michuk

From Paris with Love (5)

short review, Sunday 28. February 2010, 14:26

A well crafted action movie, at times even crossing the action-porn path. What is not expected: original cinematography and montagel. What is expected: easy to guess storyline and simple characters well suiting the genre. I liked the twist though, pretty surprising. For the first half I felt I was being raped by the number of dead bodies floating on the screen. Later it became a bit calmer with some dialogue and jokes. The supper scene was amazing. And so was the Pulp Fiction joke.

michuk Sunday 28. February 2010, 14:27

BTW, I watched this movie in cinema only because all ...

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The Wolf Man (4)

short review, Friday 12. February 2010, 01:49

This is not a good film. I like the visual part and the acting (well, Hopkins and Del Toro don't go below a certain level) but the director didn't really know what he wanted to achieve. The film was to fast, the dialogues seemed hassled with no good reason. The sound and music choices were simply awful, making the whole thing funny rather than scary. A wasted chance, in spite of its bright moments (like a few action scenes).

expatpaul Friday 12. February 2010, 21:20

That's a shame - I was quite looking forward to ...

michuk Monday 15. February 2010, 02:09

I should have checked the name of the director. Mr ...

expatpaul Monday 15. February 2010, 18:02

It's not a good pedigree when you look at Joe ...

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Invictus (7)

short review, Thursday 11. February 2010, 20:51

It's been a while since I left a movie house with a wet face. Eastwood managed to accumulate all possible positive emotions in this film about hope that it is hard to stay untouched by it. And the historic moments of South Africa are pictured in "Invictus" convincingly enough to ignore the pathos. Yet another decent film by the never-resting ex-cowboy.

The Hurt Locker (7)

short review, Saturday 06. February 2010, 13:11

I much preferred the realism of Hurt Locker (even if fake to some extent) to the surrealism of "Men who stared at goats". Bigelow (it's amazing a film like this was made by a woman!) told an interesting story of a "typical American fellow" suggesting that the success in war is possible only if you have nothing to lose.

An Education (7)

short review, Friday 05. February 2010, 23:27

Entertaining, unpretentious and well-acted by the whole team, especially Mulligan and Molina. A bit too stereotypical and forseeable to stay in mind for longer, but still a very pleasant and somehow... nonchalant film. I found it hard to find any connections to the Scandinavian past of the director whose "Italiensk for begyndere" is a completely different movie sharing perhaps only some calmness and reconciliation with An Education. Looking forward to Lone Scherfig's next project.

Un prophète (7)

short review, Wednesday 27. January 2010, 20:57

Quite a conservative story is told in a refreshing way: it's both entertaining and creditable. Although it lacked the surprise factor of "Self-made hero", it's still a non-conventional but highly watchable movie. What I found awkward was the mysticism incorporated into the story. I did not buy it, although it was not an immediate turn-off. If you haven't seen Audiard work before, go watch it as he's one of the most interesting European directors of our time.

Chopin. Pragnienie milosci (2)

short review, Saturday 23. January 2010, 11:55

A less than mediocre movie about a more than ingenious composer, one of the greatest Poles in history. What a shame, what a shame...

Hijosen no onna (7)

short review, Saturday 23. January 2010, 01:34

Interesting shots and cinematography in general. Astonishing, modern (but with an old-time feel) acting and an emotional story that makes you forget you're watching a mute film from the 30ties. Tanaka impressively showed the hesitation and doubts of a dependent women making her creation both funny and tragic. A simple script did not bother me thanks to the richness of all other elements. Yasujiro Ozu is certainly a director to explore. Thanks BFI for the retrospective!

Un héros très discret (8)

short review, Friday 15. January 2010, 23:05

Fascinating, funny, fabulous! It's a just-right mix of drama and comedy, never leaving the feeling of losing it and turning to pure grotesque. And there are many possible ways it could have gone wrong, taking a subject of an accidental war hero, a loser and a lyer who becomes a veteran without spending a day in a soldier uniform. The shory works so well mainly because of the outstanding performance of Kassovitz.

The Road (5)

short review, Friday 15. January 2010, 14:47

For some reason that we don't know the apocalypse came and made Earth (or at least the U.S.) a horrible place to be. And we're supposed to get involved into the struggle of a father and a son who don't want to do evil but are forced to (just like Google). McCarthy's book is an object of cult, so why did the movie turn so bleak? I blame the director who failed to make me care about his characters. I stayed indifferent despite the terrible scenes. What I liked? The Cinematography & the music.