This week's premiere (s)
The Bourne Supremacy - Action thriller by Paul Greengrass. 2002's The Bourne Identity was a surprisingly good time. It was difficult not to be entertained as Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), a skilled spy suffering from amnesia, scrambled across Europe, evading bounty hunters and CIA agents. Unsurprisingly, he escaped and managed to pick up a girl, Marie (Franka Potente), along the way. Unfortunately, former CIA assassins have difficulty avoiding their past. And so, in The Bourne Supremacy (part 2 of a trilogy), Bourne is lured out of hiding. He must try to piece together his past, protect Marie and himself, and thwart the plans of evildoers. Joan Allen, Julia Stiles, and Brian Cox also reprise their roles from the first movie.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Comedy drama by Michael Gondry. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's movies can be extremely difficult to get through. With Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Human Nature, he proved himself one of the most innovative writers working in film today. But Kaufman can be a little too clever for his own good: He's so committed to irregular stories and characters that he sometimes seems to forget that the audience must care about what it sees. His latest script is a distinct move in the right direction: Its central story of two lovers (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) who each erase the other from his or her memory is far more human and sweet than any of his prior work. However, being a Kaufman script, it's full of characteristic strangeness and confusion. It also stars Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, and Elijah Wood.
Other movies playing
photo: Tatra Film |
Fahrenheit 9/11 - Documentary by Michael Moore. As a work of cinema, truthfully it's not so good. But it's not for nothing that it's by far the most successful documentary in American history. Moore manages to get his hands on some amazing material: hilarious "off-the-record" footage of President Bush and his administration, as well as damning and upsetting evidence of shady goings-on. Is it biased? Is it worth seeing? Is it as good as everyone says it is? Most definitely yes, yes, and no.
The Village (Osada) - Thriller by M Night Shyamalan. Ever since The Sixth Sense,
photo: Saturn Entertainment |
photo: Tatra Film |
The Terminal (Terminál) - Comedy by Steven Spielberg. Yet again, Spielberg can't seem to decide what he wants to do. At times The Terminal seems an attempt at seriously dealing with September 11, while at other times it reaches for (but misses) the kind of absurd, yet warm, humour found in Wes Anderson's films (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums). Tom Hanks is fine as a man who gets stranded indefinitely at New York's JFK airport after his home country (a non-existent Slavic country) crumbles. But the love story with Catherine Zeta Jones is completely pointless. The supporting players - particularly Stanley Tucci, Diego Luna, and Chi McBride - are the most interesting.
photo: SPI International |
Out of Time (Prezumpcia viny) - Thriller by Carl Franklin. Denzel Washington plays Matt, the chief of police in a small Florida town. While getting a divorce from a fellow cop (Eva Mendes), Matt has an affair with an old flame, Anne (Sanaa Lathan). The problem is, Anne is married to a big, burly security guard (Dean Cain) who doesn't take too kindly to his wife's adulterous relationship. Things turn really sour when Matt becomes the main suspect in a murder investigation.
Kill Bill Vol 2 - Action by Quentin Tarantino. Though it still revels in violence and trash, Volume 2 is quiet and contemplative where Volume 1 was loud and unabashedly shallow. Oh, it's still Tarantino and, as such, made for a very limited audience: himself. It remains brutal, irreverent, and full of too many references to fathom. But it's surprisingly relaxed at points; it seems that Quentin has taken note of the fact that so many of the westerns and samurai movies he loves are as much about silence and open space as they are about anything else. It's much more talky and full of information than the first instalment. And, once again, Uma Thurman proves his perfect muse. Well, worth seeing.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (Hriešny tanec 2) - Romance by Guy Ferland. You'd think moving the Dirty Dancing scenario to Cuba would make things hotter, but it doesn't: Mostly, it just makes for shallow romanticising and some misplaced talk about The Revolution. Diego Luna and Romola Garai are perfectly pretty and likeable, but they're just not Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.
Prepared by Jonathan Knapp
