POMO

The role of a charismatic tough guy and fighter for good suits Patrick Swayze, and the film immediately draws you in with his character. The simplicity of the story is only an advantage – high-quality eighties flicks like this are always pleasing with their sincere straightforwardness. Sam Elliott brings the same level of charisma to the film as an equalising force against a band of villains. As the head mobster, Ben Gazzara reminds us that the worst movie bad guy always works best when he has the face of a kind uncle. Road House is a film rich in rampaging goons and manly brawlers, yet it is significantly more dignified than the silly B-movies starring Chuck Norris. It’s just a shame about the naïve climax, and that it tries to use karate motifs to be like Van Damme and co. It doesn’t need that.

Two and a half hours of superficial suffering of the main female character at the hands of the main male character. In an epic western setting, predictably and anachronistically played out in four muddled acts, and without a creative filmmaking touch. The frightening moments alternate in places with scenes that are poor in logic and the narrative lacks secondary storylines that would give it additional layers of thought. It focuses solely on intensifying the evil in Guy Pierce’s character to the greatest extent possible without explaining his reasons. Brimstone is emotionally powerful and suffocating in places, but unfortunately it is a one-dimensional story like something out of a mediocre novel for housewives. And with a ridiculous climax.

Co-produced by Big Indie Pictures – an appropriate name for the production company. The Tender Bar goes big with its cast and indie subject, as well as with its modest feel-good rendering. School of life: the joy of a dream education, disappointment in love and in one’s own father. Our personalities – and our path to adulthood – are formed by both good and bad. One of Ben Affleck’s best acting performance, the reliable Tye Sheridan, Clooney’s voiceover and an enjoyable oldies soundtrack.

Zero psychology among the characters and zero inventiveness in the directing. Just creative disengagement in following a strange life story. It’s as if I was reading a superficial tabloid article or watching a mediocre made-for-TV movie. However, seeing a close-up of vaginal penetration on the big screen, if only for two seconds, was a pleasant experience and left me surprised by the filmmakers’ boldness.

If you have a fear of flying, you will relate to this film and see yourself in its characters. A great deal of attention is given to their phobia. However, I found that I was rather baffled when I finished watching it. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a film, let alone a comedy, in which I had so little understanding as to why the characters behave as they do in most of the scenes. And which, as a comedy, would be so brutally unfunny. Not even the instrumental music in it works and the selection of accompanying songs makes no sense.

The best Oscars in a long time, capping off an extraordinarily strong year in film. Funny surprises like a nude John Cena, Guillermo with a mega-bottle of Tequilla and the twins Arnie and Danny DeVito. Again hosted perfectly with humour by Jimmy Kimmel, statuettes handed out to those who deserved them. I was pleased with all of the results, especially the awards for Best International Feature film and sound for Zone of Interest. And a powerful speech by the director of 20 Days in Mariupol! And the singing Ryan Gosling stole the show.

In terms of subject matter, Breeder is a more ambitious and more sophisticated Hostel, but it’s not much more intelligent. This is surprising for the Danes, particularly when they attempt a dramatic thriller with a study of the relationship between the central couple, where she has masochistic needs and has no idea where his secret business will take her. Unfortunately, the motif involving the confrontation of sexual desires with harsh reality is not fully formed. However, less discerning lovers of the cinematic suffering of helpless female characters will find what they’re looking for, as the film treads on the edge of mainstream conventions. Just don’t expect the main female villain’s biological research to be explained in any reasonable way, because it won’t be.

A bizarro film along the lines of Eraserhead, but more anchored in reality. A gloomy setting and dream sequences, sometimes chronologically scattered. The protagonist’s trauma and the monster to whom he is psychologically bound and who is a metaphorical personification of his nightmares. A cinematic mindfuck for the select viewers who can handle it, with the cool actorly facial expressions of Sean Harris and a vocal showcase by Alun Armstrong. In the end, however, it’s impossible to say if it works in any meaningful way or elicits any emotion.

For a film that looks like the work of a student, Harpoon is a well-written and well-acted genre flick. You will surprisingly become comfortable with the trio of not exactly likable characters on the boat thanks to their authentic depiction. The interplay of lies, questionable friendships and secret romantic relationships works well. The final surprise is far-fetched, but it suits Harpoon’s B-movie nature. The blood and distastefulness give a reasonable boost to the attractiveness of the “intimate” conflict for viewers.

An original, surprising and highly creative coming to terms with ethnic traumas in a small, extraordinarily intelligent genre flick set in a secluded “reform school”, from which you would expect anything but that. In terms of filmmaking craft, Boarding School is impressive from the opening moments, as it develops and examines the characters in their unconventional nature, taking delight in their psychologically electrifying, innocent and treacherous interactions. The film ambushes viewers with unexpected twists at the right time and in the right places. A remarkable, fragile yet morbid, and endearingly weird film. The only one of its kind.