gudaulin

An utterly average sci-fi film, notable mainly for the interesting casting of Mick Jagger in a secondary but prominent and important role as the leader of a group of mercenaries securing the delivery of "freejacks" to dying wealthy individuals who want to use young, healthy bodies to extend their lives. Jagger performed his part well, and along with Anthony Hopkins, who played a powerful businessman seeking immortality, they overshadowed the somewhat bland Emilio Estevez in the lead role. The script clearly draws from the legacy of more famous predecessors in the genre and lacks high ambitions. The production design is subpar - there was evidently no budget for a grand spectacle. So, what's left are a few chases, shootouts, and some of Jagger's lines. Overall impression: 50%.

I may not be a big music fan or expert, so I can't fully appreciate the often praised musical aspect of the film, but the strong anti-war message resonates deeply within me. The final scene, with the endless line of soldiers marching towards the plane and the camera focusing on the main character's face, is one of the most powerful scenes ever in a film with an anti-war theme. It's a snapshot of a time when the word "freedom" was echoed in every corner and the term "flower children" hadn't yet lost its meaning. Overall impression: 80%.

A very good film, which was made at a somewhat inappropriate time, by authors from whom something different was simply expected. Situating a Czech film from the first half of the 90s in a Soviet environment was quite daring and did not pay off commercially. The atmosphere is somewhat Chekhovian and the humor is based on the absurdity of the environment and circumstances. The poverty of the Soviet village at the beginning of the 40s is evident, and the desperate political conditions are best highlighted in the scene of the arrest by the Soviet secret military counterintelligence, when the person in question thinks he has fallen into the hands of the Germans and shouts that he has allowed the murder of a large number of Soviet citizens, including communists. Compared to the book, the film is more reconciling in its nature, as the book is simply more hopeless and darker. Compared to current Czech film productions, this film is a real treasure. The cast is a pleasant refreshment, considering the participation of Russian actors. Overall impression: 85%.

It's an artificial product, far removed from what I know from real life, and although I can't exclude that similar types of people exist somewhere, I definitely haven't encountered them. I don't deny the film's entertainment value, although the characters are so "cool" and deliver such unbelievable lines that they are unsympathetic to me. As a generational statement, it doesn't hold up for me at all, but otherwise, Loners is somewhere between two and three stars for me. Overall impression: 45%.

For me, it's David Fincher's weakest film, not so much because of the direction, where the director maintains his usual standard, but because of the overly contrived screenplay, where it's better not to think too much about many parts, otherwise the viewer will realize that it simply can't work. However, in terms of acting, it's an interestingly cast film and, above all, excellently acted - Michael Douglas and Sean Penn belong to the top tier of actors, and I have a soft spot for Deborah Kara Unger, who manages to imbue her female characters with an erotic charge. But the screenplay with plenty of seemingly effective twists really bothered me. Overall impression: 45%.

This film deserves a comparison with the much more famous later film Children of Men. That excellent sci-fi had a weaker literary source, but Cuarón managed to extract the most from the material and created a colorful fresco from the post-apocalyptic world, which had a tremendous atmosphere, style, and tension. The Handmaid's Tale is an adaptation of a novel by the excellent Canadian author Margaret Atwood, and this novel belongs among her best works. If Volker Schlöndorff had succeeded in conveying the idea and placing it in a thrilling adventure story, it would have been a great hit. However, he approached it too academically, and spiced it up too little, so a dull spectacle was created. The budget may be responsible for many things, but the director's fault is undeniable. Natasha Richardson is not bad, but I could imagine a more charismatic actress in the lead role. On the other hand, Faye Dunaway and Elizabeth McGovern are very good in the supporting roles. Schlöndorff made a European film that could not do that well on the American market and so it kind of fizzled out. Overall impression: 70%.

In terms of script or direction quality, it's essentially an average TV movie. However, its heroine is a famous supermodel, a woman living a scandalous lifestyle, and a so-called celebrity. So, viewers can marvel at the glitz of the modeling world, beautiful girls, and last but not least, Angelina Jolie in the lead role. Not that she's such a great actress, but she does fit the role of a glamorous, slightly twisted beauty. Overall impression: 60%.

Originally, I gave it only four stars, but upon further consideration, I decided to add one more because alongside a very good screenplay, which navigates the mysterious genre in an original way, the film also boasts top-notch casting and amazing performances. Al Pacino excels in the role of the ruler of hell. Keanu Reeves reaches his acting peak, Charlize Theron shows that she's not just a pretty model but also an excellent actress, and Connie Nielsen is beautifully corrupt in her supporting role. Overall impression: 90%.

Another film where I'm uncertain about the rating - it comes out to three and a half stars for me. If I lean towards four, it's for the originality of the screenplay, because such a bizarre story isn't often seen on the big screen and definitely represents a genre enrichment. The casting and performances are also very decent. Besides Robert Carlyle, who was supposed to be the main draw, the experienced Jeffrey Jones is also interesting. However, the impression is somewhat diminished by the genre ambiguity, as the film straddles the border between horror, black comedy, and western, unsure of which it wants to be more of. It can't fully satisfy fans of any of these genres - each might only get a piece of what they expected from the film. Overall impression: 70%.

A sitcom tailor-made for commercial television format. In my opinion, it contains humor that's too cheap, and given the exceptionally large number of episodes, it's diluted, with its main elements continually recycled. It's based on cynically mocking and humiliating other family members. The only valuable aspect for me is the musical theme by Sinatra that accompanies the series. Overall impression: 35%.