POMO

Shutter Island is a bit like certain Brian De Palma movies – they might not be for everyone, but if it’s your cup of tea, you will be left speechless. It begins with a ship arriving at a mysterious island, which in terms of camerawork, editing and the use of scary retro music in the style of Miklós Rózsa is an equally valuable manual to creating an absolutely immersive film opening like the landing at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. And it ends not as much by making a point that turns the preceding plot upside down (in the world of film scripts, this idea is not all that original anyway), but with a bonus – the last scene and line of the film that pushes “that thriller with DiCaprio people go see en masse” three levels higher. Everything between the beginning and ending can be criticized for occasional cheesiness or chaotic switching between reality and hallucinations (which raises a few hard-to-answer questions) or the cold attitude to its characters. But all of this is part of the director’s cunning game, which is not about raising the audience’s goosebumps over the Ward C maniacs, nor milking their emotions over the fate of the main character. Because this director plays a different kind of game altogether. ___ After the second viewing, my hands were shaking like after smoking a pack of Dr. Cawley’s cigarettes. Shutter Island is an exceptional film from some other dimension.

A surprisingly bland and uninteresting thriller. Martin Campbell is “only” a professional action-movie craftsman, and the subject matter of Edge of Darkness needed a more distinctive take on the sad, depressing and urgent warning against the circles of powerful people. Moreover, the film barely contains any action and doesn’t offer any kind of breathtaking climax of the detective plot, which is more chaotic than interesting. Danny Huston and Ray Winstone are well cast in their roles, but Winstone’s character is horribly botched up (while it is evident that it was supposed to be the second most important character in the story). Mel Gibson is good but his performance is nowhere near what he did in Payback. The same could be said about the whole movie.

The first instalment escalated gradually, from zero to full-throttle horror trance that made even the toughest viewers sh*t themselves with fear. The second part picks up where the first left off so seamlessly that the film could be put together in a single whole. On a scale of 1 to 100, the pace of the second part starts at sixty and stays there until the climax, where it increases to eighty. You won’t relate to the characters much, as it’s an action-packed joyride full of 3D shoot-outs, running demons, cynical humor and sometimes too much camera shake, and in places, the characters behave so strangely that you can see that the filmmakers are actually making fun of them. You can feel from the film that it was created only thanks to the success of the first instalment, but at the same time it retains great creative trademarks and works with previous events so that fans do not end up upset or disappointed. Its only goal is to provide entertainment. In fact, it is a similar shift from a serious horror movie to an action flick as in the first two "Whatever" of the Dead Romero movies or Raimi’s Evil Dead movies. Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró are men in the right place and they did well in not trying to overshadow the film’s predecessor. I give four stars for the above-mentioned trademarks (in the hands of any other directors, the script wouldn’t stand a chance of getting more than three stars) and I am looking forward to the apocalypse in part three. Hopefully with Plaza and Balaguero.

Nothing But the Truth is a quality courtroom drama about a strong and noble journalist who is willing to sacrifice even what is most precious to her for her principles. Kate Beckinsale is excellent and the enthusiasm of the rest of the stellar cast raises the film above the level of its standard script.

The Box offers an interesting premise and a unique, intoxicating atmosphere (music, set designs and the overall retro feel of everything from the costumes to the wallpaper). Too bad that the sci-fi plot in the background of the story is so phantasmagorical that you cannot take the film seriously. But it’s worth seeing this anyway as a creative trip, inspiring longer discussions than most unoriginal, formulaic sci-fi thrillers.

The goosebump-raising moments are very effective, but the half-documentary concept was not a fortunate choice. Because of this, I didn’t believe that it was “based on real events”, as it looks like a B- movie based on jump scares in the packaging of a grade-A film.

Though it may be a little flat, this American-style “hardcore psychology” is emotionally strong. The actors are in sync and you believe their every word; the tense scenes in Iraq are impressive and the ending is moving. And Natalie Portman's character is every man’s dream wife.

The Death of a Provincial is an excellent formal exercise in black-and-white filmmaking using a peculiar bittersweet story.

This cliché-ridden representative of the “climbing adventure drama” subgenre (like K2) only gets interesting in the last 20 minutes. Also, the characters could use more detailed portrayals. But thanks to the quality of the technical aspect, good actors and especially the attractive environment under Eiger (and on its north face), the film achieves decent dramatic tension and is even touching in the climax. With its high-quality filmmaking and strong emotional experience, North Face is a solid German film.

Roots is a valuable postcard that tells a lot about life in the snowbound Turkish countryside. If you like travelling and getting to know different cultures, this film will tell you in 15 minutes what you would need a weekend stay in those places to learn otherwise.