gudaulin

Letters to Santa is pure, crystal-clear kitsch that needs to be taken with the necessary perspective and combined with the atmosphere of Christmas, where love, friendship, understanding, and forgiveness organically belong. A dysfunctional family finds their way back to each other on Christmas Eve, two lonely people fall in love, an orphan finds a new family, and an irresponsible dandy takes on his paternal and partnership responsibilities. Everything fits together perfectly, and in the end, everyone is happy. Letters to Santa is actually a cheap Central European version of Love Actually without the overpaid international stars and celebrities. By version I mean not in terms of literal copying of the plot, but of style. Perhaps it relies a bit more on sentiment and the presence of children. Love Actually, in addition, seemed to me more comically lively. It has nothing to do with real life, but the film has a sense of perspective and comfort, so I don't mind the naivety and oversweetness. Watch this film instead of having a bowl of Christmas sweets, and if nothing else, at least you won't gain weight... Overall impression: 75%.

A historical costume melodrama about the unfulfilled love of two members of New York's high society in the second half of the 19th century. Although there are objections in the comments regarding its length and "emptiness and dullness," I personally don't think that the weakness of the film lies in the quality of the screenplay and its execution. In fact, such careful psychological characterization and well-thought-out story structure are certainly not often seen. Thanks to the budget and Scorsese's directorial skills, The Age of Innocence is a truly impressive depiction of the life of the bourgeois elite, starting with the ladies' wardrobe and ending with the grandeur of bourgeois residences. Yes, this film does not rush anywhere, and you must look for adventure, eroticism, or tension in other genres and titles. But this is not Scorsese's or his team's fault. My detachment and more modest evaluation are rather of an "ideological" nature. I simply don't feel well among those chatty snobs, hypocrites, and manipulators. I have no sympathy for the central couple either, who ultimately decided their own fate. If you decide to sell yourself for a noble title and meet the expectations of your family and social conventions, you must also sacrifice something, at least personal freedom and emotional fulfillment. They both had a choice, no doubt about it, but they couldn't overcome the limits of their social class. They sold themselves, and it apparently didn't hurt Newland much. Scorsese looks at his calculating bourgeois characters with a kind understanding rather than stabbing and biting, as social-critical authors would. In his interpretation, it is more of a romantic story of unhappy love than a social drama about period-class morality. I would gladly watch this story again but in the style of Guy de Maupassant... Overall impression: 65%.

With its dark concept, The Story of the Voyages connects to the works of Hans Christian Andersen and reminds us that fairytales once played a role that the fantasy genre plays today - they were adventurous and moralistic stories often aimed at an adult audience. It is not common to show suffering and dying in fairytales - let alone one of the main characters. Scenes of a plague epidemic provoke anguish in adults and can be perceived by children as genuine horror. Mitta's attempt at a philosophical transcendence will also not be appreciated by everyone. On the one hand, it is necessary to acknowledge that the film stands out with its originality and distinguishes itself from the overly sweet Disney world, but on the other hand, it is heavily weighed down by excessive Russian lyricism and emotional outbursts of the main heroine, which are disturbing. The film is also oddly unfinished: the boy becomes an adult man during the journey, while his sister goes through the story without the ravages of time leaving any mark on her... Overall impression: 55%.

Walter Mitty used to be a punk and skateboarder with lots of crazy ideas and the belief that the world would be at his feet one day. Today, he is a shy and unassuming middle-aged man who spends most of his time in the archive and escapes more and more often into the realm of dreams, where he successfully competes with comic book heroes and has no trouble impressing his sympathetic colleague, with whom he would like to establish an intimate relationship. The loss of an important negative and his awakened professional pride provoke him to leave his safe shell. The following days turn into a magnificent journey during which Walter visits three continents and convinces himself that dreams can become reality. For several generations, movie viewers have turned to the film medium to escape from mundane reality into a world of boundless fantasy, and Walter gives them hope that even ordinary people like them can experience wonderful adventures and achieve something great. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty combines several genres from comedy to romance and road movie, and it must be said that it works well, partly thanks to Ben Stiller's commitment, who saw this project as a unique opportunity to break free from the stereotype of cheap entertainers and become a respected versatile creator. The film has divided critics and journalists into two sharply contrasting positions overseas. Some speak of it as a highly entertaining, well-executed film that deserves an Oscar, if not in the main categories, then at least for its technical aspects. Others speak with the same enthusiasm about cheap sentimentality, sycophancy, and unfulfilled ambitions that should be rewarded with a Golden Raspberry. Let's face it, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is as middlebrow as it gets, but I can say for myself that I really enjoyed it, appreciated the excellent camera work with beautiful nature images, and I dare to recommend The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as an ideal example of a family film that can work across generations, educational backgrounds, and gender differences. Overall impression: 90%.

Bohdan Sláma is one of the few contemporary Czech directors who, in my opinion, has something to say to his audience. The problem is that he doesn't always choose adequate means and quite often comes up with rather lifeless constructs instead of real burning stories from life. In the case of Four Suns, after just a few minutes, I felt like Sláma was speaking a different language than the one I understood. I really didn't get this film. After 33 minutes of suffering, I gave up and, of course, in that case, I also gave up on rating it with stars. However, if I managed to endure until the end, the star allocation would truly be modest. Probably extremely modest. In one scene, Karel Roden asks the people present why they're here, and what they're doing, and I kept asking myself the whole time why I was watching it when there are thousands of more sensible ways to spend my free time...

