DaViD´82

Pragmatically speaking, the first Bad Boys isn’t an exceptional picture in any way. More explosive, better written and filmed action pictures certainly exist; it’s just that very few of them can boast such a laid-back atmosphere. This is not yet Bay’s (high) standard either in terms of directing or pace, but maybe this is why the first Bad Boys is so pleasant. It is more reserved than his later pictures. It certainly has some problem areas, but overall it is simply the essence of cool.

More than meets the eye... Or not? It’s disappointing that after the pleasant although unsuccessful The Island, Bay took a step back into soulless action fun for the masses. It doesn’t thrill me that he has fallen back into his traditional, epileptic fit provoking editing. It outright annoys me that the entire story takes place in the opening crawl... I would have been willing to forgive the creators all of the above if they could grip me. Which Transformers managed to do, but only at isolated moments, definitely not for the entire or at least part of the running time. The first part of the movie, which is carried on the shoulders of the ever more likeable LeBeouf, is outstanding, humorous and very promising. But then the whole picture goes to the dogs in the middle, from the game of hide and seek until the defrosting of Megatron. There is humor elsewhere in this movie, but it doesn’t work in the least; Shia practically disappears from the screen and the robots start playing first fiddle, led by the “philosophizing" Optimus and the wannabe funny roles filled by John Turturro and Jon Voight. Although the last third is one big, continuous action inferno, for my tastes it is just too predictable and primarily it’s over-combined. What unarguably works well is the technical side of the movie. They were evidently working overtime at ILM, Jablonsky composed a punchy and fitting soundtrack, the action is nice and comic-bookish over the top and couple of scenes like the onslaught of the Autobots had me pinned to my seat. What brings Transformers down on the big screen too is its extreme length, the lame pieces of wisdom from Optimus, lots of superfluous robots that have barely two seconds of fame and also that pesky little Decepticon. Transformers certainly don’t disappoint, especially in a well-technically equipped movie theater, but don’t expect wonders. It’s not boring, it’s entertaining, but it doesn’t leave any particular lasting impression. This is the feeblest Bay movie yet. Unfortunately.

Family first. To come to this crucial decision, you have to endure about a hundred minutes with this "comedy" gem. The subject matter has some comedic potential, but it shouldn’t have been put into the hands of Coraci and Sandler. In the first half, Click is a classic family comedy except that it is without humor. The creators attempt it here and there, but fecal wannabe humor, like farting in David Hasselhoff's face, can hardly be viewed as being funny. In the second half, the movie changes key, but it deploys another heavyweight: a journey to learn the true values of life. Moreover, with a rather ridiculous attempt at the emotional side of things. Click could have been a decent average comedy in the style of Bruce Almighty... if it had been shorter, without dysfunctional emotionally manipulative scenes, and most importantly, if there had been some humor in it. It's even worse than the usual dumb Sandler movies. Why? Because this pretends to be something more. If it weren't for Sundance, I'd go even lower with the rating.

An interesting theme and the perfect Ryan Gosling make Murder by Numbers more than just another in a series of average intelligent thrillers. The resulting impression is spoiled by the final passage, which would fit more into a B-movie, and the unconvincing performance by Sandra Bullock. But no one would expect a characterful performance from her, would they?

I shot my wife. Prove it. This is a slogan that promises an interesting storyline. Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. These are names that indicate quality acting performances. Gregory Hoblit. This is a director from whom one can expect at least quality craft, if nothing else… Fracture undoubtedly has the potential to be a really good thriller. In essence, it did not fail in any of the above areas. Although the subject is not explored to its fullest extent, the plot is still interesting and suspenseful enough. Neither actor plays the role of his lifetime here but their performances are sufficient. The movie’s greatest asset are the joint scenes where the actors play “face to face". Hoblit shot it all technically well (albeit somewhat unimaginatively), but the camerawork and music skillfully enhance the impression. Overall, Fracture is probably not worth a second viewing, but it has enough enjoyable moments in the course of the movie to make it feel like it wasn’t a waste of time watching it. That’s not too bad for another of the endless series of court dramas, is it?

A potentially powerful subject but, given that it’s made by Hitchcock, it is unusually mediocre. It is not bad in any way, but it is also not exceptional in any respect. All the classic Master's techniques are here, the good actors are too, and there are also thrilling scenes - the trial was especially successful. But overall, especially at the beginning of the movie, there is a slow pace and too little tension. This is rather a mediocre item of Hitchcock's filmography, albeit still of sufficiently high quality.

Zach Braff strays into Kevin Smith’s sovereign territory - New Jersey. And things go quite ok for him there. Garden State awakens from the somewhat subdued mood when Sam, played wonderfully by Natalie Portman, bursts onto the scene. At that moment the picture grabs onto you whole and doesn’t let go of you until the end. What slightly damages its assets is the unimpressive introduction and the occasionally overly forced “weirdness". Instead of it being used sparingly to spice up the overall atmosphere, it appears all over the place and sometimes it is annoying to the point of being counterproductive because draws you needlessly away from the characters. Zach Braff comes out of this movie as a better director than actor. He isn’t outright bad, but he lacks charisma, although he has a certain aura of likableness about him. Despite the above, Garden State is a feature-length directing debt that is worth watching.

A plodding, poorly acted and not interestingly shot "reconstruction-drama" documentary/film about a real bank robbery. The potential is certainly great, but the entertainment value is almost naught.

The way to victory contains perhaps all possible sports movie clichés in such quantities never seen before in any other movie with a similar theme. And, in view of the subject matter chosen, the topic of racism couldn’t be avoided. So it is a rather pleasant surprise that the whole thing is good to watch. Although James Gartner didn’t spice up the fights with a special style that would differentiate them from other movies, but at least he chose some good actors. Apart from one - Josh Lucas. In view of the fact that the entire movie was meant to be carried on his shoulders, it is almost bewildering that he managed to play such a gift of a role so terribly blandly. Overall, what we have here is another in a long line of American sports movies about outsiders and their path to “unexpected" success. This movie isn’t exceptional or memorable in any way, although it is pleasantly watchable, if nothing else. Even if Glory Road is rather lack-luster and lacks a charismatic trainer.

A documentary founded on a perfectly chosen topic, the reminiscences of several generations and hours of painstaking work searching for material in archives. A look at the development of the Czech consumer society / lifestyle, since the end of World War II, during the totalitarian state and then after the Velvet Revolution. Rich in information and with a pleasant objectivity. You will have but good memories of this documentary...