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Taeksi woonjunsa (2017)
Extremely emotional and realistic drama about hardly known dark events from South Korea's history
History of each country has its dark corners - events full of human suffering and sadness. A Taxi Driver reveals such a story that took place in South Korea in 1980: the times of mass pro-democratic demonstrations against an oppressive military regime. The film portrays a couple of days from that period happening in a Korean city Gwangju, which was cut off from the rest of the country by army because of the student resistance. An ordinary taxi driver from Seoul coincidentally becomes the hero of this story: he is hired to transport a German journalist right into the hot spot of Gwangju and is compelled to witness plenty of violence against the student peaceful protests.
To be honest, the entire historical background came up as a sheer revelation to me: the portrayed events contradict to the modern free South Korea's image everybody knows today. Thus, the movie serves an imperative educational purpose introducing the historical events to its spectators in a highly emotional, engrossing and comprehensible language.
Additionally, the way ordinary Koreans are shown is very appealing: even secondary characters are played lively and appear extremely convincing and well-developed.
All in all, A Taxi Driver seems a great choice for those willing to have a peek at a distinct darker page of South Korea and engage in realistic and moving drama of its ordinary citizens' lives from that historical period.
Mayor Grom (2017)
Great start towards the first Russian comic book adaptation
This short movie displays just a very brief story about a police major Grom - a hero from the first Russian comic book.
It makes quite a positive impression: high-quality and with a decent sense of humour along with gripping stunts. Furthermore, it's amazingly incorporated into the modern-day Russia and therefore looks pretty realistic: its backgrounds of St. Petersbug's architectural beauties or some authentically portrayed Russian personalities and the atmosphere on the whole. Sure, it's not without exaggerations (especially, Russian police forces come across as rather too neat), but then again, it's based on a comic book which is supposed to consist of a few fantastic aspects.
In any event, the very shortness of this movie might play its most important part: the creators probably didn't have enough time to spoil anything. Hopefully, its forthcoming longer counterpart about the major will prove the opposite: our Russian contemporary film makers are not only capable of shooting superficial amateurish copies of Hollywood blockbusters but can also produce curious decent-quality works with their own authentic ideas and characters.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Atmospheric but with too much art lacking cohesion
It's an extremely atmospheric and weird story about two men isolated on a tiny island to take care of a lighthouse.
The movie is black and white which adds up to the whole thrill of watching how everything slowly gets crazier and more inadequate in the two characters' cramped world. Moreover, the effect even produces something claustrophobic out of all the setting.
Additionally, the growing tension is skillfully conveyed through harsh sounds and steady uncomfortable shrieks the nature manifests itself: sea gulls, ocean waves or just plain deafening silence. The heroes themselves look very much in place and are played brilliantly as if an inherent pair of parts in this mysterious jigsaw.
Unfortunately, at times the film turns into pure art: a specimen of an impressionistic experiment understandable to only a few experts. All the vague hints and madness bring far more questions than answers and leave the spectators rather unsatisfied and certainly deceived.
In other words, the whole experience resembles going to a museum of modern art: there is some beauty in it, but it lacks cohesion and can hardly be taken in by general public, even though plenty of them nod in agreement scared of appearing ignorant.
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Revives the jazz age from a fresh and bold perspective
Baz Lurman's Great Gatsby seems a too bold move for its classic literature source: modern music, tons of special effects and computer graphic wrapped up in the magical atmosphere of the USA from the beginning of the previous century. All of this creates a very surreal world - rather a parody to the historical period the movie depicts or even an outright dystopia. This fact is likely to distress those who are acquainted with the original novel. On the other hand, it gives a fresh contemporary air to something used to be forgotten.
To begin with, there appears to be no intention to follow the historical realism at all: colourful dresses and costumes and posh cars similar to the depicted jazz age are here just to hint at those times. However, these details fit into this lavish fantasy image quite well. To make it all lively, believable and emotional, there are of course talented and recognizable actors, though the main male characters - those of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton - leave rather stronger impressions. Whereas there seems to be no certain focus on the heroines since they appear as a necessary background for the heroes so that they could figure out whose principles are more righteous or who is more successful.
