The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia!

A comic book masterpiece & a miscast musical in cinemas from 7.8.08

Jason Pirodsky

Written by Jason Pirodsky Published on 05.08.2008 12:04:39 (updated on 05.08.2008) Reading time: 21 minutes

Reviews by Jason Pirodsky
for Expats.cz

A blockbuster masterpiece that lives up to – and surpasses – almost impossible expectations, Christopher Nolan´s The Dark Knight is, perhaps, the first film to truly transcend the genre trappings of a comic-book movie and give us a legitimate piece of visionary cinema. This is, yes, a movie that features a man in a rubber bat suit chasing after a man wearing clown makeup, but this isn´t at all a movie about those characters; they´re mere metaphors in Nolan´s structural descendent of Heat (a connection that the director acknowledges) that serve to create a view of humanity as pitch-black and stark as Blade Runner or Taxi Driver. The 1966 Adam West-starring Batman: The Movie (and to a lesser extent, the TV series that aired at the same time) was a brilliant satire that viciously lampooned the very idea of grown men running around like this, and has influenced almost every superhero movie since then (even the best, Superman or Spider-Man 2 or this year´s Iron Man, have always had that wink-wink, don´t-take-us-too-seriously mentality.) The Dark Knight is the very first antithesis of this; Nolan´s rigid adherence to realism has produced a superhero movie as serious and scary as any other non-genre film.

The Dark Knight
Rating:
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Monique Curnen, Ron Dean, Cillian Murphy, Chin Han, Nestor Carbonell, Eric Roberts, Ritchie Coster, Anthony Michael Hall, Keith Szarabajka, Colin McFarlane, Joshua Harto, Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, Michael Jai White, William Fichtner. Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan &  David S. Goyer, from characters created by Bob Kane.
Showtimes
IMDb link

We pick up right where Nolan´s Batman Begins left off, quite literally for those who recall the foreshadowing at the end of the previous film. There´s a maniac robbing banks (The Joker, played brilliantly by Heath Ledger), and there are a variety of ineffective Batman-inspired vigilantes running around town, but of more concern to the real Batman (Christian Bale) is the continuing stronghold the mafia has been able to maintain over Gotham. Despite putting Carmine Falcone away in the previous film, several others have popped up in his place, including the arrogant Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts). A new district attorney, however, inspires hope in Bruce Wayne and other citizens: ‘White Knight´ Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) promises to clean up the city and rid Gotham of the mafia influence. After a mafia accountant transports all of Gotham´s mob money overseas, Batman vows to bring him back to have Dent and police chief Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) make him sing. But when the pressure exerted on the mafia becomes too great, they turn to The Joker, a man who they do not understand, and there´s no going back.

A lot has been and will be said about Ledger´s performance as the Joker; the actor is nothing short of phenomenal, completely disappearing into what should be a showy, scenery-chewing role and re-creating the character in a way that Jack Nicholson was incapable of in Tim Burton’s 1989 film (as good as Nicholson is, his Joker was still all Nicholson). Aided by writing that wisely chooses to ignore any origin or backstory, the Joker is simply evil incarnate, an agent of chaos, and Ledger has created the most memorable and terrifying screen villain since Anthony Hopkins´ Hannibal Lector. He´s so good that, for the duration of the film, the thought the actor was no longer with us had never entered my mind. Of course, that fact is devastating in retrospect. Towards the end of the film, Ledger´s Joker says something to Batman along the lines of “you and I are fated to do this forever”, a line that perfectly summarizes the relationship between the two (as well as any superhero and arch-villain); it´s all too sad that the line cannot live beyond the boundaries of cinema, and within those boundaries – I´m not sure how long it will be before we see another screen Joker, but no actor will be able to sufficiently replace Ledger in the role.

While Ledger´s performance overshadows the rest of the cast – and this is, really, The Joker´s film – other performances are equally good. Eckhart is outstanding as Dent, the embodiment of Gotham´s ‘White Knight´, all-good and something that goes tragically beyond. While Bale won´t receive much acclaim, he´s excellent as Bruce Wayne and Batman, a more grizzled and world-weary hero than we saw in Batman Begins. Returning characters all seem to carry more weight here than they did in the previous film: Oldman´s Gordon, Michael Caine´s Alfred, Morgan Freeman´s Lucius Fox, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes) all get their moments to shine here, and shine they do.

