Matty

Deadpool 2 is a touching family melodrama about the importance of traditional values, with a hero who wants to kill himself most of the time, vomiting acid and brutal action scenes accompanied by dubstep or Enya (decide for yourself which is worse). It is as comparably entertaining as the first one, though at the same time darker and more layered emotionally and in terms of storytelling. ___ Retrospectively (like a large part of the first instalment) only the first 20 minutes or so are narrated, after which film-noir turns into a buddy movie (from prison). Only the second half is a superhero team flick (Rob Delaney as Peter deserves a spin-off). The protagonist’s objective and the role of the villain (again played by the excellent Josh “Thanos” Brolin), who arrives on the scene relatively late, unexpectedly change several times. Everything is connected by the melodramatic background with the late/impossible reunion and (re)construction of the family. This primarily involves the main protagonist’s inner conflict, not the destruction of the world as in other comic-book movies. Therefore, I was not bothered by the numerous entirely serious scenes without self-deprecating humour (besides, if you have one of the characters refer to the screenwriter as an imbecile after some bad dialogue, nothing about that bad dialogue changes). Thanks to those scenes, you take the characters more seriously than they take themselves and the conclusion stimulates the right emotions (in this respect, Deadpool is more self-sufficient than Infinity War – in order for you to be moved, you do not have to know the preceding 18 films; you only have to know what you have seen over the past two hours). ___ The best bits are the opening credits parodying Bond movies, the post-credit scenes (or rather mid-credit scenes, as nothing remains after the closing credits) and jokes that truthfully call out the shortcomings of comic-book films that lack good humour, something with which Deadpool abounds. Besides the competition from DC, this is again captured mainly by X-Men, referred to as an outdated, gender-incorrect metaphor of racism from the 1960s. Conversely, it freezes routine action scenes with confusing editing (with the exception of a few more fluid moments, which with their choreography bring John Wick to mind), which, as in the case of most major productions of this type, was probably not under the control of the director himself, but of the second unit (and subsequently the people in charge of CGI). ___ Despite that, Deadpool 2 is very good summer entertainment whose creators managed to come up with enough ways to surprise us both with content and with the construction of the story and by using the conventions of various genres even without the possibility of somehow repeating the “wow effect” of the first film from beginning to end. 80%

During holidays and weekends, eighteen-year-old Edgar Wright and his friends made a film that is much bolder than Craven’s Scream in breaking and exposing genre rules. Based on the economic logic of the matter, affiliation with a genre (or genres) is only feigned, the actors step out of their roles according to the needs of the narrative, and the people behind the camera (including the director) are also forced to actively participate. Wright uses the framework of Dirty Harry and Lethal Weapon to ridicule the authorities and “their” high British culture, beginning with an opening moralistic warning about the harmfulness of the content and continuing with splatter effects, tasteless humour and the expressing of distaste for a certain brand of cereal. Wright had even greater disdain for overly clever British crime films (without blood spatter and car chases), to which he responded as a movie fan by making a film the likes of which would probably not be made in his homeland for a long time to come. The protagonists characteristically did not learn their special police methods from their superiors, but rather from American genre flicks, in which lies one of the many similarities with Hot Fuzz, which itself is basically an extended version of Dead Right. As in Hot Fuzz fourteen years later, cop movies are simultaneously parodied and deeply admired, so it’s hard not to give in to Wright’s youthful enthusiasm for the project and admire the director’s imaginative and very mature handling of various formalistic refinements. Let’s set aside the inevitable imperfection of the film’s craftsmanship and not go looking for what kind of cinematic trash Wright devoured before reaching the age of maturity (I assume he had seen a full range of video nasties from A to Z), and enjoy this enthusiastically overwrought mix of action, crime, slasher, slapstick and buddy movie. 90%

A reality show that strips its participants to the bone. Though it employs almost every cliché of zombie horror movies, Dead Set has a thrilling pace and a bleak atmosphere, and Andy Nyman enjoys playing his insufferable prick of a character as much as Ricky Gervais enjoys playing David Brent. I was disappointed by the modest number of episodes, but at the same time, I appreciate that the series is not artificially drawn out and ends when it’s still at its best.