In any event, even though the work is quite controversial, especially among devoted fans of the classic story, it has already managed to popularize the book source among those who haven't been familiar with it. Moreover, the film has followed its own motto and returned the entire cultural layer back from the past reviving it as a peculiar mixture of the American jazz period and modern pop-culture, thus appealing to younger audience quite successfully.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Parodical horror combining several genres and plenty of fun
The Cabin in the Woods is not a trivial horror but rather a cumulative story about all of them: sort of a parody with its own unique ideas and plot twists. The latter ones make it linger on the brinks of several genres at once. It's indeed frightening like a classical horror film should be, although mixed with some funny episodes of black humour as if to let its spectators relax a little bit. Finally, it gradually melts into a mystical fantasy thriller featuring some sci-fi elements as well.
What's even more, the film is not only sheer entertainment, but it raises an important philosophical question about whether one ought to sacrifice one's own interests for the sake of a bigger purpose or other peoples' well-being: how far our instinct of self-survival can lead us and whether we can follow it till the end knowing that someone else is likely to suffer. It looks similar to the thrust which Saw conveyed, though in this case it's displayed not as disgustingly and with some humour.
On the other hand, among its main downsides can be listed some illogical events and several characters' behavioural stupidity. However, they seem typical to horrors and can be viewed as rather conventional things.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Strictly for DC fans and followers of the previous episodes
Zack Snyder's Justice League has a unique and long story of creation. Perhaps, it's one of the reasons why it has such high rates because when looking at the movie in a more or less unbiased manner without all those expectations DC fans have held the outcome seems not that shiny.
First and foremost, its unusually lengthy nature might be appealing to the fans but scare other watchers who are not that sophisticated in the universe and what used to happen there before. After all, the prolonged timing manages to tell us a more or less cohesive story of only one character - the Cyborg. As for the rest of the league, there are just short anecdotes from their lives presented. In other words, the film should not be perceived as an independent self-explanatory work but one more episode of a whole series of movies. It's an additional proof to the fact that its spectator must already be acquainted with the prior stories to fully enjoy this one.
Secondly, there is almost nothing more than classical plot about superheroes fighting against supervillains to save the world. Sure, it's all peppered with tons of spectacular graphical effects, though the dialogs are fairly primitive and predictable, the characters are plain and without any controversies (not like what we've seen in Christopher Nolan's Batmans or in Joker by Todd Phillips), the story is straightforward with nearly no intrigues.
In the end, Zack Snyder's Justice League appears as one more super heroic movie within its own established universe, which should be known and loved prior to watching. Plenty of fans compare it with the previous version of the same story which turned up to be even weaker. So, in the context of the earlier film this one might indeed make a shinier impression. However, when considering it as the sole version, it doesn't hold water, as long as you're not crazy about the whole series.
Nobody (2021)
Highly entertaining movie with its own style and good humour
Nobody is quite an appealing specimen of films fully dedicated to the goal of entertaining their spectators. It copes with the task well, which is especially apparent on a big screen where the entire performance seems extremely convincing and immersive. All the dynamic scenes of fights, violence and dizzy stunts accompanied with witty cynical jokes - at times even too bold for western public - serve this purpose.
Quite predictably, such movies are not intended for people loving deep ideas and the prolonged feeling of contemplative aftertaste. On the other hand, neither is it a downright hollow work: it has its own taste and style, and it's by no means a dumb action movie with stone-faced characters and tedious primitive dialogs. In addition, although the main villain comes across as a fairly caricature person - a maniacal Russian mafiosi even though with his own interesting hobbies - the protagonist is a lively and controversial individual: he makes compromises, and they are not always ethical.
