A stunning combination of drama and romance, with a touch of sci fi. Both main characters delivered some serious roles where a couple trying to hold their relationship together in an unknown future, where a memory loss virus spreads and threatens to erase mandkind's memories. The non-stop back and forth sequences help the puzzle to connect as the characters develop in the story. With a beautiful score and a great cast, this is a full of heart movie. The dialogue is flawless, the production is amazing, the photography excellent. This is truly art, and cinema, at it's very best. It is such a thematically rich, visually consistent and aurally transfixing package, creating an off-kilter if recognizable world, at the centre of which are two people deep in the throes of love. While the broadstrokes of the story are as expected, the ending especially is brilliant.

Diqiu zuihou de yewan aka Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018)

After 4 years, I decide to write back as cinema goes stronger than ever. Starting out with a luminous esoteric puzzle, multigenerational and quintessentially human gem, coming from China. A story aggressively enigmatic with fiction characters, trying to survive and remember. A film that David Lynch, Wim Wenders or Christopher Nolan would love to direct. Luo Hongwu tries to find his old love, a mysterious woman appearing at different times and places. His quest is difficult as she moves on every time he gets closer to her. The movie first part is maybe boring on some sequences but the second one reaches immortality in my opinion. Use of 3d is also exquisite and it is recommended for the 2nd part. Audience may won't fully understand it but their heart will be touched deeply. Α must seen for every Asian film fan and not only.

The Last Days on Mars (2013)

This was a serious sci fi flick with so many potentials. You can find a cast full of recognized actors serving it well and a scenario giving its best, combing science fiction with horror elements. Only a few hours before the crew departs from Mars, an accident turns out to be disastrous for the whole mission. A great discovery on bacterial life changes to a lethal game for survival between the astronauts. The situation is really tough for everyone and as mission comes to its end, Vince, a brave technician tries to figure out what happened and what will be his next move in order to survive, isolated in an unfriendly planet. You will enjoy every moment of its dramatic sequence as this entertaining film delivers a great story.

White Bird in a Blizzard (2014)

Arraki's last film is a great attempt to mix some mystery alongside drama & thriller, sometimes successfully but sometimes lacks of tonal quality. There is a great cast delivering  some good acting too and the soundtrack is just amazing. I loved all these trippy moments coming to our hero's dreams. Kat is the average teenager, trying to satisfy her sexual desires at the late 80s. As Phil, her boyfriend, can't fulfill her demands, she turns to a local detective for more adventures after her mother's sudden disappearance. Her father was her doormat, a peaceful boring family man. Kat doesn't blame him for the situation and tries to understand the events surrounding her. The story works, there is some sense of mystery but the real hit is its shocking end.

 

The tripper (2006)

Tripper tastes like old wine. Sounds good, watching is even better. A b movie, directed at zeros, focusing in the oldskool style bloody stuff. Samantha and her friends decide to spend some time in the woods, visiting a psychedelic music festival. They love using drugs and being lost half of the day.The problems start when arriving at the spot and are assaulted by three local hillbillies. And this is only the beginning, as deranged psychopath serial-killer wearing a mask of Ronald Reagan uses an ax to kill the pacific stoned hippies. Deputy Buzz Hall investigates the crime scenes but there are various issues to be resolved as well. The atmosphere is creepy, cinematography also works good and blood fans will enjoy for sure.

The Raid 2: Berandal (2014)

Do you remember the remarkable 'The Raid: Redemption' back in 2011? This is the sequel taking it to the next level. More nasty, more dark, more thoughtful. Rama's brother finally got assassinated by a mobster called Bejo, an intelligent guy who interferes into the local underground mafia, trying to divide the two gangs into a bloody war and take it all. Rama decides to be undercover, and gets imprisoned in order to gain Uco's trust, son of Bangun, leader of the Jakarta gang. More madmen and killers with incredible skills come into the game as betrayals come over and roles always change. Is there anyone for Rama to trust or he has to end it alone?

