nikosxen Reviews

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)

Pretty decent

[7/10 · 15 November 2021]

I really don't get all those who trash the movie claiming that it doesn't feel like a Paranormal Activity movie. I mean, do you really miss doors closing, chandeliers moving and loud foot steps? Or you are missing using an xbox in order to see a figure? Yeah so frightening... This movie, is a decent more or less typical horror found footage film, that basically uses the name of Paranormal Activity as a marketing tool, since the resemblance to the original title is very little. I really like the fact that they turned away from the stupid cheap looking production and boring scenery which was usually your typical middle class house and they went to something new such as an Amish community with no electricity and so on. Also I really liked the cinematography, some of the images were very beautiful, sound design was ok, and the plot was meh, ok I guess nothing really special. But for me its certainly a big upgrade from the extremely limited and repetitive ideas that the previous 6 movies were using. For all those who keep complaining, it's obvious that the franchise was becoming extremely stale and this is a nice little change of direction with an ending that leaves an open door to a couple more sequels I guess. Also the performance of the main protagonist was not that great but whatever, who is expecting oscar worth performances in horror found footage.

I Care a Lot (2020)

Absolut Garbage

[1/10 · 20 February 2021]

This film is just garbage, absolute garbage. I had high hopes from the premise. But five minutes in and and the movie starts pandering with social garbage. Our protagonist has just destroyed a woman's life and her son comes after her calling her names and her reaction is to respond as if the cause of his outburst is mainly propelled by the fact that she is a woman, which of course automatically means that he thinks of her as being inferior...What? I mean, what kind of garbage is this? Let me give you some advice. If you want to portray someone, as a sexist pig, you have to give some context, some background so we can get behind our protagonist and her claims, or else she just becomes an obscene dislikeable mess. Generally the protagonist has to have some sort of redeeming quality, we as an audience have to care of her/him in some way, even if it's minute. What we got was probably the most dislikeable character ever made, to the point where the movie becomes a cringe mess. I watched this movie because of Rosamund Pike, I think she is a terrific actor and I just keep comparing this movie to Gone Girl. In contrast to this garbage, what we got there was a perfect balance between someone who was kind of an anti hero, kind of a villain, BUT you understood her background and there were times were you felt sympathy for her and even routed for her, even if she was a psychopath. Also, all the social commentary about genre stereotypes was perfectly portrayed and spot on and you could clearly see the problems. This is what a good script is supposed to look like. I just don't get why Netflix would greenlight a garbage like this and I have an extremely hard time understanding who would find this movie to be even adequate.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Visually stunning, plot wise horrible

[5/10 · 1 June 2019]

I think that this is going to be very straightforward. Visually, this is probably one of the best movies ever made. Monsters looked amazing and quite realistic, animation was great, the visual effects were stunning, sound design even though at some point it became a bit repetitive and tiresome because of the non stop ( and some times no reason) explosions it was pretty spot on. And then there is the plot. I swear to god,be prepared ,if you want to watch this movie, you will literary have to turn your brains off. I am not going to get in any spoilers, but this movie makes absolutely no sense or whatsoever. Most of the decisions made are irrational and borderline stupid, the main conflict of the protagonists is just laughable or absolutely insane,depending how much you are going to think about it, the information delivered comes in the most cliched and uninspiring ways with exposition being all over the place...It's quite a shame because honestly this didn't even feel like a movie.You don't have to write an oscar worthy script for every movie, especially for monster movies, but come on, this is like a 6th grader story made as an assignment for school. It felt as if a production company hired the best cgi studios in the world and they delivered a stunning result and when it came to writing the script, they probably used the first draft that they ever made, it's honestly that bad.If this movie had an adequate script it would honestly be like an 8 or even 9 for its genre, what a waste of an opportunity.

Us (II) (2019)

most overhyped movie

[5/10 · 22 March 2019]

I am sure that this review is going to get a ton of down votes and I am pretty sure that all those 10/10 reviews are bot accounts (if you dont believe me check the profiles) so I wont spent much time analyzing the film. Many many plot holes,little substance and ultimately you have a movie with a weak script based on a good idea that takes itself way to seriously without achieving even half of what it promises. Get out worked that well because it didn't take itself that seriously and there was always an underlying tone of dark comedy to it. It gets a 5 because I liked the cinematography and I thought that the performances where actually quite good!