To cut it short, the movie is definitely a great pick to give a rest to one's mind as well as have some laughs. It's highly recommended for those admiring stylish actions by Guy Ritchie. What's more, behind all these decalitres of blood and violence it's still possible to recognise quite a certain thought brought out to the stage: whether one can really flee from their real selves and become someone else, and even if it's feasible then for how long and whether it's worthwhile at all.
Nomadland (2020)
Authentic and contemplative
Nomadland tries to outline what a nomad's life looks like in the USA of the XXI century. Moreover, since the main character is a woman, it shows how a lot more strengths and courage she must summon to overcome all the difficulties of such life in comparison with men: doing physically demanding work; being on her own and counting only on herself to defend herself and her scarce but dear property; learning fast how to mend her car, upon which her survival is so dependent, etc.
Needless to say, that all these activities must be displayed in a very genuine manner, and that's what Frances McDormans demonstrates: she plays as if the whole action was indeed a part of her own biography - so lively and authentic. Further so, the whole movie feels very natural to the degree when it appears like an encyclopedia for those planning to become nomads or unexpectedly facing such circumstances. Apart from its authenticity the movie is just staggeringly beautiful featuring breathtaking views of the USA's nature from distinct climate zones and seasons.
Finally, the work also portrays people and their social interactions while being in the wild nature of American roads: how they spend time together, what discuss and help each other, how remember one another. This all gives a great deal of hope for human beings: we are still a communal species; we cannot only take but give as well, and that together we are capable of coping with every mess in our lives.
However, the movie is not for everyone. Slowly paced narration and lots of contemplative scenes might scare some spectators used to more actively told stories. On the other hand, it's a good choice for those willing to empathize and jump into the emotional world of American roads, landscapes and their eternally moving real inhabitants.
Lord of War (2005)
One of Nicolas Cages' best performances
Lord of War revolves around a man's tough path of evolving from a negligible weapon dealer to a literal lord of trading killing machines. The story is as cynic as the whole industry is. Moreover, the cynicism is made even more palpable by being narrated in a rather indifferent manner by the main character himself. Additionally, under all this thick glowing shell there is the gun powder of explosive black humor wrapped up skillfully. It goes without saying, that all these layers feel very much in place.
What there is even more in place though is the main hero of the movie played by Nicolas Cage. It's definitely one of his best performances: a wicked shrewd person, always in control of the situation, although capable of care, empathy and love too; always in clashes with his conscience deep down. However, some characters - especially villains - make an impression of rather caricature personalities typical to the Hollywood's images.
All in all, the movie is a great choice for those willing to think again about how everything is intricate and interconnected in this world: peace, war and hypocrites.
Druk (2020)
Humorous drama with heady Scandinavian backgrounds
Simply speaking, the film shows us what happens to middle-aged men when they didn't party enough in their youth. What starts as an innocent and funny alcohol experiment for four schoolteachers ends up leading to a whole baggage of all sorts of consequences in their lives.
Sure, the story is much deeper than that: the characters don't only have fun while getting drunk and communicating but also take another perspective on their existence and even reassess some of its aspects. The heroes themselves seem very human: to the extent that they behave quite annoyingly at times, especially when you expect them to act firmly and decisively, whereas they drown in their alcoholic passiveness instead.
As a huge bonus to the four friends' drunk adventures the film skillfully portrays details of Danish school life and some cultural aspects of Danish lifestyle overall. When talking about Scandinavia there are always images of natural beauties springing to mind, and the work proves it right: the sea, forests and accurate greenery here and there - all fits into the narrative well.
As a result, the film turns up to be a wonderful tragic comedy giving its spectators not only reasons to laugh and feel ashamed of its drunk characters' behavior every now and then but also experience sadness and tranquility when watching the dramas of their lives unfolding against the background of heady Scandinavian nature.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Philosophical and picturesque but neraly eventless
All humans have regrets, and it's especially inevitable when there is a tragedy involved that could've been avoided. At least, that's what a regretful person is likely to think through: how they should've behaved in those past circumstances, and what their live should've been thereafter. This relentless rumination is what might make them live in their past, turning them into a shallow copy of themselves, a living zombie.
