gudaulin

A routine thriller about a serial killer combined with the sci-fi motif of time travel; however, it is not properly utilized, and it's the type with a time paradox, the one that Zemeckis used in the Back to the Future series. It has an average screenplay and an average cast, with Neal McDonough standing out, who managed to give charisma to his villain. In fact, he is the only positive aspect of this otherwise forgettable film. Overall impression: 40%.

This is interesting evidence of how nostalgia can influence the reviews of a mediocre television product. Romantic soap operas don't do well due to the average age of the viewers, but Return to Eden managed to find a large community of fans who will remember even years later how they were once glued to the TV screen. Return to Eden was actually the Australian version of successful American series like Dallas, with the difference being that the producers had enough sense to end the series before the writers ran out of imagination. The later episodes had significantly declining quality. Overall impression: 35%.

Atonement is wonderfully suited for broadcast on TV channels that feature love stories. That tragic romance of unfulfilled love, fateful encounters, desire, passion, misunderstandings, sacrifices, hope, and disappointments. The producer spared no expense, and the director tried to make it a sublime visual feast with an artistic touch. But there's a catch. Atonement doesn't work for me. It's overly ambitious, and emotionally missed the mark with me. The acclaimed long shots rather bore me, and I can only appreciate the well-crafted beach scene at Dankers, where the surrounded defeated army tries to forget about the future. When looking at Keira Knightley's emaciated figure, I realized that she resembles more of a medical diagnosis than an actress. This time, I'll take the dissident position in my review... Overall impression: 45%.

I am going to write something that is seemingly in sharp contrast to my overall impression expressed by the percentage rating at the end of this review. This film is a testament to the high level of Icelandic cinema and its exceptional position in European cinema considering its size and population. According to the latest census, Iceland has about 313,000 inhabitants, and yet, it is capable of producing more genre films than many countries of medium size. Icelandic filmmakers dedicate themselves to honest genre films, such as crime stories. However, this film would work much better if it were shot in a serious tone as a serious crime film about a group of sailors who wanted to earn extra money by smuggling untaxed alcohol, rather than as a cool-looking crime comedy that nods to Guy Ritchie's style. Icelanders simply do not have suitable types of actors for that, and it does not fit their national temperament and the atmosphere of the raw Icelandic landscape. The Ritchie-style screenplay contains too many motifs and characters that are not properly developed, so although the result is watchable and contains everything that the audience expects from such a production, it falls far short of expectations for great entertainment. It is simply average and my overall impression is 55%.

Slovenian films are not something one sees every day, and generally, one should be grateful for any interesting European film amidst the flood of American commercialism. However, to put it bluntly, neither thematically nor in execution does Spare Parts represent anything innovative or exceptional. The director approached the topic with a sober, almost documentary-like naturalistic style, but the script isn't strong or emotional enough to truly captivate the audience. It lacks a genuine dramatic clash and, due to the directorial approach, it also lacks atmosphere. The film is strong more in its theme than in its execution. It's a decent piece for a single viewing but does not belong among the strong films of today... Overall impression 65%.

Let me put it this way - some movies will evaporate from your mind by the next morning, some will disappear from your memory within three days, and others may take a week or even months. The Rum Diary dissolved the moment I turned off the TV. All I know is that Johnny Depp was in it, it was set in the Caribbean, and there was a lot of talking and drinking. This movie left no other traces in me, and I will definitely never come back to it. If I had to characterize The Rum Diary, I would describe it as confusing. Overall impression: 35%.

Judging by the film, the Bolshevik attempt to create a new Soviet person failed in a painful way. Rulers changed, ideologies alternated, but the Russian countryside remains equally passive, alcoholic, and envious, as many classic Russian writers, starting with Gogol, wrote about in the past. Formerly, only the communists could steal, now there is democracy and we can all steal, says a line from one of the characters, and the local farmers' collective successfully follows this motto. Konchalovsky's film accurately captures the atmosphere of Yeltsin's Russia in the first half of the 90s, when Russians started imitating conditions in Central America instead of catching up with the West. Ryaba, My Chicken successfully functions as a satire and the director manages to precisely capture the sore spots of society in a series of scenes, for example, when a businessman pacifies rebellious collective farmers with a few bottles of vodka. Corruption is omnipresent in Konchalovsky's film and mostly affordable. I would be more cautious with labeling it as a comedy. The film is actually quite bleak and hopeless. There is no one to identify with or root for. Konchalovsky is strong as the director but his performance as the screenwriter is not great. The plot with the golden egg could have been more developed and offered much more humor and playfulness than Konchalovsky ultimately extracted from it. A heap of morally distorted characters directly called for situations full of black humor and sarcastic jabs. Well, considering the presence of the great Inna Churikova, alias Marfusha, I will ultimately lean towards 4 stars and an overall impression of 70%.

The Chronicles of Riddick did not receive the desired response from the audience after the surprising success of Pitch Black, so David Twohy decided to humbly return to what once worked, but with a bigger budget and ambitions. Thus, Riddick repeats the pattern of Pitch Black with all its pros and cons. I'm just not sure if the logical lapses and the B-movie vibe oozing out of every shot will be appreciated by the fans of the first installment. After all, they have aged and the competition is fierce. I didn't enjoy the first film, so I didn't find a connection even to the final part of the trilogy. However, the characters of the two rival mercenary gangs were quite interesting, and if it weren't for the genre clichés of routine action sci-fi films that seemed so ridiculous to me, I would give it three stars despite its numerous flaws. Overall impression: 40%.

I don't know where Jensen gets these ideas from, but it works. Sometimes it's downright enjoyable, and it also never completely fails. He once again shows that nothing is sacred to him, and he can bring together seemingly incompatible heroes, genres, and emotions. Riders of Justice is a black tragicomedy about a very unsuccessful journey for revenge. Among other things, the viewer will learn why we shouldn't believe in conspiracy theories, but also why Nordic countries don't need the death penalty. Jensen wildly mixes absurdity with randomness, and if you're willing to handle some violence and cynical humor that doesn't care about societal correctness, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this ride with a bunch of crazy outsiders. Overall impression: 80%.

Only a few adaptations of King's works can be considered successful, while the majority are disasters... From this point of view, it has to be said that Riding the Bullet is definitely not a masterpiece and anyone who has a reasonable alternative to watching it should not hesitate and rather read a significantly better short story. However, it could have been much worse. The story is primarily about coming to terms with the phenomenon of aging and death (not only) of loved ones, and its oppressive atmosphere is replaced in the film by several average jump scares. This film is watchable if one does not have exaggerated expectations... The lack of atmosphere and fear can be attributed to the unremarkable, inconspicuous direction. Overall impression: 50%. If you are not a fan of the genre, I recommend subtracting 15%.