Cocktail, 1988

Cocktail, 1988
Director: Roger Donaldson
Cast: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue


Stage: Home TV selection on a Sunday night


Cocktail in short: After leaving the Army, Brian Flanagan tries to get a marketing job in New York. But without a college degree, this was not possible. He then decides to start studying for a business degree at the local City College and gets a part time job as a bartender. He realizes that its not that easy, but when his new boss Douglas Coughlin teaches him the secrets of the bar trade and they become the most famous bartenders in town. Both Brian and Doug Coughlin want their own top class cocktail bars someday and Brian's Cocktail Bar is to be called 'Cocktails & Dreams', and in order to get the necessary money to open it, Brian travels to Jamaica to work as a bartender at a resort Tiki Bar, and the pay is good. There he meets Jordan Mooney, a young and pretty, up and coming American artist on vacation with her girlfriend from New York, staying at the Island resort. Jordan and Brian spend some quality time together and fall in love...


Preps: Wow, a classic. I am a huge fan of Cruise in his early age. Obviously also now, however now he specialized in some action adventure movies instead of making a charm. A profiled actor now, once a poster for each teenage dream, including mine :)


Reality: Watching Cocktail cannot be a failure. There are only a few classics (classic comedies from the 80ies) I can watch several times and not get bored, but romantic and nostalgic. Among those are Ghost, Top Gun, Pretty Woman, Back to the Future, and some others. They remind me of that sweet time I used to watch them practically every day with my mother on a VCR).
Therefore, I already know, I will look at Tom with mouth wide open. The strong side of the movies that derive from the eighties can be separated into subsections: always a strong character with a story to amaze (at that time the production of the movies was seriously smaller than nowadays, when every clown can produce a movie). Plus, we had several protagonists at that time to follow, not numerous like today. Secondly, the music. I remember I always begged my mother on my knees to buy me a soundtrack on a cassette or later, I needed it on CD. I think strong music in movie makes its character. It doesn't matter, if it's instrumental (Zimmerman as the high example of my point), or a good combination of songs that support the story being told in a movie. I virtually have originals from most of my classical movies from that time, however, my passion for that has somehow vaporized in last 10 years, as rarely a movie with a really strong music is made, or it unfortunately, gets lost in the crowd of all produced pieces.
Anyhow, the music in Cocktail is really good; communicates the true feeling Tom expresses at various scenes and supports the story perfectly. Plus, we have an american dream attempt, which means I trust the story. It is not all roses and sunshine, the movie depicts a real world, where a wish to succeed isn't always enough to get you in the top league right away. A submission to something good enough is depicted in Cocktail, where stock high level management dream is substituted for a barman position, later the owner of a small bar. Not exactly what the character aimed for, still enough to make the spectator satisfied. And to prove the concept of hard work that will get you anywhere. (at least this is what the movie is selling). We rarely get exactly what we want, so compromise might be something everyone among us can personalize with. Therefore, a story of a success - the piece will get into your veins. If you derive from the 70's, 80's.. you should really love it. For all the clothing, spirit, optimism. The story of a friendship is also very powerful, with a tactical approach towards solving issues (like how you get over if your best friend sleeps with your spouse, etc).
Cocktails and dreams is the name of the wanted dream. I can easily describe the movie in the same three words. If you are wondering, what you are about to see, cocktails and dreams will answer your question to the point.



My personal rating: 8,0 (a strong, solid flow of the story, persuasive actors and Tom in his best years. Plus, the soundtrack is extremely good!)


Cocktail on IMDB

The Terminal, 2004

The Terminal, 2004
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Catherina Zeta Jones, Tom Hanks, Chi Mcbride


Stage: Home TV selection. Finally a piece worth seeing again on TV.


The Terminal in short: Viktor Navorski, a man from an Eastern European country arrives in New York. However after he left his country war broke out. Suddenly Navorski is a man without a country - or one that the U.S. cannot recognize, thus he is denied entrance to the U.S. However, he also can't be deported so he is told by the Security Manager that he has to remain in the airport until his status can be fixed. And also Navorski doesn't speak English very well, so he cannot talk to or understand anyone. But he somehow adapts and sets up residence in the airport, which makes the man who placed him there unhappy, as it seems he is in line for a promotion but Navroski's presence might complicate that. So he tries to get Navorski to leave but Navorski remains where he is. Navorski makes friends with some of the people who work in the airport and is attracted to a flight attendant he runs into whenever she comes in.



Preps: Wow, a Spielberg classic. Am in need of something sentimental and touching. Definitely worth seeing, I know this by now, have seen this piece several times. A great story with the great interpretation. Just like Steven does almost every time.


