Central Intelligence [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (2 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (3 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (C-)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2  Stars)

IMDb listng

BlackFlix.com (S. Ofole-Prince) review

CervenyKoberec.cz (E. Bartlová) review*
Fanboy Nation (S. Mulvihill) review
Fat Guys at the Movies (K. Carr) review

CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
ChicagoTribune (C. Covert) review
RogerEbert.com (M. Zoller-Seitz) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review  

Central Intelligence [2016] (directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, screenplay by Ike Barinholtz, Rawson Marshall Thurber and David Stassen story by Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen) is a fun if often _silly movie_ about ... oh, _so many things_ ... and honestly so many things _that matter_ (like "growing up," surviving bullying, _friendship_, coming to terms with who one is / has become) that despite appalling many of the "Citizen Kane [1941] or bust" school of film critics, will probably end up being one of my favorite movies of the year, and probably for years to come (Folks, I loved Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 [2015] last year as well ;-).

The film is about two guys first approaching their high school graduation, and then 20 years later approaching their 20th high school reunion.

The first is Calvin Joyner (played magnificently by Kevin Hart) who was graduating as the Star [TM] of his high school class -- Valedictorian, Varsity letterman in four, yes FOUR, sports (football, cross country, basketball and baseball (those who would not know, the traditional seasons in the U.S. for FOOTBALL and CROSS COUNTRY occur AT THE SAME TIME ;-), Star of Hamlet (!) in the school play Senior Year (again the play would have run during basketball season ;-), crowned Prom King (his girlfriend Maggie (played again wonderfully by Danielle Nicolet) crowned Prom Queen with him), voted hands-down / no-surprise "Most Likely to Succeed."

Twenty years later ... he's working at a random suburban accounting firm, just passed-up, again, for (even a sucky) promotion that he should have gotten years ago, by someone who's, well, ten years younger than him.   Yes, he's married to Maggie his high school sweetheart.  She's since made Partner at her law firm.  They have no kids, but one guesses that it's been mostly Calvin who's kept the breaks on that (Maggie would have been _happy as pie_ to have had kids by now).  But it's Calvin who's depressed now, indeed depressed _for years_ thinking _sincerely_ that his best years were LONG, LONG PASSED ... and NOW ... is coming that 20th High School Reunion ...

Feeling sorry for himself as the rest of the office is celebrating with the guy who got the promotion that he should have gotten ten years ago ... he gets a random "friend request" on Facebook from a Bob Stone who claims he knows him.  Who the heck is Bob Stone?  Again, feeling sorry for himself / not thinking clearly, he accepts the request and IMMEDIATELY gets a WILDLY INAPPROPRIATE (if sophomoric / still PG-13 level) video sent to him by his new FB buddy Bob Stone.   Of course he hits something and the video starts screaming across the office.  People start rushing toward his cubicle to see what it is.  "Hey man, that's so unprofessional for the office ..." one or another says.

Anyway, back to Bob Stone.  Turns out that he's in town for _the reunion_ and would really like to meet him for a couple of beers beforehand.  Again, Calvin is at a loss / dead-end in his life, accepts (even though it breaks a "marriage counseling appointment," that he's promised Maggie that he'd attend ... yes, even his marriage is now on the rocks...).

Calvin meets Bob Stone at some random agreed-upon bar, and ... Bob Stone (played again absolutely magnificently by Dwayne Johnson), who Calvin does not even initially recognize, turns out to be Robby Wierdich who had been a large, shy, overweight oaf (with a _terribly/tragically "evocative name"_) in high school, relentlessly picked-on by many.  After high school, he seemed to _just disappear_ and nobody (to be honest, not even Calvin) thought much about him.  Yet here he was, 20-years-later, a truly inspired pile of contradictions -- with a bodybuilder's body, but wearing a "unicorn t-shirt", having worked apparently the last 15 years as an agent for the CIA.

