POMO

This film deceives not only the audience, but also itself. It is an example of how NOT to write and direct a thriller with a surprising point, at least if it is supposed to be as interesting on the second viewing as on the first. David Twohy should go back to placing emphasis on the visuals and atmosphere and not putting too much strain on his brain.

Paranormal Activity is decent entertainment for viewers with imagination and a weakness for goosebump-inducing moments and fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, it is also a disappointment for fans of interesting and well-thought-out endings. The film is not helped by the fact that being lost in the forest (The Blair Witch Project) or imprisoned in a locked house (REC) is a different situation altogether than being in an ordinary house you can leave at any time.

The only things worth mentioning here are the actors and the most photogenic island of French Polynesia. Everything else is just water in the ocean. Each of the actors has already done something similar but better and you’ll enjoy Bora Bora more in any documentary. There is not a single reason to see this movie. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau got paid for the “script” and then got paid even more for frolicking in front of cameras in a location most people can only dream of visiting. That’s what I call the American dream.

When you compare this to 2012, you feel like Roland Emmerich provided you with three more disaster movies in almost the same running time. Tidal Wave is a good bad film: getting to the dramatic part takes too long, in tentative hints, and through all that time we are forced to watch a group of uninteresting characters cracking unfunny jokes (it wasn’t just me who wasn’t laughing; the whole theater was quiet). Everything, however, takes place in the attractive setting of the real Korean city Haeundae with a famous (HUGE) beach surrounded by skyscrapers and is shot in a cool blockbuster manner. When the tsunami hell starts, the audience can enjoy nice effects in well-composed shots and be pleasantly surprised by a few original screenwriting ideas (a tanker leaning on a bridge), but everything is spoiled by the incredibly over-the-top sentimental scenes of parting and weeping between loved ones that make even the tackiest Hollywood pathos look like a cold calculation. However, the final impression is positive: Koreans know their filmmaking craft as well as the rules of disaster-movie entertainment, so they can join in – unlike us in (provincial) Central Europe.

Antichrist is a difficult film, but it is also interesting, bold, provocative and incredibly visually compelling. However, connecting to it emotionally is more of an art than the film itself. Instead of the never-ending analyzing of the female protagonist’s mind, it would have been better to focus solely on the relationship of the couple in the given stage of their lives or take a look into their respective pasts. That is, if the film was made for some kind of audience.

Deviant, entertaining, bloody, sexy, dramatic, sarcastically funny, psychological and even epically long (or just unnecessarily protracted?). This collage of genres and emotions, however skillfully patched together to make a single whole, still remains just a motley mix despite its great actors, thoughtful (hidden) thematic lines and great filmmaking. Less of everything, and without humor, could have been more.

Less psychology, more superficial emotions. Sylvester Stallone builds on the solid foundations he laid down in the first instalment and switches to a pure genre formula – more forceful expression of the emotions of Rocky’s love affair, as well as the rivalry with the opponent in the ring. The boxing climax is more spectacular and emotional than in the first Rocky (but the first part did not need to base as much on it). Rocky II is a solid sequel that retains its creator’s touch, but it does not leave as strong an impression as the original.

This film about the American dream is all the more natural, convincing and powerful the less it tries to be spectacular and cater to the audience at all costs. It is the humble inception of a legend, not yet aware of its future historical importance. Rocky is the purest film definition of Sylvester Stallone, both as an actor and as a person.

Some films make you think that their makers should be subjected to corporal punishment. And the first trial should be held in Italy, please!

This documentary probe into the life/characters of members of a family who run a sex shop, shoot porn movies, etc. initially makes fun of the “simplicity” and “commercial superficiality” of the protagonists and turns them into comic figures. However, it gradually makes the audience connect with them, as it shows their normalcy and earnestness, proving they are also just flesh-and-blood people with the same problems and beliefs that your neighbors have. They are people who are just trying to achieve success in the era into which they were born. Erotic Nation is a pleasant, clever portrait of a subject that many people turn their noses up at without truly knowing what they’re scorning. It also holds up a small mirror to the development of Slovak politics from the fall of Communism to today, which strongly influenced the ups and downs of the protagonists’ business.