gudaulin

The Others is the first film by director Alejandro Amenábar that I had the chance to see, and it made a great impression on me. It is the direction that significantly elevates this film above average. The premise is reminiscent of the ghostly film The Sixth Sense, but it's different - somewhat more intimate and slower-paced. This allows the details to stand out, as well as the superb acting from Nicole Kidman and the child actors. I openly admit that this film surpasses The Sixth Sense in my eyes, albeit just slightly. Good cinematography and lighting perfectly complement the gloomy atmosphere. Overall impression: 90%. This film exemplifies how to create a horror atmosphere without expensive special effects, bloody splatters, and jump scares.

I have heard that this is just a weak derivative of the once-cult series The X-Files. But it's not that simple. The Outer Limits is only connected to The X-Files through the genre, and beyond that, the series goes its own way. The episodes are not linked by the stories or the characters, only by the suggestive opening theme creating an atmosphere of mystery, brilliantly performed by Lukavský. Each episode presents a separate story with a twist ending. However, the problem is that all the stories can be labeled with the vague term of fantasy, where we find a wide range of genres from sci-fi, fairy tale, fantasy, and horror to mysterious stories. Simply put, not every script can meet the viewer's taste. True science fiction fans might be somewhat disappointed by the supernatural motif - you simply can't please everyone. In addition, the series was created by a large team of writers, so the quality varies and while in other projects, there is a descending quality trend after a promising start, here it's purely a gamble. A weak episode may be part of the first season, while a strong one may be in the final season. What's more, The Outer Limits came before the American TV revolution at the turn of the millennium, when TV production budgets significantly increased, so this project often had a desperately cheap studio execution. Overall impression: 55%.

Jean-Paul Belmondo knows how to play his adventurers, whether on the side of the law or against it. He has charisma and can give his characters an undeniable charm. The problem lies in the fact that the film itself takes a stance that doesn't sit well with me and I consider it highly problematic. It takes itself too seriously when it clearly sets up an unrealistic framework, and its hero seems to have come out of a bad action movie. Belmondo's Commissioner Jordan shows off too much and is such a cool guy that he simply doesn't fit into the serious crime story. Moreover, the means he chooses during the investigation are ethically unacceptable. Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood, was called a fascist by critics for his investigative methods at the time, and Jordan might even surpass him in some aspects. He massacres two gangsters in front of the astonished crowd on a busy French boulevard out of revenge and confidently walks away. Not only would this not fly in the real world, but it damn well relativizes law and justice. In the end, it's a very average crime story full of clichés from bad movies and a superhero-like hero who would receive only a very lukewarm reception if played by someone else. Overall impression: 45%.

Before the premiere, I had some doubts about whether the director was capable of handling a demanding and controversial subject. He didn't embarrass himself and instead brought out the best of himself and his vision is definitely worth seeing in the movie theater, which cannot be said about the overwhelming majority of Czech films. Marhoul managed the production perfectly. A film with such a big budget and a concentration of top-notch film specialists and significant foreign actors has been missing from Czech cinema for a whole decade and will probably be missing again for many years to come. The Painted Bird does not represent a trend or a glimpse of better times - it is a solitary work that nothing can follow, and at most, it can serve as a positive example for future visionaries. Marhoul has seen a lot and is not afraid to make use of it. The great camera work by Vladimír Smutný, the black and white material, and the division of the film into chapters reference Marketa Lazarová, and Marhoul consciously build on Come and See by involving Aleksei Kravchenko; cinephiles will surely find many other references, be it to the work of Jan Němec or other classics. The problem is that, despite all his efforts, Marhoul lacks something substantial to become a world-class filmmaker. He is unable to work with the pace and rhythm of the film and he is monotonous and repetitive. My daughter, who accompanied me, admitted after the screening that she was perfectly tuned into the film in the first ten minutes, only to realize with horror that she had to endure another nearly three hours of the same thing. If the director had shortened the film by half an hour, nothing would have changed in its essence and any viewer without knowledge of the source material would not have noticed. The Painted Bird is a sequence of beautiful film images that I approvingly nod my head at, but they evoke almost no emotions in me (if they do, then it is in inappropriate places. The torture, rape, and perversion sometimes reach the point that even the famous Marquis de Sade would find erotic pleasure in them. I had fun during the scenes of the two insatiable nymphomaniacs, but otherwise, it's not what the director had in mind.) A film full of tragedy and violence should completely crush me emotionally - with Volhynia, Come and See, or Nanking, that eventually happened. Not here, though. The main character goes through hell with the same absent expression, and the viewer cannot empathize with his thinking. More dialogue is missing, as well as depth. I feel like a member of an inventory commission who checks off item after item, one shot after another, and thinks about how nicely the director, as the chairman of the commission, prepared it for him... Sometimes I pause, for example when I watch the scene of a village being massacred by collaborating Cossacks, while the Red Army is attacking them from behind. In their situation, I would have completely different worries... In my opinion, Marhoul somewhat overestimated his abilities, but I consider four stars as a fair share of encouragement that Czech cinema desperately needed. Overall impression: 70%.

