Abigail (2024)

A group of criminals who do not know each other are hired to kidnap the daughter of a tycoon without knowing important sinister secrets.

"Abigail" is a heist, action and horror movie. Its twist has already been revealed from the trailer or other media sources, but the film manages to still be satisfying and well made, with a good measure of action combined with cheap but effective plot points, resulting in a film that maintains one's attention and satisfies the need for good entertainment.

Director:  Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett   

With: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Durand, Matthew Goode

Rating: 8/10

House of Spoils (2024)

A talented chef tries to create her own name in a new, isolated location, which seems full of elements that sabotage her efforts.

'House of Spoils' is a melange film, interesting and surprising in its choices, disguised as a horror film, but it is actually about doubt versus sekf confidence, returning to nature and one's roots and freedom of mind. Simple and effective, it maintains the atmosphere through originality.

Director:  Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy    

With: Ariana DeBose, Barbie Ferreira, Arian Moayed

Rating: 7.5/10

Oddity (2024)

A specialist in supernatural antiquities visits the house where her sister was murdered to uncover the hidden details.

'Oddity' is a predominantly horror film that borrows elements off of the police investigation genre. Beautifully constructed, with an atmosphere well maintained by a rich mix of efficacious sounds and well done subtle visual effects.

Director:  Damian Mc Carthy     

With: Carolyn Bracken, Johnny French, Steve Wall, Gwilym Lee, Tadhg Murphy

Rating: 9/10

Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Affairs (2024)

A small group of unorthodox military specialists is chosen by Winston Churchill for a secret mission.

'Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Affairs' is based on some quasi-true facts, and Guy Ritchie applied his characteristic style to create a film with characters full of cheap bravado and uninspired dialogue.

Director:  Guy Ritchie     

With: Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Cary Elwes, Eiza González, Til Schweiger, Rory Kinnear

Rating: 6/10

Perfect Days (2023)

Hirayama enjoys his simple life, even if he spends his days cleaning public toilets.

'Perfect Days' is an unexpected film from Wim Wenders, who came up with the story of a happy case of retirement into simplicity of a character who has known capitalist success and monetary ambitions. The story takes place exclusively in a modern Japan and is full of color and understanding. Recommended only to those who understand and enjoy the appeal of simple pleasures.

Director:  Wim Wenders     

With: Koji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano

Rating: 8.5/10

Outer Range (2022- )

The drama between two rival farmer families intensifies after a mysterious suggestion of time travel appears.

'Outer Range' is an intensely dramatic series peppered with elements of mystery and temporal paradoxes, similar to other well-known names like Twin Peaks and Dark. It has a rich and talented cast, full of well-known names, and a group of characters with a wonderful aura of morally gray, with the role of antagonist passed around from one episode to another. The mystery is multi-layered and enveloped in enough of many other poetic distractions to keep the appeal and the need to find out more at a high level.

Director:  Jennifer Getzinger and others

Production:  Amazon Studios

Creator:  Brian Watkins   

Duration:  2 sezoaseasons of 8 and 7 episodes (1 hour each)   

With: Josh Brolin, Tamara Podemski, Imogen Poots, Lily Taylor, Tom Pelphrey, Lewis Pullman, Will Patton, Shaun Sipos, Noah Reid

Rating: 8.7/10

Nope (2022)

A brother and sister try to save their horse farm by filming genuine UFO activity.

'Nope' is a successful experimental attempt by Jordan Peele in the science fiction genre. The thriller and sci-fi elements are moderate, but the dynamic of the characters is interesting and multidimensional and the main strong feature of the film.

Director:  Jordan Peele  

With: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Keith David, Steven Yeun

Rating: 7.6/10

Godzilla Minus One / Gojira -1.0 (2023)

In post-war Japan, Godzilla is a new threat awakened by the violence of the war.

'Gojira -1.0' is a dramatic film and a fantastic blockbuster in the same package. It offers a deep message and a group of multidimensional characters with a story that captivates in parallel with the threat of the monster, which normally uses up the potential for intrigue.

Director:  Takashi Yamazaki    

With: Minami Hamabe, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Munetaka Aoki

Rating: 8/10

Mayfair Witches (2023-)

A young neurosurgeon with extrasensory powers learns that she is part of a known family of witches, but the news brings unexpected responsibilities.

'Mayfair Witches' is a series adapted from Anne Rice's successful books. It follows the action and portrayals in the book quite close to the source and adds a bit of modern flair and the technological advantage of recent years which has been a huge benefit for the horror genre. Alexandra Daddario is a suitable choice, although sometimes she falls into the trap of overacting, the Latin scenes being an example, but overall, the adaptation is a success and contains enough temptation for a next season.

Director:  Haifaa Al-Mansour and others   

Production:  AMC   

Duration:  1 season of 8 episodes (1 hour each)   

With: Alexandra Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa, Jack Huston, Harry Hamlin, Annabeth Gish, Beth Grant

Rating: 8/10

Hit Man (2024)

A philosophy professor has an extra job helping the police entrap those wanting to hire assassins.

'Hit Man' is a romantic comedy disguised as a clever detective film with a character in search of his true self. The script is well written, the dialogue is very entertaining and satisfying and the characters very likeable.

Director:  Richard Linklater   

With: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio

Rating: 8/10

Fallout (2024-)

In a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, a naive woman who lived isolated in a bunker, a cowboy who's genetically modified by radiation and a soldier belonging to a cult intersect in their continuous adventures.

