Gladiator (2000)

USA/United Kingdom
directed by: Ridley Scott
written by: David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
seen on 19th December, 2018

I did not see the film when it first came out, but I am pretty sure that it has aged very poorly. I didn't really enjoy the first wave of "sword and sandal" films, because the wonder of cinema for me does not equal film-makers trying to build the biggest set yet. Gladiator does not bring any sort of reflection or self awareness to the genre.

The recycled soundtrack is a disgrace (even though I do realize that technically speaking Pirates of the Caribbean came after Gladiator and therefore the Pirates are the ones stealing, hehe, but their music is much more prominent in the face of pop culture - and in my ears since I've listened to it a bajillion times - but the disgrace falls on Zimmer and Badelt nonetheless, they basically used the same score twice for two different movies) and I've also read some other angry comments from other music fans that they also copied at least three other composers: Morricone, Holst and Gorecki. 

The film drags on and on, I can't imagine who got the idea to make an extended cut, because it certainly only hurts the compactness of the whole while adding nothing more but runtime. I'm starting to think that Ridley Scott did not make any film worth praise from me, apart from the first Alien. 

P.S.: Oliver Reed is a god, Tommy Flanagan is cool, Joaquin Phoenix looks and sounds just like Jonathan Rhys Meyers in this role, and why do they always make David Hemming's eyebrows so spiky and bushy?

P.P.S.: Oh, so it turns out that he styled his eyebrows like that as a personal choice all the time and not just for movie roles, that's why he has them like this here, in Equilibrium, and else.

Crash (2004)

USA/Germany
directed by: Paul Haggis
written by: Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
starring: Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Peña
seen on 12th December, 2018

I have considered it a great deal and now believe that the main reason why this film sucks so bad (or seems to suck so bad) is the soundtrack. It's bad enought that the story tries to cram so many people in that they each get only about two or three scenes (which is not enough for a proper introduction, let alone for realizing a complete personal story arc) and therefore forces them to make their every word, move and action to directly aim at the ham-fisted message Haggis presents with the subtlety of a monty-pythonian knight in medieval armour punching someone with a rubber chicken. But that music, that wannabe touching, kitsch, one-dimentional music sends it to the gates of hell immediately and without any doubts. It showcases the inability of its creators to show some insight, to hide the meaning under the surface at least a little bit, engage the viewer to think about it or instigate any discussion other that why did it got the Oscar compared to all the other movies made and nominated that year. But if someone held a gun to my head and made me name one good thing about Crash, it would be Michael Peña.

It Happened One Night (1934)

USA
directed by: Frank Capra
written by: Robert Riskin + Samuel Hopkins Adams (story)
starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
seen on 12th December, 2018

Well, it seems that the golden age of Hollywood still has loads to teach me about the types (and qualities) of its femme fatales. Claudette Colbert really is something else, so superb and natural. And I was really pleasantly surprised how subtly and non-verbaly the film-makers managed to portray their falling in love, and all the more glory to them that they did in in the not-subtlety-friendly genre of comedy. 

Even Clark Gable gradually loses his mask and reveals a rather cute nad vulnerable side of his character's character, which leads me to believe that he was not so arrogant and self-important as some other actors of that time who refused to show any kind of weakness in front of a camera. It's interesting as well that even thought the two alpha males, the father and the newspaper boss, both act like professional tough guys during the film, they also show understanding and love towards their subordinates in the end. I did not expect this kind of sensitivity at all so I am that more grateful for it. And it was fun, too!

The Revenant (2015)

USA/HongKkong/Taiwan
directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
written by: Mark L. Smith, Alejandro González Iñárritu + Michael Punke (book)
starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck
seen on 27th November, 2018

-"I found God" he used to say. "And while sitting there and basking in the glory and sublimity of mercy... I shot and ate that son of a bitch." 

Before watching the film I read that: Revenant in French also means (reverting to) "spirit" or "ghost". That got me every excited of course, but despite all those fever dreams I did not end up feeling the film touched a spiritual plane. In fact it feels like a crossbreed between Malick's "The New World" and "Dead Man" by Jarmusch with it not being as good as either of them. Another comparison would be with Iñárritu's own "Birdman" - I was not too keen to watch it but when I finally started I could not take my eyes off the screen because I found it so hypnotizing. With "The Revenant" it was the opposite, I started quite eager but had to force myself to even finish watching. And I am one of those people who run to the woods and forests any chance they get, mind you.

