DaViD´82

A Croatian version Little Girl Blue from multiple perspectives. And except for the overly cheesy, though excellently delivered, ending, it is perhaps even better, thanks in fact to the effective distribution of attention to multiple characters.

Like The 51st State, but the Russian way. It’s hard to say what it is about, or if it is about anything, but it was stylish as few other things. That deserves praise.

Like The 51st State, but the Russian way. It’s hard to say what it is about, or if it is about anything, but it was stylish as few other things. That deserves praise.

A story involving possibly all of the most hackneyed artsy topics imaginable. A handful of each and everything, but nothing is full on. The opening, dragged-out, sepia colored opening shot of a person falling asleep foreshadowed what the movie would be like. How unintentionally fitting. Three Monkeys isn’t really so bad. I just find it fascinating that somebody actually felt the need to shoot SUCH a worn-out and long-winded movie.

Six animated stories where the Dark Knight figures to a greater or lesser extent. Have I Got A Story For You - 2/5: Not at all bad, but stumbles the way the story is handled. Nor did I like the animation of the characters and in fact overall, this episode doesn’t fit in with the others. It’s too this way and that. Crossfire - 4/5: A marvelously dark atmosphere which, combined with the excellent animation, more than makes up for the rather unoriginal story. This is The Dark Knight in his purest form. Field Test - 3/5: Good, but a shame about Bruce Wayne’s childish face. He really didn’t deserve that. In Darkness Dwells - 4/5: The most full on tale of all. In view of it’s shortness, maybe too full on. Everything was awfully hurried. Working Through Pain - 4/5: I would be surprised if at least one of these stories doesn’t go back to the times of Bruce’s voluntary exile. And, low and behold... Shame there aren’t more of them. You see, this is the only one that develops on Nolan’s vision at all. And the ending is just perfect. Deadshot - 4/5: The most stylish, although not the best, episode. While it has a marvelous intro, it gradually runs out of breath. But if you wanted to watch just one of these, I would recommend this one, notwithstanding. It has something for everybody. *** In view of the fact that in a way it’s just one big commercial for The Dark Knight, I have to admit that I would gladly watch commercials like this more often. And it has one more advantage. The separate segments are so different from each other that everybody will find a part that suits them.

Directed by a Cro-Magnon, screenplay by a Neanderthal, and actors are homo sapiens sap... No, just plain homo sapiens. Just crap the size of a mammoth, excuse my language, turd. I’m sure even those saber-toothed tigers are capable of having more meaningful dialogs. And these are the movie’s greatest assets. It's hard to find a dumber and more idiotic movie, that is at the same time so sincerely childishly and mean-spiritedly entertaining. The best part is that apparently everyone takes it so deadly seriously. There is not a single deliberate joke ore snappy comeback in the whole film. Personally, what most amused me was Omar Sharif's "poetic" narrator and playing at thoughtful mythology. From the Egyptian passage onward I began to be afraid that it would turn out to be a prolog to Stargate. If you're expecting a second Quest for Fire you have the wrong movie, but if you want to see one big “what?", you're definitely in the right place.

Even though the genre is fantasy, the books are grossly lacking in fantasy because of stupid propaganda. In this respect, Adamson remained faithful to the original. He filmed a routine family movie about how four underage brats, with the help of the incredibly egocentric furry Jesus, slaughter hundreds of innocent fathers. And despite the severely ridiculous final fifteen minutes (although the White Witch's mobile arms factory from number one remained unsurpassed) and even though the pace is slow, it is a better movie than last time. It's nice to look at; it's nice to listen to (unless Lucy and Aslan are talking); Dinklage, the mice, and the bad guys make it move along pretty nicely, but they can't make up for the wretchedness of the child "actors", especially the character of Lucy, despite all their efforts. A shorter running time, more tolerable kids, and a director with imagination might have made it a better movie. But that's not very likely in this case. So it gets three feeble-hearted stars.

It's been barely a few days since I complained while reviewing The Cassandra Crossing that it wasn't an ideal movie to watch with an elevated temperature. Howl’s Moving Castle is the exact opposite. It's hard to find a more ideal movie to spend time with during an illness. Overall, Miyazaki's imagination is a good one for delirious states of mind. One immediately understands him better. This is the most mature project to come out of the Ghibli studio so far (even though it’s an adaptation of a children's book). It lifts your mood, delights, surprises you with the untrodden plot paths it takes and, above all, completely disarms you with its ideas and originality. A genuine work of art, and not only in terms of the animation. Personally, I wonder if it is even possible to go further in the field of classic, hand-drawn animation. I sincerely doubt it.

An outstanding movie. Or rather, almost. The prolog spoils it. Nothing against it in principle, it has its place and a reason here, but it really didn’t have to swell up to eighty minutes long. And here Akira feels a pressing need to impart something big, but does so too obviously and zealously. On the other hand, there is a large number of scenes that knock you off your seat. But those are just moments, not the whole movie. And not even Akira’s masterful direction or the unforgettable performance by Takashi Shimura is enough to support the immensely long running time. But for Czechs this movie has a very positive message. It shows us that even in Japan bureaucracy was just as impervious and corrupt (Kafka style) at the beginning of the fifties as ours is to this day. So at least we aren’t (or weren’t) alone in this.

I must remember for next time that watching a movie like this with a fever really isn’t a good idea. The Cassandra Crossing can be very convincing. So much so that it is more than just another seventies disaster movie. For a long time it look like it deserves the highest accolade. But there’s always a “but". And Cassandra’s “but" comes after about ninety minutes, when the movie very dumbly transforms into a completely different genre. Then not even the excellent Harris can stop it drowning in B-movie action thriller waters and so The Cassandra Crossing may make a safe claim to being the older sibling of Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. But without Steven “wobbly flab" Seagal. What a great shame.