POMO

1917 is a gut-punching cinematographic exhibition with stunning sets, a pulsating rhythm and cinema-loving details (I was most pleased by Mark Strong’s entrance into the scene). All of that is true of the first half. In the second half, less comprehensible things start to happen and the whole thing becomes a forced march towards the story’s conclusion. Nothing else in the plot is surprising, which only confirms the excessive simplicity and transparency of the subject, relying on clichéd symbols (sacrifice for a higher purpose, milk – unboiled?? – given to a child). It is far from the philosophical statement that it pretends to be. But the visuals are truly outstanding, and it was pleasing to see Thomas Newman step out of his comfort zone. It would be wrong to see 1917 anywhere other than at the cinema. Just like Gravity the other day.

Perlman gives Asher flair, Famke Janssen gives it fragility and Brooklyn never loses its appeal, but the story is a cliché. But it’s a cliché that works thanks to the three aforementioned aspects. The lower budget is palpable, but given the film’s low-key nature and focus solely on the characters, that doesn’t matter.

This film’s greatest asset is the excellent casting of young, talented actresses who don’t yet cost as much as Scarlett Johansson, but can achieve at least the same girl-power when they work as a team. And, representing the older generation, Laura Dern and Meryl complement them nicely. It is literally a pleasure to watch all of these young ladies enjoying their characters and the beloved “girlish” material. They are just glad that they can be a part of it. I suppose Greta Gerwig also deserves credit for that, as she loves actors and has a talent for this kind of emotional storytelling. I actually dreaded it, and thus I was touched by it all the more. This is pure cinematic romanticism with an open heart. The chronological jumps in the story were confusing in places, but that didn’t have any effect on the emotional experience. Supporting actor Tracy Letts has had a great year, with his portrayal of a book publisher here to go along with the glowing role of Henry Ford II in Ford v Ferrari.

Uncut Gems is a high-octane, energetic film about the pursuit of money, also with the aim of getting out of a bad situation (debt). It is original primarily thanks to its electronic soundtrack, which sounds like something by Vangelis on ecstasy trying to imitate Atticus Ross. In the longer opening scene, where the music is just as loud as the dialogue, it is literally distracting. It comes across as a flawed soundtrack, to the point that you have the compulsion to grab the remote control and adjust something. It's an unusual way to dynamically engage and draw the viewer in. Used more sensitively later in the film, the soundtrack becomes a significant element of this distinctive cinematic experience. And the same can be said of the setting and characters. The directing duo’s protagonists are no angels and they all have character flaws (cheating on their wives and defrauding their business partners, ruthless greed). Despite that, we keep our fingers crossed for this one, because in the world of loan-sharking and black marketeering in which he operates, it couldn’t be any other way. The unfiltered depiction of this world, and in the Jewish community at that, makes this film unique and its makers courageous.

This is how 2020 is supposed to start! The Gentlemen is Ritchie’s best film since Snatch, i.e. his best in 20 years. The screenplay is great in terms of both the dialogue and the plot with its polished characters, as well as the playful outlining of the narrative as if the script had been written by one of them. And, of course, the use of charismatic actors to make up the whole marvellous gang. I commend how Ritchie’s grown-up entertainment is verbally crude and a lot of people shout in it, but it doesn’t contain any graphic violence and emphasizes the difference between the immorality of the bad guys and the high character of the “good gangsters”. The Gentlemen is a maturely clever gangster film with elegance. McConaughey is the biggest boss in it, but Hunnam is the coolest guy. And, of course, Farrell is the funniest.

For viewers who enjoy these latitudes, The County offers a pleasing look into their rural corners and at the cows, the milk, the hard, honest life of the farmers and the operation of a cooperative that seems to mean well by the village and its independence from the big chains, but at the same time abuses its power over the farmers. Until a local Rebel Woman confronts it. Interesting. But when you get that feeling of “okay, now something's going to happen” from one of the later scenes, nothing happens and the closing credits roll. “That’s it?”

I spent a weekend with the whole trilogy and I’m raising my rating of the third instalment to four stars. At the cinema, I was bothered by the cheap digital visuals of the action scenes, which weren’t so noticeable on a large TV screen. The movie lacks Bay’s trademarks and compositional uniqueness, but when we take the third film’s screenplay into consideration, we see that the trademarks and visuals of the preceding films were really the only things that made them interesting. That’s true especially of the second one. Bad Boys for Life has the best screenplay by far, as it tastefully incorporates historical motifs, works cleverly and sympathetically with the characters, including the supporting characters such as the police team leaders and the distinctive bad guys, and even aptly makes fun of itself (“This is some serious telenovela shit!”). And the new, fresh team spirit evokes the beginning of a new Bad Boys era, which I believe will not eventually slip into the realm of retardation like the Fast & Furious franchise. At least as long as Arbi and Fallah are in charge.

Paradise Beach had the potential to be decent gangster fun in an attractive Thai location with wide-angle turquoise waters. I was looking forward to watching the second half on a big projection screen instead of on my iPad at the gym. And then it turned out to be such stupidly dull bullshit with characters that are even less likable than they appeared to be at the beginning. There is nothing good about the screenplay or the directing.

Jungle has some narrative limitations both in terms of giving the characters depth and in depicting the brutality of survival. Because of that we don’t feel – with the exception of a few scenes – extremely vulnerable together with the characters and as viewers we are rather in “adventure mode”, which is relatively entertaining and brings forth some interesting things (the wild river, the Indian woman, fire ants), especially in the second half. For me, however, the most powerful scene remains the dividing of the party into two groups, from which one feels... Which isn’t the best calling card for a wilderness survival drama.

The best thing about Underwater is Kristen Stewart, and that’s not an exaggeration. The unusual image suited her speech very well. And the pop song in the closing credits is confirmation that the main intention was to draw in her fans. Atmospherically, the film works quite well and the way it dynamically draws the viewer into the plot is outstanding, but it gradually runs out of gas and shuffling around on the place is supposed to unleash the mediocre monsters. The motif of the environmental threat of drilling into the ocean floor isn’t exactly innovative and there is nothing here to make it anything special, so it just remains a worn-out cliché.