Movie reviews

A BRAS OUVERTS (WITH OPEN ARMS)

Watchable again. The second time I actually liked it better. I picked out some nuances, e.g.first Babik kicks his cousin, then, when he has "assimilated", he swats another cousin with... a baguette. The dress-up party is no coincidence: while the Romani teenage girl is trying to get some personal freedom, her father drags her out of a club in which she's wearing a... Wonder Woman costume. The movie hits upon not only international differences but also the clash between the higher middle class and the lowest class lifestyles and values: "I'm an intellectual. I don't fight, unless with a pen." "So you take a pen, I take a hammer." Ary Abittan, even in a suit, looks nothing like his earlier impersonation in "Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?" ("Serial (Bad) Weddings"). Christian Clavier, for a change, is suited and booted in the role opposite to the one from "Les Visiteurs" ("The Visitors"). Both of them in the main roles as well as Armen Georgian as the Indian servant Ravi act suitably exaggeratedly. The movie still isn't hilarious, most of humour unfortunately stays lower-class.

UNLOCKED

Watchable. The script is trite but fun: an action movie made by the book, with a few red herrings and and an obligatory cliff-hanger towards the end. I didn't get the logic behind mistaking flats, found the burgler being a war veteran implausible and the final explanation of motives of the terrorist attacks too far-fetched. Still, the suspense and twists of action worked the trick. Noomi Rapace was unrecognizable from her earlier part of Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

ROCK'N ROLL

Watchable. The film's about dealing with aging but the few scenes that made me laugh were rather standard situation humour: "Have you taken anything else?" "Yes, cocaine." or gags like falling over a fence. I have an impression it just went too far. The caricature got distorted out of proportion. The soundtrack is a mix of French and English-language songs with significant titles including: "Enola Gay", "Lady Wacko", "Don't Dream It's Over", "You Can Do It", "Ma gueule" ("My mouth"), "Pour qua tu m'aimes encore" ("So that you still love me"), "That's Not My Name", "Take Me Out", "Promesse" ("Promise"), "Forever Young", "Ca Plane Pour Moi" ("It's plain sailing for me") or "Go On Forever". Apparently there's also my beloved "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive but... I only saw it in the credits having missed the bit in the movie.

PRÓBA (THE TEST)

Watchable. Three would-be monks walk for one and a half weeks having to beg for food and shelter. The film has less direction than the pilgrimage but their utterances "Jakie to szczęście mieć żonę i dzieci. Ja nie dam rady." ("What happiness it is to have a wife and children. I won't manage.") or about living in celibate: "Przecież to normalni mężczyźni są." ("They're normal men after all") inadvertently reveal that nature will always imbue actions contradictory to its laws.

In the meeting after the screening it struck me that two of the monks were totally hot! How is that possible that so many women in the world are single and the hottest guys are... in the Jesuit order?!