gudaulin

A crime film that tries to take a slightly different approach than the established routes, meaning that the main protagonist is not an invincible and infallible supercop, but rather an unlucky individual who fails at crucial moments, and this failure affects him in his future work. Additionally, his main rival within the police ranks eventually shows greater intuition in situations where the main character is too emotionally involved. Double Whammy introduces a variety of interesting characters that somewhat balance on the edge of comedy but never cross that line. The result is a decent, slightly above-average thriller that is worth watching. Overall impression: 65%.

I wouldn't say it's a fundamental film of today's era, but considering the significantly different reviews from users, it's a clear sign that a certain part of the fans demands a return to the film style of the 70s, which included a significant stream of content-experimenting creations, not based on plot but on atmosphere, acting, symbols, and hints. The American reminds me of the arthouse thrillers of the French New Wave, and I remembered Godard's film Breathless while watching it, where characters without a past also appeared and the audience clearly felt that they had no future either. Fans of dynamic action and a packed plot will definitely not be satisfied with The American, but those who want to enjoy playing a game with the director and top-notch acting may be content. Personally, the screenplay disappointed me a bit, as I expected more polished and fundamental dialogues, for example, between Jack and his psychological counterpart, the local priest, or between Jack and his successor Mathilda. The love story between a contract killer and a local prostitute is also a bit cheap. Overall impression: 75%.

Hud is definitely not a western, as it only approximates this genre in terms of location and the polarized conflict between two strong personalities. In reality, it is a psychological drama of the conflict between father and son, and at the same time the conflict between two different value systems. The old farmer is a product of conservative America, which values land, family, authority, and religious values, while Hud is a child of his time, the affluent America of the 1950s, which values consumerism and entertainment. The most valuable aspect of the film is Paul Newman's performance, who is primarily known to film fans for his positive roles, but he convincingly and skillfully played the role of the selfish rogue. In the context of its time and Hollywood production, it is certainly a standout film, but looking back, it does seem somewhat clichéd. It is exactly the kind of film where the main characters, especially the old farmer, are able to find the right wise words at the right moment, which realistically occurs to a person only after a long period of time has passed. In intense situations, I would expect such a man to deliver a few juicy curses or an honest slap. Overall impression: 75%.

A pleasant comedy based on the acting and physical abilities of Danny DeVito, who plays his shrewd stock market player focused on liquidating companies with gusto, yet also gives this ruthless manipulator a human dimension. The business aspect of the story is based on processes that have a real basis, and although, as a comedy, this film avoids escalating conflicts surrounding layoffs and the loss of social security, it still suggests quite a lot. The relationship aspect of the story is based on the contrast between a little chubby man and a highly emancipated college student. Overall impression: 70%.

Machete is one of those action movies that do not provoke or offend me, but honestly speaking, they don't particularly impress me either. The exaggeration is to blame for the former, which is likable and allows me to forgive the traditional shallowness of the action movie script. As for the latter, it's due to the stereotype, because Rodriguez keeps filming the same thing over and over again, and I admit that he earned most of my sympathy with his amateur debut made for a few hundred dollars. Moreover, casting someone like Danny Trejo in the lead role is more than daring, because he is a strictly typecast actor who can handle small roles, but fails miserably when it comes to delivering something substantial in a big ensemble. The script is traditionally shallow and simply exploits the established action clichés, beautiful girls, cynical killers, and a bulletproof action hero. It has all been done a thousand times before. Overall impression: 50%.

The title makes it seem like a good bit of stupidity and movie fans expect something twisted, so the initial expectations are low and the film's creators ultimately benefit from that. In the end, it really is stupid, but since the disappointment factor doesn't work here and the audience is tuned to the humor, they can forgive Claydon and his gang for many things. The film actually feels like there were bigger ambitions and the director probably wanted to make something similar to Zombieland or Dawn of the Dead, but he lacked the talent, a higher budget, quality actors, and ultimately even a screenplay. Especially the female part of the ensemble represents more suffering from an acting perspective, which, however, is compensated by their looks. In the end, it could have been quite a decent soft porn, if the crew wanted to and pushed in that direction a little more. The film obviously targets a teenage audience and perhaps they could add one more star to their reviews. On the other hand, those who consider themselves intellectuals can watch this at their own risk. Overall impression: 25%.

Zombies don't scare me in horror movies and probably that's why they don't work as part of comedy either. The most impressive part came right at the beginning, where the instructional film about the origin of the zombie apocalypse and its pacification set the bar quite high somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. However, as the minutes went by, I got more and more bored and the style of humor style simply wasn't for me. The set design diligently stylizes the story in the retro style of the 50s, the golden era of consumerism and mass culture television. However, the result resembles television productions from the late 50s. It's a nice family film for everyone, but also average, and even though it tries to aim at many flaws from conformism to militarism to small-town mentality, it only scratches the surface. The presence of Carrie Ann Moss is a plus, as the role really suits her, and as a mom with a gun exterminating child zombies, she is flawless. By the way, my kids had a great time. The children's audience or those who watch Fido without high expectations, burdened by the fatigue of a long day, may be quite satisfied with it. Overall impression: 45%.

When it comes to historical films of various genres, I usually prefer the most realistic and faithful portrayal of events. Agora does not adhere to a faithful depiction of the presented events, as it condenses and compresses complicated historical events in such a way that processes that lasted for centuries are narrated within a few years. The main protagonist is inevitably portrayed by a charming female star, while the characters are somewhat artificially polarized. And yet, I ultimately lean toward the highest rating because Amenábar directed a magnificent spectacle devoid of cheap action elements, yet one that is still visually appealing thanks to excellent direction, cinematography, and set design. The historical image of the last centuries of the Roman Empire has understandably been thoroughly distorted by the victorious side, namely the Christians. What prevails in history has the right to change the past. And so, the perception of individual figures in Roman politics has been distorted according to their relationship with the Christian religion. Monotheistic religions tend to spread their ideas by any means necessary - in this respect, Christianity did not differ much from Islam during its expansion. Roman emperors intervened against Christians not only because they questioned the divine status of the emperor but also because they needed to ensure peace in an empire where hundreds of cultures, languages, and religions collided, and the Christians systematically disrupted this peace during their propagation of the word of God. I only considered giving the film four stars, but when I watched a recent rerun of Cleopatra and felt how worn out it seems compared to Agora, I leaned toward five stars. Overall impression: 90%.

The Time Traveler's Wife is a well-made, cultivated film that combines a love story with sci-fi themes, but to be honest, I found it boring to watch, and, although I can't fault it for anything major, as sci-fi it is logically unfinished and overall, it seems really unremarkable to me. It lacks a more significant plot and tension. It's an ideal film for a romantic evening at the movie theater, when a couple in love focuses primarily on themselves and sees the film only as a backdrop for their date. Overall impression: 45%.

A thriller about revenge, which probably had bigger ambitions, but failed miserably due to a desperately predictable and overly dragged-out script, which will not surprise fans and will probably disgust them as well. The action is dull, and everything else, except for Billy Bob Thornton in the role of a drug-addicted cop who has long switched sides he fights for, is not worth mentioning either. But in the end, even Thornton only does what he has done before, and better, elsewhere. Objectively, it's a film that deserves two stars, but the miraculous resurrection of the hero falls precisely into the kind of scenes that can drive me to the highest level of annoyance. Overall impression: 30%.