wooozie

Sometimes I watch a movie I know next to nothing about in advance, as was this case (I relied on it being described as "something about singing starring Natalie Portman”). So, from the start, I wasn’t really sure if I had made the right decision as I was completely unprepared for such a psycho opening. Afterwards, the plot progressed as expected, but overall, I am not sure what kind of film it was supposed to be. The first part is about a school shooting and dealing with the consequences, the second part focuses on the making of a pop star, the third part captures the effects of fame on the main character and those around her, and the conclusion is strictly focused on one particular concert. The problem is that it all gets done only halfway, none of it feels finished and every aspect seems kind of half-baked. And Dafoe in the role of a narrator seems downright redundant as if from another movie. In fact, everything about it is rather strange, which was predictable from the trailers, and which is also why it was such a flop in the theaters.

Two-thirds of the film deal with problems that no one really cares about, be it an alien invasion or the story of Jean Gray, rendered by the incredibly unlikeable Sophie Turner (my bet is this was her first and last major role in a big-budget movie, as I really can’t think of many people who would at least partially like her, not to mention the fact that she just can’t act). But then, as if the creators realized that this part wasn’t engaging enough for the story to end in a satisfactory way, the finale appears out of nowhere as if from another movie, packed with original action, making great use of the mutants' abilities. It's filmed in a well-structured way, accompanied by Zimmer’s epic soundtrack and you almost feel sorry that you probably won’t be seeing McAvoy and Fassbender in their iconic roles anymore. All things considered, it's not such a bad movie, especially after the problems during the shooting, but you can already notice some wear and tear and Disney's mutants might as well get a (well-deserved) rest.

I feel the same way about this as about the first installment, which means I could have about a million issues with it, but the fact remains that I enjoyed the full two hours of it. While it has its weaker moments, it is a decent follow-up to the Endgame. But the thing that completely won me over, besides satirizing the stereotypes of selected European nations, were the scenes shot in Prague, which was given the most space here since Mission: Impossible. The production obviously made every effort to make Prague look like actual Prague, so, in addition to the perfectly lit Prague tourist landmarks, what popped out at me in the closing credits which I found amusing was that this Spider-Man will most likely be the only Marvel movie in which you get to hear “Moravian Polka”. There were also some twists which I didn’t expect at all (especially both post-credits scenes are some of the best of Marvel) and Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent as always, his performance often going beyond the script. Finally, I must add that if I’ll ever be thrilled to see a particular Marvel movie again, then definitely this one.

Technically brilliant, but in terms of storytelling, I’m sorry, but I can't think of a better description than moronic. Predictable, zero emotions, bad cast of supporting characters, absence of logic and absolutely no chemistry between the characters. I just about managed to swallow a similarly silly plot in Avatar or Valerian on account of the visuals. This time, the great effects only saved it from falling to the level of Mortal Engines. As is often the case in such movies, there were so many story lines and such a huge number of characters that, logically, in those two hours none of them could get enough space or a satisfactory ending. It all seemed unfinished and half-baked. I just felt that the film targeted a completely different demographic than the one I am in (20-30) but, based on the box office sales, it was a miss on multiple fronts.

An origin story that played it safe, and a Marvel movie which was mediocre through and through. Despite the great concept of ​​the perseverance of the human (namely female) spirit and the fact that not everything is what it seems at first glance, it is all shot so incredibly routinely that you struggle to remember an actually inventive scene which would really blow your mind. In terms of acting, it is absolutely impeccable. For various (often utterly bizarre) reasons criticized award-winning Brie Larson gives a perfectly good performance, which is spot on given the character of Captain Marvel. In fact, there is not much to complain about, except maybe for the directing duo. They sadly did not fully exploit the potential of the 90s setting, overstuffed the movie with completely generic action scenes while strictly following the rule "if you don’t know how to shoot action and combat scenes, move the camera a lot, cut a lot, preferably shoot it in the dark so there is not much anybody can see". My satisfaction after leaving the theater faded away pretty quickly.

I would never have thought that the most ridiculed superhero of all time would get the most epic origin story in years, in the style of Avatar, Tron and Valerian combined, under the direction of the amazing James Wan, who made the practically impossible happen. He was able to turn the confusing CGI mess so typical of Warner into an epic fairy tale with action that is easy to follow, and even though the underwater environment made it even more difficult for the creators, it's always perfectly clear what's happening on screen and it never gets chaotic. There's no need to worry about the logic of the story or originality of the script, because it’s true here more than anywhere else that a visually perfect cover can hide the shortcomings of the content. It works great as a relaxing fairy tale.

An altogether average ceremony. Since it was without a host this year, there is not much to say about it. Over the years, I have more or less become used to those rousing and politically engaged speeches, as well as to the endless number of commercials. The vast majority of results were unsurprising except for a few categories where it was down to a maximum of two nominees. Even though it's annoying and almost exhausting to watch, it's still the biggest celebration of film in Hollywood. And if, like every year, I was to highlight at least one memorable moment, it would be one of the best acceptance speeches in recent years given by Olivia Colman - a guarantee to bring a positive vibe.

Undoubtedly the best animated movie of the last decade and one of the best superhero movies ever. It came at a moment when many were starting to doubt the potential of bringing something new to the genre. Lord and Miller had already proved many times that each of their creations turns into gold and gained trust from Sony Pictures, who really need fixing their reputation, and hit the jackpot with their unique style. This Spider-Man definitely has the best comic book style, and it is the most action-packed, frantic and by far the most original one. Everything is moving at such a breakneck speed that some characters may get slightly less space than they would otherwise deserve. But the creators were aware of the riskiness of this project, so they laid all their cards on the table and poured all the ideas that came to their mind into it and it worked liked a charm. Although the whole thing with the dimensions is overelaborate and insane, everything falls perfectly into place without losing any of the humor or insight, and all the main characters are extremely likeable. There haven’t been many movies this year which I would enjoy so much and apart from an amazing atmosphere, great animation, humor and perhaps the best Stan Lee cameo, it is, above all, an incredibly original comic book movie.

A film in which nothing at all works. It’s nice that it’s action-packed from start to finish, but the whole thing is absolute chaos. A boring plot and setting, with way too many storylines none of which reach a satisfactory ending. Most actors do not fit into their roles, and to make things even worse, the dialogues are simply pathetic. Whoever at Universal approved the 100-million budget should get themselves checked up. Totally confusing and an undeniable flop.

If there is a movie theme I have a soft spot for, it's the space race and space exploration in general. If you add either a bit of pure patriotism or the slightly naive belief in the perseverance of the human spirit, the rating goes up. A movie about the Apollo 11 mission could have been filmed in many ways, and I have zero objections to the style that Chazelle chose to portray the greatest success ever in the history of NASA. Nevertheless, I do have some reservations. It's technically brilliant, the soundtrack is great and it’s amazingly true-to-life and authentic, but I couldn’t help feeling like when watching Dunkirk. While it was perfectly made, it ultimately didn’t have the desired effect on me. I get the feeling that somebody in the editing room somehow misplaced 20 minutes of material from the second half of the movie which otherwise would have improved the overall impression.