DaViD´82

It corresponds with the above content for about half a minute at the beginning and the end; the in-between is filled with Michael and Liam having a beer. And while I understand that they enjoyed it, I don't understand why they were filmed doing it. Better to go straight for the beer.

♫ I’m so in love with you, whatever you want to do is alright with me. Cause you make me feel so brand new and I want to spend my life with you. ♫ He/she. Jane/John. Hand in hand on an (un)aware journey towards simple human (un)happiness... Chilling, fascinating, reminiscent of Třeštíková, and a documentary in the true sense of the word.

Wagner’s habit of constantly babbling something from behind the camera, but never saying anything, never finishing anything and never asking about anything specific, makes you want to hit him. The director’s inability to express himself or to say something of worth is completely in tune with result itself. It’s called Váňa, Váňa is on the screen all the time, but it’s not about Váňa at all. It’s not about the hard work and self denial, success (failure), beginnings, career, life, the stable, his surroundings, his background... it’s simply not about anything. Well maybe it’s just a bit about breaking each of the more than two hundred bones in the body. In any case to choose such an interesting personality as your theme and not to get any more out of it than just TV footage of finishes of the Pardubice Grand National Race is a great shame.

Well damn dude… What was that supposed to be? I used to watch Sparta at the stadium all the time, but dude, since they started serving that non-alcoholic piss and nothing else, they can go screw themselves, I’m not coming if there’s no fights all the way from the field to the nonstop bar, but dude, I’m telling you, I’m literally telling you, this is not what Letná is meant to look like at all. This isn’t REALITY dude! And the asshole who’s to blame for all this bullshit, well dude, needs his face bashed in and to be thrown to those Slavia scumbags - that’s a walk in the park compared to what he deserves, dude. You’re telling me this dickhead is holding up a mirror to me? What effing mirror? Do I look like I have some effing mirror dude? Do I? Well I don’t! Show it to me dude and I swear I’ll break it in your stupid face and slit your throat with the broken shards like the little piglet you are, you dirty, non-Spartan loser! Hey wait dude, why are you running? Wait! Um… It can be as scripted (especially the duo Kafka and Peňás and the Italians), as craftily edited (they could’ve edited it any way they wanted; even two hour long footage of a handful of sleeping spectators, that’s how boring the match was that day) and pre-arranged (the only thing that seemed a bit authentic was the insider behind-the-scenes of the public service broadcasting studios and the spontaneous reactions to the goals) as it likes, but in the end doesn’t really matter, because this freakshow of redneck know-it-alls from the drunk crowd is the reflection of the sad reality (Fox-type REALITY; even I once suffered an awful match within earshot of the VIP section) of how things transpire (not only) on the Spartan tribune. But there you go. What’s interesting is that you would not encounter this at a hockey match all season long, but at soccer matches – regular as clockwork. It’s artificial and unnatural, but Oh well, anyway… Sparta Praha Forever, dude! P.S.: It’s not true that nature is indifferent to what’s happening on the field during that three minute long clip; the poplars positively quiver with delight at the second goal!

And as sure as my name is Boris Karloff, this is going to be a thriller. NBC’s response to genre shows from Hitchcock and Serling. And you can bet your bottom dollar that this is a hard-hitting and equally high quality response. These short stories can be described either as noir crime or horror tales and are introduced by charismatic legend, Boris Karloff, with his irresistible delivery and sense of both dramatic and cynical black humor. (1x01) The Twisted Image 4/5 A successful young man who is unlucky enough to find himself in the sights of two mentally deranged people. A gawping woman who plans to become his and a gofer who wants to be like him. Classic Hitchcock with all the trimmings, including an innocent man on the run. Too bad that it lacks a good ending. (1x07) The Purple Room 4/5 Does one brother want to inherit a house from his brother? He does. So first he has to spend one night in the house which they say is haunted. Which is a problem, especially if you aren’t the only person who wants the house and doubly so when it comes to this house. Perhaps Bates and his mother will turn up. (1x15) The Cheaters 5/5 In vitra veritas. Four cynical short stories about a wonderful clutch of good-for-nothings, thieves and schemers. This is all enhanced by glasses which let you see inside the real (not just) you. (1x16) The Hungry Glass 4/5 Whether you believe that mirrors reflect reality or that they lie, steal your soul and show just what we (don’t) want to see, this tale about a house with a worrying number of mirrors will have you trying to avoid reflective surfaces such as mirrors or even shiny teaspoons for quite some time. Just to be safe. Only, it should have been just half an hour long - this way we get more empty talking than action. (1x17) The Poisoner 4/5 A distinguished collector, critic with artistic ambitions and a bit of a poisoner. A bit too much of one. Loosely based on the life and times of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright. The whole episode relies heavily on Matheson, who (as usual) steals the show. (1x21) The Merriweather File 3/5 the Christmas epilog is excellent, too bad that it follows a rather tired forty minutes. (1x36) Pigeons from Hell 4/5 It doesn’t come anywhere near the chilling qualities of Howard’s masterpiece of the same title, but I can’t say it lacked suspense. Especially the hypnotic, luring song is more worrying that the hellishly squawking critters. (1x37) Grim Reaper 5/5 Captain Kirk à la Agatha Christie and a macabre story about a cursed painting. (2x17) La Strega 3/5 The Witch is powerful too, but it gains a completely new dimension with Filipovský’s excellent Czech dubbing. Otherwise, however good this story about an evil witch is, it should have been considerably shorter. (2x18) The Storm 4/5 An evening idyll. Home alone with a murderer with the storm of the century raging outside. What´s not to love? Perhaps only the repetitive central passage “a strange noise, I’ll go have a look". Otherwise I was on the edge of my seat throughout. (2x19) A Wig for Miss Devore 4/5 A horror variation on Sunset Blvd. about a long forgotten actress who gets her hands on a wig that turns the woman wearing it into intelligent beauties.

