gudaulin

At first glance, this is an inconspicuous small, and TV film about the redemption of one loner and the search for the true meaning of the word friend. But it has two strong positives. The first is the strong cast, led by the outstanding and as usual very civil Daniel Auteuil (currently the best actor in France for me), ably supported by the likable and sympathetic Dany Boon. The second is the sophistication and civility of the story, which could of course be approached in a Hollywood way and could squeeze out artificial emotions in every other scene. I can vividly imagine an American version with Walter Matthau, who would appropriately overact the character into caricature and the whole thing would be heading toward an average comedy that wouldn't deviate from what the viewer has seen many times before. Like in the hugely successful Slumdog Millionaire, the well-known game Who Wants to be a Millionaire plays a significant role as well, but here I found its use more functional, and paradoxically I value this little film more than Danny Boyle's blockbuster. Overall impression: 75%

After watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I could without hesitation read the book version. After watching the Harry Potter film series, I wouldn't even think about trying to read the book. It's not really important whether the eighth and final film of the series is better than the previous or sixth one; in my case, I have long been tired of this film series and I only endured it for the sake of my children. The final installment is actually the only one I saw in the movie theater, all the others on a television screen. The previous films usually received three stars from me for their production and special effects, but in the final installment, the whole series concentrates on the misery that suffers from being drawn out, genre stereotypes, immaturity, and routine. Many problems come from Rowling's work itself, such as the poor handling of characters and emotions, which should bring conflict and the end of some (anti)heroes. As a viewer, I want to be there when the villain gets what he deserves and I want to enjoy his end, but here the characters disappear somehow casually and many crucial things for the story are just thrown in. If there are any catchphrases, they don't work, the dialogues are pathetic and sometimes turn into stiff phrases, the whole thing is emphasized by the sometimes arrogantly pathetic music, and this film couldn't captivate me in any way. I had to take a break during it to go to the toilet and I didn't care at all what was happening in the movie theater. Even the action, which is not lacking in the final installment, is filmed impersonally. If I compare it, for example, with the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, where there was a bloody merciless fight that resembled the great battles of ancient and medieval times, and, in essence, it was nothing less than whether genocide would take place or not. Here, everything is artificial and very digital in every respect. Either you see a crowd of anonymous characters, or a black blur of struggling wizards flashes by. Those who are not familiar with the books will sometimes have quite a problem understanding the logic of what they see (in fact, the book has a number of logical inconsistencies). The film's current 167th place in the rankings of the best films and a very decent rating are simply the result of Pottermania and what this series means in contemporary pop culture, rather than the result of film artistry. Two stars may be harsh, because a huge budget, of course, provides a tempting spectacle in the form of grand production and a barrage of special effects, but if I compare it, for example, to Stardust, that film emotionally propelled me to the stars, while this one kept me sunken in my seat and I barely managed to stay awake. If this is supposed to be one of the most significant blockbusters of this summer, then this year has certainly not been very good. Overall impression: 45%.

I remember that during the premiere of The Matrix, a friend came with his eyes wide open and declared that he had seen the best film of his life. In the late 90s, The Matrix brought about a revival of the dying sci-fi genre, not so much in terms of content, but rather visually, in editing, and overall style that appealed to the young generation influenced by the phenomenon of computers and video games. It brought dynamism, action, and cyberpunk elements to the genre, which had long dominated the literary field of sci-fi. I would not classify The Matrix as a cyberpunk film, as it lacks the sophistication and depth of thought, which it replaces with flashy shootouts and martial arts fights, as well as bombastic special effects. However, I agree with the idea that it is a groundbreaking and style-defining film that has greatly influenced the genre, brought in many new fans, and led to many imitators. Unfortunately, the next two sequels did not confirm the creative ambitions, as they had a lazy script and terrible dialogues, and damaged the promisingly constructed alternative world. For me, The Matrix is a film that visually impressed me at first glance, but even then, I disliked the shallow elements of cheap action movies, and its image has faded over the years. Nevertheless, I will still give it a weak four-star rating. However, I must say that I would prefer if the Wachowskis took a less easy path and made a film based on a purely cyberpunk and biotechnological style, combining the views of H. R. Giger and William Gibson. There are a few scenes like that in the film, such as Neo's awakening in the power plant cell, but unfortunately, there are too few of them compared to the video game shootouts. Overall impression: 70%.

