Ediebalboa

A slightly slower start, but a grand finale. You can really feel a big difference between the first and second half of the film. Unlike Quantum of Solace, Mendes doesn't try to cram everything into an hour and a half like Forster, but develops the plot much more slowly and thus more naturally. The editing also calmed down with the pace, something I appreciate, especially because of the last Bond film, where the insane editing speed was more like a trailer than a movie. I would also like to praise the exotic and domestic locations. Thanks to this, much of the film is finally taking place in London and Scotland after many years. Of the new actors, Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris were great choices, but the new Q has so far failed to convince me. Otherwise, all credit to Bardem, who ranks among the best villains ever to rival Bond. The ending with the denouement was one of the most accomplished in the whole series and got me excited for the next episodes.

Obesity and bulimia are issues that have not been addressed much by Hollywood, so I applaud the fact that this substantial rarity does not downplay the issue, nor does it revel in it. By Aronofsky's standards, it is a fairly normal story that is unexpectedly friendly to the audience whose feelings he likes to play with. Towards the end, however, he mines emotions in an outrageous way, and as a result all previous believability is taken away. It's disappointing, but not enough to obscure the most important thing, Brendan Fraser is back at full force after all these years, and if anyone deserves countless accolades for this feat in the coming months, it's him.

Book/movie, I can confirm today, it doesn't matter. The story of The Green Mile belongs on the pedestal of the best ever written. What adds up to an extra marathon of over 3 hours is an immensely strong line-up of great supporting characters, among whom even star power Tom Hanks remains slightly overshadowed. Another bonus is the brilliant musical score by Thomas Newman and the slightly altered tone compared to King’s novel, which pushes the envelope a bit more in some moments and turns it almost into a fairytale as a result. Very dark and adult, but still universal enough to be fully experienced by a nine-year-old boy whose parents let him watch it past midnight for the first time in his life.

After reading the book, I expected nothing but the best from The Firm, if only because I thought Tom Cruise was a perfect fit for the role of McDeere. Syndey Pollack disappointed me, though. He failed to give the film either the action or the suspense that kept me glued to the book, not to mention the many minor and major changes in the story. The ending of the adaptation was fatally rewritten compared to the book and completely changed its tone. It's nice to have so many actors who fit their roles in front of the camera at the same time, but what's the point when the film just draws from a solid source material and the rest takes its own path.

The first film where I had to diametrically change my rating after a second viewing a few years later. I just knew what I had to expect: a wacky buddy movie by Shane Black that suggests a lot, except something mundane. And it works brilliantly. And yet, The Last Boy Scout, other than the theme song, doesn’t excel at anything. So, like Bruce says to his wife at the end of the film, "Fuck you, Shane" – sometimes you really get on my nerves, but I still love you.

A good drama by the standards of London tower block stories, quite unique actually. One lonely man in a flat manages to pull off a spectacle I never dreamed of. Andrew Haigh has tweaked Taichi Yamada's premise for the 21st century and delivers an emotional charge both from a parenting perspective and through the equally important queer line. The acting needs little comment. Just look at the four main names in the credits. PS: Perhaps Paul Mescal is already starting to grow from an immature father into an adult gladiator with his charisma :)

Future classic. Not since Munich has Spielberg made a film that is so captivating, chilling, but above all entertaining. The Coen brothers can be seen at every corner of the film. Tom Hanks can still play character heroes like no one else, so can Alan Alda, and when a German actor is needed somewhere lately, Sebastian Koch is always a safe bet. But the one who will be remembered most after the film is Mark Rylance, he plays the role of the resolute Soviet spy with great aplomb. Newman also did a great job with the music, if he were to replace Williams permanently on Spielberg films in the future, I think few people would complain.

The financial crisis, a few years old event, unpopular, either because of its impact or because no one can explain it properly to this day. But that’s no problem for Adam McKay. He brings us the collapse of 2008 not only in a comprehensible but also entertaining form, where you don't have to be an economy genius to understand how things went wrong. Accompanied by the perpetually pissed Carell and a select few others, the story follows the events from multiple sides. Thanks to that, the plot never stands still and it's interesting to watch several characters of different personalities deal with the situation. Of course, with all this I stick to the basic skeleton of the plot. For a deeper understanding, the film is a tough nut to crack and it takes several viewings to understand everything. But it would have been impossible to present it in a simpler way. At least it doesn't get more attractive than Margot Robbie explaining the mortgage system to you in a bathtub.

Tense, well acted by the aptly chosen cast, believable; Argo really deserved that Oscar. Ben Affleck had already proved in previous films that he could eventually make it as a director more than an actor, and here he has once again taken it to the next level. Throughout the film, you really believe the hopeless situation the American diplomats in Iran were in. By the end, though, I thought it was a bit overdone with the last-minute chasing of everything as they escape. After all, it couldn't realistically have been that intense, and I don't think the ending had to be so eye-popping and happy. Despite this, I would still call the film one of the highlights of the year, thanks to the brilliantly chosen premise.

A tale of one smart and two dumber small-towners who can't resist the temptation to get rich quick in a beautiful winter landscape straight out of Fargo – But that's the end of any connection to the famous brand. Instead of cynical humour, there’s a real-life story about unfulfilled dreams, old wrongs and faith in a better tomorrow, accompanied by trite wisdoms of the type “less is sometimes more”, but they are delivered with such casualness and taste that they can be forgiven. The initially flat characters develop into full-fledged individuals whose fate will matter a lot in the finale. And Billy Bob Thornton is superb.