Lima

Scripts were never Fulci's forte, but his execution of visually captivating scenes was masterful. The story is such a melodramatic soap bubble, a bit naive and a bit psychedelic (yeah, LSD was so hot back then :o). The conspiracy around which it all revolves is a bit of a head-scratcher, and the final reveal lacks narrative power, but otherwise the film offers enough bizarre moments to hold the attention. All the optical games, great timing of the scenes (the organ!!), sometimes pleasant erotic stuffiness (the sexual revolution was at its peak then), plus Fulci was perfect with women and the female body, most of his films had a strong female lead and it's similar here. The rating is on the borderline, it was nice, but in six months I'll probably forget about it.

It has some magical moments that prove that Svěrák Jr. is a really good director. I appreciate the view of the war through children's eyes, but the story is too disjointed; it needed a unifying line. The story of Uncle Wolf, which was supposed to cement the narrative, isn't enough to pull the whole film together. It's a shame, I really wanted to love this film.

The flashy title and synopsis promised a lot, I was looking forward to a high-octane thrilling spectacle and what I got was, well, snail-paced conversation, with one short minute chase and one car explosion. A seemingly insignificant Arthur Ripley film, but actually solidly directed by Robert Mitchum, who also wrote the story and once again showed what a badass he was (no offense, he was a real badass), next to which his real brother looks more like a teenage son, at least 25 years younger, with a bit of a wry expression. The acting ability of one, next to the acting "incompetence" of the other was like a punch in the face, you wouldn’t even say that they are siblings. But otherwise nothing against it, it was nice to watch, but I expected a lot more, considering how successful the film was in the States. The most interesting thing about it is the fact that Bruce Springsteen himself paid tribute to it in his son “Thunder Road”.

Very weak Coens, hopefully they pick the weaker moment for the future. The stories are completely without a twist, there is only the adorable finger-shooting in the first one, the beautiful scenery in the one with the charismatic vagabond Watts, and here and there a typical Coen joke, but there are so few of them that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand of a sawmill worker. What I admire most about the Coens is the biting, caustic, ironic humour, which here is almost non-existent. Then the fifth and longest story is almost unbearable, it doesn't go anywhere, it's just such a cry into the wind and I have to repeat it again, without a single twist.

Or as Tomáš Hajíček from Krucipüsk once said: man is the mould of the World, a weed and a parasite on nature, which he only smolders and tears to pieces, without bringing anything to it. Someday it’ll happen, it's slowly showing.

It's probably going to get snubbed at the Oscars, given the audience ignorance and the politics the Academy has set in recent years, but for me, this is the Movie Of The Year. A technically extremely precise piece of work and at the same time an emotional ride that gives you goosebumps in the last act. In fact, I can't remember the last time a film with a scientific basis has grounded me like this. Perhaps Zemeckis's Contact, twenty long years ago. Gosling as a man who has to suppress his emotions and think coldly and rationally, otherwise he couldn't do his job, is totally accurate as an actor. At the other pole, Claire Foy is a geyser of emotion, and Hurwitz's music is energetic and intimate at the same time. This is going to be the pride of my blu-ray collection. PS: Unfortunately, there are mental gimps among us, such as the "greatest horror expert" Psychor, who vulgarly disparage human agency bought with sweat and blood. I don't know, couldn't these individuals just die so they don't poison our air?

As you can see, not everything Val Lewton touched was remarkable. This is just a parasite on a great prequel. It proudly wears the name of the Cat People, but they're not even mentioned, they're only in the title to help sell the film. It has continuity only in the main characters, but the plot doesn't seem to reflect the previous events at all, even the setting is completely different. It's nice to look at times (impressive narration by the old lady, beautiful camera shots of the snowy landscape created in a soundstage), but otherwise, unlike the prequel, it lacks atmosphere and camera games with light and shadows. And the little girl – her acting is so mechanical and unnatural that it completely ruins the experience.

These old horror movies have so much charm for me, they’re a joy to watch. Yes, the synopsis is very, very naive and the bullish of Oliver will probably make you cringe. But the breathtaking black and white cinematography, when most of the scenes take place in the gloom, with only the soft light of a hot fireplace or street lamps, and the camera working fantastically with the image, its lighting and impressive scenes, makes the film worth seeing for that alone. Not to mention the awesome scene in the indoor pool, with the sense of some unknown danger present amidst the rippling light of the waves reflecting on the ceiling. We don't see any monster, we only hear a faint growling sound and the shape of a shadow passing over the wall and stairs. A short, subtle scene and yet so impressive. For me, it’s an iconic moment of 1940s cinema, comparable perhaps only to the shower scene from Psycho.

The weakest Hammer film I’ve ever watched. The synopsis (a domineering old hag imprisons her dead son's ex-girlfriend in the house, and through prayers and hunger strikes tries to force her to repent) is not completely futile, it’s quite original, but the director is such a buffoon. He’s absolutely incapable of giving tension to the scenes, you don't care what happens in the next minutes, the actors are more like an absurd panopticon. He can’t even build-up the ending, even though he had it all there. And most importantly, it has a horrible, horrible soundtrack, completely inappropriate to the action in the film. To exaggerate a bit, it’s as if you used Cannibal Corpse for the soundtrack of a kids show; here they use the jingle of a carousel.

Polanski at quarter throttle. It's well acted, Eva Green is properly mysterious, she does her best, but otherwise it's very bland with a completely futile twist. Out of respect for the director, a weaker 3*. But given his age and merit, he's probably entitled to such diversions.