Within the genre, this film is definitely above average, combining both the often-used motif best developed in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, the motif of a hatred reaching beyond the grave, as well as the motif of a hero consumed by the world of darkness, leading what seems to be an equal battle, as seen in Angel Heart. Dead Silence has, above all, an excellent atmosphere created by the music, the artistic execution of the puppets, and decent directing, slightly spoiled by the clumsier performance of the main actor and certain worn-out genre clichés. Overall impression: 70%.

A mysteriously tuned comedy, which can be loosely described as a combination of Anglo-Saxon black humor and an American family comedy about the search for one's own identity and their place in life. The main character desires a career as a painter but hasn't succeeded yet and his life is determined by his parents, who have directed him toward a career as a lawyer, following in his father's footsteps. However, one day a mysterious stranger appears, who can grant his wish, and while others have little imagination or are too consumer-oriented, Neil Oliver wishes to find the right life path. Thus follows a journey along mysterious highway No. 60 and visits to cities that are not known on current maps and which caricature some negative traits of contemporary American society. The protagonist passes through a city where synthetic drugs are legalized and freely distributed to everyone who wants them, only to later exploit the cheap labor of the addicts. In another city, lawyers reign, fabricating obscure accusations against visitors, to drain them in long-drawn Kafkaesque processes, which has a parallel in the complex American legal system and the effort to extract the maximum profit from various absurd accusations. It is occasionally truly funny, but the potential is far from being fully utilized because it treads on daring ideas within mainstream tracks and the protagonist seems to have stepped out of a teenage comedy, where he plays the handsome kid at the top of the class. Overall impression: 65%.

Even with a solid percentage rating on FilmBooster, The 'Burbs did not feel convincing to me. On the contrary, one could say that the film disappointed me with raised hopes for solid entertainment. I would completely exclude "horror" from the three genre boxes when it comes to this film because it is exclusively a family comedy with parodic features, which aims to appeal to the widest audience and therefore uses fairly undemanding and predictable "sitcom" humor, which is not exactly my cup of tea. It definitely doesn't go below the level of teenage and toilet humor comedies. Considering its "family" genre label, it didn't offend me, but at the same time, it didn't make me laugh or engage me. It makes fun of genre clichés of movies about strange houses and strange neighbors, but those situations, just like the whole story, are horribly predictable, the characters are exaggerated to the point of cringe, so even though under different circumstances I could give similar work 4 stars because the potential was unquestionably there, this time I will remain sober in my rating, despite the likable cast in the form of Tom Hanks and the well-known Carrie Fisher, who benefited from her role in the cult series Star Wars. The casting of this film can be considered star-studded, as many of the acting legends of the late 80s appeared in it. Overall impression: 45%.

Ballad of Narayama should be watched by every enthusiastic admirer of a natural lifestyle. These people are often urban intellectuals, who dream of living in the countryside and despise technology and advanced civilization, which they believe prevents them from merging with the natural course of life, even though they wouldn't survive more than a few hours in the wilderness, have never worked manually, gone hungry or made any sacrifices. That is because this film is truly about people who had to do without modern technologies, who lived amid wild nature and in harmony with its laws. Ballad of Narayama does not moralize and does not have the kitschy European view of natives, like May Day celebrations or romantic or environmentally oriented literature. It simply captures the cycle of life, which revolves around reproduction, providing food and warmth, and eventually around death. The director portrays his characters essentially as one animal species, doing the same things as the surrounding animals, which he captures in beautiful images, performing sexual games, devouring each other, and succumbing to merciless competition. For example, the villagers' attitude toward children may be incomprehensible and unacceptable to the current European mentality; throwing a dead child in a neighbor's field may seem like the epitome of cynicism. However, when we think about the enormous famines in East Asia, the average life expectancy, and the high child mortality rate, death was simply a common part of life and was often observed live, and children, just like aging family members, were viewed with pragmatism, based on how useful they could be for the survival of others. The film has beautiful camera work, excellent editing, and a great atmosphere, all while showcasing the most beautiful aspects of Japanese nature. It is also quite unique because it maps the lives of those that cinema usually overlooks in the overwhelming majority. Films from ancient history are usually about members of the social elite, famous warriors, statesmen, or possibly scholars. The film has a balladic form, and a longer duration is not a detriment in this case, because where a typical genre film needs a few dynamic effects to capture the viewer's attention, here, the director instead aims to capture a different way of life, a different hierarchy of values, and a different form of civilization. Overall impression: 95%.

