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Toma (2021)
10/10
Meet the Serbian Elvis Presley
11 October 2021
At a time when Elvis Presley, was breaking the hearts of American girls with his songs, the Balkans had their Toma, whose heart was breaking by Yugoslav girls.

While Elvis would dance with his audience, stealing their smiles, Toma would bring his audience to tears by singing his melancholic notes, inspired by his life. As much as I am sure that most people in the world think that Elvis lives, through his songs, I am not so sure that so many people know the reason why the Balkans believe that Toma has never and will never die.

Toma is inwrought into every being from the Balkans so much that no wedding, celebration or even an ordinary student party cannot be imagined without the magnificent songs of this bohemian king. It is not so difficult to understand that if you decide to visit the "kingdom" in which Toma was one of the longest and most beloved "kings". It is located in the capital of Serbia, in its bohemian quarter called Skadarlija.

Every kingdom has its own fairy tale, so we (people from the Balkans) leave you in a fairy tale, wrote in an explosion of emotions, in which all the magic that gave this man the "crown" he wore was created and that gave us the legend with which we still cry, laugh, marry, celebrate, and mourn.

This time we gave you our best movie. A movie about our immortal Toma.

Enjoy and see you in "kafana"! (I am sure you will understand what it is. Let the feelings show you) :)
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8/10
The Great Shock finally!
31 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
There is no good audience if there is no love for sudden and big shocks caused by events or action in a movie. The death of the main characters is the best way to do that. When we already know all that, then it is up to the director and screenwriters to make the most spectacular shock. And they succeeded in that. The final scene with Dumbledore's death is perfect. Well done! We are shocked, in disbelief and full of anticipation. That's the effect of a good movie. Thanks JKR for the great character of Dumbledore. We will never forget him. I made this event as a first part of commenting on this piece of Harry Potter because that's what I've been waiting for a long time. Announcing the news that a spectacular finale of this saga awaits us in the best and most striking way possible. The evaluation of the characters has been raised to a high level, the mystique and darling are dominant throughout the film and the wizarding world we are used to is finally more realistic than magical. The insertion of the mystical Half-Blood Prince whose identity is later revealed is masterful. The scene of the entry of Lord Voldemort's followers after the assassination of Dumbledore is great and spectacular. Lots of good scenes and action. Just keep it that way because this movie deserves it. wrote a great book and set a difficult task for the screenwriters and directors to shoot it. I like the plot of the film because it keeps me in suspense and on the other hand it pulls me to think about how this saga could end. There is no need for me to comment on this part of the film in more detail because it is commendable and I want it to remain so because I feel that I will need the strength to comment in the next, final, parts of the film.
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7/10
Now, the situation is becomes serous!
31 May 2020
I can't say that the plot of this part of the film is as interesting as the plot we are used to in previous parts of the film, but I can definitely say that this part breathed life into the idea of a new dimension of the film. To everything else in the film (characters, scenes, dialogues, etc.). All this heat-up of the plot, accompanied by the development of Lord Voldemort in the background, is a very nice way to say goodbye to the elements of the film that make it childish. Watching this part of the film, the world of magic we are used to becomes more realistic and thus better in the domain that no matter how much we know that magic is beautiful and useful it can also be dangerous and uncontrolled and that is a good effect. The plot in this part of the film is not as interesting to me personally as it was in the previous parts of the film, but I am willing to relax and let JKR do what it intended to do, and that is to finish this story spectacularly and as much as possible realistically. Introducing the character of Professor Dolores is a great idea but I think her tyranny could have been portrayed a little better with stronger effects to the detriment of other actions in the film that were unnecessary. I don't like the way Dolores was eliminated because I think it could have been a more spectacular way to symbolize the end of a disgusting tyranny. The Order of the Phoenix is a great idea, but unfortunately it has not been given the attention it deserves. I believe this is because it is impossible to screen a book, which we are used to when it comes to Harry Potter books. Perhaps we could have paid a little more attention to the Order of the Phoenix itself as well as Dumbledore's army because somehow Professor Dolores, the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army and Lord Voldemort are key elements of the film. I see this film as a continuation of the seriousness of Harry Potter, which in the last scene in this part of the film made it clear that the next sequels will be more serious, darker and more realistic and therefore worthy of the name Harry Potter and his fame in the world. Finally all the children go into oblivion and all the adults enter the game. I would praise the murder of one of the main characters, at the end of the film, but I personally didn't like the way it was done because I think it was supposed to be more emotional and somehow stronger and bigger. Either way, I am ready to enter the final phase of this film from which I expect a dramatic and screenwriting spectacle.