Grand, overwhelming, bombastic in its melodramatic nature beyond the rather high emotional ceiling of the genre. The dubious fatefulness is not hidden behind the characters’ actions, but rises to the surface, and its involvement in the game is conspicuously pointed out to us several times (the bet on thirteen, the interpretation of the cards). The men here are active and observant; the women are passive, observed, constantly swooning, dealing with emotions and taking care of their outward appearance. They so conscientiously take care of their appearance that it seems natural when Louise treats her diamond earrings more tenderly than she treats the men who come into her life and who are consequently just unreliable, less glittering derivatives of those earrings. Music plays almost continuously, stirring emotions and inspiring the characters to dance. The dancers (of whom the grand prize for endurance goes to Christian Matras behind the camera) exhibit the same tirelessness, to the point that in one scene there is nothing left for an annoyed musician to do but to demonstratively pack up his things and leave. He is overwhelmed by the melodramatic determination of the film, which is only just getting into the final third, which is perhaps less active in terms of movement, but is unabashedly self-reflexive in its sense of irony. Ophüls’s peak work and the most action-oriented of the films in which the only real “surface” action takes place off-screen. 85%

Rather more humorous than madcap, The Shop Around the Corner is a sophisticated comedy about crooged legs and the healing effects of capitalism. With leather on the market and getting on each other’s nerves, Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart are well supported by the titular shop. After the rib-tickling Ninotchka, I unreasonably expected another whirlwind of indecorous humour. Director Ernst Lubitsch slowed the pace and clogged the non-comedic parts of the film with sentiment. And therein lies the problem. It is difficult to sympathise with characters set in a world that serves well for a wacky comedy, but does succeed in providing a foundation for melodrama. The impression is enhanced by the final shot, which charmingly casts off all of the seriousness. 75%

The Longest Day is a lavish war spectacle whose multi-perspective, novel-like structure presents an extraordinarily complex picture of the famous landing. From the beginning, the film cuts in parallel between men of different ranks and nationalities, each of whom has access to different information, which significantly helps to build tension. On the one hand, we don’t want the Germans to know when the Allies are going to attack, while at the same time we hope for the members of the French Resistance, for example, to be informed of the invasion in time. Victory can be achieved only with proper synchronisation. Thanks to the film’s long runtime, we can be gradually introduced to all of the main characters (although you will later recognise them by the famous faces of the actors portraying them rather than by their names), but emphasis is placed primarily on the operation itself and its individual steps, not on the psychology of the characters and their emotional lives. This is a similarly fascinating procedural ensemble war-movie event as offered by The Guns of Navarone a year earlier and Where Eagles Dare several years later. In comparison to those films, however, The Longest Day focuses more on conveying historical facts as faithfully as possible (within the limits of the genre and Hollywood narrative), thus anticipating the docudramas that would come into fashion somewhat later. Thanks to the focus on what is essential, the film is also action-packed. Something important is happening, or at least about to happen, at almost all times. Some of the mass scenes, obviously shot with hundreds of extras running around on the beach, are breathtaking not only in their sweeping scope, but also in the virtuosity of the direction (one continuous aerial shot of fighting taking place on both sides of the river is especially outstanding). The occasional comedic moments (the passing nuns) and the dialogue scenes between the soldiers (which don’t push the “big story” anywhere) thus provide viewers a welcome chance to catch their breath. Due to the nature of the project and the time when it was made, the concept of war is relatively black-and-white. In particular, the American soldiers are flawless heroes, killing is inevitable and does not evoke ambivalent feelings, and the nihilistic epilogue in the form of the final bit of dialogue comes too late. But even a strong allergy to John Wayne and heroic celebrations of virility won’t stop you from enjoying how skilfully the film is constructed and how its construction is in some ways reminiscent of (among others) Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. 80%

This big-budget, star-studded film was intended from the start to be a commercial hit with the purpose of bringing viewers back to French cinemas. The positive commercial and critical response confirmed for the final time Melville’s exclusive position as an auteur director who is also popular with viewers. In The Red Circle, he succeeded, in the most elegant possible way, in combining the comprehensibleness of a standard Hollywood narrative with European modernism that gives priority to the form and style of the content. ___ With the exception of indicators of impending danger in the form of red circles, the world of Melville’s protagonists is blue-grey and cold, devoid of needless objects and emotions, let alone passions. Women are merely an unpleasant reminder of the past or beautiful objects, creatures from another world. Family does not represent a relevant value. Priority is given to work and relationships based on loyalty and professionalism. The film revives the Western tradition by emphasising traditional values and male togetherness.___ Horses have been replaced by automobiles, the vast prairies of the Wild West in the post-Civil War period have been replaced by the streets of contemporary Paris. What has remained, however, is the reluctance to resolve situations with unnecessary words, the brevity of gestures, the moral adherence to principles and the unyieldingness of the adopted worldview. Though the heist takes up nearly thirty minutes of film’s runtime, the forming of bonds between the men is, in comparison with American films, more important than the subsequent execution of the deed. The saying about the other half is completely fulfilled here, as Corey could not have pulled off the heist on his own. Each of the men has a clearly defined role and task within the group. They know exactly what to do and where their place is. ___ Corey, Vogel and Jansen think through every move and every look in both the short and long term and never say anything more than is necessary. They proceed methodically step by step, they don’t act rashly and they don't make mistakes. The film’s directing is just as precise and economical. Melville expresses his solidarity with the idealised masculine protagonists by adopting their austere vocabulary. ___ Whereas the sleek, almost imperceptible transitions between compositionally similar shots do not disrupt the smooth flow of the narrative, the sharp cuts force constant caution. Where the mise-en-scène allows, Melville favours reframing or camera approaches over editing. The flawlessness of the technique is more important than the action itself and that is why the procedural shots, which only prepare us for what is to come, are so exciting. ___ Like Sergio Leone, who used much more operatic means of expression, Melville was a master at creating suspense from the fact that nothing happens and banal actions take an unnaturally long time. Instead of quickening the pace, he keeps us in anticipation by slowing it down. Precise directing is a way to bring an understanding of the characters, whose lives are also based on a minimum of sounds and on expressive, precisely calculated movements. Friendship, respect, responsibility. Image, sound, movement. Cinéma pur. 90%