In this very state the main character is presented at the beginning of the movie, when he's suddenly awakened by his brother's death and its consequences. He returns to the town of his former life, which confronts him with his both gruesome past and rather bothersome present.
What appears the most fascinating about this work is the provincial atmosphere of the town itself - Manchester right near the sea - and its picturesque settings. Additionally, winter scenery reinforces the philosophy of the place, forcing their spectators into taking stock of their own regrets and past events.
However, there's a conspicuous shortage of any other prominent happenings or characters in the film. Additionally, the protagonist himself is rather an annoyingly non-emotional individual, which is quite fair in his circumstances but doesn't make the whole action more interesting in the lack of other bright personalities. On the other hand, it might be perceived closer to realism: after all, this story is about common people's lives and tragedies as opposed to biographies of superstars or historical figures.
In any event, as its name implies, the main character of the film seems to be that very Manchester by the Sea. The place itself and its inhabitants' tragedies give a great opportunity to get another perspective at one's own live to understand whether one is stuck in the past too, blaming and torturing oneself for it repeatedly, avoiding the reconciliation that the sea of one's destiny constantly washes ashore.
Felon (2008)
Highly immersive regardless of some crudeness and hurry
Everybody is prone to gradual transformations by an imminent impact of live events. At times, the circumstances are so harsh and unforgivable that one should adapt to them immediately, lest they are at risk to get broken on the spot.
This appears to be an inevitable choice of the hero of Felon, who turns up in a prison out of the blue, cut out of his happy family life in an instant, thanks to a fatal misfortune. This very dramatic beginning changes later to a thriller by all the tough options the man is faced with.
However, even though some elements of action make the film more watchable, they strip it off its realistic nature and as a side effect seems to exaggerate some aspects to the extent of producing a typical Hollywood's caricature: there is even an extremely evil and corrupt villain according to the recipe. To cap it all, the ending makes an impression of something made too quickly, as if for the sake of squeezing it into tightly scheduled few minutes.
All in all, watching this film is highly immersive irrespective of some crudeness and hurry at times. Additionally, it can offer quite a few moving scenes and appealing characters to its spectators.
Mesto vstrechi izmenit nelzya (1979)
Marvellous detective story in the post-war Moscow
It's a wonderful example of the great Soviet movies shot for the sake of its spectators but not for the regime and its propaganda machine. Even though it does feature some of the latter, it's skillfully incorporated into the thread of the plot and can be considered as rather an indisputable trait of that time: right after the Great Patriotic War the country and its past lie in ruins, and semi-hungry weary people are left with nothing more than aspirations and hopes towards brighter future. Thus, the historical context of Moscow from that period is very natural and believable.
Although its other feature of a slowly unfolding plot might scare some people away, it lets the creators rigorously portray all the details of the detective business from back then. Additionally, it makes the story whole without contradictory bits and pieces.
Finally, it's just pleasantly exciting to watch the main two characters amazingly played by Vysotskiy and Konkin: the ups and downs of their relations, and how they overcome their irreconcilable distinctions and dissents for the sake of justice and their common goal.
The movie is by far the part of that Soviet legacy that the people of the past era are proud of. Adding to that, it is still affecting the cinematography of the modern Russia. Unfortunately, today there are cohorts of low-quality Russian films produced just as petty copies exploiting the ideas of their successor without adding anything new to them.
Shall We Dance? (2004)
Benign and romantic story inspiring to dance
Shall we dance is a very inspirational hopeful and romantic story. It's obviously perfect for those wanting to get into dancing.
Its narrative is thoroughly benign and features almost nothing negative. Well, there are no big revelations either. However, in all fairness, they are not even expectant here.
The movie just shows how we shouldn't take our closest ones for granted but cherish such relationships, without losing the real interest and curiosity about each other even after many years of living together.
