'Gerald's Game' (2017) - movie review

Back in game with Gerald's Game! *hehe, bet you didn't see that one coming* Anyway! Long time, no see and here I am back with more movie reviews, because my lazy as decided to actually do some work, I guess. So, here we have another 2017 film adaptation of a Stephen King book and yet again it's absolutely mesmerizing how awesome this movie is.

Basically, Gerald and Jessie go to a remote house in hopes to fix their marriage, but soon enough the husband dies and leaves poor Jessie handcuffed to the bed and then some goddamn intense shit happens and this movie is absolutely wonderful!

First of all, I'd like to say that this movie is pretty small-scale, I mean the filming locations they use are basically a room in a house and that's pretty much it, but it's just absolutely mindblowing what a brilliant director like Mike Flanagan can do with that, great actors, a good source material and being damn awesome.

The most important thing to me personally I'd like to talk about is the acting. Carla Gugino absolutely stole the entire movie, I mean, if it wasn't for her absolutely Oscar-worthy performance, the film would've suffered greatly. She's a great actress, I adore her so much and I really hope she gets nominated at the least for this career-defining performance. The other actors in the movie were great too but she totally stole it!

Another aspect of the movie, which I loved and want to talk about is how small and claustrophobic it feels. The film as a whole just keeps on closing on you and just slams you into the intense plot and the awesome cinematography, directing and acting and you just become a part of the movie.

Mike Flanagan, the director, is absolutely brilliant. I love all of his other movies - Oculus, Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, he's just so good at making something so small-scale be so gruesomely good, horrifying, intense and geniously made. The cinematography in all of his movie is mesmerizing, beautiful shots, breathtaking.

I really believe that this movie is among the few horror movies nowadays that are really good and horrifying in the true meaning of the word. I haven't been this scared of a horror film for quite some time now and I had to see a certain part of the film, which I won't spoil, a couple of times just to capture how wonderfully made it was.

The plot of the film is also very cohesive, it conveys the meaning of the movie and it really does depict the genuine mental struggles a person goes through their life, the obstacles one has to cross in order to live a healthy life, how to overcome fear, how to let go of the past. Everything about this movie is awesome.

To conclude, I would strongly recommend this movie to literally everyone, not only horror fans, because this film is a masterpiece and undoubtedly my favourite part of the movie is Carla Gugino's performance - goddamn genius, my god.

I'm giving this movie a strong 10/10

'Atomic Blonde' - Borko's film review

Yup. Another Charlize Theron action movie after Mad Max:Fury Road. After this one this one hell of a woman is surely an A-list action actress, because, damn, she's great.

I've been anticipating to see this movie as soon as I heard that Charlize Theron will be in the main role, since you know, I love her a lot as an actress (she's Leo too hehe) and after a while I got the chance to see it at the cinema.

Summary

'Atomic Blonde' is David Leitch's directorial debut and stars Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, the main protagonist, and James McAvoy as David Percival, the baddie (with John Goodman and an impressive ensemble on the supporting side). Basically the movie's about a British smoking-hot agent slash spy thrown by MI6 in Berlin amidst the fall of the Berlin Wall to retrieve a list of missing double agents and to beat up some really bad people. What shines about this movie is, of course, the acting, its overall stylish and original look, its score, the directing of the action scenes and cinematography - it certainly was a well-looking movie. What I found lacking, though, or simply not as good, was the plot.

One of the first scenes and I absolutely loved it

A pretty movie

First of all, I'd like to talk about the stylistic values of the movie. Style-wise the movie was insanely awesome, I mean, it was beautiful, fresh and original and had lots of thematically appropriate features like for example the spray painted credits and text (time stamps throughout the movie, etc.) and the cinematographically-constructed atmosphere really put some emphasis on the main character's personality and emotions, which to me was a very nice touch. I really enjoyed how the soundtrack worked for the film and how it was intertwined with the cinematography and the movie's effects. The directing was pretty good overall and I definitely would like to see more from David Leitch, because I really enjoyed his touch on the action genre, since it wasn't the usual action scene-shaky camera thing going on in nowadays' action movies. His directing combined with the beautiful cinematography resulted in a very good and exceptionally gorgeous movie, despite the plot being somewhat weak.

