Woo's here with a new take on his ol' classic, and dare I say... it's a new classic! Though the French milieu had me thinking of Luc Beson, and his style of directing too. I'm reminded of his Columbiana, his new Hollywood take on his old and so iconic Leon, where he chose a female lead to play the traditional male role. His reboot wasn't great. It was an action movie among others, typical Hollywood action - just like his take on Taxi and others, but this...

The filmography is absolutely beautiful here. The colors (I wonder what camera they used). The life. The stunts - the car one in the beginning for example was absolutely nuts.

I'm reminded of the Hitman's Bodyguard there, and how refreshing the stunts were there. They feel real again - and that car one even realer! The city feels vibrant too. The dialog's natural - sometimes memorable, sometimes ordinary in such a good way.

The doves are a re-occurring element too in Woo movies. Throwback to the original. The church, of course. The hospital, like Hard Boiled. The jazz - in a The Comet Is Coming kin of chaotic. The motorbikes. The explosions. The city views. The jumps and slides and classic John Woo vibes...

There's so much nuance to this too. In every single scene. In interactions and flashbacks. In how your understanding develops as the characters develop theirs. And yet it's not difficult to follow. It's clear as day. I appreciate the daylight. I appreciate that you actually see the details with each scene, and the transitions let you focus when the fights come.

If only they used real glass instead of sugar glass.

Otherwise it's LEGIT. Woo's in top form. The actors too - they may never be Chow-yun Fat caliber, but they're close. The stunt guys too. They're even better maybe. Maybe it's just sentimentality that has e still preferring the theatrics of old. The new's realistic. And creative. The destruction's symphonic, the details elaborate. The casual chat in the confession booth. That jump... hella memorable scenes some of 'em.s

Words can't surmise my appreciation for this movie, and I've a newfound appreciation for everyone evolved. The main two in particular, they make quite the duo. And the third sure sings a beautiful song...

It's a kinder movie than the original was though, in a way. With a main character with sometimes unsuitably kind eyes too. And a somewhat sappy ending but... I like it. Not knowing how the plot's going to twist compared to the former keeps you on your seat the entire time - knowing how merciless that one was. And they really did well with the script. It's different - simple though it may seem sometimes. It's refreshing too.

This was amazing. Woo really is a master of his craft. He makes it look so effortless, but it's definitely not.

Great movie. Finna be a classic this one too.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

Supposedly this is the scariest movie there is - according to more than the one scary movie ranking out there! And a friend.

I wondered if it was true, so I scheduled some time to watch. Alone, at night, in a small house in the wild, with not a human being for miles around me...

And I don't know if I'd say it really is the scariest movie of all time, but it sure was a good one! The ending though... it's a letdown. In more ways than one. The scare factor somehow drains, when it's clear the animals were just symbols, and when the horror manifests itself in the physical. When it's suddenly not a horror story anymore, but real. And the girl... why would she do what she did? From chatting to the dead girl in her room, to this... it doesn't make much sense to me.

It was a really good movie, really good. And I for sure got the shivers. But when it's over... it seems they're gone at well. I expected something not just more conclusive but more lasting. It's cut short somehow. When they kids appear it's just... not so scary anymore. But the first half: that was good...

Definitely the best scary movie I've seen in a long time.

I still hold It Follows in higher regard though, as personally the scariest one I've seen. I think the main thing to me there is that it truly never takes form. The thing. That follows. Here it builds up masterfully, but then it does after all...

And we don't get what I'd call a real kind of conclusion.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

A high school coach, whose teenage daughter was murdered, takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnapped his student for their human trafficking operation.

It's kinda like Taken but tamer, with Dermot Mulroney in the lead. Much less action, a wholesome story but slow pace and filming.

The sceneries are good, there are some unexpectedly good actors in the mix, like Jeff Fahey, otherwise... it's not that great. Could've choreographed the action better, but that may not be the main focus after all. It's the story. A gripping story, but not the most gripping movie. Good cast. Mediocre execution.

 rated 2.5/5: almost not bad

I should've watched this one at the movies! On the big screen. As contraptions of this caliber are meant to be experienced.

