gudaulin

Marriage with Strings Attached in many ways can't deny its origin in the Czech New Wave of the 1960s. It features black and white cinematography focusing on natural dialogues without romanticizing moments, and psychological characterization of the characters, and is simply a decent film of its time. Interestingly, the beautiful Drahokoupilová was systematically cast by directors in roles of monsters. Although it wasn't the main focus, the film also tells a lot about the atmosphere of its era when it was necessary to fake a marriage in order to live in the city of one's choice. Bureaucracy and the non-existent housing market, along with the command system, simply played their roles. Overall impression: 60%.

A Game Without Rules didn't convince me enough to give it more than 2*. A solid concept and decent cast of actors, in my opinion, can't overshadow the fact that Jindřich Polák was still trying to find his way to his more famous projects and the direction simply didn't convince me. Compared to modern dynamic thrillers, the ´film simply cannot hide the flaws in the script, predictability, and annoying moments with whining music that is supposed to create a sense of tension. Overall impression: 45%. However, back in its time, A Game Without Rules stood out simply by suppressing the ideologicalness and genre clichés of previous works.

Kusturica rides on the rails that he had already laid out in his previous films, such as Black Cat, White Cat, or Hungry Heart, meaning it is a highly stylized Balkan slapstick, underpinned with emotional musical rhythms and filled with a bunch of eccentric characters, who are not really from our world but are highly entertaining. Indeed, Promise Me This doesn't reach the quality of the cult film Black Cat, White Cat, as its screenplay starts off a bit slow, and especially with such a large number of characters, scenes, and motifs, some may seem too outrageous, unsympathetic or dysfunctional. Similarly, these motifs are no longer original from Kusturica, but if we were to criticize Woody Allen for his plethora of neurotic intellectuals, then his filmography would greatly thin out and compared to Woody, Kusturica still holds back a lot in terms of the quantity of his productions. On the other hand, the film is still highly entertaining for me, and unlike a lot of pretentious pseudo-intellectual boredom that characterizes a substantial part of festival films, this one is functional. Moreover, I don't know how Kusturica does it, but his completely improbable love constellations between very incompatible partners really affect me. I don't know where he finds these likable women, but just like Hungry Heart, I was rooting for Tsane the whole time, hoping his romance would work out. Overall impression: 90%.

Practically none of the television and film documentaries about Czech post-revolution but actually socialist politicians can be considered a success, and they mostly fail due to their inability to analyze his life from all sides and with a truly independent perspective. Usually, this defect manifests in the author's relationship to the subject of his work. This flaw is fully evident in Citizen Havel as well. It records Havel's life, his opinions, and actions wherever the president allows the film to go. The documentary is co-directed by Václav Havel, and even though it seems to reveal unfavorable aspects of his persona, it is all within the framework of his directorial license. Havel was always more of an intellectual and primarily an artist, who was unable to influence the political developments around him according to his ideas precisely because he didn't understand political processes at all, and his numerous attempts to influence the Czech political scene regularly ended in a disaster and had the opposite effect than intended. Havel disliked political institutions and especially political parties, so he persistently tried to ignore them and relied on strong personalities among his friends, regardless of how willing political parties were to accept them. His political views are neither left nor right-leaning. However, they are strongly elitist; I think they resemble how the Iranian Islamic Republic operates, a certain "democracy" run by a council of the wise. His international reputation was influenced by the Secret Police and the communist government that harassed him. If it weren't for real socialism, he would probably have ended up as one of many left-wing salon intellectuals with impractical, detached-from-reality but radical ideas on how to save the world. Specifically, Havel only allows filmmakers to get close to him where he deems it appropriate. He would only let you form a comprehensive opinion about him in your dreams. If you already have the ideas that the film tries to sell about Havel before watching it, then you should not hesitate to visit the movie theater. However, if you keep a distance from him and his ideas, you won't find ammunition for criticism, and overall, it's a waste of time because a quality documentary should focus more on content than form. Overall impression: 40%.

