Lima

Let's forget about the traditional Russian imperial appetites, their classic ignorance of where their borders end, and let's just focus on this film. When Hollywood came up with an adaptation of Tolstoy's novel in 1956, it might have been seen as sacrilege in the MosFilm of the time. To paraphrase the title of Episode 5 of Star Wars, the Soviet Empire struck back and ten years later, in a spectacular style unprecedented up to that time, showed how they envisioned Tolstoy's novel in film form. Writing about Sergei Bondarchuk's War and Peace is very rewarding, because there really is something to talk about, and and it has to be said that no superlatives need be spared. I'll start with the records: it is still the most expensive film of all time. It holds the Guinness World Record for the number of outdoor locations where it was filmed, 168. 120,000 extras took part in the filming of the gigantic battles!!! The filming took seven years and the result is a breathtaking seven hours of cinematic orgasm. Whether it's the monumental battles, or the scene of the burning of Moscow, with the streets full of flying ash, in its day, in the cinema on 70mm panoramic, it was a real blast. The leading roles were played by the complete cast of Soviet cinema, including the director in the title role. Unfortunately, even such a gigantic work is not perfect. While Bondarchuk impresses as a director of mass scenes, he sometimes fails in the interior, subtly conceived scenes. But that's just a small complaint, otherwise it's a a massive delicious steak, to use a culinary simile.

If I was a lonely nihilist who doesn't know what to do with his life and is looking for a (dubious) role model, I’d probably be rooting for this movie, but I suffered through it. The probe into the depths of the dark soul worked in the first film thanks in part to its glorious cinematic foreshadowing and Todd Phillips' unorthodox approach, but it also said all the essentials, so I really have no idea why I should dig into that emotional morass again for another two and a quarter hours without going anywhere. At the same time, Phillips had so many options for how to proceed, how to open the Joker gates of anarchy, and he chose the worst one: to chew through the entire first film again, thanks to the recollections of the participants at the trial, in a trial that lasts an hour and a half (!). Moreover, with an ending that pushes the whole thing even further into the category of "useless act". I was at least looking forward to some nice cinematography like the first film had, but all the nicely shot scenes were burned through in two minutes by the trailer. I'm sorry that my favorite Joaquin Phoenix broke his policy of never making a sequel in his career .... because of this. A sprinkling of Golden Raspberries awaits.

A now time-tested classic that relies on great practical effects that easily leave today's CGI crap biting the dust, with giant worms who seem to have come out of the best of Stan Winston's productions. In terms of plot, it's an admittedly monster B-movie, but with A-list production and top-notch practical effects. The 'City of Perfection' settlement with its 14 likeable residents is brilliant, Val and Earl are a great partnering duo who bring light-hearted guy humour and there's not a single deaf spot. The way the protagonists always come up with an idea to avoid or somehow dispose of one of the three giant mosnters is in no way a match for the antics of the legendary MacGyver. Almost the entire second half plays out over the few hectares of the small settlement, but that small space is imaginatively made the most of.