Malarkey

An inoffensive American family movie with a dog, where the dog has the final word with God being just below him, and with a bit of American patriotism and military pride thrown in the mix.

I was counting on the fact that this movie would be reminiscing about the old Hollywood from the middle of the last century. The fact that it would have a billion never-ending references was also a given. But the fact that the Coen brothers arrogantly thought that we all know everything about Hollywood and that we would not only understand all the references but that we would also laugh at them; well, they were greatly mistaken. The movie actually isn’t that funny and that’s despite the fact that Josh Brolin with his producer have the main role, which could in and of itself create a dozen of infinitely funny scenes. But the humor couldn’t be drier than a martini in the Virgin Islands. A pity, I like the Coens, but this movie was horrible.

When the borders opened here in the 1990s, creative freedom and everything it entails kicked off. People felt that they could do anything they wanted, the band Orlík sang about whatever they wanted and until now, everybody thinks of those times with fondness. Well, and it was very similar in the suburbs of Rome named Ostia. People were finally having fun, they did whatever they wanted, and felt as if the world belonged to them. But it wasn’t entirely true and the director Claudio Caligari, before dying, decided to make a confession about this era, and he did it very well, because he showed a world that is not a dreamed up one. Quite the opposite. He showed the harsh, cruel, loud, and chatty Italy with everything included.

I feel as if the director tried to imitate Woody Allen. Not only did he hire a relatively good number of interesting actors, but he also made dialogues the main focus of the movie. But they aren’t worth much and everything is being salvaged by Jennifer Aniston, who for the first time ever doesn’t look 20 but she looks her age, which I think was mainly due to her hairstyle. The film didn’t bring any more interesting findings and so I was happy that I even managed to finish it.

A movie that can say it has everything a quality American film should have. A young lad Matt Damon, who looks like he belongs to a local high school, hothead Edward Norton, who leads him into trouble immediately after leaving the hole, and a story that pretends to be about friendship but is mainly about survival of two people in today’s world. All of that is intertwined with guitar orgies, great and suspenseful scenes, but also with sweet moments you could hardly imagine missing from a 1990s American movie. But it definitely wasn’t boring.

A great and pretty wacky Spanish comedy that is very blatantly poking fun at the Russians, but also goes above and beyond with its humanness, which won me over more and more by the minute. Kamikaze is a crazy trip. Not only is it transforming a suicidal bomber with Spanish humanity, talkativeness, and ruthlessness, but it also touches upon a number of situations and moments which could make your blood run cold. And I think it is doing a good job. I haven’t seen a movie that turned a serious topic into a humorous form and could tell itself it was more humanitarian than Mahatma Gandhi in a long time.

An independent American road movie that goes against the global system every one of us lives in and more or less functions. It actually tells a story of a family that calls itself Trockians and that bought a piece of land in some Canadian forest. There they built two wooden buildings and live there happily, educate themselves and all in all, are very proactive. Well, and after the movie started with a pretty brutal scene (a hunt), it slowed down quite pleasantly afterward. But throughout, the movie confronts the world of the family (a dad and 6 children) in the middle of the mountains, forests, and rivers with our world and how much we are distancing ourselves from nature. Even though we arose from it. So I understood fully the director’s intentions who, for example, illustrates how today’s kids have fun and learn with the example of 2 consumerist children. Computer games, violence, and phones. All the while they know nothing about the world. This doesn’t mean I am agreeing with Viggo Mortensen, who gave an otherworldly performance but also tried a different, completely opposite extreme. There is everything in the movie. Great camera work, locations, music, all acting performances… I actually don’t know why I did not give it a full score. Maybe because their life in the wilderness was too idealized. It actually looked better than any Czech cottage. Finally, I want to thank the creators of Scope100 and Aerofilms that I had the chance to see this movie in the Bio Oko cinema. Thanks.

Focus started, offered something, and then bewitched me with the scene where Will Smith tricked a greedy gambling Vietnamese guy. During the scene, I literally stopped breathing, but afterward, it all went too hell because the movie became incredibly boring. Towards the end of the movie, it again scored some points with a more interesting scene and after that, it was already the end. Focus is like that. Overall, it was shit, but here and there it offers a cinematographic delicacy. Well, and whether it is worth watching, you have to judge that for yourselves. If you ask me, were it not for Will and Margot Robbie I wouldn’t even remember it a day after watching it.

I noticed that Daniel Auteuil has been after a human drama from the point of view of ordinary people for a long time. Before The Winter Chill is actually a similar story. An ordinary, human story is told through a pleasant camera and subtle progress in a way that will make you still think about it a couple of days after watching. Frankly, I like movies like this a lot.

I was surprised to see an Australian director cast a Scot and a Swede for the main parts. All the while he had plenty to choose from in his home Australia and he wouldn’t have to go this far beyond seas, oceans, and seven hills. But okay… I will accept it. It is true that the actors are on the positive side of what this movie can offer. Ewan McGregor, Alicia Vikander, and Brenton Thwaites really did wonders here. But they did wonders while acting out a story that is, unfortunately, an average modern-day gangster movie. It tells a simple story in a too simple way. It doesn’t explain why a young lad who stole a Twix somewhere ended up with the worst murderers of Australia. It also doesn’t explain why the same lad was so bewitched by one goon. And the overly happy finale also didn’t really help. Considering how well the movie was shot, the story is way too easy and simple. Based on this, every other punk from a bus stop and smelling of paper-box wine and stale beer would become a robber.