I admit that I approached Red as an action comedy with a certain disdain because I usually don't appreciate action nonsense, and when I hear the term "action actor," I instantly get a rash. And behold - this film won me over. It's good enough to cast actors who have facial expressions and acting talent, instead of desperados who spend their whole lives in the gym. It's good enough to act with a suitable dose of irony, humor, and nobility, and most importantly, to stay somewhat grounded when massacring hordes of enemies. Red is somewhat more intimate compared to its genre siblings, giving more space to dialogue, quotes, and the main stars - Bruce Willis from the older generation and Karl Urban from the younger one, who, alongside their exceptional physical condition, are very decent character actors. Bruce Willis also excels at self-irony, which he has been honing since the days of Moonlighting. Any fan who has seen a few of his films will recall specific scenes and shots from his filmography when seeing his face, his raised eyebrows, and his dry lines. Great character actors also work well in supporting roles, which you wouldn't expect in an action movie, led by Helen Mirren, who fearlessly fires a heavy machine gun. Add to that Mary-Louise Parker, for whom I have a weakness, who carries the romantic storyline of the film, and above all, the insane John Malkovich, whose paranoia and pink piglet he drags around everywhere led me to want to give Red five stars. It is a very enjoyable and memorable film. Overall impression: 75%.

Poor Charlie is drowning in sorrow over the tragic death of his little brother, and I'm drowning in grief over the loss of one hundred minutes of my life that I spent with this pseudo-romantic kitsch pretending to be a drama. Actually, no, I'm kidding, I fast-forwarded through some parts, so I was saved from some of the embellished dialogues, pathetic scenes, and mediocre actors pretending to have deep emotions. Overall impression: 25%.

A Latin American soap opera... So just to be clear, I'm not equating the Mexican cartel with any random bit of Latin American soap opera, both in terms of content and quality. Walking Vengeance aims to be a crime drama, and objectively speaking, it is. It looks more like the film crew, from the screenwriter to the director to the last actor, used to make soap operas in the past and whether they like it or not, it now influences their current work. Walking Vengeance is like a soap opera in terms of the fatefulness, agonizing suffering linked to cunning revenge, exoticism, a focus on the female element, the outward appearance of its characters ranging from the charm of desperate women to the captivating gaze of the main male character, and so on. It takes itself very seriously, just like a telenovela (am I supposed to take a female pickpocket gang seriously?) where humorous exaggeration would instead be appropriate... Overall impression: 40%.

In The Breakfast Club, there is a visible effort to make it a generational film and supposedly it is a cult phenomenon in the United States. I don't know, it doesn't seem to me that it significantly portrays the young generation of the 80s, rather it is some sort of pretentious manifesto of teenagers. Everyone had to go through puberty and those who are currently going through it can naturally identify with the film's characters. Nothing more can be deduced from their dialogues and actions than annoyance toward parents and authority figures. They are far from being real characters, rather they represent classic school types - so typical that it reeks of script convenience. It's not funny and considering the aforementioned, the psychological aspect doesn't work for me either, and I can't emotionally identify with those guys, especially the jock and troublemaker portrayed by Judd Nelson, who I think needs a few slaps rather than understanding. His idea of independence and life ends where the French film The Class takes place. For the system to function, not everyone can just talk about their rights, they must also contribute. The film's characters don't behave realistically and their pairing at the end is also just a result forced by the script. Overall impression: 40%.

The story takes us to the early Middle Ages, where knowledge and art survive behind the high walls of a Christian monastery inhabited by monks who transcribe and decorate parchments. Little Brendan wants to follow in their footsteps and dreams of creating a truly great work of art, but the invaders from the far North have a completely different idea about the future of the monastery than its residents. Tomm Moore took a completely different approach than Walt Disney, so fans of animation and especially unconventional but stylish drawings can consider this film a treat. The story is also good, although its poetics, along with the almost surrealistic drawing, may not be for everyone. Evil, in the form of Vikings with horns on their helmets, takes the shape of horned devils from fiery hell. Overall impression: 85%. A highly original and stylish affair.

I am not the target audience and I already knew what I was getting into with this film, so I was not disappointed in any way. However, I will not give it a higher rating just because of that. The Cold War ended, and so it was necessary to find a new target and a worthy opponent for the American marines who could resist them for at least a few hours. It is not so much because it is pathetic, pro-American, and who knows what else, it is simply because it is too dull, monotonous, and predictable for me. As a teenager, I would have definitely added a star, but I stand by my review. Overall impression: 25%.