[JonE(vil)]

Phantom. 2023. South Korea.
10/10
​Espionage in WW2 occupied Korea.
Five people are bought to a hotel under the suspicion that one of them is a spy. Their characters are well formed and the tension rises.
From the director of Believer its a well filmed spy action thriller. Set mainly in the hotel, it has really good script with excellent acting. When the action kicks off it maintains a constant flow that isn't jerky or distracting. Always interesting and compelling. The set design, costumes and direction have the influence of Park Chan Wook, but the individual style of this director.

[JonE(vil)]

The laughing policeman. 1973.
4/10
Police procedural drama about a mass shooting on a bus with one of the victims being a cop. Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern and Louis Gossertt jr star as the cops along with others investigating the case. For the most part it ticks along with all involved trying to find a lead. But for the last act it cuts out everyone and centers just on Dern and Matthau. With references to a previous case it does become a pure drama with only Dern being animated.

[JonE(vil)]

Singapore Sling. 1990. Greece.
8/10
A wounded man takes refuge with a woman and her daughter.
Black and white with a cast of three, the plot winds together with the two women realizing that they killed the woman he's looking for. Art house style where the women directly address the camera. The film has a highly erotic theme to it, with a lot of sexual play, some of it violent. This works as the women are capable of violence but also seem mentally off, the daughter esp.

[JonE(vil)]

Troll factory. 2023. South Korea.
3/10
A reporter is set up by a online troll farm.
Interesting drama about a reporter, who does a story about piece of tech that failed and the allegation that it was smeared online by a internal group of trolls working for a huge corporation.
The film is said to be based on a true story, it sets up the characters well enough, but the looseness of it and the vagueness of the people made it hard to follow.

It sets up the characters well enough, but

[JonE(vil)]

Just 6.5. (Law of Tehran)
5/10
Crime drama about catching a drug lord in Iran.
Interesting drama that starts with a drug bust in a low income neighbourhood. From there the cops inch their way forward before they get an address for the bloke their looking for.
Most of the film after that deals with the huge amount of drug addicts they round up for processing. Shows the conditions that they are held in and there relentless pursuit for someone higher in the ladder.
It has a subplot involving one of the officers and main suspect, but mainly focuses on the core cast.
With a run time of just over 2 hours it does feel a bit long, but a interesting look at punishment in Iran.

[JonE(vil)]

The godfathers of mondo. 2003.
​6/10
A doco that mainly interviews the two creators of the original Mondo Cane.
The two creators explain that the original idea was to show parts of the world, in 1962 when it was released, that the average person would not have a chance of seeing. This would include the reality of death on film. From there they explain what happened next with the explosion of the 'mondo' series and what could be described as ever more violent films and the 'issues' they had.

No trailer.

[JonE(vil)]

The factory. 2018. Russia.

7/10.

After finding out that a construction factory is being closed down at the end of the month, a group of workers band together and take the owner hostage to get a ransom. Good drama that is kinda light in certain aspects, but has a plot that moves a steady pace. Things happen and there is no boring chit chat between the characters. Mostly set in the factory it has a down beat kinda feel similar to the directors previous films. A realistic look at the reality of a 'blue collar' worker in Russia.

[JonE(vil)]

Assault on precinct 13. 1978.
7/10
A police station that is due to close the next day is under siege by gang.
Written and directed by John Carpenter, it starts by setting up a series of characters who all eventually come together at the station.
Not too much of the plot is dedicated to the motives of the gang other than they want revenge for the killing of fellow members. It moves at a steady pace, with the precinct the basis of the film. Good action with a solid focus on the main characters and a 90 minute run time.

[JonE(vil)]

Shenanddoah. 1965.
8/10
A father refuses to get involved in the american civil war until his youngest son is taken prisoner.
Starring James Stewart as the father of a large family in the Virginia, it takes a very moral kinda stand even thou the state is on the losing end. It hints at slavery with the youngest having a black friend of similar age. When a soldier asks to marry his daughter he's ok with it, seemingly knowing that he will be called up to fight. The plot is well written with a conservative 'family value' feel. Shows the reality of war even thou it lacks the gritty violence that is portrayed in today's films. It does have a bleak ending, but with a spring of hope at the end as the remaining characters pull together.

[JonE(vil)]

Handling the undead. Norway. 2024.
6/10
A massive power cut reanimates the dead.
Slow quiet drama about three families that have recently lost a family member, who come back as zombies.
Each is quite different, one remains in hospital, one turns up back at home and the last is dug up and is taken to a remote cabin.
Plot wise there is nothing really there. With a small cast and not alot of dialogue, it more a study of grief and what might happen if they could see them again, albeit, with a form of life but not outward signs of recognition.
Well filmed with long takes and good make up, it fails to build any tension and in the end resorts to a familar trope.