Arctic (2018)

Top notch performance, lacking script

[6/10 · 19 March 2019]

I don't know why, but I went into this movie hopping for something amazing, I cant really figure out why. Maybe because when I see that Mads Mikkelsen stars in a movie it instantly intrigues me. So reading that this is going to be a solo Mads Mikkelsen movie about survival in the arctic, I was like - what else do you want? one and a half hour of fine acting should be enough.Well, no. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie, the performance is top notch as usual,photography is great, the locations are really compelling and some times the way the information is revealed is through clever ideas especially when it comes to narration and exposition.But the biggest flaw of the movie, is it's story, especially because of the existence of another character, who personally, even if I understood why she was there and the conflict she created, it just felt unnecessary.I admit I was much more invested in his own personal story and it was kind of distracting to me.Also I felt that the specific ending was a bid abrupt and not quite earned, but this is a minor detail.Finally, having said all that, props to the director, since it's his first attempt at a full length feature film and I hope I watch more of his movie in the feature.

First Reformed (2017)

Ethan Hawke's best Performance

[6/10 · 25 November 2018]

Another mixed bag for me. I really wanted to like this movie. Ethan Hawke delivers his best performance yet, Amanda Seyfried is also very good, the whole tone of the movie is genuinely depressing and I really felt the depth of some of the dialogue between the characters. But in the end I felt disconnected by the means the director used in order to achieve his purpose. I felt like I was force fed all of his environmental concerns in a very direct way and this is something that always turns me off when I watch a movie. Of course it's fine when someone wants to have a political message in a movie, and the destruction of the environment is certainly a noble one, but I don't like it when movies portray such complex issues in such an absolute and simplistic way.I mean my biggest problem with the movie (SPOILERS) was the fact that Ethan Hawke's character eventually changed his world view because of an activist. I mean I get the allegory between hope and despair when it came to him and Mary and the contrast between his "true" belief and the commercial belief of the other pastor, both of these explain the crisis he finds himself into, and of course the fact that he discovers he is probably very sick.But to me, if drastic change didn't come from his sons lost in the war, when it comes to his belief and world view, I just doubt it that meeting an activist who is also clearly depressive is a strong motive for such a man to change.

Ghost Stories (I) (2017)

Interesting but eventually uneven

[6/10 · 4 November 2018]

This is a 50-50 movie for me. It had great performances (especially Alex Lawther, he was amazing), all the stories were interesting and compelling, all of them had well crafted atmosphere and tone, the horror element was decent ( even though it had some stupid jump scares) and watching it again, it has a lot of easter eggs and elements that you wont notice during the first watch, something that makes this experience more appealing to me. But then you reach the ending..I really disliked the ending. Me personally, I was praying for the movie not to have an ending like this, which by the way reminded me of the movie Stay, with Ewan Mcgregor and Ryan Gosling. It just felt as if it was building up to something unique and ultimately I felt very disconnected and uninterested in the end. It's certainly worth watching, it's just a shame that it comes of as a movie that could have been really great but ends up being kind of forgettable.

Mandy (I) (2018)

Different than the rest

[7/10 · 31 October 2018]

I am not quite sure how I feel about this movie yet.So this wont be long. Just a couple of thoughts. First of all, visually I found it to be extremely beautiful and appealing, you could even call it gorgeous. All the actors are excellent and they fit their roles perfectly, I loved watching Nicolas Cage being in a movie like this ( the scene in the toilet is still stuck inside my head). The audio is really interesting.Some might find it sickening. I thought elevated the movie. The plot...the plot is for everyone to judge on their own. The premise is simple, but what goes on and how can everything be interpreted is easily a 5 hours discussion. The only thing that I have to notice is that the movie is essentially separated in two parts, which have little to no resemblance when it comes to tone, speed, violence etc. Some may find that weird, I thought that it was really interesting. Overall I thought it was certainly a different and unique experience and I recommend watching it!

The Blackcoat's Daughter (I) (2015)

Pretty decent low budget horror film

[7/10 · 31 October 2018]

Watched this movie last night. Glad to say I enjoyed it! Simple premise good execution. Don't watch this movie expecting jump scares,loud noises and stupid unrealistic decisions made by the characters. This is a slow burn, it starts slowly and it keeps building tension until the final act. From the beginning you get this unease, almost sickening feeling that something is just not right. And in my opinion it pays well in the end. I was really impressed with Kiernan Shipkas performance, I thought she was excellent. Overall pretty solid horror movie, well done.

