POMO

Over the course of its two-hour runtime, Saw X first attempts to be a drama about dying of cancer and later wants to knock us out with sophisticated twists, but it’s all for nothing due to the pervasive imbecility of the screenwriting and directing. By imbecility, I mean the stylization of the sadistic serial killer into the role of martyr and judge, with whom we are supposed to sympathies when he seeks a life-saving treatment, and whom we are then supposed to root for in the slaughter of those who screwed him over. The punishment of the main antagonist is the least “satisfying”, even though we spend the whole film waiting for it. By imbecility, I also mean the comically overwrought scene with intestines and the fact that it doesn’t occur to the characters to turn their heads to the side so that the blood doesn’t run onto their faces as they are being “waterboarded” with the red stuff. And I’m not even going to get into the abilities of one of the victims in performing surgery on himself. I like HORROR more than most viewers, so it bothers me all the more when it’s handled like a genre for idiots.

Nowhere does a fine job of making its protagonist’s life difficult. Though it superficially goes overboard in some respects (e.g. the birth scene), it otherwise stays within the realm of believability. It just could have spent a bit less time inside the container. Other than that, it’s a well-crafted aquatic survival flick that – though not as respectable as All Is Lost – is sufficiently entertaining, as it makes good use of the possibilities that its small setting has to offer, as well as the props that the main character has at hand. The cold-blooded brutality in the first part of the film is surprising, but the B-movie impression of the of the depicted totalitarian world brings some relief from it.

Reptile is an atmospherically creepy crime thriller with appropriately gloomy music that is original in its details, creatively interesting editing and a perfect cast, including all of the supporting characters. Benicio Del Toro turns in a majestic acting performance. With its excellent balance between revealing the suspicious characters and the constant uncertainty that comes with the feeling that everything will be different, Reptile is probably this year’s best American contribution to the genre. For a feature-length debut by a music-video director, this is a unique feat that puts Grant Singer on the path to joining the ranks of the elites (Villeneuve, Fincher). Four and a half stars.

I watched this because it’s set in Iceland. The metaphorical depiction of the feelings of fear of losing the one you love the most during heart surgery, through the dialogue of a father and his daughter in a natural and atmospherically otherworldly place, absolutely does not work as a drama. Not in any way. An even greater disappointment is the fact that, after several lovely drone shots in the first half, the film monotonously remains in the same location in Iceland throughout its runtime and thus fails to exploit the potential of the country’s natural uniqueness. The use of properly chosen locations with increasingly dramatic visual impact could have better emphasized the film’s intimate story line.

A silly B-movie clone of War of the Worlds and The Matrix with a sizable budget. The initial contacts with the alien are fine, but the protagonist’s inappropriate expressive reactions and the conspicuous nonsense gradually start to pile up. And as a result, instead of the screenplay pulling the film out of its pervasive mediocrity with some sort of idea, No One Will Save You comes to a ridiculous point that seems to have been formulated by someone who has seen two films in their life (those mentioned above). Not even the aliens are original here.

The Creator is a surprisingly average sci-fi flick that neither draws in nor surprises the viewer, let alone impress anyone with its production design. The film largely takes place in huts in Asian fields and, what’s more, in the dark. And when it comes to the futuristic city…well, that looks exactly like Blade Runner. And the heavy machines plowing through the jungle look exactly like something out of a Cameron movie. Another problem is John David Washington and his limited abilities as an actor – it’s impossible to believe him either as a conscientious refugee on the side of the rebels or as a protector of children’s innocence. And the repetitive grieving for his former wife, which doesn’t even elicit any emotion, becomes annoying over time. The only acting element that brings a bit of life to this film is young Madeleine Yuna Voyles. Two and a half stars.

To know one’s own heart is sometimes a complicated matter. And it’s especially painful in this film :-). Another romance that is endearingly original thanks not only to the idea of measuring the intensity of love between people (so that they know where they stand), but also to the outcome of the plot, which avoids the simplistic cliché that would otherwise lend itself to such a film. Fingernails is not such an abstract and artful romance as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, nor is it as harmonious and poetic as Lost in Translation, and it’s sometimes a little drawn-out (it would have benefitted from being ten minutes shorter), but in the end it is just as mature and clever as those films, and with an equally big heart. Jessie Buckley is again fantastic; I’m giving the fourth star just for her. P.S.: Many viewers will be repelled by the pulling out of fingernails; others (like me) will be entertained. [San Sebastian International Film Festival]

Memory is a small, intimate, deeply felt drama about two wounded souls who find love in each other. The character studies presented by the wonderful Jessica Chastain are always entertaining, but doubly so here. Her performance gave me goosebumps. Peter Sarsgaard is also excellent; you will feel the chemistry between them in their every touch. But the film didn’t have to end so quickly; the characters of the parents and the parallel with childhood could have been further developed, making Memory an even more intense and complex psycho-drama. [San Sebastian International Film Festival]

The Royal Hotel spends the whole time heading toward the realm of unpleasant violence and a thriller-survival/horror flick with revenge involving castration, but it stays grounded and avoids those genres in the end. At the same time, however, it’s not some kind of sophisticated psychological game that could be described as against-the-grain art that cleverly plays with viewers’ expectations. [International Film Festival]

The main character of The Successor has no clue what he is about to inherit. And you will “enjoy” it more with him if don’t know either. The camera practically never leaves him, procedurally following him over the course of several days, when he flies out to settle his deceased father’s affairs, which will change his life. An apt clash of a successful career in the fashion industry with unexpected negative events that could happen to any of us, albeit with a vanishingly small probability. This film would be interesting in the formalistic rendering of, for example, Michael Haneke, but in this conventional genre form, it reliably knocks us out thanks to its great subject matter and surprising twists. A very likely candidate for a Hollywood remake. [San Sebastian IFF]