Malarkey

Slightly less dumb than the first instalment. Still dumb enough to rank among the trashiest fantasy blockbusters of today. I don’t know where the creators find enough confidence to shoot one sequel after another, pouring money down the drain. I think that these young adult fantasy stories don’t stand a chance unless they are as brutal as for example Hunger Games. To create a fantasy world that is not stupid is not as easy as it looks.

The beginnings of all the action weekend evenings on television in my childhood and one of the first films with Arnold Schwarzenegger I’ve ever seen. I remember being quite afraid of him. That’s why I prefer the second part. Nevertheless, the first instalment has a firm place in my heart as well. Just so you know, so you don’t think I am some action flick hater :).

Quite a dark and raw period film with a touch of something wannabe supernatural. But from today’s perspective, I wouldn’t consider it supernatural, because at that time even a fart underwater counted as such. To my great surprise, I missed perhaps only one thing to consider this movie perfect. It was a bit pity that the creators decided to portray the Middle Ages so faithfully that sometimes I had difficulties with understanding the actors. They were talking in various languages, and their Czech sometimes sounded as if they were trying to talk with their mouths full. And the girl who played Michaela Kudláčková didn’t have to cry as much. I could only catch her every other word. Anyhow, I didn’t expect a movie like this to be made in Czechoslovakia – a solidly made mediaeval story shot in beautiful locations. I wish there were more films like this, because I keep telling myself that the Czech Republic was made for such stories. I just don’t know which director would be up to such task.

It is clear to me why this film from Martin Scorsese’s filmography is not talked about much. In terms of its story, The Age of Innocence is unbelievably boring, and the only thing that salvages it is the way Scorsese filmed it. Michelle Pfeiffer’s story might have been the most interesting thing in the whole movie. But that’s still not enough to turn this into a good film. Just imagine that the movie you’re watching is not set in New York but in the English countryside and the level of its blandness becomes clear. This movie aspired to give me a visual brain lobotomy.

Had this film not been so dumb, it might have been watchable. It wasn’t filmed in a bad manner. But it’s dragged down by the convoluted plot twists, where we’ll see Denzel raiding a hospital after the first half hour of the film, because he is desperate, waving a gun in his hand like some wannabe boss.

I have a feeling that television is already preparing me for Christmas, so I watched my first pre-Christmas movie this year. And it did exactly what I wanted it to do. It brought me some Christmas cheer, a proof that Santa Claus exists, and some good vibes with Patrick Swayze, who had a hard time surviving in that mall.

A tense hospital drama, where a bunch of wheelchair-ridden guys with cancer in their blood are doing their best to survive. It’s brutal, funny, sometimes very earnest, which all contributes to the fact that you will be rooting for all these boys and one girl. Good job, Dutch!

I was very afraid of this sequel. I don’t understand where the creators come up with sequel ideas to legendary Czech films. However, when the sequel to The Inheritance was released this year, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t curious about it. Especially considering the fact that Bolek Polívka wrote it himself again. And the result is not so bad. There are a lot of scenes drawing on the original movie, which could be expected. But there are also new scenes and ideas that will make you laugh in earnest. And since Bolek wrote it himself, I have a feeling that he put something from his own life into this. That’s why the story is probably taking place on “his” farm, and that’s why we see a lot of allusions to Bolek’s life in recent years. In any case, you can see that he did his best, as evidenced by the cast, which has not changed since the first part, just expanded with a few more interesting names. I’m also happy he didn’t succumb to melancholy much, as happened for example with the sequel to Snowdrops and Aces. Above all, I wanted to have a good laugh, and this movie delivered. So why not.

This looked interesting already in the trailer, which was confirmed by the movie itself. The plot has some holes in it, but it’s bearable. That is, if you don’t mind that the protagonist has an accident in a field close to Prachatice, and his friend coming for him from Prague takes like five minutes to get there. And the same goes later for Brno and Ostrava, as if every city in our country was just behind the corner. Anyhow, it is filmed well and the actors were incredibly entertaining. I hope to see Pavel Batěk, Filip Blažek and Vica Kerekes in more movies in the future. They are easy on the eyes and very good actors.

As soon as I see a comedy with such uncompromisingly positive vibes, I have to add a star to my rating. The person responsible for that in this movie is Elyas M'Barek, who plays exactly the kind of character that everyone simply must like. And this goes for other characters as well, including the shy ones such as the one played by Karoline Herfurth, who delivered an excellent performance, which was often a joy to watch. As far as comedies go, this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I can see myself rewatching these two hours in the future, even multiple times. I haven’t seen such positive vibes in a comedy in a long time.