Wow! Such a good movie.

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Best movie ever!

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

"Big Bad Wolves" is, despite the English title, an Israeli Hebrew-language movie from 2013, so this one will have its 5th anniversary next year. Keshales and Papushado are a duo of writers and directors, who have collaborate on several other occasions too, but the great deal of awards recognition this one here got makes it their most known work at this point. The film may not have been picked by the country to represent Israel at the Oscars this year, but it still managed some attention in America besides the great deal it received in Europe anyway. At 110 minutes, it isn't a short movie at all, but still it basically never drags at all. I personally would categorize it as a thriller as it is the story of a man / several men torturing the prime suspect in a case of several murdered young girls. So yes the violence is really graphic in here at times and this includes multiple cases of beatings, broken fingers, torn-out toenails and even the use of a flame cutter on one occasion. But still, there is a great deal of comedy here too, pretty dark comedy actually, but funny such as the cake eating scene and several other smaller moments like oddball ringtones coming at the perfect time or the kid of a police chief copying his father to the protagonist's disbelief.To me personally not all the transformations felt entirely realistic to be honest. For example the way in which the (former) cop doesn't mind violence early on, is ready to shoot the suspect in that Russian Roulette scene and is 100% sure he did it and how he suddenly believes it's not him who did it when joining the father felt as strange as the father's father joining the gang like a complete lunatic in order to get out the admission of guilt. And another negative aspect was the music (surprised to see some awards bodies loved it too) as it really was way over the top in some of the dramatic moments. Sometimes less can be more. But I can ignore that in the face of everything else about the film I think as this was pretty good pretty entertaining. By the way the cop I mentioned earlier looked a bit like Al Pacino and the father resembled an actually talented Heino Ferch. But that's just random notes going through my head. The inclusion of smaller supporting characters like the man on horseback had a touch of Coen Bros to it and maybe they inspired the makers here. On other moments, the film felt a bit Tarantinoesque and I am not surprised he called it his favorite film of 2013 at all. I probably wouldn't call it that, but I am glad it got to theaters here once more some years after its release because it is definitely worth seeing on the big screen. One of the most interesting things about the film is also the way in which the audience sees the suspect. Even if you cannot really enjoy anything else about the movie, then you will still inevitably be drawn in by the question if he did it or not and my perception was always the same as the one of the Pacino lookalike. Early on yes, then no, then finally maybe until the revelation at the end which makes it obvious and the very final shot which makes it clear. This shot also makes me think that it really isn't a comedy by definition, but that the crime thriller aspects prevail. I also do believe they had to take that route because they never offered another suspect and also it would have been difficult to justify the violence before against him if he had been really innocent. It would have made sense from the irrational dad's perspective still, but most audiences won't be ready to understand that. And finally, I would like to mention the strong performances. The cast is relatively small, especially after the long introduction, but the core characters are all memorable thanks to the writing and physical acting too. Well done. By the way, early on I thought the father character was the bad guy when he tested out the house how people could or couldn't hear screams from the basement, but he clearly had other things in mind. That's all now I think. There were moments when the film had the potential to be among the year's best, but overall it comes slightly short. But it is still very much worth seeing. I give it a thumbs-up for sure and recommend you to check it out.

Since reading about them making the first ever Israeli Horror Rabies after seeing Julie Estelle living Comic-Book role as "Hammer Girl" in Gareth Evans Neo-Noir epic The Raid 2,I've been meaning to check the work of writers/directing duo Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado.Getting the honour of being the host for an event held on IMDb's Film Festival,I was excited to find that Papushado and Keshales latest had been chosen for the fest,which led to me crying wolf.The plot:After the kidnapping of a number of schoolgirls (who are found murdered) police officer Micki believes that school teacher Dror is the killer. Grabbing Dror,Micki starts torturing him for info.Failing to get any info,Micki receives an anonymous call over the location of the latest victim,whose head has been taken. Unknown to Micki,someone has recorded his beating,which leads to him getting sacked. Blaming himself for his daughters death, Gidi learns that Dror is the main suspect.As Micki vows to go rogue and get a confession, Gidi starts getting set to make Dror afraid of the big bad wolf.View on the film:Backed by an excellent roaring score from Haim Frank Ilfman,writers/directors Aharon Keshales/Navot Papushado and cinematographer Giora Bejach cast an atmosphere of Neo-Noir dread,set alight by the kids being caught in the darkness via stylish slow motion,and wide crane shots capturing the isolated Noir world the duo now inhabit. Locking the guys up in one room,the directors deliver the violence with a blunt-force,that is burnt with a gallows edge to the torture,which gives it an under the skin seedy edge.Before the wolves cross paths,the screenplay by Keshales and Papushado take inspiration from Nordic Noir,as Micki's claws of high-level corruption shine as the police find themselves in the wilderness over identifying the killer. Locking them in a basement with strips of jet-black Comedy,the writers cross the paths of Micki,Gidi and Dror (played by the excellent trio Tzahi Grad, Lior Ashkenazi and Rotem Keinan) and get the tools to drill rough Horror with crisp Neo-Noir discoveries.Whilst the comedic shots give the torture a jet-black snap,the writers become unwilling to cut into the inner horrors of the trio,which leads to the characters remaining still and failing to slice into the power-play Noir offering that is at hand,as the wolves blow the house down.

The only thing horrible about this movie are the jokes. They are so bad you feel ashamed for the writer/director.This movie is really painful to watch: Story is totally predictable and dumb, when the movie is supposed to be funny you just think "jeeeeesus" i feel so embarrassed. There is no surprise in the story and you look the whole time on your watch when is this over...The Character of this movie are so dumb that it really hurts. This is the worst movie i have seen this year...For the gore/splatter freaks: Its still a BIG disappointment. If you are interested in graphic violence you will think this movie was made for your grandmother. There is nothing shocking at all in this movie. If SAW is a 10 then this movie is a 1 in terms of shocking scenes.

Though Quentin Tarantino might have been exaggerating the movie a bit by calling it the best movie of 2013, it would probably land somewhere in the top 15. The movie has both violence & gore, but what really hits home is the psychological terror and the mystery of the identity of the killer. The slow details of the murder cases really clash with the motives of those involved and really makes you take a side with who you think is right and wrong. Though the movie doesn't reinvent the serial killer genre, but it does stand tall with its amazing cinematography and black humor. One of the better torture porns of recent memory (though not terribly graphic). Its on Netflix and certainly worth a watch!Full Review at: http://www.simplefilmreviews.com/2014/05/big-bad-wolves-2013.html