PODATEK OD MILOSCI

Watchable. A standard romantic comedy providing occasional loud laughs, e.g. when the guy enters the Inland Revenue office and immediately turns back attempting to leave while a lady working there presses on the door to shut it from the other side or when a coach's client notices his bunny tail pants when his trousers slip down as he's bending over something in the kitchen. Other than that he throws darts to pick a book to read next and he's quite an ordinary decent guy. She's a bitch hell-bent on promotion who "starts feeling pangs of conscience and can't cope with it". A priest charging an exorbitant sum for a baptism gets dubbed "Jezusa przedstawiciel... handlowy" ("Jezus's... sales rep"). The movie's really pleasant but sad at times (those "pangs of conscience").

"Peter Rabbit" is coming out this year and the trailer is promising. Looks like rabbits will wreak havoc all over England. And brilliant Domhnall Gleeson is in it.

Нелюбовь (LOVELESS)

Recommended. Powerful. The disappearance of the child reveals how little his parents care or know about their son. He'd been missing for two days before they found out. No dogs are used in the subsequent search, as it would normally happen in real life, so it takes several days. Other issues tackled include the top-down corporate culture where the CEO's taste determines the way of spending team-building time. One organises pilgrimages to holy shrines, another one extreme sports events and the subordinates unwillingly try to fit in. In the penultimate scene the woman's wearing a tracksuit with "Russia" on it. But if it's meant to be an allegory of the country, "Krotkaya" ("A Gentle Creature" aka "Una femme douce") did it much better and without such an overt display of the name. And while the film hit me hard, in the Oscar race I still root for Hungarian "Testről és lélekről" ("On Body and Soul") which is more subtle and original. As for the Russian candidate, the music over the credits is a masterpiece. And if the movie doesn't give you creeps, the final score will.

TADEO JONES 2: EL SECRETO DEL REY MIDAS (TAD JONES: THE HERO RETURNS aka TAD, THE LOST EXPLORER AND THE SECRET OF KING MIDAS)

Watchable. Excellent animation with rocks, falling water, windscreen reflections, hair, skin, unshaven skin, a lacy dress, jumpers made of different fabrics having distinguishing, proper texture. Story-wise pretty standard: a bunch of contemporaries, including a museum worker, hunt an ancient treasure with greedy gangsters in their wake. There's also a living mummy looking similar to the dead in "Coco". Starts with the only funny scene where Tad talks to Sarah thinking about the ring he wants to give her, dropping it and chasing it on the construction site which results in him talking both to her and to his thoughts to a comic effect.

LES FANTÔMES D'ISMAËL (ISMAEL'S GHOSTS)

Watchable. Slow, with a bad lead actor (Mathieu Amalric) accompanied by two actresses. Two parallel plots: the one of a film director whose wife returns after 21 years becomes clear after a while but remains protracted, the one of a diplomat is more interesting, with conspiracies but I've got no clue what it was about, let alone how it relates to the director's story. Marion Cotillard gets startk naked for a while and looks beautiful, not in a fake American way but naturally, without depilation or surgical enhancements. The music score encompasses a few styles and is very uneven, seems random.

DJ

Recommended. The rags-to-riches DJ story takes you from Poland via London to Ibiza. The initial shot of naked female bodies lined up face down in red light is explained later in the Balearic part. Both London and Ibiza look just like I remember them with the added glamour of some parties I did not attend. The shots enthrall more and more with each change of scenery. The music shows the DJ's humble beginnings - and talent, after her conductor-father - playing regular, decent techno and gets increasingly better ending absolutely amazing. Can I have some more, please?

GNOME ALONE

Watchable. For teenagers and school-age children: bright colours, pop tunes and fighting monsters. A clear-cut story, good translation into Polish making even the dubbing sound OK. The story's about a single mum, school "mean trio", funny ravenous monsters and true friends. Nothing new but lots of fun.