Within the first few minutes of the film I'm already feeling this way. With the very title Finnish and sounds in the intro. With the brief glimpse of nuclear testing as it really was. With the brave little girl cutting the fuel lines on the bikes, and the chase and skirmish that follows... it begins beautifully, in such a ruthless way. All the intricacies in the transitions, from the furious bike-peddling to sharpen the blade, the close-up of the face, panning out to show the sliver of civilization they've managed to build in their valley, and then comes the horse...

The beginning's so masterful. The characters are so agile and full of life. I wish I lived in a world half as vibrant as real as this one - ruthless though the bandits in particular may have been. Did they fix their fuel line btw? Did they leave one bike? I forget to check...

As for the rest? As for the main story that comes after this brief glimpse as to the mastery of movie-making they managed with this one particular film?

Amazing too. I forgot to flesh out this part of the review!

The end though... it did not end how I wanted it to at all.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

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I watched this one at the movies - on the big screen. Started writing a review shortly after. Surmised it initially with something such as grand as 'a symphony of violence and witticism' - with an impressively high-budget character roster and production overall, yet an unnecessary head-shake event towards the end, and a bit much dialog... even if you do still like it. Even if that is his trademark, and one of those things that keeps the situations interesting throughout, all the while still getting on your nerves somewhat.

So I'm not sure the dialog adds or detracts from it... it adds, of course, but maybe it would've been even more appreciative if they added other elements around it; kept it a more occasional spice than a constant. Even if I'm continually both impressed and surprised by where they somehow manage to lead the safest seeming conversations.

The Deadpool army's a similarly both unnecessarily cliche and awesomely awesome moment. Because it's great, but because the sexy girl in the lead is exactly who you'd expect to see there, and the kid, and the samurai, and it's somehow very predictable even when it's nouveau...

There are few moments in the film that really hit me; there are many moments like that. That are just so overly well-made and thought out, but lack... that extra something. That extra something maybe being the thing you really get via Wolverine, with for example his most intensely emotional 'fuck you' speech in the car, that leaves the rest of the movie feeling somewhat fad and unnecessary. They do everything so well but it's just... it has no class? Deadpool's Deadpool? They can't die, and so there's no real sense of desperation and loss? What is it?

I'm not sure exactly what I'm missing here, but I remember feeling the same way about the first two movies as I did with this. Like this. It's amazing and all but... they just don't have that special something. That realness. That rawness. That element that make some movies seem like a real masterclass in motion. That spoke.

It just might be the way Deadpool turns the whole movie into one big joke.

So good to see Blade here too. And that end! Powerful.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

It's classic horror! A killer thriller. With an element and all-encompassing theme of radioactivity I was not expecting! It made it all the more enthralling, and dark. There's just something about that glowing green mineral, and the harmful side-effects it entails, the slow and grueling death - this time coupled with self-inflicted fire and inferno...

The atmosphere's all there. The story. The horror. The build. The characters. Samson, the son named after the bomb that birthed him. We get an immediate connection with the intro, though we're not sure then what we're really in for. More and more is revealed as it goes along.

I love the expressions. I love how they film certain scenes through empty spaces - like corridors - slowly moving towards the element of life in an expanse of isolation. It feels like a typical horror-movie element too, but used for something else than an actual approaching villain. I love the tech - like the transparant phone with built-in lighting - that seem cool beyond their time.

I love how they play with silence, too. How the horror's enforced when you can't perceive it. A man burning up in an isolated room, clearly visible through a glass wall. Details of morbid events spoken about in passing, in background TV broadcasts. The main character doesn't always pick up on it immediately... the soundtrack's good too, but never overbearing. Sometimes you just hear their screams.

The filming and theatrics get a bit dated towards the end, but for the most part the fire's impressive, and the movie itself is captivating. From start to finish. From the moment you see Sam's wide-eyed fevery hue and demeanor you know something's about to get started with him, and that it does...

It starts with science though, yet it ends with something more so spiritual, but I don't even mind. It's full of surprises this one. Rare and savage and raging. And the main character's parents are like the posterchilds of the Nuclear heyday - when all we saw with this dangerous new technology was promise. They're the type of characters you'll see paraded in the Fall Out game posters too. Figures of a both scary yet invigorating naivete. And even in the end, they share a final, warm embrace...

This one's a horrid gem too. Almost top five.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome