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Classic westerns experienced their golden age in the 1940s and 1950s and this film can be considered one of their peaks. It contains all the necessary genre props and elements, and it differs from its genre predecessors with technical improvements - sound, color, and format, as well as a strong cast and meticulous treatment. A treat for genre enthusiasts. The plot is not original, as it is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. As a form, the classic western feels a bit outdated - it never had much in common with the real history of the settlement of the American continent, and I also dislike the stereotypical characters of the usual western scheme. But why not admire all those naive western elements for a moment, such as the lightning-fast drawing of guns, rapid shooting without reloading, or the endless supply of dispatched outlaws from a supposedly forty-member gang, if it is presented in such a finely crafted form? The quality of the music will also leave a lasting impression. Overall impression: 75%.

Greenaway's film is one of those rare cases when, despite my undeniable stinginess, I would be willing to leave the movie theater after half an hour and forget the money because I saved a bit of my increasingly scarce time. The question is: is it possible to make a film that is supposed to deal with the dark sides of the human soul, sexuality, and the lives of wealthy people unrestricted by social conventions in an unbelievably boring way? Yes. Greenaway proves that with a little effort, it can be done. If I were a producer, I would rather burn the money in the fireplace than invest it in a similar spectacle. It is an immensely self-centered and difficult-to-digest film, primarily intended for the festival circuit audience, for the small circle of true intellectuals, and a considerably larger circle of those who think they are intellectuals so that they can eagerly debate the hidden meanings of the film after seeing it. At the beginning, one character asks another: "Do you think leading directors make their films to satisfy their sexual fantasies?" - the other replies: "I think most of them do." If Greenaway made this film to satisfy his sexual fantasies, then he is a very boring and eccentric patron. This film is neither provocative nor spicy, and in no way is it true to life, because I have encountered a fair number of bizarre characters, sociopaths, and nutcases, but I have never come across anything remotely similar to these film characters. Overall impression: 5%.

Attribute, which 8 MM deserves the most, is EFFECTIVE. A story from the porn industry appropriately brutal and repulsive with its subject, featuring a number of twisted characters from the gallery and a decadent high society environment. An energetic and attractive positive hero played by the decently acting Cage, complemented by a diligent sidekick, several skillfully filmed scenes, and an overall depressing tone of the film, all led to an extremely high commercial success and recognition among movie fans. It's not Schumacher's best film, but it ranks among the better ones in its genre. Overall impression: 70%.

Where Wall-E attempts to suggest a depressive post-apocalyptic atmosphere in the first half, 9 fully develops its vision of a world devastated by war and does not care about the moods of the child audience. The visual aspect is amazing and because it usually plays a significant role in my rating, I lean toward a five-star rating, even though I have a problem with the philosophical aspect of the film and consider its outcome unsatisfactory. Where, for example, Avatar has a philosophy that is too primitive, the philosophical dimension of 9 is possibly too complicated and uncertain. 9 depicts the adventures of nine extraordinary beings with a robotic foundation who look like rag dolls combined with the idea of artificial machines from the late 19th century. The retro-stylization, which seems to come from late Jules Verne novels, along with the gloomy visual aspect in shades of brown, is exceptional for an animated film made today and it boldly disrupts the idea of a positively inclined film that parents go to see with their young children. The heroes of the story face monstrous machines, from which hatred and dehumanized evil of technology are evident at first sight, escaping human hands. The creators of the film seem to work with the concerns of today's inhabitants of the developed world, to whom technology seemingly gets on their nerves and they dream of a return to a simple life in harmony with nature. The battle of the dolls with the devilish invention is full of adventurous action and unique effects. The idea that the story should be heading toward is somewhat lost under their fire, but it was still a strong experience for me. Overall impression: 90%.

Jean-Paul Belmondo became famous as a charming adventurer, and he was able to play his rascals with an incomparable charm. Unfortunately, I feel that over the years it has become somewhat of a template, and this is the film in which Belmondo's overacting began to tire me a bit, despite the ending partially going against audience expectations. This time, the trickster, seducer, incredible dreamer, and chatterbox encounters an opponent who is somewhat equal to him. Overall impression: 55%.

The Soviet film school essentially produced war films on an assembly line, but 9th Company follows more so the style and content of American war films from the 1980s. In other words, it is a combination of Full Metal Jacket and Platoon, which is also mimicked in the film's title. It is not a cheap imitation, but rather a very solid piece of craftsmanship and, truth be told, one of the best war films of the last decade. Thanks to the large investments in Russian cinema in recent years and coproduction, it is not a financially deprived film either, so viewers can enjoy the military equipment, generously conceived shots of the military base, and large-scale battles. As for casting, acting performances, and directing, I have no significant objections, and for about 70% of the film I thought I was watching a five-star film that stood out for its exceptionally high level of authenticity. I had the opportunity to speak at length with an eyewitness of the Afghan war, who spent eight years in the war zone, and his narrative aligned with the atmosphere of the film. The attack on the transport plane or the ambush of a military convoy in the pass perfectly fits the way the war was fought at that time. The plane destruction scene is also visually impressive. However, the final grand battle comes, which, from the perspective of a popular culture viewer, is again gratifyingly filmed and directed, but it is unrealistic and reminded me of heroic images from the Soviet era, like "the last heroic defenders of Sevastopol resist the fascist superiority." Ultimately, the closing credits depict the nature of this conflict far more soberly when it comes to the number of casualties. Similar open battles were exceptional in the Afghan war because they demonstrated better tactical preparedness and greater firepower of the Soviet army. It is similar, after all, in present-day Iraq. Otherwise, it is interesting to compare this Russian film precisely with American films about the Vietnam War. American films - even those with an anti-war orientation - depict their soldiers as winners, and if an American soldier falls, he must almost inevitably shoot at least ten Vietnamese soldiers before he dies. Russian soldiers die like flies. Bullets find them much more often than they do the Afghan rebels. The primary goal of 9th Company is to portray Russian soldiers as men who are not afraid to die but fulfill their mission and at the same time show that this war was not theirs. Their deployment was decided by the elders of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Today's Russia is not so much following the era of the Soviet Union as it is emphasizing pre-revolutionary Russia and particularly highlighting service to the country and self-sacrifice. At the same time, there is not a single scene in the film where an Afghan civilian clearly dies. The goal of the film is not self-flagellation like in American production; Russian soldiers, after all, fulfill the tasks assigned to them....Overall impression: 80%.

From a director like Costa-Gavras, I expect more than from a run-of-the-mill filmmaker, and for a film for which I would be willing to give a weaker 4 stars if it were directed by someone else, I will only give Costa-Gavras 3. Above all else, his Amen. reminds me of another drama by a famous director, namely Katyn by Andrzej Wajda. It is an exceptionally powerful work, an attempt to deliver the best possible result, but in the end, something is lacking. Especially in the case of Costa-Gavras' drama, there is too much talking in some parts, and the film flows too slowly in others. And in some cases, there are not enough charismatic actors appearing in the film. In short, the result is just an average drama that is elevated by the theme. From a historical perspective, it is certainly interesting to look at the involvement of the Catholic Church during World War II, in which it had its bright moments but also very dark ones. The genocide of the Jews could not have been prevented, but many things could have been said more boldly, and above all, the papal seat has had blood on its hands since the 1930s, paving the way for the Nazis to power by maneuvering the Catholic Center as a political pawn in cooperation with the NSDAP... Overall impression: 65%.

The great star of world cinema, Audrey Hepburn, was always greatly helped in her career by her fragile appearance, delicate face, and amazing eyes, which she skillfully used to hide the fact that she wasn't such a great actress. Besides the aforementioned advantages, her success also relied on the fact that she was able to choose roles wisely so as not to overexert herself. However, in her filmography, there are much more demanding films than Breakfast at Tiffany's, such as My Fair Lady, or films where she had to demonstrate much more acting talent, such as Wait Until Dark. In the case of her probably most famous film, Breakfast at Tiffany's, I always felt that the film served the viewer not so much with a story, but with Audrey and her charms. It's simply a one-girl show; otherwise, Breakfast at Tiffany's can be considered a mostly average romantic conversation film, which didn't make me laugh once and only slightly touched me in two or three places with its sentimentality. I wanted to give it three stars, but when I revisited the film for the third time, I fell asleep during it, and that shouldn't happen with a three-star film. Overall impression: 45%.

Ghost Ship can serve as a reflection on how the opinions of others influence our judgment, as well as on how deceptive such judgments can be. This stands out especially when compared to the Spanish horror film Rec. In the end, I gave both films almost the same percentage rating. Rec received excellent reviews and praise that fueled my high expectations, which were ultimately not completely fulfilled, whereas Ghost Ship had very critical and venomous reviews that cooled my expectations to a minimum. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised because I really didn't expect anything from it. Ghost Ship is obviously not great art; viewers must look elsewhere for that, and it does not represent a genre peak in any way. It is just an average, routine ghost story that can boast of having a few decent scenes, such as the execution of the passengers or the gradual discovery of the interior of the abandoned wreck. However, it is also limited by mediocre directing and screenplay. Compared to Rec, it does have a more decent cast, especially someone like Gabriel Byrne, who demonstrates why he is a respected actor even in a film like this. Undoubtedly, more could have been extracted from it, and undoubtedly, there are a number of clichés in the film, but let's be honest, I found more of them in Rec. Moreover, practically no other genre, perhaps with the exception of space opera, has as many horror series sequels as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Children of the Corn, Halloween, etc., which are squeezed to absurdity. Those directors and screenwriters use clichéd scenes precisely because they know they work very well on horror audiences. All in all, it is an average, but sometimes quite entertaining B-movie: 50% overall impression.

A classic disaster film about a plane crash in the middle of an empty desert, which brings a group of diverse characters to the screen and portrays their mutual struggle to survive a critical situation. Although somewhat dated in its directorial approach, it is still fully functional and, in comparison to what is commonly seen in the genre today with flaws in the scripts, definitely above average. Overall impression: 65%.