POMO

The Lunchbox is a very likable film that is poetically thoughtful and both funny and sad. Irrfan Khan’s minimalist acting makes it interesting to watch him even opening bowls of food that we do not see. Indian openness, talent for portraying the characters’ feelings through dialogue and, in particular, EDITING. It is also beautifully written! Loneliness, searching, and, at a crucial moment, dreaded hesitation. In a place where there are so many people and everyone wants what others have, even the wrong train can take us to the right place. We just mustn't miss it.

Everything you wanted to re-watch for the thousandth time about the Nazis and their victims, in a transparent and sentimental package with another ultra-fragile music score by John Williams. Innocent children, a good-natured Jew in hiding, a papa with a big heart and a caring mom. Everybody loves each other very much while maintaining family values, but unfortunately there’s the Gestapo knocking on their door... A nicely filmed mainstream tearjerker. Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson are worthy of a higher form of cinematic art.

A TV documentary about rock climbing that has it all. Climbing philosophy, partner ethics, breathtaking video from the peak of Gasherbrum, reflections on the commercialization of Everest and insight into the private life of Marek Holeček, whom this documentary is all about. We also get to see the legendary Josef Rakoncaj and Zdeněk Hrubý. Good job, Czech Television!

Sex and the City thirty years later. In a village. Guys don’t get a lot of space in this film; their only role is to occasionally lighten up the oppressive atmosphere of a quarreling female family gathering. Like mother, like daughter. The cast delivers excellent acting performances all around. Especially Meryl Streep is once again incredible. But it would pay off to occasionally slow down the pace and let the viewer absorb the feelings and thoughts of one quarrel before the next one, even faster and more intense, kicks off. Slow down the pace, for example, by focusing on the environment and location where the film takes place, by shaping the atmosphere. It would help the audience make sense of the entangled relationships between the characters and make the film more memorable, not only as a theatre play turned into a TV production, but as a movie worthy of the big screen and its stars.

Django turned upside down. An odyssey into the emotional and mental state that results from the loss of dignity and absolute humiliation, quietly conveyed in wide-angle shots of marshy Louisiana with music by Hans Zimmer that is reminiscent of his score for The Thin Red Line (Williams’s strings would have worked better here). The unimaginative but “safe” Hollywood narrative template keeps the film unnecessarily tame and moves it away from the original character we had hoped for from the film’s director, Steve McQueen. He made a huge mistake by casting the likeable Fassbender in the key and most complex role of the sadistic, evil and weak Epps. Even Benedict Cumberbatch would have been a better fit for this paraphrase of the character of Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) from Schindler’s List and, with a more believable embodiment of ultimate human evil, the last third of the film escalating in the final flogging could have been the most powerful movie moment of the year.

The new Jack Ryan wants to be Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne, but he won’t even get close to Peacemaker. This spy thriller made in 2014 does not have a single action attraction, interesting location or unexpected twist. Obviously, there should have been respect and fear of the main bad guy, when even a scene involving an attempt to hack his computer would create suspense. But it doesn’t work. It is clear to the viewer that such a cookie-cutter scenario would not dare hurt Jack’s sweetheart. For Kenneth Branagh, it was a simple and lucrative Hollywood job, where he got money for both direction and the role of the villain, and that’s all. Let’s move on.

This independent American film project similar to Leaving Las Vegas or Boys Don’t Cry is based on a story about an interesting outsider and his excellent portrayal. Exploring the personality of the main character in detail, it is a captivating movie experience that doesn’t let you turn your eyes away from the screen. The transformation of McConaughey’s Ron Woodroof from an arrogant chauvinist redneck into an understanding and desperate, yet persistent fighter for not just his life is the most powerful character study of recent years. The creators of this movie are modest, minimalist, do not rely on acting eccentricities or technical and visual enhancements; they focus only on telling the story by the most classic means, with an open and sensitive approach to the topic. The film is fantastically written and directed. In terms of morality, Woodroof is the exact opposite of Jordan Belfort and I’m afraid that DiCaprio has no chance against McConaughey with the Academy.

A retro farce with great costumes that nonetheless unfolds at a sluggish pace and is full of actors showing off unnecessarily. I consider American Hustle far from masterfully directed. On the contrary, at such a slow pace, it is striking that the ambitious plot disintegrates in the tangle of character motivations that got out of hand. But would you do any better if there was a scantily clad Amy Adams prancing around your set? The acting performances are fantastic, however. Christian Bale tries hard, but Jennifer Lawrence turns in the best performance here. Amy Adams is super-hot (let’s be honest – would you be able to restrain yourself in the bathroom scene?) and the icing on the cake is the unexpected Mr. “XY” from Miami in the best mafia role in recent memory. With his appearance, the pace picks up a little. The nomination for best film and director was probably secured by Bale’s necklace.

I’ve been struggling with Walter Mitty, even after watching it for the second time on the big screen. It has beautiful landscapes, an upbeat soundtrack and a positive mood. But when I stop to look at it intellectually, it seems like a coloring book that doesn’t make much sense and its message about life is too half-baked and insubstantial to be more than an exotic yet forgettable family flick. Walter Mitty sees the world through the eyes of a carefree and cheerful child with no real life experience.

If I was a director, I’d rather shoot nothing than these harmless banal flicks blatantly advocating positive values, which would end up with a “TV film” label if it wasn’t for the expensive cast. The four acting aces are of course super likable, but the story’s too lame for words.