Isherwood

After Gamer, I started to like Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and the idea of them directing a sequel to Ghost Rider was actually quite appealing to me. I don't know where exactly the fault lies, whether it's the smaller budget compared to the first film, or in the script, in which we have no idea what's going on. Either way, I know that the directing duo is sending it all down the drain with their lack of creative art. This is no longer the kind of visual anarchy one might enjoy. Like in Crank, this is the crystal clear essence of a filmmaker's mess, where the camera and editing are supposed to mask poor exteriors and mediocre special effects, all while you don't actually keep track of what's supposed to be happening in any given visual segment because it just doesn't work. If you're completely let loose and think you're going to throw one cool frame after another with speed, you're sorely mistaken. It sucks that I was kind of looking forward to it.

Soderbergh goes against expectations once more - although that was actually expected - and offers a simple fable in which the plot comes last. The schematics of the director's rendition of the secret agents and even more secret leaders evoke in me a mockery of the rules of the genre rather than its adoration. I'm no film scholar, so I don't have to do any digging into it. I was entertained by the clear action scenes, dominated by Gina Carano's physical abilities, and Soderbergh's unorthodox approach. So when Holmes' bizarre music plays during the hostage liberation scene, which evokes cheap spy themes, I sank into my seat and rode on a fully positive wave until the end. PS: I'd damn well change places with Fassbender in the leg choke scene.

I went to see the new Carnahan film in anticipation of an action survival thriller where wolves will spectacularly feast on poor miners, with Liam Neeson as their unwilling waiter. To my genuine surprise, I got a functional horror film in all respects, in which the long-drawn-out howls send chills down my spine and the wolves are fed without any napkins or decent dining rules. In the second half, when one side starts losing strength and appetite grows on the other, it's no wonder that every step begins to physically ache. This is thanks not only to Carnahan's artistry but also to Streitenfeld's music, which definitely drives the concentrated depression out of it. And the end! The most interesting and most unpleasant surprise was about a year and a half ago.

James Watkins completely flipped the script when he went from aggressive teenagers to a classic art nouveau ghost story. Yet he definitely reached the heights of his reputation set by his first film because it washes over the viewer with such vigor that I wondered where the hell the man had been all these years when everyone was crying about the genre's decline. It's quite a cool thing to scare audiences so predictably yet with the kind of cheekiness and implacability in which little children die, and the mystery unravels rapidly. Meanwhile, the film maintains deliberate British detachment and slight distance. It's only kept from perfection by the miscast Radcliffe who - nothing against his performance - just hasn't grown up enough for such a role yet. Otherwise, I give a deep bow to the director. 4 ½.

Britain's biggest cash (bank is not quite the right term) robbery as dictated by the contemporary TV top crime genre channel, BBC One. It's not an original hit, but the surgical precision in the development of the plan, the functional characters, including the changes in their thinking, and the movement between the two time planes (preparation/execution) works great. This is, above all, because it manages to sell even the banalities to the audience as essential tense moments. The edit of the last shots of the fourth episode triggered maximum salivation in anticipation of the second season. 4 ½.

An unpleasant disappointment that Clint had in store for me. I refuse to accuse him of any old-age senility, but even his firm personal style is mired in a dramaturgically-muddled film that only knows what it wants when it touches on a more historically significant event with which Hoover was associated. The rest of the film - though I wasn't expecting some cheap tabloid controversy where he wants to look under the FBI director's skin - is languid and dull, like the old-man mask that underlines the deadness of the actors' performances, and is the perfect repellent to the audience's empathy. God knows why it's as much of a fail for me as Scorsese's Shutter Island was.

It’s stylish, no question about it. Řehořek is not the genius who will save Czech cinema, but his insistence on going against the traditional filmmaking current that runs through the heart of Europe needs to be applauded. The only major problem I have is the protagonist, whose appearance and demeanor perfectly meet the definition of an arrogant asshole. The fact that he has a real person as his prototype also doesn't make me root for him whatsoever.

I don't understand how the U.S. military, which narcissistically guards its media image, loaned all the equipment and technology to make a work that portrays them as a bunch of absolute morons, where one would look in vain for a rational thinking being. When the protagonists realize this at the end and Johnny Cash plays some tunes for them, the perfect score I gave the film is definitively vindicated. HBO rules!

Good intentions and passion for the cause are sometimes not enough because this is a bad film through and through. It’s so ridiculous in its 'I am the true picture of contemporary education, adore me!' position that I am willing to give it one star. If you want to see how an idealistic teacher deals with a classroom full of assholes, watch the fourth season of The Wire instead.

I consider myself a simple viewer who enjoys the small things, but how am I supposed to enjoy a film that sells something as morally decrepit as a noncommittal comedy? The moment the protagonists start to question their conscience and look for a way out, there is a catharsis in the restaurant. That solves the situation in a truly shrewd way, but most importantly, it DEFENDS all their behavior because it's actually the best thing for everyone, instead of them feeling any shame. The same goes for Vejdělek and the smiling crowds of satisfied viewers seem to be swept away after leaving the movie theater.