Marigold

An atmospheric and stylish "disaster film" of the 1970's. I.e., a dense atmosphere, an emphasis on individuality, high mortality rate of the heroes and a somewhat slow pace for today, but that’s part of it. If I compare this stylish approach to the fashion of hypertrophic trick monsters of the 1990s, The Poseidon Adventure strikes me as a truly honest and sophisticated piece of film craft, spiced up with decent acting performances.

The first half of the film is amusingly exaggerated and very well coordinated, whilst the second half eats itself and is cheesy and a bit messy. The result is a disparate film that, while not irritating, unfortunately, despite the hopeful start, does not offer any particularly exciting adventure content. Basically action for the elderly.

If it weren't for the terrible advertising inserts, which are incredibly forced and disparate, they're poets in the best tradition of the series. The Štěpán-Kendy duo was perhaps the best of the whole "saga" – their sarcastic friend-homo-relationship really made me laugh sincerely. It's just a pleasantly bitter spectacle, and I certainly hope it ends with this and that it’s not the beginning. Really decent as a poetic requiem.

John Woo knows his craft, no doubt about it, comrades. Excellent choreography of ordinary shooters (the slaughter in Buzz's house with romantic music is simply perversely beautiful), an impressive camera, compositions with John's lovely pigeons... who could resist? The pilgrimage plot is also lost, which is played out with almost comedic ease (the excellent pervert Travolta and his educational style) and, on the other hand, with urgent desperation (the dog's eyes of muggle Nicholas Cage). The whole thing works brilliantly until the last seconds, but it literally smashes the hellish happy ending with one of Woo's worst slow motions I've ever seen (and I even survived Hard Target!). If I set aside the awkwardness and the end, Face/Off is a valuable member of the powerful action trio of the second half of the 1990s, without any problems equal to Con Air, but on the other hand, it is far from reaching the qualities of The Rock.

For Floyd maniacs, an utterly ecstatic experience. Pink FLOYD's live performance in ancient Pompeii, in an empty amphitheater, without spectators... just the sound of one of the most innovative rock bands, cuts to ancient frescoes, beautiful October light, and a magical atmosphere. The choice of compositions is excellent – the pivotal epic Echoes, divided into two parts, vibrates with the ancient ruins and cuts into the tissues of the universe, the psychedelic ravings of Careful With That Axe Eugene, Saucerful of Secrets and Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun whispers emotions like ferocious Mount Vesuvius. Thanks to the flawless camera, we can watch the masters at work and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the remnants of the drug era and the beginning of the most famous stage of the band. The huge value of the recording is also the fact that it was not played from playback and that the songs sound different from the studio versions... Unfortunately, the new directorial cut does not achieve the qualities and atmospherics of the original version, but a lot of documentary footage and excerpts from Pink Floyd's everyday life represent a treasure trove full of gold for a fan. A music film that's different... as different as PINK FLOYD.

A very impressive work that has artfully combined the virtues of psychological drama and detective story, with the blending of the two genres in a very gritty finale being one of the greatest pros of Eastwood's film. The first part feels rather clumsy and takes on revolutions more than laboriously, but in the end, thanks mainly to Sean Penn, the narrative engine kicks in successfully, and as the minutes progress, Mystic River becomes a truly magnetizing spectacle, which, while not surprisingly deep in storytelling or extremely masterful direction, amounts to only honest and interesting narratives, great acting performances and emotional moments. The strength of the story lies primarily in the central three-petal, in the internal dilemmas and scars that protagonists have carried with them since childhood and which influence their actions... Unbalanced, but excellent.

