Eat, Pray, Love, 2010

Eat, Pray, Love, 2010
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup, Viola Davis

Eat, Pray, Love in short: Liz Gilbert (Roberts) had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having - a husband, a house, a successful career - yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.


Stage: Home theatre

Preps: I know the book - by its notoriousness, not because I read it. And a big fuss around this piece, media, winning prize games (trips to Bali, India, Italy) make it a nifty experience to see this on screen. And Roberts - the woman with a dashing smile and a distinctive laugh. A good choice.


Reality: Well, I am not wrong about Roberts. She never dissappoints me. The movie is another perspective. A bit too long to my taste. As if the director wanted to pull something more out of it (which never arrives).
One of the most important thoughts I have when watching this - it impersonates me a bit also. Everyone wants to keep as much as possible of their comfort zone - themselves in a relationship they have and the fight between losing what you think defines you and trading it for something you do together with the spouse can sometimes be a very ungrateful trade. Nevertheless, the movie emphasizes the importance of the change of environment, that is supposed to give you alternative perspective and a boost to continue. Or at least ease your mind a bit.
I don't think the movie gives any answers, more the questions each should ask himself honestly. Is this the way my life is going.. do I need to change it and what is the right path to change it. Is a man really the goal for a woman to have until her death. And a family and children? The movie implies this is the case. That you aren't normal if you are in your middle ages, not having a man (or a woman) nore children. In my opinion it's a belief campaign that someone tried to impose to the viewers (or readers for that matter). So what are the real goals one should have in life and where to settle.. is it all to be taken as a game or something serious?
I adore the scenery. The marketing was well built on this, for the movie. I think it had more potential and the director should have abused this some more.
A good one, made me think a lot about myself. And if this was the purpose of the movie, well done. As for the piece itself - nothing special really.

My personal rating: 8,0 (for the thinking I did afterwards and while watching the movie and the beautiful scenery).



Eat, Pray, Love on iMDBEat, Pray, Love official page

Taxi, 2004

Taxi, 2004
Director:Tim Story
Cast: Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon



Taxi in short: A mouthy and feisty taxicab driver has hot tips for a green and inept cop set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies committed by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.


Stage: Home theatre

Preps: none in perticular. Just wondering, if this is the famous comedy from ages ago, the french stuff, that I really liked.


Reality: Well, this is a totally different movie. Queen Latifah as the queen of bicycle race (or racing) for a postal office. Interesting. Science fiction, in fact. I doubt that law officers or police would let these races happen. Nevertheless, this is a mere start of a pretty decent comedy.
Making your life better is the main theme in this movie to my opinion. Let it be in the relationship or as a career (step forward from bicycling to driving a taxi). Some material disputes I had - as I claimed before that you cannot drive a byke this way and remain not punished - well the same goes for the Batmobile that Queen posesses as a taxi driver.

This movie relaxes and offers some good humour points. But nothing more. So it's a decent Sunday entertainment when you have nothing else on your mind to disturb your piece.

My personal rating: 4,0



Taxi on IMDB

Piran-Pirano, 2010

Piran-Pirano, 2010
Director: Goran Vojnović
Cast: Boris Cavazza, Nina Ivanišin, Mustafa Nadarević


Piran-Pirano in short:Piran – Pirano tells a story about three individuals and how their destinies are unusually intertwined. An Italian Antonio, a Bosnian Veljko and a Slovenia girl Anica face the terror of war as children and each of them becomes war’s victim in their own way. Half a century later their paths cross again and last days of war, fear, despair, love and inexplicable emotions live up again – this time because Antonio returns to Piran to see his place of birth once again before he dies.

Piran – Pirano
The film is set in a town with two names, with Slovenian one and Italian one. In a town where in a house two old men run into each other. Two men who were once joined because of the love for one girl and then separated by everything that separated people during World War II in those places: languages, ideologies (fascism, communism), and affiliation to different fighting sides (aggressors or partisans). It was because of love for the same girl that the young partisan could not shoot the young Italian, and it was for the same reason that they parted while running away from partisans. As old men they meet again, but they still do not understand each other, now only because they speak different languages. Recalling memories helps both of the men realize that this house, in which the Italian lived as a child and was banished from, and in which the partisan found his second home, actually does not belong to either of them. It is only a house of their many memories, reminding them the only thing left for them is to find “a place of rest “. Nevertheless, this is not so much a film of nostalgic past, but so much more about fundamental question: How to die in peace?



