Knock Knock - Phil's Five Words for Films

Knock Knock It is very rare for a film to make me so angry. Disappointed often but rarely angry. It is not enough that this film robbed me of two hours that I won't get back but to find that some people actually rate it as a serious film astounds me. The acting throughout, from everyone involved, including the dog, was appalling - plenty of energy but still appalling. The script, plot and sexual motives all shared a common score of Zero and the idea that I'm supposed to think 'he got what he deserved' is offensive. Directed by Eli Roth ( Hostel / Cabin Fever ) and starring his real life wife, Lorenza Izzo along with Keanu and Ana de Armas, it really feels like a re-make project that got out of hand and spiralled away from them all. The ending left me pleading for it all to have been a bad dream, a psychotic meltdown or even a metaphor for something lame - a cop-out plot twist that would have, at least, been worthy of my time and effort.  An utter waste of time, energy and talent. I cannot find any reason to recommend 'Knock Knock' to anyone - unless you are studying film and need an example of how to not do just about everything. It was such a shame to come to this film via Keanu's much better action thriller 'John Wick'. Watch that instead.
2 out of 10.
Cert 18 (UK). 2015.
139mins

The Raid 2:Berandal - Phil's Five Words for Films

The Raid 2:Berandal (Indonesian with subtitles) It is said that 'sometimes, less is more'. In the case of 'The Raid2', more is definitely less. For me, the beauty of the first film (review here) was in its rawness. The room by room, floor by floor, single focus of its mission, the pin-point accuracy of the choreography and the up-close snapping of the fight scenes. The second film begins almost exactly where the first ended and is straight back in to that breathless, bloody style that gained director, Gareth Evans many plaudits after the first film. Iko Uwais returns as Rama, the rookie Jakarta cop and he hits the dizzy speeds that were so impressive in his