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8/10
Here we go!
31 May 2020
Bearing in mind my commentary on the previous three parts of Harry Potter, I can say that I am glad that this fourth part made my idea come true, that this film needs to be taken seriously and completed as soon as possible, so as not to remain trapped in the world of children's viewers. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire finally returned to the movie screen after a short break those interesting events and mystical events of the world of magic and the whole idea of JKR regarding the competition of three schools in which Harry Potter is suddenly involved. All praise for that. The plot of the movie holds attention and is really so beautifully blended with the characters and the story of Harry Potter itself, which easily gets its culmination. I wouldn't have any excessive objections to this part of the film for the simple reason that after the first part of the film, a sequel was finally made that looks like it, but with a better script, dramatic quality and an increased mystical and unpredictable level. The small objections that I might single out concern the evaluation of the characters themselves, where we neglected the first love relationships between the main characters who kept that childish approach and they need to be taken as soon as possible because the first love and feelings for someone do not look like that. They are a little more complex, more painful and more serious than what is shown. I will take the concrete example of Ron and Hermione. No matter how much they go in that direction to show their potential love as interesting and beautiful, the effect that is given is that Hermione is forced to fall in love with Ron. On the other hand, Harry and Cho Chang are portrayed as a necessary comparison of Ron and Hermione , and Harry is portrayed as a very big coward. The death of one of the more striking heroes is a great choice because the seriousness of the theme and the reality of the film rises to a higher level. But either way, in the next sequel I expect a more serious, darker, and more realistic evaluation because it's a good way to bring this film to the perfect evaluation it deserves.
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7/10
Things are starting to get better!
30 May 2020
Unlike Harry Potter 2, this film showed a lot of improvements on the screen in terms of things that I characterized as bad in commenting on the previous sequel to Harry Potter. Compared to the previous sequel, this sequel shows better acting and an increased presence of uncertainty and drama which is good. The actors have matured and their acting skills have slowly begun to improve (although they have shown very good skills as beginners in their work in the first part of Harry Potter). In that sense, I would like to thank to the screenwriter for throwing out unnecessary dialogues and dramatic breaks, as well as the directors who removed children's facial expressions from actors and thus opened the way for the Harry Potter franchise to move from the children's world to the adult world. In my opinion, JKR took a short ,,break,, in writing story for filming this part of the movie, because it is obvious that the story is not as interesting as it was in the first two parts of the film. But that's ok. It is important that all of them react in time to the question of making the unreal become real, both by writing and screening. In this sequel to the film, the emphasis is on mysticism and the relationships between people, both for solving the mystery in this part and for evaluating the characters themselves, and I support that. What is missing in this part are those interesting activities, events and actions that complement the film itself, which in the case of the theme of this film is already accustomed to his audience because they are constantly hungry for magic, strange and new things and knowledge from the world of magic. I liked the inversion of mysticism regarding the original suspicion of Sirius Black, which later got its positive turn, as well as solving that mystery with a part of returning time. What I would work on a little more is the relationship between Harry Potter and his family with Draco Malfoy because it is still childish and pathetic and deserves a more serious and realistic look. The part with the Dementors deserved a longer and more meaningful epilogue as well, and the evaluation of Professor McGonagall's character should be done urgently, she seems to be becoming an old grandmother who doesn't know what she's talking about or where she is and her position is quite demanding. I will see this sequel as a break, as I said, and an opportunity to turn Harry Potter into a more realistic magical world, if it can be called that at all, and catch the train to gain a big name in the world of cinema, both in the field of action and in the field of filming. We are waiting for the next sequel to see what has been done on this issue.
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6/10
It could be better!
