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(From The Slovak Spectator)

Movies This week's premieres Mystic River (Tajomna rieka) - Drama/Mystery by Clint Eastwood. Since its initial public release about a month ago, Hollywood's latest entry in the American tragedy genre, an adaptation of the novel by acclaimed crime writer Dennis Lehane, has received ecstatic, seemingly universal praise. And who better to explore this genre than Eastwood, perhaps the clearest cinematic symbol of the violent American male? In working class Boston, three childhood friends - Jimmy, Dave, and Sean (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon, respectively) - are reunited after Jimmy's daughter is brutally murdered. When police detective Sean takes over the case, the three men are forced to explore the meanings and complications of friendship, family, anger, and revenge. Having already won a directing award at Cannes, the film is frequently mentioned in the same breath as the Academy Awards, particularly with respect to Eastwood and Penn, whose performance has already been called a classic of American cinema by some critics. S.W.A.T. (Jednotka rychleho nasadenia)- Action/Thriller by Clark Johnson. In Los Angeles an inexperienced Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team, headed by a tough SWAT veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), must transport a dangerous criminal who has offered a large sum of money to anyone who can free him from police custody. Also starring Hollywood's latest bad-boy heartthrob, Irishman Colin Farell, Michelle Rodriguez (from the surprisingly fun girl-power surfer movie Blue Crush), and LL Cool J, the once relevant hip-hop star turned completely irrelevant actor. Other movies playing Desperado 2: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Vtedy v Mexiku) - Action by Robert Rodriguez. The guitar-wielding hitman El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) comes out of hiding to help a corrupt CIA agent (Johnny Depp) prevent the assassination of the Mexican president. With the title's reference to Rodriguez's hero, spaghetti western auteur Sergio Leone (the director of such films as Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America), expect plenty of lovingly stylized violence. Love Actually (Laska nebeska) - Comedy/Romance by Richard Curtis. There is a lovely, charming, smart romantic comedy to be found somewhere in this movie, the directorial debut of the screenwriter of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones' Diary. The film is apparently comprised of a number of half-finished screenplay ideas - and it shows. Unconvincingly held together by the truism "love actually is all around us", the film simply tries to take on too much. With so many different characters and storylines, some of which are clearly more engaging than others, Love Actually fails to effectively explore ...