This is a real achievement for Nolan; not only has he done something special in the comic book universe, but it´s one hell of a ride. Compelling all the way through, this a riveting crime tale told with all the urgency of Michael Mann or William Friedkin at their best. Cinematography perfectly creates a real-world Gotham; most of the exteriors were shot in Chicago, but you´ll never doubt that this Gotham isn´t a living, breathing city that exists somewhere out there. Nolan´s Batman Begins was a good-enough origin tale but The Dark Knight is something else entirely.

Music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer is outstanding; gone is any kind of recognizable Danny Elfman-like theme, instead we´re propelled through the film by an electrifying, pulsating score that demands that we pay attention to the screen (the electronic, Kraftwerk-inspired Joker theme that opens the film and reappears throughout is best of all).

While this isn´t a perfect film, it is a near-perfect one. The only real flaw that I can harp on is dialogue that’s repeated and sometimes overstated in an effort to hammer home every point. I also cannot say I was completely satisfied by the ending, but the film is so good up to that point I´m willing to grant the director the benefit of the doubt (and unlike something like There Will Be Blood, there´s no audience-splitting 180-degree shift in style here). Dark, grim, and unrelenting, this isn´t a film that everyone can enjoy, but I do think that most will appreciate. It´s a masterpiece, and does for the comic-book film what something like Blade Runner did for sci-fi.

***

Mamma Mia!
Rating:
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Rachel McDowall, Ashley Lilley. Written by Catherine Johnson.
Showtimes
IMDb link

You couldn´t get further away from The Dark Knight than Phyllida Lloyd´s Mamma Mia!, an embarrassingly miscast musical akin to a Beach Blanket Bingo flick that has had all the fun drained out of it by the presence of A-list actors. ABBA´s music can be plenty fun, and Mamma Mia! has fleeting, all-too-brief glimpses of that fun. But Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and co. don´t really sing here; they tend to dictate the lyrics to us as if they had some greater meaning, warbling away like William Shatner minus the irony, and draining any entertainment value from the airy ABBA songs. The result: musical torture the likes of which hasn´t been seen since Paint Your Wagon or Camelot; prepare for Brosnan´s garbled version of S.O.S. to reach internet meme status on a level only previously explored by Shatner or David Hasselhoff. And hey, why wait; here you go.

Amanda Seyfried stars as Sophie, a young woman about to marry fiancée Sky (Dominic Cooper) at her mother´s dilapidated hotel on a Greek island. She only has one regret: she´s never known her father. In an effort to find him, she invites the three men her mother was with around the time of her conception to the wedding, with the hopes to identify her true father through a nonstop parade of ABBA songs. There´s your plot, no twists, no turns, nothing to really advance it beyond a single concept and the inevitable revelation at the end, and no points for guessing that ending, either. If you´re going to this film, I hope you love ABBA´s songs, and I hope you love when amateurs sing them. That´s what you´re getting here, in spades.

The first song we get is a rendition of I Have a Dream, sung by Seyfried to a pair of friends played by Rachel McDowall and Ashley Lilley, and I thought we´d be in for some good goofy fun. Seyfried is terrific, perfectly suited to this material, a little box of cute with wide puppy-dog eyes. McDowall and Lilley share her enthusiasm (as does Cooper, along with the rest of the young cast, relegated to extra status), the island scenery is great, and hey, we could have fun with this on some kind of Frankie & Annette level. But no; the two friends completely disappear from the film after that first song, as a parade of ‘proper’ actors are marched on in: Meryl Streep as the mother, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski as her friends, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård as the father candidates. None of whom can sing, of course, and of course, the film lets them sing away for the rest of the movie, pushing the young, spirited cast to background scenery.

Brosnan is ridiculous, but the worst offenders are Walters and Baranski – I´m sorry, but Baranski is a dead ringer for The Goddess Bunny here – and the film is run into the ground with bad rendition after bad rendition. Firth, perhaps, fares best, as he and Skarsgård have a mercifully light workload (the light workload cannot save Skarsgård, however). Streep is the most vocally talented, but she´s still completely unsuited to this material, and she knows it and looks embarrassed throughout. And we feel the same way.

