Othello

Extreme chauvinistic drivel that muddles its thoroughly horrifically moronic Almodovar plot for two hours and puts it in a Yugoslavian war triple-wrapper to give it some value. Even formally it hurts, because the scenes don't build on each other, there was clearly more cutting than filming, I would have loved to see the characters loaded into a vat of acid one by one, and by the end the more the film played on my emotions the more I wondered what I was going to have for breakfast tomorrow. I think what amused me the most was that whenever the film didn't feel like itself, it pulled out some of the characters’ boobs so the viewer wouldn't dwell too much on further development.

The finale alone, with the motorbike, is something I had honestly been missing for quite some time. Since around about the scene with the circular saw in Frontière(s).

If it weren't for the cast, this thing would never have seen the light of day, because this overwrought crime-corporate drama without a single instantly dramatic scene just isn't worth anyone's time. Thank goodness, though, for the acting crisis of Gere, who realized that if he's doomed to romantic soft-light zoophilia (see Hachikō) at the end of his career, he'll quite possibly have something like "Uhh... Somebody" and thus combed through both of the scripts sent to him over the last five years to find the one in which he could scream more, i.e. give a performance. By which he meant pulling back from the nursing home Susan Sarandon, with whom in one scene I was begging God for mercy so her boob wouldn't fall out, and Tim Roth, who overacts like he's a five-year-old somebody stuck in front of a camera. As a result, some guy named Jarecki was given 12 million to adapt his actually good script, which manages to weave several storylines together in an almost textbook way, with no random situations and with characters acting logically and pragmatically. He puts his own grist to the mill from his position as director in the form of portraying a sick, alienated world from the fortieth floor up, with many scenes introducing a cold static shot of structures (but not a classic building -> i.e. this scene will take place inside) and ending with extreme long shots on the character. Another unique thing is the perception of the protagonist, who even though he's a bastard to look at him, the level of jobs he takes necessarily builds viewer empathy. The reason is that there isn’t really any specific main villain here, just the environment in which the protagonist has spent his entire life.

For almost 200 million to make a yawn like that is also an art in its own right. It is practically free of Singer’s dominance, because the film is subject to the total dictatorship of the green screen, which makes the whole thing look like The Prince and the Evening Star: Robert Zemeckis Cut. The enormity of the budget makes it clear how the production underestimated the energy drink consumption of the special effects studio staff (16 of them worked on this – effects studios, not staff), whereas the likes of Neill Blomkamp might have been able to take over the galaxy with similar resources. For real. And then the sporadic quality of the special effects was interesting, as I've seen rendered videos for PC games that looked considerably better. Peter Jackson had hundreds of people create masks, animatronic puppets, and location models, which were then post-produced by other people again; Brian Singer stood in front of a hundred and fifty chubby graphic designers, saying "I want those giants to conquer that city and the humans will win in the end. Wake me up when you get it," and went to check his account balance. And that's why this world is so fucked up. (3 stars because the giants conquer the city and the people win in the end)

An almost legendary technophobic delight, unique particularly in the first-class way it portrays the various aspects of the emo subculture, which the filmmakers have studied well, while gleefully cutting branches out from beneath itself with an emphasis on the lack of any family support that explains all the action. And the whole time looking like a Bergman-esque grim reaper. You just don't see a topic this structured, challenging, and professionally handled, then cancelled by the filmmakers themselves by LITERALLY pulling the plug. The joy through tears of the ostracized children here on the database is incredibly funny in a film that tells them all along that the appearance of their own excluded individuality rises and falls on whether Mommy and Daddy go on weekend trips with them. A bravura example of how superior creative skills can sustain virtually any subject. In fact, for all the mockery, the film works surprisingly well on a dramatic level. And, as has been the custom in Poland lately, it has excellent actors. ________ Or is everything really different? (source IMDb) "I don't know how to start. I was.... crying all the time. I know those situations. This world is ill, and we are sick. I saw world as Dominik did. I had luck. I wasn't an adult, I was 17 years old. I've suffered from depression, anxiety and distress, and self-harming. That's my illness. And virtual reality was helping me a lot. There were people who could understand me. When my parents send me to hospital, I hated them for that, but now I know, they saved my live. You cannot be fully healed from this. But I won one fight when I came back from hospital. War is still there. My panics in crowds, my fear. But now I know, I won most of my fights, and I feel stronger when I win another one. Now... In my 21 years, I'm still doing high school. Still waiting to pass 2 years and then graduation/school-leaving exam. I can't say I feel happy. But I'm alive. That's the meaning. Stay alive to see and try more."

A Haunted House is not as hopeless as many critics might paint it. Its main problem is that it's more of a black comedy than a horror parody. It's not helped at all by the fact that all the jokes in the film are the first possible reactions anyone would have to the situation, which is why I felt like I was watching an improv show or something like it for the entire duration. Especially given that the funniest scenes had nothing to do with horror at all. That most people would rather see Marlon Wayans picking their cotton after this is their problem.

