gudaulin

I'll admit, I rarely watch romantic movies anymore because, in that stereotypical whirlpool, there are only very few titles worth watching. The vast majority of those genre pieces are made as if following a template and differ only slightly in doses of naivety and, when it comes to teenage matters, even in the level of tastelessness. (500) Days of Summer really stands out from this flood because it has honest craftsmanship and a few decent ideas as well as pleasant casting. But from my perspective, it's by no means a cult film. It was allegedly a huge hit at the Sundance Festival, but any major studio could have easily financed this Webb film. In fact, it is purely a mainstream affair. If stars were given for the best mainstream romance of the year, (500) Days of Summer would probably win hands down, but that's not how it works for me. It differs from the usual productions mainly by the fact that the screenwriter admitted that not every romantic love ends in marriage, but if they want to sell me these discoveries, they should turn to someone else with such banalities. After two days, I can only remember very little from the film. It's pleasant enough for one viewing, but nothing more. Overall impression: 60%.

The screenplay is unfinished. Although it is well-acted, it feels like a fragment of a feature film rather than a standalone functioning short film. The female element is also unnecessary in a script like this... Overall impression: 50%.

After watching the film, I was reminded of a lecture by a well-known science popularizer who admitted that the motive for the creation of his latest book was not a passion for its subject, but a grant that he happened to receive and that it would not be wise to refuse. I had a similar feeling of "motivation" when it came to most of the participating directors here. It wasn't a dream project that pushed them to the limits of their creative powers, and it wasn't even a commercial thing for which they would risk their reputation with the producer. Most of them approached it like a school exercise, and sometimes I even felt like it was out of obligation. In any case, directorial qualities prevailed over screenwriting - sometimes there was palpable helplessness in that area (Kusturica's alcohol-soaked visit to the film festival). Most film fans will probably choose their own favorite story, but as a whole, 7 Days in Havana, in my opinion, doesn't hold up. It was clear from the beginning that the individual contributions would have different styles and poetics, but I must admit that I didn't expect to feel like I was on a roller coaster or riding a carnival ride when comparing the quality of the stories. Overall impression: 45%.

731: Two Versions of Hell is a type of documentary where the impact of the message is based solely on commentary, delivered by a neutral voice, which is in sharp contrast to the emotionally charged content of the film. The visual part could be completely absent, as similar information could be conveyed by a slightly modified radio program. The chosen dual perspective is interesting, saying that with a sufficient degree of cynicism and demagogy, anything can be relativized and justified, including gas chambers and torture devices. The visual component is only complementary, where the lively Chinese city of the present forms a counterbalance to the ruins of a concentration camp and a factory for the production of biological weapons. My overall impression, considering the weak visual aspect, amounts to 60%. However, the chosen unconventional form and provocative interpretation of the same event from the perspective of two warring sides make this a film that should not go unnoticed.

Greenaway's film is one of those rare cases when, despite my undeniable stinginess, I would be willing to leave the movie theater after half an hour and forget the money because I saved a bit of my increasingly scarce time. The question is: is it possible to make a film that is supposed to deal with the dark sides of the human soul, sexuality, and the lives of wealthy people unrestricted by social conventions in an unbelievably boring way? Yes. Greenaway proves that with a little effort, it can be done. If I were a producer, I would rather burn the money in the fireplace than invest it in a similar spectacle. It is an immensely self-centered and difficult-to-digest film, primarily intended for the festival circuit audience, for the small circle of true intellectuals, and a considerably larger circle of those who think they are intellectuals so that they can eagerly debate the hidden meanings of the film after seeing it. At the beginning, one character asks another: "Do you think leading directors make their films to satisfy their sexual fantasies?" - the other replies: "I think most of them do." If Greenaway made this film to satisfy his sexual fantasies, then he is a very boring and eccentric patron. This film is neither provocative nor spicy, and in no way is it true to life, because I have encountered a fair number of bizarre characters, sociopaths, and nutcases, but I have never come across anything remotely similar to these film characters. Overall impression: 5%.

The Soviet film school essentially produced war films on an assembly line, but 9th Company follows more so the style and content of American war films from the 1980s. In other words, it is a combination of Full Metal Jacket and Platoon, which is also mimicked in the film's title. It is not a cheap imitation, but rather a very solid piece of craftsmanship and, truth be told, one of the best war films of the last decade. Thanks to the large investments in Russian cinema in recent years and coproduction, it is not a financially deprived film either, so viewers can enjoy the military equipment, generously conceived shots of the military base, and large-scale battles. As for casting, acting performances, and directing, I have no significant objections, and for about 70% of the film I thought I was watching a five-star film that stood out for its exceptionally high level of authenticity. I had the opportunity to speak at length with an eyewitness of the Afghan war, who spent eight years in the war zone, and his narrative aligned with the atmosphere of the film. The attack on the transport plane or the ambush of a military convoy in the pass perfectly fits the way the war was fought at that time. The plane destruction scene is also visually impressive. However, the final grand battle comes, which, from the perspective of a popular culture viewer, is again gratifyingly filmed and directed, but it is unrealistic and reminded me of heroic images from the Soviet era, like "the last heroic defenders of Sevastopol resist the fascist superiority." Ultimately, the closing credits depict the nature of this conflict far more soberly when it comes to the number of casualties. Similar open battles were exceptional in the Afghan war because they demonstrated better tactical preparedness and greater firepower of the Soviet army. It is similar, after all, in present-day Iraq. Otherwise, it is interesting to compare this Russian film precisely with American films about the Vietnam War. American films - even those with an anti-war orientation - depict their soldiers as winners, and if an American soldier falls, he must almost inevitably shoot at least ten Vietnamese soldiers before he dies. Russian soldiers die like flies. Bullets find them much more often than they do the Afghan rebels. The primary goal of 9th Company is to portray Russian soldiers as men who are not afraid to die but fulfill their mission and at the same time show that this war was not theirs. Their deployment was decided by the elders of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Today's Russia is not so much following the era of the Soviet Union as it is emphasizing pre-revolutionary Russia and particularly highlighting service to the country and self-sacrifice. At the same time, there is not a single scene in the film where an Afghan civilian clearly dies. The goal of the film is not self-flagellation like in American production; Russian soldiers, after all, fulfill the tasks assigned to them....Overall impression: 80%.

