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DejanZ
Reviews
Panic Room (2002)
Thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling
If you've read plot summaries about this one and found yourself wondering how much suspense and thrill can you get from a movie whose entire storyline centres around one room, the answer is: "probably more than you think".
This is a very good production with all the elements of a good thriller and will keep you on your toes throughout. Jodie Foster gives a splendidly controlled performance and David Fincher through excellent positioning of cameras always clearly defines the characters' positions in the house as well as in relation to each other. In addition he "sends" the camera through walls, keyholes and other unlikely places creating some very smooth footage that adds to suspense and is very enjoyable to watch.
Again, this IS a tense movie, (probably just up there with "What Lies Beneath") and I fully recommend it as such. (8 out of 10)
Samotári (2000)
Now, this is what a comedy should be like
Bravo to Czechs, their once-powerful movie industry seems to awaken from post-Communist slumber.
The Loners is a comedy done with all the elements you would expect to see in a modern "hollywood" production minus the garbage that seems to get attached to the genre over the past several years. Superb soundtrack, excellent visual editing, beautiful Prague cityscape, to mention but a few.
The story is actually comprised of several sub-stories that frequently intertwain and overlap, an is in essence a collage of destinies, fates, desires... It follows a group of urban youth-to-mid-thirties people through a variety of situations ranging from daily life and leisure activities to careers and obsessions. And it IS hillarious. There's actually a point in the movie where the entire theatre I was in (about a 100 people in a small art gallery) laughed non-stop for about 40-50 seconds. How often do you experience that with modern hollywood productions?
Although the entire main cast is excellent (especially the upcoming Macedonian star Labina Mitevska in the role of an immigrant facing the all-too-familiar hardships) I have to single out Jiri Machacek for his superbly believeable portrayal of Jakub, a constantly stoned bohemian whose brain is severely affected by the stuff he smokes landing him in a plethora of funny situations.
Conclusion: don't miss this one! It's got a lot to offer.
Hannibal (2001)
Cruel merciless and graphic.... just like he good Doc himself
Hannibal is NOT Silence of the Lambs 2. It is a different movie, with a different approach, and different storyline. Dr Lecter is not an crime psychology advisor anymore, but a dangerous psychotic criminal on the loose. But there's someone even more psychotic out there who's out to get the good doctor....
The movie itself, the production and direction, somewhat stick to the original thought, but have cut many ties with the SOTL. Most prominently this is reflected in failure to leave the details of horrendous deeds of Dr Lecter and others to viewers imagination. While in SOTL a much of thrill was implied rather then depicted, in Hannibal we are treated to full blood-and-gore imagery.
Also, J. Moore is not as convincing as Foster in her portrayal of a hard-cut FBI agent Starling, but she does the job well. I think one of the opening scenes (shooting a wanted criminal with a baby in her arms) was made exactly for that purpose. To make us all perfectly aware that Starling is tough, much tougher than she was 10 years ago while chasing the kidnapper Buffalo Bill Gumb. That she is no longer a frightened FBI trainee who wishes that the lambs would stop screaming.
Other than that, the movie is good, scary, and will keep you on the edge of your seat, in spite of slow pace in some moments.