Kaka

Blake Lively, one shark and 87 minutes of pure survival adventure, as far as the genre goes, fulfilled to perfection. It's a weekend one-off that doesn't offer much, but it solidly meets expectations. Jaume Collet-Serra created a shark that is more like the one from Jaws – the kind that scares you – thank God he has freed himself from the kind of digital exercises favoured by the current trends. It's gripping and there's no bullshit. There is, of course, a digression on family values in that classic American way, but that's a given in Hollywood, even if it is directed by a Spaniard.

Destroying the world with a giant something above a city that works with gravity and makes a big mess. It's the same thing over and over again, just in different tones and colours. The villains become good guys within 30 minutes and the only thing that leaves a mark is the ultra cute psycho Margot Robbie, who drops one-liners and steals most of the scenes for herself. A pointless comic adaptation that was supposed to balance out Marvel's dominance and to give DC what the competition can do very well: playfulness, interplay of characters, excess. But this is not the way to do it, Batman vs Superman set a good course, they need to work on it and brush it up.

Brad Bird tries to be the same fanboy as Abrams, but while J.J. is a geek and also a sophisticated filmmaker, Bird lets the material slip through his fingers and and churns a 130-minute feature film upside down just to make it work. But it doesn’t quite work. Apart from breathtaking visual effects and a wannabe pseudo-mission, it has nothing to offer but a routine Hollywood standard, and that's not enough for such an ambitious and grandiose project.

Old-school, with a touch of noir, where everyone tries to look as if they were in a remake of Basic Instinct. It's not so glorious in the end, but it can't be denied they've managed to create a quite captivating and mysterious atmosphere; add to that a tangle of interesting characters (Steven Berkoff is right on target), with Adrien Brody providing the necessary verve and resounding headlines. You won't watch it again, but it's a fine piece of craftsmanship.

The purest and most classic action film of the four-part series, which once again expertly mixes elements of hi-tech espionage and typically thriller-like, escalating plots, including an over-the-top finale where a police car dismembers dozens of cars in Las Vegas. All that was missing was a bald John Malkovich with an plane and we could have had Con Air 2. Apart from that, the film is not without quite a lot of scripted filler, a somewhat artificial plot and a rather visible aspect of coincidences. On the other hand, it's still the camera-volatile and uncompromising Paul Greengrass, in whose rendition all those CIA spy tricks are terribly entertaining, engrossing and hard to tear yourself away from. Alicia Vikander and Vincent Cassel are also refreshing change. The trilogy is phenomenal and consistent, with the fourth part following close behind. Still exceptional filmmaking, though.

We've seen this hundreds of times, but who wouldn't want to repeat the battles of philosopher Michael Jai White and, for example, the 2.5 metre tall fighter from Troy, who may be the only one to become a legend, even though he didn't even touch Brad Pitt. Plus, Michael is also unusually social here and even goes on dates! Otherwise, the same fights, displays of various techniques and an octagon cage, with some intrigue, motivation, training to a thunderous soundtrack and censored Apple. Solid value for a few bucks, but only for die-hard fans.

Now a classic with the legendary directorial signature of the master, where every second shot is similar to those of Amadeus, and you pretty soon know you're going to get a meaty study of a personality that was as controversial almost as much as he was rich. Factually presented, entertaining and fresh, that's how we like these stories of rise and fall. Even more so when it's such a juicy topic as pornography and free speech vs. American justice. A fabulous Woody Harrelson and one of the greatest roles of Courtney Love, who has fallen off the face of the earth over time.

There's a lack of insight, so it remains a very briskly shot and brilliantly humorous comedy. The French pulled their punches, fudged the script and avoided the clichéd philosophising in luminous Paris and classic gritty street stories. Intouchables is a fresh ride full of emotions and spontaneous improvisation of the main characters, without pathos and sentimentality. It's not reality, but neither is it beyond reality. A hit about right in the middle, with the heart in the right place.

Interesting potential for the future, when the material might start to be taken a little more seriously and not just for the video store shelves. This time there’s a mixture of enthusiasm and sadness. Enthusiasm for a great cast that goes full throttle in their roles and solid action with a good portion of blood. Kevin Costner deserves extra credit, as he sets his sights on creating a new action hero, one that is confused, vulgar and unpredictable, devoid of emotion and values. He had a great time and I want to see him in the sequel. Sadness then from the generic script and the trivial build-up. They copy a lot of interesting trademarks from films from the previous few years (especially Self/Less), but in a very crass way. So far so B, but give it to someone like John Hillcoat and he'll flesh it out to the point where we'll want a trilogy.

It's a modern homage to Hitchcock, but the content is too layered and the screenwriting too inept. The twists piling on top of each other cease to be clear, but with each successive effort to decipher them, they become increasingly sophisticatedly as the film progresses. So while the male cast is typically from the life of the bourgeoisie, the female cast is at least strange and sometimes quite out of place. The talented cast didn't save it in the finale, but it's not a bummer either. I'm not comparing it to the original films.