Mrs. Theron kicking some ass

An insanely good ensemble cast

God, oh god. This handful of actors really made the whole movie work. Charlize Theron literally owns the fucking movie and you really kind of get into her character's skin, especially during the fight scenes where when she gets punched in the face you'd be like 'oh, no, this hurts me too, crap, she's so good' and like, even though it's not exactly spoken about, you really feel her character's pain, despite it being covered under years of espionage. Another peak point for the movie was James McAvoy. I love this guy. He's amazing. Probs one of my most favourite actors nowadays. That dude really knows how to do his job. Props to him, though I don't think he'd ever have a better movie than M. Night Shyamalan's 'Split'. John Goodman is always nice to be seen on screen - almost like a warm hug, especially with that beard he has going. Oh, and the what's-his-name guy from Wayward Pines and the computer baddie from the second Captain America - he's kinda weird, kinda cool as always. Overall an awesome cast. OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT SOFIA BOUTELLA. I loved her scenes. They were smoking hot and I really can't wait to see more movies with her, because she's amazing in this one as well. She nailed those lesbian sex scenes with Theron's character, and that one action scene with McAvoy's character too. Loved it.

The chemistry between Boutella's and Theron's characters was amazing

A not as good plot

The plot surely wasn't as atomic as Charlize Theron's hair colour. I just felt it got kind of lost in the awesome action scenes and it was just being dragged around from one scene to another without really knowing what it wants. I mean, I just didn't really see what the main goal of the plot was. Was it to retrieve the list with the agents' names? Or was it to find the double agent Satchel? Or to fight Soviet spies? Or maybe to rescue the Spyglass agent guy? I just felt so lost thinking about it and then I thought to myself that I should just enjoy the awesome gorgeously-looking movie with all the amazing and breathtaking fight scenes rather than focusing on understanding the plot, because, after all, you know that it's an action movie and plot isn't exactly the strongest part about those movies.

Conclusion

Despite the somewhat weak plot, I found the movie immensely entertaining and I also had my needs for aesthetic pleasure greatly satisfied, which is always good. So anyway! If you're looking for a fun film to watch, a very intense action film, or a movie involving good acting and a pretty look, 'Atomic Blonde' is for you.

Kicking some more ass

'Dunkirk' (2017) - Borko's film review

My god, how should I even begin? Of course I've been anticipating to see this film, after watching some reviews on it in Youtube and I got very excited to see what might Christopher Nolan bring to a war movie and damn, I had HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE expectations and what's funny is that not only did the movie completely meet my expectations, but it absolutely obliterated them lolzzz.

Semi-summary

Anyway, let's start off with some summary of the plot (spoiler-free ofc). Basically from 00:00 till the end of the movie we're immersed in World War II-torn Dunkirk, you know, the place where Britain evacuated thousands of French and British soldiers - right now you might 'hey, that sounds pretty borderline boring and done before, remember Saving Private Ryan??? literally the same, right??' Weeeeell, not exactly. What's so interesting about this movie besides everything else that it does in a genius way, is that it is about WAR and not about some certain characters, it literally represents war, but in a very interesting, original and extremely impactful way. I mean, no, we don't really root for any of the characters and aren't really invested in them and in their development, but what does movie this is to make us be a part of this warfare, of the soldier's tragedies.

Did anybody say 'characters'?

We don't really care about Harry Styles's or Tom Hardy's characters, but we do care about the people, the soldiers that are going through all this. That, combined with an astonishing soundtrack by the magnificent Hans Zimmer and the brilliant directing of Christopher Nolan, results in an absolutely enthralling war movie, as I see it, probably the best one.

GUYS IT'S HARRY STYLES OMG SHOOK AF

About the plot

Let's talk a bit about the plot, because it's another interesting and very characteristic thing about the film. The plot is non-linear and, how do I put it, there are practically 3 different chronotopes and all of them are placed in the universe of Dunkirk (they're actually presented in the beginning). So one is 'The Mole', another is 'The Sea' and the last one is 'The Air' and each one has different characters and different stories developing. All of this is very interesting, because near the ending all of these different chronotopes converge into one and basically all of the characters meet and plot points combine into one and it's really amazing, it's hard to explain, you should see it tbh.

