Tag: Survival

Dangerous Animals (2025) | REVIEW

Jai Courtney in Sean Byrne’s DANGEROUS ANIMALS — PHOTO: IFC FILMS (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Sean Byrne — Screenplay by Nick Lepard.

Dangerous Animals is a survival horror shark film from Aussie director Sean Byrne that follows a female American drifter surfer named Zephyr (played by Hassie Harrison), who, after a romantic encounter with a young Aussie real estate agent (Moses, played by Josh Heuston), has cold feet and skedaddles away to to a beach to surf, without saying goodbye. However, before she can catch the waves late at night, she runs into Tucker (played by Jai Courtney), an eccentric Aussie boat captain who makes money taking tourists out to swim with sharks in cage dives. However, Tucker is not a friendly stranger, as he actually abducts Zephyr and traps her on his boat. It turns out that Tucker is a sadistic murderer who gets off on videotaping people getting eaten alive by sharks. While Zephyr tries to escape the boat, Moses partakes in an official search for the woman whom he was smitten by.

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Quicksand (2023) | REVIEW

Carolina Gaitan and Allan Hawco in QUICKSAND — PHOTO: Shudder / Altitude (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Andres Beltran — Screenplay by Matt Pitts.

I know there is a belief among some that all critics enjoy endlessly spewing hatred toward films that they dislike. I think the truth isn’t that simple. I can say that disliking a film frustrates and/or disappoints me quite a bit. The reason why negative reviews from critics may often sound more hyperbolic, ‘colorful,’ or invested than reviews of, say, mediocre films is because actively disliking something is a powerful emotion, while most films don’t inspire the kind of passion that actively liking or disliking something does. When you dislike something, then you know immediately what bothers you about it, and it’s much easier to get it onto the page than with a frustrating but merely underwhelming flick. So, rest assured that I take no please in saying this, but… I think Andres Beltran’s Quicksand is one of the worst films of 2023.

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REVIEW: Against the Ice (2022)

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Joe Cole in Peter Flinth’s AGAINST THE ICE. — Photo: Netflix.

Directed by Peter Flinth – Screenplay by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau & Joe Derrick.

Against the Ice first showed up on my radar some time ago. I mean, can you blame me? As a Dane, it is really exciting when a major streamer like Netflix decides to acquire a historical survival drama about Danes, directed by a Dane, co-written by a Dane, and so much more. Really, I could go on and on about all of the Danes involved with the production. And yet, it isn’t actually in Danish. This aspect was a little bit of a disappointment to me, but I can understand why some may have felt it should be in English. Unfortunately, while I do think this is a mostly ‘okay’ survival drama, the language wasn’t my only disappointment.

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REVIEW: Arctic (2019)

Danish Theatrical Release Poster – United International Pictures

The following is a review of Arctic — Directed by Joe Penna.

To some, Mads Mikkelsen, known outside of his home country for his roles in the NBC-series Hannibal and the James Bond-film Casino Royale, is the quintessential villain. A European character actor that, from time to time, takes on roles in blockbuster films and elevates the material. To others, like A. O. Scott once wrote, Mads Mikkelsen is the face of Danish cinema. The Copenhagen-born dancer-turned-actor has earned himself a strong reputation outside of Denmark, with such successes as winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. Continue reading “REVIEW: Arctic (2019)” →

REVIEW: Dunkirk (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Dunkirk – Directed by Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan is one of the most celebrated directors of the 21st century thus far, and it is for a good reason. In my opinion, Christopher Nolan hasn’t made a bad film yet, and I would even go as far as saying he has made multiple masterpieces and very few missteps in the last fifteen-to-twenty years. While Dunkirk doesn’t contain the most impressive story, it is an amazingly impressive film. Dunkirk is a technical masterpiece and the best film of the summer of 2017.
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