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The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
A bit of a let-down
Gorgeous locations. Fitting soundtrack. Impeccable acting. And ultimately the lack of a good conclusion negates all of this.
From the very start the viewer can sympathise with and understand all characters. They are all relatable.
Padraic is indeed a somewhat dull, ordinary but kind man who can't let go of the fact that his lifelong friend has begun to ignore him. This completely unfolds Padraic's small world and he is desperately trying to rebuild the friendship, but fails to understand Colm's reasons.
Colm, on the other hand, is intelligent and reserved. He obviously understands that his friend is affected by what happens, but decides to proceed with his (likely futile) ambition to be remembered with works of music. At first he tries to completely ignore Padraic, hoping the latter will simply distance himself too; when that doesn't happen, he resorts to far more drastic measures, which ultimately prove both useless and devastating to his musical aspirations.
When things escalate as much as they did within the story, a sensible outcome would have been to have a conclusion - reconciliation, violent/peaceful ending or whatever. Instead, we're left hanging with the assumption that this will continue. But to what end? The characters were excellent and the viewer could sympathise with both; the lack of closure simply ruined the rest of the story for me, leaving their actions up to that point ambiguous, and the story futile.
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Solid popcorn entertainment, could've been a bit more.
While simplistic at first glance, Kong: Skull Island surprisingly has some good ideas invested in it.
The initial 1970s/post-Vietnam feel of the era is well-built. The conflict arising between the scientists' reason and the strongman attitude of the soldiers gives a good color to the otherwise weak plot. There are also some pleasant literary references thrown in, namely to H.P. Lovecraft's works (South Pacific island, dormant species waiting to reclaim the planet) and Joseph Conrad (Tom Hiddleston's character).
These could have easily been developed into a deeper story without making the movie too serious. Unfortunately, it's a purely visual monster fest that doesn't really add much - if anything - to the existing source material. From a technical standpoint, there is an overabundance of music, some sloppy editing, and occasionally awkward camera work, though the CGI is not too heavy and the scenery is quite beautiful.
It's thin on substance even though it could have avoided that, but still entertaining and worth a watch.
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Wat.
Quite convinced this could be the worst film in the franchise. While nostalgia for the very first Ts shouldn't blur reasonable judgment, "Genisys" is very, very, very far from the vibe of the original and T2.
Why it could be the worst ? Creatively speaking, there's nothing new here. Everything in "Genisys" is recycled. There is not a single fresh idea or theme introduced; the whole thing seemed like memorable bits from previous films taken and glued together to produce an utter mess of a plot. The gaps between those are filled with bizarre sentimental dialogue moments which feel completely alien to the background. Some of the lines were outright cringe- worthy. The final result is a choppy story that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste and makes you wonder if you actually watched a Terminator movie.
Technically speaking, the execution is just poor. Cinematography is inadequate and teams up with equally bad CGI to ruin the already limited action capital of the movie. The soundtrack is surprisingly unremarkable as well.
"Genisys" has a few fresh elements, like Byung-hun Lee's T-1000, J.K. Simmons' O'Brien character and Skynet's AI linked to an omnipresent Internet of things. None of those is developed in sufficient depth though. Changes that could have been good but came out badly were John Connor's switch of sides and Arnold's previously sinister T-800 being reduced to comic relief. The former is obnoxious and the latter is just as sad as it is symbolic for the whole film.
Overall it's a 5/10. "Genisys" is entertaining if you go without expectations or if you are not a fan of earlier Terminator movies. But it's also bad enough to put an end to a (prematurely) depleted franchise.
Mad Max (1979)
Doesn't get old
I had known the near-legendary value of the Mad Max franchise for a very long time, but had never actually seen any of the films, and only recently did I stumble upon the first installment on TV. Needless to say, I was captivated by the story and it wasn't long before I got to watch the sequels.
Even 35 years later, Mad Max remains a fresh film with a fresh plot - a police officer of a more or less dysfunctional patrol force pitted against a ruthless road gang in a collapsing society. The film offers a number of things that, sadly, not many movies nowadays have - an original idea, uncompromising (yet measured) violence, the fantastic and remembering background of an apocalyptic Australia, a shining Mel Gibson, and last but not least, zero self-indulgence.
Mad Max is pure entertainment, and if you're bored or annoyed with billion-range revenue, CGI-laden plastic, you should definitely watch or re-watch this title.
Grindhouse (2007)
Preposterous. And brilliant.
There is really no need to say anything about Grindhouse, these two films simply have to be experienced. In a few words - two (or one and a half) horror features in the best traditions of B-movies.
"Deathproof" is about a former stuntman using the hp under the hood to murder women. At times painfully predictable, it is nevertheless very enjoyable, packing a fresh Tarantino punch.