Pheeeooooooow

Wonderful things happen here

Another thing I'd like to discuss is how this movie was shot. The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking and every shot and scene are mind-bogglingly beautiful, the colours are amazing and the whole movie is shot in a very inspired and wonderful way. I'm really impressed by the effects in this movie because it doesn't use absolutely any CGI, it relies on real ships, real planes and so on, and the extras that were in this movie were like thousands lol, you should've seen the credits :DDDDD. All of this combined with the genius mind of Christopher Nolan and all the amazing acting and soundtrack results in a very realistic, immersing, interesting and brilliant experience. What's more, I love the fact that Nolan knows exactly how long to make a scene, not too short and not too long, just perfect to make you feel it. That dude's genius, hands down.

This was actually so impressive I mean it's literally hundreds of ppl??

Private Ryan who? Who dis?

Moreover, I really loved that the movie was kind of light compared to other war movies like the aforementioned Saving Private Ryan, maybe due to the fact that it's rated PG-13 and there's much blood or graphic content (probably so more people can watch it, including kids). Some people might consider that a fault, because 'DUDE IT'S A WAR MOVIE, IT SHOULD SHOW SOME BLOOD AND GRAPHIC STUFF LIKE FLYING LIMBS, YA KNOW?!?!', but I really couldn't disagree more, because in this movie the flying limbs aren't what makes you feel the tragedy and the grief, the desire for survival and to go home that all of these soldiers are experiencing and that's what's so thrilling about this genius picture, not jumping heads. 

In conclusion

Anyway, to conclude, I'd like to say that I absolutely loved this movie and I strongly recommend it to everyone who's looking for an exceptionally good and exciting movie (and who can appreciate such). And also definitely see it at the cinema if you have the chance, it's absolutely worth it, trust me.

'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Episode 3 - Svetoslav's review

Game of Thrones’s Season 7 third episode ultimately left me with mixed feelings. It somehow manages to condense the show's best and worst into one (very long) episode.

***Spoiler alert!***

What happens with the Sand Snakes?

First of all we finally get a very good conclusion to the worst plot line of them all - Dorne. I'm sure just about everyone knows how bad the series has handled Dorne. Their whole story never really made sense, the Sand Snakes were always just there and Ellaria, while charming in her own way, never quite had her lover Oberyn’s charisma. Their actions often left viewers scratching their heads. The best we can say about them is that they're finally gone. Cersei has Ellaria and I-forgot-what-her-name-was chained in a dungeon facing each other and after a short but passionate speech executes the last living Sand Snake in the same manner in which Myrcella was killed and then proceeds to leave the body in front of Ellaria to rot. It was a very well done scene, and I especially liked the moment when they try to pull from their chains in vain. Rest easy, the worst part of the show is over, if a bit too late.

And what about Jon and Daenerys?

Now Jon is something else. How he acts in this episode is just plain weird, if not downright autistic. He talks to Daenerys as if she's the first person he's ever met. On top of that the only thing he talks about is *The Army of the Dead*. Now we all know that's important, or at least will be - in the next season probably. He never really makes a meaningful attempt at convincing her of the impending doom, he literally just says “We will all die some day if we don't help each other”. He truly should never have come to Dragonstone and should have instead sent someone more experienced in diplomacy and politics - Sansa or Littlefinger. Speaking of Daenerys, I find her as full as ever. As much as people love glorifying her, she has in reality achieved very little on account of her own abilities. She acts like a queen but has no experience being one - remember, she was much hated in Slaver's Bay and her reign there was fraught with incessant unrest. The only thing keeping her alliance intact is her dragons, which, while powerful, are not invulnerable. Still, you don't have to be smart to be a good ruler, you just need to have smart advisers. Those she lacks too.

But where's Tyrion in all this?