HE looked-up Calvin in the days prior to the 20th High School Reunion because HE remembered Calvin as his BEST (and only ...) FRIEND in High School _and_ for an act of kindness that Calvin had done for him back then: When HE was exposed _naked_ as a result of some terrible prank at the last "High School Pep Rally" that they had attended, CALVIN had handed Robby Wierdich (now Agent Bob Stone) his 4-time Varsity Letterman Jacket to COVER HIMSELF.  It was for that gesture of (what HE took was) FRIENDSHIP that HE wanted to thank Calvin for.  And besides it was clear that Robby- turned-Bob STILL ABSOLUTELY WORSHIPED Calvin as "The Golden Jet" of High School yesteryear, "The coolest kid in the class and yet had time to like me ..." (did he? / had he? ;-)

And so there they were ... Calvin and Bob ... meeting in a bar twenty years later, Calvin feeling sorry for himself for having ended up "being a nothing" in life, and BOB seeing in Calvin SOMEONE WHO HAD ABSOLUTELY SAVED HIM twenty years before...

The rest of the movie ensues ... and honestly folks WHAT A GREAT STORY about how THE SMALLEST OF GESTURES OF KINDNESS and _really have an impact_ (positively) on the lives of others.

YES, THIS IS OFTEN A SILLY MOVIE (featuring two famously silly comedians), but WHAT A WONDERFUL STORY IT IS AS WELL :-)

Great job!


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Finding Dory [2016]

MPAA (PG)  CNS/USCCB (A-1)  ChicagoTribune (3 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (3 Stars)  AVClub (B-)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RogerEbert.com (S. Wloszczyna) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review  


Finding Dory [2016] (codirected by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane, screenplay by Andrew Stanton, story by Andrew Stanton, Victoria Strouse  and Bob Peterson, characters by Andrew Stanton) is the long awaited sequel to one of Pixar's most beloved movies, Finding Nemo [2003].  Does it meet expectations?  IMHO, emphatically yes!

While in recent years, Pixar has indeed proven that it can make thematically lackluster films (many would think here immediately of Cars 2 [2012] and Monsters University [2013]) and has certainly shown itself capable of pandering to corporate / consumerist interests (one thinks here of the Cars and even, if one is honest about it, the Toy Story franchises) the current film would certainly belong to the "upper tier" of Pixar's creations -- which would include (IMHO perhaps somewhat grudgingly) those Toy Story [1995-2010] films but also Finding Nemo [2003], Ratatouille [2007], Wall-E [2008], Up [2009] and most recently Inside Out [2015].

What would put the current film into that "upper tier"?  I believe it's because a number of Pixar's films are truly _more_ than "just entertainment."  They teach some very, very nice truths about the needs to find / value friends and to feel loved, valued and included.   As such, these upper tier films become useful tools to help form children's / people's consciences. 

Dory (introduced to us in Finding Nemo [2003] and voiced again by Ellen DeGeneres) is a lovely story about a fish "with some challenges" (notably, indeed famously "with memory retention," we see her blissfully almost immediately forget almost everything that's told her at any instant).  And yet it's clear that she's a fish who is loved by both her friends and (as we learn in this film) by her parents.  Anybody struggling with a physical and/or intellectual challenge like Dory or has a loved one struggling with such a challenge will certainly appreciate this film. 

As such this film, as with the best of Pixar's work, will certainly help _all children_ and even _all people_ appreciate the unique opportunities that those _among us_ with special needs offer to the larger community (to family, friends, neighbors, classmates, employers and coworkers) to honestly show who we are: Do we care about others in need, or do we choose to walk by?

To "make it home," Dory really needed to help of a large number of (initially) strangers. 

This becomes one heck of a THOUGHTFUL / THOUGHT-PROVOKING FILM.


Great job!


