crystalmh3698 Reviews

Hastrman (2018)

Beauty and the Beast Bohemian style

[9/10 · 9 April 2019]

I am still thinking about this film and all of the amazing dialogue full of clever double entendres. A sincere thank you to Ondrej Havelka for pulling great performances out of this talented cast. Outstanding chemistry between Karel Dobry and Simona Zmrzla when they are on the screen you can not look away. I was so delighted to see the Pagan influence in the film and how upset it made the hypocrite priest. I have Bohemian blood running through my veins and I am a very proud Pagan so it made a lasting impression on me. Simona Zmrzla was perfectly cast as Katynka Kolarova, charming, playful, mischievous, passionate and incredibly beautiful. Of course all of the people in the town were in love with her or jealous of her. I am a little in love with her myself!! Katynka and Simona!! The natural beauty of the area they shot the film was appreciated it did not look like green screen work.I truly wanted to believe that it was the Bohemian Empire in the early 19th century. Mr. Dobry spent a lot of time in the water and it looked very chilly, clearly he was very committed to this role. There is a lot of dark humor in this film and that is something I love. I saw this film in San Francisco, California at the Roxie Theater at the annual Czech That Film Festival. Keep making films like this for me and other Czech people in the USA. Sending you all kindness and love (especially Simona) from the last of the Hosek clan in Frisco.

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Amazing (Atomic) action sequences

[9/10 · 17 February 2019]

I have worked in the healthcare field for over 30 years and I loved the way it graphically showed someone getting stabbed and still not dying. Most films show someone getting stabbed once and they fall down dead. The truth is it takes several minutes for someone to bleed to death from stab wounds. There are exceptions to this but I don't want to spoil anything. Sofia Boutella is delightful and charming. James McAvoy uses his beefed up "Beast" body in this film. Charlize is an amazing strong, brilliant, clever MI6 agent. She is also flawed, fragile and vulnerable. As Lorraine, Theron carries herself with so much confidence it is almost impossible to take your eyes off of her. And the soundtrack is so awesome. Remembering where you were when the Berlin Wall came down put me in a very pleasant reminiscing mood. At this point I have watched it a dozen times and I will watch it again.

Appropriate Behavior (2014)

Heartbroken woman makes a lot of bad/ funny decisions

[10/10 · 2 July 2014]

I saw this film at Frameline 38 on June 27, 2014 at 7 pm in San Francisco at the amazing Castro Theater. Writer, director and lead actress Desiree Akhavan shows us the story of Shirin who is a wonderful, loving, flawed, fragile, F**ked up human being just like the rest of us. She will not get over her ex-girlfriend, she looks for love in all the wrong places (with hilarious results) and has very limited success when trying to come out to her family who have a selective hearing problem. The Q & A after the film was wonderful and Ms. Akhavan is clearly the Queer, Persian equivalent of Sandra Bullock - funny, talented, charming, intelligent, beautiful and very comfortable with her awkwardness. Absolutely delightful - go see this film.

Eat with Me (2014)

Mom and son drama with a crazy fun neighbor

[10/10 · 2 July 2014]

I saw this film at Frameline 38 in San Francisco on June 26, 2014 at 4 pm at the magnificent Castro Theater. This is the funniest movie I have seen in years. Outstanding performances from Sharon Omi and Teddy Chen Culver as Mom and Son - who have no idea how to communicate with each other. Mom leaves Dad (because they don't know how to communicate with each other) moves in with Son and wackiness happens. Nicole Sullivan is the free spirited next door neighbor who steals every scene she is in. David Au's writing is brilliant and Nicole's comedic delivery and timing is perfect. George Takai makes a wonderful appearance and there are some dumplings thrown in the mix. This is a fabulous, fun, family film with food and everyone should see it. I saw 25 films at Frameline this year and this was my favorite.

Glena (2014)

One tough lady loves to fight

[10/10 · 15 June 2014]

I saw this amazing film at SF Indie Doc Fest at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and had the pleasure of meeting Glena and her two charming children Angel and Annie. This film is their story not just about Glena and her MMA career, it is a look into the lives of this family that struggles with all the things that most families go through. Glena just also happens to be a MMA fighter "It's just her job" Annie pointed out during the Q & A. This is an absolute MUST SEE film!! Everyone should take the time to get to know Glena and her family. I must admit I had an incredible amount of anxiety during the fight scenes, they are intense. A very nice surprise is the amount of mutual respect that the women have for each other. One minute they are beating the crap out of each other and then when it's over they embrace and engage in some mutual admiration small talk. Just a wonderful film, GO SEE IT!!!!!

