DaViD´82

Funny, intelligent, pleasantly paced, well acted, and scored with a magnificent soundtrack. While being an indie, it is accessible to everyone. In addition, it has a large dose of gradually built up sympathy for the individual characters, so in the end you care about them and have a hard time saying goodbye to them... Everything is as it should be and, moreover, in above-standard quality. UPDATE: After Little Miss Sunshine, you will be left with such a great feeling of well-being for much longer than after seeing any other picture recently, and the second viewing has the same effect. That's why I'm adding another *.

Aslan, a witch, a bunch of rascals, some animals, and Santa Claus dealing out weapons... The old TV series adaptation is much better. Unfortunately, this is well-made only in technical terms (but not excellent), without a hint of ideas or invention. It’s boring, and if it weren't for the soundtrack and Tilda Swinton, it would be hard to watch to the end. The naivety of the story can hardly be blamed on the filmmakers, because it is already present to a much greater extent in the original book. But they can be reproached for the casting of the child actors. The children are absolutely unbearable, and some of them (or all?) you truly want to kill. The whole thing looks like perfectly standard consumerist and harmless family-friendly (in the bad sense of the term) Hallmark entertainment.

A very well-made picture, brought down mainly by the actors. Not that their acting is bad, quite the opposite, most of the performances are above their usual standard, but the casting could certainly have been better. Mainly Lestat (but I have almost nothing against Cruise) completely lacks the aura of charisma that the book gives him. The only one who manages to get under your skin with her acting is “young" Claudia, played by the splendid Kirsten Dunst. The adaptation went well, but all that remains are nice illustrations of the book, because they left out its philosophical level. Absolutely completely. Which, considering the whole story, atmosphere and message is founded on it, is rather a serious shortcoming.

This movie follows the fates of nine hostages who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The series focuses mainly on the characters after a failed robbery, therefore primarily on how this experience changed them and what it has meant for their hitherto lives. Amongst the mass of shocking, adrenaline series where each episode contains one twist after another, The Nine is a pleasant, old fashioned glint of refreshing light and a return to traditional television form. The problem is that of the nine main protagonists, barely half of them are at all interesting and the actors themselves are not overly convincing. Solid TV average which, unlike other series from ABC, certainly hasn’t got the ingredients to help it become a household name.

Although Black Books doesn’t rely solely on the Bernard/Manny duo, in view of the fact that they are a wonderful comedy duo, they are more than enough to make this first-rate entertainment. Especially that cynical Irish book buyer, Bernard Black, has become my idol. Of eighteen episodes, most are brilliant, unfortunately a couple of purely average ones crop up here and there. And personally, I think one of the negative sides is the unexploited potential of a bookstore. The entire series could just as easily have taken place in any other type of store, which is a huge shame.