LOVING VINCENT

Recommended when seen again. First I heard one language, was reading the other, listening to Clint Mansell's score and focusing on the paintings. That was too much. A single-language version of this complex movie is much more viewer-friendly. Even tree leaves moving in the wind caught my attention. All the toil put into copying Vincent Van Gogh's paintings for a full-length production is a breakthrough which deserves an Oscar. Clint Mansell's music blends in smoothly rendering Van Gogh's tragedy so emotional it touches to the core. The composer remasters his most famous "Lux Aeterna" in the film and over the credits. The credits additionally feature the catchy song: "Starry, Starry Night".

In the near future Polish people may start having transitional disruptions when the Audio Movie application will get widespread. 6 m elderly, 0.5 m hard-of-hearing and some other people, for example those who will want to listen to the dialogues in another language, are said to be interested in the app. For others it means a risk of loud conversations when they will be learning how to use it as the movie starts.

INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY

Watchable. When I hear of the cases of chained women kept in cellars I wonder how human beings can do it to others. The movie swiftly provides an explanation: supernatural evil takes residence in those people's minds. The film says monsters feed on fear and hatred which sounds very uplifting as if we can change things. You get laughs, tears, scares all in one movie. The psychic and the sidekicks fight monsters ghostbusters style. The psychic is the same elderly lady as before. The character creator and scriptwriter Leigh Whannel appears as Specs - one of the sidekicks who feature prominently in this part adding lots of humour, e.g. hitting on the psychic's nieces. Though the lady having one of her visions at the police station is hilarious as well. Only the fake-looking demon with sparks flying of its metallic fingers detracts from the fun. The clown face appears in the woman's vision in the ending announcing a sequel. I hope Leigh Whannel is going to retain his comic strain.

ESCAPE ROOM

Watchable. Starts really bad: a guy trapped in a locked room, then someone else driving while you hear moans in the background and, finally, typical for a slasher movie ominous signs like a weird guy crossing the street in front of the car or a road sign "caution" warning. Silly birthday conversations in a restaurant get enlivened with an interesting method of picking up the bill: drawing the banking card at random. Relinquishing phones starts the game. The rest is uneven. Ridiculous mixes with inventive: smart clues and room layout but also killings for no reason at all, a beautiful female vic running naked, ludicrous conversations. Lack of ending. If it means a sequel is coming, it may be actually better.

HONEYGIVER AMONG THE DOGS

Recommended. Bhutan is a country where no foreign productions are released due to a lack of interest. If "Honeygiver Among the Dogs" is representative of the country, they don't need any imported rubbish. The movie is an enchanting, full of Buddhist values... detective story. Masterfully scripted, perfectly enacted, filled with the beauty of Bhutanese nature. Very atmospheric due to local music and awe-inspiring cinematography. Gripping and captivating.

למלא את החלל (FILL THE VOID) (2012)

Watchable. A very heart-warming tale of a small Hassidic community where marriage is every person's religious duty and a way of living. The world's a bit hermetic and questions of why and how kept popping up in my head but its obscurity doesn't impair understanding the whole. It's just delightful to see how subtly the love develops and how the community members support each other. The music's pleasant to the ear too.

SYN KROLOWEJ SNIEGU (THE SON OF SNOW QUEEN)

Recommended. Apparently more than 215 children were killed in Poland over the last 10 years. The movie's inspired by one of the murders with bits based on other typical cases. Michalina Olszanska, who previously impersonated mass murderer Olga Hepnarova, is the title mother. She's amazing, expressing a great deal with her eyes. Anna Seniuk looks unrecognizable. The nasty photographer (Robert Czebotar) is very convincing. The young actor, Maciej Brozek, is very natural even though in reality his school and life position is totally positive. The title refers to the original versions of Andersen's fairy tales which were much more brutal. According to the psychotraumatologist invited to the screening as an expert the movie's psychologically true in all its complexity. A person with antisocial personality disorder surrounds herself with people who only adore her, she's oriented at her own goals. We don't know whether she was raped and had the rapist's child or whether she's a pathological liar. People growing up in a threatening house repeat the experience as adults - the man in the film does: his mother's strong and abusive so he seeks such a partner for himself, we don't know the woman's past but she's got no parental support, she's abandoned. The woman certainly experienced something difficult and tries to live a normal life which implies she's got a personality disorder, but is not a psychopathic killer. Such a person lacks self-reflection like "something's wrong with me". A person with a disorder finds it easier to move towards pathology when she needs a break, time for herself and that's what happens here. She's envious about her son's adult friend Kazimierz, she owns the child. If a child is brought up in a non-secure style, one mentor is needed - here Zofia's such a person. According to the other expert - a psychologist working as the spokesperson for children's rights whose office conducts about 50 thousand interventions yearly - kids love their oppressors, they just become sad and resigned, accepting. The film's powerful in its own right. With the expert commentary it's just easier to notice and to understand how it works.

