Pethushka

This would be right up my alley if it weren't so terribly overcomplicated. It's just that there was so much mixed in that I lost the desire to get to know it. I was just smirking by the time the ending came around. Ye-ji Seo is a big weakness of mine and ideally I would like to see all of her movies, but I have to say that this is the first role where I didn't feel like she gave it all she’s got, the way she usually does. But maybe it's just the way her character was written. 3 stars

A film that does an amazing job of transporting you to Spain in the seventies. Yeah, it could easily have been like that. The script was okay, nothing groundbreaking, while everything else, from the direction to the costumes and sound to the cinematography was polished to a tee. None of the actors stand out, and that's probably the beauty of it in the end. Combined with the great music, it was really nice to watch.

I'd rather not rate the story, there's no point. The main draw of the film is Cusco, which takes your breath away with every shot. With that in mind it makes more sense to me to look at this as a travel documentary. Maxi and Stephanie didn't exactly sell me with their acting. They are both extremely good-looking, though, so it's nice to watch them floating along in all that beauty. But when it comes to dialogue and more serious acting, they're just too perfect. The nomadic spirit and Peruvian joie de vivre, the pretty music, and the incredible scenery make it impossible for me not to give it at least two stars.

There were too many things that didn't sit right with me here. It started with the script and the overall atmosphere. The main character, her younger version, did a great job of mimicking the behavior, speech, and movements of the old lady, but even then she didn't win me over. Her gruff, almost emotionless personality was probably appropriate, given what she had been through in her lifetime, but I still found it hard to like her. I was even less pleased with the musical plot; it wasn't my cup of tea at all. So the best moment of the film for me remains the last minute, or rather the "twist" that happened in it. 1.5 stars

I've been thinking for the past two years that making a satire must be pretty hard when reality keeps overtaking it. But Don't Look Up manages very tastefully to poke fun at our times, no matter what we apply it to on the list of what's happening now. It's probably obvious to anyone who's read the cast that the acting is going to be okay at the very least. I downright needed DiCaprio's "dry" role, and I even liked all the women around him a bit more than usual. For me, it's one of those movies that downright makes you feel better and you're happy to give something five stars after a string of fours because finally there's no BUT.

What makes The Weekend Away great is that it doesn't waste time and gets straight to the point. Right away we're in beautiful Split, right away we know roughly the characters of the leads and what stage of life they're in. But slowly we find out that nothing is as it seems, and the classic "unraveling" begins. The whole thing is in the spirit of the light crime books popular nowadays (mostly with women). What they have in common with this film is that they do a good job of entertaining you, shocking you a little at times, and you don't want to tear yourself away from them but given how many of them are being cranked out every month you forget about them in a few days. Anyway, it was nice to see Blair in something again after a while. And this role, in my biased opinion, was perfect for her. 3.5 stars

Someone here had a great idea but ultimately couldn't quite get a handle on it. From the third episode onwards the story plods along, and then descends into uninspired boring drivel with a weird ending. Paul played both roles very well, but I can't shake the feeling that for all his efforts he still turned in a rather dry performance in the end. Three stars for the "Piña Colada" song, I have a great fondness for that one.

In the last two days, besides this movie, I've also seen Sweethearts. And that kinda forces me to give Prvok and Co. an extra star, because the difference is just huge. Okay, sometimes I didn’t quite catch the humor, but otherwise I enjoyed it quite a bit. A good ensemble, the charismatic Hofmann... I'll gladly give it another go and I’m looking forward to seeing Patrik's next film. More than his next book.

When I used to watch older Korean crime movies, it never would have occurred to me that the cops in those movies were taking inspiration from real ones. But it seems they really were that bad twenty years ago. The level they've taken it to nowadays is absolutely unbelievable and admirable, and for me, that's probably the most useful information in the entire documentary. Otherwise, unfortunately, I didn't like The Raincoat Killer very much. It's an interesting case, but unfortunately the filmmakers failed to work with any kind of suspense, the interviews with the people involved in the case are not very engaging, and the whole thing is told in a kind of lukewarm way. The Chaser will suck you into the case a lot more. Maybe even more than you'd like.

An excellent idea. This documentary introduces so many different worlds I didn't know about or didn't understand, and I never would have thought anyone could do this for fun. Though I prefer the lighter part of the day a bit more, I instantly fell for Asia’s nightlife and the diversity it brings with it.