MrHlad

Compared to Bourne, The Gray Man is a lot dumber and more B-ish. Compared to Bond, it’s less stylish. Compared to Hunt, it’s less imaginative. But if you throw out the attempts to compare to him the greatest heroes of spy-action movies, he actually doesn't come out nearly as bad. The premise is already a B-movie washout, so it probably shouldn't surprise anyone that the movie will be similarly off. The opening scene in Bangkok would easily stand up to a Bond film, but then it takes almost an hour before anything really interesting and entertaining starts happening. And no, I don’t mean trying to go in depth with flat heroes and trying to describe the behind-the-scenes practices of CIA agents who don't even trust each other. Once the action shifts to Prague, however, and the tram set-piece you couldn't help but read about kicks in, it becomes fully apparent that The Gray Man may have had bigger ambitions, but only on paper. If the film and the audience can come to terms with the fact that it's a big overpriced action B-movie, they can enjoy it as much as I did. The Russo's may go a little overboard with the drones and the stunts could have been better handled, but the action is truly spectacular, imaginative and you can see the budget. Chris Evans is a fine asshole, Ryan Gosling doesn't offend, but it's not his life role, and Ana de Armas relies on acting cute even though she has two rocket launchers on her back and a grenade launcher in her hand. If you find that idea funny and entertaining rather than awkward and ridiculous, chances are you'll enjoy this solid action flick. Netflix may have wanted more, and it's not great by any means. On the other hand, if The Gray Man catches on and we get a sequel, I'll gladly spend those two hours with them again.

It’s no miracle, but it fortunately is an interesting film. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a properly wild ride, where for a long time you have no idea what the they actually want to say, but the gradual unravelling and discovery is damn interesting. Partly, thanks to the awesome action scenes, the clever script, the strong emotional moments and the lots of ideas, but mostly because of the approach of both directors, who push it all into the audience almost to the point of violence. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a film where you have no idea what you're going to see in fifteen minutes, alternating extremely fast paced scenes with slower ones, unafraid to go for the jugular, turning from a wild action sci-fi into an intimate drama about the most ordinary things, and then into a rip-roaring comedy. It's just too much. Two hours and twenty minutes is a subjectively untenable runtime for a film that, while it works on a dramatic level, still runs in a pretty rut despite the original visuals. And on the other hand, the moments where Kwan and Scheinert pour one wild idea after another from their sleeves start to get tiresome after a few minutes. Everything Everywhere All at Once is really interesting, but it needs someone to tell the directors where to add and subtract. Sometimes it's a bit of a drag, despite the imagination, creativity, great actors, action and emotion.

Too much of the same in Waititi's delivery. What was fresh last time has now become annoying. It's like a five year old directing, just cramming all the ideas in, not realising that if he gives a joke three seconds after a fateful scene, he'll be killing the whole thing. That said, we have a potentially very interesting bad guy, and even Thor's relationship with Jane Foster has some interesting depth. I remembered that video from The Onion featuring Chris Morgan, the writer of Fast and Furious, and he was a five-year-old boy. This is exactly the same thing. Waititi is having fun, his stars are having fun, and I'm bored because the movie, despite a ton of action, a lot of humor, and some strong emotional scenes, is neither engaging, nor funny, nor ultimately interesting. When Marvel first rolled out, I had a terrible time watching each film try to at least partially grasp the genre. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was at its core an old-school spy thriller, Iron Man a techno thriller and Thor honest-to-goodness fantasy. Now all that gone. Now it's just a movie by Taika Waititi, a director who can't give a film any dramatic shape. And he can't even manage not to be ironic and not cut his own scenes. Instead, he crams flying goats and has them scream hilariously about twenty times. Most of the time it was all slightly embarrassing.

Dita had just broken up with her boyfriend and was left with depression and a dog she didn't want. But she's not getting rid of it. Thanks to it, she gradually regains her lost optimism and also meets a slightly awkward but nice neighbour, and life can be worth living again. It is an old-school romantic comedy that is neither unnecessarily complicated nor vulgar, but at the same time it is not surprising or original. Its fine cast and above-average craftsmanship, however, easily place it among the best of what's being produced among Czech romcoms.

More of the same? You could say that. But at the same time, it must be said that it doesn't matter at all. Marty Pohl promised a more professional film while maintaining a distinctive approach and sense of humor, and he delivered. While it still has a few technical flaws (mainly the sound), it already looks like a film that can go to cinemas. It's more spectacular and tighter, while remaining as likeable as last time. There have been a few changes to the cast of main characters, but the important thing is that they are met with one crazy situation after another, and nobody is holding back. Party Harder once again offers a mix of nasty, vulgar and offensive scenes that are thankfully still funny. And at some moments, you shake your head at how far Pohl and his team were able and willing to go. The greater filmmaking and obviously more professional approach makes the whole thing hold together better. At the same time, however, it's obvious that a lot of the material ended up in the editing room and some of the jokes aren’t finished to a decent punchline and simply fizzle out. On the other hand, it's important to say that there are so many jokes that if one doesn't amuse you or you feel it could have been better, you'll think about it for about fifteen seconds at most, because then the next joke will come. It's nice to see that with the sequel they have moved towards more professionalism, but it's even nicer that despite the professionalism they remain as personable as last time. Better than last time, in fact. And I want more.

I don't think there isn't a single more unsatisfying activity in life than watching Kevin Hart comedies. Extra star for the gym fight.

Pixar's Llightyear is a great homage to classic sci-fi movie adventures and a nostalgically fun film for anyone who watches Star Wars every now and again. An old-school piece full of great action with a likeable hero who's a little different from his Toy Story colleague. With unexpectedly fewer jokes and humour, but a quite interesting and in the right places touching story, a casual retro atmosphere, a brisk pace and filmed with the right fan enthusiasm.

Elsa Pataky protects a military station in the middle of the ocean that is supposed to shoot nuclear bombs out of the sky. Against her are a bunch of criminals, a lousy script, boring direction and a small budget. Interceptor is an uninteresting action movie with at best mediocre fights and shootouts, a rubbish villain, one good fatality and a lot of bullshit in two rooms. Cheap, cheap, boring. Waste of time.

Stephanie was supposed to be the star of the prom, but there was an accident. Now she's coming out of a coma after 20 years. She looks thirty-seven, but she's seventeen, and she's clear about what she wants: to finish school and become prom queen! Rebel Wilson is fine in the lead role of this Netflix comedy, and the poignant moments work unexpectedly well. Unfortunately, when it comes to humor, Alex Hardcastle seems to purposely try to sidestep anything funny in the script as much as possible. As a result, Senior Year is not a funny or witty film, but watching it will leave you feeling how funny and witty it could have been.

Of all the Marvel superheroes, Doctor Strange has the most potential for visually wild and appealing films. Filmmakers can get awfully crazy, and especially now that Strange is supposed to travel to other worlds and universes and where everything was once again based on magic, so the boundaries of normalcy were pushed a lot further than, say, in Black Widow. In that respect, there's nothing to fault in the Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi enjoyed his return to blockbusters and, unexpectedly, Kevin Feige allowed him to be his typical self. There are a few horror and scary moments, references to the visual style of the first Spider-Man and even Evil Dead, and it's nice to watch. The trouble is that there's not much interesting stuff going on. The story this time around is fairly banal, the characters uninteresting, and the whole time I felt like there was a missing minute here or there where it could slow down and go a bit more in-depth. I didn't get the sense that the universe was at stake or that Strange himself had to undergo some major transformation. It's simply a nice attraction, but it wraps up a not very interesting plot. It should have been better.