DOWNSIZING

Watchable. The trailer suggests science fiction or a science fiction comedy. Instead you get a cheesy and moralistic drama about human extinction. The pain of being a minority features too. The downsizing is thought through: shaving all your hair, exchanging dental fillings, the decreased cost of living, sustainability as well as downsized espionage, terrorism, people trafficking, punishment of dissidents. Matt Damon convincingly impersonates an average chubby middle-aged married man. But the tone is predominantly serious and condescending for the newly rich who only want to have fun. You don't get bored for a minute. It's just that it's weighed down with responsibility for humanity.

ATAK PANIKI (PANIC ATTACK)

Watchable. Even engaging but... about nothing. Worst of all, each story has an unfulfilled comic potential.

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

Recommended. How to become rich beyond belief? First strike oil. Then make a deal with the Bedouin tribes, build a special tanker.... In summer 1973 John Paul Getty was the world's richest person and the first billionaire. The kidnapping of his grandson results in a duel of ruthlessness between the gangsters and the filthy rich entrepreneur who believes everything can be bought cheaper and insists if he paid the ransom he'd have 14 kidnapped grandchildren. A gripping crime drama with a psychologic subtext. As the chief of security remarks, something else always lies behind money. It's not the wealth the rich obsess with. Each of them fills a different void.

Виктория (VIKTORIA)

Watchable. Some people believe vaginal irrigations and jumping after an intercourse prevents conception. It doesn't work. Not even in the movie in which a life ruined by a sequence of events set off by an unwanted pregnancy is marginal to the impressive music - pompous communist-way or ordinary - and picture with atmospheric prolonged takes. It saves the plot bordering on the ridiculous. The baby girl is a born actress.

ŠERKŠNAS (FROST)

Watchable. A quiet, slow road movie in Russian, bits of Lithuanian and some Ukrainian. Little music apart from a beautiful, sad Ukrainian tune. The boy (Mantas Janciauskas) is cute and the story shown gently. The ending is picturesque but cheesy. The whole thing is too superficial.

JUSQU'A LA GARDE (CUSTODY)

Recommended. Heavy and unpleasant but excellent in its genre. Domestic violence shown so strongly it hurts. It feels as if you were the boy. Should be compulsory for all the police and judges who treat it lightly.

THE POST

Watchable. Steven Spielberg's in good form. The movie packs a punch even if the story's very feminist. It explains how women's indoctrination through history became a self-fulfilling prophecy which may serve the majority who don't understand the complex psychology of prejudice but it's so straight in your face I just found it vexing. Nevertheless the story is masterfully structured, maintaining suspense and bringing to mind several events from the most recent times, at least in Poland where the Parliament tried to restrict journalists' access and recently has been attempting to silence inconvenient media suing them on whatever feeble grounds they find. The movie's just about that but in a different place and time: the early 70s in the US, during the Vietnam War. First Nixon takes "The New York Times" to court which is the core of the story, then the penultimate scene is his call in which he denies "The Washing Post" journalists entry to the Congress. The very final one is about Watergate which looks as if a sequel was likely. Sasha Spielberg, the director's daughter, makes a cameo as "Woman with package". John Williams' music adds gravitas, as it always does. Bruce Greenwood's unrecognizable as a nearly bald, bespectacled, shrewedly lying politician.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

