Stanislaus

While the latest film adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel offers a new perspective on one of horror's most famous monsters, the result is another mediocre American-made audio-visual spectacle that benefits from the casting of Luke Evans in the lead role, but loses on the story level. In short, a one-off that neither impresses nor offends, yet neither scares, which was perhaps a bit of a shame.

Pride is a very powerful film whose immediate strength lies in its story based on true events, and in the convincing performances. The film is not lacking in strong moments as well as downright light-hearted and funny scenes, all of which are used with purpose. Of the cast, I would particularly single out the absolutely wonderful Imelda Staunton and Bill Nighy, who impressed me the most, but the other members of the ensemble also performed convincingly. In short, a very well made film with a terrific cast that is a great mix of comedy and drama.

Brief, minimalistic, yet so intense. A constant repetition of similar phrases with variations and a surprising ending. A very evocative short film.

The third season is in many ways similar to the previous ones and yet different. I was attracted by the world of witches, its hierarchy, laws, traditions and everything that is even marginally related to it. I very much welcomed the casting of Kathy Bates, who relished her role as the cold-blooded mass murderess of yesteryear with grace (I immediately thought of Misery). She was faithfully seconded by her main antagonist, played by Angela Bassett. The main star, however, was as always Jessica Lange as the Supreme – a designation that suited her like a glove. Thanks to the series, I was introduced to Stevie Nicks, whose “Seven Wonders” I like to play in my ears from time to time. In short, for the third time, I was nicely carried along on the wave of American Horror Story, which this time was full of magic, intrigue, murder, reanimation, morbidity and much more.

In my subjective opinion, Asylum is the best series yet made. Moving everything from a haunted house to an insane asylum was a smart move. The intermingling of the past and present feels strange at first, but by the finale we know why the different timelines were intermingled. Lana "Born to Suffer" Banana, Sister Jude, Sister Mary Eunice, the Angel of Death and the serial killer are all very well portrayed characters having their own story. The opening does a great job of evoking what the series will be about. The oppressive atmosphere of the asylum, the machinations of the patients, the mystery. I was also impressed by the remake of the old song “Name Game” – perfect. In short, it's a notch better than the previous season, one which I'll gladly return to again.

The fourth live-action adventure of the most famous Gallic duo was a real bummer. The cast is kept afloat by Gérard Depardieu, the only surviving member of the ensemble, but otherwise it was mostly sad (an uncharismatic Caesar, Asterix looking like an alike, a wtf-group of Normans, etc.). The story is so overwrought, with so many different time periods and nonsense being smashed together that it hurts your eyes. This has really hit rock bottom and they should let these Gauls rest in peace (at least for a while).

So, after two years, we finally get to see the complete Hobbit in all its over-digital glory. Next to “The Hunger Games”, “The Hobbit” is another adept production blunder when it comes to splitting a story into multiple parts. Two movies would have been great, but three was really too much. I'm no expert on the book, but I know from knowledgeable people that the bridle was loosened perhaps a little too often, yet it wasn't as much of a dud as originally rumored. I got my fill of realistic looking monsters in Lord of the Rings, here everything is computer-generated, but that's just a victim of the current times. At times it felt to me like they didn't know which genre they should be serving. The biggest fail was Super "Legolas" Mario, who defied all the laws of physics, perhaps even those that hadn't been invented yet. In short, despite the harsh criticism, I was not bored in the cinema, the plot moved along, we laughed from the heart more than once (which may not have been the original purpose), but still, for me, The Battle of the Five Armies was the weakest part.