DECENT CLONE

Ridley Scott's „Alien” inspired entire generations of movie creators and it continues to do so 'till this very day. „Life” is one of the exact replicas of the 1979 masterpiece of SF horror and it does its ripping off relentlessly. There is no proper introduction, just plain old action and horror. The concept of the dormant alien creature (aka Calvin) that does its growing by devouring the crew of the Interantional Space Station is something we already saw more than once. All that follows represent one great mashup of deja vus that stretches out to the ending credits.

The A-list cast will do their parts without mistakes (especially Gyllenhaal), while the CGI and camera will be heavily influenced by the makers of „Gravity”.

Script will wander off pretty early in the movie, so expect no serious and scientifically justifiable plots.

„Life” will not surprise you, but will succeed in amusing you, especially if you were raised on the trash SF horror of the '80s.

LIFE – 5/10

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FIRST ONE WAS BETTER

Tarantino tends to make long movie stories, so „Kill Bill” wasn't much of an exception. With the overall time of over four hours, the quality and tempo of the story winds down in the second part of the saga, lacking the great standoffs from the first one.

As for the directing, all the major elements are there also, with with a lesser level of hommage, the creativity of sequences will be slightly lower, not diminishing Quentin's raw talent behind the camera. The epic ending will be somewhat of a anticlimactic when compared to the overall rhythm of the script as well.

„Kill Bill vol.2” is a good movie, but slightly weaker than the first part.

KILL BILL VOL.2 – 6/10

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STILL GRUESOME, BUT A BIT BANAL

Hitchcock invented thriller, but also managed to lift the horror movies to a psychologically convincing genre after decades of rubber dolls and poor makeup.

The concept of wildlife (in this case birds) turning against humans wasn't new in Hollywood, but presented visual effects and serious gore on the silver screen indeed were.

However, due to a technology evolution, „The birds” main advantages became its major flaws, not coming near to convincing the modern day viewer in its action sequences. Also, the very end will leave the story tangling in the air, finishing the dramatic movie too soon and too fast.

„The birds” were a remarkable achievement in its era, but also failed the test of time.

THE BIRDS – 5/10

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CONFUSING TOWARDS THE END

Korean thriller screenwriters just love to twist their stories and characters, and so did the makers of „The Yellow sea”.

A lowlife half-Chinese Gu-nam (portrayed by the reliable Jung-woo Ha) that comes from North to South Korea seeking his wife while embarked on a voyage to kill a businessman will start his journey in an interesting way, but will wander off from that well lit path somewhere along the way. Subplots, outcomes and the very ending will be left completely dangling in the wind of forced and non-creative solutions.

„The Yellow sea” starts as a great thriller, but ends as a mediocre one.

THE YELLOW SEA – 4/10

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ENTIRE GENRE REVAMPED

I thought that zombie horror subgenre was officially dead and I was wrong. I was wrong because Koreans hadn't done it before, at least not in the feature film format.

„Train to Busan” is basically an adapted manga, placed in a bullet train from Seoul to Busan, making it a classic situation thriller. The retarded basic storyline is there, as well as the corny dialogues and cliche characters, but so is the trademark Korean originality when it comes to intellectual subplots and extraordinary micro-action sequences. All of this will be spiced up with minimum CGI and a truly powerful, altough pathetic ending.

„Train to Busan” is probably the most original zombie horror ever filmed.

TRAIN TO BUSAN – 7/10

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NAIVE, BUT PRETTY INTERESTING

Spanish cinema brings us some truly original ideas, although at the very edge of probability in real life.

Script about the young cop that is forced to pretend to be a prisoner after a mutiny in a jail breaks out on his first day at work is one of those flicks that starts really slowly and unconvicingly, but manages to pick up the pace, develop some really interesting subplots along the way, only to end in a brutal and unexpected way, bearing the trademark of modern Spanish screenwriters.

Alberto Amann and Luis Tesar are really good as leads, absorbing the fact that supporting cast somewhat fails to impress (Marta Etura, Antonio Resines).

„Cell 211” deserves its chance despite its clumsy beginning.

CELDA 211 - 6/10

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GOD BLESS INDIE!

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Small indie-movies are the thing to watch over when it comes to competing with three world’s major cinemas, American, British and French. ”’71” comes from Ireland and tells the story about an desolated British soldier that becomes separated from its fellow comrades during the street riots in Belfast. Action is well packed, tensions are high and the overall atmosphere is pretty grim.

Script is based on the true events, but manages to deviate a little from the mainstream British-fueled political view of the entire Northern Ireland history, especially at the very end.

”’71” is a quality indie-flick with all of its advantages and misdemeanors.

'71 - 7/10