Reality: Imagine a definite administrative fuckup. I don't mean a mess. A fuckup, truly. When you are being held because of some weird clerks that follow national guidelines, that just changed. The storyline is quite simple, but the truth behind it lies deeply in soul of many so called upgraded "normal" countries. Victor is being stuck at the airport, because his country is denied by great US. Wow, a surprise. Any given day, great US decides, who to praise and who to neglect. In this sense, Victor's country, being at war, is suddenly not in US interest, therefore they are keeping him. Unimaginable long time. It is in my deep subconscience where I still can feel mocking towards US administration and politics. Others may seem to find more visible stuff in this piece - longing towards the promised land; trying to survive, mocking out of nations that aren't US, in perticular the ones that come from Eastern Europe. Falling in love and flirting with a taken woman is one of the objectives you can find in this piece. Spielberg took care of our minds. There are simply too many stories to follow, so you choose the ones you love the most.

The prediction of the situation like this is filled with black humour. On the other side, Victor takes the best out of the situation and spends months virtually living there. He takes us through every shop, making money, looking after yourself in cosmetic sense, spending time and money in shops, trading service for lunch and above all, flirting with the cutest stewardess ever.
The side stories are short, yet amazing. All the clerks, employees in the airport, we are handed their story to follow and being depressive with them, having fun with them, thinking our best wishes and crossing our fingers for them. A range of "coincidences" make everyone believe Victor is really waiting for another flight, all but some rare individuals, who are either feeling with him, or mocking him in every humiliating way possible. Stanley Tucci as mr. Dixon plays the bad guy. You need to hate him. The same way you hated Billy Zane in Titanic. Although he represents supposingly "the right side", the law. Brilliantly played role. I hate him from the bottom of my heart, as he represents all the clerks that denied me something at some point of time, even though they legally had the right. So in my head, I am hitting him with evil for all the wrong deeds I see clerks and administrative people like him, have done to me.

For nine months Victor is constantly meeting a cute stewardess, who firstly admits her life made mistakes and hopes, and finally, they come to an interesting interaction. He makes her 1000 fountains /(builds per se the fountains in a mosaic inside building, in a department that isn't active as a part of the airport). He develops a wonderful dinner for her. She takes him for a criminal, for a psychiatric person. She represents common mind, common visitor and the eyes someone would see Victor if one saw him at a glance here at airport. However, the spectator, that takes all the terror Victor has to live through, just keeps the fingers crossed for a lucky happy ending.

Now, Amelia and her story.. is almost as powerful as Victor's. She hides behind words, and yet you can feel her being insecure about herself and her desires. Like a woman's aknowledgement she feels about herself, knowing she's doing something wrong, not being able to cut it loose or to choose a second path.
"I am like Napoleon. I eat poisonous men until I get sick."

In many aspects, a piece worth seeing and worth the philosophy put behind it. I admire Hanks with his russian accent (or let me say eastern Europe accent, for he knows no russian, obviously. I have several friends that have said really weird stuff about his interpretations. Still, in my eyes, he represents someone without rights, deriving from a poor background,that gets the american fairytale, a kiss and a woman to kill for :)


My personal rating: 8,0 (mmmm, every time a pleasure to see. A Spielberg must have in your sight kind of movie):



The Terminal on IMDB

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets, 2007

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets, 2007
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha


Stage: Home TV selection, Saturday evening


National treasure in short: While Ben Gates is presenting new information about John Wilkes Booth and the 18 pages missing from Booth's diary, a man by the name of Mitch Wilkinson stands up and presents a missing page of John Wilkes Booth's diary. Thomas Gates, Ben's great-grandfather, is mentioned on the page. It shows that Ben's great-grandfather was a co-conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's murder. When doing more research, the conspiracy takes Ben, Abigail Chase, and Riley Poole to Buckingham Palace (which they break into). They discover a plank that has early Native American writing on it. The plank has only one symbol that Patrick Gates can identify. The symbol is Cibola (see-bowl-uh) meaning the City of Gold. In order to define the rest the have to go to Ben's mother, Patrick's divorced wife. After 32 years it brings back old arguments.


Preps: I have seen this once already. Not really something remarkable, but maybe worth another seeing and reviewing.


Reality: Yep, I am right. Nothing remarkable. A nice adventure, something to brighten up your afternoon. No special effects, some historical travelling through the american history. I need to confess I never thought Nicholas Cage to be a very persuasive leading action hero, neither did he convince me in this perticular piece.
Furthermore, they teamed him up with Diane Kruger, who we saw dazzle in Troy (in 2004), here she is yet another blonde face we soon forget, without any perticular points I can give her for the cast. The same goes for all other action figures in the piece.

