marek-slovak

Karamazovi is newest movie from director Petr Zelenka which is by one group accepted as great screenwriter and really cosmopolitan director and by another group as poseur writing one dimensional characters with unrealistic dialogue and not much good storyteller. Karamazovi, adaptation of Dostojevskij masterpiece, and also adaptation of stage-play written by Czech director Evald Schorm, is his best piece so far.

In Zelenka's movies characters tried to get out from Czech Republic and if foreigns come to us, they're documenting us as some strangers (Japanese in Samotari/Loners). Karamazovi's plot is about concurs for a stage play at alternative festival in Poland and actors plays themselves, one of them trying to get out of Poland because he has got some filming in Czech Republic! Point of view has changed, but great atmosphere (thanks to composer A.P. Kaczmarek and cinematographer) with great actors (especially those who plays in Czech TV shitty-serials).

Zelenka in one interview said that he won't to shot movie like Trier his Dogville/Manderly and that he doesn't like his movies, especially last ones. But Karamazovi is sort of "Five Obstruction" auteur-destruction: Ivan Trojan gives another character DVD Loners (Loners was written by Zelenka and Trojan plays there, he plays even in last Zečlenka's movies Pribehy obycejneho silenstvi and now in Karamazovi) and one of character is epileptic same as Zelenka's wife so it's kind of in-joke.

Main thesis of this movie is that without an audience there is no art. Yeah, Zelenka'not really good storyteller and don't know what to do whit female characters... but Karamazovi is second best Czech movie for long years (after Vnewest movie by director Bohdan Slama Venkovsky ucitel, sadly not at IMDb). If you're thinking that Czech cinematography after 1898 is good, so... You're wrong because by year there's probably 20 or more movies and just three are watchable! And Karamazovi is that sort of movie that isn't good just for Czech audience (yeah, not another tragic comedy by Hrebejk!), but it's great for everybody. Because everyboy's are Karamazovi.

Jet Li is in mess, Jackie Chan is too old and Bruce Lee is dead, but real action (and realistic action) movie has new God, who was called Tony Jaa. When i really hard think what i've criticize on movie except silly story and terribly acting in emotional scenes, occurred to me - Ong Bak is schizophrenic movie: one half is an adventure movie ala Indiana Jones and second is "arena flick" like Bloodsport. I was disappointed from only one thing: Game of Death has fight with big basketball player, Way of the Dragon an arena fight and Fist of fury street training, but Ong Bak haven't something "goddest" what i've remember for all my f*ckin' life. Movie without wires or stunt mens is in all true renaissance of a genre, comeback of stupid 80', if influence from Tony Scott and Sidney Lumet is very strong, but it isn't a steeling - it's a wink to American cinematography (in some scenes are visible word markings addressing to Steven Spielberg and Luc Besson, on the wall is picture of Scott's Spy Game etc.). Choreography and funny moments aren't so strong as in Jackie Chan's HK movies, so ,Italic' "riksa-chase" isn't too much funny, sadly some serious moments are funny - inadvertently. So I'm still very happy to see a "sequel" of one of the best action movie I've ever seen.

I really don't know if it's a mistake from Rodriguez, who couldn't tell a story in right way, or pedant Frank Miller, bad screenwriter (for example: Robocop 2 and 3), who wants an adaptation word from a word and comics picture to a same movie picture, but effect is interesting experiment and mix of two medias --- in a wrong way... Sin City is so silly, so manner (and over hyped) and schizophrenic (colour of the blood), and what's important - not a noir or neonoir! Noir movies have cynical main character, voice-over which tells what happens in the twisted story, but never says, what character thinks in a way of Sin City, and game of light and shadow was was never accidental. Some actors overplay (Rourke, Rutger), "underplay" (Del Toro, Owen), was funny in emotional scene (Alba, Dawson), or just totally out (Wood and Madsen)... "Sin City - City without oar live", how somebody said, has last 5 minutes of the film which aren't from any of the Frank Miller's book, but that sequence destroys all the atmosphere with a Mobil phone and medical machines, and it's bad pointed and timed... Movie wasn't have a temp or even rhythm, just static camera and circus music, bloody scene are so over stylized it's funny (maybe it was be funny?), but Sin City isn't glorification of violence. Sin City is just a wrap, nothing under it.

P.S. I apologize for my English, but I'm from Czech Republic.