To me, Tyrion stopped being Tyrion the moment he left Westeros. He used to be witty and charming and wise and cunning and now he is just a man with a horrible sense of humor and no skill at politics or warfare. The same Tyrion that successfully defended King's Landing failed to foresee either of Euron’s raids. He failed to foresee the fall of Highgarden, but worst of all, he sent a foreign army to capture Casterly Rock - a bloody battle for a castle thousands of kilometers away from the actual theatre of war and with no strategic value. Of the battle itself I have little to say, except that I hate the way the show omits the combat scenes and recaps them in later conversations. While this was tolerable back in the early days of the show when it had to run on a tight budget, it's now one of the most expensive TV series ever made, and especially considering the shorter length if this season I find no reasonable excuse to remove such scenes. 

The Golden Roses' withering

It's the same case with the Tyrells and Highgarden. There isn't a battle , only one amazing scene with Olenna following it (how a few thousand Lannister men managed to seize Highgarden from the strongest remaining regions of the Seven Kingdoms is beyond me). The scene really is good, it shows just how much Jaime believes in Cersei, and it proves that no one is invincible in the game of thrones, even someone as experienced as the Queen of Thorns. As skilled as she framed to be, her actions still led to the annihilation of the entirety of House Tyrell, and though she gained a small measure of revenge by informing Jaime that she killed Joffrey at the Purple Wedding, we still get a feeling that she bitterly regrets what she's done, in spite of what she says.

Olenna aka Queen of Thorns (and sass)

The lioness

I love what the show has done with Cersei these last couple of seasons. She started out as just another prideful and power-hungry character with no particular ability at the start of the series, she was humiliated by the Faith Militant last season, and now she has turned into a true lioness. Unlike before, she now knows both what she wants and how to get it. In a single episode, with only marginal losses to her own faction, she took out the Reach, Dorne and the Theon/Asha faction of the Iron Islands, leaving Daenerys with few allies and numerous opportunities to brood on Dragonstone. Oh, and she exacted revenge for the death of her daughter as a bonus. Well done, Cersei.

In conclusion

I'd like to point out one last thing. Apparently it's not just Tyrion that has no flair for strategy. Let's look at the facts. Not only did Daenerys blunder by sending her best troops into a battle that did not need to be fought, she is also hosting a massive army at Dragonstone. An army marches on its stomach, her army is big and Dragonstone is very small. We can safely assume Stannis took all the food supplies with him to the Wall, so… what exactly is her army eating? What about the dragons? With winter descending upon the realms food will be of very limited supply on the mainland, and military logistics is a nightmare even in the best of conditions, which war torn lands are not. To me, personally, Cersei needn't do anything - foolishness and hunger will defeat Daenerys’s host. 

All in all, the episode takes several steps forward and just as many backward. It has the extremes of good and bad, but ultimately, it's the sum of it's parts - mediocre.

6.5/10

'The VVitch' - Borko's movie review

THIS MOVIE IS ART

Here I am with yet another horror movie post, but this time a review on a movie I most recently had the chance to see and boy, oh boy, it was good. Like, good good. Amazingly good good, no, beyond that.

Nice curves, Anya

Anyway, let's get on with it, the movie was...

'The VVitch: A New-England Folktale'

...directed by Robert Eggers and starring my favourite newcomer actress Anya Taylor-Joy ('Split'; 'Morgan') in the main role.

This movie was literally the best horror film I've seen in quite some time now, probably one of my all time favourites, because it's goddamn brilliant, it's genius, it's overwhelmingly marvelous in virtually every way. 'The VVitch' was a film that was interesting from start to beginning and with each scene it became progressively more horrifying, more tense and harder to watch - it was wonderful. No cheap thrills, every scene was briliant.

What was it about?

First of all, I'd like to point out that 'The VVitch' is an astonishing suspenseful and tension-filled horror movie revolving around a New-England family that starts their life anew on their new farm somewhere near a forest and soon enough things get pretty damn shitty, 'cause viewers come to realize that the goddamn forest is where a bloody witch resides.

But why is it such an awesome movie anyway?

What's so genius and amazing about this movie is that there hardly is any gore, there aren't any jump scares and tropes that you would see in most cheap and dumb supernatural/gore horrors. Like, this isn't any horror movie. This is an incredibly unique and original horror that I encourage everyone interested in the genre or generally everyone who'd like to see a good movie to just watch.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin

'The VVitch' succeeds in everything it attempts to do and does it with absolute grace, it's flawless.  It slowly builds an intense and very unsettling atmosphere through an amazing cast, wonderful score and awesome an screenplay. The cast is right on point with, as I said, my favourite Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin - the eldest daughter of William and Katherine (played by the batshit crazy woman Lysa Arryn from Game of Thrones). The actors in this movie are beyond incredible and we see amazing performances by Anya Taylor-Joy and from Thomasin's little brother. They just bring a lot to the general atmosphere, to the movie and to its suspense.