Stage: Theatre Vič, local movie setting
Preps: I need to see this as it is one of the most notorious ones at the movie festival in Slovenia, one of the latest movies anyway and directed by one of my favourite writers, Vojnovič. It cannot be bad at all.


Reality: Piran exceeds my expectations in whole. Lately the fashion has been filming movies about the war on balkan in the 90ties. It is extremely rare that the setting on this area is built on the ww2. In this case, this piece concentrates on the actions in the past that have a big effect in the present.

The scene with the both men blabbermouthing about the past and how it was, each in his own language, not being able to understand each other, and drinking at the same time - it is absolutely brilliant. The movie offers many variations or levels of understanding both parties and especially enlightens the problem of the people being on the wrong side, but not by their choice, but because born this way. Still not wanting to have anything to do with war, but paying for the political decisions of the country they lived in.

Anica's role here is somehow most vague - hidden in the clouds. I mean the scenario written for her was so poor that amazed me in negative sense. This young actress has such a potential it is virtually a shame just letting her wander through the scenes without any real text. I was really sorry to see her more as a puppet as an actress in this piece.




My personal rating: 8,0 (depicting past before WW2 is the hardest thing to do in balcan area, since all of newer movies (and the audience) are searching possible topics in the latest balcan war zone.)


Piran-Pirano on IMDB

Official page

Head In The Clouds, 2004

Head in the clouds, 2004
Director: John Duigan
Cast: Stuart Townsend, Penelope Cruz, Charlize Theron



Head in short: a sweeping romantic drama set in 1930's England, Paris, and Spain. Gilda Bessé shares her Paris apartment with an Irish schoolteacher, Guy Malyon, and Mia, a refugee from Spain. As the world drifts toward war, Gilda defiantly pursues her hedonistic lifestyle and her burgeoning career as a photographer. But Guy and Mia feel impelled to join the fight against fascism, and the three friends are separated - seemingly forever.


Stage: Home theatre

Preps: None in perticular. A brilliant cast set and war as a background give me high expectations.


Reality: One of the better ones in terms of war drama, romantic drama. Brilliant cast by Theron, another one of Cruz. Making a love triangle from director's perspective is brilliant, in this cast set also possible to really bite into the challenge. Threesome form a miraculous set for adventures, indulging life as it was just before the war. The scenery is amazing, awsomely dragging you into that period with the clothes, parties, shoes, hats. The manners of behaviour. The food and the drinking. Enjoying company and wasting the time, not like in present, when we run around headless and without breathing. Shown as potential the viewer can only dwell upon and think how good it would be to be there for some time.
The story turns completely around with the savage approach to the war. The perspective is european, but in my opinion pretty honest. If in the first half you want to experience this - the director in the second half makes sure you remember that it was one of the most disastrous moments in history of mankind and that there's nothing for individual to wish to be there.
The piece involves everything worth remembering. The suffering, endless romance. Expectations. Indulgement. All in one piece.


My personal rating: 8,0 (something worth seeing and remembering. I simply adore Theron and Cruz).

Head in the clouds on IMDB
Head in the clouds homepage

The Code, 2009

The Code, 2009
Director: Mimi Leder
Cast: Rade Serbedzija, Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas


The Code in short: A veteran thief recruits a younger crook to help him pull off one final job in order to repay his debt to the Russian mob.


Stage:home theatre
Preps: again one of those, standing in line, striving to get the attention. I see Morgan Freeman in lead cast and I am satisfied, I simply adore the man. I wonder what the latest achievement is, so the curiosity drives my attention.



Reality: Hm, first a surprise. I have it (the movie) under Thick as Thieves. WTF is the Code? And why? Is this even the same movie? Curiosity drives me to go ahead with the piece. It resembles the best of Mission Impossible, some russian spy movies and some great theft movies. Hence the title, Thick as Thieves. Banderas as a thief that you can lick your fingers upon - based on his expertise, and Freeman, as one of the most haunted criminals (thieves) ever.. joining forces to steal something impossible to steal.

The movie is filled with witty dialogues, amazing impossible scenes, some unreal and others to admire, what some people are capable of ( I mean those in real business ;)
The power of money is exposed, passing the limits one would go over just to get more of it in his wallet. And on the other hand, some philosophical dilemmas. Are you supposed to have a spouse, if you are a shooting target? Is a modern Robin Hood more or less the villain the genuine Robin Hood was? Last, but not least - how come all the "impossible to break in" - vaults have a movie way to get into them.. a lot of material to think about and the movie is already over. Good Sunday entertainment, but nothing really beyond this.



