Movie reviews

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.