This week's premiere
photo: Tatrafilm
The Girl Next Door (Sexbomba odvedľa) - Comedy by Luke Greenfield. This teen comedy, a love story about a former female porn star (Elisha Cuthbert) and the innocent male high school student (Emile Hirsch) she moves next to, could have been clever and subversive. Unfortunately, the screenwriters apparently didn't figure out how to fully deal with their premise. It is sporadically funny and it occasionally comes close to the poignancy it so regularly strives for, but in the end it feels incomplete and far too safe.
Ladder 49 (Posádka 49) - Drama by Jay W Russell. Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta star in the first firefighting movie since the September 11 attacks propelled New York's finest to hero status. Phoenix plays Jack Morrison, a Baltimore firefighter who looks back on his life while trapped in a burning building. Travolta plays his chief, and Jacinda Barrett of MTV's The Real World plays his wife.
Other movies playing
Open Water (Otvorené more) - Thriller by Chris Kentis. Generally, it's a good idea to make the protagonists likeable when the movie's sole purpose is to generate suspense over whether or not they will die. At the beginning of Open Water, Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are reasonably likeable, if not particularly fascinating. But after they are stranded at sea on a scuba-diving trip, everything goes wrong. As the minutes tick by, and the sharks begin to encircle our increasingly irritating heroes, one can't help but think, "Just get it over with already!"
photo: Continental Films
Ocean's Twelve (Dannyho dvanástka) - Action comedy by Steven Soderbergh. Though not exactly brilliant, the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven was more than worthy of the 1960 original, which starred the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, and two guys you probably haven't heard of). But, with Steven Soderbergh at the helm, it was no surprise that it was such a fast-paced and stylish good time. He and practically the entire cast return for the sequel, which sees Danny Ocean (George Clooney) leading his group of criminals into Europe, where they plan three separate heists. Still angry about being outsmarted in the first movie, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) aims to stop them. French actor Vincent Cassell joins the cast, which includes Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, and a whole bunch of other famous people.
Prepared by Jonathan Knapp
