This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

V French

Such a simple premise executed brilliantly. I found the setup to be a bit odd, and I was quite confused as to what direction it was heading, but then suddenly the entire thing unfurls into this very bleak, chaotic and gritty monster of a film, with a building tension that left me on the edge of my seat. And this tone is further heightened by the use of black and white and its low-budget feel.

You could adequately explain the plot within a sentence, and I think its simplicity is what makes it such a captivating experience, despite the outcome only being one of two things. I'm pleasantly surprised and will undoubtedly return to this film in the future.

Pretty fuckin' nihilistic and most definitely a nerve grinder. Glad I went in blind. The unfurling is half the fun.

Gripping, claustrophobic and beautifully shot. This simple but nightmarish story, told in the style of film noir, is a concise masterpiece.

It loses a half star for the soundtrack which seemed a little out of place at times.

If Kafka screenwrote a cursed movie. Starring off brand Timothee.

I'll probably end up rating this higher cos I loved it. Love the French affinity for close ups of weary men with interesting faces.

(Apparently the director did a US version with Jason Statham 😂😂 "we'll take out the mystery, suspense, intrigue, make sure we spell it all out so no one's confused, just rip the whole soul out!!! Voila!!!" hollywood is the fucking worst 🤢)

I watched this online and inexplicably the version I saw had some sort of content aware scale on it or something that made the entire frame go wonky anytime a character moved, so probably not the ideal way to view this!

French thriller about a dude who follows directions meant for someone else and finds himself in a mysterious and deadly game that I can't explain without giving some stuff away that would be more effective as a surprise, even if it isn't really a spoiler.

Side note: The game itself has some interesting probabilistic implications, but the final game, as depicted in the movie, is flawed because the incentive is to shoot first regardless of what the bulb is doing, and there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to settle the matter if the former goes off before the latter. So count me out as a future bettor, much less participant!

V French

You ever watch something and swear that you can smell the room they're filming in?

Simple, yet intense and anxiety inducing.

Close to being a great film. A cool concept. Too many pointless characters. A rushed ending that could have been better. F*** the police. The story would have worked better without them

Predictable but it still works and for me, justified by the ending. Knew nothing about the movie other than the fact it was shot in black and white. I think the less you know about this before, the better.

Loved the jazzy OST as well.

I think this got remade at some point but i dunno. This one rocks though. Awesome low-budget thriller. An idea that's been riffed on a lot, but I thought it was damn good.

Two Words

Dome Doomed

Rating: 8/10

Blam. Blam. Meh.
For being around 90 minutes this film just wouldn’t end. The plot meanders around its most interesting concept. 

As well, there’s a jammed epilogue here that seems to undercut the film’s tension. Overall, not my bag; would be a better short story. 

However, cinematography was clean. 
Couldn’t help but notice that the lead looks like baby Gage from Pet Semetary (1989) grown up.

Dread throughout and I really liked the main character. Couldn’t always tell what he was gonna do, yet felt very sympathetic

Very interesting.

2005 does 1961's "Zero Focus"

A pretty disturbing picture

Written and directed by Géla Babluani (Legacy, Money) and starring a bunch of amazing french actors that I don’t know which I’m disappointed by that

A man takes over a dead man's task without realizing the horror it entails.

The first time I heard about the film was I found it in Poundland and knew nothing about it and it was the beginning of the first Lockdown so I was desperate to find new movies plus this movie got the remake treatment starring Jason Statham (In the Name of the King, Mean Machine) Ray Winstone (Cold Mountain, The Proposition) Mickey Rourke (Masked and Anonymous, A Prayer for the Dying) and Michael Shannon (Tigerland, Elvis & Nixon) so that’s sucks

The writing is kinda scary because it’s tense of how this rules work, the acting is amazing and the direction is solid

This Thriller is a one watch movie because it’s shocking for me