29 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Ok. Year is 2002 and I am nine years old. As a nine years old boy, I can say this is a good extension of Harry Potter movie. But! I am 27 years old, at the moment, and I can say it could be better extension, and here is why. I posted a pretty positive and optimistic comment for Harry Potter 1, with the hope that its second extension will be if nothing else as good as the first one. But that did not happen. I'm not strict and sarcastic, but I think I'm pretty realistic. I would start with the only thing that I think is the same as in the case of my reviewing of Harry Potter 1 and that is the plot of the film written by JKR. She is the only one who has maintained continuity in terms of quality and JKR once again gave us the opportunity to hang out with wizards and enjoy the world of magic and she did it masterfully which was worth recording another part. Of all the Harry Potter books, I read this one and of course I felt that bitter taste when the film fails to justify the quality of the book, which is the case in most cases. When we speak about choice of actors, whether it is the setting from the first part of the film or whether it is the new actors who appear in this part, the choice is again good. The wonderful symbiosis of the entire cast was noticed in this sequel to the film. For my personal taste inserting the character of Professor Lockhart was unnecessary. Maybe it could be someone who is not a coward but a person who is more serious. I think that would gain in seriousness from the plot itself and strengthen the legend of Harry Potter himself. Costumes, audio and visual effects and animations are outstanding in this sequel to the film. One of the bad things about the film is the impoverished dialogues and predictable situations that seem to be adapted to children, which later resulted in the overall impression of the film being somehow more amateurish than professional. That is, it is as if the film was made for a younger age, discriminating against older viewers. In some parts, where a more serious level of drama and mystery is necessary, the situation is resolved by inserting an element of comedy, which greatly undermines the dramatic seriousness of the film, which is not good at all. I'll take the example of a scene where Harry fights a vicious snake, at the end of the film where Tom Riddle stands petrified as in some weird video game and tells us what happens in scenes as mystical as the one when a phoenix enters and blinds a snake. In that scene, the level of seriousness collapses both when the phoenix flies out of nowhere and the door is closed, and when he heals Harry's wounds with his tears. You will notice that in just 60 seconds Harry says goodbye to young Ginny and tells her that everything will be fine with him and that everything is over. Totally amateurish in my opinion. There are a lot of such scenes and that is what leaves the viewers with the impression of bitter taste because the book was quite mystical and serious and did not deserve to be superficially screened by the film. In order not to go any further, I would like to point out once again that the film did not justify the expectations of the audience in general, but only provided pleasure in the domain of that, and that year we enjoyed the magical world of Harry Potter. A lot of dramatic seriousness was needed, a longer duration of uncertainty and mystery and the elimination of unnecessary staff, as well as their replacement with more serious and complicated staff that keep us in suspense until the very end. I will take another concrete example. The snake that Harry Potter kills was described at the end of the whole film as a monster that everyone is afraid of, and when it appeared, it died faster than it appeared. Too fast and unused by the director. But well, maybe it is possible to characterize all this as the best for that time and that level of technological development of cinematography. My rating is 6/10. We are waiting for the next sequel.
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8/10
A new beginning!
28 May 2020
I still can remember 2001 and the night I saw this movie for the very first time. I wasn't so educated in the field of world cinema then, but even then I knew that a big thing was coming up with this movie. I was young to understand what a window into the world of magic JKR opened, but it was clear to me that every next film of that genre would be made as some kind of copy of this one. Since Harry Potter was filmed and screened alongside the Lord of the Rings, anyone who loved film-making was privileged to choose their view of magic based on how the two films presented it to the world. I chose the way JKR showed it to the audience with this film. I respected the Lord of the Rings but my imagination and my desire to continue were more on the side of Harry Potter. Today, as an adult person, I can still confirm that I am more a supporter of the magical world of Harry Potter than the Lord of the Rings, but today I understand a lot more things that need to be understood and known in order to adequately characterize and evaluate a film. I will not deal with his comparison with the Lord of the Rings because now I think that these are two films that deserve to be viewed completely separately. The plot of the Harry Potter film is impossible to judge as bad. By showing this world of magic and sorcery, JKR was innovative and the first to give such a thing to our eyes. As the plot cannot be assessed as bad, so the actors in that film cannot be assessed as bad. It was the cream of the acting world that was merged with the then new names that got a chance to become equally famous, and they did. the Costumes, effects and music are surreal and the overall experience of the film is like riding in an unfamiliar world you don't want to get out of. I think that is what made JKR known and loved among the readers and the audience and on the other hand made her continue the story she started. The acting in the film itself is adapted to the youngest viewers but it is so high quality and well integrated with the script that it is interesting to adult viewers as well and I think that is what made this film a classic. I think it is not a mistake that this film got its sequels in later years because the main advantage of this film was to achieve the effect of timeless instead of the highest quality and that is why today we have the never forgotten Harry Potter and his family who will live for years to come. our. I wouldn't take too long with the rating and features. Suffice it to say THANK YOU JKR.
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9/10
A good way to awaken Serbian cinema!
