J*A*S*M

I figured out the thing had always bothered me subconsciously about The Shining, that basically it is not about that “shining” in the title. In Kubrick’s film, it feels like a mythological element quite inorganically incorporated into an ordinary and simple horror film about people living in a haunted hotel. I bet that nine out of ten people asked to briefly retell The Shining wouldn’t mention that Danny is “special”. Compared to that, Doctor Sleep has a rich mythology set in a universe I would like to return to discover other stories that may be taking place. Warner really failed at selling the film, the trailers left me quite underwhelmed, but in the end, I think this’s been one of the most pleasant horror surprises of this year. And, for the second year in a row, Mike Flanagan has significantly improved the year’s horror balance, clever boy. I like how Doctor Sleep connects to The Shining in a meaningful way, while still being a different film which, with only minor changes, would perfectly work on its own. For a horror film, it’s not afraid to have copious footage, it’s not afraid to use snares or to avoid relying on jump-scares, and nor is it afraid to be nasty and uncompromising in many ways.

An excellent film argument for Barnevernet.

Melodramas aren’t my thing, but when they are so beautiful and perfectly honed, they are hard to resist. The main theme is patriarchal oppression played out in the story of two sisters who were separated from each other, and gratuitously so, only due of the malice of the men around them. It’s quite refreshing to see a story that’s not centred around the love of a couple, but around sisterly love. #KVIFF2019

Basically, without objections. Very viewer-friendly, very entertaining, but also very bold and relevant. Exactly the type of film that makes me like films, while also proof that entertainment and art aren’t opposites. It’s so perfect that it couldn’t be ignored even by the jury at Cannes, who mostly overrate other types of films. #KVIFF2019

I believe that MOST! has to be at least a little endearing to anyone with a bit of humanity and goodness. I love it, regardless of all its mistakes (it grinds a lot here and there, and then it doesn’t). It has a full palette of emotions and moods. But what’s most telling about the series after all is where the harshest criticisms come from. 1) From the model SPD voter, i.e. the racist and homo/trasnphobic human garbage (something like Čvančarová’s character). 2) From the not-so-smart SWJs that take themselves too seriously, who, in all their seriousness and combativeness, aren’t able to get a joke. 3) From the adherents of that formal morality so popular in Czechia, who pleadingly demand that vulgarisms should not be used, but lack the capacity to know what is really moral and why, and fail to understand that words aren’t moral or immoral on in themselves; it’s actions or thought that are. MOST! has everything that annoys these groups, and in a generous measure. I haven’t watched the previous series by Prušinovský & Kolečko, but I will sure do. Because this… I don’t want to throw superlatives too generously in my initial enthusiasm, so I won’t claim it’s the best that’s happened in this country since the revolution. But it’s a passion. Don't stop believin'!

How did they manage to write and shoot it in a way that is so sad, but fundamentally optimistic, and so incredibly funny?! It went right to the heart. Thanks MOST! A lot. Bugger.

Well, fuck me! This is something! Kajganich and Guadanino take the original, and relatively simple horror tale and stretch it to the left, right, up and down, and also turn it upside down, and the story about a poor student who realises that her ballet academy is run by a witch clan suddenly becomes a political and philosophical reflection on human histories that are portrayed as a carousel of power struggles driven by false gods and manipulative ideologies that “enchant” their followers. The main motif then is the abuse of power, which blends into several of the twists, and the setting in divided Berlin is not all that arbitrary. The guilt of the corrupted patriarchy versus female power, that’s another layer that’s explored thoroughly. It goes so far, that in the end, the only important male character who tries to be “good” bears the blame on several fronts. And we all know who plays that role… /// After the first viewing, without a Czech translation, I’m not entirely sure if all these motifs fit together completely, but I love digging into them. Formally, the new Suspiria is even better than I’d expected. The dance and dream sequences are absolutely brilliant, intensive, and the atmosphere is perfect. In the end, the ideas prevail over the horror (with all that thinking about what the hell is going on, there’s no time to be scared), which is a bit of a shame, but I’ll take it. For the moment 9/10, but I really want to watch it again – it might go up, or down.

Probably the most comic book-like film I’ve ever seen. The art and formal style alone deserve praise, but it also works in terms of script, and much better than most the live-action counterparts. What drags a little perhaps is the emotional aspect, but that may well be my problem – animated films hardly ever arouse any emotions in me. What is worth noting, though, is how Spider-verse effortlessly portrays a distinctive black hero without hardly anyone feeling weird about it. Miles Morales is a very likeable and very well written character; unlike that overrated Black Panther, whose enthusiastic reviews were collected on political orders, because they can’t be explained otherwise.

Roma isn’t love at first sight, it’s not a film that would hook me in the first minutes keep me hooked all the way till the end. But, after two or three days, it did grow on me. Cuarón this time delivers a detached view into a couple of months of the life of a broken Mexican family, mainly that of their maid, Cleo. The story takes place in a sort of by the way manner, with the camera following relative “non-stories”. But each of those fragments compose a surprisingly rich mosaic of human destinies and by the end the viewer must acknowledge that a lot has actually happened. The similarities with Czech films that in the microcosm of one family tell wider stories with a universal reach are not entirely out of place. Watching it in the cinema is certainly worth it, the camera work and, in particular, the sound are top-notch. One of the films of the year. #svetozorcinema

Beautifully nasty, dark, stifling, chilling. Something few people will appreciate as much as the knowledgeable horror fans. In Hereditary you need to be able to enjoy the slow, atmospheric, unsettling and emotionally tense first half (or rather, three quarters) as much as the literal (beautiful, if you can call it that) horror atrocities into which the film dives in the end. Half the people will say that it’s slow and lacking cheap attractions (“where are the jump scares?”), while the other half will lament that it didn’t stick to only hints all the way. I love how this film portrays the broken relationships in that family. I love how the director, with only one sound, is able to generate a deeper awful feeling than a dozen jump scares and gore scenes of other films. I love how the actors (excellent, all of them), with just one look and expression, managed to make me shiver and tremble. I haven’t felt so permanently nervous in film in a long time. And last but not least, the advertising campaign also deserves praise for being able to be attractive without giving almost anything away. I strongly advise potential viewers against reading any random comment about this film, because sooner or later, some idiot will say something that you really don’t want to know; the moment when I knew this the film hooked up, and I realised wasn’t watching your average overrated horror indie flick that’s forgotten after a year. Thanks to Planet Dark for the early preview at Kino pilotů, free of any random teenagers going to the multiplex for the new James Wan movie.