Isherwood

After the sympathetic B-movie Condemned, Stone Cold looked solid, although, like most of the wrestlers throwing punches in the film, he hasn’t gained much acting talent. But his easy-going good-guy charisma carried the film. And the very next film he arrives with is a heartwarming story about a reformed muggle who fights for one child's heart and about keeping a relationship between an "absolutely hot chick" and a total loser intact. It wouldn't matter so much if the banging in the ring was a bit more clear and, most importantly, more frequent. Considering the runtime, a lot of unnecessary time is spent talking, which in a genre film like this is a punch to the solar plexus.

An unparalleled genre delicacy. It's hard to say whether the director is a genius or a madman, but the way he coaches the little killers is absolutely perfect. The Christmas spirit takes over at the family lunch when someone gets stabbed with a fork for the first time and from then on, Shankland collects only bonus points. I haven't seen something so nerve-wracking and physically uncomfortable in years. The moment the viewer rises above the questions of "why and how?", they must inevitably BELIEVE that the children are capable of it, just as the parents' motives are understandable. I’m still getting over it. 4 ½.

Acker's visionary abilities battle with a sub-par script that flutters behind his exuberant imagination, and the result desperately cries out for a more uncompromising dramaturgist whose care would ensure more than just a fully rendered variation on the most recent Terminator. Stretching the original 11 minutes into an hour, not adding a drop of added value to the plot and hoping that "it will somehow carry itself" deserves a slap to the head. Giving these zipped-up bags a chance to show themselves properly on paper would be the most original cartoon far and wide. There is talent is evident here, though.

A film by a filmmaker who loves films. Tarantino's synthesis of B-movie aesthetics has (for now) reached its ultimate stage in the form of a war opus. There’s room for references, his own ego, and a final chapter of historical revisionism that, if it hadn't been making fun of the previous ones all along, would hardly have been understood. A pleasant surprise to my own expectations.

A directing duo with god-given talent versus a below-average Asian ghost film. So what does that amount to? A hell of a bore, mainly due to zero creative invention, which consistently sticks to the style of traditional Hollywood coloring books, using sexy colors of garish shades instead of consistent detail work and subtle shading. The definition of useless.

The fact that it's slightly better than Pathfinder isn't that big of a deal, but in any case, Outlander could have been better if it had clarified what it wanted to be. It smacks of B-movie (the first word in the quickly learned old Norwegian is "fuck"), but there’s far too much deadly seriousness. It's not a "guilty pleasure," it's not even shit worthy of a cesspool. It's a perfect example of how Hollywood can fuck up fifty million dollars (when it earns about 6 million :)).

The moderate Scott, whom Helgeland's screenplay ties to the chain of tolerability in terms of deadly attacks on the first signal system, this time relies mainly on the actors, who make the most of it within the genre banality about the struggle of a good-hearted dispatcher with an insidious kidnapper. There is no point arguing about the psychological portraits of the characters, the snipers who don’t shoot, and a few other question marks. At least it goes by quickly.

An actor gala that suffers due to the minimal space given to the central seven and lackluster direction with no visual ideas or a more distinctive narrative. Watching it on the creaking boards, I’m drooling with bliss. I give it a weaker four stars.

The criticisms that many are sure to have toward the film are certainly justified, but I can't do otherwise given the perfectly positive atmosphere. In a way, Mendes is actually still doing the same thing, but it's a little different this time and it works (for me). This time he succeeded by betting on the "ordinariness" of the plot and fantastic actors. It’s ninety minutes that caress the soul, with the bonus of a beautiful ending.

I’m probably overly conservative, but this loser story that doesn't really go anywhere is too "weird" for me. There are a few perfect moments but then there is the rest, which lies in a different dimension of humor. Yet for those who sometimes feel a bit "different" in society, it is certainly a blessing... and perhaps not only for them.