I don't really like it when Terrence Malick embraces his inner Terrence Malick to much, and I don't mean to start tolerating it with other directors. But Iñárritu made another mistake which I find to be too fundamental to excuse and that is giving the film a human villain and giving the hero other motivation than to simply "survive"- I think that it essentially negates the reason for this film to exist. "Survive to kill the killer of my son" is an extremely cliché motivation for such a hostile, ferocious and cruel environment. I admire the setting, I just don't like the story (or rather the author's manipulation of the story). A nihilistic tale of a lone trapper fighting for his life because that's the only thing he knows to do would be much more suitable.

And it gets worse with the fact that Tom Hardy simply seems to be too ingelligent to portray a character like that and therefore seems to be bordering between overacting and a caricature which is not a worthy counterpart to Leo's rare minimalism. (And here I must say that since they were wanting to give him the bald guy statue for some time that I am very glad they chose this film and not for example "The Aviator" or "The Wolf of Wall Street" even though personally I lost interest in his acting about fifteen years ago.) Domhnall Gleeson is finally taking his first steps from "a handsome man" to "a fine actor". I'm giving Forrest Goodluck a follow on Instagram. And Will Poulter gets a spot on my list of actors who cry beautifully. 

And finally I have to say something about the soundtrack. I was utterly annoyed by that "epic western film music" which seemed to try to bloat every shot with a fake sense of importance, especially because that Japanese musical minimalism that accompanied for example the final fight was a superb embodiment of those primordial instincts and emotions the film was or was supposed to be about. If the film lost that music combo and went only with Ryûichi Sakamoto, my opinion of the whole film would probably change for the better a lot. And I'd say that a few people of this film's opponents would stop saying that "The Revenant" is all artsy-fartsy and shallow if that were the case. Let's see if I watch it again in ten years and change my mind.

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

USA
directed by: Spike Lee
written by: Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel, Kevin Willmott + Ron Stallworth (book)
starring: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace
seen on 11th November, 2018

As far as I can remember, this has to be the best (non-documentary) film about civil rights in the United States I have ever seen. It's smart, detailed, composed, it does great job plaing with its form and genre rules and most, most of all: it is not overcome by emotions like other films (and creators) from the same category (12 Years A Slave, The Birth Of A Nation 2016 etc.) Spike Lee remains calm, the only moment he "lets go" of his "artistic distance" is in the zeitgeist fuelled apendix about the horrible todays happenings. The actors are also precise, natural and believable, I'm just so happy to have found a film so down to earth and still (or thanks to that) impressive to the highest degree. A special mention goes to the music by Terence Blachard which sounded like absolute heaven to my ears.

Black Panther (2018)

USA
directed by: Ryan Coogler
written by: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole + Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (comic book)
starring: Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira
seen on 9th November, 2018

If I didn't already wish to be Gina Carano and after her Noomi Rapace, I would definitely wish to be Danai Gurira. 

Enormous hype always makes me kind of scared to watch a movie and I did put off watching Black Panther quite a few times to lose all expectations, so my oh my, wasn't I pleasantly surprised almost at every turn. I was a little bit dissapointed by some of that "generic hero music" compared to the rest of the soundtrack and the film could be a bit shorter to be more impactful, but that's as critical as I will get.

The screenplay seems to be a lot more thought-through than your usual billion blockbuster these days, I especially like the skilful way it tells an origin story as well as a stand-alone current story at the same time. The antagonist's got some excellent motivation, but he sort of turns into the standard "I will destroy the world and reign over the remnants" kid of villain after he manages to win his first fight, so that's a tiny amount of shame. But oh my goodness, I really relished that all-female commando. Yes yes yes. 

P.S.: After some time passed and some thinking was done, I can now declare Black Panther (along with The Winter Soldier) to be my favourite MCU movie.

The Godson (1967)

 Le Samouraï
France/Italy
directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville
written by: Jean-Pierre Melville, Georges Pellegrin
starring: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon
seen on 7th November, 2018

And here I am, thinking that cold and distant films are my cup of tea... Well, now I know there are some kinds of teas that I just don't get yet or perhaps never will and therefore I don't need to keep trying them and bitter my day with their unpleasant taste. Cathy Rosier is divine, but that's all I got from this film. Delon (surprisingly) did not bring enough charisma for me to be invested into this empty film and fill it with my own life, as one usually does with empty films.

