Lima

Forget about seeing just another Tarantino flick. There’s none of his typical catchphrases, nor a plethora of absurd situations. One of the few echoes of his first two films is the absurd scene in the hospital when "Buck comes to fuck" and then his favourite ordering of the plot into chapters. At times I was emotionally moved, at times I was thinking, "Is he being serious? We're supposed to buy this?" But I didn't move a muscle the whole time I was sitting in my chair. There are scenes with a very magical atmosphere, especially the final duel with in the snowy Japanese garden, with Lucy Liu in a white dress and slippers, falling snowflakes and contrasting with Uma Thurman's yellow suit, all beautifully lit and the interesting sound of a water pump. Or for example the moment when during one of the fights the background suddenly changes to a blue screen with black frames, with only the silhouettes of the fighters in front of it is very impressive. Kill Bill has so many audio-visual sensations that the hour and a half was more than enough. The plot may be shallow (the final sentence made me feel like I was hearing a snippet from a soap opera), but form overwhelmingly wins over content. Tarantino managed to turn a well-trodden genre and not very original premise into a very impressive spectacle. We'll see with Volume 2 if it holds up. PS: This film must be watched in widescreen! It loses a lot with the TV crop.

This is the film that convinced me that Depp is a great actor. Polanski didn't need to convince me, but he could definitely have chosen a better script, this one it's as bland and uninteresting as his Frantic. But the film does have a certain amount of mystery and atmosphere, and the ending is very good.

There is about a quarter of an hour of adrenaline moments in the whole film, the rest is absolutely boring filler with stupid jokes that try to look cool, like they are for the kids. The encounter with the Bosnian criminals is supposed to provide thrilling moments, but there is no suspense, only terrible boredom. I only finished it thanks to the double speed playback setting on MV2Player, otherwise the 100 minutes would have been unbearable.

A family drama and a comic book story – do they even go together? Yes, if a capable director takes it on, which Ang Lee undoubtedly is. Ironically, I enjoyed the much criticized first "action lacking" half the most. Thanks to the imaginative direction, the clever editing and the interesting division of the image into multiple windows, I was not bored for a moment. My enthusiasm waned a bit during the botched scene with the mutated dogs, but the subsequent moments in the Nevada desert satisfied my libido again. The tank demolition scene in particular was awesome. During the lengthy dialogue between father and son at the end, boredom began to take over, but certainly not fucking boredom, as one unnamed critic stupidly wrote. Oh, and one more thing, Hulk’s purple shorts were really nasty :)

Pirates of the Caribbean = an unexpectedly successful attack on audiences' wallets, or a modern fairy tale about how Johnny's gorgeous make-up and Orlando's dark eyes made a fortune for Disney. I really can't remember the last time I took real pleasure in watching an all-around goofy and jerky actor with the amusing visage of a stoned Rastaman, as I did here with Depp. And Orlando? Someone should tell him that there are no elves in the Caribbean. He's wooden as always, but thanks to his romantic appearance he attracted a lot of female fans to the cinema (see the quote "I almost drowned in his beautiful dark eyes...") and they don't care whether he can act or not. Who can certainly act is Geoffrey Rush, hes smarmy corsair was a joy to watch. But the biggest star for me is Jerry Bruckheimer. Spectacular sets and a big budget, in short, what we are used to in his films. It must be a pleasure to work under his wing.

When the Americans adapted Tolstoy's novel in 1956, some Russians might have seen it as sacrilege. To paraphrase the title of Episode 5 of Star Wars, the Soviet Empire struck back and ten years later, in a spectacular style unprecedented at the time, showed how they imagined Tolstoy's novel in film form. It is very rewarding to write about Bondarchuk's War and Peace, because there is something to write about, and it must be said that there is no need to spare superlatives. I'll start with the records: it's still the most expensive film of all time. It holds the the Guinness world record for the most outdoor filming locations, with 168. The shooting of the massive battles featured 120 thousand extras (yes, you’ve read that right). It took 7 years to shoot and the result is a breathtaking 7 hours of cinematic orgasm; whether it's monumental battles or the scene of a burning of Moscow, with the streets full of flying ash. Back in the day in the cinema on a 70mm panoramic picture it was a blast! The leading roles were played by the entire top talent of Soviet cinema, including the director in the title role. Unfortunately, even such a gargantuan work is not perfect. While Bondarchuk impresses as a director of mass scenes, he sometimes fails in the subtly conceived scenes in interiors. But that's just a small quibble, because his inventive direction erases even such shortcomings. Yeah, the Russians pulled it off and kicked the Americans ass, and the even got an Oscar for that! But the best news is that a remastered DVD version should be coming out at the end of this year, a sure buy for me.

It's so warm, romantic and loving. A young couple of weirdos collect body parts, store them in alcohol and bathe in blood. Their emotional lives get more colourful with the arrival of a new companion, a rotten, decaying corpse with whom they share many romantic, loving moments, as if cut out of Daniele Steele's novels. After the protagonist's companion runs off with the other (you know, corpse), the plot leads to the final dramatic climax. What's interesting about this film are the poetic scenes accompanied by romantic music, like something out of a bodice ripper library, interspersed with some very disgusting moments. Daniele Steele would have an aneurism, I survived, but it was hard work.

The gloomy autumn weather and the bleak surroundings of an abandoned cemetery with tombstones among the yellowing fallen leaves thicken an already dense atmosphere. The location of the house is perfectly chosen, in a secluded spot by the forest, away from the main road, which adds to the oppressive feeling of not being able to get help. And the house itself, built in the old style, is perfect for some satanic rituals or black metal parties :) This movie is so beautifully creepy and good that it could have easily done without the gore scenes. Paradoxically, it was their too naturalistic and sophisticated nature that didn't suit me, they disturbed the beautifully mysterious atmosphere. But why am I complaining, gritty violence has always been a part of Fulci and I have to praise the Maestro for the beautiful, ambiguous ending.

Charming, adorable, impressive. Words can't describe it, it has to be seen, but I can't help but share at least a few sentences: The camera is static, the whole film consists of only 14 shots, full of strange little people and cardboard backdrops that are simply delightful. From the model of the spaceship to the surface of the moon and its inhabitants, everything bears the traces of Meliés's enormous imagination, full of wonderfully naive ideas. And the moon-people, they are simply adorable. The film is short, but it will leave an indelible mark on you. And the effects? They have lost none of their charm even after a century. 101 years, four generations... how is it possible?

Well, that's Troma showing off. Ninety minutes of utter dreck that makes you gag. It lacks the gallows humour typical of Troma, the entire plot relies on showing as many shots as possible of suffering women and gory abominations committed mainly on women. The script pretends to have something profound to say, but a sane person won't buy it. I'm just puzzled by the high rating on imdb, where a third of people gave it the highest score. Yuck!