One of the best quotes:
Keith Ripley: Some people were born to compose music. Others to split the atom. I was born to steal shit.


My personal rating: 7,0 (a pretty decent piece, and good to see Morgan Freeman and Banderas again, in not such bad roles - maybe they could think a bit more about their mutual energy before going into some scenes - because the cast in some of them is truly awful.)


The Code on IMDB

Centurion, 2010

Centurion, 2010
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Andreas Wisniewski



Stage: home theatre, HD :)
Centurion in short: A splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is decimated in a devastating guerrilla attack.



Preps: Got it from a friend and a recommendation. Has slept in my system for quite a while.


Reality: You are dragged right in the centre of roman world. Fighting, battle, adventurous race to your homeland while being chased by nasty savages. Or are you the savage one? Cannot tell. Cannot diferentiate one battle from another. One thing is for sure - the area where they hold battles seems for real. Also the clothing, the way they interact with each other. The way problems are being sold, judgements fulfilled - the price of one life is so low, you get the feeling that life itself is worthless. And the old proverb from ancients - to die with honour means to die for the cause, even if it costs you your dear life and the life of the ones you love.

The main characters are travelling through rough country, fishing for opportunities to escape revenge-oriented group of savages, chasing them in order to kill them. The differentiation between different battles is almost impossible - the chase happens extremely fast and many lives are taken alongside. I enjoyed the photography and the chosen scenery - the scenario however is poor and maybe the reason behind this is more historical than the fact that the script writer wouldn't have his imagination to write something. All the other things are put aside - only the mere survival and the instinct to kill are set upfront. And nothing else. From the beginning until its ending. No love, no feelings, no other music than battle. Hence the focus stays where the director wanted it to be.

My personal rating: 6,0 (a better combat movie in this period - in my opinion too bloody and I want my focus to run sometimes somewhere else. Nevertheless - a good piece and a genuine feeling you would never want to live in those times).


Centurion on IMDB

Red, 2010

Red, 2010
Director: Robert Schwentke
Cast:Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker, Karl Urban



Red in short: When his idyllic life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive.

Stage: Home theatre
Preps: I only knew about the cast and some recommendation scheme I can see on the web. Something new from the Willis support team, I guess. Well, I love the guy, hence I don't hesitate to see this.


Reality: Well, I am truly dissappointed. It's a mixture between Mission Impossible, some James's Bonds and some other action movies that sell stories they cannot backup in physical point of view (i.e. that they are genuinely unbelievable). So you have Willis running around and any attempt of killing him ends up desperately for his rivals or competitors "on the dark side". I need to stress out that it seems nevertheless that Willis casts greatly in action type of movies and this one also suits him like a good quality tuxido. Since we all know about his saga Die hard, we cannot expect anything less. But unfortunately, also anything more. For all the scenes, I can merely express my dissatisfaction with the fact that everything has already been seen on screen and that adrenalin unfortunately doesn't exceed my expectations (really low, if I might add, at the beginning). The scenario is predictable, the turnovers are seldom, overall it's not a great action movie, however, Willis adds his part like a professional.

Unfortunately it remains a puzzle to me, why is it that great and respected actors really decide to go along with something like this. I am sure that movie bread is hard to produce, but.. getting to a crew no matter how bad the movie is.

By the way. RED stands for Retired & Extremely Dangerous. I thought it was a good gig :)





My personal rating: 3,5 (well, even though the main actor is hard and really dies hard, seems that he's a bit worn out and maybe pushed into another action movie. Nevertheless - the plus points go to the well executed "tough guy" scenario




Red on IMDB
Red official pages

Don't say a word, 2001

Don't say a word, 2001
Director:Gary Fleder
Cast: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen


Don't say a word in short: When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...


Stage: Home TV selection
Preps: None in perticular. The movie catches my eye while lying down after a hard day. It seems familiar, although I cannot verify seeing it yet.


Reality: I am a deep fan of the genre, in its best it fits the needs of my curious soul. The kidnapping of a child and combining it with a psychologist as a father and Douglas's energy seems like a good recipe for victory, from the director's perspective. It doesn't go too deep into revealing the secrets that the kidnapper have, however it maintains a thin red line between the beginning and the end - the precious jewel that the kidnapper wants to take his hands on.