“È solo un trucco.” Sorrentino picks up where Fellini left off. The exchange of views between Jep and Wilhelmina the girls from the convent school, separated from the protagonist by a screen, is strikingly reminiscent of the ending of La Dolce Vita. Whereas Marcello is only just entering the world of Rome’s upper crust, Jep Gambardella has already been there and done that, and (later) understood that authentic life is lived on the other side, not only in the spatial sense, but also in the temporal sense –  the protagonist takes refuge from the all-pervasive emptiness in memories of his childhood, when he was still unknowledgeable, when he was only just becoming aware. If his wandering as a unknowledgeable flâneur, which we are witnesses to, teaches him anything, it’s the fact that we cannot deny ourselves or our own story. ___ The most spiritually valuable moments of Jep’s profane existence are not the direct confrontation with religious symbols, but encounters with innocence (girls, lovers kissing) and with passing time (the time-lapse photography project) and brief glimpses into reality, which is just as fleeting as beauty and love. A very brief encounter with Fanny Ardant, who elegantly carries with her the characters from every film in which she has appeared, brings about an hour-long visit to a church. During these moments, Jep perhaps realises that though he may know everyone and can go anywhere, the values that are worth striving for remain difficult for him to attain. ___ The Great Beauty is a film of a time and society without narrative potential. All of the stories had already been told, so what remains is only the recycling of familiar situations and mechanical alteration of the actors, roles and props. Time and movement became irrelevant. Despite that, Sorrentino managed to make a film that pulsates with life, though it is about a world that rejects two basic characteristics of cinema and also about a life that has no direction. ___ Thanks to the ceaseless movement of the camera, the surprising alternation of shot types (the various ways in which they are linked would be worthy of a separate analysis), the placement of unexpected objects in the mise-en-scéne and the lively soundtrack, which doesn’t distinguish between Bizet and Italian pop, The Great Beauty never stops flowing and doesn’t let you leave the cinema until the house lights come up. Only later you can start to process the implied ideas and fill in the empty space that has been spread out before you. 85%

A sociological experiment – can you tolerate watching people you don’t know for one hundred minutes? Because the director doesn’t want us to get to know them; instead, he prevents us from doing so through “unempathetic” filming from a greater distance and in long, static shots. We often don’t see the faces of the characters as they speak and we rarely know their names. Sometimes the distance and the impression of eavesdropping are enhanced by filming the characters in a reflection (a mirror, the side of a car) or – in one case – by “filtering” them through a computer camera. The only thing we can do is silently watch them. The witnesses in the film behave in the same way. And the consequence? The innocent become victims and the guilty remain unpunished. Each of us has probably found ourselves in one of the depicted situations. The film manages to elicit feelings of guilt. It’s a very cruel approach – both to the characters and to viewers – but it forces us to think. It’s a shame about the two unnecessary deviations from the drily observational style to a more standard narrative (one brief pan during the scene involving harassment on a bus and a later flashback). Or were these meant to serve as a reminder – for those who have given in to the illusion of a film without a narrator – that there is someone behind the camera manipulating us a little? It’s hard to say. It’s also hard not to give in. 75%

Dirty work. Cleanly executed. A western from the old days. One of the last, though it is still paraphrased to this day in the most diverse variations (for example, Fast 5 cannot deny its western spirit). Cinematography that makes the landscape look majestic. Music that makes you want to conquer that landscape. An on top of that, Lee Marvin with a machine gun and a pocket full of dynamite. He’s masculine in every gesture, every brusque line cutting off further/longer discussion. The woman only as a (beautiful) burden. Cynicism and disregard for life are not signs of rottenness; greed is, because money is the real evil. It’s obvious that action scenes were not Richard Brooks’s forte. They are neither long nor clear enough for us to enjoy them, even though they demonstrate the inclination of the time toward more openly depicting violence in mainstream films. The peak of the genre came with The Wild Bunch (whose slow-motion shots allow us to feast our eyes on the spurting blood), a film more radical in its blatant use of violence and the ambivalence of its protagonist. Even so, The Professionals is a western as it should be. 75%