Kaka

An emotionally complex masterpiece, the likes of which have not been seen in a long time (especially within the genre). Steve McQueen, much like Woody Allen, revolves around societal relationship issues, but in a completely different way. He is shocking, he is perverse, he is minimalist and intense. Flawless in terms of acting, in terms of visuals, New York is squeezed to the maximum, and the music is brilliant. A magnificent musical motif for such a minimalist film, and yet it works. It would be difficult to improve anything. A film that defines the 21st century on a social level a work of art.

It reminded me a lot of The American with George Clooney in the lead role. It’s similarly expressionistic, austere, and cold. It’s a slow intimate film with a lot of dialogue, emphasising the beautiful location (this time Bruges, shown in all its glory). Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play interesting characters, and you want to see them on screen as much as possible, but in the end, Ralph Fiennes steals the film for himself. It may be slightly forced in an artsy way, where, unlike in The American or Drive, it tends to shout to the world, "look at how sophisticated and aware we are," but it still holds true that it is an unconventional and raw, genuine film that is entertaining and also sufficiently on par. You will certainly not forget it, it has many fantastic scenes and moments.

It is becoming a purely family affair. The chemistry among the cast is fantastic, the lines, the gags, and most of the dialogues are great. This is not a precisely rehearsed acting performance, this is the natural chemistry between people who have been working together for several years and create an incredibly likeable team. It can be seen, it can be felt. The improvisation, not artificiality, brought me the greatest joy. At the same time, it is good to say that Fast and Furious is slowly moving towards the style of The Expendables, because the cast is increasingly expanding not only in the main roles but also in the supporting roles (this time with Gina Carano). We already know that Jason Statham will be in the next part, so there will certainly be no lack of interesting faces. Despite all of this, the sixth part is not better than the fifth, not by a long shot. It may be "smoother," more grandiose, and with a higher budget, but one thing is megalomania (a tank on a highway) and another thing is scenes that totally lack logic and make the viewer feel like an idiot. The tank's destruction, Vin Diesel as Superman, a 10-kilometer-long runway, these are things that cannot be tolerated. The excellent fight between Carano and Michelle Rodriguez in the subway is good, especially the now legendary staircase-falling scene (captivating work in terms of stunts, camera work, editing, and emotions), a few well-destroyed cars, and excellent sound as a whole. However, the unpleasant "sci-fi" elements that the film is overloaded with are disappointing. It was difficult to go further after the fifth film, but it certainly did not have to go further in terms of action. It should have gone in a slightly different direction.

A spectacular thing and surprisingly quite entertaining. Visually it is very attractive and captivating. Kristen Stewart has finally escaped her role in Twilight and showcases a confident performance. The plot is solidly tangled, the pacing is just right, and you don’t have much room to get bored. It may not become a classic, nor is it a timeless thing, but a sequel would certainly not be a bad idea, and I was surprised by the precision with which they tackled it from a formal perspective. Visually more daring than, for example, the latest Jackson's Hobbit.

Much more depressing and striving for heavy art than I expected. We've known that Luhrmann is a kitsch director since the times of Australia, and I haven’t liked his theatrical dialogues and starched romance ever since. Here, the suffering continues. DiCaprio's character is unfortunately not nearly as positive as it may seem at first glance, I think there was a gross misunderstanding of the source material, and the intention to have fun somehow didn't work. The Great Gatsby as a film is visually very opulent, almost dreamlike. Some of the visual finesse worked excellently, but some of it is terrible (those WTF camera shots?). The whole thing feels pompous, monumental, refined, and cold, just as cold as the main characters felt to me. I didn't believe many scenes, and if I did, it was rather the bad ones than the good ones. The effort for perfect audiovisual execution (collaboration with Jay Z brings a feeling like a leash, visual effects) is evident and definitely a plus. However, it felt like the 1920s imagined by a person living in 2148. A slightly "future retro style" that didn't sit well with me and left a strange taste in my mouth. Even the attempt at an artistic affair is out of place.

Woody Allen seems to be paying tribute to all the most romantic places in Europe. For the umpteenth time, he films a story of several people and couples that is equally entertaining and incredibly "heartwarming”, experiencing everything from falling in love, through everyday routine, to stormy breakups and the search for the meaning of life. Allen is traditionally strong in dialogue lines and gripping script twists in the almost intimate personal tales and thoughts of the main characters. It is very enchanting and very cleverly directed. Unfortunately, it is only for a very specific type of audience who enjoy these kinds of stories and see at least a partial reflection of their romantic selves in them. For the rest, it will just be empty blabber, always the same, with the incredibly gorgeous Penelope Cruz.

The topic is appropriately dense and solidly exsecuted in terms of drama. Hilary Swank is spot-on, and the theme of student wars in turbulent L.A., full of ethnic minorities, is very interesting and apparently fairly realistically portrayed. It's not a film you would want to see multiple times, essentially offering nothing new the second time around, but as a must-see within the genre, yeah. Hilary delivers another outstanding performance and confirms that she is currently the best actress in Hollywood.

The choreography is fantastic, the music captivating, and visually it is very intoxicating – even considering the relatively modest budget. Unfortunately, the plot is a frayed cliché that often takes itself too seriously, which cannot be tolerated in this case. It's a silly film to watch once. It's all about Miami, good-looking actors, and good music. Essentially, rather than a full-fledged film, it is a long, disjointed music video.

The third Iron Man is a bit too minimalist in my opinion and overloaded with too many alternative plot elements. The first one was nicely compact and light. The second was oversized, but the action scenes were breathtaking and spectacularly executed. The third one is chatty, somewhat funny, the inner "Dark Knight" mood of the main character is a bit excessive with a considerable amount of irony, and there is almost no action (only two scenes, one of which is breathtaking, and the other is traditionally overwrought). I wanted a summer blockbuster, but what could they come up with in the third installment (the fourth one if I count the pumped-up Avengers) to make it feel fresh, innovative, and entertaining for millions of people? There isn't much. They got serious and humanized Iron Man, some people like it, some don't. I wanted to be "carried away" and instead, I was forced to "think".

Based on the trailer, I was expecting the same concept as Prometheus, that is, a visually spectacular and utterly captivating experience for sci-fi lovers that in the end is not nearly as sophisticated as we would like. But Oblivion is different, it is much more minimalist and modest, with its biggest weakness being Joseph Kosinski as a screenwriter. I believe he did his best, but he is a much better director than a writer. The biggest drawback in terms of the script, in my opinion, is the fact that they drew inspiration from older films such as Independence Day or The Matrix. Some years ago, we would have been amazed, but things are different today. However, Kosinski confirmed his role as an incredibly talented visionary in terms of audiovisual execution, and many scenes are literally breathtaking, the scene in the pool for example, in combination with perfect lighting, music, and sound, provides the ultimate feeling of excitement and cinematic experience. Similar feats could also be seen in Tron: Legacy. Kosinski knows how to create a different world where the viewer is willing to forget for a moment about their own, only a very few filmmakers can do this.