DaViD´82

A nod to the legacy of the noir crime films of 1970s French cinema in a twenty-first century guise.

Simply put, Clerks is so much better, more real and funnier than other wannabe art films about life that one can't help but love it immensely; even with the hindsight of a few years and Smith's later work.

Huo Yuanjia with his undeniably rich life story and teachings offer massive potential not just for filmmakers. So it is fairly surprising that the Chinese “wasted" all this potential in such a cliché-full and western-style movie, relying primarily on action scenes. Some of the fights are unarguably ingenious and hard-hitting (like really), but overall nothing miraculous occurs here (and things aren’t helped at all by the bothersome alternation of slow-motion and fast-motion sequences). However, without the fights this would have been simply a massive and rather boring stream of clichés - so thank god for the fight scenes. The only thing that catches the imagination here is the untraditional final duel between two honorable adversaries who hold each other in mutual respect - this is probably the only part of the movie that you would expect to see in a picture about the “founder of modern Wu Shu". Jet Li tries very hard in his role and, while in physical terms his performance is excellent, it seems that dramatical acting really isn’t his strong point.

Greengrass applies the successful recipe from Bloody Sunday here as well (especially his trademark immersion technique, making you one of the passengers) - and again it works out exceedingly well. Almost everything here follows the same pattern and yet it’s so very different. The first 75 minutes are dedicated to reconstructing the chaos surrounding the first plane crashes, and then during the final quarter hour absolutely drains you emotionally onboard United 93. Again, where possible, he uses real characters "as themselves". Once again he revels in unobtrusive yet impressive music, in maximum detail using hand held cameras, and totally apolitically. Impressive, although as a movie it is difficult to evaluate, but the experience is truly powerful. ♫ OST score: 4/5

January 1992, a long line in front of the Lucerna movie theater in Prague, a ten-year-old me holding an ice cream, my dad, and finally the first Indy movie I had the opportunity to see on the big screen and not on a shabby VHS tape. As a whole, the movie is weaker by a Sphinx’s hair’s breadth or by one step taken by a breastfed pre-toddler than Raiders in terms of action, story, and the sidelining of Indy's friends (and enemies), but I realized this only after the umpteenth viewing. But all these trivial "problems" are erased by the other Jones. And thus for the third time Junior is at the peak of his powers and fully equipped. Simply love at first sight for a movie that did the impossible and exceeded my immense expectations. Respect.

I still remember that fateful day when my and Indy’s paths first crossed. It took place when I was less than seven years old at summer camp. It was a rainy afternoon and there were no outdoor activities. So that the teachers could have some peace, they put on a video for the horde of children. But unfortunately they had nothing animated at hand (causing a wave of tangible disappointment among us little kids) and thus we had no choice but to watch something from a well-worn cassette. At first, some movie started, but they soon stopped it (the biggest mystery of my life to this day; what movie was that?). They fast-forwarded the cassette to half way. Then some strange movie with a gentleman in a cowboy hat started. To make it stranger, it was dubbed by a single adult who was difficult to understand. At first I was terribly disappointed, but then the ball boulder rolled out, the main theme tune sounded, and... And nothing was ever the same again. I met the love of my life (I’m sure my wife will forgive me). This cinematic experience has been surpassed in my eyes just by one movie; and no, it wasn’t Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The day after the screening, the weather was beautiful, but while we were whistling the main melody, we forced the teachers to show us the second movie. The reactions to the soup scene were... But that's another story.

A look at a terrorist cell in the territory of the USA through the eyes of undercover agents. A big plus of this series is the topicality of the subject matter and mainly the “controversy" around the characterization of the characters. This is no black and white situation - everybody has his/her own reasons for doing what he/she does. On the other hand, the series is interesting particularly thanks to the topic whose potential they don’t manage to exploit to the full. And if it weren’t for the topic and characters, Sleeper Cell has very little to offer, since in reality it is fairly mediocre and run-of-the-mill in all other respects.

A thoroughly stylish film with an excellent cast, whose credits are taken away only by the bland script. On the other hand, Josh Hartnett's performance can certainly be counted among the pleasant surprises. Perfect for one viewing, but on a second viewing the film has nothing to offer.

Is it a bird? Is it a plan? It’s routine! Singer fulfilled his lifelong dream, let's wish for him and for ourselves that he returns to something where he won't waste his talents. ♫ OST Rating: 3/5

Yup, the ice age is the ice age... But this time it is so frozen that it is nothing more than condensed boredom. The entire “prehistoric road movie" has turned into a moralizing vehicle for kids, full of wannabe humorous escapades leaping from one iceberg or boulder to the next. And not even the characters are at all intriguing. Even Scrat has problems trying to save the day and he manages only thanks to the final scene in heaven. Perfect for young kids, but pure torture for adults. Let’s hope that this time too that the DVD has a better bonus movie in store for us.