Malarkey

You’re nearing the bottom of the keg of beer, Jaws 3-D is starting, and you don’t want to sleep. Overall, a truly shitty situation. Probably the first movie with 3-D in its title, only it really does not include any 3-D. Except for the shot of the bitten off hand. It was so drastic it almost fell through to my living room.

I admit, this film surprised me like an apparition out of the blue because until then I did not even know it existed. Sometimes it happens that I find out that back then the video rental store kept some gems hidden from me, but all the more happy I am when I come across such films from the nineties for example in TV. Tom Hanks plays such a grouch here that just watching him was a misery. And even though the film tried to convert him to the right side, at the end of the film I still considered him a pig. It was a completely different story with the female basketball players. Every single one of them was amazing. To root for them in this film came as naturally as to order a beer in a pub, drink it within five minutes and then order another one…

I am aware of the fact that the creators took a strong inspiration from an eighties comedy Overboard. It also took me a while until I came to terms with the fact that the premise was nothing special. However, there are two important things in this film. One of them is Eugenio Derbez, whom I’ve seen before in How to be a Latin Lover and now he convinced me that I want to see more comedies featuring him. He is every inch a nice guy. I don’t know where he’s been the whole time. And the second thing is the film’s atmosphere, which is incredibly chill, nice and at times really entertaining. Finally there is again someone in America who can come with a distinctive kind of humor and isn’t backed up by anyone from the Sandler’s or Stiller’s gang. I wish there were more films like this. We’ll see…

A really crazy comedy, with typically Italian shouting and catchphrases so brutal that I had to try really hard to process them. There is no point in listing them here, as Enšpígl already did that for me. I’ll just add that the next day during lunch at work I was thinking whether I should have the food typical for the poor – Wiener schnitzel, or oriental roast beef with dumplings. The schnitzel won.

Unfortunately one of the weaker French dramas (I wouldn’t really call it a comedy), where the biggest issue is the actors. Not that they are really bad… Just the film with them was utterly dull.

The Little Crusader delivered what I expected. It satisfied me visually. And it brought a bit of the Middle Ages into Czech film, which never hurts. It’s just a pity that it was made in such an artsy way as in this movie. It is obvious that the ordinary consumerist audience will not be able to appreciate the Little Crusader’s approach. Slow pace of the narration, static shots, zero storyline… we get all of that in the Little Crusader. Despite that I still took a certain liking to it; perhaps it was the connection of the atmosphere and the music, which made me keep watching it and wait where next the creators will take me in Medieval Europe.

I like Melissa McCarthy’s humor but in this movie it was somehow off. I would immediately strike off her hairstyle à la boss from the film. But there is a place for it and there is a place for this story, so I dare say her hairstyle in this film is just as stupid as the film itself.

It doesn’t happen as often as it used to. The list of old French movies I haven’t seen yet is shortening and it doesn’t happen as often with the new French flicks. I should have known this would be worth it just from the cast of this one, which features the best of the actresses – Catherine Deneuve and Diane Kruger. Mother and daughter started a rollercoaster of events which is so hard to untangle from. It wasn’t easy in this case and after watching it I can say that when it comes to a storyline, no French film captivated me like this in a long time. The French did it again and I am glad I could have been a part of it. It’s one of the movies where Cinemax really surprised me and a movie that everybody should know about.

Robin Williams did not have a simple personality at all. From various posthumous documentaries that I’ve seen over the time I think he was one of the most difficult celebrities that this author tried to introduce me to. It’s a pity they only begin to talk about movies after almost an hour. While the first hour is important enough, to understand a stand-up comedy you have to live in the time when it takes place, so I spent the first hour just watching and waiting, when the director finally shows us the movie side of Robin. Once that began, I finally got to listen to the stories of Billy Crystal or Steve Martin, who used to work with Robin and loved remembering him. I remembered the times I’ve seen films like Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, What Dream May Come (especially this one), Bicentennial Man or Insomnia for the first time and Robin captivated me every time with his funny, nice, honest and often naturally serious approach that I’ve never forgotten. And probably never will. I felt really sad after watching this, I really liked Robin. Luckily, his movies will live forever.

It was an upright average French comedy, which is sadly something that the French also film. They try to be funny, the technical aspect of the film is not bad, but the result is not funny at all. I haven’t seen the first instalment yet, but this was just a sad attempt to make a French comedy, it’s not even nice.