The Island is a mostly entertaining mixture of a survival drama with some social criticism, slapstick comedy and romantic elements. It tells the story of about thirty work colleagues who get into a heavy storm and strand on an isolated island. When nobody comes to their rescue, the group elects a military veteran as their leader who soon starts to abuse his power. The group splits into two camps when a clever businessman discovers a shipwreck with useful tools and convinces some of his colleagues to join his group. The story follows two unlucky brothers who soon realize that the military veteran is a sadist while the clever businessman is a liar and decide to live on their own. In order to feel superior just once in their lives, they successfully plan to play the two groups off against each other in order to become the new leaders. As time goes by, the two brothers need to decide whether they want to be leaders on an isolated island or ordinary people in a civilized world.

The movie starts very well with stunning special effects in a dramatic storm. The different characters are nicely developed and very distinctive. Every character has obvious strengths and weaknesses but living in the savage nature shows who the characters really are. The story is less interesting than the gripping character developments that have major impacts on the plot. The film finds the right balance between serious survival adventure with some social criticism related to the selfishness of mankind and some more light-hearted elements such as situation and slapstick comedy but also a romance between the older brother and one of the female co-workers.

The Island also has a few minor flaws. The movie is at least twenty minutes too long and the middle section is both repetitive and drifts at times off into the realm of fantasy instead of keeping the realistic survival story mode. The ending of the movie also feels stretched as there are additional scenes during and even after the credits. A more concise film would have been much more intense for the viewers. Personally, I didn't like Qi Shu's performance very much and don't understand why she is featured in so many movies these days. She is neither a particularly good actress nor a particularly beautiful woman that she often has to incarnate in my book. While other characters evolve mentally but especially physically on the island as they grow beards, long hair or get dirty and rough skin, Qi Shu's character always looks as if she came out of a beauty studio with perfect teeth, clean skin and smooth hair, even after having spent far over one hundred days on an isolated island. Her character simply feels misplaced and looks like a Barbie Doll in a cabinet of horrors.

In the end, I would still recommend The Island if you are looking for a quirky survival drama with intriguing characters. The story is somewhat shallow and the movie has its lengths but it's overall still very good thanks to outstanding acting performances, great camera work, exotic locations, poignant sound effects and impressive special effects as well as an interesting and mostly balanced mixture of different genres.

The Great Hypnotist offers an intriguing mixture of a psychological thriller and a mysterious drama. The movie convinces with a gloomy atmosphere from start to finish. With a length around one hour and a half without the credits, the film has solid pace and is coherent and consistent. The story is also very interesting and comes around with a few minor surprises and one twist that might be predictable for genre experts but that is still greatly executed because the movie offers many clues and details to the viewers. This immersive film is quite intellectual and offers some food for thought and debates long after you have watched it.

The story revolves around a famous psychologist who uses hypnosis to make his patients fight their inner demons. One day, the case of a troublesome woman who believes to see ghosts around her but doesn't understand their purpose is referred to the psychologist. It turns out that this isn't only going to be his most complex but also his most personal case.

There aren't too many negative elements to mention in this very good film. What bothers me a little bit is the fact that the two main characters are hard to symapthise with at first contact. The psychologist is full of himself while the patient acts in a hostile way. Some of these behaviors are explained towards the end and the last third of the film changes the initial perceptions completely. Still, the slightly antipathic characters make an initial approach to the film somewhat difficult. However, your patience will be rewarded by the end of the movie.

In the end, you should watch The Great Hypnotist if you like psychological thrillers or mysterious dramas. This movie stands out with its challenging story that requests the viewers to immerse themselves fully into a highly atmospheric film. Thanks to a gloomy atmosphere, this film is best enjoyed on a lonely night at home.

