Remedy

At times I found the autistic "scenes" and "outbursts" a bit overdone and purely calculating, but that would be about the only flaw in the film.)) DiCaprio's performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape struck me a bit more, after all, and while The Black Balloon has some really powerful (Thomas' party) and beautiful scenes (spending an afternoon together with Charlie and hiding from the rain), the final impression is a bit weaker than the aforementioned Hallström film. But nice and well made – that it certainly is :)))

As a standalone film, Hannibal (thanks mainly to Scott's imaginative direction) would certainly stand up better than as a sequel to Silence of the Lambs. I think what I missed most were the prison conversations with Lecter and Starling, which I really enjoyed in the first one. Hannibal is a much more action-packed, but also much less suspenseful sequel than its predecessor. The first had an excellent script and a mediocre director, the second has a below-average script and an excellent director – but the original wins hands down, despite the undeniable acting (yes, Hopkins is still just as demonically perfect) and directing quality (gorgeous shots of Florence and a great opening action scene). Julianne Moore was okay, but Jodie Foster delved much deeper and more impressively into her character.

Certainly City of Ember isn't the dud that most would-be sci-fi from this year (2010) has been. For a while I was even considering a weaker 4 stars, but for that City of Ember has weak art direction, some pretty boilerplate characters, and some not-so-effective digital effects. Pity. 65-70%.

Dancer in the Dark is an exceptional film. To use a musical as a metaphor and merge it with a theme like this – that's just genius! This time I have to mention the fact that Lars von Trier's films, compared to most other productions, are a real emotional and intense experience for me, which quite often lingers in me for days (which happens very rarely indeed.)) As in Breaking the Waves, the main character here is a suffering woman whose moral values and sense of "the right thing" clash with the injustice and disproportionate cruelty (especially psychological) of ordinary people. Lars von Trier certainly doesn't put these types of characters in his films for the sake of it; on the contrary, through the clash of their pure characters with "the evil world" he holds up a mirror to us and forces the ordinary person to reflect on his values – on the other hand, it is sad that we need to first "experience" the suffering and the evil committed in a naturalistic way in the film in order to force ourselves to reflect on it (but sometimes even that doesn't help, unfortunately. )) Even though Dancer in the Dark is not a film about nice things, it is still beautiful and unique in its own way – at least in how much emotion it contains and how credibly it can portray human morality and human suffering. The musical interludes, in which Björk excels vocally and expressively, are a damn fine icing on an already well made (though probably quite hard to digest for some) cake. It's true that the director is quite relentless in his attacks on the viewer's feelings, and it's also quite likely that if you internally go through the whole crazy whirlwind with the main character, you'll probably feel like a fly in a spider's web at the end. However, as controversial and provocative as Dancer in the Dark is, it's still a hugely engaging, masterfully directed work whose meaning or mission is huge.

An forthright treat within the genre that has no significant weak point. As much as I appreciated the complexity and "that extra something" with Watchmen, with Kick-Ass I similarly appreciate the pure honesty and, of course, the fact that it's just insanely good. :) I was a little worried about how Matthew Vaughn would handle the action, but Hit-Girl's killer rampage and catchphrases, to which there really is no other comment than fucking awesome!!!, left me in no doubt that a new cult among comic book adaptations had been born. Vaughn deserves to make a proper buck already too, which he could (and should) do this time. An outrageously hopped-up soundtrack, excellent lines, a great cast, and above all incredibly energetic and distinctive direction make Kick-Ass one of the films of the year. I'm looking forward to the second one.

Del Toro's sense of imagination is incredible. Beautiful music, on one level a wonderful fairy tale story, and overall an experience that is not easy to forget. The bizarre fascination with the ending is just the icing on the cake...

I was honestly "enticed" by the trailer and the cast, so expectations were high. It's a fact that Peacock has a pretty decent (albeit rather unpleasant) atmosphere in places – especially when portraying the psyche of the main character/"heroine". The acting is indeed very appealing, the subject matter is quite original, the script is on a decent level, the directing is good, but I just didn't get what I was expecting, plus the potential that Peacock has (had) remained untapped many times over... A little more mystery to give the film a mystery thriller flavor would have worked much better in my opinion... As it is, it's "just" a decent intimate psychological drama. 70%

"Master" screenwriter Tony Gilroy proves he's no stranger to directing either, serving up a riveting tale of the rotten legal world, backed by the ultra-appealing Clooney. Elswit's cinematography is incredibly polished, the atmosphere could truly be cut with a knife in places, and the direction is precise and to the point. Thoughtful and professional work all round.

A wannabe action horror film with one significantly shot scene (the gas station explosion :)) that brings nothing new to the genre. However, Rutger Hauer as The Hitcher is perfectly nasty and yet very charismatic at the same time, so I see it at around 65-70% in the end. One of the things I still quite enjoyed was the volatility of the relationship between Jim and John.

It's not very inventively filmed, but it certainly serves its purpose. The contradictions, the emptiness, the distrust in rediscovering oneself, the obscuring of the truth to ease the pain... Emotionally, a pretty relentless film with the excellent Dakota Fanning and Forest Whitaker.