Tenet (2020)
Another espionage action movie with some incomprehensible sci-fi
Tenet is a controversial meal: it appears delicious but cooked as indigestible. The main premise of the movie is time travelling, and, apparently, it's a very fertile topic capable of giving birth to many curious combinations of ideas. However, the subject should be handled with caution because it's very fragile: one wrong step and the whole work is at risk of crashing under a heavy construction of paradoxes and flaws.
Nolan seems to have predicted it all and that's why spent more than 5 years working on a scenario for the movie. Unfortunately, during the process he might have forgotten that we're supposed to absorb the ultimate outcome of years of his thoughts in a little more than 2 hours. As a result, we watch a whole lot of actions taking place on our screens immediately following one after another without pauses or proper explanation. The heroes are rushing through the plot almost unemotionally: except for the main female character the others' emotions look akin to those of Buddhist monks. To cap it all, the sci-fi aspect is easily lost among all this swift constant flow of time peculiarities, and in the end we're left with merely one more story about James Bond attempting to save the world again.
To sum it up, Nolan appears to have got so engrossed by his own ingenious puzzle that he produced the work not for spectators but rather for himself. If you exclude this incomprehensible mystery, there is nothing more than just one more action movie about spies with some elaborate graphical effects.
The Fighter (2010)
Watchable sports drama about brothers' love and loyalty
The Fighter is a fairly standard sports drama based on Micky Ward's life story as a boxer. The main drawback of such movies is that they are rather predictable from the very beginning: they always show how the main heroes overcome all the obstacles on their way towards the coveted victory. However, the very same aspect comes to their advantage too since watching such perseverance is extremely inspirational as long as it is shot in a high-quality manner.
The Fighter is exactly this case: an encouraging story featuring beloved and very talented actors. Moreover, as for the sports events themselves, there are not so many of them shown, whereas the story is more focused on human relations and social drama.
Nevertheless, it seems that the film might get slightly more exciting for its spectators if they have heard about the main character's real career or at least some sportsmen in the background. Additionally, even though Micky's relations with his brother are conveyed very well and movingly, watching his interactions with the other members of his family is rather annoying. Maybe because they are too many of them and their personalities' are rather poorly developed.
All in all, it is a very watchable drama about brothers' love and loyalty with some sports aspects in it. Inspirational and moving - exactly why we enjoy such movies.
Primal Fear (1996)
Good young actors in good old times
The movie appears to have all the necessary premises to be successful in any given aspect: famous young actors, quite a promising beginning and even some unexpected twists in the plot.
However, some of its particularities spoil the whole impression. First and foremost, the story itself is not as exciting to watch as it's initially presented: some of its threads are revolving around political and financial intrigues - rather a boring background, whereas the mystery itself is short and quite straightforward apart from several rare turns. On top of that, the main female character's image is not developed enough: she lacks any emotions or memorable traits except obsessing about smoking and being ready to succumb to this dirty habit at any moment or place.
As for the virtues of the movie, the other main personalities are quite good and believable, even though one might not feel for any of them. Additionally, it's indeed a pleasure to watch the actors playing them since they are still young and vibrant. What's more, the atmosphere of those old times feels very nostalgic and noirish.
Capharnaüm (2018)
Painful but necessary watch
Parenting is not something we are naturally gifted at, regardless of what we're usually told that it's our biological destiny. In other words, raising a child and giving them a chance to become a good person is a tough task requiring a lot of work and sacrifices from parents. Unfortunately, some people take it for granted that everybody should bring children to this world. Moreover, their offspring must even be grateful for whatever life they've been given, however pathetic it might be.
The movie tells us a story about such an egoistic couple who've recklessly conceived several children without any actual wish to be responsible for them, let alone take care of them. We see how the children are left to suffering in the slums of Beirut, and it's incredibly tough to watch. Even though it's revealed from the very beginning where the main character ends up, it doesn't make the whole tragedy less painful.
On the other hand, isn't it exactly what movies are supposed to prompt in us? The real emotions, the tangible feelings that make us uncomfortable when we watch it all on screens at our cozy homes, maybe even having a delicious meal in front of us. It's important to clash such realities to cook a delicious meal to our minds as well and thus to have a look at ourselves from another perspective. On top of that, it's definitely recommended for parents to watch, especially for prospective ones, so that they could one more time reconsider that imperative decision they're about to take.
