POMO

The only thing undermining this film a bit is the unclear temporal setting. For the events not to look unrealistic and exaggerated from today’s point of view, it uses Bernard Herrmann-like music and is set approximately shortly after World War II. But the costumes, hairstyles and behavior of many of the characters, as well as the technical aspect of the film, correspond to the present in order to be attractive for today’s (more perceptive) teenage viewers, for whom it can become the film of their life... If we look past these inconsistencies, however, Evil becomes an emotionally powerful and perfectly filmed (beautiful camerawork), cast and acted drama, the formalistic aspect of which matches that of the best Hollywood productions.

Bloody Parcel is dumb in its content, with a point that just doesn’t work. But it overflows with the filmmakers’ love of grindhouse and Robert Rodriguez’s camerawork, and mainly their interest in honing every spectacular shot, even if it lasts only a few seconds, so it can’t leave you cold as an enthusiastic amateur tribute to Tarantino and Rodriguez. Praise is also due to the well-chosen narrator, and the appearance and “goofily comical” voices of the main characters. Jan Votýpka is a madman in the best sense of the word. My three-star rating is a compromise between two stars for the content and four stars for the concept.

“You just got killed by a Daewoo Lanos, mother*ucker!” is the only line that made me laugh out loud. Even though it was produced by Judd Apatow, it’s extremely unfunny. And not because I don’t get stoner humor or that Seth Rogen and James Franco don’t look convincing enough with a joint, and the same goes for Danny McBride and a shotgun, but because the script is so forced, it is literally painful.

The Wrestler is an unobtrusive indie work. It is simple, clear and clean, and relies on only one thing – Mickey Rourke. Darren Aronofsky is aware that everything else is just Rourke’s surroundings, so he paves the way for him without much interferences or original screenwriting ideas (we’ve seen it all before), comfortably riding on his character’s shoulders. And the whole crew sleeps in Randy’s caravan because no one would give them a normal budget for this. A nice, modest film that could have been excellent as a featurette.

This horror flick offers a rich atmosphere and, in places, was filmed in a peculiar manner (it’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad – it’s simply different, unique), with a captivating voice-over from the protagonist, which opens and closes the film. But it’s completely spoiled by the dumb looks of the actors, lapses in logic and idiotic dialogue.

This film starts out as an original, engaging and perversely exciting thriller, but later it turns into a hallucinogenic trip into the mind of the main character. Finally, it becomes a not exactly original psychological drama about a Finnish Norman Bates. Though very well made and acted, however, it slipped away from me with exactly those twists it employed to surprise and shock me.

I found this audiovisual opera of movement about as exciting and intriguing as a subtitle-free dialogue of two Chinese sitting motionless at a kitchen table.

A masterfully crafted arrow which, however, takes a too direct path to its target and is above all TOO LONG, in addition to being made of components that we already know too well. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button spoke to me with its magical first third full of sincere kindness and breathtaking effects that turn the digital Brad Pitt into a better actor than the real one we see later. But the rest is filled with cotton wool, having little to offer beyond things that are superfluous to Benjamin’s story. Overall, it’s a nice movie, but not the film of the year. David Fincher is wasted on such mainstream audience ass-kissing. This is paradoxically his least interesting and controversial work.

Out of Time is a simple chill-out movie in the attractive setting of sunny Florida, where even the police chief wears a Hawaiian shirt and the sky is so beautiful that it borders on kitschy. Add in beautiful tanned babes in a story with a crime plot that is full of suspense and somehow contrived, but fortunately also a little predictable. I say fortunately because this movie doesn’t aspire to become the second The Usual Suspects, but a sexy, old-school chill-out movie. Mission accomplished.

Children of Men, with an IQ lowered to the level of xXx. If you found Cuarón’s work too clever and technically inventive and you felt disappointed that Clive Owen didn’t shoot anything over the entire course of the movie, Kassovitz and Diesel will make it up to you. This is the crème de la crème of apocalyptic sci-fi B-movie trash (like Ultraviolet, Soldier, etc.), worthy of a solid two stars.