Category: Movies

I am a huge movies fan. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I don’t get much free time to enjoy watching movies. But when I do, I try to share my thoughts about the movies that I’ve seen. Movie reviews, celebrity news, trailers of upcoming flicks, etc – are all in this category.

Nochnoy Dozor

I promised not to watch any more of the Russian movies and managed to escape them for some time now. Until today. “Nochnoy Dozor” has been widely advertised in Russia and there was a lot of hype about it. Some people were even weighting it as an answer to Hollywood. My own mother wanted me to watch it. The copy of the film was available on the net, so I decided to see it.

This film sucks. Yes, it is better than many other films. It might be one of the best films from Russia for the last few years. But it still sucks. The biggest problem I have with this movie is the same as with all the other Russian films of the last 10 years or so – greyness, sadness, and depression. It has so much of negative energy that I had troubles focusing on the actual content of the film. Most movies (at least the ones similar to this) use contrast to strongly separate good and bad characters – good characters are usually surrounded by joy and happiness and bad characters are surrounded by spider nets, bats, and other creepy stuff. This film, on the other hand, is totally dark and grey. Good characters look like they have been drinking for a couple of weeks before the shooting. City scenes are dirty. People in the crowd and subway are angry. Blah blah blah. Yuck.

So, now once again I have to say – this was the last Russian-made movie that I watched. Enough is enough.

Payback

It has been a while since I have bought “Payback” on DVD. It has also been few times that I have watched it. I watched it both before and after I bought it. But I was always lacking the right terms to describe the feeling. And I think finally I have got it.

This movie is so transparent and predictable from beginning to end that it is unbelievable. Before even the credits start rolling and movie title displayed you already know what it is about and how it will go and how it will end. And still you… or sorry, I watch it and enjoy it a lot. And then I figure out that it is so much like Tarantino’s Kill Bill…

This film is not about what is happening and to who, but about how it is shown. It has all the style you could ask for and some more. If you enjoyed Kill Bill’s duo and you haven’t seen this one, then go out and grab the DVD. It’s superb.

For the pedants: 9.5 out of 10. :)

If These Walls Could Talk 2

Coninuing today’s TV session, there was an excellent piece called “If These Walls Could Talk 2“. It’s a film, which is about evolution of society in regards of women independence and lesbian issues. It pictures three stories, one that happens in 1961, another in 1972, and the last one in 2000. It is the best film I have seen on the subject so far. Strongly recommended.

If you by any chance wonder if they show any sex and boobies in there – they do. But it’s not a porn film by any means. Sweet though. :)

Meanwhile I’ll switch the TV off and go rate this piece on IMDB as 8 out of 10. Bed time.

Carlito’s Way

Al Pacino is always pleasent to watch. This guy surely knows how to act. When he does the solo of the main character it is even more enjoyable. Today they were showing “Carlito’s Way” on TV, where Al Pacino is exactly in the middle shiny main central role. :)

On one hand, it is a regular crime flick with Italian mafia, women, money, guns, and every other thing you get to expect from this sort of movie. On the other – excellent actor’s performance makes it so different from the bunch of others, and so enjoyable. It also seems like a middle-life work of Al Pacino. He is partially young and restless like in his previous movies, but he is already experienced and touchy like in his following films. It feels somehow modern, but it has this end of 70s, beginning of 80s look to it, although the film was done in 1993.

Watch it if you want something with a classic Italian mafia flavour and Al Pacino on top. 6.5 out of 10.

The War

Today is a very strange day. Usually, there is nothing to watch on Friday evening. Today there were a number of movies. And not only those were just any movies – there were some good ones.

“The War” is the first one I saw today. Kevin Costner plays a father of Elijah Wood, who is more popular as Frodo Baggins in the Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The good part is that you actually get to appreciate Elijah before he became Frodo. The movie is 10 years and he is noticably younger then he is now. That helps. Because he is a kind of not bad actor. Actually, he was acting the most one can do of the not so well done screenplay.

The film altogether is rather dramatic but not without a happy end. 6.5 out of 10. Rather enjoyable view for a time when a sad movie is needed. :)