Joro-3 Reviews

Expend4bles (2023)

A decent old school action flick

[9/10 · 20 September 2023]

For the older generations of movie fans, this is a bliss. A big shot of nostalgia, humour, very good action scenes and a large amount of actors charisma.

For me, the surprises here are two - relatively big role for Megan Fox, who is gorgeous and with excellent chemistry to Jason Statham, and the character of Dolph Lundgren, who is better than ever here.

Yes, some CGI look cheesy and most of the budget obviously went for salaries. But when you have in the same frame such charismatic men (and women), and the dialogue is full of one-liners and old school jokes, how can you complain?

It is excellent popcorn entertainment for a man, and maybe for a woman too.

The Offer (2022)

What a delight

[10/10 · 16 December 2022]

What a delight to watch, what a story to appreciate. I don't want to repeat the others who already admire this series, and they are thousands indeed. One of the good things in this show is that it is not only about The Godfather, but also about many more masterpieces of that era - Live Story, Chinatown, Paper Moon.

Also I like that it is a mafia movie about a mafia movie - the story itself is rich enough, with a lot of interesting and charming characters.

For me Ribisi shines above all of them. Matthew Goode is very good too, Burn Gorman (Charlie Bludhorn) is fantastic as well. Juno Temple is forced in too many shows in recent years, but I have to admit that she is perfect here.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

Surprisingly good

[9/10 · 3 September 2022]

Don't believe all hate and biased reviews - it is not only stunning (looks even better than expected and all the money are well spent), but also heart-warming and charming just as the original trilogy. Yes, the actors are not superstars, but the characters are more than likeable. And no, the acting is not "cringy" - to me it is excellent and at least not worse than in House of Dragons. I don't want to compare anything with the Tolkien books - I prefer to judge this as it is, as home cinema entertainment, and it is wonderful. All the humor and wisdom of Tolkien books are here. So sorry for all haters...

Agents of Chaos (2020)

Disappointing

[2/10 · 26 September 2020]

It is too biased, one-sided and manipulative at the end. Russians are presented as dull and geniuses at the same time. Common known facts are mixed with interviews with people whose words you would guess even before they open their mouths, Quite disappointing from Gibney this time, Nevertheless, this series is good source of information about Russia, Ukraine and some events we tend to forget easily, There are some rare documentary videos included as well. But in general it is far from what I expected.

Grudge Match (2013)

Funny and touching at times

[8/10 · 7 January 2014]

It was fun. I enjoyed it most of the time. Acting is great, screenplay - let's say good enough, and the direction and cinematography - not bad as well. Music and score were well used. I think that IMDb-rating about 7 is fair.

And it will be not a bomb for sure - worldwide-box office will be at least twice the budget, I guess.

Maybe 15 minutes more would suit the story better. The ending seemed a little bit rushed. And the Nokia placement - too much.

But anyway - decent effort by two legends and co. Give it a chance. On rental Grudge Match will be a hit, I can bet.

Die Another Day (2002)

Coolest Bond in a decade

[8/10 · 22 November 2002]

Great stunts, great style, great looking Halle Berry, average-level Brosnan. Perfect direction from Tamahori. Fine dialog, screenplay - at least acceptable. One f the best one-liners in recent movie history. The final 30 minutes became some kind of boring, claustrophobic and tedious. Could be better, but at the same time could be much worse. The whole Iceland scenery was, errr, fantastic. It will be very difficult for the next Bond director to deliver at the same level or better. Anyone said 'XXX'? You got to be kidding...

8 OUT OF 10 for one of the best Bond movies ever.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Much better than The Menace, but not enough

[7/10 · 15 May 2002]

The Attack is much better than the Phantom Menace - with well-developed story, more detailed characters, better acting, much more action and sense. But it is still quite enough dull and shallow. In 70-ies it could be fantastic movie, but now, when we have The Matrix, Spiderman etc. it is not so easy to impress. And all these "copy-and-paste-from-another movie" moments... "Gladiator", "The Fifth Element", "Lara Croft", "Blade Runner". We have even some "Titanic" moments. Scale: 7 out of 10 at most, maybe 6 and a half. Waiting for The Matrix 2 and 3...

V avguste 44-go (2001)

Brilliant war movie

[9/10 · 14 November 2001]

This is one of the best war movies I have ever seen. Forget Private Ryan, forget G.I. Jane, forget Platoon or Born of 4th of July. These Belarusians have made a brilliant thriller, with perfect cinematography, fine acting and almost perfect editing. And, which is very important, there is no any propaganda here. This is not "Germans-are-so-bad, the-others-so good" kind of movie.