Recommended. As subtle as "Moonlight" but also much more than a gay movie as it tackles the thorny issue of love which we all experience regardless of our gender or preference. With sad truths of how love makes the heart emotionally bankrupt by the age of 30 and how the body, with age, stops being looked at, let alone desired - it gets mentioned in one conversation only but immediately adds gravitas and becomes indelible. Unlike "Moonlight" the film's about the upper class. "Apricot" harks back to ancient times and occurs in each civilization as we know from the history of vocabulary in various languages and, more literally as homosexuality, from the presentation of ancient sculptures. The fruit reoccurs when the teenager makes a hole in it and uses for physical satisfaction and again when he pukes something orange seeing his beloved dancing with a woman. One guy is hot and the other not too bad-looking either so you feel sex in the air. The final call the boy receives is heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. The movie manages to be explicit and finely drawn at the same time.

假孔子之名 (IN THE NAME OF CONFUCIUS)

Watchable. A documentary revealing the secret policy behind China funding Confucius Institutes worldwide: they serve as espionage cells both procuring information and moulding the minds and hearts of the future generations of students of Chinese as the second language. As the communist party supporters clash with dissidents, especially Falun Gong practitioners, the existence of the Confucian Institutes is debated by the Canadian education board. Is China just assuring the offspring of Chinese diaspora won't forget the language or is the country spending far more on foreign education than domestic for a more sinister reason? A bit bureaucratic but on a vital issue.

HARD TO BELIEVE

Recommended. "Organ harvesting" is the term used in the documentary about the practice of obtaining human "spare parts" from still living prisoners. Not any serial murderers but Falun Gong members 65 thousand of whom died for the sake of their organs over 8 years. They don't drink or smoke so their bodies are sought after, e.g. by - mind it - people with ill children. Tortured prisoners  overlook the physical they get in the middle of their ordeal but each account is the same: a cornea examination, a chest X-ray, kidney and liver tests etc. Chilling. Provides details on how the system works without scaring the viewer with anything graphic. So if your heart transplant is scheduled in two weeks' time, on a specific date, blood is on your hands.

HBO PLANS FOR 2018

Polish "Wataha" beat the "Game of Thrones" last year far surpassing the number of viewers. That much for Polish nationalism. 2018 is a year without "Game of Thrones" (worldwide). But there'll be such a plethora of series you just won't be able to see them all, even all of the selected ones. The ones for children, teenagers and young adults tend to be on the superhero side. The most distinctive - in the good sense or bad - productions for adults planned for broadcast in the current year are:

• "Beyond" season 2 - an intriguing SF flick
• "Mosaic" - with an interactive app for the US market only which will allow the viewer decide the fate of the characters
• "Counterpart" - announced as an SF story built around a secret passage between our world and an alternative one set up during the Cold War, the trailer however implies more crime than science fiction
• "Trust" - about the billionaire Getty family, directed by Danny Boyle
• "Silicon Valley" - with Kumail Nanjiani of "The Big Sick" fame who I don't find even remotely comic
• "Westworld" - season 2 maintaining the style of the first one, coming up in spring
• "The Handmaid's Tale" - season 1 in spring finally on HBO, announced yesterday just a few hours before the Polish Parliament sealed women's fate as similar to the reality presented in the no-longer-so-science-fiction series
• Polish Jakub Zulczyk's adaptation of his own novel "Slepnac od swiatel" 

BRITANNIA EPISODE 1

Watchable. I expected history. Of that you get the 90 years' span between Julius Caesar's first foyer into the isles and the mass invasion mentioned on the screen. The rest is magic, druids, scarifications, hypnosis, rituals, prophecies. Also power struggle, strong women, sex and lots of violence. I'm afraid the series may attempt to be the new "Game of Thrones" which it will never become since the original is only one. At least it has amazing scenery: unusually shaped verdant craggy peaks, cliffs, mysterious gorges, underwater ragged rocks - shot on locations in the Czech Republic, England and Wales. The music accompanying the credits raised some controversy but I enjoyed the tune both on its own and as a mild ending to the brutal film.