The story inbetween (Douglas chasing his daughter) is just some sort of filling. The real thing lies in the revealing of a secret of a psychotic young woman (brilliantly played by Brittany Murphy) and finally the turnover at the end, when you think that everything is won by the dark side.

The kidnapping part seems much more harder to believe (and the means to getting to the young woman with a secret by Douglas)than the mere idea of getting the stone and not thinking of the means used on the path to get it. The movie is a decent replica of many of the kind (or more accurately, one decent in a line of many decent movies in this topic, like Taken, for instance).

A lot of action, changes of scenery. Some dialogues put very poorly together, the monitoring of the wife of the shrink put to perfection (in this sense, not very believable). A good Saturday evening choice, to my opinion. It will set your feelings on tension until its very end.




My personal rating: 6,5 (a pretty decent psychological drama, just adequate to fit the needs of a good evening. Douglas in his best age and act)



Don't say a word on IMDB

The killer inside me, 2010

The killer inside me, 2010
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Ned Beatty


The killer in short: A West Texas deputy sheriff is slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer. Sadism and masochism beneath a veneer of revenge. Lou Ford is a mild-mannered sheriff's deputy in an Oklahoma oil town in the late 1940s. His boss sends him to roust a prostitute living in a rural house. She slaps him; he hits her, then, after daily sex for the next few weeks, he decides it's love. She's devoted to him and becomes his pawn in a revenge plot she thinks is to shakedown the son of Chester Conway, the town's wealthy king of construction. Lou has a different plan, and bodies pile up as murder leads to murder. The district attorney suspects Lou, and Conway may have an inkling, but Lou stays cool. Is love, or at least peace, in the cards?

Stage: Home theatre
Preps: I don't know the movie, just have the recommendation. So I decide to catch a windy Sunday and make it better with this one.
Reality: The movie has a specific energy and addresses people who can stand to see violence on TV or on screen, to be exact. It is so that in the society we live in, apathy shows for certain genres (like war movies, killing and torturing), so in this sense, this movie falls into a special category, addressing masohism and sadism in its sexual sense.

The feelings that the viewer might have while watching the piece can be mixed, from deep sadness to real admiration, it depends on the niche the viewer belongs to. To me, it was a deep insight into a life, where you pretty much do as you please and try to please yourself and in the mean time please also other (masohists) that enjoy you doing it and admiring you for doing it. To my knowledge, such niche players exist in the world and in my opinion, would enjoy seeing this onscreen. For the other, I presume, the movie is filled with something that is hard to understand, embrace and even cope with. How can the women dwell on receiving punches and use this as sexual arrowsement, a lot of people cannot understand. And is also deeply neglected in the movie genres (or avoided when it comes to this). This group seems to be so marginal, yet in my opinion it isn't. So in this movie, the murders occur to satisfy purely sexual desire and in subconscious of the murderer, also the lack of love and respect. A psychological drama, if I conclude, definitely worth seeing. Showing respect for the roots someone derives from and unfortunately, not giving enough background to the spectator to fully evaluate the reasons behind the murders. Besides the obvious, of course - sadism and sexual pleasing.



My personal rating: 8,0 (an extreme for a change, making me anxious to see the rest. Worth seeing in many aspects. Also the roles are brilliantly played)

The killer on IMDB

Official pages

Piranha, 2010

Piranha, 2010
Director: Alexandre Aja
Cast: Elisabeth Shue, Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames


Piranha in short: After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.

Stage: home theatre (invited to see slovene movie Piran, which turned out to be Piranha (not paying attention while I was giving the name of the movie I really wanted to see, didn't turn out as expected)


Preps: I was anxious to see Piran so I was in the mood the whole day. The dissappointment when finding out I was seeing Piranha, was undescribable :) Nevertheless, I am somehow impressed with the lead roles and decide to try it out.


Reality: One of the worst movies in this period (when I am seeing a lot of them). At first I didn't connect the earthquake and the piranhas - why are they so hystoric? In no imagination I would expect some dinosaur piranhas to appear and I didn't connect in the movie either.

