POMO

Smokin’ Aces is essentially just another variation on the music-video-inspired crime flick in the style of Guy Ritchie that won’t surprise you with anything new. However, the adrenaline-fuelled dynamics and the exposition of the bad guys are at a high level, and if the film had a slightly slower build-up with a more thorough introduction of the characters, the bloodbath climax could have not only faked BIG EMOTIONS, but actually evoked them. And then it would rank among the better gangster cult movies. Joe Carnahan’s slapdash dramaturgy weakens the impression that the film makes as a whole and leaves “only” the visual/editing treats (something similar could perhaps be said about the first Kill Bill, but that film has the benefit of Tarantino’s more original concept).

Venom suffers even more from moronic screenwriting tricks than from its predictability and worn-out clichés. However, Agnes Bruckner is a treat in the lead role, the swampy locations have their charm and the film’s visual aspect is far above the level of a B-movie. The fewer films like this you have seen, the more you will enjoy this one. Otherwise, I would recommend watching the more imaginative Wrong Turn instead.

Jane Campion is both a feminist and a perceptive artist. Her Holy Smoke is a well-made ode to the subject of a strong man falling into the trap of attraction to a femme-fatale. Visuals imbued with warm colours play an important role in the film, enhancing the sultry atmosphere of the Australian outback in which the (also sultry, in places) story plays out in a small, isolated location. As always, Harvey Keitel turns in a minimalist performance, but he is well suited to both of the positions in which he finds himself – as the rakish cowboy in black jeans and as the broken loser in a lady’s red dress. In terms of acting, Kate Winslet leads the film, as the importance of her character grows with each passing minute as the power of Keitel’s protagonist wanes. Holy Smoke is a self-contained film that lacks nothing. Though it is not easy to give oneself over to it, it is hard to deny its narrative originality and, at times, its controversial openness. It could have been unforgettable if, instead of the wanna-be artsy optics, Campion had given priority to intimacy that would have made the viewer-voyeur a viewer-participant.

Lucky Number Slevin is black-humor gangster flick that wants to be a Tarantino and/or Ritchie film, but it just does NOT have what it takes because of the immature screenwriter. I’m just surprised that director Paul McGuigan thought it did. After the brilliant Wicker Park, I expected more from him.

This film’s technical brilliance and orgiastic creativity in its visuals will cause film connoisseurs’ jaws to drop and the plot with a powerful theme and even more powerful scenes will melt the hearts of children and adults of all ages. Even though Alfonso Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki show off a bit in the manner of “Look what we can do!” in places, their film will leave absolutely no one cold. In a packed cinema, Children of Men is an excellent collective experience, with people clutching their heads, laughing and groaning as if they themselves had been hit in the mouth with a car battery. I believe that just as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Coppola and co. got a dying Hollywood back on its feet in the 1970s, Cuarón, Alejandro Iñárritu, Paul Greengrass and co. will now take it to another level in this age of calculated digital confections. *** FILM OF THE YEAR ***

I wanted to avoid comparisons with the Asian smash Infernal Affairs, of which The Departed is a remake. But if you know the original, in which the given story is filmed more briskly and more clearly, not a single character in it is a superficial poser (Jack Nicholson), and the Asian visuals are more exotic for a European than the worn-out “gritty America”, there is absolutely nothing stunning about the The Departed. Of course – Martin Scorsese and his court cinematographer are masters at what they do, so the film is never boring for even a second and we get to spend time in the company of the world’s acting elite, from whose characters the director gets maximum psychological enjoyment. But the film as a whole gives the impression that its makers didn’t approach it with as much love as they did The Aviator. Leonardo DiCaprio is the only one who gave his full commitment to the project and put his soul into it. With a few more roles in this vein, I will rank him among my personal top five actors. Otherwise, however, The Departed is merely a solid cops-and-mafia drama that leaves American audiences startled thanks to its ending, which is not what they’re used to from a Hollywood flick. The Departed deserves four stars in the context of current American productions, but definitely not in the context of the director’s filmography. I will gladly watch it again, but I can’t hide my slight disappointment.

Silent Hill is a visually captivating horror flick, particularly in the first half. It draws all of its power from its impressive sets, sound and solid acting. However, the more it reveals what’s hidden, the more predictable it becomes in terms of content, which is constructed only for effect. That said, it is the clear winner among game adaptations such as Resident Evil and Doom. It is, after all, a solid top-tier production.

This is pure filmmaking in the mold of Kubrick, with a unique combination of theatrical and cinematic means of expression. Though I’m not particularly a fan of Haneke’s cold (slow and quiet) composition of (almost exclusively interior) scenes, the director’s perfectionism is obvious in every minute of the film and is often breathtaking. And at one point it is brutally brought to a halt (though this shock is winkingly foreshadowed in the scene involving the telling of a “joke” at the table). Hidden is a different kind of film that you will definitely not forget, regardless of how much it does or does not appeal to you. Of the roles in which I have seen him so far, this is Daniel Auteuil’s most substantial and well-played.

By today’s standards, The Hills Have Eyes is an almost delicate slaughter flick whose climax lasts practically the the final two-thirds of the film. It’s juicy, morbid and visually attractive, with the right amount of action and black humor. And the screenplay is a significant upgrade of Wes Craven’s simpler 1977 original.

Even if the drama United 93 had not been based on real events, it would still transcend certain boundaries of the medium called “film” and become one of the most important media works of the beginning of the new century.