POMO

This film is more of Dorota Nvotová’s testimony about one period of her life than a documentary about Nepal or life in Kathmandu. We look into the capital of the country through the lens of Dorota’s charitable activities (helping the kids in the orphanage and on the street), but if the creators used a voice-over to also tell us something general about local life, the film would have more value as a documentary. But comparing the difficulty of being there and in Bratislava through Dorota’s direct and honest narrative, which does not pull any punches, makes the film personal and distinctive enough to get a message across and make you root for the protagonist. The film also has nice music.

The screenwriter had a vivid imagination and combined mysterious, unexplained real-life events with horror and sci-fi themes straight out of a horror B- movie that has no place in cinemas. The found-footage concept repeatedly defies all logic, the characters of the American group of adventurers are of no interest and the performances of local Russians are ridiculous (the interviewed grandma inconspicuously reading from her text is just… no comment). There is some proper horror tension in the climax, but the overall product is incredibly inane.

Iron Man 3 is the Skyfall of Marvel adaptations. Jon Favreau’s original boyish entertainment greatly benefits from the darker and more mature tone. The realist and cynic Shane Black loves Iron Man and develops the character of this most interesting Marvel hero to a depth that no Avenger has received yet, while preserving Marvel’s trademark playfulness. Stark’s feelings and protectiveness towards Pepper are more tangible, while his existential considerations are more selfcritical and fitting. In addition, there’s a great game of good guys and bad guys going on, where the character of Stark’s ex-girlfriend, played by Rebecca Hall, makes sense, as – most importantly – do both villains (Raimi, watch and learn). They deliver a clever and – with regard to the skeletons in the closet of today’s global politics – provocative twist, which also gives some space to the delicious creation by Ben Kingsley, my favorite. In addition (especially in the second half), expect some great humor and easy-to-follow, firework-like action, which will make you think that special effects just cannot evolve any further (in the end credits, pay attention to the number of members of the Digital Effects Crew). Iron Man 3 is an intelligent blockbuster super show made by enthusiasts and perfectionists, and it won me over completely also thanks to its many perfect details – the fragile Gwyneth Paltrow in an elegant white costume, Iron Man glove ideas and self-dressing armor, b&w buddy teamwork reminiscent of the best Lethal Weapon movies, and the fantastic airborne scene with the clever use of a 3D arrangement of people falling in space, supported by great superhero motif (for me, the highlight of the movie). Marvel should open its own Marvel Studios following the example of Universal Studios amusement parks and dedicate a section of it to the third Iron Man.

In the middle of the movie, they think of turning on night-vision cameras in all rooms to find out what happened at night ... Watching it at some time between the heyday of The X-Files and the first Paranormal Activity would’ve been fine. Today, this crossover of various horror concepts has nothing new to offer and only recycles what we’ve seen a hundred times. The goosebump-inducing scenes work, but is it really a win when something works in the film simply because of the work of the sound engineers? A thankless second-tier role for J.K. Simmons.

Al Pacino invigorated by Viagra in a brothel with a Russian prostitute? Why the hell not... Stand Up Guys is a nice chillout flick with classic cars and jazz music in the background, phlegmatically dragging its feet forward with an occasional funny episode. Pacino and Christopher Walken are entertaining to watch even in a movie that’s not going anywhere and whose ending is completely predictable, despite its screenwriter’s best efforts to the contrary. It probably wasn’t him who came up with the best gags (he still has a lot to learn in this respect), but the central duo.

Arbitrage was conceived as a thriller and raises expectations of a surprising or super-clever conclusion. But that fails to materialize and the film instead wagers on a noir-like idea (in the style of European art films or Academy Award-winning American movies) and its message remains rather superficial. It remains highly entertaining, however, because the audience’s attention and curiosity is maintained from the first minute to the last. Nicholas Jarecki, making his feature debut, was able to secure a sufficient budget and excellent actors for his quality screenplay. Richard Gere delivers what might be the best performance of his career.

The Deep is a technically well-made intriguing film about a guy who managed an impossible feat thanks to unheard of physical predispositions. Flashbacks that tell us more about him, the lead performance and the wide-angle and filtered environment of the Icelandic location are not enough to dispel the impression that it should’ve remained a quality documentary. The audience, spoiled by Perfect Storms, expects a denser story from a feature film.

A four-sided relationship film about love, trust, passion and unfaithfulness, precisely and sensitively depicted, and with excellent acting performances. The music by Clint Mansell is genius. If this topic is close to your heart, you’re in for some emotional gutting.

The Disney version of Sleeping with the Enemy, starring the handsome marine from Transformers, a likable but generic blonde and a villain who looks like Cole Hauser and fails to gain any respect as a drunk psycho. Safe Haven fails as a thriller and can be watched as a romantic film, the likes of which people watch on daytime TV to kill some time on a slow Sunday.

When watching Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi worlds, it’s impossible not to forgive them for any plot shortcomings, if there even are any shortcomings to speak of. His vision of technical and design excellence and the ambient feel of the “sound of reality” are so unique that the need to guide the audience through the story almost disappears. Kosinski goes beyond our dream imagination. Living in his world means not needing the sense of smell. In addition, Oblivion moves forward not through shootouts, but through unexpected twists, and the atmosphere is fantastic, given the minimalist set designs (by which I mean the beautiful, barren exteriors of Iceland and California, where nothing flashes or shines). The sound and music arrangement in the pool scene, and the pool scene itself, made this movie what it is and almost gave me an orgasm. Recalling the dressing scene in TRON: Legacy, I begin to hope that Kosinski is laying the cornerstone of a new sub-genre of transcendental erotic-sci-fi (i.e. something that would make your brain come). Once Google (and FilmBooster) take over the world, it will happen with M83 playing in the background.