POMO

3:10 to Yuma starts out as a perfectly crafted Western, but it gradually starts to lose its drive in the second half and at the very end becomes a gooey, overly emotional tear-jerker defying not only plausibility, but also common sense. That’s a great pity. It could have been an excellent contribution to the Western genre, as Russell Crowe’s performance alone overshadows all classic Western actors put together.

It’s been a very, very long time since I regretted that a film about nothing other than killing isn’t longer. The last Rambo is a B-movie with Russian digital effects shrouded in nostalgia that is more physically intense than any megalomaniacal blockbuster by Michael Bay. Two spectacular scenes (the first ascent with a bow, the bomb), perfect genre purity and the character of John Rambo – that’s what it’s all about and it’s more than enough. “Don’t say anything and just go.” Nothing more needs to be said about the closing musical motif by Jerry Goldsmith. Had Stallone added more minutes and developed the characters more, this could have been the best action film of the year.

An atmospheric and chilling, deadly quiet and coldly rough thriller, with the unique creative signature of the Coen brothers. In the end, it tries to look like great art and the audience has no problem buying it. After a few ventures into comedy, the Coen brothers have returned to the genre where I like them most. My teenage nightmares were haunted by Michael Myers; today it’s going to be Javier Bardem’s killer. And not even the sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones can save me from him.

Anthony Hopkins’ acting has more hues than all the beautiful locations he passes through in this film like Alice in Wonderland. Watching this acting genius is an experience as amazing as watching Ennio Morricone conduct an orchestra. And this film is nothing but a positive, good-natured, perfectly crafted ode on Anthony Hopkins’ acting skills. God bless him.

We Own the Night is smaller and less original, but more open and emotionally relatable than the similar American Gangster. Excellent actors, hard-on-inducing Eva Mendes, and a breath-taking car chase that will make the blood freeze in your veins. Very good job, folks!

A terribly depressing study of twisted family relationships brought on by a tragedy. The characters have more personal weaknesses and character flaws than we are used to in American films, and the screenwriter sends them to the deepest pits of hell for it. The plot is unpredictable and although the picture feels like it is 20 minutes longer than it really is, it is never boring. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is a thoroughly old-school psychological drama with very good acting performances, thriller elements and a special multi-flashback composition. It will exhaust you mentally. The curse of a journalist is to see such a film in the morning or early in the afternoon, as they would feel completely devastated for the rest of the day.

Jumper is a completely empty and silly flick. It’s like an hour and a half of watching a nicely decorated aquarium without any fish in it. The creators didn’t see their idea through even halfway to the end and the only cool thing about the film is Samuel L. Jackson’s hairstyle. Unsuitable for viewers over 18.

This samurai film is more complex and less poetic than, for example, the Lone Wolf and Cub movie trilogy. There is no character with whom we can identify. The film is a psychological study of a man – a demon – who is bad to the bone. The dark atmosphere of the film is so thick that you could cut it with a knife, but the hasty ending fatally undermines all meaningfully developed storylines. The result looks as if Okamoto shot the film without the last pages of the script, or as if filming had to be prematurely stopped and an unfinished version was released to the world. I was not particularly pleased with the fight scenes, which are closer to theatrical artifice than samurai film classics.

Just like Titanic, but written and edited in a more sophisticated fashion.

After a second viewing, I have to stick with three stars. Sweeney Todd simply lacks heart and its witty ending doesn’t salvage it in this sense. The violence is cold and hateful, lacking Burton’s narrative poetics (like in Sleepy Hollow, for example). Todd’s decision to become a serial killer is unjustified and doesn’t make sense. And I don’t think that the singing Johnny Depp was a good choice for the title role. The other actors, however, were superbly cast and the set designs and music are great.