Army of Thieves

 Did we really need a prequel to Army of the Dead? No. Do we really need a sequel? No. Do we really need an animated series? No....but if the animated series and the sequel are as fun as the prequel then i am all for em. Army of Thieves is a heist film during a zombie apocalypse, but unlike AotD the virus is just in the US so the rest of the world is just watching. Where as the first is a zombie film this here just acknowledges their existence and the center of attention is the heist itself. Matthias Schweighofer reprises his role but also takes on director duties, at first i rolled my eyes at the thought of this but he nails his character, as does the rest of the heist team. It is self aware, funny and stylish. Was it rushed and unneeded? Yes. Fuck it though, it was fun. 

No One Gets Out Alive

 No One Gets Out Alive is another step up from both Hypnotic and There's Someone Inside Your House, but it still feels very Netflix. It is not quite a slow burn just boring, but the final act goes full of effects drive gorefest and totally makes up for it. It just needed a bit more development with both the plot and the characters. 

There's Someone Inside Your House

 There's Someone Inside Your House is a step up from Hypnotic in the Netflix game but at the same time it feels like a Netflix horror through & through. It has trendy topics, moronic characters, horror that feels uninspired and artificial. This type of masked slasher has been done better and better over the decades but here it feels very 90s. I know it was cool to mock Scream & H20 back then but they were sweet flicks, this here just feels like Netflix cashins. 

Hypnotic

 I gave all the Shudder horror films a chance, some are great others feel like screeners. The screener esque films always make me feel bad because i have a file full of screeners. Sometimes i think "this got on to Shudder but some one might have a gem but it is buried with the other screeners?". Well Shudder gets a pass because they are a horror service, Netflix however is not. I decided to check out some Netflix horror but now i mainly want to do so if i am a fan of the director or someone suggests it. Hypnotic feels less than a screener. This is pure amateur hour trying to look like a 90s thriller. Sure there is inspiration but the inspiration is not of good source. Hypnosis is odd, but i was hypnotized to go to sleep.     

The Harder They Fall

 The Harder They Fall has probably the snappiest dialogue in a western since The Hateful 8, it is probably the most stylish since Django Unchained....and on both accounts maybe even further back. The film is gorgeous, every shot is expertly crafted and stylish presented with an excellent soundtrack. The entire cast is great with both the heroes and villains being well developed. There is a high body count from the first scene on but it boils down to the final battle between the two factions. For a film over 2 hours, it feels like 90 minutes. The funny, bloody, and majestically epic scope make me wish i had seen this in theatre.  Jeymes Samuel knows his westerns and this here oozes inspiration from Quentin Tarantino, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone. In the post Grindhouse world we had plenty of faux films that felt synthetic, this here feels grindhouse but feels authentic which is the most important thing. 

No Time To Die

 Growing up James Bond represented outlandish plots and villains. It was pulpy and to many the Goldeneye video game was the standard for 007. As a teen i watched the entire franchise through VHS, Bond Picture Show on ABC and various Thanksgiving marathons on Spike TV. The pulpiness matched that of Batman but once Christopher Nolan unleashed Batman Begins we were ready for a serious & dark Bond. Enter Casino Royale and it changed the game in terms of how to present the character, the plot & that world. 5 films later Daniel Craig had is swan song and for me it is the best of his outings. It wrapped up ideas from the previous 4 and even hearkened back to some classic Bond tropes with the villains. Whatever happens next in this franchise will be hella interesting after this. Will they go back to being relatively stand alone projects? Will they be another series tied tightly together? Will they be serious or go back to the lighter roots? Whatever the case they will have big shoes to fill. 

Titane

 Well holy fuck, Titane starts off as a stylish and unique slasher in years. From the opening straight out of an R rated Fast & the Furious, to sexploitation to the innovative kill/bodily fluid, to fucking a car, the first 20 minutes sets the tone what to expect. I was not big on Raw(the movie not WWE, though i was not big on that either) but the first act is a step up in every way possible. Style, acting, storytelling, the overall premise. Pair this with Holy Motors or Enter The Void for a what the fuck triple bill.  It is it part slasher, part body horror but all a pure horror experience. This is edgy, this is captivating at times, it is what art house cinema horror should be. I wish i had seen this in theatres. The shock factor in the kills alone is worth it. However it begins to slow down in the second act, by time the third act starts to gain momentum it fails to catch up with all the money shots from the first 30 minutes.