There is something worth mentioning, though. This is one of more fun-driving treasure hunts. It takes you through familiar places, known people, american history. In some ways, it's the juvenile version of The Da Vinci Code. Of course, the latter is of bigger proportion and has made a bit more homework. In terms of belief, the Da Vinci Code is superior in comparison with the National Treasure. But National Treasure is still a good copy of The Code from 2006. It will take you to the president's chamber and make you think about all the national secrets every nation keeps dear in a hidden place noone dares to taste. In this sense you will be stumbled with numerous events and occasions (coincidences) that occur in the piece and drive you to think about conspiracy theory, etc. Plus, they will also (similar to Da Vinci Code), make you go through your closets and wardrobe closets, looking for the secret pocket and secret map. And drive a bit of adventure you forgot since being adult, in your veins.

A good Sunday entertainment. Since our local TV decided this is the crown jewel of a Saturday night, I don't recommend it in that way.


My personal rating: 5,0 (watchable adventure, will ease your mind :) and make you curious about US history and its treasures).


National Treasure on IMDB

Limitless, 2011

Limitless, 2011
Director: Neil Burger
Cast:Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro



Stage: Home theatre, late at night

Limitless in short:An action-thriller about a writer who takes an experimental drug that allows him to use 100 percent of his mind. As one man evolves into the perfect version of himself, forces more corrupt than he can imagine mark him for assassination. Out-of-work writer Eddie Morra's (Cooper) rejection by girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) confirms his belief that he has zero future. That all vanishes the day an old friend introduces Eddie to NZT, a designer pharmaceutical that makes him laser focused and more confident than any man alive. Now on an NZT-fueled odyssey, everything Eddie's read, heard or seen is instantly organized and available to him. As the former nobody rises to the top of the financial world, he draws the attention of business mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who sees this enhanced version of Eddie as the tool to make billions. But brutal side effects jeopardize his meteoric ascent. With a dwindling stash and hit men who will eliminate him to get the NZT...

Preps: Well, a notorious piece a while ago at the movies, but haven't had the chance to check it out. All I know is some kind of viagra, that is taken, but one for the brain :)

Reality: Wow, it begins with an added value. I definitely want to see loser becoming a victory man, Making my dream come true and answer what people yearn for centuries - how to stimulate your brain in order to make more out of all the data coming in every day.. There is supposed to be 5000-7000 various pieces of information stimulating your brains every day. You don't believe it? Of course you don't - because 99% of this you cannot remember. However, with this plastic miracle, you can.

Same as in the matrix, the main protagonist is put under a spell, after taking the drug. Obviously you cannot live without it and no, you cannot go back. What's the benefit? You get to remember everything you ever learned about, you get to maintain and upgrade existing knowledge within seconds.. you get to stimulate girls and make them laugh in an instant (obviously intelligence makes miracles).. etc. You get everything. Now, how about a downfall?
Like every drug, you cannot maintain the level without physical consequences.. therefore, you are screwed, when you run out of them. On the other hand, Cooper gets lucky and has a whole stack of these babies. One per day,.. and he's superman/Einstein/everything he ever wanted to be. Is his soul the same? This seems to be the main question, as he enters another time zone when taking the drug. And another timeframe in his mind. What kind of the person do you then meet, what are that person's feelings, ideas.. what is he when he isn't a god - good philosophical dilemmas hapenning, as we seek towards the end of this. Can he really finish in one year and make a huge amount of money in that time, to make him and his girlfriend rich and happy / least this is what he believes..
The run towards the end of the movie is too long and I get bored in the mean time. De Niro makes a good entrance and a good exit. But where is he in the mean time? Stage not that impressive, music is good enhancement of various scenes. And Cooper's act is quite good. Nevertheless, I think that in its third part, the piece loses its edge and its breath.


My personal rate: 5,5 (a superb idea, but poorly executed. I wish the director would re think the way he made his stage and his workflow..)


Limitless on IMDB

Thor, 2011

Thor, 2011
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth



Stage: Local theatre, late Friday show. Just a pop in my head makes me run as hell to catch the show. As I miss the trailer part and commercial, I feel pretty satisfied with myself, as the movie begins in an instant, as I sit down.


Thor in short: This epic adventure spans the Marvel Universe; from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth. Kenneth Branagh directs this fantasy epic which stars Australian actor Chris Hemsworth as the ancient Norse god, Tom Hiddleston as his evil brother Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, a young woman who befriends Thor on Earth, and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor's father and king of Asgard.


Preps: None in perticular, have seen the trailer, seems like a thing I would love to see in theatre, because of the effects and sounds.


