Stanislaus

Dream Scenario benefits mainly from the novel premise and the performance of Nicolas Cage, whose character, Paul, becomes the target of both unprecedented admiration and cruel hatred, with both completely contradictory emotional levels based not on the real world, but on the dream world – which makes the ending of the film all the more absurd. Kristoffer Borgli plays with the theme of cancel culture in an unconventional way, and by incorporating dream sequences, his satire takes on fantasy, even horror, dimensions. There are a few humorous sequences, but the feelings with the film as a whole are rather chilling. A truly unconventional piece that, despite the somewhat questionable ending, makes you think.

I was quite curious about Anatomy of a Fall due to the positive reviews and its success at all kinds of festivals, and after watching it I can agree that it is definitely a noteworthy film. It skillfully mixes relationship and courtroom drama and thanks to the suspenseful story, in which the pieces of the puzzle are gradually and efficiently put together, it manages to keep the viewer extremely interested for almost the entire duration. Anatomy of a Fall is first and foremost an acting tour-de-force by Sandra Hüller, whose character is incredibly plastic, you don’t really doesn't know which "judgement" (guilty or innocent) to lean towards for most of the time. Among the other performances, the young Daniel and the slick Antoine Reinartz also deserve praise. I would criticise the film for its somewhat tedious conclusion and also the form of the decisive testimony in the case – I guess I was expecting "something more". But if you look at it from a certain point of view, the film can seem ambiguous and open at the end, which can certainly be assessed positively. Either way, Anatomy of a Fall is definitely worth a watch. P. S. (Spoiler alert!) Poor dog!

Dan Levy decided to sit in the director's chair for the first time and make a film about (his?) life. The film exudes a certain creative ambition as well as directorial inexperience: it's clear what Levy wanted to say, and some of the scenes were quite good (I enjoyed the line with Arnaud Valois), but I still felt that it skimmed the surface with its message and premise rather than going deeper – to the core – which is what one would expect from a film with a similar subject matter. As a result, Good Grief is not downright boring, but it doesn't resonate in the mind for long after the screening.

This takes us on a tour into the world of Godzilla and co. It has a good start and an even better finish with an open door for a second season, but the whole project is brought down by five or six middle episodes that could have easily been merged into one or two without the series suffering story-wise. The quality of the Godzilla films of recent years is not dizzying, but they do have a lot of action despite the clichéd splash. The same can not be said for some of the episodes of Legacy of Monsters, which feature too much talking and aimless flying back and forth without any significant advancement or enrichment of the plot and the world of the titans. I liked the time-jumping line and it's a shame it didn't kick in until almost at the end of the series. Personally, I didn’t like the casting of some of the characters, but that's my subjective problem – though it quite spoiled my impression. However, despite the negatives, I am curious to see what direction the creators decide to go in next – if the project gets the green light.

I had a solid ride on the Japanese wave last week: After watching the latest Godzilla, I ventured into the world of ghost detectives, yokai, and the "dude with the pacifier," and even though I'm not exactly the target audience, it wasn't until Netflix's menu that I first encountered this series. Yu yu Hakusho, it was a brisk series with a good dose of action and a nice running time. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the unmistakable anime atmosphere and the overabundance of typically Japanese acting. The first prize for the most annoying (and almost impossible to remove) character goes to Elder Toguro, on whom the lack of CGI budget also had a lot to do, while Genkai was probably the best character for me.

After the original Godzilla from 1954, this is my second encounter with a purely Japanese production within the kaiju films, and it's incredible that the most famous movie monster has built on a tradition that spans seven decades. The current outing does not deny its predecessors, but at the same time it tries to technically elevate the film to the level of today's effects-hungry audience, and the final product is a solid example of how a decent spectacle can be made on a truly modest budget - the first contact with the monster was what got me the most, but the other action sequences had their charm as well. But Godzilla -1.0 is not only about the devastating natural destruction embodied by the gigantic monster, but also a solidly written social drama about the effects of war on individuals, about coping with (post-)war trauma, and about finding new hope and meaning in a society destroyed by war and now destroyed by Godzilla. The relationship between Koichi and Noriko, who together with the girl Akiko have formed a kind of "patchwork" family, created from the wreckage of the war, intrigued me – and even moved me at the end – and it's a bit of a pity that (not only) this social level was a bit brought down by the expressive Japanese acting and emotions. The actual plan to deal with Godzilla was crazy, but cute ... crazy, but cute – which I guess is the way of the genre. A strong four stars!

I approached the second Aquaman with sober expectations, based on the not-so-appealing trailers, and in the end I left the cinema satisfied. Underwater worlds are a rewarding theme in movies, and this one offers different corners of them that had their own charm despite the strong CGI (I couldn't help but think of Jabba the Hutt in one scene). The brotherly chemistry between Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson didn't quite work, but this lack was thankfully made up for by the abundance of action and fights with enemies. The scenes from the dead city reminded me a lot of the Warcraft game (and movie) and it's perhaps a shame that they weren't given more space, while the sequences with the metal "octopuses" made Chicken Little pop into my head. I found the main villain rather bland – about as bland as Nicole Kidman's facial expressions. On the other hand, I did enjoy the scenes with the enhanced octopus, easily the biggest hero of the whole film. In the end, it's a one-view film that won't stay in your head for long after the screening.

I found Milady a little weaker than D'Artagnan in the end, yet I left the cinema satisfied. I originally thought that Three Musketeers would be split into two films, but the ending of the second part left the door open for another sequel. In addition to the plotting and intrigue, they did not forget the dynamic action scenes, of which I would single out the attack on La Rochelle and the confrontation between D'Artagnan and Milady. I also liked the plastic portrayal of the character of Milady herself, played by the demonic femme fatale Eva Green. I had counted on the death of one of the main characters, yet I was quite surprised by the ending. A weaker four stars!

2023 was a strong year for quality dramas in Czech cinema: after Exhale, the hermaphroditic We Have Never Been Modern and the black-humored She Came at Night, we have another solid piece, this time from the field of Alzheimer's disease, which is perhaps the one that audiences are most familiar with (after an unexpected visit of the mother-in-law). The film is mainly based on the strong performances of Karel Roden, Antonio Šoposki and especially Regina Rázlová, whose acting gives rise to a believable story that may one day befall any of us. In addition to depicting the typical symptoms and manifestations of Alzheimer's, the film equally addresses the consequences and effects of the disease on loved ones who are faced with a difficult ordeal. Slavík's film is another in a series that confirms that old age can be truly cruel.

I quite like Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Mel Stuart's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is still in my drawer of unwatched films, and I haven't yet had my hands on Roald Dahl's book. So I've approached the latest film about Willy Wonka with some caution because of the somewhat unrewarding and often difficult function of prequels - whether they are based on the source material or are purely the imagination of the screenwriters. I was all the more surprised watching Wonka in the cinema: it is a endearing film with a universally likeable cast (perhaps the only thing I didn't like was the trio of "chocolate barons"), from which, apart from the Timothée Chalamet, I would single out the umpa-lumpa Hugh Grant, the piously venal Rowan Atkinson and the villainous duo Olivia Colman - Tom Davis. Wonka has appealing visuals that are not just about CGI but also about nice sets, offers great musical numbers and is heartwarming at the end thanks to its family-oriented story. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to seeing a (preferably qualitatively similar) sequel in three or four years.