Lima

Better than the first one in every aspect, much darker and therefore much closer to my tastes. Radcliffe as Potter is once again dreadfully plankish, the actors playing Ron and Hermione are better, they are undeniably talented. Some of the scenes are so scary that little kids must get the creeps. For example, as an arachnophobe, I barely made it through the scene with the spiders. And back to Radcliff, I’m surprised they gave such a big role to a wooden actor like him. But when I see that one of the producers just happens to be called Radcliffe, I'm wonder if there wasn’t some nepotism involved. Anyway, in conclusion, I would just like to add that my desire for the Nimbus 2000 has passed. Now I want the Nimbus 2001, it’s supposed to have better aerodinamics.

I know that as an ordinary muggle I have no say in this, but why on earth didn't the creators conjure up a better lead? Daniel Radcliffe is awfully plankish, even though I can't expect miracles from a rookie. And I would also expect that in a project like this, some of the visual effects wouldn't be so blatantly digital. And while I'm criticising, Williams's music isn't one of the strong points either. I find Williams quite repetitive, and part of the main motif reminds me strikingly of one of the motifs in Schindler's List. On the other hand, the Quidditch scene was good and the the pawns with two swords in the chess game were cool. I also liked John Cleese’s appearances. And one more thing, I’ve made up my mind, sod cars, I’m getting a Nimbus 2000…

It’s not bad to flush your brain every now and again with a silly infantile thing like this. Pure entertainment that doesn't pretend to be anything else, it's colourful to the point of being overwrought with a cool Haunted Island and Rowan Atkinson in an uncharacteristic role on top. If only they had avoided the typical fashion statement of these days, a fart and burp scene. Other than that, it’s OK.

Hackford doesn't weigh too heavily on sentiment and the plot moves forward at a decent pace. The South American realities were spot on, as was the convincing David Morse as the captive. What this film has been faulted for in reviews is that the chemistry between Crowe and Meg Ryan was unconvincing. To be honest, it’s true and I don’t care. Crowe's charisma makes the whole story tight, it's his movie and Meg Ryan is almost redundant.

Considering the stuff Seagal was doing at the time time, it's an above-average action flick. Seagal should kiss Joel Silver's feet for taking him into his good graces and temporarily pulling him out of the shitty waters of subpar direct-to-video stuff. This film was supposed to be his return to the limelight, but unfortunately (fortunately?) it didn't happen, as evidenced by his latest creations.

I really don’t know what to think about this. De Palma is still a playful director, but this time he attempted a screenplay, and I wonder if he wasn’t permanently high when he wrote it. The plot is very convoluted, but the whole film is nothing compared to the final ten minutes, when everything twists and turns while connecting in a bizarre plot twist. I feel that De Palma just took the piss out of the viewers. We can only shake our heads at the result and admit that such a farce is definitely worth watching. And in case you don’t agree with me, there’s also Rebecca and her legs longer than the week before payday and the director doesn’t spare her boobs.

It’s not as solid as Dead Man, but it’s more approachable for a wider audience. Jarmusch manages to cram a lot of ideas and interesting life insights into what is essentially a simple revenge story of a professional killer who follows the samurai code, thus elevating this film above the ordinary stuff. What I also appreciate is the choice of soundtrack. In Dead Man it was Neil Young's great mimimalism, here it was RZA's hip-hop sounds, which fits the mood of the film perfectly.

A very unsuccessful attempt at a black version of Cool Hand Luke. Two blokes accidentally get into trouble and are sentenced to life in prison. The script is very schizophrenic, at times it looks like a fateful drama, at times like a comedy. The two together don't work and the filmmakers deserve to be kicked for some sloppy passages. But if you want to see what Eddie Murphy will look like at 90, check it out, that make up is perfect.

The fates of several young people divided in three short stories. Thanks to the interconnectedness of the stories and their titles on a black background, Go felt like some sort of teenage Pulp Fiction. At times harsh, at times funny, and most importantly, briskly filmed, it has pace. Also worth mentioning is the great soundtrack, especially in the first story.

The only good thing about this film is its depressing ending. Otherwise, it’s cheap slog with terrible visual effects and shot without a shred of inventiveness. A lot more could have been squeezed out of a source material as interesting as Dick’s. Gary Sinise hasn't made anything good in years, and Impostor, which he even produced, is further proof of his decline. The only positive is that Madeleine Stowe is still beautiful. For her and for the satisfactory ending, I’m giving two stars.