Malarkey

A really crazy comedy, with typically Italian shouting and catchphrases so brutal that I had to try really hard to process them. There is no point in listing them here, as Enšpígl already did that for me. I’ll just add that the next day during lunch at work I was thinking whether I should have the food typical for the poor – Wiener schnitzel, or oriental roast beef with dumplings. The schnitzel won.

Unfortunately one of the weaker French dramas (I wouldn’t really call it a comedy), where the biggest issue is the actors. Not that they are really bad… Just the film with them was utterly dull.

The Little Crusader delivered what I expected. It satisfied me visually. And it brought a bit of the Middle Ages into Czech film, which never hurts. It’s just a pity that it was made in such an artsy way as in this movie. It is obvious that the ordinary consumerist audience will not be able to appreciate the Little Crusader’s approach. Slow pace of the narration, static shots, zero storyline… we get all of that in the Little Crusader. Despite that I still took a certain liking to it; perhaps it was the connection of the atmosphere and the music, which made me keep watching it and wait where next the creators will take me in Medieval Europe.

I like Melissa McCarthy’s humor but in this movie it was somehow off. I would immediately strike off her hairstyle à la boss from the film. But there is a place for it and there is a place for this story, so I dare say her hairstyle in this film is just as stupid as the film itself.

It doesn’t happen as often as it used to. The list of old French movies I haven’t seen yet is shortening and it doesn’t happen as often with the new French flicks. I should have known this would be worth it just from the cast of this one, which features the best of the actresses – Catherine Deneuve and Diane Kruger. Mother and daughter started a rollercoaster of events which is so hard to untangle from. It wasn’t easy in this case and after watching it I can say that when it comes to a storyline, no French film captivated me like this in a long time. The French did it again and I am glad I could have been a part of it. It’s one of the movies where Cinemax really surprised me and a movie that everybody should know about.

Robin Williams did not have a simple personality at all. From various posthumous documentaries that I’ve seen over the time I think he was one of the most difficult celebrities that this author tried to introduce me to. It’s a pity they only begin to talk about movies after almost an hour. While the first hour is important enough, to understand a stand-up comedy you have to live in the time when it takes place, so I spent the first hour just watching and waiting, when the director finally shows us the movie side of Robin. Once that began, I finally got to listen to the stories of Billy Crystal or Steve Martin, who used to work with Robin and loved remembering him. I remembered the times I’ve seen films like Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, What Dream May Come (especially this one), Bicentennial Man or Insomnia for the first time and Robin captivated me every time with his funny, nice, honest and often naturally serious approach that I’ve never forgotten. And probably never will. I felt really sad after watching this, I really liked Robin. Luckily, his movies will live forever.

It was an upright average French comedy, which is sadly something that the French also film. They try to be funny, the technical aspect of the film is not bad, but the result is not funny at all. I haven’t seen the first instalment yet, but this was just a sad attempt to make a French comedy, it’s not even nice.

Too western. Don’t read this, if you don’t want to spoil the movie. A film pretending to be a decent drama, but in reality it is so fake it’s not even nice to look at. While in the western world they book a beautiful resort for the last week of their lives with entrance like from the Hobbiton and Eva Green had to sell an apartment to pay for it, in our country and in the east they would just sit on a bench with a view of a valley, which by the way may be even nicer than any scenery in this film… And just wait until their time comes. I just wonder how Alicia Vikander, Eva Green and Charles Dance ended up in this movie. I like them and I would love to see them in better movies.

In the recent years it is fashionable to shoot action or fantasy movies with female leads, so we have a chance to see or discover a whole range of new and beautiful actresses with great skill. In this case Gal Galdot did not disappoint at all. Her beauty is probably visible all the way from the Moon and even Martians would know who to pay attention to on planet Earth, if they decided to conquer it. However, I've had some issues with the screenplay as that is much worse. The Americans appear to think that we Europeans are completely dumb, so they’ve mixed the visualization of the First and Second World War and created something that may be nice to look at, but otherwise it is completely stupid. Luckily, there is Chris Pine alongside Gal Galdot and he was probably even better than her. His role was once again amazing, which I cannot say about the antagonist, portrayed by David Thewlis. His acting was good, but as an enemy he qualifies at a similar level as a nice uncle with moustache and candy. The film radiates personality and also quality, but I think it is still not enough to place DC on the same level with movies like Thor or The Guardians of the Galaxy that brought a new level of quality and fun into movies based on comic books.

Generally, The Tube Tales are pretty crazy. On the other hand, they reflect the time and locations it was shot at and they certainly have their place on the movie scene. For me it was barely average. You can shoot a film in a similar style, for example Trainspotting, but for that you need to be an ace like Danny Boyle. None of the directors here reached his qualities.