Kaka

Revenant 2 – for women, but with a more sophisticated, non-linear narrative, and at the same time often quite gratuitous violence in an attempt to shock the viewer at any cost. It might seem that this female anti-western is about the role of women in the Wild West, but it is presented too black and white, or only black, in this case. It is a classic revenge motif, only atypically presented and unreadable. Underneath the skin, it looks much more like the director either a) had a difficult childhood and used his frustration for such a cruelly uncompromising depiction of explicit and mental violence, or b) wanted to flash across the Atlantic to show how Europe can kick the US in the balls, because no one is going to let a big production do that. It’s shot in an impressively non-mainstream style, with great performances, but the value of the message is very questionable at best.

Who the fuck is Rupert Sanders and why does such an artless routine artist get 150 million, solid actors and a good composer to make a boring, hopelessly unimaginative, sterile shithole full of darkened shots, uninteresting plot and logical lapses? You could do such wonders with all the glitter and jingle of those fluffy big city visuals! The inspiration from Cloud Atlas and Blade Runner is quite obvious, but completely wasted. After this disappointment, at least we know for sure that we don't want this contrived void as a sequel to Blade Runner!

Zombie nonsense in a typically British style. In some of the action sequences, of which there are very few, you feel like you're watching a sequel to Zack Snyder's 2004 hit, but you soon sober up. The pace slows down, the running time drags and the plot doesn't know where to go. One stupidity follows another, but as that bold attempt at a novel contribution to the subgenre, for a few bucks, why not.

Dystopian sci-fi paranoia that makes strange use of cheap moon sets, technical miniatures that take us 25 years back in time, and Sam Rockwell's one man show. It's bleak, dark and depressing, but with a very lively script without unnecessary crutches. I didn’t mind the open ending, but the unbalanced pace and small budget are far worse, which unfortunately sends the film into slightly B-movie waters in the genre.

To accuse this slightly cheesy material of being full of clichés is about the same as dwelling on the fact that there is too much action in an action film, so take the opinions of the few nitpickers who will rate it lukewarmly with a grain of salt. In any case, it's exactly the kind of film that will appeal to the masses, not because it's ass-kicking, like some of Ron Howard's earlier pieces, but precisely because the themes and posters look exactly like that and yet it manages to get around it in a fairly sophisticated way. I mean, sure, it's a film full of good personalities and generous gestures, where there can be nothing but a positive outcome at the end, but that's what you expect from the trailer. Where it differs, however, is the intimate, idiosyncratic and incredibly fresh confrontation between black women and white men in a time of oppression and racial segregation. What you don't expect, though, is lots of snappy dialogue and clouds of emotion. Nor do you expect such a great female acting trio, which is complemented by Kevin Costner with his worldly "Man of Steel" type of role, like we all like him. The nominations are understandable, because not once does it slip into excessive sentimentality and yet it is often good to have a handkerchief handy. The only criticism is perhaps the unnecessarily literal script, which makes Hidden Figures just figures in the finale.

An instant romance full of traditional creative clichés and mundane bullshit. The attempt to build on the success of The Notebook is blatantly obvious, but they would have had to choose an actor other than Channing Tatum, who delivers one of the worst performances. Average overall, with zero originality. In addition to the stalwart Rachel McAdams, Jessica Lange and Sam Neil save the day.

A well-grasped narrative style. The main characters are introduced while explaining the concept of the plot twist, the key event of the bombing and the gradually tightening noose. Something similar worked very well in Zero Dark Thirty, with the difference that it was better balanced dramaturgically. Patriots Day has a lot of pathetic dross in the form of testimony from actual witnesses to the event and various pieces of wisdom from the main characters that are not very on point, and when they are, they are just clumsily handled. If you overlook this shortcoming and the fact that it steals a good 10-20 minutes from the film, you can't help but marvel at Berg's grasp of action and the dynamics of the action sequences, because the shootout in the streets is frenetic, volatile and yet incredibly raw and clear – and it’s also the scene after which the end credits should have rolled. If he could work with characters and the build-up of the story like Michael Mann, we'd all be whistling because it would be a full-on hit.

Chaos and mayhem with the ever-so-attractive Kate Beckinsale, who unfortunately has nothing to work with, so she only looks good. The Prague locations will please any local, but the creators didn't get much out of it except for some panoramas of the city and the Hluboká palace. There is little to say about the atmosphere and build-up of the plot, and the whole thing is very dull and repetitive in the same patterns of intrigue and twists. I sincerely hope this is the last installment of the series, because I'm still searching in vain for that original and somewhat Matrix-like style from the first one.

Kong is big, King Kong 2005 was great. The words are very similar, but from a filmmaker's perspective they are completely distant. Peter Jackson made films for the love of the material, Jordan Vogt-Roberts makes what the current mainstream is most interested in – mainly drive, dynamics, imaginative monsters of all kinds and great fights. The script is unfortunately pulled out of thin air, and if it weren't for the incredibly polished visuals and the fine 70's atmosphere with old music, it wouldn't have been much fun. Brie Larson is only here for her looks, and the ensemble cast is saved by the impeccable John C. Reilly. The 10 percent better visual effects aren't enough to trump the 50 percent better approach to the material of its predecessor. It is also puzzling that the only emotion is evoked by the closing credits.

Lemonade with some solidly outlined life truths, but in a lighter vein and without pushing the envelope. Considering the ensemble cast, which is without exaggeration fabulous, it’s quite a wasted opportunity to make a stylish relationship drama like Closer, or a black-humoured social satire in the style of the late Woody Allen films. This one oscillates right in the middle, and looking for a distinctive signature would be a waste of time.