Serling’s unadmitted spin-off of his previous project, The Twilight Zone. While in that show, macabre and horror episodes were overshadowed (in number, not quality) by sci-fi, in this genre revue he tries to make amends for that, but only in some episodes does it manage to achieve the qualities of its predecessor (or other TV anthology series) only in some episodes. Mainly during the now cult second season. (2x01a) The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes 5/5 An infant TV harbinger of things to come and a charged atmosphere not unlike The Medusa Touch. (2x01b) Miss Lovecraft Sent Me 2/5 A short snack about the tribulations of a vampire who is looking for a baby sitter for his offspring. (2x01c) The Hand of Borgus Weems 3/5 When your right hand isn’t completely yours, you can get into a lot of trouble. (2x01d) Phantom of What Opera? 2/5 Approximately four minutes of filler about the Phantom of the Opera’s true love. (2x22a) The Caterpillar 5/5 When it’s pours with rain for days on end in Borneo, even a charismatic gentleman can get bored. A married woman could be just what he needs. When the niggling itch crawls into his head. Literally. (3x10) She'll Be Company for You 1/5 A widowed Spock (you keep on expecting him to give us his Vulcan gesture) who is given a diabolical kitty-cat to keep him company, has an annoying habit of ringing the service bell, which drives him completely crazy. This was probably meant to be a variation on Poe’s “Ligeia", but it’s just weirdly edited boredom with awful sound.

A comic book in motion about a Five-Year-Plan overperforming shock-worker, Superman, Comrade Batman in a Russian fur hat and good old Uncle Stalin. A great, sturdy central “what if" idea and a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously (luckily!) and superb Czech dubbing. But much more could have been squeezed out of it than “just" this flush-away easy-viewing cartoon. For example not to rush ahead and not to have to fit in every Tom, Dick and Harry from the DC Universe might be enough. Final impressions in the end tip the scales over to “satisfaction" status mainly thanks to the well pointed ending.

The first contribution to British nine part TV series of sixty minute adaptations of spooky stories Shades of Darkness is and adaptation of a short story by Edith Wharton “Lady’s Maid’s Bell". It’s a pretty good adaptation even though that apart from the atmospheric start it’s rather slow-moving and it doesn’t revive itself until the final ten minutes. In any case, get ready for a prime specimen of Gothic spooky stories about a maid who ends up in an old house where not everything is as it seems.

Sentenced to death but with an invincible hunger for life in a taciturn story which was among other things bought in Cannes for the purposes of the fifth series of The Twilight Zone, where it fitted like a glove even though it wasn’t one of the best episodes. It was its screening as an episode of this cult series that brought fame to this successful adaptation back then, rather than the Oscar that it won in the short film category.

Slightly Lynchesque (and it’s not just because of the goddamn rabbit) a bit like Gen Sekiguchi (and it’s not just because the over the top colors or Maskell’s role) and a bit too much of conspiracy in thus-far unseen garb. Mainly considerably original, considerably imaginative, considerably topical and at places considerably funny and chilling. Often both at once. Then just pretty chilling in terms of atmosphere. And considerably full of sultanas; it sure couldn’t be done without them. Simply conclusive proof that the Brits (and especially the alternative-biased Channel 4) are way ahead of the rest of the world at present. They are capable of presenting even this apparent nonsense, different just out of spite, as a hard-to-categorize movie which is not at all stupid despite all this craziness (and that’s not just because of the purpose of the vaccine). In this regard, a shame about the “huge revelations" during the final episode; it’s stupidly clichéd and completely unnecessarily. You’ll either love Utopia or hate it. That is an inherent reaction to similar works (but what can be called similar here, right?). With this movie, we simply can’t talk about mediocrity. Let’s have a sultana on that!