POMO

The very first shot with Zimmer-esque music is stunning, taking into account that this is a Czech film. The monumental exterior sets with great design, including the cars, holograms and digital images, are world-class in Restore Point. With respect to the plot, it wouldn’t matter that it is merely a crime movie in a sci-fi setting. So was Minority Report. The film’s handicap lies in the attempt to keep the viewer in constant suspense by incessantly and often needlessly conveying the plot through dialogue, dialogue and more dialogue. Without being drawn into the story in an original and more impactful way, I was unwilling (and, at a night-time festival screening after a full day, unable) to take it all in. Next time, the filmmakers should come up with a more original subject, cut down on the chatter and balance the slower passages with getting to know the characters, and the result will be great. Like a movie franchise with the same female detective. She is well cast, easy on the eyes and her character is well suited to further development. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

“When you give up something, you get something else.” Subtle, with great dialogue, heartbreaking at the end. Emotionally close to Lost in Translation, but not with such original and apt casting of the lead roles. A very nice film.

In technical and acting terms, Empty Nets is fine and always topical, with a clear concept. However, the plot is weak and neither dramatic nor exciting, and without any artistic interludes that could have made it more interesting. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

Firebrand is engaging and not boring, as it makes the viewer curious as to how it will turn out. Alicia Vikander is delightfully fragile and bold at the same time, while Jude Law is amply loathsome. However, the central conflict between the two characters alone is not powerful enough to make this narratively simple two-hour feature a distinctive and memorable historical drama. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

With its subject matter, You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder is hackneyed low-key, low-budget banality that can’t be faulted much in its details and it’s interesting because it brings Ewan McGregor and his real-life daughter Clara McGregor together in front of the camera as the characters of a man and his daughter. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

I didn't really expect to like this, so it was an even more pleasant surprise. The plot formula is clichéd, but it’s dressed up with a lot of imaginative and likably playful details, including dialogue devices showing that the movie’s creators are more clever than is usually the case with such farces. This will turn out to be a successful franchise if it keeps the quality at this level.

A film that knows what it's doing with every scene, character, humorous moment, choreographed fight and unexpected twist. And despite the mix of a serious subject with comedic abstraction, it never slides into cheapness or bombast for even a second. In terms of screenwriting, it’s three times more sophisticated than Sisu and, in terms of directing, there are few other films that are as tasteful and fresh without bigger-name actors.

It’s a shame about the level of stupidity in many of the scenes, because the natural settings are atmospheric and the monsters are impressive. The idea of setting the story on Earth before our civilization, in the age of dinosaurs, is also fine. Sci-fi B-movies require at least a bit of common sense, which is all the more true with smaller budgets. Here, with solid production under the baton of Sam Raimi and an A-list actor in the lead role, the absence of intelligence is an even greater drawback.

Though The Old Oak is a less dramatic and more predictable social-commentary film than Loach’s previous effort, Sorry We Missed You, it is still personally and emotionally engaging. While focusing on a clash between British village culture and Syrian refugees, Loach also understands the conservatism of the older residents who have paid their dues as members of the working class. And he empathetically captures the culture and inner pain of the immigrants, who are by no means inferior or of less value than the British natives. However, the most powerful life story is that of the local pub landlord, a uniter of the two cultures who does not lack the local hot-headedness, understanding or willingness to help. Visually, Loach’s 100% character-focused directing is typically simple yet humanely sincere. [Cannes FF]

Last Summer is another variation on the theme of a young boy’s affair with his stepmother in an otherwise functional family. The film is okay, as it works on all levels in psychological terms, even when the situation gets complicated and the uncovering of the truth becomes imminent. Queen of Hearts, a more memorable Danish-Swedish variation on the same theme, is much more dramatic and sexually adventurous. [Cannes FF]