It is simply good entertainment - one of the same kind as "U-571", for example.

The Million Dollar Hotel (2000)

Much better than expected

[8/10 · 3 December 2000]

OK, I admit it - I was a victim of all that bad word of mouth about this movie. Now I am very pleasantly surprised and I feel something like obligation to put some comment here at least. The Million Dollar Hotel is not only a typical Wenders film - it is one of his best ones. Not only the direction here is great - the same can be said about cinematography (although the cameraman is not Roby Mueller, this guy Papamichael is not worse), the design and especially about the acting. Of course, the music is great. I watched this film in a very large cinema-hall - with some 4000 people around. And noone seemed to be bored or disappointed. This is a perfect movie about America - and once again, it is made not by Americans - the plot is by an irish musician, the director is German, and one of the leads (Jovovich) is Ukrainian. I give The Million Dollar Hotel 8 out of 10. It could be better film, of course, but it could be a lot worse. Not to be missed. Not to be watched on VHS - the large screen is needed here.

Hollow Man (2000)

Better than expected

[6/10 · 12 September 2000]

Only the last 20 minutes are real problem with this movie. Until this stupid ending everything was almost perfect - great style, smartly used computer effects, good sense of black humor. It is really interesting which fault are those devastating last minutes - director's, producer's or screenwriter's one. Nevertheless, I recommend this good thriller - you will be not disappointed, especially if you are prepared for the bad ending. 6 out of 10.

The Insider (1999)

The best movie of 1999

[10/10 · 2 September 2000]

This is the best Hollywood movie of 1999, without any hesitation /the best non-american one is Almodovar's All About My Mother/. Michael Mann once again shows that he is the most magnificent, brave and intelligent movie-maker of his country. The perfomances of Russel Crowe and Christopher Plummer deserved their Oscars. The part of Wigand is the most difficult to play and detailed in recent years. The Insider is so great I really wonder if Hollywood will have some balls to spend so much money again for so little box-office reward. 10 out of 10.

Wishful Thinking (1997)

surprisingly good

[8/10 · 5 March 2000]

This movie turned out to be better than I expected. The plot is interesting and original (if such thing is possible at all in such romantic genre), the dialogue has some great moments, the directing and camera-work are good enough as well. Although the actors are such stars, I think that this movie deserved even better performances than they gave. Nonetheless, Wishful Thinking is quite pleasant movie. I rank it close below Living In Oblivion and Sliding Doors.

Beowulf (1999)

Lambert is getting worse

[3/10 · 15 January 2000]

Another B-movie for teenagers, based mainly on CGI-effects, industrial soundtrack and some medieval imagery. It's a pitty that the legend for Beowulf is used in such uninspired manner. I am a fan of Christopher Lambert, but I have to admit that he is getting worse as an actor and his movies too. Rent it if you are teenager only.

Sling Blade (1996)

A masterpiece.

[10/10 · 19 December 1999]

Sling Blade is a masterpiece. It is a breathtaking, heartstopping movie, a triumph of the human spirit, work of a genius. I hate every other film which won Academy award instead of Sling Blade. This is not only Best Screenplay, but also Best Film, Best Directing, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Cinematography and not at last - Best Music by Daniel Lenois. Shame on the Academy. Respect for Billy Bob Thornton, the most talented man ever stepped in Hollywood. 10 out of 10.

Mercy (2000)

Stylish, dark, pervert, but why so edifying?

[4 October 1999]

I was surprised by this film at many levels. Almost every woman here is blonde, but it is dark movie at the same time. It is very erotic and explicit and on the other hand - it is very moralistic and edifying.

Good performances by Ellen Barkin and Peta Wilson, but the person who steals the show is the director of photography Vince Di Meglio. Also is good to mention good editing and make-up and some stylish decisions in directing. This guy Damian Harris has some good days ahead. The plot is a mix between The Silence of the Lambs, 8 mm, Seven and In Dreams and Psycho. It is not the best screenplay I have seen on screen, but also is not the worst. The moralistic moment in the final minutes is very tedious. If a viewer can survive till the end of so much perversion and pain, he is not ready for such shallow and tedious ending.

Broken Vessels (1998)

Made with style

[8/10 · 12 September 1999]

OK, the story here is some kind of cliche, but it is shot with style and also shows some good acting performances. It has some parralels with Trainspotting. The soundtrack is fantastic, also the photography. There is a bit of disappointment that such good elements are not used in more remarkable way. This movie really deserved better screenplay. Nonetheless, it is an event to watch. Strongly recommended.