Dumbo (1941)

USA
directed by: Ben Sharpsteen
written by: Otto Englander
starring: Edward Brophy, Sterling Holloway, Herman Bing, Verna Felton
seen on 5th November, 2018

-"Did you ever see an elephant fly?" -"Well, I've seen a dragonfly." 

Hot damn, under all that "cuteness" lurks a very dark story and cudos for doing so, but other than that it feels exactly like a short film streched into a theatre release under the whips of a moneygrabbing studio overlord trying to make the cheapest film possible after a string of financial flops. And to make drunk clown caricatures of animators who went on strike over being paid fairly for their work, that is real freaking low.

The Red and the White (1967)

Csillagosok, katonák
Hungary/Soviet Union
directed by: Miklós Jancsó
written by: Gyula Hernádi, Miklós Jancsó, Valerij Karen
starring: András Kozák, Krystyna Mikołajewská, József Madaras
commented on 30th October, 2018

Whenever I say that somebody understands me like none other, it's the highest compliment I can ever give to an artist/creator. And Jancsó is the OG recipient of this compliment from me. I have seen "The Red and the White" for the first time seven years ago in a local cinema and I fell in love immediately and intensely. I know that my film taste changes slightly (a lot) as the time flies, and I was therefore very curious how/whether my perception of Jancsó's ruthles handling of a film medium like a sculptor's clay changed after all these years. He manipulates it, he bends it, he torments it to get every last detail to be exactly the way he wants it to be, brutal and brutish. And just by describing it this way I can know for sure that my love him is as strong as ever and I am also ready to say that what he makes András Kozák do (here and also in Így jöttem/My Way Home) in the ultimate role of being HUMAN is probably my favourite acting performance of all time.

Reds (1981)

USA
directed by: Warren Beatty
written by: Warren Beatty, Trevor Griffiths
starring: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson
seen on 29th October, 2018

-"What the hell you doing?" -"Me? I write." -No. You wrong." 

Oh boy, this was such a confident creative gesture that I have no need to nitpick even though there were things I objected to or would have liked to see done differently. I guess it goes naturally with such a heavy subject that Beatty has to make this massive film to literally build the world around his viewers and bewitch them into thinking his make-believe reality is tangible and well... real. I especially like the way he writes dialogues. But, as with all biopics, god knows what does that Hollywood-man really knows about revolutionarys.

-"I'll walk you home." -"Why? I won't hurt anyone."

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

USA
directed by: David Hand
written by: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm (book)
starring: Lucille La Verne, Adriana Caselotti, Moroni Olsen
comment: 16th September, 2018

-"How do you do?" -"How do you do what?!" 

I am slightly, very slightly, hesitating how to evaluate this rendition of Snow White. On one hand, it was the first film I ever saw on the big screen as a little kid (and I even remember the visit, the sitting down, the lights going out and the opening of "the doors of perception"). On the other hand, it still is a film about the healing power of cleaning and other housework and that does not fulfil my idea of the perfect fairy tale. And that is still speaking on behalf of that little kid sitting in the cinema. I watched the film now to see it as an educated professional but I found myself to still be that simple kid that enjoyed that one joke and the few mildly horror-ish moments and that's about it.

Son of Saul (2015)

Saul fia
Hungary
directed by: László Nemes
written by: László Nemes, Clara Royer
starring: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn
seen on 28th August, 2018

That's what I call a film debut. I don't know why would anyone want any more explanation, from the first shot to the last we know absolutely everything we need to know both as viewers and HUMANS. Sculpting the space with the use of a limited field of vision and reinforced  soundscape feels incredibly powerful, along with the slow realization that I'm watching a drama of sofoklean proportions and that I will probably cry long after it's over. As a friend of mine said: "After this film, 99% of holocaust-themed pictures will seem like obsolete theatrical garbage."

The Departed (2006)

USA/Hong Kong
directed by: Martin Scorsese
written by: William Monahan + Felix Chong and Alan Siu Fai Mak (original screenplay)
starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen
commented on 29th July, 2018

This is a film from the 20th century, both in its themes and its execution. (And since it was not made in the 20th century, it's a bad thing.)