And yet, while I cannot enjoy this film I can enjoy the existence of it on some perverse level. Go in with the right frame of mind and I dare say you´ll be entertained.

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05.12.12:Anna Karenina ★★★
29.11.12:Argo ★★★★ | Seven Psychopaths ★★★★
22.11.12: Cloud Atlas ★★★★ | Chasing Mavericks ★★★ | Silent Hill: Revelation 3D ★½
15.11.12: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 ★★½Wreck-It Ralph ★★★
8.11.12: End of Watch ★★★½ 
1.11.12: Sinister ★★★½ 
25.10.12: Skyfall ★★★½ | Samsara ★★★★ | George Harrison: Living in the Material World ★★★½
18.10.12: Paranormal Activity 4 ★★ | Bachelorette ★★
11.10.12:Looper ★★★★
4.10.12:Taken 2 ★½ | The Possession ★★½
27.9.12:Savages ★★★ | Hit and Run ★★★ | The Watch ★★½
20.9.12:Lawless ★★★ | The Words ★★ | Paranorman ★★★½
16.9.12:Brave ★★★ | 7 Days in Havana ★★★
13.9.12:Hope Springs ★★★ | Resident Evil: Retribution ★★
6.9.12:The Expendables 2 ★★★
30.8.12:Step Up Revolution ★★
16.8.12:Total Recall ★½
9.8.12:The Bourne Legacy ★★★ | Beasts of the Southern Wild ★★★★ | Cosmopolis ★★★
2.8.12:Ted ★★★
26.7.12:The Dark Knight Rises ★★★½ | The Angel’s Share ★★★
19.7.12:Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ★★ | To Rome with Love
12.7.12:The Amazing Spider-Man ★★½ | Moonrise Kingdom ★★★★ | Magic Mike ★★★ | Iron Sky
28.6.12:Ice Age: Continental Drift ★★★
21.6.12:What to Expect When You’re Expecting ★½ | Piranha 3DD ★½
14.6.12:Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted ★★½ | A Few Best Men ★★
7.6.12:Prometheus ★★★★
31.5.12:Men in Black 3 ★★½Snow White and the Huntsman ★★ | 2 Days in New York ★★★
27.5.12:The Pirates! Band of Misfits ★★★½
24.5.12:Get the Gringo ★★★ | Lockout ★★½ | Urbanized ★★★
17.5.12:The Dictator ★★★
10.5.12:Dark Shadows ★★★ | StreetDance 2 ★½
3.5.12:The Avengers ★★★½ | Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ★★★
26.4.12:The Raven ★★½
19.4.12:Battleship ★★½ | The Lucky One ★★½ | This Must Be the Place ★★★ | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ★★½ | Hysteria ★★½
12.4.12:We Bought a Zoo ★★★ | The Cold Light of Day ★½ | One for the Money ★
5.4.12:American Reunion ★★★
29.3.12:Wrath of the Titans ★★ | The Vow
22.3.12:The Hunger Games ★★★ | Bel Ami ★★★ | We Need to Talk About Kevin ★★★½
15.3.12:The Lorax ★★½
8.3.12:John Carter ★★★ | Haywire ★★★ | The Grey ★★★
5.3.12:The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think ★★★★
1.3.12:Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance ★★ | The Iron Lady ★½ | The Devil Inside ★
23.2.12:War Horse ★★★½ | The Woman in Black ★★★ | My Week with Marilyn ★★½ | This Means War ★½
16.2.12:The Artist ★★★★ | Shame ★★★★ | Safe House ★★½
9.2.12:The Phantom Menace 3D ★★★ | Man on a Ledge ★★½ | The Ides of March ★★★½ | Jack and Jill ★
2.2.12:Hugo ★★★★ | Chronicle ★★★ | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ★★½ | Perfect Sense ★★½
26.1.12:Contraband ★★½ | A Dangerous Method ★★★ | Carnage ★★★ | The Help ★★★
19.1.12:The Descendants ★★★½ | Underworld: Awakening ★★
12.1.12:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ★★★½ | Machine Gun Preacher ★★½
8.1.12:A Separation ★★★★
5.1.12:Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ★★★½
29.12.11:The Darkest Hour ★★
22.12.11:The Inbetweeners Movie ★★ | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ★½
15.12.11:Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ★★★
8.12.11:New Year’s Eve ★½ | The Rum Diary ★★★½ | The Thing ★★½
1.12.11:Moneyball ★★★★ | Puss in Boots ★★★
24.11.11:Immortals ★★★
17.11.11:The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 ★★★½ | I Don’t Know How She Does It ★
10.11.11:Real Steel ★★★ | Tower Heist ★★½ | Anonymous ★★½
3.11.11: In Time ★★½
27.10.11:Adventures of Tintin ★★★★ | The Debt ★★½ | Larry Crowne ★★½ | Cave of Forgotten Dreams ★★★½
