gudaulin

In my opinion, this is the best film by John Carpenter, who managed to extract the maximum out of the B-movie concept and, thanks to his excellent and imaginative direction, created a lasting cult film in the horror genre. The film is based on John W. Campbell's short story "Who Goes There?" from the classic golden era of American science fiction, and although it is often rumored that the film is usually weaker than the book, Carpenter knocked out Campbell. By the way, it is a remake, as the first film version was already made in 1951. While in the story, the creature takes on the form of a classic alien from space, Carpenter works with hints and combines solutions to scientific problems while creating a paranoid atmosphere of distrust and horror, where nobody knows if the person in front of them is really who they claim to be. Excellent camera work and music, very decent special effects shots for its time, but above all, a screenplay that maintains tension until the last second. The whole film builds up to a chilling, depressing, and completely hopeless ending. It was a very helpful role for Kurt Russell. It is also noteworthy that at the time, the film was coldly received not only by critics but also by the audience, and then it slowly gained recognition among film fans before becoming a classic. Carpenter managed to create a more emotional work with minimal resources than Scott did with a huge budget and the support of an influential film studio in Alien. Overall impression: 95%.

There are certain things one should not return to. I remembered The Dark Crystal as a great dark puppet fantasy, but the ravages of time have painfully affected it. The film is now exhausted and lives on the nostalgia of memories, and it doesn't even come close to current puppet movies like the Danish film Strings. Many animated works have stood the test of time with honor, but the famous The Dark Crystal is not one of them. Overall impression: 40%.

The Draughtsman's Contract somewhat reminded me of the famous film Blow-Up with its style and atmosphere. The plot itself is not very relevant, but Peter Greenaway's film captivates through the atmosphere of the noble estate and the society that occupies it, with all its small contradictions, passions, and intrigues, along with the visual aspect of the film. The director is interested in the psychology of the characters, and the relationship between dominance and subordination, which can change and overcome social conventions under pressure from circumstances. Fans of history and visual arts will enjoy the film, as it is a delight for the eyes to simply observe the creation of individual graphics and the accompanying creative process. The actual point of the story is not very prominent, and I wouldn't classify the film as a historical detective story. It is rather a tragicomedy with plenty of decadent elements in the behavior of the main characters. Overall impression: 75%.

The Last One Will Fall to Hell is a reminder of the times when the Barrandov film studio functioned as a fully-fledged film studio with often quite ambitious genre production, thanks to state subsidies. Despite the fact that for me there is a bit of nostalgia in my relationship with the film, it withstands strict standards placed on period genre films. These projects have never been cheap, and this doesn't look cheap either. Let's be honest, how many comparable genre productions have been created in the Czech Republic since the disintegration of production groups and the privatization of Barrandov? It's quite a dark and adventurous spectacle from the time just before the Thirty Years' War with the talented Michaela Kudláčková in the lead role. Overall impression: 80%.

The reliable Lino Ventura in the middle of a murder conspiracy, which aimed to reduce the number of members of the French secret service abroad. Ventura as a sleeper agent, who has long built a solid existence, functional partnerships, and social ties to the extent that he has the right to consider his cover as a real existence, suddenly finds himself in a situation where his previous certainties collapse within a few days and he experiences an increasing sense of uncertainty and fear for himself and his surroundings. It is a film about a world where you cannot trust anyone and where there are no ideals, only the harshest pragmatism and state interests that do not care about the fate of the individual who gets in the way. Overall impression: 75%.

The film is worth watching primarily due to Josef Vinklář's performance. Although he didn't usually seek out this type of role, he was perfectly suited for it, and his portrayal of a plebeian, uneducated, but shrewdly cunning merchant is truly repulsive. Unfortunately, it's one of those films that are rarely seen on television. Overall impression: 60%.

The State of Things is a small and rather intimate film about the making of a film. It is not as brilliantly cinematic as Day for Night, as crazy as Bowfinger, nor as funny and refreshing as Living in Oblivion, but fortunately, it is not as postmodernly confused as CQ. The most interesting thing about it is the cleverly mystifying beginning, but it is a film that is intended for a club audience. It is black and white, has a slow pace, and tries to create a certain mood using music and imagery typical of Kusturica's work. Although one of the characters says that storytelling is what gives films meaning, most of the characters from the 35-member film crew remain as background figures, and the director does not reveal any of the film's characters in a way that would allow the audience to intimately get to know and connect with them. Too much remains unknown, and this is probably the director's intention. Some scenes are drawn out, and the average viewer may not appreciate a five-minute walk that the director takes in the city. It is a very personal film in which Wenders utilizes his experiences from the beginning of his film career. Overall impression: 50%.

It has been quite a few years since I admired the works of the Taviani brothers at the film club. I missed out on The Night of the Shooting Stars back then, so I was curious about how the work of my former favorites would affect me after all these years. I don't want to overly criticize the artistic attempt of the directing duo, but just like Jesus could walk on water, it seems that I have gained the unintentional ability to watch a film that I can't immerse myself in at all. It emotionally passed me by in the distant galaxy. The plot moved forward somewhat laboriously, but the brothers dealt me the biggest blow with the scene of the partisan unit and war refugees clashing with a group of fascists on a punitive expedition. The scene was supposed to be the logical culmination of the whole film, but instead, I got the feeling that it was something out of Monty Python. I could forgive the Taviani brothers for not knowing much about shooting war scenes if they hadn't turned the most important scene into a theatrical farce. Instead of being stirring and captivating, The Night of the Shooting Stars is entangled in its own uneventful and convoluted absurdity. Overall impression: 25%.

From my point of view, this is a rather average drama by Fassbinder, which imitates traditional melodramas produced by German UFA studios from the period of the German Third Reich. The director uses the tragic fate of a film diva addicted to opioids to subtly remind us of the Nazi past of many German artists. The motif of drugs is interesting - Fassbinder himself tried many of them, and ultimately, shortly after completing the film, he fatally overdosed. Overall impression: 55%. In my opinion, the pace is a bit slow and the film's presentation is traditionalist.

Overall, this is an average film that relies on the performance of Peter O'Toole. He was at the peak of his creative powers and popularity, but he couldn't save the film by himself, as it has a toothless script and jokes. Furthermore, the film isn't well anchored in one genre; 3/4 of its duration feels like a comedic retro from the early days of television, effectively overshadowing Woody Allen's Radio Days, only to turn into a crazy farce in the end, where gangsters battle with the ensemble of actors on stage in front of the cameras. Ironically, this outrageous ending saves it and earns it 3 weak stars. Overall impression: 50%.