After all, it can be easy to justify inevitability of the depicted tragedy by societal pressure in such a conservative and religious place as Lebanon. To cap it all, it's not a well-off country either. However, the problem appears universal and is unrelated to family income: even in affluent societies money can't replace parents' love, the unity of a family along with lots of truths and discoveries it exposes, which is all certain to play an important part in a growing human's life.
La La Land (2016)
Deceptively easygoing entertainment
Lately it's been such a rare occasion among truly commercial movies when they're something more than just a great entertainment, when they leave its spectators with long living afterthoughts to digest.
At a first glance, La-La Land is precisely that type of a wonderful entertainment, presenting all its stunning dances and amazing songs in sunny settings. Its general atmosphere is light, cheerful and romantic and maybe a little rosy, irrespective of ups and downs the main characters experience.
However, even though it produces very positive emotions in its spectators, that first impression is rather a skillful disguise. The work is deeper, featuring truly philosophical concepts of what important role day-to-day choices can play in human lives, even though this true nature is revealed closer to its ending.
Such a hot mix-up of some gripping ideas, wrapped up in a bright and colorful atmosphere of a laid-back LA. Indeed, what could be more watchable and memorable on a screen?
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Spectacular but without any surprises
The movie features spectacular graphical technologies in an amazing cyberpunk post apocalyptic background. However, scientific aspects of the world appear quite controversial and unsatisfactory to consider it science-fiction: perhaps, it would have been better to set it all up in a purely fantasy realm as opposed to some kind of a futuristic reality of Earth.
Additionally, the whole story is full of historical events and details, that are not entirely explained or any clarification is just skipped to not overload its spectator's brain. The movie should probably have been at least 1 hour longer to make the plot more coherent and digestible. On the other hand, this approach is rather predictable for a highly commercial product: make people interested in the idea to sell it later in several more consecutive episodes.
In a nutshell, it is better not to expect any revelations from this work: it can offer all but nothing beyond its beautiful though hollow shell and breath-taking scenes of battles. Perhaps, for some movies it is just enough, since they scarcely pretend to be anything more than merely a good old entertainment.
Onward (2020)
Humurous and kind, but awkwardly sentimental
The main downside of the movie is that it tries too hard to come across as sentimental according to all the genre recipes, which makes it rather superficial. On top of that, irrespective of a unique and curious marvellous world, it has little to offer in terms of its plot, which is quite predictable, following the same conventional patterns travelling from one cartoon to another.
However, the work still features decent and kind humour. On the whole, it appears ideal for spending a couple of hours with your family, especially with your siblings.
Posledniy bogatyr (2017)
A specimen of successful collaboration
Decent fairy tales are really in scarcity on screens nowadays. When talking about Russian ones, there has even hardly been anything good enough lately. Though the movie Posledniy bogatyr as the last joint attempt of Russians and Disney seems to have finally born fruit.
The work, based on ancient Russian mythology, tries to muddle up some myths with the contemporary world. Even though it might be considered controversial at first, the approach is one of the main advantages of the film, since it by all means gives a new lease of life to the old stories and characters which are rather well-known, at least in the post-Soviet countries. The latter should definitely appeal to young generations of spectators.
Adding to that, the movie does not imply any political or social problematic context which is rarely absent in films produced nowadays. Thus, the product just does its job, concentrating on telling a fairy tale wittily and showing us marvelous scenes of another world.
Exploiting this mixture with the modern and ancient cultures, the film has some related downsides too. For instance, adding several pieces of popular music was rather a mistake, for they sound quite out of place. Generally hilarious atmosphere may also be slightly exaggerated at times and bear the perception of mocking renowned Russian characters. Apparently, it is not the major purpose of the creators, but merely a bid to attract international community that is hardly acquainted with this realm of Russian culture.
