This week's premiere
Photo: SPI International
Alexander (Alexander Veľký) - Historical epic by Oliver Stone. You can always count on Oliver Stone to stir up some sort of controversy. With this film, it has centered on the sexuality of the titular protagonist (Colin Farrell). A group of Greek businessmen, apparently in denial about what historians widely accept as common sexual practice among the ancient Greeks, took great offence when they heard that Stone dealt frankly with Alexander's bisexuality. The businessmen calmed down once the movie opened, however, as reports from viewers stated that the depiction of the great Greek leader's sexuality wasn't really that frank at all. As it turns out, the most shocking thing about the movie is a casting choice: Are we actually supposed to believe that Angelina Jolie, 29, could be the mother of Colin Farrell, who is one year her junior? As it turns out, the Greek businessmen had another reason to calm down: With a frequency that almost equals the historical acceptance of ancient Greek bisexuality, audiences have fled from Alexander.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Resident Evil: Apokalypsa) - Action horror by Alexander Witt. There are really only three reasons to see this movie: You love the video game, you love zombie movies, or you love Milla Jovovich. For those of us who fit into one or more of these categories, it's a pretty good time; for those who don't, it's a waste. As an example of the zombie genre, it's truthfully not that great. But c'mon: the walking dead, corporate greed, gore, and Milla Jovovich. How can you go wrong?
Photo: Tatrafilm
Mean Girls (Protivné baby) - Comedy by Mark S Waters. In what is perhaps the best teen comedy since Clueless, or at least Bring It On, 2004's "It" Girl, Lindsay Lohan, shows that her promising turn in last year's Freaky Friday was no fluke. She plays Cady, who at the age of 15 returns to her homeland (US) after spending most of her childhood being homeschooled by her zoologist parents in Africa. After quickly learning to navigate the high school social structure, she must decide whom to embrace: the good-hearted outsiders or the shallow and mean girls, aka the "Plastics".
Other movies playing
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 door 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.
Prepared by Jonathan Knapp