PLAN B

Watchable. The new Polish production is uneven. Hilarious ex-convict with a stray dog (outstanding Marcin Dorocinski who, as he says, fell in love at first sight with dog Kotlet) is the only bright point in this sad and implausible movie. Slim and beutiful middle-aged woman (Edyta Olszowka) is in love with a disgusting old, grey, fat chap and their sex scene looks pretty revolting. The actress told me in such scenes they always had underwear and it's only made appear more erotic than it was, yet it looks pretty gross and unrealistc. Most of the stories are about dealing with a loss. Humour lies in all of the ex-jailbird plot, e.x. when he communicates with an Irisman the way chavs talk: in Polish and with lots of vulgar language, ending the exchange with: "Kurwa, prosze." ("You're fucking welcome"). The only other amusing scene is the deeply depressed string bass teacher opening the door to a girl and informing her morosely: "Nie bedzie lekcji. Wyjechalismy z mezem na Riwiere Francuska." ("There'll be no lesson. Me and my husband have gone to the French Riviera.")

AUS DEM NICHTS (IN THE FADE)

Recommended. Directed by Fatih Akin - a German of Turkish descent, with Diane Kruger - an American citizen born in Germany and living on and off in Paris, 1 of 3 producers is Nurhan Şekerci-Porst - Şekerci coincidentally is the main protagonist's surname. Those dual nationality people have created an intimate story of losing your loved ones in a terror blast. The burnt wall structure creates a map of Europe with a smudge of blood smeared across which puts the individual situation in a wider context. Very realistic shots throughout the film. The ending shows all the woman's doubts and hesitations. While it was all gripping when I was watching, I only felt the full impact after leaving the cinema. It just reduced me to tears.

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です (MEMOIRS OF A MURDERER)

Watchable. While based on the 2012 "내가 살인범이다" ("Confession of Murder"), it gets a more modern twist. In August 2017 Chinese crime writer Liu Yongbiao was arrested as a suspect of a quadruple murder committed in 1995. Hence the 2017 Japanese remake places the series of murders in 1995 and the book release 22 years later. Unfortunately no other details from the real case are used and the remake is full of quick takes and chaos. Like many Japanese productions, it's far-fetched, over the top, with exaggerated acting. The twists of action retained from the Korean original fail to impress even if you haven't seen the first version. A number of situations are hilarious, e.g. when the captured murderer hears of the statute of limitations discussed by the guys who had stalked him the captive asks "Sore wa doshita?" ("So what?"). I'm not sure though if that was always the director's intention. Hot act Tatsuya Fujiwara as Sonezaki is the main attraction.

HAPPY END

Watchable. After "Amour" of 2012 I became apprehensive about Michael Haneke's films. It looked like he got slower with age. Well, "Happy End" is slightly faster fortunately, a little bit. It's composed of a few separate storylines which converge in the second half so for the first hour I was trying to get my head round the scattered events. It touches on contemporary issues as diverse as: recording everything with mobile phones, sick erotic needs forcing a person to lead a double life, refugees where their strength and determination is juxtaposed with their position in the society or dilapidation of the upper class where the son is unable to take over the family business. It's essential to watch it from the opening titles till the end. Only then does the story make full sinister sense.

GOTOWI NA WSZYSTKO. EXTERMINATOR

Watchable. One of better comedies recently but still not entirely hilarious. A myriad of great comedians with amusing facial expressions and funny looks: Pawel Domagala, Krzysztof Czeczot, Piotr Zurawski, Piotr Rogucki, Dominika Kluzniak, Eryk Lubos, Dorota Pomykala and some actors who don't blend in at all, especially Agnieszka Wiedlocha in one of leading roles who doesn't fit in the comedy genre. Cry, baby, cry, just do it in a different movie. With her and some lesser parts the film's a bit too serious at times. Scripted by Przemyslaw Jurek, known for the great "Singielka" serial and other comedies, together with Przemyslaw Rogalski, who had never written any jokes before. The plot is generally up for scratch. "Spotykacie sie jeszcze?" "Tak, widujemy sie okazjonalnie na stypach roznych." ("Do you still meet?" "Yeah, we see each other occasionally at different funeral receptions.") The band tour obscure villages like Psitki or Rzewnie and the drummer gets kicked out of... a mental institution. A number of catchy 80s tunes whose spoofs are masterpieces.

