Brawl in Cell Block 99

Une nouvelle définition de la violence dans le domaine cinématographique, qui influence et change les tendances de la culture pop. Une version alternative des mondes de super-héros avec un avenger alpha contre sa volonté, progressant avec une violence croissante et évoluant simultanément vers un environnement surréaliste représentant les conditions carcérales contemporaines. La désensibilisation sociale est toujours présente (je fais référence à Bone Tomahawk), mais cette fois-ci il y a une bonne intention derrière cette brutalité directe. Protectrice. Comme la face la plus sombre de Drive qui aurait été décuplée et conduisant pendant deux heures vers un enfer toujours plus profond. Le rôle de toute une vie pour Vaughn et pour lequel il devrait sacrément remercier Zahler. Mais c'est minimaliste, ça ne sera pas aux Oscars. La nomination y est plus probable pour Don Johnson, qui ressuscite des morts en tant qu'acteur gourmet et exhibant. Le final a suscité en moi la même euphorie que lorsque j'ai vu pour la première fois Pulp Fiction. Pour les fans de Tarantino et les adeptes des visions originales du monde souterrain et du crime, c'est au minimum le film de l'année. [Sitges FF] (11/10/2017)

Une pièce magistralement réalisée, filmée, racontée et écrite dans laquelle les gradations, la tension, l'atmosphère et les personnages sont soigneusement construits et les doses homéopathiques d'humour noir ne sont pas oubliées, suivies à chaque fois d'une douche glaciale choquante et d'un coup brutal au cœur. Un drame civil original, inventif et dense qui se transforme progressivement en plusieurs types de thriller et dans lequel la sensibilité intérieure se marie parfaitement avec la brutalité crue. S'y ajoute la performance de toute une vie pour Vince Vaughn, qui est passé d'un héros de comédie romantique à un bélier humain en charge, inégalable. L'Enfer de Dante intransigeant dans sa version carcérale, un must-see pour tous ceux qui peuvent supporter les fractures ouvertes et les crânes écrasés. (03/12/2017)

Arty grind-house that crushes skulls with its slow pace and human cruiser Vince Vaughn. Extremely precisely constructed tension and the director's brilliantly managed jump from a realistic introduction to a consistently B-movie finale in the environment of a cellar hell for invited psychopaths. Feat. Great cameos for frog eyes Udo Kier and the verbal frost of Frank Melamed. This is a portrait of a world that knows no mercy, with razor contours. Bradley Thomas is the hardest and coldest fucking bastard on the suffering market. North of OK, south of cancer. In my ideal world, people like S. Craig Zahler would win directing awards at big festivals. Because, for God's sake, this is an INNOVATIVE kick in the nuts, a director’s masterclass, whilst also being a genre film that had me invested since the first second. (13/11/2017)

A huge surprise for me personally. The director S. Craig Zahler has already proven to me with the movie Bone Tomahawk this year that he has some potential, but I really had no idea that Vince Vaughn would convince me after his bad performance in True Detective. A very decent revenge film, which takes place in numerous locations, but even though we see the prison most of the time, you can’t say it is a prison drama. On the contrary. Imagine a simple PC game with a clear target in the beginning and you go through the first, second, third, fourth level… to finally get to the final boss. This film is that simple. Simple, but harsh, uncompromising and mainly the quality is really good. You will realize that in the fighting scenes. And you will also realize that Vince has a gift which he has never shown in all of his comedies so far. Why? That’s a good question. Now I hope that he will have a chance to film better and more interesting films than those he’s done so far. (21/12/2017)

A unique film without compromises which I don’t know what other movie I can compare it with in terms of atmosphere, impression or feeling – something that doesn’t happen very often in modern filmmaking. The main character looks like a “Trumpist redneck”, but the joke here is that if you are expecting him to behave based on the prejudice about his appearance, he will surprise you with how much more there is to him. The second joke is that you will still get some violence delivered by, but to such extent and so weirdly executed that it has an almost transcendental effect. It basically doesn’t look like a film. The whole movie has a fairly ugly cinematography (digital colours, unpleasant and unusual angles), the fighting scenes are almost uncut and frequently shot in unnaturally large set pieces, and the gore also looks differently than in other films. Like, I’ve never seen a tramped skull, but the fact that here it looks different than in a million other films gave me impression that I’m maybe seeing it for the first time ever. Rather than a film, Brawl in Cell Block 99 reminded me of a very realistic dream that gradually turns into a nightmare into which you plunge deeper and deeper. In any case, one of the films of the year. (14/10/2017)