Director Gareth Evans delivers an awesome action film once more. Everything is well done for the audience's pleasure.

 

The signal (2014)

Signal is a really interesting sci fi movie. Its cinematopraphy and cast make it work and it is something different in a good way. Three friends are trying to track down a mysterious hacker somewhere in the Nevada desert. Their passion lead them in an abandoned place where everything is going to change. The real terror begins after this incident and trough some artistic nostalgic-type flashbacks, the storyline delivers a great plot. The pacing is slow and methodical, doling out information in carefully measured doses before opening the floodgates during the film's climax. For a medium budgeted film, it sure does looks amazing. I can say it is a mindbender for serious sci fi fans.

 

Extinction (2015)

Extinction is not another typical zombie flick but maybe a beautiful exception. Even if you can think of it as a repetition at the beginning, everything is going to change soon at this well written story. Two different neighbors, Patrick and Jack, live peacefully somewhere in an abandoned place in the future. There was a zombie attack, nine years ago, and now Patrick raises up his daughter Lu, as Jack has no friends around, except his dog. There is a secret between these two men and they both have a common enemy that is still kept hidden. Surviving on the cold planet is really difficult and Lu tries to understand the meaning of being a human. Cool acting, nice atmosphere and an interesting horror film as well.

American Mary (2012)

A talented young girl tries her best in the medical university but she gets into troubles while doing the dirty job for a mobster. This is not her only problem as twisted doctors are trying to get closer to her and a few weird clients need her services at last. She is confused and has to take difficult decisions about her future that change everything. Her delicate passion for being a surgeon will drive her into a dark, bloody world. An interesting horror film with good acting and working plot. There is not enough gore as I was expecting but it is still an accomplishing gem. It is good to see new talent emerging with entertaining movies that don't follow the cookie cutter mold Hollywood has been giving us. 

Mandariinid aka Tangerines (2013)

This is definitely one of the best films I am writing about for the last two years. A masterpiece from Georgia, telling the story of a quiet, peaceful old guy living in the middle of nowhere, in Apkhazia, a region where two armies are about to conflict. Ivo works as a carpenter, helping his childhood friend, Margus, collecting his tangerine crop. Someday, after a battle happening near their house, he finds two wounded men from opposite camps and decides to nurse them. This is going to be a very difficult task for him as they are ready to kill each other, but his peaceful mind will bring them to peace. A beautiful story for the war, the love of life and the selfless assistance of humans. Because these things among other, can name us humans as well and not animals. Amazing story line and soundtrack compose a powerful touching film to never forget.

Clown (2014)

Somewhere in a small town, a father tries to entertain his son at his birthday party. As he wears on an old fashioned clown costume, founded in an abandoned house, it will bring chaos to his life as it will transform him to an ancient demon. Kent tries to remove the evil suit over him but every attempt fails and gets him closer to the living nightmare as he loses control. His wife is the only one who understands him but this is not enough to save him for the endless pain. This is another Eli Roth's production, probably a good horror film with great moments for fans. Its great filming and acting can save your night, if you are looking for an interesting thrilling movie. The characters developing also works  and gives an overall positive result.

Escape from Tomorrow (2013)

What is actually the definition of cinema? Action, a good script, a better cinematography or a perfect role play? On this experimental as I can say film, maybe you can't find any of these or you may explore some new frontiers. It is all filmed in a Disney entertainment park, where you find Jim and his family try to spend some happy moments together until the father gets a notice that he got fire. After that, he obsesses with two young girls and starts being paranoid. The place seems to be unfriendly for his family and various issues appear in their relationship. The story goes insane more and more, presenting both surreal and horror elements into. A really bizarre film that made my mind move through his stunning black and white video production. So cinema or not, this gem is not for anyone!