The whole piece seems like taken from the 80's, when the movies about those creatures were really popular and created a big buzz how deadly piranhas are. In fact, none of the movies claims other than they will eat you alive as soon as you step into the water, regardless of their size, number, etc. The truth unfortunately for the all paranoid viewers, is something completely different. In my opinion, the piranhas were unfortunately disclosed as one of the most dangerous animals on this planet, thanks to those kind of movies. In philosophical aspect, I couldn't be more disturbed about misjustice being created this way.

In no way, this movie differs from all the stupid ones on this topic, made 20 years ago. A lot of people in the water and dynosaurus-like fish coming to eat them. A lot of stunts here never knew what their role was, the scenographer didn't pick the right puppets for the filming (obviously you see puppets instead of human beings), the scenery is so underestimating towards the spectator.. obviously there's nothing in this movie worth seeing, unless you were a fan of those movies at that point they were really popular. It always amazes me that actors that I normally respect (Shue, for instance), pick something like this to be in their biography or their cast trivia. I strongly dislike the movie and far from recommendation from my side.

My personal rating: 0 (stupid thing to see, unlikely to be likeable to any person..)


Piranha on IMDB

The Other Guys, 2010

The Other Guys, 2010
Director:Adam McKay
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg


The Other Guys in short: Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

Stage: Home theatre
Preps: None whatsoever. I am not familiar with the story neither the cast


Reality: I have seen a lot of positive critics about this and I was generally surprised about the cast and the first few punch lines. Nevertheless, the movie is a big dissappointment. It cannot fit even in my most depressive era, when I wasn't so picky in the comedy genre. I find this movie filled with not funny scenes and bad acting. I think that actors such as Wahlberg, Jackson, could have picked something more intelligent for their act and that the movie insults all the viewers as a whole. I didn't like it in the first five minutes and I thought the jokes were not only lame, but also really disrespectful to the audience (in sense, they were stupid and worthless (of the time spent to see them)).

I stopped watching the movie after half an hour. Not worth my time, not worth your time. Even if the clouds are pouring with rain outside and you really don't have anything else to do. Don't watch it. In my opinion, stupid enough that I stopped after half an hour and erased it. Forever.


My personal rating: 1,0 (for the cast and the impression I had for the first few minutes)


The Other Guys on IMDB

Speed, 1994

Speed, 1994
Director: Jan de Bont
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper


Speed in short: A young cop must save the passengers of a bus that has a bomb set to explode if the bus goes below 50 MPH.

Stage: Home TV selection


Preps: None in perticular. I have seen this in the local movies as a young girl and I adored the couple, the adventure, the idea that I could be as bold as she was and adopt a cute guy like I thought he was. Or be a brave police officer. Has to do a lot of childhood dreaming and interaction with movie characters.


Reality: I see this for the millionth time. Through this movie I became a deep fan of Sandra Bullock and am still now (although when I see her act in this case or for this time, I cannot tell why. Because it's simply said, horrible. It's not just the words or the scenario, it's the whole package). The same goes for Keanu Reeves. You can see in one of my critics (Top Gun), that I claim that to be one of the movies of my childhood. Well, the same goes for Speed. I have wanted to see this for million times and every now and then I saw it again. Now the gap between the last viewing and this one is more than 10 years and when I see it again, all the soft hystorical feeling is here, but from the critic point of view, the movie lacks energy, believability, or dare I say reality (you just don't jump over a gap with a bus and stay solid, you don't crash with a metro and survive (not like this).. it lacks true scenario and some energy between the actors. Although when seeing this as a young lady, I saw it straightforward (probably wanted to see it, anyway) - now I don't even though I try really hard.

Speed was a synonim for successful US cop forces at that point and in that time, did a great job. Looking it again from a whole different aspect and with a different approach, besides from memoirs what it was like seeing it as a child, nothing else remains. Pity.




My personal rating: 6,0 (for the sake of my memories as a child. As Top Gun, Ghost, Pretty Woman, etc, also Speed was one of my favourites and the one I could watch over and over again)


Speed on IMDB

Top Gun, 1986

Top Gun, 1986
Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer




Top Gun in short: The macho students of an elite US Flying school for advanced fighter pilots compete to be best in the class, and one romances the teacher.


Stage: home theatre (TV selection), when being a kid, one of the first ones to see live in cinema.

Preps: For the n'th time.. none whatsoever. Seen this for so many times I know it by heart.


Reality: I just adore Top Gun. It's one of the movies of my youth, I have seen it for the xxx times and I can frankly claim I know it by heart. The idea of being a pilot was so popular at that time and after this movie (which certainly put up to the expectations one had when going to be a pilot) the queue to be a pilot in US was distinguishly long and hard to reach.

