Stanislaus

Iris is a very (really very) moving story about a woman who, due to illness, begins to lose her own personality and the very essence of her life over time. The intertwining of the two timelines feels a bit chaotic at first, but this settles down over time and the end result feels good and purposeful. I found the more impressive line to be the one from the present day, as it was much more challenging in terms of acting, and both Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent played their roles to perfection and gave breathtaking performances. Of course Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville were convincing too, but the "older couple" wins. In short, an incredibly sweet and sad film with a slight musical component that is all about love in its most devoted and purest form. Rivals

As far as documentary content and technical execution go, Giant Claw is on a pretty high level. But at times I was strongly irritated by Nigel Marven's "clever" observations and "acting". I don't want to damn this film here because of him, though, because my primary interest was to learn about the owner of that "giant claw", which eventually happened. In short, a documentary that is both informative and entertaining, with the latter component spoiling the overall impression at times.

I haven't read Fitzgerald's book, so I went to the cinema full of anticipation, and not just because Baz Luhrmann, whose (much reviled) Australia took my breath away, was in the director's chair. The Great Gatsby is an incredibly evocative orgy on the audiovisual front, and I enjoy these visually arresting and artful films with decent soundtracks like a pig in shit. I may have been a little bothered at first by the overly computerized camera shots and the somewhat modern (techno, disco?) music that didn't really fit the 1920s, but on the other hand it just belonged in the film. The images and music only supported the glitz, bombast, hope, longing, dishonest machinations, love and disappointment that accompanied the film. "Young & Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey - Oh mein Gott! - an incredibly flamboyant harmony of instruments and charismatic voice. Otherwise, I have no complaints about the actors - DiCaprio is a stud, Mulligan is sheer panache and Maguire is so stiff. In short, I got a lot more out of the cinema than what I went for, and that's what counts in the end.

 Death Becomes Her is a film with a perfect stellar cast, an imaginative premise, and a fairly funny script, but I personally felt there was something missing, some kind of charge that would have given the film some juice. The special effects are well handled for the time and the makeup of Hawn and Streep is impressive, no question about it. In short, a film that makes its mark mostly with its top-notch cast, but it just didn't scare me, make me wonder, or make me laugh as much as I would have liked, which is a bit of a problem with a horror comedy fantasy.

The Man Who Loved Yngve had a lot of potential, but in my opinion it was slumbering somewhere in the background, because I felt like there was a lot more to be made of it. I had trouble identifying with the main character - at times I didn't understand why he acted so stupidly (I understand his mental chaos, but his dealing with it, not so much). I'm not exactly a fan of the music that was played in the film, but I'm not a detractor either, so I was pretty much indifferent to the soundtrack. The story started off promising enough, and built up promisingly, but the ending just killed it. Ambiguous endings to movies are usually fine, but this one perhaps didn't even have an ending. A modest film in terms of handling, but ambitious in terms of subject matter, it fell flat with me mainly because of the main character and the unfinished ending.

I saw The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green right after Kiss the Bride, which also deals with LGBT issues, and both films left the same impression on me - a weak and mediocre impression. The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green was a bit funnier (mainly because of the "aunties"), but the actors overacted a lot more, which was probably intentional, but quite annoying. Otherwise, the story was one cliché after another. In short, a film that doesn't impress, almost doesn't offend, but there are much better representatives of a similar genre.

A realistic film whose story unfolds over the span of one seemingly ordinary day during which a young couple are about to become parents. Even though the two young people are separated for most of the day, they are constantly drawn together by a multitude of memories and flashbacks, not least by seemingly unsuccessful phone calls. Very interesting was the use of sound (or voice) and image, which corresponded to the experimental innovations of the Czechoslovak New Wave. In short, a film that stands out for its form and simple (not banal) story.

A moving and truly powerful biopic about the famous creator of the legendary Frankenstein, dominated by a phenomenal performance by the compelling Ian McKellen in the lead role. McKellen perfectly inhabits the character of a man who has lived his life and is looking for a distraction here and there towards the end of it. Brendan Fraser gives undoubtedly his best performance, but is still miles away from his older counterpart. I liked the inclusion of original and newly filmed scenes from James Whale's movies and the many flashbacks in which the protagonist recalls his love from the war. All in all, a nicely made film that, while not 100% for me, still managed to grab me by the heart.

In the context of LGBT-themed comedies, Kiss the Bride is a rather mediocre, cliché-ridden and very banal representative, in which Tori Spelling reprises a similar role as in 1999's Trick (which was much better). There were a few funny moments, but the rest was an old familiar and rather stale tale. In short, a film that stands out for how simple it is and suffers from the presence of bland actors and a bland story.

A very unconventional Czech film in its conception and execution, in which fantastic as well as erotic and lyrical elements collide, with the result being an original impression. Personally, however, I was not impressed by the film in any significant way, but I do appreciate the many scenes depicted, the creative imagination and the courage to make something like this (given the age of Jaroslava Schallerová). To be honest, I don't really know what exactly I should think of this film as a whole.