20.10.11:Paranormal Activity 3 ★★★ | The Three Musketeers ★ | Contagion ★★★½
13.10.11:Johnny English Reborn ★★½
6.10.11:Killer Elite ★★★ | One Day ★★ | Dream House ★½
29.9.11:Friends with Benefits ★★½ | Abduction ★
27.9.11:The Skin I Live In ★★★½
22.9.11:Midnight in Paris ★★★½ | Colombiana ★★½ | Shark Night 3D ★½
15.9.11:Drive ★★★★ | Pina ★★★½ | Crazy, Stupid, Love. ★★½ | Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ★★½
8.9.11:Super 8 ★★★½ | Final Destination 5 ★★★
25.8.11:Cowboys & Aliens ★★
18.8.11:Conan the Barbarian ★★ | Green Lantern ★★½ | Win Win ★★★½ | Womb ★½
11.8.11:Rise of the Planet of the Apes ★★★ | The Lincoln Lawyer ★★★
4.8.11:Captain America: The First Avenger ★★★ | Horrible Bosses ★★★
28.7.11:Cars 2 ★★½ | Jane Eyre ★★★½ | Bad Teacher ★½ | The Resident ★★
21.7.11:The Tree of Life ★★★★ | The Mechanic ★★
14.7.11:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ★★★½ | Submarine ★★★½
7.7.11:Hanna ★★★½ | Bridesmaids ★★★½
30.6.11:Transformers: Dark of the Moon ★½
16.6.11:Your Highness ★½
9.6.11:The Hangover Part 2 ★★★ | Paul ★★½ | Skyline ★½
2.6.11:X-Men: First Class ★★★½
26.5.11:Melancholia ★★★★
19.5.11:Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ★★½
12.5.11:Priest 3D ★★ | Water for Elephants ★★★ | Something Borrowed ★★ | Tetro ★★★½
5.5.11: Fast Five
28.4.11: Thor
21.4.11: Source Code | The Eagle | Mr. Nice
14.4.11: Scream 4 | Just Go with It | Unknown | Somewhere
7.4.11: The Way Back | Love and Other Drugs | Jack Goes Boating | I Am Number Four
31.3.11: Sucker Punch | No Strings Attached | My Soul to Take
24.3.11: Limitless
17.3.11: The Dilemma | The Rite | Sanctum
10.3.11: Rango | The King’s Speech
3.3.11: The Adjustment Bureau | Drive Angry 3D
24.2.11: The Fighter | Morning Glory
17.2.11: True Grit | Burlesque
10.2.11: Black Swan | London Boulevard
3.2.11: 127 Hours
27.1.11: The Tourist | Tangled | Chain Letter
20.1.11: The Next Three Days | Gulliver’s Travels
13.1.11: The Green Hornet | Season of the Witch | Another Year
6.1.11: The Kids Are All Right | The Good Heart
16.12.10: TRON: Legacy | Paranormal Activity 2
9.12.10: Megamind
2.12.10: Due Date | The American
25.11.10: The Other Guys | The Switch
18.11.10: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
11.11.10: Howl | Devil
4.11.10: The Social Network | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Saw 3D
28.10.10: Red | Animal Kingdom
21.10.10: Four Lions
14.10.10: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Eat Pray Love | Machete
7.10.10: DVD Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop
30.9.10: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
23.9.10: Resident Evil: Afterlife
16.9.10: The Karate Kid | Going the Distance
9.9.10: Největší z Čechů
2.9.10: Step Up 3D | Ondine
26.8.10: Grown Ups
19.8.10: The Expendables | The Sorcerer’s Apprentice | A Serious Man | When You’re Strange
12.8.10: Salt
5.8.10: Get Him to the Greek
29.7.10: Knight and Day | Bunny and the Bull
22.7.10: Inception | Agora
15.7.10: Shrek Forever After | A Single Man | The Rebound | Mr. Nobody
8.7.10: Predators | Letters to Juliet
1.7.10: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
24.6.10: Killers | Solomon Kane
17.6.10: Toy Story 3 | The A-Team | From Paris with Love | The Back-up Plan
10.6.10: The Ghost Writer
3.6.10: Sex and the City 2 | Green Zone
27.5.10: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Brooklyn’s Finest | Precious
20.5.10: Hot Tub Time Machine
13.5.10: Robin Hood | Whatever Works
6.5.10: Kick-Ass
29.4.10: Iron Man 2 | The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans | The Road
22.4.10: The Bounty Hunter | The Crazies
15.4.10: Clash of the Titans | An Education
1.4.10: Moon | The Men Who Stare at Goats | Everybody’s Fine
25.3.10: Remember Me | Leap Year | Babylon A.D.
18.3.10: The Lovely Bones | Legion