Reality: Hm, it's fairly amusing, but that's it. Too much of photo shop and movie maker scenes make me not buy the scenery. It's obviously made in a computer room, and not by someone with a lot of imagination. I am not impressed at all. Normalwise, I prefer scenes that derive from imagination, to those that are filmed in real life. Here it's vice versa. Better constructed, with some vision and some energy. With real dialogues and some humorous scenes. For instance, imagine real god tremble into a real life with every day scenery - eating, sleeping, living like a human. All in all, this is supposed to be a punishment for Thor, for being too conceited and not ready to learn. With some help of a human mind, he turns into a good guy.. well, the transformation is too fast and I definitely don't buy it. If you have lived all your life as a conceited first son, ready to be a king, then you cannot really transform your soul and mind in a few days. Probably in a decade, or so, but in this piece everything is shown a bit too romantic - in sense of me trying to buy this and to accept it.

Natalie has definitely been a busy bee lately. I can see her in four movies at the same time. Unfortunately, none of them can raise up to the Black Swan - the cast here is poor and unsatisfactory, the same goes for Anthony Hopkins. Not enough energy coming out of this man. Hemsworth, on the other side, represents some sort of a back up of Brad Pitt in Troy. Nevertheless, the story is weak and too light to be seen in a real spectacle. It's more of a Sunday movie, when you have just eaten and just want something to amuse you and not knock you off your feet. And if you put into perception there is a divine world as opposed to normal human.
For Hopkin's cast - slightly better than in his other latest movie, The rite. In neither of both cases, an exclusive or impressive one. Nevertheless, always good to watch on screen.

The music shows respect to the scenario and to the scenes, wisely chosen and emphasizes the effect of some battles. Another thing that got me a bit cranky during watching this - the "doors" to other worlds. Just by coincidence taken from Stargate (the idea is the same, and the execution also almost the same). And the names of the world. Are we in LOTR or are we in some other movie.. well, it's a wise idea to be pulled on the ocean of other successful movies, but you need to draw a line somewhere and make your piece a bit more authenthic. Because to perceive viewers not so intelligent as some of them are.. is - well naive. I would prefer the worlds to be of another wording (Asgard - as in LOTR - Ares of Asgard); just a coincidence, that here it's one of the lands? ..

Anyhow, not really a splendid piece, but a pleasant Sunday one, as already said.


My personal rating: 4,0 (for the sake of the amusement).
Thor on IMDB

Date Night, 2010

Date Night, 2010
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg


Stage: home theatre, being half dead of the disease, desperately seeking for movie entertainment

Date Night in short: Phil and Claire Foster are a couple who have been married for several years. Their days consists of them taking care of their children and going to work and coming home and going to bed. But they find time to have a date night wherein they go out and spend some time together. When another couple they know announce that they're separating because they're in a rut, Phil feels that he and Claire could be too. So when date night comes Phil decides to do something different. So they go into the city and try to get into a new popular restaurant. But when it's full and still wanting to do this, Phil decides to take the reservation of a couple who doesn't show up. While they're having dinner two men approach them and instructs them to stand up and go with them. They think the men are with the restaurant and want to talk to them about taking someone else's reservation. But it appears the couple whose reservation they took crossed someone and the two men work for this person...

Preps: hm, none whatsoever. I just have it on the disk and has been waiting for rainy days like this one. Me, being very feverish and in a terrible cold. Wow, I see Mark Wahlberg. Haven't seen this stud in a while. My curiosity increases.



Reality: Boy, this one is so predictable, yet entertaining up to a point. Now imagine being an old couple (not old in years, but old in the time spent together), bored to death and forcing yourself to go on a date. Yuk. Would never want to be in their shoes. Or skin, for that matter. And yes, you close the door to your bedroom and don't let your flesh and bones menaces to just walk in at five in the morning.

Apart from that, the red line seems adequate. A bit of wine makes everything sparkling, I guess. A bit of boldness in the relationship should spice it up a bit. The unusual adventure is a bit underestimating to the viewer, but for the mid of the night entertainment I must confess that there are several points in the piece that entertain me more than just the average piece. Yes, they again claim cops are pretty stupid. And yes, the movie implies that couple logic can be totally illogical. And implies old romances to just last and last. A lot of trivial information and hardly believable, are exposed in this piece. And a lot of "fortunate" events that cannot be real. However, the mission of this piece isn't really in reality of the stage and reality of the events happening.

In my opinion the movie on one hand implies that making a relationship work, means constant work from both sides and also points out where the point of no return should be (or how to recognize you are diving into this status). Point of no return would mean being fed up with the relationship and making it happen for the sake of relationship and not because you are comfortable within it. So not living the life, but being a mere observer.

In this sense, the movie makes me think about relationships. Whatever happens at the end, I am not really interested. And it doesn't bother me if I never know. I just know I don't want to be in the shoes of that couple - before their comedy starts.