Takes life. Seriously. A likeable and successful Miami PD forensic detective who is very popular and has a happy relationship... But first impressions can be wrong. Dexter just pretends to have emotions, in reality he isn’t capable of feeling anything. And, just by the by, he is also a serial killer who only murders murderers, but as we know, the more you eat the hungrier you get. No, this really isn’t just another variation on CSI. And personally I wouldn’t even this as a criminal thriller. The indescribable acting performance by Michael C. Hall (who played David Fisher in Six Feet Under; this guy seems to have a natural talent for strong roles and working with dead bodies) in the main role will get right under your skin and, although this time he is directly involved in their deaths, so this is a completely different slant. And again he handles it beautifully; without him Dexter wouldn’t work for a second and the entire concept would collapse like a house of cards. A disturbing series that asks controversial questions and, because it’s made for cable, is peppered with rude words. Everything here is brilliant, from the choice of actors, through capturing the special atmosphere of Miami, to the technical aspects, where the soundtrack is the proverbial icing on the cake. The opening credits, reminiscent of Švankmajer, and the flawless “dark" piano during the ending credits complete the picture, convincing you that this series is pure genius. However much Dexter’s psychological profile differs from the book (like totally; in the book he is an absolute screwball on the brink of madness and schizophrenia), it really doesn’t matter in this series. The series makes up for this with detailed storylines involving the other PD members. It almost seems that the creators found inspiration in the Argentinian series Epitafios. This is missing in the book, which is really only about one sick mind. And what about season two? Some drift away in their thoughts, Dex’s cadavers drift away in the sea. Significantly different to season one. And, believe it or not, although it doesn’t look like it at the beginning, it’s even better. FilmBooster hasn’t got enough stars to be able to evaluate this properly. It’s that good. And even season three exceeds the quality bar, although perhaps not as much this time round. Despite this, Dex is still unique and mainly unbelievably real. At least as far as life is concerned. Again, still, again and anew. It loses points mainly in the storyline with the main baddy which is... Just a little tired. And then, not only thanks to the phenomenal Lithgow, season four is the best season of all (so far). Of course, if I took Dexter primarily as a criminal series, I wouldn’t be so enthusiastic, but I take it mainly as a series about life. Sooner or later, we all end up having to deal with Dexter’s relationship, family and social problems, and that is where the power of this series lies. And if I add to that a suspenseful and gripping sarong, then it can only be positive. Although I am convinced that it would have worked well even without that sarong. Surprise, surprise, season five is nothing short of excellent, but for my taste it has strayed too far from Dexter’s struggle with “humaneness" to classic thriller (albeit with wider overlap into other realms than most, even above-average thrillers). The behavior of some protagonists and the police is rather illogical given that this is presented as a thriller; on the other hand, it is fundamental in building atmosphere and suspense. In this season, Dex finds himself a little sidelined and it is the girly Debra/Lumen duo who go through the greatest development. But this isn’t a negative - there is a reason for it - but the screenwriters should have stepped on the gas in the last quarter hour, instead of cowardly putting it into reverse, thereby throwing the entire series back to where it had got to once before at the end of season four. In doing this, while on the one hand they made this season extremely high quality (and very tasteful), on the other, it seems rather like superfluous watered down porridge. I christened season six the “most to-and-fro-est". But that doesn’t make it bad or even average, but it is a bit too much of a patchwork of storylines, all of them with untied loose ends; at the same time it is pleasantly soap opera-style daring (but only if the screenwriters manage not to fumble this situation in the next season). However, a kind of conflict between good ideas and fizzling out takes place in the first two-thirds of this season. While Rita’s departure was logical (and necessary too), and was a great help to the series overall, the (temporary?) departure of Lumen is much more damaging and so the Dexter storyline (again) begins walking in circles, not even interrupted by Dex’s dabbling in religion. Although this is super, this promising storyline ends sooner than it starts to develop into something that might move the story forward. Tying up the storylines from past seasons comes across almost like they had no better ideas (the Nebraska episode) and the main “murder" storyline isn’t completely uninteresting, but the more observant viewers realize how this is going to finish (and it does excellently) long before the outcome. And primarily the whole storyline with religiously motivated murders stays too long on the sidelines and nobody at the police department seems to show the slightest interest in it. And also deus ex machina comes into play far too often, and also the way Dex keeps on making mistake after mistake, but without any real consequences (unlike the first few seasons or other uncompromising series where every action has a corresponding reaction) is a bit annoying. The only thing that I can have no objections to is everything happening around Debra. The way this rather superfluous character (as she was in seasons two and three) turned into the main powerhouse of the series (sorry Dex) deserves respect. And in view of what course this character takes, I retract what I said about the ending of the previous season. It made sense to wait a season for “that". Season seven begins with the best episode of the series and... But nothing comes of it. Although more happens in the side-stories than elsewhere (including the fantastic Stevenson), none of them get adequate space for development. And the reason? The Dex/Debra storyline that steals most of the air time for itself. Is this a problem? Not if they didn’t get done with it in the first four episodes. The series is founded on “this" from the very beginning, and they have been preparing the ground for “this" for six years already. And what do we get? “An entire" four episodes! And considering how they dealt with similar situations in other series (T Shield, Breaking Bad) this is all the sadder. I think the creators got this over with so quickly only so that they could send Dexter toward a relationship that doesn’t move the main protagonist at all forward and therefore for the first time has no reason for happening. Dexter’s change of demeanor to a state of “smug jerk-off ignoring any consequences" doesn’t improve things either. I have already reluctantly come to terms with the fact that Dexter the series isn’t (and probably never again will) be that all-encompassing study that it was originally, dressed up as a crime series merely to attract viewers. But I don’t see why I should come to terms with the fact that it isn’t even a crime series, but rather something dangerously bordering on a badly written telenovela; and the reason isn’t that the central theme of the series this time round is love. If, under the strict supervision of an uncompromising dramatist, they combined the best of the last two seasons, turning them into one respectable season, it would be no disaster for this series as a whole. This way we have one great season and one to be quickly forgotten. Season eight, the final season could have saved the series from going under and save it, despite the quality of the past couple of seasons; it wouldn’t have taken much to make this an uncompromising and unforgettable ending, but that doesn’t happen and so all that can be said of season eight is that it’s exactly the same as the preceding two seasons. And that’s bad, very bad. P.S.: What does it say about me when, the second time I watched it, I realized in horror that that pervert Masuka in season five is wearing the same Desigual shirt that I have in my closet? S1: 4/5 S2: 5/5 S3: 4/5 S4: 5/5 S5: 5/5 S6: 4/5 S7: 3/5 S8: ?/5