11.3.10: Daybreakers | Dear John | Mammoth
4.3.10: Alice in Wonderland | Nine
25.2.10: Shutter Island | The Hurt Locker
18.2.10: The Wolfman | Valentine’s Day | Edge of Darkness
11.2.10: The Book of Eli | In Search of a Midnight Kiss
4.2.10: Capitalism: A Love Story | Brothers | The Box | Did You Hear About the Morgans?
28.1.10: Up in the Air | The Fourth Kind | New York, I Love You
21.1.10: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | It’s Complicated | Black Dynamite
14.1.10: Sherlock Holmes
7.1.10: Fame
17.12.09: Avatar | Whip It
10.12.09: Spread
3.12.09: Zombieland | A Perfect Getaway
26.11.09: The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Antichrist
19.11.09: Paranormal Activity | Law Abiding Citizen | The Time Traveller’s Wife
12.11.09: 2012
5.11.09: My Life in Ruins
29.10.09: This Is It, Love Happens, Halloween II
22.10.09: Fifty Dead Men Walking, Saw VI
15.10.09: The Brothers Bloom, The Ugly Truth, The Final Destination
8.10.09: Surrogates
1.10.09: Julie & Julia, Hunger
24.9.09: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Gamer, Night of the Living Dead 3D
17.9.09: District 9
3.9.09: The Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Wire
27.8.09: Inglourious Basterds, Taking Woodstock, The Proposal
20.8.09: Up, Two Lovers
13.8.09: G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra
6.8.09: Brüno
30.7.09: The Boat That Rocked, Away We Go, Knowing
23.7.09: Crank: High Voltage, Bronson, The Accidental Husband
16.7.09: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Limits of Control
9.7.09: Public Enemies, The Wrestler
2.7.09: Fighting
25.6.09: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
18.6.09: The Hangover, Drag Me to Hell, Zack and Miri Make a Porno
11.6.09: Coraline, The Secret of Moonacre
4.6.09: Terminator Salvation, I Love You, Man
28.5.09: State of Play, Bottle Shock, New in Town
21.5.09: The Last House on the Left
14.5.09: Angels & Demons
7.5.09: Star Trek, Duplicity, 17 Again
30.4.09: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, My Bloody Valentine
23.4.09: Synecdoche, New York, The Reader, Friday the 13th
16.4.09: Gran Torino, Defiance, Hotel for Dogs, Confessions of a Shopaholic
9.4.09: The Visitor, Happy-Go-Lucky
2.4.09: Fast & Furious, Bride Wars
19.3.09: He’s Just Not That Into You, Battle in Seattle, Sex Drive, The Unborn
12.3.09: Seven Pounds, Marley & Me
5.3.09: Watchmen, Doubt
26.2.09: Slumdog Millionaire, The Duchess, The Pink Panther 2
19.2.09: Frost/Nixon, The Spirit, Transporter 3, City of Ember, Bolt
12.2.09: Valkyrie, Milk
5.2.09: The Tale of Despereaux, Bedtime Stories
29.1.09: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road
22.1.09: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Traitor
15.1.09: Burn After Reading, Yes Man, Che: Part One, My Best Friend’s Girl
8.1.09: Changeling
2.1.09: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
25.12.08: Australia
11.12.08: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Four Christmases, Paranoid Park, Make It Happen
4.12.08: Bangkok Dangerous, High School Musical 3: Senior Year
27.11.08: Twilight, Body of Lies
20.11.08: Death Race, Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Strangers
13.11.08: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
6.11.08: Quantum of Solace, The Women
30.10.08: Max Payne, Nights in Rodanthe, The Other Boleyn Girl
23.10.08: Vicki Christina Barcelona, The Forbidden Kingdom
16.10.08: Nightwatching, Taken, Juno
9.10.08: Elegy, Mirrors
2.10.08: Eagle Eye, Disaster Movie
25.9.08: 2 Days in Paris
18.9.08: Tropic Thunder, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
04.9.08: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Journey to the Center of the Earth
28.8.08: You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
