Lima

It's as simple as that, Miloš Forman took the Czech New Wave with him across the sea and made his first American film in its style. In short, a kind of Audition or Peter and Pavla, but in the hippie mood of the early 1970s, which was still bubbling in American society at the time. No wonder it was a flop (and Forman, according to his own words, slept in a hotel for half a year afterwards, as he was devastated), because its new-wave poetics were not embraced by overseas audiences. It's true that almost three quarters of an hour passes before there is any plot development, and I would have cut down a bit on the casting scenes with the singing girls, but thanks to them and the contemporary "live" music that accompanies the whole film, it has a special mood that few other films have. Otherwise it had me in stitches, and I was laughing the whole time at the adults who are here as awkward figures (the marijuana scene bonkers) as opposed to their children, and it's clear who had Forman's sympathies. And if that's not enough for you, there's a nearly five-minute performance by the then-rising starlet, a young Tina Turner. Even then, she could rock it.

It has an attractive execution, interesting visuals, the camera is constantly moving in nice locations and coming up with unusual shots, it looks very cinematic and it's brilliantly shot for a debut. It's just that when you think about the premise and the twist even a little bit, it stands on very shaky clay legs. The exposition before the major twist is too long and after an hour or so many viewers will get tired of watching a bunch of constantly celebrating and exuberant extroverts. That said, Zoe Kravitz has an interesting directorial style and may be on the verge of great things in years to come. And I'd like to see Channing Tatum in this unconventional role more in the future.

I really like Paul Schrader's scripts in his strong 70s and 80s. But it's also a well-known fact that the more interesting his themes and ideas were and are, the worse he is as a director; it was always better to have someone more skilled take on his screenwriting brainchild (yes, Mr. Scorsese, I'm pointing at you). Here again, the premise is quite interesting, but delivered by Schrader in such a tired way that you just don't enjoy it. In fact, the story doesn't really work towards the end either, and thanks to cheap plot crutches and a point that lacks any punch, you don't recognise the Taxi Driver screenwriter here at all. And if that's not enough misery for you, the old man tries to convince you that video games are mainly played by rapists and junkies. Boo.