lamps

Clint Eastwood really knows what he's doing and with this film he surpasses even his previous hits. Gran Torino immediately catches the eye with its fantastic and interesting portrayal of each character, but what’s worth watching above all is the gradual mental transformation and inner struggle of Clint himself, who was given an extremely illegible role by the script and, together with the convincing Christopher Carley, created one of the most perfect cinematic duos I've ever seen. Despite a premise that smacks of boredom, the film moves along at a high pace, is really well directed and emotional, and the incredibly human expression of friendship and belonging that slowly but surely rises to the surface won't let you skip a beat. And the ending?!... That one really got me.

It's all fresh, funny, with great performances and imaginative direction and script. It's true that towards the end the director seems to lose the thread and the plot wasn't finished perfectly, but when I think of the brilliant conversations between De Niro as a mentally unstable mobster and a Billy Crystal unwillingly involved in the mafia underworld, I immediately get a smile on my face and I'm happy to turn a blind eye.

During this film, I felt as if Guillermo del Toro had put me on a merry-go-round. At times I found myself in the middle of a military camp suppressing a handful of rebels, and then suddenly witnessing a fairy tale fantasy full of weird creatures. It's certainly an entertaining, exciting and at times thrilling ride, but the effect visibly falters over time and there are some rusty spots, whether it's the incomprehensible brutality that must have shocked the excited younger audience a great deal, or the slight neglect and relegation of Pan and his tasks at the expense of the war, and they grow in number and my impressions were rather mixed when it was over. In any case, just for the premise and the director’s courage, I round up to ****.

Acting exhibitions and atmospheric direction in a story that unfortunately can't handle itself. I applaud any film that makes the passive viewer think and plays with their deepening expectations, hence the 4*, but I guess I'd have to be on a completely different mental or intellectual state to get a satisfactory interpretation of the twist and the overall meaning here – and I'm really not sure if it's a more evolved or more primitive state... That said, Kevin Spacey is a phenomenal actor. 80%

I appreciate the director's efforts to bring a cinematic legend to the screen in the most sophisticated style, I appreciate the great visual effects and some truly breathtaking and imaginative action scenes, but there's still a little something missing and my favourite from 1933 remains unsurpassed. That's certainly not to say that the new King Kong is bad. On the contrary, Peter Jackson incorporates a lot of new ideas and strange animals into the story, and he lets them run wild, whether on the humans during the unforgettable scene in the deep ravine or during the long battle between the tyrannosaurs and Kong. Perhaps the film could have been shortened a bit and even more suspense could have been packed into it, which Jackson tries to do especially after the arrival on the island, but the romantic scenes with Naomi Watts and her ape admirer, which should be the highlight, don't really play into his hands and instead slow down the already slow pace. An absolutely great spectacle for the eyes and ears, but it simply lacks more verve and momentum.

If it weren't for the creepy and unnecessary "nude" scene, I'd probably give it a full rating. It isn’t brilliant or intelligent at all, but Borat managed to entertain me decently and fulfil my expectations almost to the letter...75%

The interesting premise is handled quite well and the film impresses especially with its easygoing action and the nice portrayal of life on an unknown planet. And those who mind that the characters are not portrayed in a believable way chose the wrong film. Terra offers nothing but a thrilling adventure suitable for the whole family that may never become a cult classic, but it’s certainly not to be forgotten either.

I saw Jack Nicholson's name in the programme for this film, so I didn't hesitate and sat impatiently at the screen for a long time before it started. I liked the first half a lot, Master Jack gives his typically excellent performance almost beyond his limits and the film has a nice and fast flowing plot. Also, Diane Keaton is a great actress and contributes a lot to the successful comedy side of things. But then, the director seems to have suddenly run out of ideas, the humour is still present at times, but it’s not as effective and entertaining as it was at the beginning, and the story rather plods through the prolonged romantic scenes until the closing credits. Too bad, had it kept the quality and high pace of the first half, this comedy would have been rated better for sure.

Oh well, and they say they don't make good shark horror movies anymore. Deep Blue Sea offers pools of blood, deaths that come in surprising and rather original ways, and a script that puts one unpleasant and deadly obstacle after another in front of the hapless protagonists. The filmmakers hit the mark mainly by choosing a cramped environment from which there is seemingly no escape, where the clash with bloodthirsty beasts is inevitable and the atmosphere is really sharp and terrifying in some places. Moreover, the film has a good cast, though it thins out a lot in an hour and three quarters. I enjoyed it, I was scared and held my breath a lot, so I'm happy to forgive the digital sharks and the slower pace, but don’t be fooled.

Oh man! I'm always curious about films with similar themes to Shark Attack 3: Megalodon, but so far, with a few exceptions, they’ve always been duds. I accept that the filmmakers tried to diversify the plot with a huge, long-extinct beast, but those effects! Thanks to them, the clumsy 20-metre shark provokes more laughter than terror, and its swallowing victims, boats or even submarines looks so stupid that I’m surprised the producers did not demand a hefty compensation. The performances are also absolutely nothing, without emotion and do more harm than good. The only thing that could still save the film, namely thick tension, is something the filmmakers also fail at and all the action is sluggish, unreadable and almost bloodless. I give one star mainly because I like sharks and feeding their overgrown brothers really amused me.