Oh, yes, Wahlberg. A pure decoration in this movie. Nothing more, unfortunately.


My personal rating: 5,0 (can make you think. Apart from that, nothing special.. And Mark has even more muscles and looks as I remember).


Date Night on IMDB

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows, 2010

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows, 2010
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint


Stage: Local Colloseum, movie theatre. The morning edition


Harry Potter in short: As Harry races against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, he uncovers the existence of three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.
The story plot: Voldemort's power is growing stronger. He now has control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to finish Dumbledore's work and find the rest of the Horcruxes to defeat the Dark Lord. But little hope remains for the Trio, and the rest of the Wizarding World, so everything they do must go as planned.


Preps: Haven't read the book really. Remember starting it, but so far haven't finished it. In these times sometimes you can see a better piece on screen than printed out. In many cases this isn't so. I am curious, as the masses are running around to see this.


Reality: Well, it's the seventh part. As I claimed in the saga Saw, this is something a bit different. In a sense, you can watch each part by itself, because they are pretty much independent. Nevertheless, the seventh, the last part was made actually in two parts. A good marketing perspective. Reminds kind of on LOTR. On the other hand, it makes the movie too long in its first half and making the viewer swallow the dead ends (sitting in the forest, doing nothing, main actors dealing with themselves - and not including viewer into this - in a sense, remaining boring in its middle.

On the other hand Potter now upgrades action, everything moves to 3D and I am surprised Potter isn't filmed in 3D, because some scenes are truly meant to be in this technique. Why would a snake bite into the middle of the screen if not? And for many other reasons too. Witch world is fantasy world, therefore the director can pretty much depict everything he desires, because the viewer will believe this.

The haunt for the hollows is deadly and some scenes make you fly through them, on the others (more static ones) you dwell and wait for some action to happen. The love story between Hermiona and Ron remains in secret, the story between Potter and Ginny is also in clouds, but I see this as a good point, as the movie should really focus on the deathly hollows, as it does. The muggle scenes are hideous, as you imagine the rage with which they are haunted, and the magic scenes are incredible, as you wish you were capable of going into an institution like this to learn something a bit similar to those spells that the kids use. Definitely worth seeing for all Potter fans, those that read it and those that feel a citizen duty to see it even though they didn't.




My personal rate: 7,5 (an upgrade from the other versions of the Potter, however, it lacks some action inbetween and more comprehensive script in many cases.

Harry on IMDB

Harry official page

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

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

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

Alice in Wonderland, 2010

Alice in Wonderland, 2010
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway




Stage: Movie set under the stars, The castle of Ljubljana

Alice in short: 19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.


Preps: Well, besides reading the book when I was really young and knowing Johnny Depp was to star in this role, I didn't know anything. I could expect a good movie though. I trusted Depp's choice. He always falls for the weird extraordinary roles. And Alice is precisely that.


Reality: What a huge mistake in the way I was thinking.. My god. The movie is a wreck. In the first tenth of the movie, I thought it would be something like Monty Phython scene. The scenery is good, the presentation of Alice is just like I imagine and the people are lame as expected. However, the main thing you don't want to miss is the moment when she falls into a hole. And afterwards, it's just a downfall from that point on.
The movie loses its edge and the joy or excitement I had when going up the hill to the castle to see this, was burning and made to ashes in an instant. The crowd, however, seemed to enjoy the setting, cast and was laughing. Something wrong with me? I don't think so. I didn't even recognize Depp, and he was at that point the only thing that I was really looking forward to see.
Nothing happened but a huge dissappointment. The story didn't have the edge and for sure didn't fulfill my adventurous expectations. I stood up and went home after one hour. I thought it was torturing my brain cells. I prefer book version in this sense.

How did Depp see this treasure island in the movie?
The Mad Hatter: There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter.


My personal rating: 1,0 (not worth your time, do something more useful with it. Even the deepest Depp fans :) Needless to say, I wanted more out of this piece.


Alice on IMDB
Alice Home page

Salt, 2010

Salt, 2010
Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber

Salt in short: As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who is Salt?"

Stage: home theatre

Preps: None in perticular - a new thing from Jolie and the fact that it's supposed to be conspiracy oriented gives me the feeling it might be a good one. Also, notorious in our local theatres.


Reality: Hmmmm.. Not up to my taste. Noyce's downfall actually. Seeing russian conspiracy and Jolie's ass running around all the time (and this being the mere adventure of the whole movie), doesn't really influence my veins. In sense - if you are a James Bond fan, then the movie will rock you as well. However, if you don't buy this Macgyver, Bond or Mission Impossible scene, you will be bored to your last breath.

