Stanislaus

It's interesting to see what direction American films about Godzilla, Kong and the other kaiju monsters involved have taken over the decade: While Gareth Edwards' Godzilla tried (and at times quite successfully) to add some artistic value, the current film about the giant lizard and an equally giant ape is essentially one big, mindless, ultra-action carnage where the main goal is to entertain the moviegoer - ideally one that filters out the human dialogue and focuses purely on the action. And thankfully, there's plenty of that action in New Empire, and while the logic often gets lost underneath the colourful visuals, the film can be forgiven for that, as it doesn't even pretend to be a deep reflection on the titans' relationship with humans and with themselves. The film's lower budget is quite noticeable in places, which is a shame – I felt this most acutely with Scar King. I also could have done without the characters of the "amateur grand-dentist" and Mr. Conspirator, whom I found somewhat redundant. But if you accept the rules of a film in which anything can happen (literally, really) – the "anti-gravity sequence" speaks for itself – you will certainly not be bored in the cinema.

To be honest, given the lukewarm reviews here (but also on Imdb), I thought Damsel would be a generic film, but after watching it, I have to say that it was a pleasant surprise for me personally. Damsel has a nice visual design and its atmosphere (but also partly the story) reminded me more than once to Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Robin Wright looks like Michelle Pfeiffer) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug . The terrifying looks of the dragoness were very good, and so was the voice acting, and the backstory she added to the gloomy atmosphere of this seemingly fairy-tale film, which was more of a fantastic survival drama, with more than one person being burned alive. As a result, I would have given the film three and a half stars, but since enjoyed it, I'll give it a weaker four.

I was definitely expecting a stronger cinematic experience from Mr. and Ms. Stodola, as the story of probably the most famous pair of serial killers had quite dense material, but I still don't regret my visit to the cinema. The film is first and foremost a relationship drama, with the Lady Macbeth-like Dana portrayed as the manipulative brains behind all the horrific acts, while Jaroslav is more of a bumbling puppet and the hands that commit the acts. The criminal level plays more of a second fiddle – here I was a bit surprised at first that the murders took place as if behind the curtain, but they rectify this at the end (not that I seek explicit violence in films, but here it gave me pause at first). Better three stars!

After eight years, the obese, gluttonous and clumsy Dragon Warrior Po (soon-to-be spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace) returns to the scene to face perhaps his most diabolical opponent yet, the Chameleon. Kung Fu Panda 4 is quite average, offering essentially another generally straightforward adventure with no major surprises or demands on the viewer. I had the feeling that they didn't use the (literally) multilayered potential of Chameleon and were just after a spectacular show, but I praise the voice-acting of Viola Davis. I found the final confrontation a bit rushed, as if they suddenly remembered that they had a burning deadline to submit the final film and needed to cut it as quickly as possible. The film is not boring in the cinema, but a few days after the screening you won’t remember much about it.

On the eve of this year's Czech Lions, the choice fell on the film with the most nominations and also our foreign-language candidate for the Academy Awards. Brothers could have at least taken a back seat to more promising projects for the Oscars, as it is an at times overly aloof and stilted biographical drama that, like the opinions on the real brothers, comes across as controversial. The film would have benefited from a shorter running time and a stronger coherence between scenes (especially in the first half). That said, I commend the action sequences depicting the brothers' movements in Eastern Germany, as well as the scenes with the female cast (Tatiana Dykova and Karolina Lea Nováková), which were powerful to the point of being chilling. Better three stars!

I haven't seen the original animated series (yet), nor the remake by Shyamalan, but because I couldn’t make any comparisons to those projects, and I also wasn't familiar with the story beforehand. The current version has a fairly slow start, but it picks up speed from the middle point onward, only stopping at the very end of the first season. Despite the child friendly concept (except perhaps for the last episode), the adventures of Aang and his friends managed to deliver some tension, but also to entertain, and at times even move me. I praise the technical aspect, which is on par with high-budget cinema films; it was a pleasure to see the various settings, duels of the elements and creatures – in this respect, I enjoyed the episode with the demonically multifaceted Koh the most. The cast was generally well chosen, though I have some quibbles, but the main character, Aang, is really likeable – and that counts. I hope that we will see a second season, for which the ending of the first one was enticingly "fiery".

At first glance, The Holdovers is a very unassuming film, where simplicity is beauty. Despite the rather straightforward plot, it managed to really win me over, both on the dramatic and the comedy level. Even though Alexander Payne's film deals with serious and still very topical issues, they are presented in an incredibly relatable way that leaves you feeling good. That said, The Holdovers wouldn't be what it is if it wasn’t for the convincing performances of the central trio of "ordinary" people brought together by fate and their life traumas. The icing on the cake is the authentic, "vintage" style of the image, it makes you feel you are watching a fifty-year old film.

Dune: Part Two is a narrative epic with all the trimmings: while the first part was an appetizer about the sandy world of the dunes, the second expedition to Arrakis is a full-fledged main course that pleases the visual and auditory senses to perfection, while offering a mature story that interweaves the gripping and suspenseful storylines started three years ago. Denis Villeneuve could be described as a kind of "court cinema-filmmaker", as his films of recent years are a prime example of how the possibilities of the big screen and a powerful sound system can be fully exploited to achieve an unprecedented audience experience in the form of an audiovisual orgy that does not come across as shallow and kitsch. For less than three hours, which pass like water in the cinema, you are immersed in intricate political intrigues and embark on the chosen path of a Saviour who is not afraid to go through numerous victims and corpses. But Dune: Part Two is not only well shot and written, but also well acted – and you doesn't often see such a plethora of stars in the cinema. Although it is a polished project from an audiovisual point of view, I highly praise the "black and white" scenes from the Harkonnen arena, which seemed to evoke Nazi Germany and had an incredible charge despite the absence of colour. I'm curious to see what they will come up with in the next (and final?) installment, which hopefully we'll see one day, but in this case, the wait for quality is certainly worth it.

As I did a couple of years ago with Cats, I decided to go to the cinema to see Madam Web despite the very poor reviews and knowing that it might be a waste of money. Madame Web stumbles on multiple levels, like the vastly untapped potential that lay in the premise with its vision of the future, the lacklustre villain, to the off-kilter decisive confrontation with a downright stupid ending being the "bitter cherry on top". But the rating here still strikes me as quite severe, despite the glaring flaws, the film deserves two stars (but not a millimeter of cobwebs more).

I thought it was going to be a PG version of last year's Strays, but Cat & Dog – The Great Crossing lags on both the comedy and adventure levels, offering a rather bland concoction with humour that doesn't entertain much, neither children nor adults. The cat and the dog don’t look very good, but that could have been been ignored; the biggest stumbling block, however, is the wasted potential. Instead of, among other things, repeated butt-sniffing scenes, director/writer/star Reem Kherici could have offered sharper and/or comedic sequences. Better two stars!