Sometimes, you wonder where artists take their inspiration for their song and album titles. If I had to describe Rob Zombie's newest eclectic record accurately, I would have titled it The Weird Sample Accumulation Show Featuring Horny Monsters and Foolish Girls. Rob Zombie offers twelve tracks about sexual obsessions, weird monsters and extraterrestrial phenomenons. The music is mostly based upon chaotic electronic sounds and samples from old movies featuring angry evangelists fighting the sinners and stupid girls falling for them. Song titles like ''The Life and Times of a Teenage Rock God'', ''Well, Everybody's Fucking in a U.F.O.'' and ''The Hideous Exhibitions of a Dedicated Gore Whore'' speak volumes. This album is a freak show. It might repel some people but utterly fascinate others. Personally, my approach to this album is the same as to watching an old stereotypical horror b-movie from the fifties with Boris Karloff or Vincent Price. Objectively, these movies aren't very good but they have their very own charm. This is exactly what you get here.

Musically speaking, the record has its flaws and strengths. Starting with the former, one has to admit that a running time of only thirty-one minutes really isn't value for money. Several tracks are purely instrumental like the atmospheric filler ''A Hearse That Overturns with the Coffin Bursting Open'' or feature extended instrumental passages like the closing ''Wurdalak'' that is pretty much over after two and a half minutes but concludes with three-minute long atmospheric sound samples. One must admit that Rob Zombie doesn't really offer anything he didn't try out on previous records and a shock rocker that is predictable is somewhat missing his own purpose and vocation.

However, this short and compact record has great pace and is certainly very entertaining as it offers new details to discover with each spin. The simple but efficient opener ''The Last of the Demons Defeated'' already makes tour head bang with enthusiasm before the chaotic ''Satanic Cyanide! The Killer Rocks On!'' with its tongue-in-cheek lyrics kicks things off for good. Slower instrumental tracks are followed by rhythmic up-tempo songs. Compositions overusing samples from cheesy movies are followed by more organic pieces with angry vocals, gripping guitar riffs and steady rhythm sections. The sum is greater than its parts and the record as a whole is again like watching an odd but cool movie you certainly want to show your friends and revisit soon.

If you are a conservative mind looking for melodic rock music with inspired lyrics, you will certainly hate this record. However, if you like dirty rock 'n roll culture, are interested in the occult and strange and occasionally like to watch horror movies, this album is what you have been waiting for. If Alice Cooper had a car accident, happened to believe he were the character he pretends to be on stage and decided to record an album, this is what you would get. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the freak show!

Final rating: 80%

Nine Inch Nails has always been a quite experimental group but the newest release around Trent Reznor might be the cherry atop the cake. Bad Witch completes a trilogy of extended plays that started with Not the Actual Events two years ago and was followed by last year's Add Violence. However, you don't need to be familiar with either release to fully enjoy Bad Witch. The best way to describe this album would be to say it's a mixture of David Lynch's psychedelic jazz solo albums and David Bowie's experimental rock swansong Blackstar. This doesn't come as a surprise as Trent Reznor has collaborated with both artists in the past.

Bad Witch is a record that is based upon a psychedelic industrial rock vibe with distorted guitar sounds, nervously meadering electronic arrangements and occasional free jazz inspirations. The longer the record last, the less accessible it becomes. The first two songs are relatively short and easy to digest which doesn't mean their either catchy or commercial but they are focused psychedelic industrial rock tunes. The next two tracks focus much more on prolonged instrumental sections as vocals are only scarcely used or not at all. The final two tracks are the longest and develop a dystopian atmosphere where prolonged instrumental passages are occasionally interrupted by a few haunting vocals to give the music a conceptual guideline. These three segments complement and elaborate upon one another perfectly.

Bad Witch certainly isn't an easy listening experience. You have to be in the mood for weird dystopian soundscapes that are expressed through menacing electronic arrangement, cacophonic saxophone sounds and almost alien vocals. It's not a coincidence when song titles like ''I'm Not From this World'' are used on this record. The titles are more than they appear to be and actually describe the sounds of each song accurately. The six tracks work together as a whole body of work as the sum is greater than its parts. Bad Witch is an uneasy voyage through strange soundscapes that will evoke images aplenty on your mind. If you're ready for the experiment, then sit down, close your eyes and escape this world for thirty freakish minutes.

Final rating: 90%