STUDNIOWK@

Watchable. Where's the comedy? Exaggerated acting makes it weird rather than funny. Teenagers aren't like this. At least the story's clear-cut and an English actor plays the English teacher.

Much more entertaining was the introduction to the movie premiere. The delay of about half an hour made some viewers suspect the movie may be still in post-production. Then, with a huge applause, a lady came onto the stage and announced that... after waiting for so many years we can wait another 10 minutes. Finally, 10 minutes later, a comedian got the mike. He said he had first considered listing what he hadn't liked about the movie but then he had noticed the Italian co-producers and decided not to fearing a Neapoletan co-producer might say to him: "U nas tez kiedys byl taki smieszek. I Neapol jest. Film tez jest. Smieszka juz nie ma." ("We also had a joker like this. And Naples is still there. The movie's still there. The joker is not.") He remembered to thank the media partners of the production, including Polish Television, recently infamous for the much advertised flop - the "Korona krolow" serial. The comedian said: "Pozdrawiamy i dziekujemy za Korone krolow". ("Our best regards and thank you for Korona krolow") Finally the director himself wished film critics wouldn't write the critic during the film and stayed till the end.

THE COMMUTER

Watchable. Keeps you on the edge of the seat. A puzzle to solve with new elements added gradually. A bit too American: a huge crash with an explosion, brawls, guns and a few deaths within 105 minutes. Neatly structured though. With a scene probably inspired by "Murder on the Orient Express". Good dialogues and one-liners, e.g. "Next time I'm taking the bus." I'm not. The train ride was quite enjoyable.

FERNANDO 3D

Recommended. Little 3D effect so 2D should do just fine. Recorded in Dolby Atmos so worth choosing this sound format where possible especially that the music is good. The best anti-bullfighting cartoon ever. It's impossible not to love the bull romantic smelling flowers. The sad truth about the animals having to be prodded to charge in the arena and of what happens to them when they win and when they lose wrings tears. But the cute animals are mostly amusing, there are gags aplenty, e.g. a hamster gets watered together with flowers and a bull asks a dog: "So why do you wag your tail when I call you 'Bro'?", the dog turns back: "Hey, tail, stop it!" The Polish dubbing leaves the songs in English and Spanish as well as names and background conversations in Spanish. The animation presents both the picturesque countryside and the landmarks of Madrid pretty accurately. Suitable for children of all ages and adults alike.

HANGMAN

Watchable. A serial killer leaving clues to the policemen and killing a person every 24 hours. Exciting? Not in this case. The film's protracted, kind of sentimental. The cops bring up hints only they know about so there's no riddle-solving for the viewer. Worn out motifs like a slaughterhouse or a pig's head abound. And, obviously, two vics are rescued when already hanging. It's a detective story so you're curious how it ends even when you know how stupid it is. The final scene implies a sequel coming. I hope not.

Due to some glitch the trailer of "Atak paniki" ("Panic Attack") was screened 3 times in a row. Looks bad. I had enough after the first time.

PADDINGTON 2

Recommended. An example of how to make movies for children. Top-notch animation where you can see every single hair of the bear's fur. A story which is funny at most times and heart-wrenchingly sad when the cuddly creature gets locked up. Prisoners' newspaper is "Hard Times" with article titles like "Freedom Overrated says poll". Hugh Grant's past pictures are ingeniously used as his protagonist's house decoration. Great cultural translation. There are some scenes over the credits and once they end, they end. The 'payroll' still looks nice since traces of paws are put beside the list of names.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Recommended. For teenagers. Great fun in spite of being dubbed in Polish. The dubbing means e.g. that when a protagonist reads something you see English and hear Polish at the same time but here it's easy to treat it as an additional entertainment. One big adventure game-style: with props, a few lives per gamer, incommunicable programmed characters.. Shot on the Island of O'ahu in Hawai'i which makes for a vivid scenery. With several gags and one-liners, e.g. "When I take off, I'll get my head around piloting it". No mid- or post-credit scenes but the credits end cheekily with the same drum music which announces a new danger each time in the movie.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT

