Remedy

As Cervenak has already written – the really sadly untapped potential of Mark Strong's character and consequently his acting ability. He stayed on screen for what, 25 minutes total? In general, with the characters and script overall it's not particularly glorious, but that's perhaps my only complaint. The main duo plays for the viewer, sprinkles one funny line after another from their sleeves, disposes of the villains in luxuriously filmed (especially slow-motion) scenes, and occasionally "saves" some time for their dear counterparts. Bottom line – Guy Ritchie does not disappoint, his Sherlock Holmes is fresh and stylish entertainment, backed primarily by good and inventive direction and, once again, Hans Zimmer's excellent score. I think even Arthur Conan Doyle himself would have laughed his heart out at this modern film adaptation (in a good way, of course :)) 80%

A chilling, at times really quite chilling and gritty thriller, dominated by particularly "playful" direction (which I really enjoyed :)), a script of a high standard, and a cast par excellence. Frances McDormand as the "okey-dokey" policewoman was fabulous and she justifiably won the statuette. It's all so familiar, fresh, distinctive... 95%

I saw The Lovely Bones for the first time sometime just after New Year (in the comfort of my home) and given its undeniable formal quality, I went to see the "new Jackson" once more in the cinema and I can say I was exceedingly pleased. While I'll admit to holes in the script, and I might have some reservations about Jackson's handling of the story (especially the interweaving of "life" above and below was rather odd at times), there's still the fact that formally it's just a blast. The way Peter Jackson is able to build and especially escalate the tension is famous (the concept of preparing the murder – a display of impeccable filmmaking, the key scene in the "clubhouse" juxtaposed with the preparation of dinner with progressively more and more apprehension). The visual whirlwind from the "world above" combining the best of Gilliam and Burton (if anyone considers it lame kitsch, that's their problem)) stood out on the screen perfectly, plus the chosen (and very nice) soundtrack fit like a glove. If I wanted to (since I don't) deal with bullshit like what was the point of Susan Sarandon's character or why Wahlberg's character acted rather unlikely and weird at times, it's clear that "objectively" it would be somewhere between 50-60%. However, dazed as I was by the top-notch visuals, the acting of the superbly cast Saoirse Ronan, and the perfectly sleazy Stanley Tucci, I’m (gladly) turning two blind eyes and aiming my rating somewhere between 85-90%. And I'm going for the book and I'm really looking forward to it. :)

There's a little bit of Tarantino and a little bit of Iñárritu in this crime drama that once again poses the eternal question of guilt and punishment. The analysis of the relationship between father and son is brilliantly captured here, but also the relationship between the two brothers, which involves manipulation on the one hand and powerlessness and the inability to step out of the other's shadow on the other. The eighty-three-year-old at the time of filming Sidney Lumet proves that he still has something to say and although all the components of the film show that he is an old-school director, in this case and with such a subject it is rather to the benefit of the cause :)) 80%

A story told beautifully, sensitively, and with tremendous experience about the impermanence of life, but also about love and self-sacrifice. The important thing is that David Fincher doesn't push the envelope (and there are plenty of moments to push the envelope in the almost three-hour running time), he doesn't try to wring emotions out of the viewer, but instead philosophically and sometimes a bit sentimentally contemplates life. Brad Pitt is no longer a mere commercial icon, but a mature and really good actor. There's no point in going on about Cate Blanchett, she's simply amazing from beginning to end.)) The formal aspect is excellent, starting with the music and ending with the set design, I would especially like to highlight the almost "chamber" music score, which serves its purpose perfectly. It's good to know that David Fincher has a soul as well as balls. :)

The raw atmosphere of Gotham is portrayed perfectly and better than ever in Nolan's first Batman film. Thank goodness it was Christopher Nolan who took on the new Bat-saga, and he really did it in his own excellent way, showing us that Batman can be taken seriously and his fate and mission can be identified with. Though Batman Begins is mass-market entertainment, as it should be, it doesn't lack rather well-developed characters (in the old Batman you would have a hard time looking for some more complex psychological connections), the overall atmosphere is more than decent, and in the end really a bit apocalyptic :)), which is only to the benefit of the whole thing. I was a skeptic at the time, thinking that Chris Nolan couldn't top his first Batman. Everyone probably knows all too well how horribly wrong I was. P.S.: The cast is fanatically fantastic. :)

Stay is, in my opinion, Forster's best film to date since Stranger Than Fiction. While it's a pretty dense "psycho" in the end, it doesn't have much in common with Lynch, or rather I would say nothing at all. The directorial inventiveness is decent in Forster's work, but compared to, say, Aronofsky's brilliant Requiem for a Dream, it falls quite a bit short in this regard. :) Still, I’m giving about 90% for the quality of the form and for the rather good script. The cast is also very likable.

Crafted brilliantly, Spielberg's technical precision can't be denied, it's not even up for debate :)). Again, magical music by John Williams, really excellent cinematography by Janusz Kaminski, and Spielberg's script based on a story by Kubrick is also very good... But now comes the "but" :)) But despite the sympathetic performance of H.J. Osment and the great Jude Law, I was just missing something, something extra, the SOMETHING that maybe Close Encounters of the Third Kind had... And I still felt that Spielberg pushed the envelope a bit at the end, but that may just be my silly subjective feeling. Nevertheless, an extraordinary and repeatable experience!

There’s no movie I shed so many tears with so persistently every time I see it, and it doesn't matter if it's the 12th or the 13th time...

A lovely 4 stars for this effects-laden family adventure, the two most likable young actors of the moment, one of whom can act quite well (Megan is at the very least gorgeous), the overall relaxed and at times almost fairytale-like atmosphere, and the once again great John Turturro. How can you say that Michael Bay allows himself a lot of clichés (and there are plenty of them; I was most amused by the final scene on the hill at sunset a la Armageddon), when on the other hand he manages to make a great blockbuster that half the planet looks forward to seeing in the cinema, which will make Steven and the other gentlemen producers' accounts fat again :). Bay is really more of a businessman than a filmmaker, but he knows how to make mass-market and spectacular entertainment exceedingly well. 90% and I'm curious to see the second one; as to whether it's as cheesy and overdone compared to the first one as everyone claims... we'll see.