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The Little Man (orig. Malý Pán) [2015]

MPAA (UR would be PG)  Fr. Dennis (despite misgivings 3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CSFD.cz listing*
FDB.cz listing*

Ceská Televize page about Malý Pán*

Aktuálně.cz (Jan Gregor) review*
ČervenýKoberec.cz (E. Bartlová) review*
iDnes.cz (M. Spáčilová) review*
Lidovky.cz (H. Petrželková) review*


The Little Man (orig. Malý Pán) [2015] [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDB]*(directed by Radek Beran [IMDb] [CSFD]* [FDB]*, screenplay by Lumír Tuček [IMDb] [CSFD]* [FDB]*, based on the children's book Velká Cesta Malého Pána [DbKn.cz]*[GR] [WCat-CZ] [WCat-ENG] by Lenka Uhlířová [DbKn.cz]*[GR] [WCat] [IMDb] and illustrated by Jiří Stach [Dbkn.cz]*[GR] [WCat] [IMDb]) is a CZECH / SLOVAK marionette [en.wikip] based children's animated film, made initially _for children_ by Czech TV*  The film played here recently in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center as part of the 2016 Czech That Film Tour organized annually by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Diplomatic Mission to the United States.

To be honest, I kinda "rolled my eyes" through much of the film even as _many_ of the Americans viewers around me watched with almost _jaw-dropped_ fascination.  NOTE TO THE MAKERS OF THIS FILM: Regardless of what my aesthetic sensibilities may urge me to say, you have something here!

I rolled my eyes because as "a good Czech immigrant kid," I grew-up knowing / experiencing a thing or two marionettes.  Indeed my mom, an artist, was one of several Czech immigrant artists who were _regularly enlisted_ by the local Czech Catholic Mission / Czechoslovak National Council here in Chicago to help paint / design sets (kulisi) for various children's "marionette theater" (loutkový divadlo) productions.  Indeed, I thought that those "back in the day" marionette productions were _just adorable_ ... You just can't really appreciate "Little Red Riding Hood" / "The Big Bad Wolf" or "Cinderella" quite the same way until you see these stories play out on a Marionette Stage ;-).

And I rolled my eyes for two specific reasons:

(1) I didn't particularly like _the aesthetics_ of some of marionettes which I found needlessly tending toward the grotesque.  I did not mind the "robot marionettes", the "air ship marrionettes" (indeed I found them both _current_ and "kinda cool" ;-).  The art form _has to progress_.  I understand that :-).  What I did mind is that the makers seemed to prefer the grotesque aesthetics of Monty Python [1988] or perhaps some of the more recent "claymation" works -- from Chicken Run [2000] to Anomalisa [2015] -- to the FAR FAR CUTER / FAR MORE ADORABLE aesthetics of _homegrown_ Czech children's toy design. 

And (2) after putting so much effort into creating some _really well crafted_ set designs (and even marionettes, even though I have just called a lot of them _needlessly_ ugly ;-) the puppeteering itself seemed quite _uninspired_.   The puppets just kinda bounced around and they don't have to.  One could do much better if one put in the effort the next time.

DON'T GET ME WRONG.  I do think that the FILM-MAKERS here are DEFINITELY ONTO SOMETHING HERE.  Making Prague the center of marionette animated films _could_ really become the Czech Republic's answer to both Ghibli, and Pixar.   But please don't throw away something that could really be(come) spectacular for aesthetics _borrowed_ from elsewhere (be it from the English (Monty Python), the Germans (their "gnomes" etc) or the Communists (where everything is "realistically" "covered by dirt" ;-).  A traditionally cheerful Czech or more generally SLAVIC aesthetic can a contribution to world culture as well.

And to let Readers here understand what I am talking about and what truly is possible, let me end by offering a link to a CLASSIC / SILENT Czech toy animated short called Vzpoura Hraček (The Rising of the Toys) [1946] [YouTube] [IMDb].  THAT IS WHAT'S POSSIBLE and WHAT A CONTRIBUTION IT WOULD BE, IF THIS AESTHETIC / ART-FORM was recovered and updated / expanded for the present !

Again, you're really onto something!


* Foreign language webpages are most easily translated using Google's Chrome Browser. 