For some reason I instantly started hating this film straight after its release and for some reason I then went on watching it at least once a year to figure out why I hate it so much and what it is I am missing that makes the critics go wild about it (apart from the fact that the Academy thought they had Scorsese waiting long enough for some of them golden statues of glory and the film in question wasn't particularly important).

During this year's annual rewatching "the faithful departed" caught me in a benevolent mood and I finally got to appreciate the adorable heart-attack-inducing cat-and-mouse game presented by gentlemen Leonardo and Matt. (Although the softest spot in my heart was occupied by Marky Mark, surprisingly.) And I also finally uderstood what irritated me so much about it before, and it's the Jack Nicholson part, of course.

Nicholson is said to have described his character as "an incarnation of pure evil" but he really must be going bonkers if he believes that is what he achieved. Not only does his primitive mafioso get way more leeway that the character actually needs in terms of the story, but more importantly he feels like a one-dimentional caricature from a different genre and certainly not the evilest of evils. Compared with the absolute determination of his colleagues he comes off as laughable, and not in a good way. And in that regard I think the prologue was also not needed at all since it has very little to do with the film or its point.

And now that I've put names to those things that bugged me for years I feel liberated and hope to never see this film again. The end. (But I do want to watch the Hongkongese original, because I need to see Andy Lau and Tony Leung hatefully glancing at each other.)

-"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself."

The Big Short (2015)

USA
directed by: Adam McKay
written by: Adam McKay, Charles Randolph + Michael Lewis (book)
starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
seen on 20th July, 2018

-"Tell me the difference between stupid and illegal and I'll have my wife's brother arrested." 

I had to fight the film's fidgety style all the way through, but its message softened my heart in the end. I would say this film has to be (morally) about five-thousand-times better than The Wolf of Wall Street, and yet/because of that almost nobody cares about it now and definitely nobody will care about it in a couple of years, while Leonardo will receive praise indefinitely, and golly gosh, that pisses me off so much.

Nevertheless, I still think that Adam McKay should sort of ease on those "though guy statements", at least in the beginning. And this also seems to by my favourite role of Steve Carell.

(I read there was supposed to be Scarlett Johansson under a waterfall instead of Margot Robbie in a bubble bath, and I would much prefered the first option, because Scarlett is an actress capable of expressing irony while Margot Robbie is not.)

-"The small investing he still does is all focused on one commodity: water."

Bridge of Spies (2015)

USA/Germany/India
directed by: Steven Spielberg
written by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Matt Charman
starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Sebastian Koch
seen on 7th July, 2018

I watched this film about a month ago and I kept saying to myself: "I've got to give it some time to make up my mind" and I kept saying it for so long I nearly forgot I even watched it, and well, that about sums up my opinion.

To be a bit more specific, I was actually deliberating whether the praiseworthy "oh the humanity" theme can balance out the disgusting pro-american/patriotic tone of the whole thing that maybe could find its place in the black-and-white 1990s but surely not in the cinema of the 21st century. By using these outdated optics Spielberg and his team, that surprisingly (for me) includes the Coen brothers, prove that they are not able to step outside their own shadow and reflect not only the times in which their story is set but also (and more importantly) the times in which they are making their statement. I will illustrate my displeasure on an example: The part I theoretically liked the most in this film was a connection between two shots framing (or rather summing up) the story: the first one is where Hanks rides the train "from one Berlin to the other one" and sees people getting shot down while trying to climb "the wall". The other one is of course the one where he rides a city train back in his home country and watches kids cheerfully climbing fences during play time. But how can they present this with a clear conscience as a symbol of "oppression x freedom" in present-day America, knowing full well what present-day America does to children and with walls and fences - at home, towards USA's neighbours and in a lot of other countries around the world.

I could also possibly enjoy the character of Abel as presented by Mark Rylance, but what good is such a brilliant minimalist performance in a film where manipulation follows sentimentality. I also found it amusing how is the introductory scene for mr. lawyer written to make him look like the biggest douchebag imaginable (For some reason I kept imagining Quentin Tarantino in the role: "Not our guy, a client of our guy." I believe that could be the mark of a Coen.) but since he's being played by Tom Hanks he later on displays no signs of these character traits presented during this exposition and forever keeps on acting and talking like the best gosh darnest man in the world and its history. And that's about all I remember about this film.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

USA
directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely + Stan Lee (comic book), Jack Kirby (comic book), Don Heck (comic book)
starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland,
seen on 2nd May, 2018

Fuck fuck fuck.

