lamps

A film very similar to its leading female character: beautiful, sensitive and intelligent on the outside, but cold and not very interesting on the inside. On the one hand, it's admirable that the true emotional and plot highlights of the film are the conversations between Gleeson and the robotic Vikander; on the other hand, it's sad that everything around it, including the mysterious Isaac's character and his motivations, feels so unconvincing in its inability to generate any unexpected twist or novel formal idea of significant viewer interest. The film flows beautifully, the two scientific subjects ask more questions than they answer, and the conclusion, while of good quality and a great reflection of all the tension that builds up between the protagonists over the course of the plot, can't quite break out of the lethargy set by the already overly intellectual conversational subject matter. Still, a rather interesting little gem in the chest labelled "intimate and proper sci-fi". 70%

I'm not going say that I wasn't entertained by flying cars, unbreakable body shells or a badass Jason Statham because I'd be lying. I had so much fun that what should have otherwise deserved 5 stars for the amazing action spectacle turned into a slightly awkward joke worthy of 3 stars, where everything turns against the narrator and a perceptive viewer familiar with the laws of physics and limited human abilities rather appreciates every moment when they do not have to laugh loudly and continuously – not to mention that the twist is nothing to write home about. To put it another way, the action is entertaining, but it makes you laugh mostly unintentionally, the script is weak, reminiscent of an action video game, where each new level is accompanied by a change of location and a new form of combat against the main enemy, and if we look back at the film, apart from a touching final farewell to Paul Walker, we see only an incoherent sequence of explosions and crazy stunt (or rather digital) action scenes. Thank God for the truly great actors who belong, belonged and will always belong to this series (R.I.P.). 65%

Do you think we're completely stupid? Of course, in many cases we really are, and it takes very little to satisfy us cinematically (in my case, for example, a green Jim Carrey, something I'm a little ashamed of), but to serve a mass audience with a budget of over a hundred million dollars and a group of perhaps the most popular actors of our time a film that works purely on the basis of stimulus (i.e. a whirlwind of visual effects, annoying themes about a threat to the whole world, and some situational humour here and there) – receptor (jerk, usually with his girlfriend, who is innocent of this, as she is just constantly drooling over the looks and musculature of Mr. Thor and Mr. Iron Man) – effector (the process of emptying the jerk's wallet at the expense of the film) – reaction (the huge profits and the making of a sequel), it's simply unforgivable. Plus, with the dumbest villain and the most boring final act in Marvel history. The thing the second Avengers deserves praise for is the likeable cast, many of whom don't get much screen time due to their numbers, a still-good level of humour, and a certainly unique incorporation of the entire story into that running Marvel train. Once it reaches the final station, perhaps this work as bit in the mill will be fully appreciated, but until then, this will be a very forgettable film.

They’re back! The Gauls are more subversive than ever, the Romans are more cunning but also more foolish and everything is wittier with highly effective humour; like the legendary 12 tasks, a great reflection of some of the social problems of the day. And since I absolutely love the typical Asterix humour, after another screening I am forced to say that Mansion of the Gods ranks in my eyes among the funniest achievements not only within the Gosciny comic adaptations, but it easily outdoes most of the animated competition in many years. The animation is excellent, the secondary characters (the Centurion, the main slave, the slave master!!) are unforgettable and the Czech dubbing, as unmistakable as the original sounds, is absolutely perfect. In that spirit, I pray for a sequel every three years at most. :-) 90%

I would have loved to see a Kubrick version of the legendary Lolita that would not have had to give in to the zealous initiative of the censors and fully reflected his visual genius. But even so, edited beyond recognition, this adaptation of Nabokov's masterful postmodern novel offers so much cinematic beauty, dense erotic atmosphere, breathtakingly stylized shots and cleverly written dialogue that it’s impossible to call it a "weak" Kubrick. Scenes that seem protracted and superfluous are in fact extremely sophisticated and fit perfectly, both in content and atmosphere, into a unique cinematic puzzle that gradually – now tragically, now with an innocently ironic sneer – reveals socially unacceptable motives, and which also quite naturally brings together several different genres, from crime-noir to adventure road-movie. Above all, the excellent James Mason, whose painstaking creation of an obsessed paedophile determines the emotional aspect of the film, and the great Peter Sellers, whose peculiar oratorical performances are among the absolute highlights of the story. In the end, Kubrick's Lolita is a rather intimate odyssey into the bowels of a strange character torn apart by mental illness that may not have the same scope of thought as a comprehensive book and is not always easy to follow, but its artistic value and formal refinement cannot be denied. 85%

