Stanislaus

The first Shazam! was a pretty nice and unpretentious flick, but Fury of the Gods, unfortunately, flirts with moments of awkwardness for a noticeable part of its running time, offering a predictable and overly instructive story about the importance of family (and no, it's not another Fast and Furious). It also has reprehensibly overlong running time and, at times, rather poor CGI. Fury of the Gods wants to be fun and brisk, but it fails badly. In this case, I'm not so sorry that I didn't catch the film in the cinema and watched it in the end thanks to Netflix.

I'm definitely not a fan of spiders, but my curiosity lured me to the cinema to see Infested, as I have a bit of a thing for animal horror movies (about overgrown crocodiles, snakes, boars, sharks, etc.). Sébastien Vaniček's film impresses with a soundtrack I would have expected in a film about drugs or the mafia rather than deadly eight-legged creatures - though drugs are often mentioned. As far as the action-horror level is concerned, it works on the whole; here I would highlight especially the scene with the flashing corridor, which gave me solid goosebumps. But the overall experience is noticeably marred by the characters and their actions, it was really hard to root for them to escape the "web of death".

I thoroughly enjoyed Fury Road in the cinema nine years ago and, to be honest, I don't know if I've ever seen a more action-packed film. Furiosa raised great expectations in me precisely because of that cinematic experience and also because of the female lead. After watching it, I have to say that I was probably expecting a slightly different film, but I don't mean that in a negative way. Furiosa is again full of brisk action with imaginative choreography – this is especially dominated by the tanker chase scenes and the confrontation in the mine – and tries through a kind of "biblical plane" not to be just a pure action film. I was surprised to see Anya Taylor-Joy arrive on the scene relatively late, and I would fault the film for having too tidy an ending for my taste. Still, this is a high-quality audiovisual spectacle that would be a sin not to see on the big screen, where it certainly belongs.

After the twenty year old live-action version, this is my second encounter with the gluttonous lasagna lover and chief opponent of Mondays. The makers of the new Garfield have moved with the times, throwing in many modern conveniences to appeal to today's younger audience, while the ubiquitous sarcasm is intended for older viewers – it's just a shame it is lighter in tone. In terms of story, the film doesn't surprise in any way, but it doesn't bore, and the plot moves along quickly throughout. As an unpretentious flick for a free afternoon, The Garfield Movie is a perfect choice!

Caesar is dead, but his legacy lives on, albeit in a twisted form! Although I haven't seen War for the Planet of the Apes, I went to the cinema to see the latest entry in the post-apocalyptic ape saga, as it is a fresh reboot(?) of the franchise. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another audiovisually captivating spectacle, standing out in particular for its amazing CGI apes. Story-wise, the film doesn't have much to surprise, but it was still very easy to watch thanks to the attractive visuals and the regularly dosed action. I was intrigued by the character of Raky and also by the line with the breeding of eagles (it reminded me of the ikrans from Avatar). I wonder if there will be a sequel in the coming years, which I certainly wouldn't be averse to.

The Spanish-Chinese co-production Dragonkeeper shares a central theme with the more famous How to Train Your Dragon: the (re)building of the relationship between humans and powerful dragons. Dragonkeeper has a pretty likable story, though the animation is more on the average side. As an unpretentious flick with a few humorous and action scenes, it is good enough, but a few days after the screening you probably won't remember it.

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.