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A somewhat academically coldly directed psychological drama about social and cultural differences that create an insurmountable barrier leading to a tragic resolution. The director subjected the inner struggles carried by his two main heroines to a detailed examination. Cynical, superficial, and somewhat antisocial postwoman Jeanne envies the wealthy business family for their wealth and social status, while illiterate Sophie, accepted into the family as a maid, feels her inability to read and write as a huge trauma and desperately tries to hide this weakness. The higher-class family may seem noble, but they never offer their servant a work contract with certain securities, and the fact that they have others serving them is taken for granted by the family members... in all stages of the story, an invisible social barrier between the employers and their servant is felt, which only the daughter, played by Virginie Ledoyen, tries to cross. The final crime is depicted in a small space, and the director does not give it much attention. The film is powerful due to the outstanding performances of Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Bonnaire, who perfectly embody their characters. The film is a conflict between the plebeian and patrician worlds, which ends tragically in this story. Overall impression: 80%.

Welcome to Collinwood is just a remake of a successful film and it also navigates in considerably overused waters. Within its genre, it certainly does not represent anything groundbreaking, but the current rating on FilmBooster is somewhat harsh and I think this film deserves better. To be honest, compared to the much better-received Coen brothers remake, The Ladykillers, I enjoyed Welcome to Collinwood much more. At the very least, Welcome to Collinwood hamuch more believable human characters and dialogues compared to The Ladykillers. But the Coen brothers are the Coen brothers and the Russos are the Russos... The movie's big advantage is its cast and the performances. George Clooney, usually cast in roles of smooth gentlemen and playboys, is irresistible in the role of a tattooed safe-breaker confined to a wheelchair, and William H. Macy is similarly appealing as a weak loser who seeks shelter behind his child in intense situations. The underused Sam Rockwell maximized the potential of his role. The film's weakness lies in the script, which completely gave up on the socially critical aspect compared to the original and lacks impactful plot twists. Some characters don't utilize their potential, for example, the unfortunate thief Luis Guzmán unnecessarily disappears from the story. Furthermore, toward the end of the film, there is some cheap sentiment and a romantic element. The ending could have been more intense and a pinch of black humor at the end would not have hurt. Despite the mentioned reservations, I give it a solid 65%.

The King of Marvin Gardens particularly surprises the community of Jack Nicholson fans, as Nicholson, to the director's surprise, chose the role of the more subdued of the two brothers, David. It is a very unconventional role in Nicholson's filmography, where he is extremely reserved and employs understated character acting. The film is a psychological study of two different life approaches, with David representing a factual and rational perspective, whereas Jason offers an emotional view of the world. The criminal plot is not crucial and primarily serves to intensify the dramatic conflict between the brothers. It's not an exceptional film but a decently watchable psychological drama. Overall impression: 60%.

As a thriller, Paranoid sadly fails, and what's worse, it belongs to the worst kind of films that I know. There are bad movies that you recognize within 5, at most 10 minutes, and then you give up on them and turn to something more useful. Paranoid manages to evoke certain expectations for a long time, but these are not fulfilled in the slightest. Halfway through the film, you might start to get restless, but by then you figure since you've lasted this long, you might as well wait for the end, which promises a reward but also turns out to be a letdown, leaving only beautifully wasted time as a result... Yes, Jessica Alba is charming, but that's essentially all that this film can offer. Overall impression 25%.

In the romantic comedy genre, Overboard doesn't present anything exceptional or even innovative, but it is a decent functional matter for the widest audience with the usual star-studded cast of the main couple. Both Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell act reliably, and Garry Marshall as a director proves why he was able to create the commercial hit Pretty Woman several years later. The plot revolves around a very popular motif used by American studios in the 80s - the improvement of fundamentally good people under the influence of their surroundings and their difficult experiences. It only takes a few weeks for the spoiled millionaire to stay in a poor family full of spirited children to completely change her value system and accept an ordinary carpenter as her partner. It is sentimental - especially with its sweet ending, typically Hollywood, but nevertheless effective. Overall impression: 70%. It would be foolish to expect more from this film than non-demanding entertainment, but I still enjoyed it.

With each subsequent Kurosawa excursion into Japanese history, my aversion to his exaggerated theatricality grows. It manifests itself in unnatural gestures, rolling eyes, and pathos in speech. Regardless of cultural differences, people in medieval Japan certainly did not speak or act in this way. It is too disruptive for me, a distracting element in the film that otherwise boasts a powerful story inspired by Shakespearean drama. The film's merit lies in its lavishness typical of Kurosawa's historical films and several atmospherically evocative scenes from the mysterious Spider's Web Forest. On the other hand, the direction is static, and the individual shots are, at the very least in some cases, excessively long. Overall impression: 45%.

Over the past 12 months, this was my strongest cinematic experience alongside the animated movie Persepolis, and is all the more pleasant because it was practically unexpected. A great screenplay, interesting casting, excellent performances, and very well-written dialogues, not only for its genre, where several excellent quotes appear that have the chance to gain cult status. It is a film that clearly distinguishes itself from the genre mainstream while still being appealing to the audience. Black humor, several exciting duels, and unexpected twists. This film was much more attractive to me than the much more discussed American Gangster. I have practically no objections to it. Overall impression: 100%. The purely European atmosphere of an ancient city full of monuments, weary tourists, and small-town mentality also plays a role.

The first reactions to Frank Darabont's new adaptation of Stephen King's literary source were enthusiastic and caused a great deal of anticipation among horror fans. Then followed somewhat mixed reactions, so I was curious about the result. The Mist is a typical example of a film where the creator balances between trying to shoot a psychological drama of a group of people surviving in extreme conditions and trying to please the mass audience and shoot a sci-fi horror in the style of Alien. Naturally, the few avid intellectuals will not be pleased with the presence of typical B-movie props such as giant mutated spiders or gigantic polyps, while a larger group of horror fans will miss some of the clichés they love, as well as greater plot dynamism and a lack of intense action. Many will rightly criticize The Mist for its somewhat outdated special effects, which can be done more professionally and with better results today. Despite all this, it is a significantly above-average genre movie that has a strong story with a very decent dramatic culmination and several strong scenes. However, I can't help but feel that more could have been extracted from this material, and the encounter with extraterrestrial life could have been much more imaginative. Why does the author think that the same forms of life live in the distant universe, only significantly larger than here? Overall impression: 85%.

This Pier Paolo Pasolini film was met with irritated and dismissive reactions in its time, and it still has a reputation as a scandalous and spicy work. To put it soberly, an average film fan raised on contemporary commercial films will yawn with boredom at Pasolini's film, and what used to evoke passion 40 years ago now seems almost banal. This little film is made for projection in a small closed society of future philosophers and is essentially unpalatable to the average moviegoer. It's practically impossible to talk about the story; the director made this film for himself and film critics. Throughout, I struggled with boredom and drowsiness. The acting performances are decent, although I suspect that the majority of the actors had no idea what they were supposed to do. Pasolini worked with his favorite actors who were able to accommodate the director. Several decent dialogues and film images do not save this self-centered spectacle. Overall impression: 20%.

The documentary is powerful in its theme - North Korea has the most bizarre political system and the highest degree of repression after the fall of the Taliban. The creators have gone quite far considering the circumstances, and some shots and motifs are interesting. There is also a high level of objectivity in the American documentary - for example, in the case of the nuclear program, they break the usual clichés and let the voice of an independent expert be heard, questioning the actions of the American government. Overall impression 70%.