Halloween (I) (2018)

Had a good premise, but ultimately felt flat

[5/10 · 27 October 2018]

So I am a big fan of the original movie.I love Mike Myers as a villain. He doesn't have a grandiose purpose, he doesn't speak at all, he doesn't show anywhere any kind of emotion.Essentially he represents total evil, a modern Boogeyman. And I love the fact that the premise is so simple and not convoluted. What I really like about this movie was how Mike was portrayed, 40 years after the original events. He was an old man,wrinkled, thin (not humongous like in the Rob Zombie movie) but still so imposing. I loved the fact that you could actually witness his transformation but you never get to see his real face. And during the movie, you can just feel that there is no purpose to his actions, his is just an evil killing machine, set out after forty years to continue doing what he does best. I also liked the mask, it is probably the best mask I've seen throughout the whole series. It felt old and tattered but still creepy and it fitted perfectly with the character. And that's about it when it comes to the positives. My biggest problem with this movie is the characters. Besides the family, all of them, and I mean literary all of them are just stupid plot devices for the movie to move forward. They have no actual depth, no intelligence, no purpose, no nothing, they are just there conveniently in order to advance the plot, but it is so obvious and blunt that it gets frustrating. Also some of them are so absurd and unfit. Especially the dad character. WHY? Who thought that putting cringe worthy dad jokes in a Halloween movie as a comic relief would be a good idea? Why is every movie obligated to have comic relief? It really pisses me off. The three women of the movie are kind of ok I guess. I mean really dont buy the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis just turned on full commando mode after all those years, it seemed a bit stupid to be honest but I guess that at some point it is explained by the main psychiatrist who mentions that people cope with psychological trauma in different ways. But I think it could be handled much better and deeper. Mom and daughter were decent, nothing really different from other similar horror movie roles. As for the plot itself, it was kind of a disappointment, mainly because it started off with a good premise, finding out what has happened to Michael 40 years later and I honestly thought that it would have a much darker and more sinister direction. But it ended up being a typical horror-slasher movie with no thrills, couple of clever shots, non existing plot, boring characters and a cool depiction of Michael. Overall I guess you can call this a crowd pleaser movie, I am pretty sure that people are going to have a good time with it, and I guess it's ok in that sense, going into a theater watching a slightly stupid slightly entertaining horror movie, munching pop corn and then immediately forgetting about it. But I really think that this movie could have taken a much more interesting direction, especially with John Carpenter being involved.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

I am so disappointed...

[3/10 · 23 October 2018]

This is my very first review. But after watching this series I felt that I had to sit down and write my thoughts on it. First of all the main reason I watched The Haunting of Hill House was because of Mike Flanagan. So far, I felt like his was one of the most promising directors when it comes to horror movies, he seemed to understand what horror is about and he tried to avoid most of the stupid cliches that most of modern day horror movies are all about. But with this one..Oh boy. I just don't know where to start. First of all.The jump scares. THE FREAKING JUMP SCARES. This series was totally devoid of ANY KIND of suspense or any sort of buildup. I lost count of how many times I was saying -heeeere comes a loud noise! -geeet ready for a stupid cgi demon face... I mean why? Besides of a couple of exceptions, my main two reactions when it came to these so called horror scenes, was either yawning or being annoyed by the stupidity and the predictability of these jump scares. Also when it came to the cgi or the make up, I also thought that they were either poor or unimaginative. Then came the actors. First lets take the children actors. The were SO ANNOYING. I mean I get it,some of them were around 10 years old and you can only get so much out of a kid. But the hyperbole... I mean come on you can do better than that. Because it really felt as if they were instructed to act like that and it was so bad and distracting. Moving on now to the main adult actors. I have seen some of them on previous Mike Flanagan movies and they were actually quite decent there. But here, they were just plain bad. I am not sure if the script was that bad or if they were instructed for their whole approach to their roles, but I swear I have never felt such a dislike about so many characters.This is probably the most irritating, unattractive set of characters I 've ever seen in a series. They were so dislikeable, that I honestly felt like turning it off at sometimes. And I guess a pretty large portion of that is based on the script, the dialogues and the monologues.. Most of the were either absurd and felt totally out of place, or they were SO corny and cheesy and they tried sooo hard to make me care and they failed miserably. With the exception of probably the last monologue, which was ok I guess, most of them were borderline stupid and also some of them were SO LONG. It really felt like I 've wasted 10 hours of my life.I watched the whole thing because I kept telling myself something is gonna change,maybe there is a clever twist, maybe....But no. I cant find a single redeeming quality about this series. It had a very nice set design, I have to give it that, the house looked really nice and the whole premise seemed to be interesting ,and around the end of the series it felt like the plot was actually leading to something (which it didnt..) but besides that, I just can't help but wonder why this series has a 9.1 with 25.000+ votes. I am really shocked.