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Private Revolutions: Young, Female, Egyptian [2014]

MPAA (UR would be PG-13 / R)  Fr. Dennis (4+ Stars)

IMDb listing

EPD-film.de (S. Hallesleben) review*
Spielfilm.de (C. Moll) review*

Islamic Arts Magazine (K. Šurković) review
Middle East Eye (M. Gadzo) review
Salanak.Dreamwidth.com (Salanak) review


Private Revolutions: Young, Female, Egyptian [2014] (written and directed by Alexandra Schneider) is a truly well-conceived and well-executed documentary by the AUSTRIAN film-maker who follows the lives/fortunes of four young women in EGYPT over the course of two years following the ARAB SPRING.  The film played recently The film played as part of the 14th Annual Chicago African Diaspora International Film Festival hosted recently by Facets Multimedia in Chicago and cosponsored by ArtMattan of New York.  The film is also currently available for streaming through the VOD service on vimeo.com for a reasonable price.

There is _so much_ that film-maker Alexandra Schneider _did right_ in making this documentary, beginning with simply her focus.  Instead of focusing on the "macro-politics" of the Arab Spring in Egypt - the overthrow of Mubarak, the subsequent election of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi to Egypt's presidency and his subsequent overthrow - she simply focused on the lives / fortunes of four young women each with her own story and priorities coming out of said story.  And _their stories_ cumulatively provide us with a fascinating and honestly _fair_ means of assessing the relative success / failure / progress made by the upheavals of the 2011 Arab Spring in Egypt.  For ultimately it does not really matter who lives in the Presidential palace or wears the Presidential sash.  IMHO what matters more is if regular people are able to find happiness and to live generally fulfilling and largely unencumbered lives. 

So who are the four young Egyptian women that Schneider chooses to follow (for two years) in her documentary?

There's Amani Eltunsi a young, initially smiling, 20-something, single, educated Egyptian feminist.  Western dressed, she's introduced to us as running a small Cairo feminist book store (honestly could have been in Greenwich Village) and an internet radio station.  She holds book discussions in her store on various feminist awareness raising topics ranging from those that Westerners would easily recognize/identify with (like discussions over questions of divorce or domestic violence) to those that generally shock most Westerners but _remain_ "a part of life" in Egypt / much of the Arab / Saharan world (like female circumcision - Amani herself had been circumcised as a nine year old.  Why?  "Because that's simply how it was when I was growing up."  Would she want this for her own daughters?  "NEVER!")  Honestly, Mubarak and _all_ the stagnation that he stood for, could not have fallen fast enough for her.

There's Fatema Abouzeid, similarly initially smiling, similarly _educated_ (completing a degree in Political Science during the course of the filming of the documentary), similarly 20-early-30-something, BUT hijab-wearing, married mother of three and from a family of active members of the Muslim Brotherhood in which she herself seemed to wholeheartedly believe.  

There's Sharbat Abdallah, 30-something, similarly hijab-wearing, similarly mother-of-three, less educated than the other three, but perhaps more all the more strident in her participation in the street protests on Tahrir Square that brought Mubarak down (and in as much it was not _insanely_ dangerous to do so, she'd return to the streets to protest the subsequent Morsi (Muslim Brotherhood backed) government and even the Military Dictatorship that followed) and SHE'D BRING HER KIDS ALONG, an activism that her husband did laugh at her for (but also did not impede her much either).  By midway through the documentary, Sharbat was filing for divorce against her not particularly supportive (but perhaps more-than-anything, seemingly somewhat "inert" husband ;-)

Finally, there's May Gah Allah, NUBIAN (hence from Southern Egypt, from an ethnic minority more related to the Sudanese than to the more Arab related people of Cairo), a similarly, and here ever-smiling, Western dressed, 20-something activist, who was using the window opened by the Arab Spring to promote some cultural development projects for her (Nubian) people in southern Egypt.  

These then were the four women in the documentary, and, interestingly, the different macro-political events that occurred in Egypt over the course of the two years in which this documentary was filmed -- from the fall of Mubarak to the fall of the Morsi (Muslim Brotherhood) Presidency to the rise of the new Military Dictatorship -- did have impact on two of the women's lives while it had no particular effect on the other two.

The election of the Muslim Brotherhood backed Morsi resulted in the previously ever-smiling / engaging Fatema Abouzeid to suddenly "drop out of the project" (without much explanation, 'cept a strong indication by her/herself that her participation in the film-maker's project had "caught notice" and was no longer being looked-upon favorably from "above."