As usual, I will deviate from the norm and be considered a heretic when I award two stars to the 14th best TV series (according to FilmBooster). However, in this case, a single episode with a feature-length runtime was enough for me to realize that this project was not my cup of tea. I have no love for the cult book series by Arthur Conan Doyle, and the same can be said for his detective hero because these classic detective stories always seemed contrived and tinged with typical British class and social snobbery to me. I accept modern adaptations if they delve into the realm of parody or general humor, as was successfully achieved in Guy Ritchie's pop culture-themed version. However, this interpretation aims more toward teenagers, and I am simply older. Generally speaking, when classic works are packaged for teenagers, they usually get a spanking from me. These two stars are not so much for the professional execution, but rather for the emotions evoked by the bored, self-centered young genius and his equally matched negative counterpart. Overall impression: 45%.

The movie received an Oscar and is supposed to be one of the most commercially successful Soviet films, although this is a relative concept because true commercialism could not be discussed in the Soviet distribution system, where it was always more about educational and propaganda functions. The awarding of Oscars was always to a considerable extent subject to not only commercial but also political interests, so the awarded prizes are usually the result of certain fashion trends or social calculations, as in this case. It was the end of a wave of political détente between the two superpowers, which roughly falls within the functional period of Jimmy Carter, and so the American Academy decided to reward the wave of mutual cultural exchanges and increased interest in Soviet culture with an award for the best foreign film. Truth be told, I think this choice speaks more about the incapacity of Soviet cinema because if this is the best it can do, then God help us. It is a typical Soviet melodrama with nonsensically drawn-out runtime, unremarkable characters, and outdated conception, which testifies both to the fact that Soviet cinema was isolated from its Western counterpart, where big things were happening at that time, such as in the field of independent film, and to the fact that the creators really didn't have to cater to the audience, as attendance was not a measure that determined film production. I will be harsh and say that if the runtime was shortened by an hour, if the script worked on the dialogues and the actors, who, in fact, quite often resembled startled fish, it would still be a mildly average film on a global scale and in the respective genre. Not to mention that the attitudes of Soviet heroines and their behavior would make American and Western European feminists blink. On the positive side, ideological stances, so typical for Soviet production, are significantly downplayed in this case, but with closer observation, they can still be unmistakably identified. Overall impression: 35%.

Large studios have never been characterized by meticulousness when it comes to historical realities, and this can also be applied to The Last Valley. Many details, but also more fundamental aspects of the thinking and actions of the characters suffer from a lack of historical accuracy, and it is simply the screenwriter's construct in the style of "these things will sell well in the second half of the 20th century and evoke the appropriate emotions, so we'll put them in there." Just to give an example, an officer would not publicly admit to his factual position as an atheist during a time of religious wars and boundaries with heretics - if only because he would lose the respect of his subordinates and give his opponents a powerful weapon to gain control over the village. Nevertheless, this is one of the significantly better films that were created at that time on a historical theme. The anti-war ethos is evident, there are interesting characters in the film, and the dramatic conflict functions. The clash between faith and political power on one hand, as well as the conflict between idealism and cynical pragmatism, provide film fans with many interesting scenes and catharsis. Moreover, the film has a star-studded cast in the form of Michael Caine and Omar Sharif. However, I cannot shake the impression that Czech director Karel Zeman managed to depict the chaos of war in his The Jester's Tale more creatively, with a sense of humor and irony, all at a fraction of the cost. On the other hand, James Clavell catered to fans of adventure spectacles and incorporated not only many mercenary skirmishes in his film but also a bloody battle for a large city. Overall impression: 75%.