The movie has a solid story and competitive advantage in music, scenery, a set of brilliant dialogues and not to forget, a memorable cast. It was the movie that launched a lot of brilliant actors into the sky (not being so brilliant at the moment of the filming. I believe it was the one that made Tom Cruise an embodyment of a sexy actor, with a dashing smile and a certain tone of voice you just cannot forget. The same goes for Val Kilmer, playing a negative (yet perfect) role in here - nevertheless, Cruise made it to the stars far ahead of Kilmer.

The love story happening inbetween is not a filling, it stresses out some issues of inhouse dating (in the same company or in a relationship between a tutor and a student. In this case, the ironic side is hidden behind Cruise's ego (The quote from the movie: Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash). I cannot see a way that in that time you would have a respected instructor of flying (a female) that would bring the ego squad of potential best of the best to their homeground. Nevertheless, the construction of the scenario makes it believable and if you want or not, you accept the flow and expect more and more towards the ending.

The music is one of the most powerful and most respected ones in terms of commercial movie. Also one of the best sold soundtracks ever. The same goes for the memory of the movie. I bet that all around half of the world knows what Top Gun is all about (that half that has the movies available anyway). Not to be disrespectful of the movies the directors make nowadays - in that time that this one was made, it was one of the peaks of the movie industry. New, bold and solid. The crowd adored it and as I seee it again, I know why I also had all kinds of posters of this movie all over my room.



One of my favourite scenes..Maverick: [spots Charlie for the first time] She's lost that loving feeling.
Goose: She's lo... No she hasn't.
Maverick: Yes, she has.
Goose: She's not lost that lo...
Maverick: Goose, she's lost it, man.
Goose: Come on!
Goose: [to himself] Aw sh... I hate it when she does that.



My personal rating: 9,0 (I adored this as a child, and it brings me back to what I once dreamed of and the things I was opened to at one point. Definitely will see it again.)


Top Gun on IMDB

Winterslaap in Lukomir, 2010

Winterslaap in Lukomir, 2010
Director: Niels van Koervorden
Cast: Izet Kalkan, Ajlina Murić, Damir Hodžić



Winterslaap in short: Documentary movie about isolated mountain village in Bosnia, at winter covered with snow, therefore isolated for half a year from outside world. From 11 inhabitants we meet three - Hismet, Derva and Nura, that need to survive and furthermore, survive amongst themselves.


Stage: Kino Dvor

Preps: The movie is also a part of dutch festival I see in kino Dvor. Awarded as the best graduation piece of a student.


Reality: The movie is static and doesn't leave any room for different interpretations or dwelling off the main stream of the story. I cannot decide whether I am only shocked by the way some people are forced to live (or decide to live this way - this is also something I cannot decide about). The sadness of the situation that they are forced into, is something that rocks my soul and makes me feel grateful for what I have or what I do in my life. And for them, it's the only way they know how to live and what to expect from life. From a perspective of someone, living in a "normal" city or "normal" circumstances, this is beyond belief. The impact that this piece has, is devastating if you think how to survive this. Many of us would simply go mad. And to the viewer's surprise, these people not only cope with it (they don't know something else, anyway), but also make occasional fun when living it. Still, the lack of younger people as the problem of such isolated villages, appears, and the solution is not offered to the viewer. Unfortunately. Promoting piece and time you have, when living like this, is crushed by the severe reality of the cruel nature you need to live with .


My personal rating: 6,0 (a bit too static for my taste, however, a true reminder how life like this really looks like).

The official page

Wall Street, 1987

Wall Street, 1987
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Tamara Tunie


Wall Street in short: A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider whom takes the youth under his wing.

Stage: home cinema, TV production of the day

Preps (I have seen this many times): None in perticular. I know this piece, I have seen it first as a child and was impressed about the way economy should work in USA. Or on any other part of the world.


Reality: Still, the piece amazes me. Douglas is brilliant in this act of crucial part of a company, a greedy individual that exploits rival aspect of another, young broker, willing to take any path possible (even immoral or illegal) to come to the top of the food chain in the industry. Several economical basic rules are broken here, nevertheless, the movie remains a true reminder of that decade of movie creating. USA government is upraised, US Economy forced to feel like the only one working in the world, and increasing fear of others coming in and taking the game out of brave US people.

