Lima

An incredibly depressing film that captures the spirit of the book. Ubiquitous poverty and squalor uniformity in thought and dress, a grim environment, scratched walls and a screen in every room with Big Brother watching everything. A suffocating totalitarian atmosphere, full of fear and surveillance, and in it a man, brilliantly played by John Hurt, yearning for love, purity, and freedom. His equal partner is Richard Burton in the role of the High Partisan, although he doesn't have much space. Suzanne Hamilton just nods along, but she brings an element of feminine beauty that at least somewhat offsets a lot of the bleakness. What surprised me is that the music is by Eurythmics. The final scene with the electroshock and the starving rats is not easy to get out of your head. If you're not in the right mood, by all means don't watch this, put it off for another day.

I really cried at the end, this is something that will get everyone. A beautiful, moving story, sensitively filmed. How on earth does Lasse Hallstrom manage to make every one of his films a true cinematic event? And the actors? I really like Tobey Maguire's austere style, Michael Caine was excellent (but I can't help it, it wasn't Oscar-worthy), and Charlize Theron has long since ceased to be just a model, she’s a really good actress and an extremely glamorous one at that. And so, in conclusion, my friends, let's thank fate that this didn't get into the claws of Jan Svěrák. He would have thrown in some sad eyes or something similar and viewers would have missed out a profound experience.

A slightly schizophrenic mix of 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Minority Report and The Matrix. Some may like it, but it doesn't work together for my taste. The beginning was promising, though, an oppressive vision of an Orwellian society, with the excellent Bale as a cleric discovering his feelings. It had atmosphere, it had depth, but as time went on it became more and more of a mess, kept afloat by the few scenes of Bale and Emily Watson together. I wish Wimmer would make a proper action flick next time, because the final action sequence was excellent. PS: My wish was granted 4 years later, unfortunately.

I don't really like crazy comedies and I don't really like Jackie Chan either, but this is an exception. A light-hearted, funny and – world wonder – clever comedy set in late 19th century Victorian England. There are charming references to famous people of the time: Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack the Ripper, famous works of world cinema, even a young Charles Chaplin has a role. It works well together, and it’s funny. The Chan-Wilson duo is wonderful and especially Owen Wilson shows that he had a lot of fun during production, and he proves his comedic talent. The fight scenes are without fault, the choreography is imaginative, often funny (there's that word again) and yet executed at great speed; Chan can do this better than acting. All in all, two hours of proper, easygoing fun.

Fugua can deliver, but here he struggles with a lousy script and half-baked dialogue. Really, the only worthwhile thing in this film is the scene of the ethnic cleansing in a Nigerian village, which is both excellently shot and makes the ignorant realise that Africa is a world where human life has no value. If the rest had been in a similar vein, this would have been a great anti-war film. As it is, it's just another useless Hollywood crap that's dull in thought, with not much action either, and a typically Hollywood clichéd ending. So, sorry, this didn’t work out.

I never thought I'd be disappointed with a De Palma film starring Al Pacino. The story didn't impress me much overall, I've seen the same thing many times before in better execution (thanks Scorsese). It had a decent start, but then the almost three-hour-long probe into the life of a gangster stopped entertaining me and I didn't care what happened to the main characters. Emotionally empty, there is no possibility of even a small degree of connection and everything is marred by the strange final carnage. The final impression is one of great dejection and the certainty that I won't watch it a second time, despite the great Al Pacino and his impeccable Spanish accent.

X-Men 2 is, together with The Crow and Batman Returns, the best comic book adaptation ever. An extremely skilful mix of psychology and action, an interesting and smart story, dialogue that doesn't drag, great visual effects and last but not least excellent actors. I ate it hook, line and sinker, and I hope Singer still enjoys doing this and that we can expect a long, pleasant franchise. Carry on.

It was a pleasure to watch the four leading actors enjoying themselves, but much more humorous situations could have been squeezed out of the old guys' participation in the difficult astronaut training, and there was no room for them in the serious second half. The last act looks like a survival drama, but the final shot on the surface of the moon proves that Eastwood didn't take it that seriously.

No matter how I take it, this is hands-down the best fairytale ever made in our country. It’s overflowing with fairytale atmosphere, with the white snowy plains and the snow-covered spruces favouring the camera, and the cast is flawless, including the German actors. The boyishly mischievous and at the same time femininely charming Libuše is delightful and the then still slender Pavel Trávníček is a proper prince. And, wonder of wonders, Svoboda's music and Karel Gott don't spoil it and the theme song is perhaps the only one I am willing to accept from him. Since then, Vorlíček has not come close to this masterpiece in his other works.

A silly recruitment movie for the American Marines. I’m surprised by the high rating it has here, you can see the reliable work of the nostalgia and memories of when this was one of the few Hollywood films shown in cinemas during the Communist regime.