Another great feature of the movie is its incredible directing and cinematography - every shot is beautiful, breathtaking and just gets the viewer's attention and quite literally grabs him by the throat, hardly leaving him throughout the entire runtime.

One of the greatest highlights of the movie to me personally is its score/soundtrack. Oh my god that shit was glorious, it had me terrified and practically is responsible for how genius this movie generally is.

Even the movie's colors were great, because they fitted the overall mood of the characters, the film's tone and were basically a reflection of the characters' feelings and what was going on around them.

Another thing I'd like to say is that I really loved how the character of the witch was built. Virtually, the witch was presented as a haunting threat, something that doesn't directly go out and murder the family, but rather corrupts it indirectly, causing it to break apart.

An evil demon hare right from the film

Final thoughts?

I thought that the movie was great, 10/10 and I recommend it to everyone who'd like to see a very good, meaningful movie. If you expect to see a cheap horror with jump scares and all-round gore, this definitely isn't the movie for you.

4 new generation must-see horror film recommendations

'Get Out' (2017) - dir. Jordan Peele

Not gonna lie, това определено е един от най-любимите ми филми, които съм гледал тази година и определено е в топ 10 хорър филми в моята лична класация. Филмът представя главния герой и приятелката му, които отиват на гости при родителите ѝ. Интересното е, че главният герой е чернокож, а приятелката му е бяла, и когато пристигат в къщата на родителите ѝ, нещата се оказват, че далеч не са такива каквито са.

"Бягай!" ми хареса изключително много, защото беше филм на ужасите, но нивото на насилие, jump scares и пр. беше сведено до минимално и самият филм беше просто уникален - напълно съм убеден, че до момента не е правен подобен и е единствен по рода си в това, което прави - представя леко болна тема по изключително остроумен, напрегнат, интересен и вълнуващ начин. В един момент публиката ще се смее, а половин минута по-късно ще е на ръба на седалките си.

Горещо препоръчвам този филм и освен това смятам, че е един от най-блестящите примери, че не е нужно да излееш няколко галона кръв, за да направиш брилянтен филм на ужасите.

'The Babadook' (2014) - dir. Jennifer Kent

*въздишка* Обожавам този филм. Вероятно най-дълбокия хорър филм, който някога съм гледал, 'The Babadook' просто е гениален в това, което прави. На пръв поглед изглежда като поредния евтин хорър филм с някакво зле направено чудовище, но той далеч не е това, той представя трагичната история на една вдовица и сина ѝ и метафорично описва тъгата/депресията с образа на прокрадващия се Babadook. Обожавам всичко в този филм - от брилянтната Oscar-worthy игра на Essie Davis, до красивата, но и едновременно зловеща синематография.

Препоръчвам филма на всеки, който обича да гледа психологични, атмосферични филми, които наистина да го накарат да се замисли.

'10 Cloverfield Lane' (2016) - dir. Dan Trachtenberg

Косвено продължение на умопомрачителния sci-fi found footage 'Cloverfield' на J. J. Abrams, '10 Cloverfield Lane' е изящен пример за suspenseful и още 'клаустрофобичен' трилър. Във филмът става въпрос за една жена, която е 'отвлечена' от непознат мъж в неговото подземно убежище. Той е убеден, че извън бункера, в който се намират, светът е превзет от извънземни, следователно не могат да излязат и тук стигаме до това, което прави филмът толкова специален - зрителят на практика не може да прецени дали старецът (John Goodman в ролята) наистина говори истината или просто е побъркан; не може да се разбере какво наистина става и дали наистина светът извън бункера е обитаван от извънземни. Всичко относно филмът е spot on - актьорската игра, диалогът, героите и развитието им. Много ми хареса това, че главната героиня не беше традиционната за хорър филмите тъпа тийнейджърка, която кара зрителите да крещят "нееее, не отваряй вратата" - напротив, беше изключително хитра и умна, но нека не спойлвам повече С:

На практика всяка една сцена във филма беше много интересна и на места дори е трудно да си поемеш дъх от напрежение. Обожавам този филм и горещо го препоръчвам.

