D.Moore

Sometimes fun, sometimes boring, sometimes idle romance and a ending so "strong" that I almost couldn't stand it. Moreover, the whole time I had to think about how and why End of Watch was filmed - at first it seemed that I would see the whole film through the cameras of its main characters, but then they were joined by the cameras of gangsters and others, and so that there are enough shaky shots, after a while a real movie camera played a home video. The pursuit of authenticity was shattered.

"Is fear an excuse for dishonest acts?" A magnetic courtroom drama full of profound and still valid ideas, in which Karel Höger sits silently and listens to witness testimony most of the time, but his acting is all the more remarkable. However, the prosecutor played by Vladimír Ráže and the former doctor Dana Medřická are equally, if not more, the shining stars of the production. It’s just a pity about the title, which actually gives away the point.

No matter how hard the British or other Czechoslovak actors try, Rudolf Hrušínský once again gives such an amazing performance that everyone can only look up to him. His controller, Kurka, another one of those taciturn, cold and internal struggling characters he was so good at, is definitely a reason to watch Ninety Degrees in the Shade. But there aren't many more reasons after that.

A very successful "live-action animated comedy", in my opinion perhaps the only one that rode the wave of success Home Alone and managed to succeed. Dennis the Menace is the true embodiment of pure evil, but Wilson, played by Walter Matthau, faces him bravely, and you almost feel sorry for Switchblade Sam, played (once again) by the beautifully deranged Christopher Lloyd. And lest I forget, Jerry Goldsmith composed a great soundtrack for the film – it's from his non-experimental period, but it's excellent.

The two episodes (mostly Murder, but The Royal Command Performance as well) are devilishly great, and the four remaining episodes don't lag far behind. It's just that the humor is repeated too much here and there and dangerously smacks of simplicity. There is only one Blackadder, but if you're in the mood for villainous schemers who hold nothing sacred, I can only recommend Let Them Eat Cake.

The funniest and most action-packed of the (not only?) new Star Trek films may be somewhat spoiled at first glance by a very simple plot. However, when the viewer realizes how much it resembles the charming plots of the original series, and when you combine that with Kirk's "I feel like I'm in a TV show" feeling that he confides to his diary in the opening, it's almost certain that this was all the intention of the fun-loving creators. Because what the new Star Trek is all about is the characters, and that's where it wins all the way. Kirk is even more "Kirk-ish", helped by his retro haircut, Spock and Bones have finally become a great duo, Scotty, Chekov (Anton Yelchin is such a shame), Uhura and Jaylah each have their place and, especially in the part where they are separated, neither is uninteresting. The immense beating the Enterprise takes gives me the chills, whereas almost every joke is really funny and never feels the least bit forced (thanks, Simon Pegg, I know it's mostly your doing). There is probably no point in praising the special effects, but again I have to highlight the music of Michael Giacchino, my favorite composer of the current generation. It was successful.

Unfortunately, it's really as bad as they say. The opening with Pink Panther-style captions tempts us to a French-style comedy, but the result is just a strange amalgamation of weird scenes and sketches, of which only a few are funny (the operation and the cake battle), one has a touch of chilling poetic horror (the masquerade ball)... And the whole thing makes absolutely no sense. The 76 minutes drag on endlessly, and even the good songs from the best period of Czechoslovak pop don't speed them up too much.

"Farewell, fields of crackling cobs, farewell, poppies and cornflowers along the dirt roads..." Personally, I think that cracking cobs, poppies and cornflowers have a lot in common, in a certain sense maybe more than the Powder Gate with the Charles Bridge and half of the Vltava together, but that does not belong here. Leaving aside the concentrated (and quite understandable) pathos, Kamenná sláva is first and foremost a quite interesting look at the eighty-year distant past, combining the everyday life of Prague's citizens with the extraordinary history of their city. I probably won't remember any interesting shots from it in my head, but what can I do?

A very enjoyable comedy spectacle, light as a feather, quite imaginative, with nice effects, a passable Jack Black (he and director Letterman have definitely improved since Gulliver's Travels) and an excellent score by Danny Elfman. Yes, of course, the comparison with Jumanji also occurred to me, but unlike the others, I do not think that Goosebumps lost significantly in the "duel". For a number of scenes, I thought that at least it had the atmosphere that the new Ghostbusters should have.

It's not entirely bad, but it's not entirely good, either. If I understand correctly, given the year of production 2014 mentioned in the credits, this is a pilot episode of the ultimately unfilmed series, which Czech Television decided to broadcast this year. I'd be quite interested to see what such a series would be like - The Office inspiration is obvious (aha, maybe that's it - the admitted remake of The Office got the nod after all?), but it could have turned into something likeable if the creators had focused on the story instead of caricatures of typical office types in the later episodes, if they had cut the length of the episodes in half and built on something more interesting than an argument about air conditioning, for God's sake. Of the cast, I was particularly pleased with the precise Ivana Uhlířová with her permanent poker face and the endearingly confused Eva Josefíková, both of whom have comedic talent to spare.