21.8.08: Funny Games U.S.
14.8.08: WALL•E, Meet Dave, Then She Found Me, The Orphanage
7.8.08: The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia!
31.7.08: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
24.7.08: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
17.7.08: The Incredible Hulk, Shine a Light, Be Kind Rewind, Nim’s Island, Made of Honor
10.7.08: Get Smart
3.7.08: Kung Fu Panda, Hancock
26.6.08: Wanted
19.6.08: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
12.6.08: The Happening, My Blueberry Nights
5.6.08: Sex and the City, Penelope
29.5.08: 21, Untraceable
22.5.08: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
15.5.08: What Happens in Vegas
8.5.08: In Bruges, Speed Racer
1.5.08: Iron Man, Paris, je t’aime
24.4.08: Into the Wild, Fools Gold, Wedding Daze, Superhero Movie
17.4.08: Breath, Frontier(s)
10.4.08: Horton Hears a Who, Doomsday, Vantage Point, Sleuth
3.4.08: In the Valley of Elah, The Bucket List
27.3.08: There Will Be Blood, 27 Dresses
20.3.08: Resurrecting the Champ, Reservation Road
13.3.08: Control, 10,000 BC
6.3.08: 3:10 to Yuma, Jumper
28.2.08: No Country for Old Men, Step Up 2 the Streets
21.2.08: Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead, Rambo, The Eye
14.2.08: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Charlie Wilsons War, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
7.2.08: Sweeney Todd, We Own the Night, The Kite Runner
31.1.08: Atonement
24.1.08: The Darjeeling Limited, Cloverfield
17.1.08: Michael Clayton, Lust, Caution, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.1.08: Eastern Promises, I Am Legend
3.1.08: American Gangster
20.12.07: P.S. I Love You
13.12.07: The Golden Compass, Hitman
29.11.07: Across the Universe, Beowolf, Balls of Fury, Halloween
22.11.07: Shoot Em Up, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
15.11.07: The Heartbreak Kid, Resident Evil: Extinction
8.11.07: Lions for Lambs, The Last Legion
1.11.07: 30 Days of Night, The Invasion, Sicko, The Good Shepherd
25.10.07: Once, Superbad, Feast of Love, The Seeker
18.10.07: The Brave One, A Mighty Heart
11.10.07: The Kingdom, 1408, Becoming Jane, Snow Cake
4.10.07: Knocked Up
27.9.07: Stardust, Grindhouse, Gympl
20.9.07: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Evening, Disturbia
13.9.07: Ratatouille, The Hoax, No Reservations
6.9.07: Rush Hour 3, Day Watch, Medvidek
30.8.07: The Bourne Ultimatum, Irina Palm
23.8.07: Hairspray, Planet Terror, Evan Almighty, Interview
16.8.07: Transformers
9.8.07: Mr. Brooks, Pans Labyrinth, Surfs Up
2.8.07: Fracture, Venus, Next
26.7.07: The Simpsons Movie, Angel
19.7.07: Harry Potter 5, The Good Night
12.7.07: Inland Empire, Factory Girl, The Messengers, Hostel 2
5.7.07: Death Proof, Oceans 13, Miss Potter, Fantastic Four 2
28.6.07: Live Free or Die Hard
21.6.07: Pathfinder, Curse of the Golden Flower
14.6.07: Shrek the Third
7.6.07: Hot Fuzz, Zodiac, Because I Said So
31.5.07: Premonition, Black Book
24.5.07: Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
17.5.07: The Number 23
10.5.07: Renaissance, The Painted Veil, Wild Hogs, Epic Movie
3.5.07: Spider-Man 3, Copying Beethoven, Sherrybaby
26.4.07: Shooter, The Reaping
19.4.07: Sunshine, Alpha Dog, TMNT, Perfect Stranger
12.4.07: The Hill Have Eyes II, Norbit
5.4.07: Stranger Than Fiction, Notes on a Scandal, Meet the Robinsons, Red Road, Blood & Chocolate
29.3.07: Flags of our Fathers
22.3.07: 300, Sketches of Frank Gehry, Black Christmas
15.3.07: Ghost Rider, Music and Lyrics, Feast, Employee of the Month 
8.3.07: The Fountain
1.3.07: Rocky Balboa, School for Scoundrels
22.2.07: Little Children, Babel, Dreamgirls, Hannibal Rising, The Darwin Awards
15.2.07: Smokin Aces, The Queen
8.2.07: The Last King of Scotland, Pursuit of Happyness, and Crank

