DaViD´82

Everything you wanted to know about sex (but were afraid to ask). Showtime was probably green with envy at AMC’s “prize and critical awards generator" Mad Men and therefore comes along with an identical concept done in the very same polished style. Just in a different environment, but otherwise it’s exactly the same. But this definitely does no harm, because it is certainly neither bad nor even just average. It’s too well written and too well acted to be able to say that about it. There is just one potential snag; the ins and outs of the career of the Masters/Johnson duo over several decades for sure is a sufficiently strong topic for a miniseries, but for a full-fledged series with a view to several seasons? We’ll see, we’ll see. In any case (so far) it’s been worth watching because you won’t find a cooler series on the screen, apart from maybe the above mentioned AMC or on BBC.

A showcase of why Cate is an actress with a capital A. It's a pity the film itself isn't less straightforwardly outlined in the how, when, who and what happens from the opening minutes, a bit more lively and not so coldly detached (only the character of Chili fulfils this) and less awkward overall.

A homemade movie by a bunch of friends which was meant to remain undiscovered, the same way as all other homemade movies are. As funny as it sounds on the paper, the realization came out pretty flaky. Rogen and Goldberg should have had the sense not to let themselves stand behind the camera. It all holds together purely thanks to the cast. Everybody, without exception, is clearly having fun. Which is also the reason why I concentrate more on the bonus materials and reviews rather than on the movie itself which, in its humor and style, is on exactly the same wave as everything else that Rogen has written so far.

Moving a series onto the big screen is always a tricky business, which mostly ends up in a cocktail that doesn’t know whether to appeal to fans or uninitiated viewers. Doubly tricky are feature movie length adaptations of silent, Tom and Jerry style slapstick cartoons. The creators of Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie didn’t let this worry them and so they just come up with a quartet of separate episodes (or short stories, if you like) that are basically just longer and slightly more sophisticated than regular episodes, all linked by the basic theme of “the perpetual battle". Or rather, it is mostly classic animation and there is no speaking (apart from some gobbledygook appearing in speech bubbles). The first prehistoric story “the fight for fire" is like the best moments in the original series; a connoisseur will notice one reference after another and will have as much fun as the uninitiated. The second, fairytale medieval part “seeking and saving your true love" is even better and I wouldn’t hesitate to classify it in the golden collection of animated slapstick alongside the pearls of the genre. A pure font of ingenuity, humor and fun for all, where even the grumpy of us will discover the child inside him. Unfortunately, with the shift to the year 1900, not everything about the Sherlock is really bad, but it is certainly run-of-the-mill. And it all climaxes in the weakest, countless times seen elsewhere part à la Star Wars, which can only be endured thanks to it being so short and it being the culmination of the whole movie. The result is two different halves, the second of which does its best to spoil things. And unfortunately it works.

A toned down picture which paradoxically would have benefitted from being even more toned down and primarily less shallow. Departure, the true face of love, father-son relationship... It bites into many themes. But most of them stop at that bite, however juicy these themes are. But I would have welcomed fewer mouthfuls, but more substantial. Not introducing more and more characters as the movie advances and naively addressing timeless themes, but to sticking with the untraditional Karla - Vlada - Jaruna relationship triangle would have been more than enough.

In present day France there is a trio of sufficiently charismatic tough-guy actors who could also easily get away with a more regular role of the “guy next door"; Lindon, Auteuil and especially Cluzet, whose excellent performance is all the more fascinating because throughout the entire movie we don’t condemn him, we don’t get to look inside his head but still (or perhaps because of this) he is hypnotically fascinating. Which is fundamental for the result, because this isn’t a regular heist genre movie, but another in a line of gently unravelling movies about middle age crisis standing on a carefully constructed atmosphere.

Some viewers might find this hugely long movie a five-star affair. But they would have to have the patience of a saint to survive Canet’s tendency to over-use songs (that he probably thinks are mood-making), stuffing them into the movie every ten minutes and on principle letting them play until the end. But they don’t advance the movie at all. And they are unnecessary and take up a lot of time; but despite annoying me, they didn’t spoil the overall impression.

For those who are unhealthily obsessed with Kytlice, forcing them to stick newspaper clippings of articles that mention Kytlice in any way into an album... So this documentary may have some purely interest value for this hypothetical type of person and perhaps for the author’s relatives too. Otherwise, it can be of no interest to anybody else.

Špátová perhaps didn’t inherit all of her father’s talent, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t a capable documentarist. I could fault her occasional superficial game with emotions and political digressions. These are superficial, irrelevant and introduce nothing new. And it becomes all the more obvious when the author juxtaposes her father’s material from the original two episodes, which is so much more powerful in all ways. The way she presents it, it comes across as empty prattle (and no, this isn’t because we are living in empty times) that will scarcely withstand the test of time. And while her father’s material used (maybe a little overused, becoming an excuse) is about the mood of young people and the atmosphere is still powerful to this day, but in a couple of decades time when Špátová’s offspring is making part four, the material will just be too old to be of any use. It already almost has nothing to say that is relevant today, let alone in the future. But what Jan Špáta’s daughter is extremely good at are the parts where she isn’t trying to answer “big questions" but leaves some room for personal wishes and stories. In this area she is strong and that is where her primary focus should lie.

This is not a regular third episode, but a shot-by-shot remake of the first one in a different setting. Just so we're clear. What does that imply? Firstly, a certain uselessness and then the fact that if you (dis)liked the first one, you will (dis)like this one.