'Split' (2017) - dir. M. Night Shyamalan

'Split' е страхотен психо-трилър. Става въпрос за шизофреник с 23 различни личности, който отвлича три момичета. Искам да подчертая, че този филм е брилянтен и просто се прекланям пред страхотното завръщане, което M. Night Shyamalan направи с 'The Visit', а сега и с този филм. Всичко относно филма е страхотно - режисирането, синематографията, всяка сцена е изключително интересна и thought-provoking, но това, което наистина отличава този филм е страхотната актьорска игра на James McAvoy и Anya Taylor-Joy ('The VVitch'; 'Morgan') и супер интересния сценарий и screenplay на M. Night Shyamalan. Резултатът е един изключително добър psycho-thriller с отличителните за Shyamalan хумористични моменти на места - това всъщност е и една от най-яките черти на филма - буквално в един момент може да се хилиш на някоя hilarious шега и буквално секунда по-късно да се тресеш от страх и напрежение от това какво може да се случи. Препоръчвам. 

Новото поколение филми на ужасите (и защо жанрът не е това, което беше)

Може да се каже, че съм изключително запален по филмите на ужасите и това е на практика любимият ми жанр филми, защото за разлика от останалите жанрове като драмата, комедията и пр., те ни предлагат едно много по-напрегнато, вълнуващо, изпълнено със страх и адреналин приключение; срещат ни лице в лице с истинска опасност, което за мен е нещо наистина страхотно. И освен че съм наясно с жанрът като цяло, също съм наясно и с общото мнение, че тези филми представляват:

1. Кланици, рязане на крайници, over the top насилие
2. Свръхестествени глупости, блъскащи се врати, прелитащи мебели, екзорсизъм, а-у
3. Спонтанно изскачащи неприятни на вид личности/създания/неща

Но тук идва и интересното!

В последно време хорър жанрът далеч не е това, което беше, защото тези три колони, аксиоми, свързани с филмите на ужасите изглежда избледняват и биват изместени - новите филми са много по-добри и по-качествени, защото вече не разчитат на евтини трикове и изкуствена кръв, а вместо това на създаване на напрегната атмосфера, мистериозни, интересни герои, които се развиват с течение на филма, вълнуваща история с послание, която потапя зрителя в ужасяващата атмосфера на филма. Много повече внимание започва да се обръща на музиката, придружаваща сцените в него, набляга се на напрежение, на очакване, на атмосферичен ужас, а не на евтино сплашване.

За жалост обаче съществува и друг проблем

Макар и напоследък все повече филми на ужасите да стават много по-качествени и по-значими, нараства и проблемът със средностатическия зрител. Повечето хора обикновено са свикнели, когато чуят за филм на ужасите да си мислят за онези евтини филми с много кръв и малко акъл, тоест, много хора просто са забравили или не знаят какво наистина е филм на ужасите, страшен филм, който да влезе под кожата ти, а не просто да те стресне с някой евтин трик. Хората са забравили всички онези стари филми, които изобщо дадоха начало на този жанр. Хубавото е, че сега се възраждат, и се появяват повече и повече нови страхотни и оригинални филми, но малко хора ги оценяват, защото очакват да видят същите тъпотии и евтини шитни, които са свикнали да виждат във филми от жанра. Например уникални и гениални филми като The Babadook и A Cure for Wellness са супер недооценени, просто защото хората, когато ги гледат, очакват да видят например, в The Babadook, чудовище, което разпарчетосва вътрешностите на героите или, в A Cure for Wellness, някакви психопати, които преследват главния герой и пр. Но тези неща ги няма и вместо тях има една наистина страшна и много зловеща атмосфера, има един страхотен филм, в който няма евтини и изтъркани тропи, на които много хора вече са свикнали.

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Общо взето това исках да кажа с този пост, в скоро време ще публикувам и пост с new generation хорър филми, които препоръчвам и лично обожавам. Farewell.