A war movie of the “hard on the assault course, even harder on the battlefield" kind... In technical terms the picture was pretty decent, but it is brought down heavily in the first half by the military training. This is like a low-quality version of the first episode of Band of Brothers “enriched" with incredibly lame moments (for instance the crying officer in the poppy field). Luckily, the second half is no longer so full of cliché and has several powerful moments. But it is a huge shame that the creators copied other, successful war movies, just setting the story in an environment of a conflict familiar for them, without adding anything of their own that we haven’t seen several times over elsewhere. I understand that it is aimed primarily at the home (ex-Soviet) audience (and let’s face it, we Czechs sorely lack a war movie intended only for us), but a little objectivity wouldn’t have hurt.

A “drama-thriller" that doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. Although the subject matter seems pretty B-grade, this combination of political thriller, modern-day Freemason’s conspiracy and FBI investigation works surprisingly well. Although Vanished borrows some element from every successful series of recent years, it found its very own way of combining these elements. Visually, this series is the spitting image of 24 (it’s impossible to hide the FOX inside). A movie-like sheen, great work with music, suspenseful episodes, some really unusual twists and mainly decent pacing all go to make Vanished an above-average movie in its genre. Its weaknesses include some characters’ performances, but luckily it they are all bearable overall (although I sincerely hated most of them after watching the pilot) and, primarily in later episodes, the ever-greater preoccupation with cheap conspiration theories. Its strengths certainly include the fact that the individual episodes don’t have the same story structure and most of them significantly differ in terms of both style and genre. The good this is that this series didn’t survive its first season, because in the end it didn’t have that much potential, but just about enough for these thirteen solid episodes (the last four of which were merely shown online).

Raw, brutal and leaves you with an unpleasant feeling. Adrian’s comparison with Boorman’s Deliverance fits exactly. But I would beg to differ about the black humor - not that there wasn’t any, but it seems to me that there is very little of it in those brutal scenes, and that’s good, because that’s what makes them so powerful...

While the Hitch/Sara storyline is really humdrum and therefore uninteresting, the story about Albert and his courting of Allegra works really well. The whole picture relies heavily on Will Smith’s undeniable charisma, while on the other hand it is pulled down by being too long and by the absolutely wooden and unlikeable Eva Mendes. Even so, Hitch worked for me somehow and I quite enjoyed it.