petrkost Reviews

The Expendables (2010)

If you really have nothing else to do...

[4/10 · 4 December 2010]

It's a bit difficult to be serious about the film. Nothing you would not have seen before if you're above 18, including the (standard but weak) plot, fight choreography, effects, (feeble) dialogues etc. Yeah, a few jokes here and there but again nothing you would not have heard or seen before + kind of told unnaturally, as if in an expectation of the studio- laugh. Except for perhaps Jet Li complaining about his height repeatedly, which is quite funny because of who Jet Li is. First time, not so much the second and the third.

Very average movie, in short, that's an OK time-killer if you really have nothing else to do, like me one Saturday. Bit of a feeling that because of the great (rare!) cast, Mr. Stallone resigned on the rest, starting with the script, Rambo IV, for example, was five leagues higher. Just don't expect much and you'll get another story of tough but after all good-at- heart lads beating the heck out of the villains.

Lichnyy nomer (2004)

Bad to funny

[1/10 · 22 December 2007]

If the intention was to create a parody on hostage taking movies, the authors succeeded brilliantly. I was first really annoyed at being made fun of, but in the end had a great laugh throughout. I would recommend anybody to see the film in English translation because it gets even funnier. Nothing is real - characters, motivation of their actions, acting, make-up, dialogs, stage setting, proprieties, nothing. Absolutely hilarious!

The one problem seems to be the fact that the film has too clear a political agenda and passes some very childish messages: FSB has absolute authority; tycoons are the villains (Pokrovskiy > Berezovskiy), not all Chechens are bad, only manipulated by the villains etc. Soviet-style propagandist cinema in a new era, just of really sub-standard quality.

Hrubes a Mares jsou kamarádi do deste (2005)

Too bad to be true

[1/10 · 21 May 2006]

I was in the Czech Republic during the first screenings and went to see this film which was to be a great hit. Highly acclaimed theatre director, extremely popular cast (in the local context), what else to wish if you hope in the revival of the Czech cinema of Forman, Menzel and others. What's more, the crew had already scored a half success with their "Boredom in Brno". The bigger was my disappointment. The film turned to build on the worst tradition of the Czech cinema of the last decade: Superficial acting, obscene language that is supposed to make the audience laugh, no real plot - combination of half-witted sketches instead, indirect references to the "good old" communist times. The feeling of being ridiculed by the authors persisted even after I left the cinema having initially overcome the temptation of leaving after the first 30 minutes. Too bad to be true.