lamps

A masterful funeral of the best action series of all time that can only be accepted at this symbolic level. Putting this material, which for three decades reflected and pushed the possibilities and the nature of Hollywood action films in an original way, into the hands of an average B-movie director like John Moore, with a script that suppresses, if not downright ruins everything that made McClean fun was an idea worthy of immediate defenestration. I can’t be bothered to describe everything that irritated me and I don’t even know why it shouldn’t end at 1*. Maybe out of respect for Willis’s best role and for a couple of solid action scenes, but it’s better to quickly forget about it.

A very empty exhibition of a talented machine to build a thick atmosphere; you can’t deny its depiction of period realism and the intentionally obsolete formal approaches (static shots, details, expressive acting, precise geometric composition), but it has absolutely nothing to offer the viewer seeking a meaningfully organised narration or some sort of distinctive process. The Witch headed somewhere and tied a loop around the viewer, who had set certain expectations, but The Lighthouse is self absorbed from the first to the last scene and never changes its nature and the pressure on the audience – and though in itself this isn’t annoying, it’s certainly not remarkable or in any way as subversive as Eggers wants it to be. 60%

The weakest and least stimulating film by Bong Joon-ho I’ve seen so far. The balance between serious environmental argument and a bizarre comedy with a confused Gyllenhaal and a lisping Tilda Swinton didn’t feel that sophisticated and, despite the fact that this is another film with a strong author’s signature, I have to turn my thumb slightly down this time. What amused me the most was the grotesque action scene accompanied by my beloved Annie's Song by John Denver. The pig was also cute, but I couldn’t avoid thinking what a great Sunday’s roast it would make. :/ 65%

A film as divisive as the opinions of its two main characters. I have no interest in getting into the issue of religion, but the theme “should and how could the Church humanize its practices in order to adapt to the current freedom of thought” is universal and simple enough, and the exchange of opinions between these two distinguished figures was fun and interesting overall. Or, more precisely, I was interested in the liberal views of Francis, whom the first half of the film profiles as a herald of good and progressive will being cut off by a grumpy Benedict that avoids getting caught up in a conversation. The relationship between these two strong and intelligent men is portrayed hastily and in the second half the narration shifts to unnecessarily long to flashbacks that have very little effect on the storyline, they are there probably to give the film a better drive so it wouldn’t be only a “boring” conversation – which would certainly not have happened if Meirelles had dived deeper into the conflict and friendship of the two popes and had let those two fantastic actors play even more. In this way, The Two Popes is at a crossroads between an important conversational drama with great historical insight and a stylishly edited pop-culture clip with an undoubtedly talented filmmaker with a feeling for timing performing an unnecessary formal exhibtion – in his hands this could have been major film and it’s a shame that it didn’t turn out like that. 70%

An enchantingly narrated and unpredictable road-movie that at times gets too bogged down in meta expression and Sean Penn’s "beyond-acting", but that at the same time proves with every shot that Paolo Sorrentino is one of the most interesting filmmakers of this century. The main character, wandering through the dogmatized spirit of America in search of moral understanding, ends up winning our hearts, which could never have happened without the precise changes in mood and pace that follow his feelings, plus a balanced dose of absurdity. At times, it gets stuck and loses its appeal, but overall, the film leaves a very strong impression… And Shea Whigham was great again in a funny secondary role. 80%

The premise could work if we were to automatically accept the fact that filmmakers prefer fooling around with sharks rather than, like Jaws, introducing strong characters that won’t end as generic fodder for the toothy threat. The claustrophobic setting in a cave offers a few possibilities for tense and untried scenes, but what prevails in the final result is a literal twilight of originality that gives way to chaotic effects and a bizarre action-packed ending. Another pointlessly dark sequel with unremarkable protagonists that makes me feel like getting another beer and watch Spielberg’s masterpiece for the twentieth time.

A brilliantly written and just as well directed study on the inevitable consequences of the relationship of two rational and professionally ambitious people, fully credible in the dialogues and the performances, which couldn’t be any better. We are in the middle of it with the characters, we understand each of their decisions and rows, and Baumbach holds the sympathies on both sides (though as a guy, I related more to Driver), while at the same time managing to alternate the styles, the rhythm and the moods of the narration in an impressive manner, using long shots and markedly compositional editing to change the focus of attention and let the perfect actors stand out. It went by so quickly. I hope Scarlett gets the Oscar (Driver can’t beat Phoenix this year) and I'm already looking forward to another Baumbach – in The Meyerowitz Stories I was unable to relate to the characters despite their good portrayal, but in Marriage Story, I emotionally experienced every aspect. I’d love to see next time an Actor Story, about the life of Jack Nicholson. )) 90%

Leaving aside Disney’s animated movies, The Princess Bride must be the most fairytale American fairytale, and this is despite the fact that the script is often ironically subversive and communicates with the viewer to explicitly defend some of the clichés. It’s a shame that at times it’s spoilt by the routine TV look, because Reiner is not afraid to come up with bold ideas (the switch of the main character, the unexpected change in settings and atmosphere) and the narration flows along smoothly. Also, Robin Wright looks great, Mandy Patinkin creates one of the best fairytale characters ever – his search for revenge is perfectly portrayed and supported by a monologue with deserved cult status. A very nice movie.

I could repeat what POMO has written. Bong Joon-ho has proven once again that surprising an unprepared viewer can be the sweetest satisfaction for a filmmaker, and also the easiest way to achieve cult status. But I was already prepared after the wave of enthusiastic responses and, though the ironically subversive narration worked on me very well and my prepared self enjoyed the development in the second half, the eagerness to shock and put together an intellectual puzzle with the unpredictably arranged motifs of the ending left me a little disappointed. Nevertheless, I appreciate the truly untraditional viewer experience that straddles the border of several well-known genres, whose tropes are bent over to the benefit of this precise filmmaker, who in many scenes is able to get the viewer exactly where he wants them. I’m really sorry that it missed me in the end. 85%

The same thing as the first one, really. An entertaining premise and a couple of good formal ideas elaborated into the rumble of the four (five) likeable characters that doesn’t result in anything original. The great cast carry the film on their shoulders again, Flescher adds a few functional ideas, plus a couple of cameos to make things more interesting, and the viewer can kick-back and relax. And even though neither the characters nor the world go anywhere in the end, it’s impossible not to acknowledge that this innocent zombie silliness works surprisingly well – and like the previous, it deserves a strong 3*.