2018
Dante Lam’s latest military rollercoaster ride, Operation Red Sea, is an unrelenting vehicle of authentic action entertainment, an extensive series of well-executed, thrilling combat sequences.
They Remain lives in the shadows of many similar films that came before it, but it’s not quite as captivating as any of those due to gimmicky cinematography and a story without much momentum.
Chen Sicheng’s Detective Chinatown 2 is a manic pop-fuelled explosion of fast-paced crime-solving, fringe supernatural developments and a brash indulgence in outdated stereotypes.
Despite a premise which would beckon horror fans and cinephiles alike, Death House doesn’t deliver. Its many references and horror icons don’t contribute much to a story that is far too caught up in itself to be any fun.
Annihilation is best viewed as a trip deep into an otherworldly house of horrors, offering a deliberately illogical twist on the formula of horror movie storytelling.
Aimed squarely at Christian audiences looking for inspirational family entertainment, Samson is a preachy and plodding drama that’s light on excitement, action or any real sense of spirituality.
Game Night is a visually memorable comedy, standing out by masterfully blending the absurdity of its comedy and the realistic problems of its central characters.
Looking Glass wastes its talented cast on poor writing filled with cliché after cliché, an odd and uninviting artistic vision from the ground up, and an overabundance of narratives and plot devices.
Bomb City makes an impassioned statement in a sometimes messy way, but the energy it gives off is far more effective than any staid, overly safe version of this story could ever be.
Mute is riddled with unoriginal elements, from the Blade Runner inspired visuals to the generic missing persons story, to the underdeveloped characters; it is a misfire on all accounts.
With occasional heartfelt moments that catch you off guard and the laughter you expect from a comedy, When We First Met falls flat, lacking a fresh enough story to save it from feeling limp.
Unsane has been filmed with an iPhone, giving the picture a paranoia-fuelled low-fi fuzz. This is more than just a marketing gimmick, as Soderbergh’s film centers on the idea of stalking – a timely focal point considering the mass of sexual allegations that Hollywood has found itself mired in.
The Lodgers never quite meets its potential. This is the kind of Gothic horror mystery that has been done before, better, but that keeps us optimistic for the future of those involved.
Whilst there are some scenes in 12 Days that make you wonder what director Raymond Depardon is trying to say, for the most part his documentary is an engaging exploration into the lives of people at the very edge of society, filmed with warmth, humour and humanity.
The Cured is a fantastic zombie film with intelligent writing, precision direction, top-tier acting, and sincere sociopolitical themes and parallels that are essential in elevating horror films to something greater than just scares and gore.