Judging by the number of ratings and their enthusiastic comments, as well as the abundance of stars, one can no longer consider The Graduate as a cult film, but rather as a religion. In general, it is considered a remarkable film that characterizes the late period of the American economic miracle of the 50s and 60s and is a kind of satire on the conditions of society at that time. I must admit that I do not feel the euphoria toward The Graduate. Over time, it seems to me that two things work flawlessly in it - the excellent mood-setting soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel, which gives it a typical atmosphere, and Dustin Hoffman's performance, where his traditional perfectionism and complete identification with the character is so natural that it simply does not surprise me anymore. As a social satire, the film only works at the very beginning, when we see the return of the main character to his parental home and his welcome by family friends from the same social class of owners of luxurious villas and large pools. And then there is the figure of the host from the university town, who sees agitators and disruptors of the old good order in every other person. Otherwise, the film focuses on four main characters who behave somewhat like misfits and can adopt strange attitudes and perform strange actions. They are actually less readable and less understandable to me than the characters of Lynch's aberrant psyches. There is one more thing that bothers me about The Graduate. Its young characters do not show even the minimal ability to function independently throughout the film, and without parental accounts and support, their world would quickly collapse. The type of rebellion and protest against conventions, when I set off on a journey with a car from Daddy and buy gas with Daddy's credit card, is quite typical for an American film, not only of the 60s. Overall impression: 60%.

Bruce has all the qualities of a human that we label with the ugly term "asshole." No vice is foreign to him, no deceit or malice is too vile for him to use, and no friend is so valuable that he wouldn't sink, exploit, or humiliate them without a second thought. Life is an endless joyride for him, and he looks at everything around him pragmatically, aiming to get the most out of it. The comfortable life full of drugs, alcohol, and sexual pleasures is disrupted by the news that the position of the head of the criminal department has become available, a position he wants only so that he can enjoy and indulge himself even more. He focuses all his energy on sowing discord and compromising his colleagues, but at a certain point it becomes clear that the one who laughs last may not necessarily be the one who understood the joke last, but simply the one who is in the right place at the right time and knows how to be careful. In the first half, the film resembles a combination of Trainspotting and Californication, where the viewer can thoroughly laugh at Bruce's escapades. However, the second half quickly becomes more serious, with hallucinatory states, remorse, (self)pity, and fear. In short, the film radically changes. The author of the original story is Irvine Welsh, who has already made a name for himself with "Trainspotting" or "The Acid House," and his long experience of living among the underworld, junkies, and street gangs is clearly felt therein. He conceived the film as a drug whip, where at first there is a feeling of euphoria, and feverish activity, which is then replaced by hallucinations, depression, withdrawal, and exhaustion. Or you can see the film as the life story of a junkie, where at the beginning the drug gives and in the next phase it mercilessly takes more and more. The film relies on cynicism, black humor, and James McAvoy in the lead role, who has long been known to moviegoers as an excellent character actor with a hefty dose of charisma. Don't let the filth and the depravity of human relationships and the immorality of the main hero's behavior discourage you. This film is really not about miracles and heroic upholders of law and order. Overall impression: 80%. Bad Lieutenant with Nicolas Cage is two classes worse. This film has style, courage, and drive.

According to many, this is the best film by Otakar Vávra. But let's be fair, Vávra is somewhat of a concept and Hrubín, as the author of the poetic book, is an institution in himself. Even though I consider Romance for Bugle to be an above-average Czech film, it didn't evoke enough impressions in me to give it 4 stars. The plot is sparse and too poetic. Vávra made a bigger impression on me, for example, with Krakatit. The top-notch craftsmanship here cannot be denied, and the solid cast of actors as well. However, thematically, it is overused, as there are very few topics that appear as often as stories about immature unfulfilled love. It is worth thinking about what would have happened if, at the decisive moment, Vojta's sense of duty toward his own family hadn't kicked in and the two lovers had run away - to where exactly? How quickly would exaggerated expectations and romantic naive ideas dissolve, and how much would the down-to-earth reality of everyday life and the stereotype of a partnership hurt? Overall impression: 65%.

As much as I consider Trading Places to be a sympathetic and very well-functioning comedy even years later, I have to say that after just ten minutes I felt that I was simply not understanding Landis' idea of humor and exaggeration when it came to The Blues Brothers. I didn't find it funny, and especially the rather monotonous carousel of chases, car crashes, and explosions seemed to me if not downright silly, then certainly not clever. In comparison, the Czech comedy Blockbuster, which I definitely don't consider a shining example of a top-notch and clever film, seems to me like a masterpiece for intellectuals. I didn't like John Belushi and I was puzzled by the simple, almost non-existent story and screenplay. The only thing that appealed to me was the music, and in the first half, I thought I would at least give the film 2 stars, but after country music got involved and the film moved to its final third in a large hall with a concert for a police choir and the present masses, it didn't appeal to me anymore. Overall impression: 25%.

The Joneses would like to be a smart satire that targets the consumerist lifestyle and the American dream, but the film lacks balls and loses points by operating within the well-established safe framework of mainstream American films produced by calculating managers of big studios. The film doesn't work as comedy or drama because, at crucial moments, it lacks the courage to truly bite, be cynical, and be merciless. However, it is a professionally made film that is unquestionably above-average, and for about 3/4 of it, I thought I was watching a movie that I would give 4 stars to, even though they would be weaker, they would still be achieved. But then came Steve's confession to lies and manipulation, after which the film basically became a cheap morality tale, and the final happy ending topped it off. But then I reflected and realized that the film fails in what it wants to be (among other things because it's absurd for top-paid stars, who are famous for their consumerist lifestyle, to shoot an anti-consumerist satire), but on the other hand, it works very well as a romantic love story with an original plot. It's solidly cast and acted (I would like to note that I don't particularly like Demi Moore, but here she matched the type and acting required of her). Overall impression: 70%.