angel74

Flamenco is inextricably linked to Spain. The dance, the music and the singing have evolved in some way over the centuries, but one thing has remained constant in all forms of flamenco. That incredibly captivating contrast between enormous animality and emotionality on the one hand and virtuoso control on the other. This documentary by Kateřina Hager includes all of the above, perhaps only there could have been a bit more dancing. My great admiration belongs especially to Amós, who at the age of twelve plays the guitar like the devil himself. (65%)

It's hard to see such a wonderfully brisk, energetic and above all entertaining biopic, and the almost Coen-like humor suits this real, yet barely believable story immensely. The same can be said of the soundtrack, which almost perfectly underlines the dynamics of the narrative. The American figure skater Tonya Harding grew up a poor redneck with a psychopathic mother and a father who ran away from them. Her childhood was simply unhappy. Probably for these reasons she didn't look very feminine on the ice, but she was an excellent jumper of her time. I have to admit that Margot Robbie in the title role and Allison Janney as the tough mother really got under my skin, playing their roles so convincingly. (95%)

If I were to think of the greatest icon and symbol of the fight against AIDS, one name immediately springs to mind, and that is Freddie Mercury. The documentary Freddie: The Final Act is not only a celebration of his life, but also a testimony to the difficult times of the budding HIV epidemic, which automatically made homosexuals some of the biggest pariahs of society... The atmosphere at the memorable Mercury tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in 1992 must have been absolutely amazing, especially when such different personalities as Axl Rose and Elton John were singing hand in hand on stage. (85%)

"We are born originals and we die copies" - That is certainly an interesting thought. Unfortunately, however, the rest of the documentary didn't appeal to me much. Apparently, I am not artistic enough to be able to understand the strange poetics. (45%)

Lara's story is so realistic that it makes your heart ache. Belgian director Lukas Dhont's feature film debut offers a sensitive and deep insight into the soul of a teenage girl trapped in a boy's body who longs to become a ballerina. She is willing to do almost anything for her dream. Victor Polster literally took my breath away with his extraordinary performance of the title role. The final denouement really shocked me, even though I subconsciously expected something similar. (85%)

The protagonist Douglas Peterson hopes to salvage his marriage and his broken relationship with his teenage son while touring the sights of Europe together, but as tends to be the case, your intentions are often changed by life. This successful British miniseries reminded me a bit of the American series This Is Us. Not that the plot is similar, but the narrative style and atmosphere certainly are. I was completely drawn into the story, which left a deep impression on me. I also really liked the melancholic music, which wonderfully illustrated the mood and emotions. I had no complaints about the acting either, all the actors gave very good and mostly believable performances. (85%)

Unfortunately, this movie doesn't even come close to the classics of this genre, such as Towering Inferno with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, or Die Hard with Bruce Willis. The story itself is incredibly stupid and predictable, so I must focus more on the visual side, which the filmmakers did quite well. We can say that it is a kind of unpretentious action movie, with occasional suspenseful scenes here and there. (50%)

The co-produced animated movie Fritzi: A Revolutionary Tale introduces children to an important historical milestone - the fall of the Iron Curtain and the opening of the borders in 1989 - in a very engaging and comprehensible way. I think it would not be a bad thing at all if they made more films like this, focusing of course on other historical events too. (80%)

This Norwegian offering has only confirmed my conviction that all churches, religious societies and sects are some the greatest sources of evil that have plagued mankind since time immemorial. I'm an atheist, which means I don't believe in the existence of a god or an omnipotent creator. However, I have nothing against anyone with faith, as long as it helps them on their journey through life and, most importantly, as long as they don’t impose it on others. The strong whiff of bigotry I feel here gives me the creeps. The subject matter is not bad, but the way it is handled is strange to say the least. The director Jorunn Myklebust Syversen crammed too many themes into an hour and a half, most of which she did not manage to put across fully, but only skimmed lightly over the surface. Most of the footage was taken up by religious issues that make me want to vomit. (45%)

I have somewhat mixed feelings about it, but now that I think back to this quasi-documentary road movie, I have to admit that I actually quite liked it. This is mainly thanks to the satirical scenes of traveling through the unpredictable Balkans. In addition, I liked Peter Van den Begin, who played the Belgian King Nicolas III. (70%)