Stanislaus

During the Storm plays with the motif of the butterfly effect, mixing elements of crime drama and science fiction about playing with time, and manages to hold the viewer's attention for almost the entire running time. The final third was perhaps a little wilder script-wise, yet I rate the film as a whole very positively, with the detective plot and the gradual uncovering of the truth, trapped in the turbulent snares of time, playing a large part. I could complain about the main character Vera, who was a bit too (typically Spanish) hysterical at times – they could have toned down the talking, as it detracted a bit from the believability.

If you watch the trailer of Abigail before the screening, you'll be revealed on one major plot twist, but the film still has a few more surprising aces up their sleeve, especially in the final third. The central motif of an ambiguous cat-and-mouse game bears a strong resemblance to previous pieces by the creative duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, but this time the bloody murder mystery is given a supernatural twist. I haven't seen Ready or Not, but I really enjoyed the last two Scream films, especially for breaking the boundaries of the genre, flirting with them and playing with audience expectations. Abigail rides a similar wave, featuring more than one good allusion to the genre or pop culture, yet the film as a whole failed to engage and entertain me as much as the fifth and sixth Scream did. The big stumbling block for me was some of the largely unlikeable characters and their theatrical badass acting. Alisha Weir, on the other hand, was bloody charming and I'm curious to see what direction her career will take.

After Ex Machina and Annihilation, this is my third encounter with Alex Garland's directorial work, which, as with the aforementioned films, tells a story from the more or less near future - but this time in a more contemporary and realistic vein, which makes you shiver all the more. The plot is a simple road movie with action interludes where the main characters are confronted with disturbing scenes from "everyday life in the USA". I liked the audiovisual execution, with photographs of the journalists inserted into the picture, and the background music, which seemed to soften the horrors depicted with its friendly country overtones. The most uncomfortable sequence for me was undoubtedly the confrontation with Jesse Plemons. Visually, I was most impressed by the passage through the burning forest; and in terms of action, I liked the thrilling finale the most. A solid four stars!

Frozen Empire gives more space to the original cast and tries even harder to make nostalgic connections to the original films than Afterlife does, yet it falls short of the quality of the 80s classics and leaves the potential just floating in the (deathly cold) air. The main villain has a pleasingly eerie look, and it's quite a shame that he arrives on the scene relatively late and figures more in "whispered" hints. The new cast from Afterlife, expanded this time with Kumail Nanjiani, seemed so futile again. A sequel that was probably made just to be, without trying to make any kind of shift or add value to the Ghostbusters universe.

After the animal adventures of Mia and the White Lion and The Wolf and the Lion, Gilles de Maistre comes up with a third very similar piece, which, unlike the aforementioned two, left me cold and indifferent to the action on the screen. Although Autumn and the Black Jaguar deals with similar themes – the relationship between humans and animals, the unexpected friendships between them, the abuse and hunting of animals – it is presented in such a futile way that it is disappointing. Additionally, I felt like the film lacked any backstory due to the relationship between Ella's father and teacher. Thus, script-wise, this is a reprehensibly disnjointed film.

Janeen Damian must have made a resolution to revive the career of fallen star Lindsay Lohan with some sort of American variation of stories in the style of Rosamunde Pilcher, Inga Lindström etc. After Falling for Christmas, we move to the other end of the rainbow, to the wonderland of Ireland. The film's gorgeous exteriors unfortunately suffer under the weight of a heavily predictable plot that doesn't try for any surprises, and just moves on predictably, only for us to discover in the end (unexpectedly!) that every inner wish has its pitfalls. Irish Wish is a very unpretentious movie for an evening for which you have no better plan than to turn off your brain for ninety minutes in front of Netflix.

It's interesting to see what direction American films about Godzilla, Kong and the other kaiju monsters involved have taken over the decade: While Gareth Edwards' Godzilla tried (and at times quite successfully) to add some artistic value, the current film about the giant lizard and an equally giant ape is essentially one big, mindless, ultra-action carnage where the main goal is to entertain the moviegoer - ideally one that filters out the human dialogue and focuses purely on the action. And thankfully, there's plenty of that action in New Empire, and while the logic often gets lost underneath the colourful visuals, the film can be forgiven for that, as it doesn't even pretend to be a deep reflection on the titans' relationship with humans and with themselves. The film's lower budget is quite noticeable in places, which is a shame – I felt this most acutely with Scar King. I also could have done without the characters of the "amateur grand-dentist" and Mr. Conspirator, whom I found somewhat redundant. But if you accept the rules of a film in which anything can happen (literally, really) – the "anti-gravity sequence" speaks for itself – you will certainly not be bored in the cinema.

To be honest, given the lukewarm reviews here (but also on Imdb), I thought Damsel would be a generic film, but after watching it, I have to say that it was a pleasant surprise for me personally. Damsel has a nice visual design and its atmosphere (but also partly the story) reminded me more than once to Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Robin Wright looks like Michelle Pfeiffer) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug . The terrifying looks of the dragoness were very good, and so was the voice acting, and the backstory she added to the gloomy atmosphere of this seemingly fairy-tale film, which was more of a fantastic survival drama, with more than one person being burned alive. As a result, I would have given the film three and a half stars, but since enjoyed it, I'll give it a weaker four.

I was definitely expecting a stronger cinematic experience from Mr. and Ms. Stodola, as the story of probably the most famous pair of serial killers had quite dense material, but I still don't regret my visit to the cinema. The film is first and foremost a relationship drama, with the Lady Macbeth-like Dana portrayed as the manipulative brains behind all the horrific acts, while Jaroslav is more of a bumbling puppet and the hands that commit the acts. The criminal level plays more of a second fiddle – here I was a bit surprised at first that the murders took place as if behind the curtain, but they rectify this at the end (not that I seek explicit violence in films, but here it gave me pause at first). Better three stars!

After eight years, the obese, gluttonous and clumsy Dragon Warrior Po (soon-to-be spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace) returns to the scene to face perhaps his most diabolical opponent yet, the Chameleon. Kung Fu Panda 4 is quite average, offering essentially another generally straightforward adventure with no major surprises or demands on the viewer. I had the feeling that they didn't use the (literally) multilayered potential of Chameleon and were just after a spectacular show, but I praise the voice-acting of Viola Davis. I found the final confrontation a bit rushed, as if they suddenly remembered that they had a burning deadline to submit the final film and needed to cut it as quickly as possible. The film is not boring in the cinema, but a few days after the screening you won’t remember much about it.