J*A*S*M

On the one hand, Cheap Thrills looks quite familiar (a desperate person competing for an increasing amount of money, like in this Thai film) but on the other, this film is always fun enough and also refreshing because, instead of one, the desperate souls are two and they are competing against each other. To some extent, it’s predictable and you don’t need much intellectual effort to figure out what the final station will be like, but it doesn’t matter. The fun never stops and the ending is pleasantly sharp. 8/10

A 180° turn and the first Bulava's film that I can say I liked without any “buts”. I really dig this type of serious, depressive and unsettling philosophy that doesn’t care too much about what the viewer says and goes its own way. A guy hits a tree with an axe for almost five minutes, if it was only 30 seconds, it would be more viewer-friendly, but I like the longer version better. The black and white really helps the atmosphere, its very suitable for the topic. The cinematography is great, some of the shots (the silhouettes on the heap, the descent into the water) are simply brilliant. The story is quite minimalistic, which I don’t mind, on the contrary, I think that after the previous two films (with too much narrative), this is a step in the right direction – you don’t need that much dialogue to explain and move forward a relatively complex plot structure, which leaves more room to create an atmosphere, etc. To summarise: I prefer these minimalistic artsy parables over, for instance, splatter-fests like Oči starého Kostelníka, or homages to the old Giallo movies, like Šest prstů v zeleném. Many people (most, I reckon) will think the opposite, and they won’t have it very easy with this film. In any case, I’m rooting for it.

An excellent idea about how to have an original take on the zombie apocalypse. The creators don’t get all the juice out of it,though, which is a pity, but The Returned has its strong moments. It’s very well made and the climax even managed to arouse some emotions (though the ending maybe is trying a bit too much). A pleasant surprise from the director of the below-par The Possession of Emma Evans. 7/10

I root for every cheap indie flick, and I was hoping Almost Human would be better, even if this style of straightforward slasher flicks from the 1980s is not precisely my cup of tea. What I missed the most was perhaps some mystery around the transformed main character, some ambiguity. But that’s not the case here at all. The script is about nothing. Slightly funny. 5/10

It’s very nicely made, including those animated sequences from Helium, but, God, that pathos! :-/ But what can you expect from a movie about a dying child, right?

When God is bored he can be quite an asshole. Poor Belgians!

To a certain extent, it has no surprise whatsoever (though, during the first couple of minutes it plays at mystery with some success, but the viewer soon begins to figure out what it will likely be about), but does it matter when it’s almost as tense as something from Greengrass?

This really, really needs a full feature run, because in this short space it almost doesn’t work at all. Too little time!

It is very funny, but for an Oscar nomination? I don’t know. That it would go to such a straightforward…. sketch, I wouldn’t have thought of that. Congratulations!

For me, exactly on the border between three and four stars. Technically it’s very good, with decent action, but I felt the script has an overly complicated structure and that it communicates pretty confusingly with the viewer at times. And all that wannabe psychological crap like “To defeat the monster we must become a monster” was really annoying by the end. 7/10