Lima

I like Bukowski's poetics, I like the lifestyle of the layabout and so I have almost all words of praise for Barfly. The actors representing the social underbelly are well chosen, and so in my opinion the only weakness is the one that should have been the biggest trump card, I can't help but think Mickey Rourke overacts a lot. Still, you have to like his character of a barroom lout who imposes almost noble, aristocratic elements on his loafing. But Faye Dunaway, what a great surprise! She’s flawless. Not only is she a good actress, but she somehow shines through without pounds of make-up and you can see that she is still a beautiful woman despite her age. But you know what? Sod this bollocks! Let’s go for a drink.

When I saw Psycho in a packed cinema, it evoked more laughter than horror. It wasn't laughter of relief in response to something shocking, but in response to some now unintentionally funny dialogue and situations towards the end of the film. Times change and what worked 40 or more years ago doesn't have the same power today. I appreciate Hitchcock's great surprise for the uninitiated (the famous shower scene and its completely unexpected consequence) and the shocking twist. The black-and-white cinematography is also excellent, and the realities of where the film takes place are impressive. But overall, Hitchcock's most famous film didn't leave a deep mark on me. Just because it was made by the great Master himself, I won't waste a full rating. From a historical point of view, five stars. From a purely subjective point of view and overall emotional experience, a decent four stars.

The green-brain one-man-show in the first act is perfect, but as soon as the plot shifts to Vietnam, the film starts to creak. Actually, nothing important happens during those two acts. There is no deeper thought, nothing that would leave me with an emotional experience, which I would expect from a Kubrick film. Moreover, the "Vietnam" locations are rather unconvincing and Kubrick can't do battle scenes. I know better films about the Vietnam war.

This avid diver and amateur oceanologist made himself and me happy. His film revels in the sun, in various shades of blue, and makes you want to put on a swimsuit and jump into the sea. And even though the plot itself is not very optimistic, it breathes comfort and Besson's love for the sea. And Eric Serra? He’s superb here! He applied his penchant for synthetic sounds, which he transformed into ambient surfaces that are beautiful to listen to. I own the soundtrack, it's a very relaxing album, totally different from his sound cacophony in The Fifth Element.

I saw it with a live piano accompaniment by Filip Topol, and it was also played at high speed, so Epstein's attempt to portray in slow motion the feelings of a man, captured in the details of his face, eluded me. Nevertheless, the heating scene is visually very impressive, I also liked the visual effects sequences that play with leaves, etc. But I have to confess that this classic bored me. I guess I don't have the right relationship with old movies.

Petr Čepek reads E.A. Poe and Švankmajer throws in a sequence of images that have little to do with the plot and it is up to the viewer's imagination how to deal with it. Since I’m giving it a three-star rating, apparently my imagination ends where Švankmajer's only begins. Short and weird, it didn't even appeal to me very much emotionally, although I like Jan Švankmajer's work very much.

It is like this, Cocteau's art is when nobody understands it, but everybody pretends to know what it is. The two stars are of the visual effect sequence, which was very good for its time. You can't look for content, this film has to be felt. If you can’t do it, you’ll end up like me.

A masterful study of paranoid behaviour. Basically, it is a horror story in which, thanks to many grotesque and absurd situations, there is no lack of humour. Polanski plays also the main role and very well at that. He himself doesn't like this film very much, but I think he has nothing to be ashamed of.

The true story of two young people who massacre a family of four for a few bucks. Thanks to the black-and-white camera, the story feels like a documentary. The recollection of one of the killers about how the crime happened is extremely compelling. The director avoids direct depictions of violence, making do with hints, but these themselves are frightening. Everything is crowned with the final execution scene. Well, it wasn’t very good for my soul.

Gabin loves a girl who is under the negative influence of a charismatic liar and cheat, and in an argument Gabin kills this man. After the murder, he barricades himself in his apartment and the viewer learns in flashbacks what preceded the tragedy. Watching a Jean Gabin as a young, honest worker is an unusual experience, because films from his early work are never shown here. The script is by the well-known French poet J. Prevért, the dialogues are often funny and Gabin is charming.