Then if Amani Eltunsi did not much like Mubarak, the year that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood were in power in Egypt proved _much more frightening to her_.  HER BOOKSTORE WAS BURNED DOWN (seriously) and her INTERNET RADIO STATION WAS HACKED.  She ended-up _leaving Egypt_ for Dubai for the duration the Morsi's Presidency and only cautiously returned to Egypt some months after the return of Military Rule.

But it would seem that the lives and projects of the other two, Sharbat Abdallah and May Gah Allah, did not seem to face much disruption.  Again Sharbat eventually filed for divorce against her husband and May seemed to march along, even with some somewhat entrenched local opposition, with her Nubian-oriented development plans.  Perhaps the "instability" existing "at the top" made both of their lives somewhat easier (for the moment ...)

It all makes for a FASCINATING documentary and one that I'd certainly recommend to ANYONE seeking to study / understand local community level activism.  Again, "big things" were happening "far above" and "far away" but what were the "down to earth" impacts (both problems and opportunities) for "regular people" down "at ground level"?

AN EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT STUDY / FILM !


* Foreign language webpages are most easily translated using Google's Chrome Browser. 

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The Man Who Mends Women (orig. L'Homme qui répare les femmes) [2015]

MPAA (UR would be R)  Fr. Dennis (4 stars)

IMDb listing
Allocine.fr listing*
CinEuropa.org listing

Black Star News review
DiaNova.org review
MoviesThatMatter.nl review
Opportunity Lives (C. LeBon) review
 
Critikat.com (A. Leysens) review*
La Croix (M. Soyeux) review* 
Le Monde (Thomas Sotinel) review*
TF1 (J. Faure) review*


The Man Who Mends Women (orig. L'Homme qui répare les femmes) [2015] [IMDb] [AC.fr]*[CEu] (directed and cowritten by Thierry Michel [IMDb] [AC.fr]*[CEu] along with Colette Braeckman [IMDb] [CEu]) is an excellent BELGIAN, CONGOLESE, AMERICAN documentary about the celebrated, three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and EU's Sakharov Prize winning Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and his multifaceted work with (and advocacy on behalf of) the rape victims of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and especially along its eastern border with Rwanda.  The film played as part of the 14th Annual Chicago African Diaspora International Film Festival hosted recently by Facets Multimedia in Chicago and its American distributor is ArtMattan which cosponsors the festival.

Over the last several decades, it has become increasingly clear that sexual violence against women conducted in the context of war needs to be classified as a War Crime.   This documentary along with another entitled The Uncondemned [2015] certainly make the point.  (Earlier, the drama directed by Angelina Jolie, In the Land of Blood and Honey [2011] advocated for the same point).

The physical, social and psychic damage inflicted on women (and children) by war-time rape, often gang rape, is simply horrendous.  The film, if often remaining clinical in its description of the physical damage caused by such rape to both women and girls, leaves no doubt that the victims are often mutilated in shockingly awful ways that prevent them from _ever_ leading normal lives afterwards.  There is also the obvious shame that such victimization brings to its victims even though it's clearly not their fault.  Finally, there are the necessary _years of coping_ -- often largely alone, without much help of family members who themselves often feel ashamed, in good part, because they proved unable or unwilling to risk their own lives to prevent the suffering inflicted on their loved ones -- with the most intimate / fundamental of life-altering physical injuries that one simply did not / could not possibly have deserved. 

Viewers are introduced to the remarkably holistic program that the good Dr. Dennis Mukwege has been able to put together (with lots of Western help) for these women, from: (1) using the services of volunteer western doctors to physically repair in as much as that is possible, the _physical damage_ that had been inflicted on the rape victims, (2) offering "boarding school"-like "recovery centers" to the rape victims, where TOGETHER with other rape victims they are slowly able to come to terms with their injuries / attendant psychic scars AND GET TRAINED IN SKILLS that would allow them to leave these centers with the capacity to live _independent_ lives (again _a lot_ of these women and girls have been abandoned by their families); to finally (3) advocacy for trials of perpetrators of rape so that at least some semblance of justice is done AND (4) advocacy targeted toward the male members of society to encourage them to stand-up (again together) against the armed perpetrators of rape so as to better defend the women/girls of their families. 