I consider Trainspotting to be one of the best British films of all time, but I admit that if Boyle presented Renton and his gang of ultimate outcasts, slackers, and drug addicts as conscious freedom fighters, opponents of the establishment, consumerism, and the iron lady, I would seriously consider abandoning it and taking a trip to the islands, where I would kick Boyle in the balls. Unfortunately, Nikolaev went precisely in this direction (regardless of the mechanical comparison of directorial qualities, where Boyle acts as a modern jet compared to Nikolaev, who stuck a few chicken feathers on his shirt, jumped around the yard eagerly, and clucked). It is a mixture of unwanted amateurism, naivety, pathos, and screenwriter helplessness. It's Gonna Get Worse sells a romantic view of the underground that deserves a much more sober look. Those pigeons actually wanted to slack off, drink, party, and fornicate a little - actually, quite a lot - and the state power was too stupid to leave them alone. There is nothing uplifting about what they did, and my empathy is frozen in this case. By the way, I remember an article where the editor went on about the case of the hijacking of a Czechoslovak plane to West Germany, and to his unpleasant surprise - actually, quite a big shock - he stated that the Secret Service, which conducted parallel investigations alongside the West German police, acted more correctly than the German investigator who considered the defendants to be a bunch of disgusting hippies. On both the German and Czech sides, there were bourgeoisie who understood each other quite well across the Iron Curtain. Maybe we should stop creating a mythology that is similar to the one created by the communists when they defended their regime, constantly going back to all those proletarians and the heroic struggle of workers on the barricades. Those real histories often correspond to the stale joke when a Soviet soldier, instead of shouting "For Stalin and for the people" heroically fell with a bundle of grenades under the tanks and yelled "That damn ice..." Overall impression: 25%.

I have long dreamed of someone making an animated film for adults that would play intelligently with a genre, and when I saw Rango in that form, I was quite disappointed. When I saw Outbreak back in the day, I thought this was typical Hollywood stuff, and how nice it would be if someone tried to make it more realistic, like a cruel psychological drama. So I waited and got Blindness, and I was duly punished for my dreams because while I approve of the direction of Blindness, its final form is unfortunately awkward. The film is scattered in terms of the screenplay, essentially wanting to be something like Children of Men, but it lacks Cuaron's brilliant direction above all. While Meirelles does make an effort to depict a city struck by an apocalypse, the atmosphere is still somehow missing, and the film can be considered a unique example of how not to work with characters. I considered giving it three stars, but in this case, it would only be for the effort and subject matter. Overall impression: 45%. It's a shame that when someone actually makes a film like this, it turns out so uninteresting and uninspiring.

Death is no more or less than the price of life, and it is one hundred percent true that it awaits us all at the end of our journey. The death of a person and the farewell ceremony usually evoke a wide range of emotions and expose peoples' natures, so it is no wonder that the life experiences of the funeral family provided the screenwriting team with excellent material and an attractive spectacle for viewers. In many places, the series manages to touch upon the most sensitive aspects of our physical existence and social relationships. It touches on the burning topics of social debate, but as the episodes progressed, I began to dislike the pronounced eccentricity of some of the characters. It cannot be denied that screenwriter Alan Ball had the primary voice, who is also the creator of the crazy vampire fantasy full of sexual deviations, True Blood. If it is said about some series that they are written by life itself, here it is evident that the stories are written by a screenwriter. Undeniably well and captivatingly, but ordinary life is a bit different. In the first season, the presence of dark humor served in small doses pleased me, and my attention was caught by the charming Lauren Ambrose in the role of the family's high school student. Overall impression: 80%.

I have a problem with Agnieszka Holland's work. She maintains a decent standard, so her filmography does not include outright disappointments, but she has never truly impressed me. I have never even considered giving any of her films the highest rating. A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story is based on a true story, with the whole case of a brutal murder of a transvestite and subsequent trial presenting major potential for a gripping drama with a moral appeal. Unfortunately, the result is a film that will fade from memory in a few days, unlike thematically related films like Soldier's Girl and Boys Don't Cry, which reliably come to mind even years later. This film deserves a fair 3-star rating and nothing more. Overall impression: 60%.