Malarkey

Reality shows are a concept that gives me goosebumps whenever I see it. Not only that there’s too much of them, but also I’m just incredibly sick of it. And what am I supposed to think when the creators try to combine something like that with sci-fi like in Virtuality. I actually managed to finish this movie only because it’s sci-fi. I haven’t watched any space sci-fi in a long time. And I have to say, I was pissed just by the way it was filmed. Well, what else did I expect?

Oliver Tate is weird, just like the movie about him. But it’s nice to watch something like that from time to time, because it flows nicely and it’s finally something you don’t get to see every day. It’s an atypical romance with a whirlwind of emotions, but thanks to the actors and the locations it is very nice to watch. Plus Yasmin Paige is very pretty and I’d like to see her in a movie again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen actors in a movie where all it takes is one look and I know exactly what they’re trying to say. That’s what’s so beautiful about movies, and it’s a shame I don’t come across it more often. On the other hand, at least I will appreciate these movies even more. And the finale, that’s simply beautiful.

This is probably the third Bulgarian film I’ve watched. I thought Bulgaria would surprise me even for the third time, because the first two flicks were really entertaining. Well, that’s what happens when you don’t know what you’re getting into and you judge it only based on the country it was made in. Action and adventure? I’d scratch that immediately. This movie is a beach drama, plus it’s insanely long and sticking with it till the end is really hard. Nothing really happened in the movie and even though the gang was pretty cool, I was insanely bored by their free spirit. And the worst part was the ending. That’s where something finally started to happen. I haven’t seen such a stupid ending in a long time and it made me angry that I watched it till the end.

A decent French crime movie that fully meets the conditions France has set for crime movies in the past. The only thing that bothered me was the way the story was narrated, which jumps from the past to the present like a new bouncy ball. I also had a feeling that the movie didn’t have as much regard for emotion as other movies. It’s simply an incredibly raw topic and Gérard Lanvin is showing a perfect performance, but one important thing is missing. And that’s that in the 102 minutes, I should feel something for his character. So when the finale came, which was appropriately brutal for a French movie, I had this weird feeling that even though it pretends to be a classic French crime movie, it still lacks the emotions I need.

Just give me a rest with these unimaginative series. Who’s supposed to watch it all the time, just so they could fill the void of Czech TV stations? I wish the actors would rather take on some decent topic. Although I understand, easy money is easy money. There is no difference between this and Obchoďák and everything else that came out in fall 2012. They’re all acting like assholes and we’re supposed to laugh about it... That’s actually how the then quite successful Comeback turned out.

John Rambo got burned the second time around just like he did the first time. Once again, the ones he trusted were the explicitly bad ones, and once again, he took a pretty brutal revenge on them. It’s amazing how back then action movies were filmed with respect for the viewer. I enjoyed everything about it. The scenes with the bombing of the local wilderness were fantastic and that’s something absolutely unprecedented nowadays in movies. These days, digital effects are involved in everything and that’s not interesting at all, let alone honest. There aren’t many proper action movies, but if there’s one I’d like to rewatch, then it’s definitely Rambo. I’m rating it with four stars mostly because story-wise it’s practically the same as the first instalment. And Rambo’s speech in the finale wasn’t so great either. I was blown away by the first instalment more. Anyway, it’s awesome. It’s a classic, need I say more?

It’s really mediocre both story-wise and filmmaking-wise. And that’s despite the fact that Gangster No. 1 appears to be a decent raw British crime movie featuring a brutal atmosphere, a hell of a soundtrack and a dark underworld. Paul Bettany shows off once or twice and that’s it. It’s a pity. I was quite curious to see what this movie would be like and in the end I have to say that if it wasn’t for a couple of scenes I probably would have been insanely bored, this way I was just bored. On the one hand, it’s raw, but on the other it’s brutally old-school. However, that doesn’t go together at all.

A European film from an area you rarely find access to – Corsica. That’s why it interested me so much. However, essentially it’s a completely mediocre drama. Inconspicuous, quiet, sometimes boring, but it at least remains true to itself.

I decided to go to the cinema to see In the Shadow because I believe such efforts at good filmmaking simply deserve my money. It surprised me that David Ondříček was able to make such a great film. The actors were amazing. I have to praise Sebastian Koch, who had the desire to star in a Czech film. He definitely succeeded. Still, I must not forget Ivan Trojan in the leading role, who was absolutely amazing. But the others were good as well. And even though they only appeared in the film for a few scenes, it was a pleasure to see them, whether it was Martin Myšička, Miroslav Krobot, Simona Babčáková or Jiří Štěpnička. As for the story, I admit that I was expecting a complicated riddle with an interesting ending. But the essence is far simpler than you would expect. Nevertheless, for the great atmosphere of the fifties, the landscape and the set designs, which I still don’t understand where the filmmakers found them, and especially how they managed to adapt them so well, but also for the great production... this film simply deserves the attention.