Manhunter/Red Dragon (1986)

USA
directed by: Michael Mann
written by: Michael Mann + Thomas Harris (book)
starring: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen
seen on 25th April, 2018

-"I know that I'm not smarter than you." -"Then how did you catch me?" -"You had disadvantages." -"What disadvantages?" -"You're insane."

I'll be damned, that's what I call atmospheric. And only a film medium allows for this kind of experience to be constructed. I did get a teensy impression of it being a bit naive and a tad (agedly) funny, but a whole bunch of beautifully crafted details was enough to erase that from mind. The voice of a murdered woman from an answering machine in a house where the floors and walls are stained with the blood of her family, talks about dreams and phantasies on top of a green light behind grey blinds, subjective perceptions and large format pictures of the lunar surface, azure skies and nocturnal woods and a white prison cell and a blind woman feeling the breath of a sleeping tiger on her skin, oh yes. 

Definitely one of the cases where I would not watch the film of my own volition, but since it's one of the 1001 I was determined "to sit through it somehow" and it did turn out to be a splendid jewel. My original disdain was caused by my hatered of "The Silence of the Lambs", which I consider to be a tawdry, nasty and lurid. Well, now I can make an informed proclamation of "suck it, Demme", because Mann tops him in every way. 

Even when it comes to approach to Dr. Hannibal, I'm sorry, Anthony, but from now on your performance will only seem like a cheap version of Brian Cox. À propos, a number of other things made an impression of Lambs stealing from Manhunter, including the look and general manner of the hunted villain. And I'd like to add that I didn't really like any other Mann film and I even actively hate some of them ("The Last of the Mohicans" for example), but when it comes to Manhunter, good job, Michael. And despite all my praise I would very much be curious to see how would the film look under the direction of Lynch in all his 80s glory, given he was considered for the post.

-"What you movin' in slow motion for, man?"

The Color of Pomegranates (1969)

Tsvet granata - Sayat Nova
Soviet Union
directed by: Sergei Parajanov
written by: Sergei Parajanov + Sayat Nova (poems)
starring: Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan, Gogi Gegechkori
seen: 18th April, 2018

I'm not at all sure whether my mind is completely at peace or wholeheartedly agitated.

 -"You are fire. Your dress is fire. You are fire. Your dress is black. Which of these two fires can I endure?"

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

Mexico/USA
directed by: Sam Peckinpah
written by: Sam Peckinpah, Gordon T. Dawson
starring: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Janine Maldonado
seen: 16th April, 2018

I'll admit straight away that I divided my attention between the film and cross-stitching, but I still don't think that it was entirely my fault that "Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia" strongly felt like watching several different films on several different TV chanels being changed randomly.

Both the prologue and the end were kind of divine, and if somebody were to only describe the premise and the general plot, I would think it sounds like a brilliant idea for a film, but after I've actually watched it, like wtf? Almost everything the critic's describe as valuable seems pretty absurd to me, and that's exactly the same feeling I had when watching the only other Peckinpah film I've seen so far, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. (And Warren Oates has pretty much the same sleazy macho presence here as James Coburn has there, so I guess that's the signature Peckinpah style?)

The fact that Oates presumably introduced Peckinpah to cocain during filming might actually explain a thing or two, because at times I have trouble even establishing a speculation as to what the hell is he trying to achieve with his direction. It's like there is no correlation between the emotions he's capturing on screen, or between the ways he decides to show them.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

USA/United Kingdom
written and directed by: Martin McDonagh
starring: Frances McDormand, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges
seen on 5th March, 2018

Olala, don't funk with my billboards. I will have to think about it for a while and I was expecting something a bit different than this, which of course is not entirely the film's fault. Maybe in time I will arrive to the understanding of what the film was about. The character development seemed a bit off and not completely understandable given the limits of the time span shown in the film. I had some real trouble with some of the music, mainly with the songs (and the tone they brought with them), the pieces written by Carter Burwell were the best. And a lot of other strange details threw me right out of the film all the time: like Frances being nervous and touching her face while moving her mouth in one shot and right in the follow-up shot she does not move one facial muscle, her hand is not even in the shot and she shows no previously seen emotions. Is there something I'm missing completely? In a film about inner experiences I find things like this extremely disruptive. Or that particular scene when they are replacing the burnt posters with their copies and all of them look so happy without a hint of all the terrible stuff that happened around it. Their happiness seems so out of place that I just cannot connect with the film and its story, or rather I feel like I misinterpret the whole thing.