To summarize, the movie has a good chance to popularise some ancient Russian legends through giving them fresher modern guise. Despite being a light comedy, it would also be unfair to convict the work of being shallow, since it brings along a deep meaning of how changeable the human nature is and how strikingly unfeasible it is to differentiate precisely between good and evil.
Interstellar (2014)
A heavenly gift for dreamers
Perhaps, the majority of us dreamed of space adventures when being children. Becoming an astronaut, an explorer of other worlds, whose life is extremely different from a common human being's lifestyle, comes across as something heroic. The movie Interstellar by Cristopher Nollan exploits precisely those dreams.
Even though starting with the mundane Earth scenes of corn fields, wonderful space music hints the spectators that everything happens in the near future, at the same time giving a keen feeling of an imminent disaster. Events unfold frantically fast and in no time we finally peer to open space and fascinating pictures of the purest emptiness. Overall, the marvellous mix-up of splendid alien music and fabulous views creates magical and, simultaneously, absolutely real atmosphere. In addition, bright talented actors' play supplements the illusion of reality. You crave to believe everything you see. Much more, you are already gradually becoming an integral part of it. It is not only a brave team headed by the Matthew McConaughey's hero and wandering through blackness, it is you who is coming along. This feeling does not abandon the spectator for three long hours, which otherwise might have been a big disadvantage. Needless to say, time goes by too rapidly. Eventually, a sharp perception of an imminent end strikes harshly. You turn out to be sitting merely in the cinema, you are not a hero let alone a cosmonaut and you personally have not revealed the main mystery of the Universe.
After all, there is a subtle impression left, which does not leave you for several days; maybe it can even stay with you for the rest of your life. This sensation is of the humankind having a particular mission and an invisible connection of the whole Universe with all of us. Definitely, the Nollan's genius gives us a rare superb gift that can help us divert ourselves from our mundane selfish tiny worlds to feel the greatness around us...and conceive of ourselves as little dreamers again.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Guy Ritchie's half success
Guy Ritchie is that sort of a director who has already managed to put his name on the map. The latter though leads to an even more challenging task for him to tackle – saving face. His two previous films about Sherlock Holmes were rather experimental for him, being out of his usual manner to shoot. Whereas in the last movie 'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword' he appeared to mingle his conventional tricks and some contemporary approaches he seems to have picked up working on the detective's stories. Briefly, he has succeeded merely up to a point, as his creativity becomes simply exhausted drawing to the final of the show.
To start with, the topic of the movie is itself a rather complicated subject to bring up, as it seems to have been exploited a great deal: the story of the noble wise king surrounded by his loyal knights gets more and more bland and tedious time after time. However, the director concentrated intensively on a less renowned part of Arthur's life, that is to say, how he comes to power. Thus, the whole story begins with his unfortunate childhood that is depicted brilliantly in the most distinctive way Guy is capable of and definitely among the best episodes in the work along with other pieces portraying the hero's adventure to ancient ruins and his strategic contemplation later. All of those moments are full of taste, cynicism and humour that Ritchie is so good at. On the whole, the first part of the movie gives a new lease on live to the entire legend.
In the meantime, the second half suffers from all drawbacks of banal films about legendary heroes: too predictable, bland and extremely pathos. Moreover, the plot starts undergoing some difficulties with logic (the scenes of the struggle in a hut before fleeing from an alarmed city on a boat and with a giant serpent should have been cut out at all) as if hurrying up to finish everything, turning into a complete mess of the dull final battle and pathetic end. Perhaps, what makes all these shortcomings less noticeable is the range of talented actors among who the most significant ones are Jude Law with his sinister maniacal character, Charlie Hunnam as a bold opponent of the latter and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey playing the most mystique role in the movie.
In a nutshell, Guy Ritchie has managed only partly to take advantage of his fascinating skills of creating cynical realistic witty movies to give some buzz to the worn out ancient legend of King Arthur. The film is worth watching at least because of its vibrant beginning and talented actors who generally, besides the main characters, can also produce some bright images.