It could have been edited down to two hours perfectly fine and it would have been infinitely better. As an opponent of watching in multiple sessions, I had to make a fourth effort to finish watching. Fundamental problems: 1) as crucial as the Battle of Gettysburg was to the development of the war, it is of little cinematic merit because its outcome was clear from the disposition of the troops 2) with a TV budget, it is hard to reconstruct a battle with over 160,000 participants, though it can be masked. But no, we have to have panoramic shots and extreme long shots. 3) The advantage is that there are many clubs in the US that are involved in reconstructing this battle and therefore know what to do, they will play for free, and basically bring their props with them. The drawback is that you can't believe they could maybe die for the life of them, because when they climb over a wooden fence during the battle, you can totally see how careful they are not to get a splinter or strain their hips. And that's despite the fact that they're under full fire. 4) Maxwell's reliance on "everyone knowing what to do" has resulted in crowd battle scenes where, at times, some people clearly don't know what to do now, or where to turn. If this had been filmed a decade later, the extras would probably be answering their phones during the battle. 5) The awful gentlemanliness, kindness, and self-respect (I'll stick a guy with a bayonet and then grab his hand and tell him he'll make it) is so comical that I got the impression that the Civil War was actually the most beautiful thing that ever happened to mankind.

The fact that Skip Woods suffers from screenwriting elephantiasis, and that anyone with a heightened sensitivity to moronic dialogue and story in general will probably get cancer while watching the new McLane escapades is unfortunately pretty much covered up by the fact that, from a directorial standpoint, this bullshit is surprisingly innovative and masterful. In fact, the alpha and omega of AGDtDH is that 20 or so minute car chase in downtown Moscow, where all the trump cards are laid out and, in fact, justify the entire existence of this film. The authenticity of the clashes here is aided by the multiple shots of the same situations from different angles, as well as the editing, which cuts away from the collision that the next shot records from somewhere else. Imho, it was purely deliberate that one of the shots ends at an angle where we see a crew member in a helmet along the right edge, controlling the vehicle on which the camera is placed. Combined with the senseless (but impressive) destructiveness of the entire scene, this makes every impact doubly felt and almost brings back that good old feeling of crossing your fingers for the stuntman, wishing him a speedy recovery. Moreover, the armored transport starring in this scene is actually the link between the chase scenes in Terminator 3 (a slow, multi-ton, virtually indestructible crane) with those in The Bourne Supremacy (fast, punchy, unconcerned with consequences), thanks to its destructive potential and not inconsiderable speed. In fact, everything before and partly after – the camera, for example, hiding fearfully behind a car during a gunfight, the shooting of situations from inside passing cars, the escape on the roof that we see from an aerial shot and hear only the echoes of gunfire – are the viewer's preparation for this scene. ________ Yeah, but otherwise it's really terrible crap, which in places defies the very basic creative precepts ("The whole room is contaminated with radiation" "Don't worry, luckily we have a secret substance with us 24/7 that will get rid of the radiation" – no kidding!) and the characters work about the same as in the snuff videos. McLane isn't in this movie, but I think he'd like it on TV.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Yes, you too, the lady with those adorable twins! And you, the gentlemen trying to hide your beer in the newspaper! Don't be afraid and come on in! You're in for a unique circus like you've never experienced it before! You'll see vertical violence, horizontal violence, cutting, stabbing, crushing, and even a few times the smell of gunpowder will waft through the audience! Don't worry madam, there will be violence against women too... But guys, no shoving, everyone will find a seat. Don't be afraid to laugh out loud! You're in for a spectacular story about Ichi, a brutal killer who doesn't want to be a killer, but is forced to be one by past traumas and it is expected of him! You don’t know this story? I don't believe it....

An experience that from the viewer’s perspective is something that combines orgasmic feelings with getting your fingernails ripped out, when you had the misfortune to be born with twenty fingers on each hand. The subjective running time of 300 years admittedly hypnotizes you with its visual fetish and almost hollowed-out narrative, where Gosling, for example, could easily have been replaced with a plush imitation of himself and it wouldn't have mattered. I don't begrudge Refn making films for himself; what bothers me is that he's considered a fantastic director, with his obsessive fascination with the image proving that, as a director, he's actually incompetent and lacking any kind of insight. And I don't buy his dedication to Jodorowsky as an alibi. Only God Forgives is essentially a photo-novel due to its static nature, and perhaps the likes of Greenaway would eat it for breakfast. In all its negatives, the film is reminiscent of the director's American debut, Fear X, or the anti-intellectual I Come with the Rain. But I can't help it, it's delicious eye-candy and offended me only a little bit. Now it's up to Refn what he comes up with next; I'd recommend a genre film, otherwise he doesn't have much of a place in a world where Gaspar Noé, Harmony Korine, or Danny Boyle are making visual art spectacles. I look forward to the reviews.