kisfermi Reviews

Radius (2017)

Cover art goes a long way

[7/10 · 18 November 2023]

I clicked on this movie to read its synopsis because of its cover art (not the one shown here, but where the protagonists are standing in a black circle), then the synopsis was intriguing enough to watch the whole movie - and I wasn't disappointed. While enjoying the unfolding plot, I was constantly worried that the ending would be lame, particularly considering the relatively low score (6.3 at the time of this writing). But the different twists throughout the movie kept it engaging, and the ending didn't leave me dissatisfied either. In my opinion, the movie deserves a solid 6.8, and is highly recommended as a nice evening entertainment.

Triangle (2009)

I hoped it would be better...

[5/10 · 18 November 2023]

This movie's "big idea" definitely had a lot of potential, and I did enjoy the suspense as the plot was unfolding, but at the end it fell a bit short of the promises, IMHO. A good sci-fi / fantasy must require some suspension of disbelief by definition, but within its altered reality, the story should still make an effort to make sense - that's exactly what makes the story a good one. I admit, I did like the scenes inspired by The Prestige (trying hard not to give out any spoilers here - if you know, you know :-) ) - but with all things considered, I would only give this movie a 5.0, plus maybe half a point for the great legs. :-)

Roncsfilm (1992)

No bueno

[4/10 · 17 July 2022]

I don't wanna rain on anybody's parade, but this was a very bad movie, and I am appalled that so many highly regarded actors and actresses actually signed up for it. I lived in Budapest in the late 80's and early 90's - not exactly on the featured "Harpoon Street," but I still doubt that the film had any roots in reality. The vignettes (or whatever we wanna call them) were bizarre and nonsensical, making the movie (almost) exactly what the title is: a train wreck. As for the puns and references, I'm assuming that "Sernevál" was supposed to be the swine-equivalent of Barnevál, but as such, it completely lacks the witty pun in the original name.

For a GOOD depiction of the life in post-Eastern-Bloc Hungary, I'd rather recommend "Édes Emma, drága Böbe," which is indeed excellent movie (ironically with a notable overlap in the cast). Arguably, it is a completely different genre, so the comparison is not 100% fair, but the point remains: Roncsfilm is a stinker, even as a comedy.

Zimmer Feri (1998)

What a Joke (But Not Funny)!

[2/10 · 31 July 2011]

The other day this movie became a topic of discussion between my buddies and I, so out of curiosity I checked in with IMDb so see the viewer rating and comments, and got completely appalled by the high score and raving reviews this movie received! Not trying to be overly harsh here, but this movie would barely pass as a summer vacation project of 8th graders! The story, the overall sense of humor and the individual jokes are so poor that they're not even worth ranting about; I got about two anemic chuckles throughout the entire movie. I believe the "burlesque-feeling" in one of the previous reviews is trying to refer to the cinematography, which was more of a video clip knock-off than real burlesque - in the memory of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, let's try not using this word in this case...! I'm still puzzled by how this magnificent cast ended up getting suckered into this nonsense. In a totally ironic way, this movie did become a good historic account of the "try to get rich with sub-par effort" attitude of post-socialist Hungary - through its own self!

In summery, the only thing I liked about this movie was the sound track. By not measuring up even to "Baby Geniuses", I'm giving this movie a 1.5/10 (rounded up to in the vote pulldown). If you enjoy humorous and bizarre, but want to see a quality movie, go watch "Kontroll".

The Puffy Chair (2005)

A Very Nice Surprise!

[9/10 · 29 December 2009]

I watched this movie on a sleepy "nothing good is on, but I just don't feel like doing anything serious right now" afternoon during the Winter Holidays, but was in for a very nice surprise. It's a linear plot, yet, it's far from being predictable. But what I liked the most about this flick is its exquisite sense of humor; it probably also helped that to me Joshua's character was somewhat reminiscent to that of Peter Gibbons in my all-time favorite movie Office Space. In a general sense, this movie really reminded me of Before Sunset in terms of its overall charm and the natural nature :-) of acting. (Unfortunately I haven't seen Before Sunrise yet, so I can't really refer to that one in this comparison.) So to conclude, this movie was well-written, well-directed and very well-acted; it would be nice to see more indie masterpieces like this.

Les sous-doués (1980)

Still Loved this Movie!

[9/10 · 11 February 2005]

I saw this movie back in Hungary, when I myself was also in high school, and absolutely loved it. Today I had a chance to see it again, and was a little worried that being 20 years older, and having seen so many more movies since then, I may end up being disappointed. But fortunately it didn't happen! I still found the jokes, the kids and the faculty hilariously funny. The movie successfully transpired that distinct CUTE goofiness we liked so much in other French movies (most notably in those of Louis de Funes), but is completely missing from otherwise brilliant flicks like American Pie. I wish I could find this movie in English, at least with subtitles; I'm sure the American education system could relate to it real good...

Ps.: Our hard-working people will be victorious! ;-)

O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization (1985)

A true classic, an absolute Must-See!

[9/10 · 13 June 2002]

I saw this movie in Hungary a long time ago, and it immediately became one of my all-time favorites, sharing this distinguished title with Tarantino's & Spielberg's films. (I haven't been successful in locating a dubbed or captioned English version so far. English language support would greatly increase the chances of this masterpiece for being recognized across the world.)

The movie is totally grotesque, and often shocking, spiced up with the perfect amount of cynicism & delicate humor. It is the ultimate depressing negative utopia; much superior in every sense to most flicks spewed up by Hollywood in the same genre.