Stanislaus

Of the genre categories mentioned above, only the road movie passes muster with Grand Prix, as the film doesn't work as well as they may have originally intended on the dramatic as well as the comedic level. Almost all the characters are incredibly unlikeable and fist-pumping, with perhaps only Tatiana Dyková providing a slight humorous chuckle. Grand Prix certainly looked better on paper than it did on screen, and given the cast, it's a shame about the wasted potential.

 The Fall Guy has a bit of a slow and slapdash start, but from Colt's return to the set, the film jumps into a brisk wave of action that isn't slowed down even by the closing credits. David Leitch mixes action comedy with romance and crime in a likeable way, with all the genre levels working well together. I've always liked Emily Blunt, and Ryan Gosling is definitely more suited to the distressed stubble than Ken's face. I also liked how the film pays homage to the stunt craft and all the "no-names" who risk their lives so that "famous" stars can shine. Last but not least, I must not forget to mention the excellent parody of the space opera genre and the eye-rolling, or rather humming, of the "dune saga".

I'm not a fan of sports-themed films, but Challengers managed to win me over thanks to its story, the core of which revolved around a dynamic and plastic love triangle, whose individual vertices interacted with each other at the speed of a tennis ball. I commend the structure of the plot, where the framework was the decisive match, while the filler was what led to this great match. In fact, I ended up liking the sporting aspect of the film - the quick shots between faces, ball hits and rackets really drew me into the action, almost onto the tennis court, you could say. Last but not least, I have to highlight the incredible soundtrack, whose electronic tones fit the story perfectly.

An enjoyable and warm tribute to an icon of American country music, the owner of unmissable assets and distinctive humour: Dolly Parton. The stage featured singers rather unfamiliar to me, but at least I was able to know a bit more of Dolly's repertoire. The final and endearingly ticklish word from Dolly was a funny icing on the cake.

During the Storm plays with the motif of the butterfly effect, mixing elements of crime drama and science fiction about playing with time, and manages to hold the viewer's attention for almost the entire running time. The final third was perhaps a little wilder script-wise, yet I rate the film as a whole very positively, with the detective plot and the gradual uncovering of the truth, trapped in the turbulent snares of time, playing a large part. I could complain about the main character Vera, who was a bit too (typically Spanish) hysterical at times – they could have toned down the talking, as it detracted a bit from the believability.

If you watch the trailer of Abigail before the screening, you'll be revealed on one major plot twist, but the film still has a few more surprising aces up their sleeve, especially in the final third. The central motif of an ambiguous cat-and-mouse game bears a strong resemblance to previous pieces by the creative duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, but this time the bloody murder mystery is given a supernatural twist. I haven't seen Ready or Not, but I really enjoyed the last two Scream films, especially for breaking the boundaries of the genre, flirting with them and playing with audience expectations. Abigail rides a similar wave, featuring more than one good allusion to the genre or pop culture, yet the film as a whole failed to engage and entertain me as much as the fifth and sixth Scream did. The big stumbling block for me was some of the largely unlikeable characters and their theatrical badass acting. Alisha Weir, on the other hand, was bloody charming and I'm curious to see what direction her career will take.

After Ex Machina and Annihilation, this is my third encounter with Alex Garland's directorial work, which, as with the aforementioned films, tells a story from the more or less near future - but this time in a more contemporary and realistic vein, which makes you shiver all the more. The plot is a simple road movie with action interludes where the main characters are confronted with disturbing scenes from "everyday life in the USA". I liked the audiovisual execution, with photographs of the journalists inserted into the picture, and the background music, which seemed to soften the horrors depicted with its friendly country overtones. The most uncomfortable sequence for me was undoubtedly the confrontation with Jesse Plemons. Visually, I was most impressed by the passage through the burning forest; and in terms of action, I liked the thrilling finale the most. A solid four stars!

Frozen Empire gives more space to the original cast and tries even harder to make nostalgic connections to the original films than Afterlife does, yet it falls short of the quality of the 80s classics and leaves the potential just floating in the (deathly cold) air. The main villain has a pleasingly eerie look, and it's quite a shame that he arrives on the scene relatively late and figures more in "whispered" hints. The new cast from Afterlife, expanded this time with Kumail Nanjiani, seemed so futile again. A sequel that was probably made just to be, without trying to make any kind of shift or add value to the Ghostbusters universe.

After the animal adventures of Mia and the White Lion and The Wolf and the Lion, Gilles de Maistre comes up with a third very similar piece, which, unlike the aforementioned two, left me cold and indifferent to the action on the screen. Although Autumn and the Black Jaguar deals with similar themes – the relationship between humans and animals, the unexpected friendships between them, the abuse and hunting of animals – it is presented in such a futile way that it is disappointing. Additionally, I felt like the film lacked any backstory due to the relationship between Ella's father and teacher. Thus, script-wise, this is a reprehensibly disnjointed film.

Janeen Damian must have made a resolution to revive the career of fallen star Lindsay Lohan with some sort of American variation of stories in the style of Rosamunde Pilcher, Inga Lindström etc. After Falling for Christmas, we move to the other end of the rainbow, to the wonderland of Ireland. The film's gorgeous exteriors unfortunately suffer under the weight of a heavily predictable plot that doesn't try for any surprises, and just moves on predictably, only for us to discover in the end (unexpectedly!) that every inner wish has its pitfalls. Irish Wish is a very unpretentious movie for an evening for which you have no better plan than to turn off your brain for ninety minutes in front of Netflix.