The final conclusion I can give for this piece is that Jolie did a decent job presenting herself in physical sense. However, the act itself lacks some energy, the story is merely believable (or even not). I am normally a huge fan of political adventure spy movies. This wasn't even close one of my normal favourites. And I don't have the intention to recommend it to anyone that isn't aware that it's a solid action movie without a soul to climb on during the scenes.

This is the quote that Salt will be remembered upon (or in my case, forgotten):

Evelyn Salt: What is your name?
Vassily Orlov: My name is Vassily Orlov. Today, a Russian agent will travel to New York city to kill the President. This agent is KA-12.
Evelyn Salt: The KA program is a myth.
Vassily Orlov: Don't you want to know the name?
Evelyn Salt: You're good. You can tell the rest of your story to one of my colleagues.
Vassily Orlov: Salt.
Evelyn Salt: Yes?
Vassily Orlov: The name of the agent is Evelyn Salt.
Evelyn Salt: My name is Evelyn Salt.
Vassily Orlov: Then you are a Russian spy.


My personal rating: 1,0 (I don't want to see it ever again, in my opinion, several better conspiracy movies have been made recently or in the past years. MI included).


Salt on IMDB
Salt home page

Blood Diamond, 2006

Blood Diamond, 2006
Director:Edward Zwick
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connely



Blood Diamond in short: Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer - an ex mercenary from Zimbabwe - and Solomon Vandy - a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen, an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory, a journey that could save Solomon's family and give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have.


Stage: Local theatre at the opening, twice at home, TV selection or DVD

Preps: At the opening none in perticular, another times no preps. The movie should be seen at least a few times :)


Reality: One of Zwick's masterpieces, the truthful and remarkable story that will crack your brains and make you think whether you really want to be one of the greedy EU citizen or rich people around the globe, chasing the small rocks. The main question or dilemma, how much a human life is worth or to look from the other perspective, how worthless the life is, when you want the crispy rocks that only mean something in the rich environment.

The movie is filled with emotions and energy, bad influence and the effect of greed. The sad story you follow with Djimon Hounsou or on the other hand, the different (also sad one) with DiCaprio makes your heart burst with tears and grief for the evil things happening to the people that didn't deserve it.

Another, quite political shock in seeing how children are being put against the wall and designed to shoot other children, or elder people, will pour hate in your veins - truly incredible to eat the idea that something like this can be happening, while we are mowing grass and drinking cocktails on the other side of the world. I honestly believe the movie will move something in your soul and make you want to do a good deed or at least never look at the bloody rocks again.



My personal rating: 9,5 (a strong remark or a statue of what liberty should really mean and what virtues one should nurture)

Blood Diamond on IMDB


Official site of the Diamond

The Expendables, 2010

The Expendables, 2010
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis



The expendables in short: A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator.


Preps: It's the premiere in Ljubljana, a must see, because of the fabulous cast and the topic. It just seems good when you see the trailer, and it is definitely worth a shot. Maybe it turns out the way Ocean's 11 did.

Stage: Local Kino Dvor event



Reality: If Ocean's eleven was a splendid idea and a good performance in terms of cast, directing, script, stage, etc, well, the Expendables is nothing like this. It was one of the disastrous pieces I chose to see and spend some time on. The only thing I was impressed about was the amount of good actors, that were in this movie and the fact that the oldies (Arnold, Willis, Stallone) actually stood on the stage together (Imagine Rambo fighting Kindergarten Cop as we did when we were really young). The fact that all of the Rambo sequels were in my opinion better than this one (and I don't like either of the sequels of Rambo) tells a story.

It is maybe a good idea to combine a movie with good cast and some strong explosions, but nothing (and I mean nothing) can really substitute the lack of the story, music, scenery, everything else. I thought about leaving the stage and getting a beer, because I couldn't stand the macho scenes, in which without a shadow of a doubt, the only purpose can be to shoot as many bullets as possible, destroy as many buildings as you can find on the way and tell stupid jokes alongside. I couldn't bare the lame scenario and I couldn't listen to Stallone, because I constantly looked at his facial make-up, which I found repulsing and non-repellent to attraction of the viewer(I mean here that the make up was so poor that I kept on looking at his face, instead of watching the movie).

If I could give 8+ points to Ocean's eleven because of all exclusive elements that the movie posessed, I cannot bare to come up with more than 1 for this disaster. Yes, they all showed up in one place. Yes, they destroyed everything, the whole set exploded zillion times. And yes, the movie involved one great looking woman that kinda needs to be protected against villains. But that's it. No real enthusiasm when seeing this and definitely, none left when it finally ended. Maybe some actors should leave the director's seat to a real director. And choose scripts more wisely. It's not all about appearing again on the big screen, even though the best make-up artist made you look 10 years younger and did a facial lift.