Just a month ago I would not think I'd ever say that, but right now I hope Dunkirk wins all the Oscars and other awards. (But Lucas Hedges was great again, it was a real treat to watch his performance.)

Lady Bird (2017)

USA
written and directed by: Greta Gerwig
starring: Saoirse Ronan, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet
seen on 5th March, 5. 3. 2018

There was a time in my life when I thought about what it would be like to kill myself every day and this film strongly reminded me of that, so it did something right to capture a certain episode of growing up, I think. For me, the most precious parts of the film were those short unimportant exchanges with background characters like Danny, that one cool girl, the brother's girlfriend, her dad. They were scattered amongs attempts to unite everything into one story and I found those attempts unnecessary because the overall story arc did not work very well in the end. But those unique details did.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

USA
directed by: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
written by: Michael Arndt
starring: Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Steve Carell 
comment. 2nd March, 2018

Damn, I would never have thought that I'd have to spend so much time with a film like Little Miss Sunshine to even figure out what I want to say. I saw it once before just after it came out and I only remember being perplexed as to why do they refer to Olive as fat when the litte girl obviously isn't fat at all, and only wears an apparent fake belly. (But not mystify anyody, I consider Abigail Breslin's performance as the best and most sincere in this film and I am happy to praise her for that.)

The rest of the film seems a lot farther from honesty, in my opinion. Even in "Juno" I was distracted by forced plot points just according to the syd-fieldian logic, and LMS might try just a little bit harder than that. If the institute of "an indie film" stands for something in my book, it is distinction and spontaneity, and I don't find any of those here. All the characters (with the exception of the mother and possibly Olive) are endowed with a triple dose of typical weirdo qualities to assure the audience that they couldn't get anyone weirder. The jumps in tone from a lightweight atmosphere to a depression of the worst kind and back are unexpected and illogical. And mainly, all the stupid storybook rules are being followed to a letter instead of being subverted, as one would expect in this kind of film. This all contributes to me seeing the final feel of a re-newed family togetherness as unbelievable and unearned.

But I have to add some plus points for the film go make the depressed teenager colourblind to have a real reason to see the world as ugly and incomplete. And also for these film siblings being nice to each other, getting on well with each other and caring about each other, because I am kind of sick of the stereotypical film siblings rivalry.

The Eagle (1925)

USA
directed by: Clarence Brown
written by: George Marion Jr. + A. S. Puschkin (novel)
starring: Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Banky, Louise Dresser
seen: 6th February, 2018

Well, during my comparative excursion amongst the fabled lovers of the silent film, Douglas Fairbanks still remains on the top of my imaginary chart (and that's only if I don't include Buster Keaton, because he can top anyone). Valentino's charm doesn't work too much on me and the whole first half of the film, where he's the only attraction, seems to lack that "something something" that would make me watch and be immersed.

But that changed, though, when Vilma Banky stepped into the light. I'm not sure if the screenplay gave her a bit more stuff to act out, or whatever it was that made her more electric, lively and attractive than her male counterpart. I definitely liked the way she was written as a smarter and (relatively) more independent woman than your usual damsel in distress, which made her only the more dashing. And mainly, as soon as she entered the picture and the triangle "the antagonist-his daughter-the protagonist" could get going, the film became so interesting that I didn't know what to admire first.

All and all, Clarence Brown didn't leave too much of a good impression on me, nevertheless he deserves a thumps up for using all his aces in the second half of the film rather than wasting them in the beginning.

-"I'd rather die on my feet than ride on your horse."

Titanic (1997)

USA
written and directed by: James Cameron
starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Bernard Hill, Ioan Gruffud
comment: 19th January, 2018

I have such contradictory opinions about this film I can't recollect any other to match it right now. It is the embodiment, the ultimate homage and also an unfortunate forshadowing of all the blockbuster plagues that stop me from taking this branch of entertainment cinema seriously: it distorts history and its facts, it romanticizes misfortune and catastrophy, it wants to be the biggest of them all, the run-time is never-ending, it's a criticism of capitalism by the ultimate capitalists, and probably a load of other stuff I can't remember right now. (Casting absurdly attractive faces in the lead roles should be on the list, but I'm not including it in this case, because both the belle and the beau here are legitimate, competent and charismatic actors, while many of the models we see occupying the posters of blockbusters today simply are not and being beautiful is often perceived as being a good actor, see Margot Robbie for example.)

