Isherwood

An actor gala that suffers due to the minimal space given to the central seven and lackluster direction with no visual ideas or a more distinctive narrative. Watching it on the creaking boards, I’m drooling with bliss. I give it a weaker four stars.

The criticisms that many are sure to have toward the film are certainly justified, but I can't do otherwise given the perfectly positive atmosphere. In a way, Mendes is actually still doing the same thing, but it's a little different this time and it works (for me). This time he succeeded by betting on the "ordinariness" of the plot and fantastic actors. It’s ninety minutes that caress the soul, with the bonus of a beautiful ending.

I’m probably overly conservative, but this loser story that doesn't really go anywhere is too "weird" for me. There are a few perfect moments but then there is the rest, which lies in a different dimension of humor. Yet for those who sometimes feel a bit "different" in society, it is certainly a blessing... and perhaps not only for them.

There was a loophole in Hollywood, and a guy who is no stranger to the word "compromise" slipped into the A-list mainstream. I’m glad Peter Jackson gave Neill Blomkamp the chance to make an incredibly engrossing and captivating sci-fi for a ridiculous thirty million. The film squeezes out the subject matter to the last drop, and then there are the special effects sequences. The feeling of "this is how it might actually happen..." beats the viewer over the head in every scene, and yet it doesn't falter in its pace. Objectively, I could ask several "why and how?" questions, but subjectively, I was ecstatic the whole time. If Blomkamp really does make a "Halo" movie, I want to see "Hal-Life" from him too, the guy’s got what it takes! I hope he succeeds.

The filmmakers wrung everything from Orwell's legendary chilling allegorical fable that made it good, and what remains is a smelly patchwork that doesn't even provide any of its own ideas in addition to the alarming ones. It's as if someone wrote the script by making marks in the book and blacking out what was essential. Comparing paper to celluloid is never really fair, but this is a barbaric rape that asks for the audience’s intolerance quite bluntly, and the ending definitely confirms it.

The old parts work and the seasoned drivers do a great job handling it, but a digital facelift and a bunch of nitro can't prevent it from being a loss if the director has the gears beat up enough to barely jam it into third.

The ultimate blast! Instead of the tired self-awareness stories, the creators of Shrek came up with an action-packed blockbuster that's bursting with references (I was screaming with laughter at the keyboard!), great humor, and a punishingly huge barrage of catchphrases. It’s ninety-four minutes of undiluted entertainment that will be appreciated especially by the older folks (those who enjoy the aesthetics of 1950s monster movies will snort with delight). Cartoon of the year, no question about it!

It's hard to be mad at a movie that's about racing flashy cars driven by the golden youth (unsympathetic dickhead included). The sports cars are shiny, the girls in miniskirts are hot, and everything is so endlessly demented that it's hard not to fall for it. There’s no doubt that someone here likes "Need for Speed." Prodigy - "You'll be Under My Wheels" is in my tracklist. For such superficial kitsch, the director should be either castrated or blessed.

The filmmakers transformed an excellent subject that pokes fun at the established practices (and clichés) of sports documentaries into what can be called "heavy comfort." The fact that they are traditionally aware of their own options and abilities doesn't matter here because the vocal charisma of the actors gives it incredible energy, with great animation to boot. A damn fine hour and a half.

Along with Fight Club, this is my most personal film. While Fight Club flows mainly in terms of thought-provoking ideas, American Beauty scores with its emotions. The first time I saw it in my freshman year of high school, it hit me hard for weeks, something that also happened every other time I watched it. It has a slightly different effect on me nowadays. It no longer attacks the basic feelings of excessive affiliation with the characters (which may change when I’m forty), but as a perfect portrait of people who decided to defy convention, it still entertains me and still stirs emotions within me. There’s no point in bringing up the well-known names (Spacey, Conrad L. Hall, Mendes), but I will add the neglected (Cooper, the great game with the light at night) and add that this is one of the absolute "best films" I have ever seen.