Watchable. Oscar contender?! OK, the pace is good. I wouldn't normally get interested in poor young mums' lives, especially if one has criminal past and a number of issues she struggles with but gets no institutional help. That criticism of the social system is the biggest attraction as the movie follows in the footsteps of "American Beauty", "American Pastoral", "Suburbicon" etc. sharing the disillusionment with the American dream. Set in a tourist area in Florida, shot in pinkish and turquoisish hues and highlighting all the shortcomings of the existing social support for the poorest, for single mums - no mention of the girl's father in the film - and for ex-convicts in the US. Presented mostly from children's point of view which is kind of new for such an adult topic. Becomes predictable towards the end although you don't know what outcome exactly it will be. There's not much of a finale though. It ends abruptly.

PITCH PERFECT 3

Watchable. Shot in the Acquarium in Atlanta with an additional use of Nice backdrop. With my favourite Anna Kendricks and Elizabeth Banks. A standard music band competition plot. Elements of satire on recording everything with cellphones. Jokes on the gross side and not funny. Lots of easy cheesy music. All in all much better than part one (I skipped part 2), just light entertainment.

LISTY DO M. 3 (LETTERS TO SANTA 3)

Watchable. Few jokes, e.g. "Jak masz na imie, Jolu" ("What's your name, Jola?") or "Moze ja mam guza mozgu?" "Gdzie ty masz tego guza mozgu?" "W dupie!" ("What if I have a brain tumour?" "Where do you have that brain tumour?" "Down my ass!"). Rather sombre. Brings to the surface all issues you can have in life. Not much of Christmas atmosphere. Or if that's somebody's Christmas, I can only feel sorry for them.

THE STAR

Recommended. Finally a dubbed cartoon with songs kept in English. Nativity from the point of view of cute animals. Just endearing. With a number of gags, e.g. a donkey falling on a dove. Lots of fun without hurting anyone's religious feelings and enjoyable for atheists too.

SANTA & CIE (CHRISTMAS & CO.)

Watchable. "After all they won't hit you with a baguette" is a clear reference to another French comedy - "A bras ouverts" ("With Open Arms"). Yet the translation is cultural which works for   
Christmas dishes but a comparison to Majami and Despero?! "Pitbull" is definitely an adults' movie. For some reason the translation in the film is different than in the trailer. Alain Chabat's voice in the Polish dubbing is replaced with someone completely unlike him. A fragment is scary so it's not for the youngest children. Not much of Christmas charm even though I loved the completely created world of Santa's town and his magic. Santa snowboards down a slope in a coat studded with neon stars. His sleigh pulled by reindeer flies in front of the Moon - reworking the iconic shot from "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". It's all very ingenious but lacks the Christmas aura. Best to skip the credits, otherwise you'll watch scantily clad fat elves dancing.

FATHER FIGURES

Watchable. Not funny at all. More of a road movie than a comedy. Silly. I wanted to find out who their father was so I sat through all the lengthy stages of their search. There are only photos during initial credits, no further scenes.

LE FIDELE (RACER AND THE JAILBIRD)

Watchable. Crime love story - was it meant to be "Drive" without music? The picture is often not very clear. Engaging but lacking ambience. The terminal illness is over the top. And what was the ending supposed to mean?

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI 3D IN DOLBY ATMOS

Recommended again. I noticed different details than previously, e.g. Lily Cole was among the party crowd. I even had forgotten parts of the rich storyline so it was worth seeing one more time. The regular size screen made the CGIs, scenery, shapes of starships and 3D look even better. John Williams in Dolby Atmos blew me away from note one. If I were to choose Imax or Dolby Atmos, Dolby Atmos would win hands down.

The "Black Panther" trailer had very good 3D and Dolby Atmos.

All the above seen courtesy of Cinema City. For the last time apparently. After months of my free advertising of their cinema chain they withdrew my accreditation. Hardly fair. I'm going to miss their soft seats and friendly staff. I genuinely enjoyed that. But at least I won't have to mention them under reviews. Btw, as Christmas passed pre-movie commercials got back shorter: they take about a quarter of an hour now.