SIN CITY is the first faithful conversion of comics as a pop art genre to the silver screen. Unlike the overwhelming majority of episodic film narratives that borrow the story and certain typical features of comics, Rodriguez subdues the "language" (stylization of the narrative) to the original platform for which the stories were created. Apparently, the author of the comics, Frank Miller, has the lion's share of the film's suggestiveness and persuasiveness, thanks to which SIN CITY really feels like the moving strips of his noir rhapsody. Add to that an unusual share of descriptive monologues and truly gourmet work with color, and we have on the autopsy table the most formally perfect remake we have ever seen. And the content? It works, Oh My God! The bleak world of criminals, pimps and scarred people has the proper magnetism, and while the stories are usually very perceptible and marked by illogical things that are not issues in the comics, SIN CITY maintains an incredibly intense atmosphere, mixing noir roughness and naturalism, bordering on sadism. The psychology works, and all three main representatives give their best, each on their own, each flawlessly. I'm a little sad about the self-purpose of Marva's story... there is simply a strong poetic moment missing, such as Valkyrie’s revenge or Hartigan's solution to the stalemate. But the truth is, I have to work hard to find mistakes. I' did have to ask myself from time to time what it's all about, what it’s leading to... but that's an irrelevant question. Just to the film itself. To mature and rugged poetics that have no competition... In its own perverted way, SIN CITY is a caricature of today's world, and a smile at its black humor tends to freeze on one’s lips. The enjoyment of postmodern decadence - the City of Sin!

Visual wizard Burton created a legend, master of the film narrative Christopher Nolan found motivation for it. That's how simple the prequel to Batman, the comic book legend that took deep roots on the film screen, works. Strange fools tried to build on the first two classic films, but the result is the fact that Nolan saves the extinguishing legend, and it must be said that he saves the faith in a big way. His sober, realistic, dark and psychological ride impacts the viewer especially in the first half of the director's well-known aces: superbly sorted narration, suggestiveness, carefully sculpted acting performances (e.g., the episodic scene in the opera is a masterpiece!). The second, much more action-packed half, in which the symbol is already created and it is time for battle, is not as dazzling, because where Burton pulled out heavy visual calibers, Nolan is a little clumsy after all (especially the action scenes suffer from too much confusion). But: Batman comes out victorious in the closing stages and his director with him. Simply because, beneath the mainstream of the remediated comic cliché of the struggle of good against evil, there is a well-regulated underflow that has depth. It's the psychology of a hero, an anatomy of fear and evil that wants to do dubious good. The tool of the lower stream is both the magnificent rhythmization of the shots and the gradation of inconspicuous tension, as well as the excellent acting performance. Christian Bale is truly the best man in the black mask, Michael Caine is truly irresistible with his dry cynicism, Liam Neeson is "just" persuasive and Gary Oldman is unrecognizable... The very awkward Katie Holmes is unfortunate, but she gets lost in the mix. I wouldn't open the question of whether Nolan had surpassed Burton at all. His Batman is different. It has a completely unique atmosphere and a completely unique style. He prefers to look in the face over wild gunfights. That's a good thing, but after all, it brings a certain and understandable inner contradiction to the film, the bearer of which is the somewhat torn direction. Among comic books, however, Batman confirms the position of a true nobleman, and Nolan confirms that "ex-independents" manage to do the impossible – to film intelligent and non-prefabricated spectacles for Hollywood. ___ after the second viewing, I am clearly itching to give it full stars. All of my objections apply, but not that much, and the film improves upon a second viewing...

After Memento, Insomnia feels rather sleepy in terms of the directing, and Christopher Nolan's creative geysers remain quietly asleep this time. We do not see any magnificent narrative strategies, but rather the clever grasp of the conventional narrator and his addition to fragmented fragments of retrospective. Otherwise, Insomnia is standard fare, which does not lack atmosphere, but unfortunately it feels... well, sleepy. An unequivocal positive are the excellent acting performances of everyone, Al Pacino above all, as well as a very interesting script that plays with expected clichés. Insomnia is definitely not one of the best thrillers, as it has the slightly bitter aftertaste of routine and wasted potential. Nevertheless, it is an extremely intelligent and interesting film.

God, a theme like that and so walled-in... what to do?! Sunken! The atmosphere of the film could be from the realm of delicacies – the confined spaces of a submarine, tens of meters of water tombstone above its head, and the steel body of the vessel is haunted... Unfortunately, Twohy's submarine amounts to backdrop cardboard without a touch of the realistic claustrophobic atmosphere that can be scarier in and of itself than all six senses of the right spiritualist. It wouldn't be worth talking about acting in such a B-movie if Twohy hadn't been trying to do some douche-like psychology, which, combined with the awkward performances of the main actors, seems ridiculous. The effects are typical B-movie fare, but they tend to improve the impression. Similar to several impressive spots (e.g., the repair of the ship's inner shell) and the sound effects. If this film had a more skillful director and the script reconciled with its own mediocrity, it could have been at least at the level of Pitch Black. Overall, barely below average.