Czech Films

Green Horse Rustlers (18.09.16)
The Wolf of Royal Vineyard Street (14.09.16)
The Teacher (30.08.16)
We Are Never Alone (20.04.16)
Pat and Mat: The Movie (07.04.16)
Teorie tygra (05.04.16)
I, Olga Hepnarová (31.03.16)
Rudý kapitán (17.03.16)
Rodinný film (25.02.16)
Lída Baarová
(22.01.16)
Amerika (01.11.15)
Domácí péče (Home Care) (02.08.15)
Mallory (27.07.15)
Malý Pán (The Little Man) (08.05.15)
Fotograf
(20.03.15)
Kobry a užovky (The Snake Brothers) (10.03.15)
Pohádkář (Storyteller) (01.12.14)
Magický hlas rebelky (The Magic Voice of a Rebel) (05.08.14)
Parádně pokecal (Totally Talking) (05.08.14)
Díra u Hanušovic (Nowhere in Moravia) (25.07.14)
Všiváci (03.07.14)
Cesta ven (10.06.14)
Olga (22.05.14)
Hany (19.05.14)
Signál (20.11.12)
Spalovač mrtvol (16.10.12)
Lemonade Joe (17.9.12)
Svatá čtveřice (16.9.12) 
Poupata (23.8.12)
Lidice (27.6.12)
Tmář a jeho rod aneb Slzavé údolí pyramid (28.5.12)
Vendeta (26.5.12)
Alois Nebel
(2.5.12)
Rodina je základ státu
(3.4.12)
V peřině
(14.2.12)
Odcházení (Leaving)
(16.1.12)
Tajemství hradu v Karpatech
(26.10.11)
Katka (1.9.2011)
Rozmarné léto (Capricious Summer) (20.8.2011)
Kuky se vrací (25.7.2011)
Přežít svůj život (Surviving Life) (23.6.2011)
Občanský průkaz (23.5.2011)
Pouta (22.3.2011)
Kristián (07.02.11)
Kajínek (20.12.10)
Protektor (15.11.10)
Největší z Čechů (09.09.10)
Kinoautomat (22.06.09)
Na půdě aneb Kdo má dneska narozeniny? (07.04.09)
Bathory (12.07.08)
Domov (05.02.08)
Gympl (02.10.07)
Medvídek (10.09.07)
I Served the King of England (21.01.07)
Pravidla lži (19.12.06)
Grandhotel (05.12.06)
Hezké chvilky bez záruky (29.09.06)
Kráska v nesnázích (08.09.06)
Šílení (21.12.05)

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