Who Am I - Kein System ist sicher (2014)

This gem is just brilliant. A subversive hacker based film that is not the easiest to make very cinematic but Who Am I works out a way to do so. Benjamin is a genius hacker trying to reach the top following his idol's steps. But MRX. The last one belongs to FR1ENDS who are known to be a group of hackers employed by the Russian Mafia and things get complicated as Ben and his team, CLAY, try to make him recognize their work. This encourages them to focus on two actions: to discover the identity of MRX and actively work to stop FR1ENDS. Little do they know, this will all culminate into one massive hack that is more "social engineering", than it is limited to computer hacking. The acting, scrip and action complete a creative, stylish, and quite entertaining film that you will remember for a long time.

Yeok-rin aka The fatal encounter

This is another great historical movie with an excellent storyboard. King Jeongjo rules on a divided kingdom while Noron family tries to take him down with the help of his grandmother and his general Ku. Two young children, numbers 220 and 77, taken by a brutal slave-master are brought up to become assassins but fate will play a dramatic role for them. The twist and turns actually makes this one quite immersive, despite some of the twist being quite predictable and all. It's really a film about strong characters, great battle scenes and suspense. Korean films are getting better and better through last decade and this is not an exception hopefully.

 

Pyojeok aka The Target (2014)

This is another solid action film from South Korea. A gem blending great action scenes due to its excellent choreography and stunts, fine acting and an interesting plot. ER doctor, Tae-joon, is trying to save his wife as she has been kidnapped from a mysterious guy who wants Tae's last saved patient to be delivered to him. Things get messed when gangs and other external factors show up and it becomes clear that there is a larger conspiracy at play. Yeo-hoon, the patient, manages to escape from hospital and wants to find his own solution to personal problems engaging him and his brother to an assassination based on unknown motives as well. Despite its flaws,"The Target" is still sufficiently engaging to entertain- especially since its pace is brisk and its actors easy on the eye.Its a solid and frequently thrilling cinema which should provide genre fans with sufficient entertainment and excitement.

Gun Woman (2014)

This Japanese gem was much more entertaining than I was expected and I think it really deserves your attention if you are into the dark Asian thing you know. A doctor seeks for revenge from a crazy sadistic killer, responsible for his beloved wife's death. He finds a young female junkie and trains her to be the secret weapon for achieving his goal. The mission is really difficult as he has to pass her though an underground camp where strange people fulfill their sexual fetishes. The price of completing her task for this gun woman is to gain her freedom at last. Despite its low budget and maybe its amateur cinematography, especially in the beginning, this mixture of dark beauty and action will be remembered for some years, hopefully.

The frame (2014)

Starting writing film reviews after a whole year, makes me feel the thrills. And especially for such a movie as 'The Frame'. Jamin Winans (Ink) writes and directs an amazing story of two people living in parallel worlds. Alex is a thief working for a cartel dreaming to escape away from this situation. Sam is a determined paramedic trying to save the world while running from her past. They will connect each other through their television screens and try to understand the role of this ever-changing universe. Can they explore their inner selves as also avoid the dark creature determined to erase the world. A film that will move and hearten you with an incredible music score as well.

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Illustration © Sachin Teng

Out to lunch - Joseph Bennett (2014)

This is exactly the reason you never should call a yeti for an interview at a television broadcast. Especially if it's hungry all day.

OUT TO LUNCH from Joseph Bennett on Vimeo.

Barrio Brawler (2013)

Barrio Brawler is an interesting action film about martial arts and a story about two brothers who enter a fighting competition. Carlos Castillo is a sensei, a peaceful guy trying to find money to save his dojo from bankrupt and pay for the medications of his mother. He also wants to reconnect with his family again. He decides to find back his younger brother, Ricky who works under a mobster in his bar. Gangster Morales blackmails Ricky to force Carlos to enter his illegal pit fighting tournament as he recognizes his skills. Finally both brothers participate on this dangerous game in order to earn money. So this is a classic story without any special points and script. But the sequence is good, fighting parts are realistic and the cast is creative. After all it is a quite good production.