J*A*S*M

The screenwriter must be a pretty creative chap, because thinking and writing something so unlikely stupid has to be a form of art. On the other hand, it is at least (and for that reason) quite fun. Horror-wise, Truth or Dare is tame, they play with guns, shotguns, knives and acid, things that nowadays won’t impress anyone. I wouldn’t recommend it, but there’s much worse stuff out there. 4.5/10

The trailer attracted me. But it’s a pity that it attracted me with something that the film doesn’t reveal until the middle as the “main surprise”, so my impression is distorted because I didn’t watch it the way I should. Regardless, The Hidden Face was fun and I’m really satisfied. Nicely put together.

I’m a fan of indie filmmakers, but this is so incredibly uninteresting and unoriginal that not even the overall fine technical aspect can save it. I don’t expect creators to come up with great surprises in a redneck slasher flick, but here there is absolutely nothing! Desolate, empty. Not a hint of tension or atmosphere, not even interesting murders; nothing.

One of the films of last year’s Midnight Madness at the Toronto Film Festival that’s been flying way below the radar of the Czech fans of the genre (although in Rotten Tomatoes it has 100% positive reviews, with a 8.1 score). Hopefully this will change because it’s really good. In a nutshell, this is a French thriller about a police officer trying to rescue his son from kidnappers, a drug gang. The important thing is that most of the plot takes place during one evening and in the premises of a night club, which the protagonist crawls from roof to cellar. The director is very successful at conveying the feverish situation the protagonist finds himself in (together with the many other characters) and this makes the film almost surprisingly action packed, though the action is not the kind you would expect from an “action thriller” tag. It just keeps running from room to room, plus a couple of effective fights. Thumbs up, this film really deserves more attention.

I expected the Spanish clone of Paranormal Activity and it is the Spanish clone of Paranormal Activity. Unfortunately though, it’s weaker than the weakest PA (edit autumn 2012: not anymore), and that for me means two stars, though the haters of found-footage will likely go much lower. I’m really disappointed that the creators didn’t come up with almost any interesting ideas, so you just watch something that you’ve already seen a million times before. But the worst is that the performances and the atmosphere aren’t good either. This time the Spaniards have disappointed, what a shame.

I didn’t believe in this film until the very last minute. I have the director, Steven C. Miller (Scream of the Banshee, Automaton Transfusion), classified as incompetent and I didn’t think that could ever change, but The Aggression Scale is fairly good, surprisingly. In recent years, the “home invasion” horror-thriller sub-genre has produced plenty of interesting films (Kidnapped, Them, Mother's Day, Strangers) and this one, though not flawless or among the best, in its brief 80 minutes manages to be entertaining, tense, nicely shot and brutal enough to satisfy viewers without much problem. What’s really good is the atmospheric and moody score. What pissed me off, on the other hand, were the characters. The main villain, who looks like an angry, second-rate clone of George Clooney, was alright, but the victims (headed by an insufferable teenage girl who whines the entire first half and screams the entire second half because she hurt her hand) didn’t gain my sympathy. Strong three stars and an unexpected thumbs up.

It’s nice to see Borgliano moving beyond the boundaries of cheap exploitation towards increasingly interesting projects in increasingly interesting genres. Penumbra is not even horror any more, Borgliano delays the moment when “things start to happen” in an almost hedonistic way; bloodthirsty viewers will not be very happy (it was really funny during the screening how they cursed the director and prayed for the mysterious Mr Salva to finally show up :-D). Most of it is basically a nicely made conversational drama that at times is almost unexpectedly comedic and cynical, and in a way it reminded me of the recent Sleep Tight, by Balagueró. Many people will not like it, so I’m hesitant to recommend it, but for me 7/10.

A very easygoing movie. The nostalgia didn’t work so much on me (naturally, I saw the original trilogy for the first time less than a week ago :-D), but as a comedy, it’s excellent. Stifler is still the same idiot, Jim still ends up in embarrassing situations, Jim’s dad speaks about things you shouldn’t speak about and Stiffler’s mum… well, you’ll see. Reunion has a few serious and sad moments here and there – the protagonists are no longer teenagers, after all – but they are soon followed by bursts of laughter. The most pleasant film of the year so far, it will make you forget for a moment the bad mood prevailing in the Czech Republic right now. We need something like this twice a week.

A piece of advice for the next time: Dear creators, if you’re going to plagiarise, do it with something that’s worth it, and do it at least inconspicuously. One Way Trip is a rip-off of Shrooms that doesn’t try to do anything more than fill its eighty minutes, giving its teenage audience a couple of forest and home chases, a bit of chaste sex and a final twist that in the past was shocking, a couple of years later was cliché, a couple of years after that was annoying, and now it’s just sad. The craftsmanship is alright, so if you want nothing more than a daily dose of undemanding and sterile horror, why not. I’m already looking forward to The Cabin In the Woods and how it will take the piss out of films like this.

I love this feeling of pure joy at how this film is made. Shame is a precise, depressive drama and Fassbender is becoming on of the most interesting “young” actors of the moment.