"Planet Terror" is a typical zombie apocalypse flick, wielding an impressive arsenal of absurdly funny and/or bizarre moments - from Naveen Andrews' collection of certain bodily organs through Jeff Fahey's very amusing role to Tarantino's short, but memorable appearance.
Watch both of them for pure pulp enjoyment. "Machete" is highly recommended for dessert.
Pistolet, Kufar i 3 smurdyashti varela (2012)
This has to be forgotten as quickly as possible
There is no rating attached here, simply because 1 (awful) would be an incredible compliment to this shocking, god-awful, abysmal visual cringe.
This film in a nutshell: an early Guy Ritchie-style gangster comedy, minus the "Guy Ritchie", "gangster" and "comedy" bits. Considering the semi-disjointed nature of the movie, maybe "style" should not be applied to this piece of rubbish either. In fact, if I were Guy Ritchie, I would sue the creator of this Third World-grade bootleg for copyright infringement and personal offence.
As few people as possible should see this film, it just has to be forgotten very quickly. If you like shameless and uncreative knock-offs that fail to be whatever they're trying to be, I would much rather recommend "The Man Who Saved the World" (aka "Turkish Star Wars") or "Mac and Me". At least they're ridiculous to the point where you can laugh at them. While this is nothing more than a preposterous, uncreative psychotic mess.
Without Warning (1994)
Disturbing as s***
If not anything else, "Without Warning" proves that a film can be memorable and highly original without being brilliant. This is by no means a masterpiece, but it fully serves its purpose and resembles a punch in the stomach when you least expect it.
Didn't come up with high expectations (found it on YouTube), but the uncertainty building up throughout the film kept me watching. The ending caught me completely off guard. What makes this film so disturbing is that the story unwraps slowly, without being too explicit or over the top. By far one of the most plausible and haunting pieces apocalyptic fiction I've ever seen.
Pod prikritie (2011)
Poor at best
"Pod prikritie" is actually fun to watch if you don't consider it a serious production.
This series is part of a trend in Bulgarian visual entertainment where local peculiarities are dressed in shiny Hollywood-style camera work, soundtrack usage and stock characters, resulting in a product that should, at least on paper, be interesting to follow. But it's not. And there are several reasons for that.
An extremely corny and ultra-exploited plot is one of the most disappointing things about "Pod prikritie". Bulgarian viewers might enjoy the whole story because it's impossible to revolve in such a manner in real-life Bulgaria itself, or maybe because such a product appears in Bulgarian for the first time, thus feeling closer to the local audience. Its cast and crew fail to escape from their theatrical manners, making this look like a college play captured on film. This said, its 9+ mark and reviews defining it as "brilliant" can simply be dismissed.
The characters don't really improve the general picture - they are far from believable, very single-purposed, lacking any sort of background that doesn't look forced, and don't deserve the compassion of the viewer. Apart from the abysmal lack of acting skills, actors themselves are certainly far from physically appealing, this doing little to evoke any sympathy towards their characters. This is especially valid for Dzharo, the potbellied "villain" who tends to be more laughable than fearsome, or Popov, who shares the same working class anatomy but tends to be a complete misfit in the whole picture.
Finally, one should commend the style of the series - it has the shiny prime time, audience-grabbing package, but the content inside it makes it look uneven and inadequate. The makers of "Pod prikritie" have taken the right turn on the road of high-revenue action entertainment, but still seem to be stuck on the wannabe phase.
Iztochni piesi (2009)
Yet another treat for my Recycle bin.
When it comes to cinema as an art, the origin of the film should not bring any merits. However, this is exactly the case with virtually all Bulgarian movies that come up in recent years. The limited release of most new age Bulgarian films is not only the main reason for their unrealistic and ridiculously high scores predominantly given by Bulgarian viewers, but is also a proof of their low artistic and technical value given the general lack of foreign opinions and public.
Eastern Plays is by no means an exception. The main trait dooming this flick to mediocrity is its basic framework, which is a story of human decadence. Nothing new, nothing original. We have seen similar plots with similar characters in similar environments dozens of times in many earlier Eastern European films, and Eastern Plays is a typical example of Bulgaria's tardive pseudo-Renaissance in the domain of cinema.
A vague plot which attempts (and fails) to convince the viewer of an inner, deeper meaning and message, basically non-existing acting, poor dialogue and unimpressive and grim scenery are only a few of this pic's unremarkable components. Some point out "realism" as the strongest side of this film - it might be, but this is not an exciting realism. There is nothing inspiring nor touching in this bland and at times frankly repulsive mix of clichés, social sets and urban decay.
The sole value of this film would be that of a counterexample on how to make cinema. By all means, skip it - not worth the time.