POMO

Silent Hill is a visually captivating horror flick, particularly in the first half. It draws all of its power from its impressive sets, sound and solid acting. However, the more it reveals what’s hidden, the more predictable it becomes in terms of content, which is constructed only for effect. That said, it is the clear winner among game adaptations such as Resident Evil and Doom. It is, after all, a solid top-tier production.

This is pure filmmaking in the mold of Kubrick, with a unique combination of theatrical and cinematic means of expression. Though I’m not particularly a fan of Haneke’s cold (slow and quiet) composition of (almost exclusively interior) scenes, the director’s perfectionism is obvious in every minute of the film and is often breathtaking. And at one point it is brutally brought to a halt (though this shock is winkingly foreshadowed in the scene involving the telling of a “joke” at the table). Hidden is a different kind of film that you will definitely not forget, regardless of how much it does or does not appeal to you. Of the roles in which I have seen him so far, this is Daniel Auteuil’s most substantial and well-played.

By today’s standards, The Hills Have Eyes is an almost delicate slaughter flick whose climax lasts practically the the final two-thirds of the film. It’s juicy, morbid and visually attractive, with the right amount of action and black humor. And the screenplay is a significant upgrade of Wes Craven’s simpler 1977 original.

Even if the drama United 93 had not been based on real events, it would still transcend certain boundaries of the medium called “film” and become one of the most important media works of the beginning of the new century.

A comic-book romance at a cost of 260 million dollars? In relation to today’s Spider-Man and X-Men movies, shifting focus from dynamics and action to a love motif is a very bold move in a 150-minute film. Superman Returns doesn’t conceal the fact that it’s a different kind of comic-book movie, but viewers longing for an exciting adventure won’t care about that. Brandon Routh is cool, but the cloying Kevin Spacey comes across as a caricature in his fascist jackboots and thus doesn’t inspire respect. I wasn’t bored by this film, but I would have liked more excitement.

Beyond Borders is a solidly filmed drama that can be faulted for only one thing, but it’s an important thing – the lack of chemistry between the central pair of actors. However, the fim’s story is too powerful and the various global locations are two nicely filmed for the film to be anything less than above average, and viewers will not regret spending two hours with it. I’m putting it in the same basket as Hackford’s thriller Proof of Life and I will remember it for its ending and the scary digital black boy, which must have taken a bigger bite out of the budget than Clive Owen’s fee.

In terms of directing and acting, The Sentinel is a GREAT genre flick, but it unfortunately suffers from a moment of screenwriting weakness in the climax. And that’s a shame.

Because it’s afraid of its own shadow, this little tearjearker is unable to rise above the level of a soap-operatic interpretation of the whole event. If it were fictional and without top-tier actors, it would be absolutely unappealing and never would have been screened in cinemas. There are a few sort-of powerful scenes and some emotion, but all of that was present in Ladder 49, which, though equally sentimental, is more sophisticated in terms of its screenplay. I'm not saying that the screenwriters should have adapted reality to the needs of the film, but they could have at least added one or two secondary storylines. It takes a lot of patience to spend two hours watching a couple of guys praying while they’re trapped in the rubble and their wives waiting for them at home.

The psychology that is such an integral part of Mann’s masterpiece Heat is unfortunately lacking in Miami Vice, though for understandable reasons. This is a summer movie, after all. With the exception of a few dialogue gems, the screenplay is just a run-of-the-mill crime thriller and the film’s dynamics don’t even come close to living up to the promise of the high-octane trailer. However, maestro Michael Mann managed to turn such shit into a flick with a few memorable highlights. For me, those are Colin Farrell and Li Gong’s first ride together in a speedboat with Moby providing the musical accompaniment, Mann’s traditional, inimitable tactical and realistic approach to action and the poetics of the ending, from which no one emerges as a clear winner.

Needless bombast and excessive length versus great sea monsters and a slimy (literally and to the letter!) villain played by Bill Nighy and his makeup/digital magicians. Johnny Depp is equally good, but he has nothing left to surprise us with. Throw out part of that storyline and cut the runtime down to 120 minutes, and this would be worthy of four stars.