's ecstatic witnessing this deceptively 'nobody' becoming really, really something.
Quick Review: Finely depicting the mentally challenging experience of being a surrogate mother, exploring а forbidden younger-older love with great depth, while juxtaposing the obsession of having kids when you physically can't with the reluctance of having such when possible, and with a twisty irony, "Souvenir" is a credible, genuine, provocative, and brilliantly conceived Mexican drama with a layered, substantial, profound plot and sincere performances that leaves food for thought.
Quick Review: A cool premise and big-name cast, wasted by a weak direction, sub-par script and bland execution, "Chaos Walking" lives up to its title, but not in a good way, being a muddled, inconsistent, and lackluster dystopian sci-fi actioner with little futuristic feel, barely any proper action, zero soul, and thin chemistry between the two leads, whose plain sets, ordinary into-the-woods locations, and sleazy effects make you wonder what the budget of $125M was spent on.
Quick Review: Watchable at best, "The Marksman" feels like it's been written exactly for Neeson, who yet again turns in a typical role as a superhuman middle-aged man, who plays a tricky cat-'n-mouse on-the-run game with a bunch of ruthless Mexican criminals to save a kid, and though Liam is solid as usual and the 'catch me if you can' plot is taut enough to hold your interest, we've seen it many times before, but with more and better action, as the latter is virtually lacking here.
Quick Review: I does a fine job at juxtaposing the polar personalities of BFs Lydia and Emily, and though the goofy script fits with McCarthy's comedic style, Spencer feels out of place, which affects their chemistry, but "Thunder Force" knows how silly it is, and fully embraces it, delivering some fun action scenes and a few flat, but amusing villains, and yet in the end it feels like a clumsy mix of buddy comedy and superhero flick, lacking creativity, wit, proper laughs and any memorable bits.
Quick Review: Though Colman is brilliant, it's really Hopkin's show as the clever, overpowering, and even rude, yet incredibly charismatic and fragile on the inside Anthony, who drags us into his surreal world of confusion so deeply, it makes us feel lost alongside with him, "The Father" is a terrifying, soul-stirring, but above all empathic depiction of dementia, and an emotional roller-coaster -- it's witty, amusing, cruel, sad, and moving all at once, and its ending – heartbreaking.
Quick Review: Though not exactly an edge-of-your-seat non-stop thrill ride, this Danish urban cop thriller is stylistically deft, credibly-acted, and provides enough tension, twists and turns to keep you intrigued, but the best part about "Shorta" remains its ability to put its characters in tough situations, challenge them, and put them in else's shoes, however, the provocative message it tries to bring across is not conveyed as strongly as it should, leaving the racial rage far behind all the action.
Quick Review: Rushed, contrived, messy, and with plot and characters as minor as the action is monstrous, there is a lot going on in "GvK" in terms of ideas, but little of those are clever, or even make sense, despite the hi-tech-driven approach, but the battles between the two titans, and some surprise creatures, are all so thrilling, spectacularly colossal, and superbly-executed with the help of some impeccable CGI work, it's hard not to enjoy those monster clashes with destructive results.
Quick Review: More cheesy than sweet, this is your typical musical in the vein of "High School Musical", but although it features a couple of charming characters, fresh 'summer camp' location, and a few melodic, well-sung tunes, "A Week Away" is a forgettable flick with a corny story of teen romance, brotherhood and rivalry that wants to touch with its 'a troubled orphan finds passion for music, new love and family', but it's all done in such a corny way, it ends up being sappy instead.
