[EXPRESSO] Troll 2 (2025) | Altercation Of The Gargantuas

No, not THAT Troll 2, this is the recently released sequel to the Norwegian 2022 film “Troll” esclusive for Netflix.

Memories of Fragasso’s tale of non-trolls and faux-Orson Welles ghost grandpas aside, the plot of this Troll 2 sees the government call back the main protagonists of the first movie, Nora, the troll expert, Andreas, working for the prime minister, and soldier Kristopher, as another giant troll is awaken, and trying to find a solution will have them end up investigating the history of Norway’s christianization, finding a peaceful troll to befriend and help them in stopping the other one.

The first one was decent, this is honestly just a mediocre affair that hasn’t enough of either drama or comedy to sustain itself, so it feels kinda meandering to and fro’ action scenes of the trolls fighting each other, and even by giant monster movie standards, these are way too brief to be satisfying, despite the solid effects for the creatures.

There are subplots and characterizations stubs that ultimately amount to very little as the movie doesn’t develop really anything proper, even with the plot taking an adventure, Indiana Jones-esque bend, it’s all just kinda thrown in there, with too much of the movie spent of re-establishing characters and clumsily giving everyone some emotional baggage; honestly it feels incredibly rushed in every regard, and it’s hard to feel any conflict as not even the actors feel that invested in the stock roles they’re given.

It doesn’t feel like a sequel that took 3 years-ish to make, even just a couple of decades ago this would have been cranked out the very next year (tops) after the original dropped.

While teasing a sequel that might be better, this Troll 2 is simply too generic, cliched and unfocused to rise above mediocrity.

[EXPRESSO] All My Friends Are Dead! (2020) | Party Harder

Thank you newsletter for remembering me i do have Netflix, let’s review a recent polish black comedy that launched as a Netflix Original, one with the title that suggests a horror movie, even if it isn’t advertised as such, because… it just isn’t.

At a New Year’s party, a group of friends witness an avalanche of weird events, revelations, heartbreaks, including a murder, all spiralling into further chaos. There, done, this is the plot, and it actually delivers what it promises, as it starts showing the graphic aftermath of it all, then goes in full flashback mode to see how the party starts kinda normal before it completely degenerates into the expected debauchery of teen movies, only to get completely out of hand and culminate into an absolute clusterfuck of an accidental new year’s massacre.

It takes its time to accomodate you with the varied ensemble of teen stereotypes, from the mormon kid (who hallucinates and argues with Jesus), the douchy rapper-wanna-be, the desperate virgins, the gigolò, the mismatched couple of guy with milf, the slutty drunken duo ready to fuckin anything moving, and so on. But the wait it’s worthy it, as the comedy is pretty good and goes pretty well with the occasional semi-serious moments of straight up (and often brutal) drama, often to flesh out and make you care a bit more about the otherwise bi-dimensional – but funny – teen stereotypes.

But of course, not too much, as you still want people to enjoy seeing stupid teens do the usual teen crap they do in movies, and see them die in ridiculous over-the-top ways because of it. The ending is quite good, with a strong last bout of black comedy brutality to balance out the drama and any potentially saccharine way to look about it.

Recommended.