'Fallout' is a screen adaptation of a famous and much loved video game. It takes an often used context and creates some memorable characters that interact in an intriguing way, enough to promise a riveting season 2. The actors are perfectly chosen and the script is intelligent, although the first season was dedicated to building up the portrayals of the main characters.

Director: Jonathan Nolan and others

Production:  Amazon Studios   

Creator:  Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner   

Duration:  1 season ofe 8 episodes (1 hour each)   

With: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, Sarita Choudhury, Matt Berry

Rating: 8/10

Reeker (2005)

A group of young people try to understand the incidents and morbid visions they experience during a roadtrip break at an apparently abandoned motel.

'Reeker' is a horror film dressed in slasher clothes. It is full of originality in terms of all the incidents and the clarification at the end does not have a damaging effect despite the quasi-predictability. It would have benefited from a modern cinematic treatment, favor given to similar titles only in the last decade, due to the growing appreciation of the genre thanks to what we call "elevated horror".

Director:  Dave Payne   

With: Derek Richardson, Michael Ironside, Arielle Kebbel, Eric Mabius, Devon Gummersall

Rating: 8/10

No Men Beyond This Point (2015)

In an alternate reality, women give birth to women without the help of men.

'No Men Beyond This Point' is a mockumentary with an interesting idea. Intelligently constructed, it manages to show the humor and contradictions of several points of view.

Director:  Damian Kindler   

With: Patrick Gilmore, Bronwen Smith, Tara Pratt

Rating: 7/10

3 Body Problem (2024-)

A high-level organization begins to make big plans after scientists from all over the world die under suspicious circumstances.

'3 Body Problem' is a sci-fi series based on a series of popular books. It includes innovative ideas and issues of ethics, morality and the value of humanity that deserve attention. As for the execution, it leaves something to be desired, whether intentional or not (in case the message is more important than the medium of transmission). It beautifully combines different genres, but in its pseudo-conclusion, it follows the path of many other productions, becoming a tad derivative.

Director:  Minkie Spiro and others   

Production:  Netflix   

Creator: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo

Duration: 1 season of 9 episodes (42 minutes each)  

With: Jovan Adepo, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Benedict Wong, Rosalind Chao, Jess Hong, Jonathan Price, John Bradley

Rating: 7/10

Desaparecer por completo / Disappear Completely (2022)

A photographer inherits a curse involving the loss of all 5 senses at a crime scene.

'Disappear Completely' is a horror with an interesting idea. The action takes place slowly, implacably and the ending does not surprise much.

Director:  Luis Javier Henaine  

With: Harold Torres, Tete Espinoza, Fermín Martínez

Rating: 7/10

Lore (2017-2018)

Each episode of Lore analyzes the real origins of some traditional stories or urban myths.

'Lore' is an interesting anthology series, which chooses a different folklore story or urban myth for each episode and punctuates through dramatization real historical facts that were the basis of the origin of that story (for example the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood is only a man who hides sinister habits and tastes). Well made, well documented, and it's interesting how it attracted quite famous names to bring history back to life.

  

Production:  Amazon   

Creator:  Aaron Mahnke

Duration: 2 seasons of 6 episodes (40 minutes each)   

With: Emmett J Scanlan, Jürgen Prochnow, Paula Malcomson, Robert Patrick, Campbell Scott, Colme Feore, Alicia Witt, Kristin Bauer

Rating: 8/10

The Northman (2022)

A Viking prince vows revenge for his father's death.

'The Northman' is an action film.. that's quite artistic. Stylized to the point of satiety, it manages to hold the viewer's attention, without forcing them to choose a side justice belongs to, merely just suggesting favorites. Well made, with a cast of surprising names, The Northman is a welcome choice.

Director:  Robert Eggers   

With: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe

Rating: 8/10

Anatomie d'une chute / Anatomy of a fall (2023)

A writer must reveal hidden truths in the trial that follows the death of her husband through a fall.

"Anatomy of a Fall" is a dramatic film that does not waste dialogue. Every discussion and exchange of lines has meaning and participates to the impressive amount of intention, implication and emotional baggage generated by the film. Impressive but not pleasant.

Director: Justine Triet   

With: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Antoine Reinartz

Rating: 8/10

The White Lotus - Season 1 (2021)

Tensions arise between a hotel's guests and its employees after mistakes that messed up the rooms escalate.

'The White Lotus' is a tragicomic series that deals with the situations of a group that's consistently followed during the entire season. The situations are human, based on more or less aggravated realities that are meant to emphasize critical possibilities without committing strong opinions. Interesting but a bit bland for a first season.

Director:  Damian Kindler   

Production:  HBO   

Creator:  Mike White  

Duration:  the first season of 6 episodes (1 hour each)   

With: Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Murray Bartlett, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Lacy, Steve Zahn, Sydney Sweeney, Lukas Gage

Rating: 8/10

The Unholy (2021)

A deaf young woman receives visits from Saint Mary, but the experiences begin to show more sinister causes.

'The Unholy' is a horror film with religious foundations. It's not the most original story, and it's predictable, but if nothing else, it can fill a Tuesday night.

Director:  Evan Spiliotopoulos     

With: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown, William Sadler, Katie Aselton

Rating: 6/10