Kaka

A tragically stupid film. It is funny at times, but mostly because of how much stupidity oozes from it. Unfortunately, the worst part is that it doesn’t even work as as an action movie. The fast-paced scenes are downright laughable – absolutely incomprehensible, tragically edited, completely messed up. I tried to take it with a grain of salt, but at times it was truly unbearable. Unbelievable mess.

It's already discouraging that the film is conceived to ride on the wave of popularity of the first and already legendary The Exorcist, but it only succeeds very sporadically. The huge amount of poorly done effects (terrible hyenas) was surprising and seemed quite strange for a big production. On the other hand, it's not surprising from good-old Harlin, who seems to have undergone a brain operation in the new century. He can't direct actors and doesn't know what to do. Several scenes are good, the lighting work deserves attention, but in terms of the screenplay, the new Exorcist is quite uneven and the ending is nonsense.

It is important to bear in mind that Gary Sinise is a very sensitive person. He brilliantly portrays the subtle but very strong relationship between the two men and cleverly wrapped it in the harsh times after the financial crash, when, for every rich person, there were thousands of poor people in the rough American countryside and small towns, and the fights for low-quality jobs were truly unprecedented. Despite the fact that the film is very well made and with a strong social message, it is a very simple outline about a poor man with a good heart. The performance is brilliant, it captures the heart, but that is also the only thing they relied on. Honest? Yes. So honest that most viewers don't even realise that Sinise played it safe...

The atmosphere of the 90s is striking and drug-infested, with dozens of black gangsters with egg-sized gold rings portrayed very interestingly, and in a sense, even brutally. Young Wesley Snipes and young Chris Rock, who is almost unrecognizable here, deserve attention, but above all the devilish Ice-T, whom I had never outside a direct-to-video B-movie, but here, he delivers a captivating performance; his half-crazed cop is flawless. The rise and fall of the drug lord is not described in such detail, and the film rather focuses on hard street fights, rivalry, and drugs themselves. An interesting, tough, and dirty film, but one that did not grow close to my heart.

A hundred percent less action-packed and a hundred percent more talky, that’s not a very good combination. And when you add already the quite exhausted and worn-out protagonists dropping exactly the same catchphrases as a few years ago, the unlikeable villains, and the poorly directed action scenes, it doesn't result in any masterpiece. A likeable secret service agent and a few tricks and moves of the Eastern stars are alright, but otherwise, there really is no reason to see this movie once, let alone multiple times.

The main characters are entertaining and funny, and that's all they needed for a solid success. The combination of the East's fastest feet and the West's biggest talker and buffoon worked quite solidly, and this action-packed romp surprisingly turned out to be a solid comedy. And the fact that the action is sometimes eye-poppingly silly and that Jackie Chan is visibly fooling around at times is easily forgivable, because the film has momentum and you don’t get bored. It's a pity about the other parts, because this could have been tolerated. I had fun.

Renny Harlin is getting increasingly shittier, it's as if he forgot how to direct. The fights are laughable, the plot doesn't flow, the script is rubbish and even the actors are nothing special. Where is the problem? God knows, but this movie cannot be recommended, not even as a deterrent example of a claustrophobic thriller, where a group of people is solely reliant on their abilities and on each other, and to top it all off, the key culprit is within their own ranks. This has been done a thousand times before and a thousand times it has been done better. Even the much-criticized D-Tox has a better atmosphere and is much more intense than this disgustingly boring crap.

George Clooney's certain directorial invention cannot be denied, and if we take into account this is his directorial debut, then the thumbs. Unfortunately, the film is somehow convoluted in terms of content, and the viewer tends to get lost in it very often. Additionally, the story of the killer/talker did not emotionally appeal to me, so all that was left was to solely observe the camera acrobatics and constant changes in toning and filters.

Although 28 Weeks Later is several years younger than the first film, it doesn't even come close to it in terms of technical aspects. Where Boyle was not afraid to show aggressiveness and rawness, combined with precise handheld camera work, Fresnadillo is searching for which direction to actually take. Ninety percent of the action sequences are confusing, and instead of a naturalistic survival ride, we have ketchup-like exhibitions such as a helicopter in a field or shooting at civilians. The screenplay itself is shockingly full of holes, with several twists bordering on the stupid, and the fact that the characters are relatively unpredictable – meaning you have no idea who will pull the trigger – is nice, but in the flood of directorial incompetence, technical impotence, and script incompleteness, it is really not a solution.

A summer cinema somewhere near the sea, comfortable seating, good food by your side and a exotic drink in hand, and maybe then you can fully enjoy Fool's Gold. In a relatively cool temperate zone, howerver, this endeavor is truly uninteresting and clichéd. Andy Tennant captivates the audience with his direction only twice or thrice throughout the whole film. There are a few successful jokes here and there, but the whole thing looks incredibly clichéd and worn out. Even help the fact that Matthew McConaughey has a bigger chest than Kate Hudson can’t save it. It's not completely stupid and if you expects lower middle class entertainment, you’ll get exactly that. A simple summer snack.