Sukiyaki with Love (2013)

A cheater gets what he deserves

[10/10 · 19 March 2014]

I just saw this short at the CAAM film festival here in San Francisco and it is my favorite short of the festival so far. I can't really tell you much of anything without spoiling it so I will focus on the Q&A with Akiko. When asked what the inspiration for the film was she stated that she had dated a lot of bad guys and this is a great way for her to get even. I am sure they know who they are. She also said she needed to get something done for a very small amount of money. Which proves you don't need a lot of money to make a good film, good acting and a good story make a good film. I wish it had been a longer short, mostly because I was enjoying it so much. I hope that Akiko will make a horror/ vengeance feature film soon, she obviously has a tremendous talent in this area.

Cheap Thrills (I) (2013)

What would you do for $250,000?

[10/10 · 15 March 2014]

This film won the Grand Prize Audience Award at the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in December 2013. This was the 10th year that Another Hole in the Head has taken place in San Francisco but for some reason the IMDb would not let me post this information in the awards section so I will put it in my review. This is a great movie and the guys competing for the $$ really do push themselves. I am planning on seeing this movie again it will be playing at my favorite theater (Roxie) here in San Francisco and I am going to get a bunch of my friends to come with me. There are shocks, surprises (some pleasant- some not) and Sara (Violet) Paxton is just wonderful and beautiful in this role, she spends a lot of time unaffected by what's going on like it's just another day. But it is her birthday and when she does get involved in the games that are being played it adds an extra level of intensity to an already intense film. This is a must see for anyone who has ever enjoyed a dark comedy.

Awful Nice (2013)

Stupid Funny Sibling Rivalry

[8/10 · 7 March 2014]

Very funny movie especially if you have a dumba** little brother. It started out the second scene with Dave eating a Deep Fried Breaded Pork Loin Sandwich if you are from Middle America you probably know what I am talking about. It's one of the few things I miss about the Midwest and it looked wonderful. I thought the relationship between the brothers was a lot of fun and yes the fighting was predictable and over the top but I was thoroughly entertained by the ridiculous behavior. There are some very funny and kinda dirty shout outs to the "Wild Things" movie. Christopher Meloni is great as the squirrel loving not so legitimate business partner of Dave and Jim's dearly departed father. Toss in Branson Russian Mafia, prostitutes, a lot of alcohol and a bunch of other silly stuff. Don't take it (or yourself) too seriously and you will have a good time.

It's Not You, It's Me (2013)

Rom Com + Herman's Head = Funny

[8/10 · 19 January 2014]

The lead actors were wonderful but the supporting cast stole the show. Erick Avari as the brainy decision maker in Dave's mind, that doesn't work out to well most of the time, Maggie Wheeler as Dave's therapist, you remember her from friends. Vivica A. Fox and Ary Katz have the best LMFAO scenes in this. During the Q & A Nathan Ives did give a shout out to Herman's Head clearly the inner dialogue of our two lead characters was inspired by this 90's sitcom. This movie is definitely worth seeing especially if you need to laugh about your own f***ed up relationship bulls**t. Lots of great one liners that I would love to tell you about but that would be a spoiler. You will love Carrie's nightmarish re-entry into the dating scene. Go see it.

Truth or Dare (II) (2013)

Truth or Dare game gone too far

[10/10 · 19 December 2013]

Great balance of Horror/Humor/Gore. We were promised the most F***ked up film we have ever seen. Whether or not it is the "most f***ked up" is still being debated by the Pass Holders for the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival here in San Francisco because we see a lot of F***ked up stuff and we like it like that. There was a moment in the film when about 5 or 6 of us Pass Holders all looked at each other and we knew that we were seeing something very special in our beloved genre. We all quietly spoke the words "This is pretty f***ked up" Jessica Cameron delivers what she promises. This is a must see for all you freaks who love this genre.