Monthly Archives: August 2016

the team slowly comes together … but is it not too late? (Film: Star Trek Beyond – Justin Lin, 2016)

It takes time to build mythology. The original Star Trek was a TV show that ran for years and was followed by next and other generations of space-ships, commanders and crews, some of them memorable, other easier to forget. The … Continue reading

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Woody Allen, edition 2016 (Film: Cafe Society – Woody Allen, 2016)

There are a few, very few things one can rely on happening every year, since the 1990s. First there is a Christmas – and yes, also a Passover – taking place each year. Then, there is the Woody Allen film … Continue reading

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Carte: Ian Buruma, Avishai Margalit – Occidentalismul

Occidentalismul este un termen care a fost ales si in parte definit ca antiteza a Orientalismului in interpretarea descrisa de profesorul palestinian-american Edward Said in cartea cu acest nume publicata in 1978. Desi termenul insusi de Orientalism este cunoscut in … Continue reading

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in the woods (Film: Schmitke – Stepan Altrichter, 2014)

The second film that I have seen in the Czech film festival at our local cinematheque was a first long feature film by director Stepan Altrichter, actually a co-production between the German and Czech studios, mostly spoken in German, as … Continue reading

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the magic of ‘seven’ does not fully work (Film: Seven Psychopaths – Martin McDonagh, 2012)

There is a magic about the number ‘seven’ in cinema among other places. Some say it started with Snow White, other will mention Kurosawa. Fact is that many successful films used this magic and succeeded, some of them succeeded great. … Continue reading

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selling weapons is not nice kids business (Film: War Dogs – Todd Philips, 2016)

‘War Dogs‘ is the second movie ‘inspired by a true story’ that I have seen in the last 24 hours, and is actually the one that I liked better (the other one being ‘The Infiltrator’). Its film-making style (director Todd Phillips) … Continue reading

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‘boring and watchable’ (Film: The Infiltrator – Brad Furman, 2016)

I could not avoid borrowing the qualifications used by a Web site from Toronto when writing about this film. It’s ‘boring and watchable’. An unusual combination indeed. And yet, this is exactly how I feel about ‘The Infiltrator’ directed by … Continue reading

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beauty and gore (Film: The Neon Demon – Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016)

I liked director Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Drive. I read it as a love story disguised in a violent action movie, an uneasy combination that worked perfectly, to a large extent thanks to the presence in the lead role of Ryan … Continue reading

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efficient crime schmaltz (3 Days to Kill – Kevin Costner, 2014)

Sometimes melodrama works. Then the reviewer in me faces a dilemma. I know that you need to buy into the story in order to feel anything in a melodrama, but who does not buy into it if they are parents, … Continue reading

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family troubles (Film: The Snake Brothers – Jan Prusinovský, 2015)

This may be the first Czech film that I see in 40 years. The occasion is the Czech film festival hold in my city (and several other Cinematheques) in Israel. The good news are that the Czech cinema seems to … Continue reading

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