Remedy

Of course this was awesome. I've never considered the science fiction field a thing particularly suited to my personality, but I can still appreciate a quality work. In this particular case, perhaps there's nothing to fault – a stunningly original script, well-crafted direction, very good actors, great pacing... What I'm missing is a moment that would have really resonated with me or a greater urgency of that parallel with the real world. There are several of those parallels, of course, and I quite often like to dissect them, but in this particular case I’ll likely stick more to the surface level (and it's a hell of a good one) and content myself with knowing that internally it's not stupid at all... ))) This is my first ever Andrew Niccol film, so I can't resist one more observation (which, I suppose, has long been an open secret) – despite the fact that In Time is predominantly a work of the science fiction genre, it surprises (by the standards of science fiction films) with its unusually modest production design, and overall leaves more of an impression of "refinement and aloofness from its genre peers": could it be that hot New Zealand creative blood? In conclusion, I apologize to all Niccolologists for my clumsiness in the form of a final founded characterization of the filmmaker, as I realize that it must have been developed several times before in a much more sophisticated way. And otherwise I really enjoyed it :))

An extremely depressing, dark, and bleak revenge epic with some very powerful and chilling scenes. Park Chan-wook (my first ever encounter with this appealing gentleman) here creates themes of revenge as an extremely cruel and insatiable desire for satisfaction as a result of the accidental loss of a loved one. It is precisely the cruelty and uncompromising nature of the process of "revenge" that is pushed to the limits of humanity and tolerability in this Korean rendition. It gives the impression that at a certain stage of mental (dis)integration, the act of revenge becomes the only meaning of life and forces one to commit unprecedented acts. With its minimal dialogue, absence of significant formal devices, and atmosphere of hopelessness that is all the more poignant because you have to fear what comes next, the first part of the revenge trilogy is a remarkable, raw, and actually extremely sensitive spectacle.

A blast of a diversion that I enjoyed in an unprecedented way. Probably what I enjoyed most was that it maintained an extremely appealing and civil tone throughout its running time, you could sense how much everyone involved enjoyed it, even though they were conscious that they were making a simple romantic comedy. Not that it was particularly ordinary – Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore... a really unprecedented and very enjoyable cast. A nice film that radiates positive energy and will put a smile on many a face. The fact that it manages to do this without using any forced or spasmodic techniques is "just" another big plus.

I respect Allan Ball for his masterful script for American Beauty, and as an artist he tends to be close to my sensibilities (Six Feet Under is one of my favorite shows and I love True Blood, too). He usually personally directs the opening or closing episodes of the individual series, so I knew directing shouldn't be a problem (and it really wasn't). Plus, you'd think that a writer of the caliber Alan Ball undoubtedly is simply couldn't write a bad script. In this case, it's probably the characters that bothered me most about Towelhead (in American Beauty, without exception, all the characters were at least in some way likeable or interesting to me). The racist, overbearing, at times even fascist father, the half-Lebanese, half-American teenage nymphomaniac, the pig-headed middle-aged neighbor, and the horny African-American. The story ultimately comes off as the "ordinary girl turns teenage slut" formula, and that’s material more for a teen parody rather than a "serious yet biting Ball drama". A big disappointment. 3 stars out of residual loyalty to Alan Ball.

A good person lives (or rather, did)... is what occurred to me at the end. It's not that I don't understand why the protagonist does what he does (it's more than obvious, after all), it's more that in the aftermath I was slightly bothered by the way his whole good-guy odyssey was presented and how it was at times nauseatingly grating. The film takes obvious inspiration (to put it mildly) from P.T. Anderson, and the bit POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT FOR SOME with the heart was like a straight ripoff of Iñárritu END OF POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT. Plus, those emotional/psychotic outbursts by Will Smith unnecessarily detract from my otherwise more than good impression of his acting. As usual – I understand that the main character, given his past, has to "act a certain way" and somehow do things on screen in order to achieve at least some degree of believability. And yet some of the scenes where Will Smith is supposed to portray a "damaged soul" just ring hollow. I'm not a cynic, witness Magnolia or 21 Grams, which I consider some of my favorite films ever. In the case of Seven Pounds, it's a similar theme (and I'm certainly not suggesting that there's no emotion present), but it's telling that I didn't shed a tear there – with Magnolia I cried through maybe an entire packet of tissues. This postures like a tremendously academic yet human and sensitive work. But it is "just" a colossal Whirlpool wringer of emotions. The three stars are for a few nice, intimate moments.