Viewers will certainly be impressed with what Dr. Mukwege, the son of a Pentacostalist Minister, has been able to accomplish.  And while it's clear that he's done this motivated by his Christian faith it's obvious that he's far more interested simply fixing / mending broken lives rather than "making converts." Besides it becomes pretty clear that most of the people in this part of the Congo, victims, perpetrators and bystanders are already (at least nominally...) Christian anyway.   Hence the language of his faith is as motivation for his actions appears to be clearly comprehensible to all he serves. 

It all makes for one excellent documentary about someone that Viewers deserve to know about and indeed support.  Great job!


* Foreign language webpages are most easily translated using Google's Chrome Browser. 

 << NOTE - Do you like what you've been reading here?  If you do then consider giving a small donation to this Blog (sugg. $6 _non-recurring_) _every so often_ to continue/further its operation.  To donate just CLICK HERE.  Thank you! :-) >>

Gangster Ka [2015]

MPAA (R)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CSFD.cz listing*
FDB.cz listing*
CinEuropa.org listing

ČervenýKoberec.cz (V. Staňková) review*
iDnes.cz (M. Spáčilová) review*
Novinky.cz (V. Míšková) review*


Gangster Ka [2015] [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDB]*[CEu] (directed and screenplay cowritten by Jan Pachl [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDB]*[CEu] along with Czech writer/investigative reporter Jaroslav Kmenta [cs.wikip] [DbKn.cz]*[GR] [WCat] [Amzn-USA] [IMDb] based on Kmenta's books [Dbkn.cz-1]*[Dbkn.cz-2]*[DbKn.cz-3]*[Eng-Amzn-1] about now South Africa residing fugitive Czech swindler-turned-gangster Radovan Krejčíř [en.wikip] [cs.wikip]*) is a contemporary Czech gangster film (the first of a planned two part project) that played recently as part of the 2016 Czech That Film Tour organized annually by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Czech Diplomatic Mission to the United States. As part of said film tour, the film played recently here in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

The story of the fictionalized Radim Kraviec aka Káčko or simply as in the film's title Ká (played by Hynek Čermák [IMDb] [CSFD]*[FDB]*) makes for an interesting cautionary tale and arguably "forwards" / "makes its contribution" to the (gangster) genre.  This is because Ká didn't begin as completely evil.  To be sure, he _did_ begin as a crook, getting his hands (in a frustratingly unexplained manner...) on a fairly _huge_ stack of (counterfeit?) (Czech) currency.

But that's what Ká's BFF / principal goon (gauner in Czech) named Dardan (played by Predrag Bjelac [IMDb] [CSFD]* [FDB]*) tells us that (coal mining town) Ostrava-born Ká sincerely believed was _all_ that he really needed to "make it" in life -- get his hands on a really big stash of (seed) money.

With said stash of money, Ká appeared to want to live life according to what is (quite realistically if also quite depressingly) the central credo of  much of contemporary Czech life -- the belief that "If only one had the money, then one could truly buy _anything_" and, more to the point, "That's the way it should be."  "Don't cry, just learn to play the game..."  Sigh ...

And so with his _big_ stash of ill-gotten cash, Ká went to work.  He blew-out of provincial Ostrava, bought himself a thoroughly chic/modern mansion somewhere on the outskirts of Prague complete with its own shark-tank (to amuse and perhaps vaguely threaten guests ...) and a garage full of the most expensive cars that one could ever imagine, and impressing / marrying then a sweet / drop-dead gorgeous Czech playboy model named Sandra (played wonderfully by Vlastina Svátková [IMDb] [CSFD]* [FDB]*) who _also_ seemed to think that with Ká she now had it made.

Then having _created_ this very impressive "image" of/for himself, he used a good portion of the rest of his money to both "buy access" to other large scale swindles (notably with the State Gas/Petroleum Company) and to pay-off public officials to keep them at bay.   What could go wrong?