The last thought.. I was actually glad to see Stallone with a gun. I think the genre suits him best. But he would need to decide, what to do - act or direct. Rare persons can do both great.



My personal rating: 1,0 (just for the sake of the cast. The movie really sucks and I strongly recommend you find something else to do or go for a beer :))

Expendables on IMDB
The expendables home page

The Last Airbender, 2010

The Last Airbender, 2010
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz



Stage: Summer theatre under the stars

Airbender in short: The story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.


Preps: I got two tickets as the result of a winning game. I didn't know about the movie, and after I won, I got on the net to see the trailer and a bit of a background. Seemed cool enough and was anxious to see it.


Reality: The live version of Nickelodeon TV series - animated one. One of very popular ones indeed, and in this sense, ungrateful to put it alive. At least to some extent it is impossible to imagine how a live scene could be taken anyway, because the movie must be filled with special effects. Reign over water, fire, wind and earth cannot be filmed live, therefore a big bow to the special effect unit, because they must have been working truly hard.

The movie lacks a true story you can easily follow. The battles and the martial arts part can be breathtaking, although the movie cannot consist on this alone. The cast is a bit wet behind the ears, in a sense, they didn't show a lot of acting - the scenes seem to be unpersuasive and shallow. Also, a big bucket of movie mistakes - for instance getting burned by the fire, or wet because of the water - in this field, the director fails big time. Also in terms of making the ride smooth (story fluent)for the viewer.

A big bow also to the fragment unit - or shall I say, the team, that takes care of the scenes and the little things worth remembering. The scenery of the town, the copy of the boats, the weapons used and the costumes - truly amazing. It will bring you to a mixture of the Labyrinth, LOTR, and some similar ones. Didn't you always want to have a pet like this, to ride on your way to vacation? A good way to dream away..



My personal rating: 6,0 (in its genre, one of solid (not good) ones. Has a messy story, though and amarican way - a good ground to have sequels. Filled with childhood fantasies, brought alive. A decent way to spend your evening).


Airbender on IMDB

Airbender home page

A bit more on Airbender series

Killers, 2010

Killers, 2010
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck




Killers in short: A vacationing woman meets her ideal man, leading to a swift marriage. Back at home, however, their idyllic life is upset when they discover their neighbors could be assassins who have been contracted to kill the couple

Stage: Home theatre


Preps: None in perticular. I was scrolling for some action in our local theatre and I ran onto this one. Since I love Kutcher's humour perspective, I figured I should see this one.


Reality: Kutcher never dissappoints me - well, not up to this moment. I have a feeling I know what I can expect and what I cannot expect from him. Therefore I cannot stay in cold and dark with him.

Killers starts off as a romantic comedy and then later on evolves into something more profound as a normal comedy. The turnover is truly funny and works for some time. At the middle of the chase it somehow loses the edge and becomes somehow Phythonic - all the people you used to call friendly and hypocritical neighbours seem to have the urge to kill you. The scenes resemble some of Mission Impossible - just in terms of getting the couple out of the situations alive and kicking.

The cast isn't something really astonishing and the both could easily pull off something even more decent. Nevertheless, a good one in the genre, as I commented on Grown Ups in the previous post - nothing that will get you overexcited. I find it a bit tragical, that in these summer days all the comedies we see in the family genre, seem to be average and not even one stands really out. This one can be perceived as cute, but nothing else. Maybe even boring at the end. The ending is theatrical and cheesy, I really don't like these "american" endings, as they leave me empty. But, after seeing 2/3 of this movie, nothing else was to expect.


My personal rating: 6,0 (a bit better that Grown Ups, but nothing more. I am not overexcited over either one of them).



Killers on IMDB

Killers official Home page

Knight and Day, 2010

Knight and Day, 2010
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard



Knight and day in short: June Havens finds her everyday life tangled with that of a secret agent who has realized he isn't supposed to survive his latest mission. As their campaign to stay alive stretches across the globe, they soon learn that all they can count on is each other.

Stage: Home theatre

Preps: the hot one at local cinema. Wanted to see it for Cruise, not Diaz. Supposed to be an action movie, however didn't get any recommendations. A good one for the evening, I thought.


Reality: I believe I couldn't be further from the truth. In this case, I don't think there's anything truly amazing about this movie. Cruise and Diaz have this weird relationship that doesn't seem to work, without energy and soul.

Cruise plays a hot shot agent that makes Mission Impossible a walk in the park. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that if he didn't play in Mission Impossible, none of the viewers would buy the scenes he's acting in this movie - so impossible that only Tom Cruise can pull it off alive :)

The whole movie is filled with action scenes, where Cruise is dying to survive and Diaz is following him and slowing him down. As I try desperately not to hate the movie (to be exact, I tried to love it because I have a thing for Cruise movies), I fail - I don't recommend this movie to anyone. It doesn't give you anything but some sort of belief in miracles (technical ones).

