J*A*S*M

Utterly, utterly pointless.

It’s missing a tiny bit to be the ultimate social satire comedy, but it’s a very good film, at least for those who have ever experienced (or rather, repeatedly experienced) the feeling of being surrounded by assholes who deserve to be punched in the face, at the very least. The sunshine folk, I’m afraid, will not appreciate it. God Bless America has brisk dialogues and is pleasantly incorrect and fun. It’s a pity, though, that its strongest part are the first minutes, when the protagonist gives a very interesting monologue in the office. The rest is more action-packed, but it bothered me that things work out a little too smoothly for the pair of avengers. I don't want to overestimate the police force, but given how careless Frank and Roxy behave, they would actually be shot or arrested no later than the next morning – I hope. PS: If you don’t put together your own kill-list while watching this, you aren’t normal. :-D

Great, I was impressed by a sunny film with animals #notcoolatall

To be honest, I prefer when Balageró sticks to supernatural horror (and I don’t mean only REC, but also Fragile and Darkness), but this detour into the waters of thrillers was very successful. Sleep Tight stands on the portrayal of the protagonist – Luis Tosar is magnificent as the unhappy caretaker César. The tension is effective, the humour is incredibly dark, and, though the more genre savvy viewers will experience déjà vu (there’s been a couple of more or less similar home obsessions in the last few years), you should not feel that Balagueró is wasting his talent. Whatever… I can’t wait until [REC] Apocalypse.

The trip to the realm of déjà vu was unsuccessful, it’s so cold here that my hands are shaking… No, really, it was a successful trip :) Even though you feel like watching a compilation of films you’ve seen many times, Enter Nowhere manages to come out of this entanglement of mystery, thriller and horror with its head held up high. The actors are decent, the atmosphere is gloomy, the plot unravels in an interesting way and there’s plenty of tension. The most important thing to consider, however, is that this is above all a low-budget conversational drama and if that bothers you, don’t waste your time with it. PS: The film is very aware of how “unoriginal” it is in the genre and has fun with several references (e.g. Deliverance) and one-liners… - Shit! It's Michael Myers! - You know him?

Immediately after the screening: For the time being, all I can be is flabbergasted and say: “What the fuck was that?”… Subjectively, anywhere between five stars and rubbish, I’ll see in the morning. After some time: Bustillo and Maury have surprised me. I knew from the first festival responses that they had made a completely different film than Inside, but that it would be SO different than ANYTHING you can see today in the genre was something I didn’t expect. Livid ignores the trends that have prevailed in the genre for the last decade, it doesn’t pretend to be realistic, and it doesn’t explain anything – scary things happen for unspecified reasons and according to unspecified rules. Sooner or later you may get the feeling that this is “silly fantasy”. The occasional manifestations of brutal violence (perfect gore!) are surrounded by a dreamy atmosphere that blends many fantastical elements. Some of the awfully terrifying scenes almost gave me nightmares. If I had to characterise it somehow, comparing it to some older film, I would go perhaps for a combination between Argento’s Suspiria and Coscarelli’s Phantasm. Some people can take this as a recommendation, others as a warning. But if you do give this film a chance, you should bear in mind that you will have to forget about analytical thinking, refrain from seeking the causality of the plot, and just let yourself be scared by terrifying scenes, enjoy the beautiful visuals and take the film as a whole as a symbolic tour of a haunted house. That said, I’m not all that thrilled about it.

Jesus! I never thought I’d say this, but thanks God for Skyline… Everything in The Darkest Hour is awful. I will ignore the more or less decent technical quality, thanks to which the film could make it to the cinemas, and I’ll give it an uncompromising rubbish rating, because I can’t remember when was the last time I was so disappointed, annoyed and pissed off. I’d rather be brief, because if I had to write everything I think about this film (and therefore any potential satisfied viewers), I’m sure I would get a bunch of angry messages accusing me of disrespecting differing opinions and tastes.

I thought that the odds of me ever going to the cinema for a film about football and liking it – and liking it more than two friends that once played football at some lower level – were the same as winning the lottery. But it happened. True story. The film version of Sunday League is a perfect tragic-comedy with flawless performances (a brilliant Miroslav Krobot!), great comedy timing, and realistic dialogues (when was the last time this happened in a Czech film?). And even though you’ll go looking for just fun, the film has a rather sad plot arc that really touched me. The character of Coach Hnátek, who has sacrificed almost everything for his trivial hobby, is beautifully tragic in its own way, while the characters around him (in particular Vetchý) are a chapter on their own. If it was a tiny bit more socially critical, Sunday League would be a work of Forman proportions. I think I’ll go buy myself a lottery ticket. 9/10

I’d love to spend a night like this. It would make for a great story :-D… This is the Scorsese’s film I’ve enjoyed the most.

An atmospheric and mysterious detective movie made in such way that makes you expect some sort of supernatural and crazy twist like “all the town folk are aliens, or robots, or clones”… and then nothing. An ordinary story wrapped in a nice directorial package, with a style that’s perhaps too overcrowded. I’m looking forward to what Johnson will make next, but this one didn’t quite do it for me.