I don't need to write about how Ghoul stands out in Czech horror, because in this respect it has almost nothing to excel against. Jákl has shown himself to be a modern world filmmaker well versed in what attracts viewers to the scary genre and who, above all, is able to realise all the old horror motifs at such a level that the result overshadows the vast majority of more expensive and ambitious but very similar pseudo-documentary horror films. A brisk, imaginative (excellent jump-scares), superbly scored and decently paced European movie that cleverly highlights the already stifling atmosphere with the help of the chilling phenomenon of Andrei Chikatilo. The intro is quite protracted, the cannibalism is severely underused and it’s impossible to form a strong enough relationship with the characters for the final part to draw you in other than by virtue of the effective stylization, but within the massive Blair Witch wave, Ghoul is definitely one of the more interesting and sophisticated representatives. 65%

So once again, unplanned and under the influence, I wandered into the unpredictable waters of horror extremism, but even this peculiarly brutal carnage failed to help me form a coherent opinion on this realm of cinema. And by realm I mean snuff or gore films (not necessarily found footage) that try to evoke certain emotions and achieve the representation of a certain idea on the basis of torture and detailed physical violence. The important word here is “try”, because so far I haven't come across a single similarly brutal horror film that managed to convey some kind of meaningful message through the blood, vomit and guts, and whose subsequent interpretation to a friend would extend beyond shallow terms like "carnage", "disgust" or "slaughter". And such is The Butcher, a heartless parade of incomprehensible human cruelty that seems to be the film's only important motif, and also of the Asian exploitation horror school that kicks story to the side and tries to achieve notoriety only through shocking, unfortunately truly primal violence. I won't rate it, because it’s impossible to give a few stars to such things, barbarically enforcing an indigestible visual taboo for many people, in order to highlight the filmmaking quality, but to be honest, I can partially recommend it to all hardened viewers. After all, everyone has slightly different film cells, not to mention stomachs.

Better than Captain America :))) The story of Big Hero Six doesn’t bother with new themes or new ways to devastate New York, its mission is to cleverly recycle old motifs, adding wit and possibly adapting them to a younger audience. The film is thus full of hidden or surprising references, direct or slightly adapted quotes from live-action comics adaptations, and finally, likeable characters who manage to perfectly combine Marvel with pure Disney antics. The climax is dull and the second half doesn't have as many jokes and surprises as the first, but it's still a very cool affair, definitely better than the second Despicable Me. 80%

The return of truly distinctive characters, different from the legendary first movie only in that "Dumb" is now "Dumber" and "Dumber" is now "the Dumbest" (if you know what I mean...). Yes, it's unbelievably stupid, but only in the sense that the story mostly recycles old jokes and situations and as a whole resembles something an eight-year-old scribbled on a piece of paper an hour before and under the pressure of the approaching bell. BUT most of the individual jokes, whether rehashed or original, maintain an admirable level and, most importantly, there are so many of them even in one scene that a few cringe ones can easily go unnoticed. Both Carrey and Daniels exude incredible vivacity and enjoy their roles in an unprecedented way, but I'm all the more pleased with the fact that the sudden fits of laughter were never caused by their goofiness, but by a well-thought-out or just-right joke written in the script. Sure, I was quite influenced by the excellent atmosphere in the crowded theatre, but the important thing is that I don't regret the money I spent, so I thought about the fourth star for a while – but it fits, with all due respect, to a slightly more sophisticated form of entertainment...

Great debut! It kept me waiting throughout to see how the story would unfold, and the conclusion had me deep in my seat with its power and unexpectedness. A small, unassuming story, whose individual pieces are not only in perfect harmony with the reality of ordinary childhood life, but are also so impressively filmed that, hand in hand with the superb composition of the scenes, the whole film is almost world-class. A beautiful tribute to cinema, family, friendship and České Budějovice, the beauty of which Mádl and the cinematographer use to great effect. A film of basically invaluable character.. :))) 80%