Definitely a worthy film in terms of its concepts, but very hard to rate. If I were to consider "just" its emotional value, it would be worth full marks considering its overall emotional capital, thanks in part to the few lines just after the start of the film, which Leland begins by saying he doesn’t remember, "at least, not the stuff that they want me to" (an absolutely mesmerizing monologue). The problem comes in when I pose that familiar question: "and what did the bard really mean by that..." Of course, the film is well cast and the involvement of the supporting characters is not uninteresting, but in the final analysis I was still missing something more exact or something even more emotional (like those films that don't have to explain everything, but their emotional value is so huge that you don't really need answers)... And okay – here, the "why" is hinted at in the end, but that doesn't change the fact that I felt slightly cheated during the closing credits. Of course, I take into account that the film’s ultimate ambiguity and lack of clarity is related to the character of the main character – which is why I’m giving it such a high rating. It's definitely a film that had aspirations to be a five-star film. In the end, however, it only meets those ambitions at about 60%.

Not a particularly original story, but with its structure (it could easily have been de facto wrapped up in an hour over, but it isn't, and that's a good thing!) and the well written and of course well acted character of Joaquin Phoenix, it towers quite high above the genre average. No unnecessary attempt at shocking twists, very well shot action (the car chase tops the list), and a divinely perfect Eva Mendes. Brilliantly written and directed.

Seeing it again after three years, hence the review has to change (and the original one was pretty stupid as I’m looking at it now – of course I'm not saying this one will be better). American Gangster is a fascinating display of impeccable film craftsmanship, an impressive portrayal of period atmosphere, a fantastically layered and thoughtful script, and not least two excellent performances. When such machinery is directed by the great Ridley Scott himself, who is a whiz at both the "technical" and the "psychological", the result must be something approaching cinematic perfection. I'm always terribly careful when I mention perfection in the context of a review, but here any restraint is really out of place. The way Ridley Scott has managed to present the gradual development of the story, while really not forgetting anything essential (both main characters are equal in terms of their involvement in the story, and both main storylines offer a few side plots that are certainly not pointless) is truly admirable. Another huge strength of American Gangster is the fact that, despite the very long running time, the entire film is quite brisk (which can be attributed to Scott's talent and, of course, the appeal of the subject matter itself) and has no weak spots (I devoured the extended version without pause in one breath the second time around). It's a "drug movie", but at the end I felt that it was all more about that desire for justice and at least "momentary cleansing". The tenacity, stubbornness, and defiance against a system that works and sustains tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of variously influential people was more than remarkable. Perfect characters, perfect actors, s perfect script, and absolutely divine direction. A genre gem.

You can feel the tremendous energy from the start, it's charmingly imaginative, very sensitive, and very "communicative". What's also interesting is the kind of haze of mystery and uncertainty you'll want to share with Joseph. I almost didn't even breathe during the expectations/reality scene, because it was so evocatively delivered, thanks to Marc Webb's skill and sensitivity, it had quite an archetypal effect on me (and of course, purely personal memories came up for the occasion). I also liked very much how balanced it was in terms of content (or information) – on the one hand, it thoroughly demonstrates the positivity and pleasant things that come out of falling in love (the dancing, going to work scene was without flaw in this respect) and on the other hand, the subsequent huge inner mess is depicted fittingly, perhaps at times a bit violently. The seemingly unformulaic treatment also added some points to the result, so at this point I'm not afraid to include (500) Days of Summer among what I consider high-quality and tasteful among romantic films.

On the one hand, a very cynical and morally incorrect film that relies on extremely playful direction and the brilliant Eckhart; on the other, a charming and wonderfully brisk indie whose interpretation is probably up to each individual. I don't want to dissect the content here; what's important to me is that Reitman refrains from any judgement or evaluation and "merely" manages to reflect the facts in an excellent way and humorously portray the behind-the-scenes world of the tobacco industry. Aaron Eckhart was absolutely excellent. A remarkable debut for Jason Reitman.