10 May 2020
Audiences in Serbia have been waiting for many years for a film or series that will awaken Serbian cinema from the deep sleep in which it has sunk, a long time ago. This deep dream has its own metaphorical meaning. The metaphor in that case contains several factors that have characterized most Serbian films or series for decades: consistency in the form of something that has already been seen or screened outside Serbia, low budget available for almost every filming of a screened work, quite boring war or the tragic theme of the scenario, which in most cases is characterized like underused and perhaps the most important factor - turning to the domestic or Balkan audience instead of placing something ,,domestic,, in the world. That deep dream had occasional occasions in which it could be interrupted. These opportunities are reflected in several films made by Serbian cinematography, but they were only short-lived opportunities instead of an opportunity for a film revolution strong enough for Serbian cinema to enter the world market. Montevideo, Bog te video made a strong enough explosion that finally woke up Serbian cinematography. Although Serbia has a lot of good and quality directors, it is interesting that this film was directed by the most inexperienced of them - one of the most famous and best actors in Serbia, Dragan Bjelogrlic. With this state in mind, the balance in achieving justice on both sides of the ,,problem,, of Serbian film making was made. Cinematography and the audience got a film strong enough to satisfy both sides and determine a completely new direction in which the future of Serbian cinematography will take place. Although he was the most inexperienced of Serbia, Dragan Bjelogrlic became a new and desirable name in the world of directing and the audience in Serbia desperately wanted his work to continue, because regardless of all the factors that make up the metaphor of a ,,deep sleep,, It has long been known that Serbian cinema has one of the greatest potentials in the world. This is in line with the mentality, ideas and vision of the people of the Balkans. Montevideo, Bog te video, had a record number of premieres and is being repeated several times today during the year. This trend continued even after its sequel was filmed - Montevideo, God bless you. The film was shot according to a true event, and until the moment the film was made, that event was argued among the people as an exciting, folk, legend. The fact that such a ,,legend,, has become one of the most successful films in Serbia is exactly what I meant when I talked about the potential of people from the Balkans. They are, really powerful people in many ways. The plot of the film is maximally used and contains a perfect balance between the development of the characters and the development of events that are spiced with a happier age of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in which culture and sport were one. Being an athlete at that time was just as important as being a banker, a lawyer, a clerk. Even then, there were political problems in the area, but this people finally showed how secondary these problems were to the people who developed the image and glory of Yugoslavia where no politics had existed before. Apart from the beautiful depictions of the former, royal Belgrade and its inhabitants at the time, what makes this film special is that on one big world screen the mentality of the Serbian and Yugoslav people is presented in the way it really is. A mentality that has its own slogan - I love my country and the people in it. The amount of emotion shown in the film is so strong that a lot of the audience, along with the actors themselves, cried at the premiere of the film. The music of the film was accompanied by that fact and the song ,,Pukni zoro,, which is the theme of the film, became one of the most popular and most beautiful Serbian songs and you can still hear it at celebrations and in Serbian taverns. The film is about a small country in the Balkans, which was bigger than today. A country that pays a lot of attention to politics, the army, a rich class of people, and in fact a country that is best run by athletes and ordinary people. The plot of the film gives an opportunity for a foreigner who watches the film to get acquainted with the way of life in Belgrade at the time, but also with the kindness and somewhat naive sincerity of its inhabitants, who are the main actors of the film - football players of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Although young and inexperienced, they begin their story of friendship, local tricks, falling in love, and learning the true values of life. They are taught all this by people who no one would say are capable of. And as that story gets the contours of a real team, that team gets the strength to change the conservative and frequent habits of statesmen, the wealthier population, and the media. The plot gained its expansion when the King decided to place his trust in such an ,,unusual,, team to travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup, and then there was an opportunity for the Serbian population to get to know the world in this way. Interesting supporting roles accompany this film, among which are love, family stories and the fight against injustice, which can be comprehensively called life. The struggle of the average Serb or a man with a Balkan mentality with himself and then with the world begins when this team decides to board a ship and go so far from their country and family just because they love that same country and family. What is happening on the way there and in Uruguay is the plot of the second part of this movie. The quality of the film itself is reflected in parallel with what is the point of the film itself. In the frequency of one country, a team of people (a football team in the film) appears and creates a film that the country has not had the opportunity to see so far (in the film going to the World Cup in Uruguay) not knowing if and how the film will be accepted. knowing where Uruguay is). The team of these people who made this film not only made a great and world-worthy film, but also gave birth to a new quality class of young actors who became favorite actors of almost all directors in Serbia (in the film, the Yugoslav national team that ,,won,, World Cup). I want you to feel the emotion of every Serb while watching this film. I want you to cry when you feel the need and to laugh at us, ,,crazy Serbs,, when you understand why we are ,,crazy,,. With this film, it is finally screened and available to you around the world. Greetings from Serbia and watch the second part of the movie. My final rate is 9.
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