Stanislaus

Contagion is a prime example of the combination of a skilful director, excellent performances and a compellingly authentic premise. It is not only about a virus that is spreading dangerously and killing masses of people, but especially about fear, which is the most destructive human emotion. All the actors were perfect (Jude Law handled his bad guy perfectly), the story was dynamic and the ending was typically American. In short, a realistic look at the disaster of a pandemic and all the causes and effects that go with it.

Even if the viewers here despise the annoying and old Jessica Fletcher, I quite liked this unpretentious and relaxing detective story. The plot was good because I didn't suspect the right culprit for a moment before the reveal. In short, a movie with a famous writer in a movie format that's good for filling up one's free time.

One of those films in which the visuals (and especially the effects) trump everything else, leaving only a series of pretty pictures that lack any deeper meaning. The plot was simple (and totally clichéd), but unlike the script, it didn't annoy that much. And I definitely enjoyed this "rookie" a lot more than either the Hulk or Superman (I hate him!). All in all, a visually beautiful spectacle that, while at times was toe-curling (the dialogues), was a feast for the eyes.

Paranoid Park is especially opaque and confusing in places, and sometimes it took me a while to get my bearings (if I could at all). The premise is interesting and engaging and tells an uneasy story in the life of one teenager, which is hardly the first or last we’ve seen. Some of the scenes were really nicely done visually, but in sum, this film didn't hit me enough to make me think about it any longer. In short, the potential was there, but it was left somewhere untapped.

This time, this crazy duo of comedians decides to go to Hollywood to put things “right” and on the way, they both manage to make quite a mess. On the whole, I liked Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back a little less than the very similar Dogma. I was intrigued by all the movie references and little cameos (e.g. Wes Craven and Gus Van Sant), but some of the jokes were a bit off, which is not unusual for this bunch, but I'm not really into that. In short, a very typical American comedy that parodies all sorts of things but entertains within reason.

Celebrity is one of Woody Allen's weaker films for me, which is a real shame because the cast alone made me think it was going to be an acting tour de force. Unfortunately, it didn't happen in any significant way. Kenneth Branagh is a good actor, and here his character reminded me a bit of Marcello Mastroianni in La Dolce Vita, a journalist who captures celebrities who are just as naughty as he is. Leonardo DiCaprio is probably the one that irritated me the most, I like him, but here his short-tempered character really got on my nerves. And even though it was a comedy, I probably only had fun during Branagh's school reunion, and that’s far from enough. In short, a film that may be for a different audience than me, because I can't explain it any other way.

Once is a sweet and simple story about a talented pair of artists brought together by their love of music. The film and its characters come across as likeable and simple, but that's not a bad thing at all. And the song "Falling Slowly" definitely deserved the Oscar. In short, a film that's perfect for enjoying a leisurely moment.

This fifty-minute documentary reveals new facts about the doomsday of 21 December 2012, but there is pretty much as much to know at the end as at the beginning. Could the "end of the world" be related to the movement of the poles, or to the drawings and inscriptions of the ancient Maya, that is the question?! In short, leaving aside the questionable visual effects (it is a TV film, after all) and a lot of vague hypotheses, this is an average documentary.

I had previously seen Death on the Nile starring David Suchet, and so I may have been a bit deprived of the gradual resolution of the plot and the final denouement, but I still decided to see this film as a comparison. In terms of story and acting I find it comparable to the newer version, hence I give it the same rating. I really liked that the crime was set on a boat, which made everything seem even more distressing and dramatic. All in all, a very good whodunit that benefits from the performances and the premise.

I love Shakespeare's dramas as much as I love their film adaptations, which is why I couldn't pass up The Taming of the Shrew. Thanks to the modern and contemporary adaptation 10 Things I Hate About You, I already knew marginally what it was going to be about, but I still got swept away by the brisk chases and dynamic dialogue of the titular acting duo played by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The chemistry between them was – no doubt about it – essential to this particular film.