DaViD´82

The traditional festival theme about the difficult bonding between father and son. Their encounters may grind a little at first, but this type of film has always been more about the actors, who here are brilliant. So it doesn't really matter that it's all predictable, because it still works perfectly.

This movie is a rather “out there" affair about an unemployed and naïve guy who sets out from the woods across Argentina to give the ailing Diego Maradona a root that from a certain angle perhaps remotely resembles him... Or perhaps not... It starts as a pseudo-documentary and gradually turns into a pleasant road-movie with a view to finding and providing hope.

Anyone out there want to give this a try in the flesh? If so, February 29, Střelecky Island, it’s a date. If you take some good speakers with you, you’ll be able to play the genius soundtrack. Kitano won't be there, but finding a charismatic bum to play the victim for a box of wine shouldn’t be a big problem. The next opportunity will be February twenty-ninth, the year of our lord 2012. I'm looking forward to it, happy hunting!

It’s no easy feat to bring Stephen King to the silver screen in a respectable form. While some have managed to successfully adapt several of his non-horror pieces, as for his scary stories, only one has been good. So it rather surprising that in the end it was a routineer like Håfström who managed to do something to even up this sorry imbalance. Because of limited space, 1408 relies solely on the central character. Luckily Cusak turned out to be an outstanding choice. His charisma supported by a good measure of cynicism, together with his unmistakable croaky voice holds the picture’s head above water even during the weaker moments. The fundamental problem here is that after the wonderful opening hour, the creators didn’t head straight for the finishing line, but needlessly and even unbecomingly drag it out. It begins with a wonderfully created atmosphere, lots of ideas and several borrowings from other stories by King (e.g. “The Ledge"). But in the second part, the tempo drops sharply, the story starts to get out of its depth and the atmosphere almost completely disappears. And there aren’t even any ideas anymore, just over and over variations of the same thing we have seen earlier on in the movie. As a result, 1408 ends up being the same as its literary counterpart is in comparison to other works by King. In other words, an example of above average filmmaking craft, but it definitely won’t stay lodged in your memory. P.S.: Of the three existing endings, by far the best is the not so happy one.

An excellent Jack Black, a good idea and one great tribute to a neglected musical genre on screen. In the end, it doesn't matter that it sticks to the classic family comedy template about outsiders.

Mr. Wo, a “fateful" coin, a man with a harmonica, four cool gangsters, dozens of weapons, gallons of blood and hundreds of bullet cartridges in a Hong Kong Eastern with frequent nods to various Spaghetti Westerns by Leone. Which could be a little lame, but this movie is aware of that and exploits it using pleasant hyperbole. Most movies try hard to be cool, but almost every frame of Exiled is cool without even trying. It’s not flawless, but in the action scenes at very least it approaches this state. Plus, we get probably the most stylish example of product placement ever seen in a movie. That’s right, I’m talking the scene with Red Bull, which gives you that kind of wings that you can only get from darn good movies.

Confused, not completely sewn up, almost surprisingly cold in terms of sentiment and form in a crushing victory over content? No, don’t worry... More like fresh, surprising, genre-non-committal, inventive, pleasantly deranged (in fact, very deranged even for Asia) and simply cute in an Asian way. And it’s all supported again by Park’s precise directing, splendid technical side and likeable cast. It’s far from being a movie for everyone, but no one can deny its unarguable qualities. Plus, we are treated to an action wipe-out scene and even yodeling gets a look in.

A year before Boorman’s Deliverance, Peckinpah came along with an almost identical idea. The only difference is the setting in the Highlands of Scotland. That’s where American physicist David moves with his English wife with slightly loose morals. The excellent steady rise in tension and perfect actors are the main pluses. Straw Dogs will no longer provoke such controversy as when it was released, but even so, it has much to offer even to today’s viewer.

Coppola and Hackman both said once that The Conversation was their favorite movie of their entire careers. With Hackman this is completely understandable, in view of the perfect performance he gave. But not so understandable with Francis. The Conversation is unarguably well-directed, excellently thought out, has lots of great scenes, the topic is still relevant today, but... Overall, it’s “just" a good thriller.

A mediocre attempt at processing a powerful topic, with good actors. The picture scores more points in interesting details from the lives of contemporary practicing Jews, rather than functioning as a whole. However, there are so many details from the lives of ordinary people of a different culture that, in the end, Tehilim is a movie worthy of a little attention.