My personal rating: 2,0 (There are some sparkles in the scenes, but apart from that, nothing else.. )




Knight on IMDB

Knight home page

Wake up, Sid, 2009

Wake up Sid, 2009
Director: Alan Mukherjee
Cast:Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma



Wake up Syd in short: In Mumbai, Sid Mehra is, in the words of his father, an arrogant, spoiled brat. He lives with a doting mother and a father who pays his expenses and credit card bills. Sid takes his college finals then starts work at his father's business; he lasts less than a week before walking out. At a graduation party, he's met Aisha, newly arrived from Calcutta, set on becoming a writer. He shows her the city and helps her refurbish a rented flat. He asks if she'd like to progress from friend to something more; she says no - he lacks ambition and isn't her type. Will her words, his exam results, a confrontation with his parents, and a break with his friends be enough to wake Sid up?


Stage: Home theatre
Preps: The movie was recommended by one of my colleagues, really crazy about indian way of life. I appreciate the critics so I decide to check it out on my own.


Reality: The movie is really cute and positive, it shows exactly how one can be spoilt if bred in the right family (with a huge amount of money), where everything is taken for granted and you get all on a silver plate. Once the life hits you with something and you are left with nothing, you need to build everything. The problem with Syd is he doesn't know how or with what. He doesn't know how to work, he doesn't appreciate each penny he receives, he never had to do anything in his life, so he needs to grow up in terms of independence.

My strong belief is that if you decide for something, you will find the way to get to it. And with strong will, you will meet the right persons (or have luck when going through this path to meet right people) that will help you. Sid finds his luck in image of Aisha, a beautiful girl, striving for her own independence, that shows Sid values that girls (or normal people, that didn't have a money push from the start), appreciate. And Sid finds himself a job, falls in love, his prior values (partying, spending money) are now being an adult, being independent - doing things that sometimes aren't cool or fun, but doing them because it's the right thing to do. While Sid is growing up, he also builds a new relationship to his existing family and shows some appreciation afterall. And of course, this cute movie cannot exist without the romance.

India is shown in a different perspective here. Maybe even a stronger message than the one in the notorious Slumdog Millionaire. Definitely worth seeing.


My personal rating: 7,5 (the unique and inspiring way of showing how one can grow within himself as the result of growing up and being independent).

Wake up Sid on IMDB
Wake up Sid official site

Brokeback Mountain, 2005

Brokeback Mountain, 2005
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, Michelle Williams


Brokeback Mountain in short: In 1963,two young men hire on as ranch hands in the Wyoming mountains.During the long months of isolation,an unusual bond starts to develop between them, one which they are only vaguely aware of--until one night when it rises to the surface in a passionate encounter.When the season ends,they part ways,only to realize the true depth of their feelings.Thus begins a decades-long affair that the two of them desperately try to hide from those around them--one which will prove simultaneously beautiful and devastating.

Stage: Local theatre, home theatre (2. time)


Preps: Seeing this at the movies for the first time, I was in the Oscar fever - wanted to see the finalists before the real award ceremony, as I did each year. Now, when I am aware of the greatness of the movie, I am thrilled to see it again at home. I always discover something more in the movies I liked before. This one has also a strong message, that can relate to any kind of relationship.

Reality:
Gay theme is something that drives masses in the theatres, as I go and see it. It's something that isn't exposed very often and when it is, it isn't as vivid and direct as it is here. The scenery, chosen for the cowboy romance, is amazing. The scenario is not only believable, but also put in times, when you truly buy it. Hiding behind a "real" family or what the public expects from both of men, they do get married and they do have children, but all along, they find themselves as soul mates that cannot forget what they shared that summer on the mountain.

Against the policy of those times, they are crucified by society and misunderstood, finally the viewer is faced with depressed actions that might happen, if the society finds out about man's "status": one of the couple drinks, loses the family and loses everything he had in his life but his love and unwillingness to admit it. The other one is beaten to death by people in his town. Sadly enough, they never decide to move together and they never are truly a couple.

At the end, everything that remains, are the memories of that summer and the mountain. Because they never had the courage to make something out of the special gift they were given with the love, they are left with nothing.

The movie is sad and inspiring in terms of making something out of things you can influence on (not leaving it to the fate anyway) or building your relationship, even if the crowd doesn't accept it, even if it's not the right time, place or energy. The important thing is, that the person is.


My personal rating: 9,0 (Although it is long and sometimes lacks dynamics, it is a very strong one with a good message. One of Ledger's best performances in my opinion. Worth seeing).
Brokeback on IMDB
Brokeback natural official site