Stanislaus

With great power comes great responsibility and with almost unlimited power comes ... MADNESS! The new Doctor Strange could have been made in pretty much any way given the storylines in the recent MCU films and the central character's abilities, and I was curious to see how Sam Raimi, creator of Spider-Man as well as cult horror films, would handle it. The film is not lacking in some decent scares, imaginative scenes (a "musical fight" like in Scott Pilgrim) and creepy characters, yet Raimi could have easily pushed the envelope further, as some of the characters were dispatched out of frame in a grimly manner. The multiverse also certainly had more potential, on the other hand, the film fortunately didn't become an outright mess. The newcomer America was more rather bland, but I enjoyed more than one cameo, which the film was brimming with. The first end-credit scene brought another Oscar-winning actress into the MCU, though I wonder if it wasn’t a "one-off". It's not a pure four stars, but I was entertained in the cinema for the full two hours, and that's what counts.

A drinking bender gone slightly wrong, or a narrative from multiple perspectives we have seen elsewhere, but I am glad that the Czechs and Slovaks took up these themes and made a nice romantic comedy with a likeable cast and nice locations that did without faecal and sexist humour. The characters aren't downright stupid (unless the script demands it), and the bonus is the theme song, which you can hear in the trailer. Better three stars! PS: I could almost hear the buttons on Richard Stanke's shirt screaming during the screening.

Nightline certainly looked great on paper, and in fact the trailer looked enticing, but that's its purpose after all. I went to the cinema with similar expectations a couple of weeks ago to see Shadowplay. The premise of Robert Sedláček's crime-thriller has visible potential, but that was somewhat lost in the execution, which in places was more befitting of a TV movie. I was rather bothered that Barbora Bočková didn't look the age for her character Eva, which was also true for Denisa Barešová as Eliška – but whatever. The film manages to build decent tension in places, and the gradually revealed truths were surprising, but not shocking. I imagined the ending a bit differently and I don't really know what to think about the character of Radek. Nightline is still worth a watch, but it’s better to go to it with rather lukewarm expectations.

When Julian Fellowes won an Oscar twenty years ago for his original screenplay for Gosford Park, he surely had no idea that a few years later he would create a similarly-themed series phenomenon with two film sequels. Downton Abbey has already become a cult-classic in the field of historical costume dramas, and it was really nice to revisit the old familiar place after three years and see my favourite characters in new vicissitudes of life. In rating the film with full stars, I am of course influenced by being a fan of the series, and I generally like films of a similar genre. At times it can feel cheesy, as if it were a story from the romance novel in which you can guess the direction the plot will take – yet again, for two hours I was transported back less than a century, to a time of lavish mansions, stilted speech and gorgeous costumes. I liked that the film focuses on two storylines, each with its own charm – while the sunny south of France felt exotic, history was being made (albeit exaggeratedly) at the estate in the form of the transition from silent movies to talkies. This time around, the film didn't even do much introspection (compared to the first), but instead revealed the past while also closing in on the future of some of the characters. The Countess Dowager again provided the biggest helping of entertainment, as well as Carson and Moseley. Along with the humorous and historical-artistic line, there are, of course, many touching moments, which will leave die-hard fans caught in the "onion snare" all the more – even though the makers push the envelope a bit too hard at the end, it was simply a "touching" moment. One of the most powerful scenes in for me was the conversation between Mrs. Hughes and Thomas about his plight in life. Although there are a few minor issues (especially at the end), I was satisfied in the cinema and was once again swept up in the stories of my favourite characters. A weak five stars!

‘Vaccine’ has become one of the most misused words across the world in the last two years, and the journey to create an effective and safe substance was all the more dramatic because it had to be done as soon as possible. This documentary follows in a fairly straightforward manner the different approaches of several departments and their efforts to create a suitable vaccine that could bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. I commend the comment in the film that healthcare should not be political.

Sitting is, without a doubt, one of the essential activities in everyone's life, but paradoxically it causes us a lot of health problems. Sedentary playfully addresses the issue of the "sedentary society" and points out some interesting findings, especially in the field of ergonomics. More than once while watching, I found myself noticing my sitting style, while at the same time counting in my head the hours I am sitting in a day (which is a crazy number).

The Mushroom Speaks reminded me at more than once of Carbon - The Unauthorised Biography. Fungi, like carbon, are personified and presented in this documentary as an integral part of all of us that was here long before us and will be here long after us. The Mushroom Speaks, however, is not as audience-friendly and attractive as the aforementioned Carbon. Although the film offers some interesting insights and the story of the German grandma childhood experience with "shrooms" was great, it felt very long, even tedious at times (10-15 minutes less would not have hurt the film). Better three stars!

Who would have thought that during lockdown and in a very intimate space, it is possible to make such a high quality documentary as My Garden of a Thousand Bees. At first glance, the making of this documentary may seem like a product of boredom, but the opposite is true. In a relatively small space, Martin Dohrn lets the viewer peek into the secrets of his garden, which is home to many species of bees and other insects. My Garden of a Thousand Bees is a supremely informative and superbly shot film (macro shots of the insect kingdom are always a stunning experience), while Dohrn's narration also makes it funny and lighthearted. Plus, who wouldn't love "pal Nicky"?

"We are essentially stardust." Everyone remembers the importance of carbon from high school chemistry, but this documentary gives a whole new dimension to one of the basic chemical elements. In the film, carbon as both creator and destroyer takes on a physical, albeit invisible, form and presents itself in all its beauty and power. I was intrigued by the way in which the experts spoke about carbon, because their talks were entertaining, but also informative and erudite. This is how I imagine a perfectly fine example of a popular educational documentary - from a playful and entertaining level that can appeal to a wide audience, it moves into more serious and dense waters with a visible ecological overlay. Carbon was here before us and will be here after us, but we shouldn't take our existence for granted.

In his documentary Fathom, Drew Xanthopoulos not only discusses humpback whale research and new findings from observing these cetaceans, but also focuses on the scientists themselves and their lives – both professional and personal. I liked the sequences with recordings of communication between the humpback whales and the visual representation of their "voices", complemented by the beautiful music. In the other hand, the personal side of the documentary bothered me. It’s not very traditional for this genre, and in my eyes detracted from the message of the film. Better three stars!