But on the other hand, I keep rewatching it without the desire to pull my brain out of my head with a hook through my nasal cavities. And amongst all the diversion there are two moments that always make me cry and that I genuinely really like: The first one is at the end of the film, when Rose gets to the whistle and the camera stays on her face and her eyes, and the other is the tracking shot of the photos old Rose keeps at her side, especially when the picture of her ridding a horse like a man is shown. However, during the viewing in January 2018 I added one more instance of crying on my agenda, and that was straight at the beginning when I remembered that Bill Paxton is no longer with us. Rest in peace, you damn fine guy.

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

USA/Italy/France/Brazil
directed by: Luca Guadagnino
written by: James Ivory + André Aciman (book)
starring: Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg
seen on 18th January, 2018

That last shot really is devastating. Love sucks.

But goddamn, the more I think about the film and the more I try to analyse it for myself the worse and more amateurish it seems. Timothée is really brilliant, vibrant, genuine and interesting and I would wholeheartedly wish for him to win that Oscar. Nonetheless, he shines far brighter than any other aspect of the film. Armie tries really hard, and he does have some cute moments, but he mostly only accomplishes to confirm his status as a handsome (as opposed to talented) actor and most of the time (also thanks to the fact that by following him on Instagram I am aware that he is a family oriented adult male with a wife and two kids) he does not fit the part and at times he even seems extremely miscast.

The flow of events is a bit forced and somewhat mechanical and Guadagnino probably still needs to do a lot of directing to learn how to tell such a subtle and not-story-oriented story. I do like the direction he seems to be taking, but I am baffled by the critics that say that his directing is a third main character in the story. The soundtrack only supported this clumsy feel the film gave me instead of lifting it up.

In retrospect, I should have kept the original fleeting impression and dropped the dissection of a simple film about one's first love.

- After four months of listening to "Visions Of Gideon" nonstop and being moved by the beauty and powers of art I do wish that the film before "that" were at least a bit better because the ending is so gosh darn terribly beautifully brilliant!

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

USA
directed by: Raoul Walsh
written by: Lotta Woods, Douglas Fairbanks (as Elton Thomas)
starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Sôjin Kamiyama
comment: 5th January, 2018

"Happiness must be earned."

Wow, that's what I call a hero's journey. I've never really properly seen anything with Douglas Fairbanks before and now I'm being swept away. His physical (or should I say corporeal) acting creates a character so tangible, interesting and ultimately likable that it makes my heart overflow with joy just watching him. He is the alpha and the omega of the film and that might be why the film seems to slow down when the screen is ocupied by the other suitors. But when he's in the spotlight, wow it's wild. I especially liked the humanoid tree and the underwater harlots tempting him into their lair. And the sets and costumes were all really beautiful. I think I would find a place for some of the lamps from the palace and for the sheer embroidered cloak the caliph was wearing as well.

All in all, I think Raoul Walsh beats Griffith in all the right places when it comes to an oriental spectacle. I mean, he still somewhat presents white people as the good guys and minorities as the bad guys, but his film is not built on the premise that that's the predetermined way things will always be.

Prizzi's Honor (1985)

USA
directed by: John Huston
written by: Richard Condon (+ book), Janet Roach
starring: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, William Hickey, Anjelica Huston
comment: 1st January, 2018

Hm, maybe four out of five stars is too much, but considering what a diabolical work Anjelica displays in the tiny space she's confined to, three out of five is too little. And I still have to mention that William Hickey probably also arrived at our planet through a rip in the ceiling of hell.

Given the fact that I don't especially like mafia film, I've enjoyed this one quite a lot. I was most amused by the straightforward story not pretending to be something more than what it really is. Because the make-believe grandeur of The Godfather is one of my long-term cinema pet peeves. If it were not for Pacino, I wouldn't use The Godfather as a temporary bicycle stand for my bike (that's a direct translation of a czech expression and I wonder how confusing it is for the rest of the world). It's interesting that everybody calls Huston (and his film) old and tired, while Coppola gets all the praise for a modern masterpiece. And in my head, it's a bit the other way round, The Godfather seems a lot more worn out, protracted and stuck in a time long long gone.