In many comments, I read how predictable this film is... Well, isn't Titanic predictable? Or the story of Romeo and Juliet? Everyone knows them by heart. However, for some reason, the play "Romeo and Juliet" is considered an exceptionally powerful love story, even though it has nothing to do with love in reality. Infatuation and love are completely different concepts. Love is longing, compassion, and a whole range of other feelings that infatuation lacks. The Painted Veil is a beautiful story about how real love emerges. Tragic, unfulfilled, and highly romantic, brilliantly cast and acted. It is the typical case of perfectly working chemistry between the actors in the lead roles. I have no objections to the supporting characters and their performers either. A very likable experience. Overall impression: 90%.

This film is the complete opposite of what Aronofsky showed his viewers in his famous film Requiem for a Dream. Where Aronofsky is pretentious and tries to squeeze emotions from the audience, using cheap tricks of music video makers (yes, I have a deep-rooted aversion to his style :-)), The Panic in Needle Park is real, authentic, completely natural, almost documentary-like, and incredibly effective in its simplicity and sobriety. The gradual disintegration of personality, numbing of emotions, and reducing one's existence to seeking and consuming another dose are captured through precisely selected details, showing that the world of drug addicts is pathetic and trapped in a vicious circle with no way out. At the same time, it is a film about great love and artistic ambitions, which are drowned in a spoonful of cloudy fluid and a syringe. For me, this is one of the best and most impressive films set in the environment of drug addicts. Overall impression: 95%.

A predictable and artificial affair from a director who is indeed a pro, but as such, plays it safe and I definitely never expect any original, provocative, or experimental films from him. As a comedy, it doesn't work for me; rather, it feels like an attempt to capture the dramatic atmosphere of a typical workday in the office of a New York newspaper. Unfortunately, both the screenwriter and director idealize this world in line with the typically American theses about journalism being the strongest pillar of democracy. The seemingly emotionless dialogues and actions feel like paper shuffling to me, and I don't believe in them whatsoever. Of course, truth and justice will prevail, but it's typical American sentimentality, filmed pleasantly, does not force you to think, and is far removed from reality. American journalism is quite servile compared to, for example, British journalism, and generally more tame because it's dependent on influential advertisers and political elites. And that is only worsening with the pressure of the internet and the shift of potential readers toward bloggers and online news. One of the key scenes, Michael Keaton's fight on the side of good against Glenn Close's side of evil, didn't come across as funny, but rather forced. Not even the presence of one of my favorite actresses Marisa Tomei saved it for me. Overall impression: 45%.

The success of a film or series largely depends on the ability of its creators to evoke a sense of identification with their heroes and their actions. Even seemingly highly controversial characters are molded according to the same rules. Today's screenwriter has no problem giving even a serial killer cool qualities, humanizing him with humor, and since he is assigned to kill other much less agreeable villains and on the other hand helps the weaker, the viewer has no problem liking him. Such an approach fits perfectly with the story of Walter White from Breaking Bad. His psychological transformation from an exemplary citizen, caring father, and husband into a dangerous manipulator and cynical criminal was not understood by everyone. The Paperboy evokes negative reactions from many viewers after watching and receives hesitant comments from movie fans - more critical than one would expect from a film of these qualities. It is certainly not an exceptional film, even within its category, but it is an above-average genre film. Its most valuable aspect is precisely what repels so many viewers - the violation of genre conventions, unpleasant characters that provoke you, and whose actions anger you. The film does not strive for likability in any way and I appreciate that. This is also related to its ability to surprise. Daniels' thriller is not made according to a template and I consider that a significant plus. Overall impression: 75%.

The inspiration of the Watergate affair and the entire crisis of credibility of American politics under President Nixon is quite evident. But the main source for the script was clearly the assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent conspiracy theories about a multi-layered conspiracy. Considering that it is a well-known and highly acclaimed thriller, I was quite disappointed with the lack of attention to detail in the screenplay. The script fails to address many things and in many respects gives up on the logic of the storytelling. If the Parallax organization dealt with logistical aspects of assassinations and other illegal operations, then they probably didn't belong among the elite in their field, as otherwise, they wouldn't have made so many mistakes. Even for the initial assassination of the senator, the assassins couldn't have chosen a more difficult place in terms of an escape route. And it seems somewhat easier to get rid of one assassin, instead of struggling for several years to eliminate 18 eyewitnesses. Especially when the only thing they could reveal was the face of a hired hitman, which was captured by telephoto lenses anyway. Director Pakula also didn't deliver his most dazzling performance in terms of directing, which he would later do in his best work, All the President's Men. Overall impression: 55%.

The Party may not have the intensity and intellectual depth of movies like Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, or the Pink Panther series with its burst of entertaining gags. However, it is essentially the same type of humor we know from Inspector Clouseau - a likable bungler who means well and tries hard, but usually ends up causing a disaster, only to miraculously emerge with honor at the end thanks to his famous luck. Here, the humor is set in a grotesque environment that clearly mocks the snobbish Hollywood elite. The film doesn't have an extraordinary screenplay, and at times the screenwriter seems a bit lost, so the humor is based on chaotic running around, falls, and props like a painted elephant. Nevertheless, it is still an above-average work. Overall impression: 75%.