Indeed, his approach seemed so characteristically _Czech_ (again, I'm of Czech descent):  Yes, the "violence option" was _always_ there but in a strange "Just (Mob) War Theory" approach ;-) Ká (and perhaps other Czech mobsters) saw it as truly "a last resort."  First, you just try to buy people off.  Then, if that doesn't work, you bring out the lawyers, who'll also often enough come up with a larger, more formal, financial arrangement (or "financial arrangement") to "settle things" to "everyone's satisfaction."  Only when that doesn't work, you bring out the goons.  Why needlessly "pound heads" (or "pull out teeth...") if "a little grease" could "align" everybody in the proper direction and make everybody rich / happy?

Yes, but ... (1) No one can really escape one's past (there were folks, of course, who "knew Ká's number" from "Ostrava days"), (2) ill-gotten money always tends to get spent rather fast (that chic mansion w. shark tank / fast cars "didn't come cheap" plus the cost of other "habits" starts "to add up," (3) finally, "The Law" can be "kept at bay" for a while, but it'll "always be hovering."

So Ká's "shark tank" becomes a metaphor for his whole story:  Even sharks _don't_ spend most of their time "attacking."  Instead, they actually spend most of their time _swimming_, _circling_, _calculating_ until ...

Fascinating film ;-) ... and _hopefully_ a cautionary tale reminding us that no matter how smart we may think we are, we're almost certainly _not_ smart enough to out-smart Evil ...


* Foreign language webpages are most easily translated using Google's Chrome Browser. 

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Now You See Me 2 [2016]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (2 Stars)  RogerEbert.com (2 Stars)  AVClub (B)  Fr. Dennis (2 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (K. Jensen) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RogerEbert.com (M. Zoller Seitz) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review  


Now You See Me 2 [2016] (directed by Jon M. Chu, screenplay by screenplay by Ed Solomon, story by Ed Solomon and Pete Chiearelli based on characters by Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt) continues a _fun_ if honestly _absurd_ Robin Hood-like franchise in which a group of magicians who in the first film coalesced as "The Four Horsemen" -- returning in the current film are three: J. Daniel Atlas (played by Jesse Eisenberg) who's graduated in this film becoming something of a David Copperfield-like illusionst, Merritt McKinney (played by Woody Harrelson) who's focused his attention in this film to become the group's hypnotist and Jack Wilder (played by Dave Franco) who's become the group's card trick expert, and replacing Henley Reeves, the escape artist of the previous film, is Lula (played by Lizzy Chaplan) who comes on the scene as a scrappy if talented wannabe -- use their skills to swindle super-rich people notably a billionaire bad-boy Arthur Tresser (played by Michael Caine) in oh so public fashion to the cheers of multitudes of regular people.   Oh, if it'd be _that_ easy ... ;-).  (Arthur Tresser comes back in this sequel seeking revenge...)

Stacked against the Robin Hood like Apocalyptic "Horsemen" are nominally both "The Law" personified by FBI agents Dylan Rhodes (played by Mark Ruffalo), Natalie Austin (played by Sanaa Lathan) and Agent Cowan (played by David Warshofsky) and then "professional debunkers" like Thaddeus Bradley (played by Morgan Freeman) but as in magic, so in life, "who's actually on whose side?"  It ain't that simple ;-)

Adding to the mix are various other super-rich people, notably two rival IT billionaires Allen Scott-Frank (played by Henry Lloyd-Hughes) and Walter Mabry (played by Daniel Radcliffe), who try their hands at manipulating / harnessing the skills of "The Four Horsemen" to _their_ benefit.

Much ensues as the story hops from New York to Macao to London at the end.  Indeed, enjoyable are the inspired additions of Li (played by Jay Chao) and especially his mother Bu (played by Tsai Chin) to the cast, who run a lowly if historic "magic shop" in Macao and yet seem to be involved in "Chinese Secret Society-like" fashion in far-far-bigger things than both the characters in the story (and Viewers watching it play-out) could hardly imagine ;-)

Again, it all makes for a fun ride.  Just honestly "don't think too much" ;-)


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