DaViD´82

The only (fully) watchable, and quite pleasant too, opening ceremony in history! Just a shame that it’s completely unnecessary, about nothing, good for nothing... Why not just declare the games open - period? Because when Boyle conceived the Olympics opening ceremony exactly like his adaptation of Frankenstein (not just the identical industrial revolution), so something isn’t completely kosher and not amount of British (and, thanks to the rubber boots, Czech) self-lampooning can save it.

Horse versus hoarse. The Dark Knight Rises and I told myself that I would not be bowled over, but... I was, like a pin. The finale of the trilogy that can be faulted for just one thing. Unlike The Dark Knight, which found it’s own way and not be a mere Hollywood sequel, the conclusion of the trilogy suffers from this syndrome, mainly in the closing third. It’s simply exactly the same as The Dark Knight, just in a more epic, spectacular, dumber and over-the-top packaging during which Nolan is chasing too many birds in bushes. Often less is more, but in that case it is an exception that proves the rule, because even though this is a worse movie than part two due to the fact that Bruce Wayne (or else his alter ego) isn’t “sort of extra" and, in the deep shadow of the Joker, Dent, Gordon trio, this time plays central role (despite being absent for at least half the movie); and thanks to that emotions work and thanks to that consequently the conclusion of the concluding part works SO exceptionally, despite the fact that nobody pays the ultimate price. Which seems almost out of place. However, part one remains unsurpassed, not because it’s so much better, but it’s the only one that isn’t pretentious. P.S.: And if there will be a number four, in view of the trend that has been set, the only person capable of filming it would be Michael Mann.

The boredom of the langorous viewer. The social slant isn’t uninteresting, but excruciatingly slow-moving. The running offenders are excellent, but rather too side-lined. That feeling when you overcome pain, stiff legs and yourself, you clean your head, you start running above your abilities and begin to enjoy yourself at last... All this is there, but it’s ruined by the background music. Jazz is about as suitable here as a brass band for one of Bay’s blockbusters. The finale and primarily Tom Courtenay massively improve the overall impression, so in the end I was (slightly) content.

Although Woody’s previous visits to the old continent (and most of those to London too) are a cut above this, it doesn’t mean that this satirical farce in Rome isn’t any good. It is good, but at the same time too over-combined, so the good in it (and there’s lots of that) is mixed up with everything average to bad (and there’s a lot of that too).

Its heart is beating in the right place, and while there is certainly plenty to fault, just the fact that the heart beats at all is such a phenomenon in itself nowadays that one succumbs to it without even knowing how.

I had the same feeling from The Wicker Man that I usually experience when reading reviews written in Swahili; these feelings are identical to when Howie enters Summerisle pub. What more do you need to know about the investigations of a shy fanatic and his battle against pagan windmills which is hard to determine the genre (s) of and even those of us with the confidence of Donald Trump wouldn’t dare to try. Just don’t worry about that and let yourself be sucked in by THAT atmosphere, the actors, the songs, the Vermin Man by the maypole, Lee’s flowing locks, phallic symbols and... And one of the most unusual (and one of the best) movie experiences ever. Shirley Jackson would have loved this.

Eden Lake of our parents’ generation. It is their fault that this gem, which relies on the disturbing atmosphere of a sultry day in the middle of a village with the lowest average age of population in the world, has remained completely hidden.

Lightweight and increasingly overdone and stupid the closer we get to the end. The premise is excellent, but it should have been used in a serious manner à la The Exorcist. The lightness just doesn't do it justice, though admittedly it doesn't outright kill it.

When white and white together give birth to black, the result is Alien without an Alien, like Jára Cimrman’s “Hamlet" without Hamlet. It’s not compatible with the Alien mythology but it overflows with today already cult and specific “Alien" atmosphere more than anything else made after 1979, you have to give it that. Just a shame that it pretends to be cleverer than it really is (even though it’s hard to say, because it’s just the first half) and double shame for the surplus of unnecessary characters. Visually captivating in some of the scenes it’s without exaggeration impeccable (David’s space routine, birth giving through abortion, fall from the heavens), but as a whole so far (at least till the director’s cut or a sequel is made) it just damn good.

A mirror with no taste (Kristen more beautiful than Charlize; how could the screenwriters think that somebody would believe such nonsense?), visually well done, solid tempo, a lot of action, wasted dwarfs (such a cast and then they just get one proper scene), a couple of necrophilic kisses, one lesbian kiss and no kiss out of true love… And that is maybe the biggest (and not by far the only) mistake; you can feel the lack of feeling here and that was, is and always will be an crucial problem in a fairytale. Despite all its likability, it’s simply cold and that’s a shame, because otherwise for this Snow White – a successor of the fantasy genre so popular and wide-spread mainly in the 80’s, I would have had only words of praise.