Charlie Sheen is brilliant in his new yuppy image, fighting his way to be the best of the best (an ideal, shown in many movies of that period - one of them for instance Top Gun, or some war movies). After the movie, the broker position was many times seeked as a top job position worldwide, needless to say, especially in USA. Also in Europe. After that, going to the university of Economics, seemed like a walk in the park. Sadly enough, the faculty teaches you that some rules, obeyed in this movie to make forgeries work or to gain money, are really false and can mislead individuals to think it really works.

The perspective of having that much money to spend on women, life itself and getting into a high class society, seemed unreal at that point and something most people only dream of.


My personal rating: 7,0 (it was the first time that broker world amazed me, when I saw this. A classic, every future economist should see in my opinion, although the theory cracks in practical (unreal) scenes).

Wall Street on IMDB

Moški, 2010

Moški, 2010
Director: Mina Bergant
Cast: Mojca Funkl, Mateja Glažar, Brane Grubar




Moški in short: This is an awarded movie from the 13. slovene film festival in the category student short movie. The mainframe holds grip around a man, still living at home with his mum, exposing the unsocialized human being, unable to adopt or get independent until he's forced to.

Official short synopsis: Marko is 40 years old man and he still lives with his mother. His life is settled between work and home. His co-worker Ajda is trying to get closer to him, but she doesn't have any success. Marko always returns to his mother. When it seems that he will never learn to separate from her, his mother takes matters into her own hands. Will Marko finally grow up?


Preps: As I enter the short movie event, I am convinced that again, masterpieces will be shown.

Stage: Theatre Dvor (Netherland Embassy event)


Reality: I think it is amazing that every now and then you come up with something that is eating the society for ages and still, the presentation or a movie deployment of this is brilliant, fresh and has such a strong message that it hurts even to your bones. Moški in this sense emphasizes the meaning of independency and a cosy embrace of one's mother (on the other side), unwilling or unable to let the junior go - from junior's perspective it's much more convenient to just stay at home and let the mother do the washing, ironing, cooking, etc. And, furthermore, the movie directly shows what kind of unsocialized person you end up to be with this approach.

The basic turnover in the movie, the arrival of another man and childish behaviour of the main actor is amazing - puts even a more disgusting perspective of leading such a life. I am amazed that from the man's perspective nothing is wrong with his life, leading conveniency of mum being present up to a point, where I just nod my head in misbelief.

Even though finally he is on the track to get things done, I am quite confident that for most of men, raised up like this, this is just something they can dream of. Moreover, such a life seems normal to them. To a spectator, it's filled with ironic thoughts and regretful feelings.


My personal rating: 9,0 ( a brilliant movie, explaining all the reasons why one should become independent ages ago..)



Official movie webpage

Webpage of the director Mina

Dicht bij mij vandaan, 2010

Dicht bij mij vandaan, 2010
Cast: Kitty Courbois, Eric van der Donk, Janni Goslinga
Director:Martijn de Jong


Stage: Theatre Dvor, Billateral Focus of Embassy of Netherlands (event)

Dicht in short: The movie is a graduation work of a student, a short movie about different life paths of people that all have a better life in their palms, but never grab to reach it.



Preps: Invited from a friend of mine, to the event of the embassy. Every year they present some short movies, that show dutch environment, combined with a slovenian perspective. Graduated work and prized at many festivals. Therefore I am convinced that the movies are great.


Reality: The movie shows so much dissappointment in the way we make our choices and the consequences we need to face afterwards, that it burns my soul. The people in the movie aren't really connected in any other way apart from the fact, that they all have a better life ahead (a new boyfriend, a friend in your elderly age, interaction with another person that you don't make because you are afraid of the change).. I all shows a great deal of remorsement for the choices we decided not to do and the paths we decided not to walk on.
In its core, the movie shows appreciation for the opportunities you can find every day and the urge to explore them at least up to a point. If you don't do that, the life shortens you on the magic moments you could have experienced. The fact is, that you don't really know them or aren't aware of the options that you have unless something strikes you dead ahead in your brain and lets you think and dwell on it.

In my opinion, a great and short piece, that up to the point shows how each moment should be appreciated and how some things we grow as virtues, separate us in fact from the great experience of life.


My personal rating: 8,5 (an excellent showing of how prudent people are and how hard it is to make a change in your life, that changes it completely)


Web page