Tuesday 31 July 2018

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

Recommended again. I got late to the screening a week ago, much like Donna used to get late all the time, so it was a good pretext to see it again. And it was great pleasure. Beautiful Lily James impersonates young Donna. The three young male actors are extremely talented. Dominic Cooper looks and acts better than 10 years ago i.e. part one. There's a movie reference within the movie as Bill and Harry enact the most famous Titanic scene. Abba tunes are played on Greek instruments. Musicians wear shiny 70s-like stage costumes. Bordeaux acts as Paris, Stockholm makes a cameo too. Comic bits include... weeping after Donna and do so to a hilarious effect. All in all the fairy-tale palette, three rich and handsome princes, each in love, make it totally appealing. And the music stays with you.

TEEFA IN TROUBLE

Recommended. Lollywood (from Lahore) but just like Bollywood. The Pakistani production is on the feminist side - the girl points out a man wouldn't be wed off against his will. The movie changes genres quite a few times. It's hilarious, e.g. when Teefa is caught in the bride's room, he pretends to be ironing and explains he's an "iron man", his mate asks a lady: "Are your nails real or are they like you?" and in a chase sequence the security want to shut the gate, the runaways manage to get out and it's the security staff who end up shut off and have to wait for the gate while it's opening slowly. Teefa is acted by hot Ali Zafar. Great music: both Bollywood-style songs and Western-type background score. The rhythms stay with you. I later relistened to the songs back home.

UZUN HIKAYE (A LONG STORY)

Recommended. Heart-gripping, cheerful on a big part with gentle humour but sad at times too. A life story spanning a few decades of 20th century Turkey, with history in the background. Plenty of well-written, characteristic protagonists and some brilliant lines, e.g "Hiç bilmiyorum." ("I don't know anything.") added at the end of each comment to a situation by one of guys. The story shows how optimism helps resolve several situations. At the same time, the depicted family has to keep moving due to persecution which recurs at each town so it's also kinda road movie and it reminds me of my own 27 place moves. The father is an utterly endearing personality.

Sunday 29 July 2018

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE

Watchable. At face value it's completely bonkers. Times and realities mix. Jokes aren't really funny, even though based mostly on Spaniards' understanding of English, e.g. "Do you live here? It looks rustic." "No, it's oil, no rusty." The most creative bits are: an elderly woman in a poor little hamlet using a taser and an actor moving the film subtitles aside with his hands. It's all pretty chaotic but there's a method in this madness. The plot hides several issues. The changing position of and views on Muslims cover: terrorists taking hostages, "pagans" persecuted by the Holy Inquisition, Moorish rulers, poor refugees from Morocco living in Spain illegally, suicide bombers dressed up as women in burkas. People humiliating themselves for the money of the rich are impersonated by quite a few characters.

CHARMING

Watchable. For older children. A modern fairy-tale about 3 vain princesses with timers in their... mirrors, a conceited prince thinking his good looks entitle him to being adored by all and his position to being served free as well as a cool-headed thief stealing... his heart. After saving him a few times, that is. All the best bits are in the trailer. The storyline seems makeshift and the film's filled with songs, annoying ones even in their own right. I liked the pun in the store name - Damsel in this Dress - and that's about it.
NAPOLI VELATA (NAPLES IN VEILS)

Recommended. Deeply mysterious, throws you off the trail masterfully. With very sensual bits too, mostly owing to the sex-inspiring Alessandro Borghi - who did not look even remotely hot in "The Place" and was only vaguely attractive in "Dalida". Here he's also outstanding in the whole array of behaviours and emotions. The whole thing is utterly romantic.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 3D

Watchable. Decent 3D. Decent lines, e.g. "I always hid there when we played hide-and-seek." "I don't think you really got the gist of the game." Decent Stan Lee's cameo where he sees his car shrink and comments: "The 60s were fun but now I'm paying for this." - the pun referring both to the widespread drug use in the 1960s and to his age (95 now, long live Stan Lee!). Standard superhero action, mostly for teenagers, with protagonists' previous deeds summarised in dialogues. One scene was so touching I shed some tears. The mid-credit announces a sequel and the post-credit is more like just for fun but the final words which appear on the screen twice in a slightly changed form: "Ant-Man and the Wasp will return. Ant-Man and the Wasp will return?" In Poland the translation is very bad. The 3 times I forgot to ignore the subtitles they were way off the original lines.

Sunday 22 July 2018

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

Recommended. A summer comedy musical shot on the Croatian island of Vis pretending the fictitious Greek island of Kalokairi. Made me both laugh and shed a tear. "If you love, you're willing to die for her!" "Yes, but you don't have to. It's an important distinction." or "It's karma and it's pronounced 'Ha!'" are examples of the amusing bits. But a broken heart comes into the equasion too. Two parallel stories, led swiftly, converge into one beautifully. Also fashion in the costumes presents a cross of the 1970s and of 2018: bell-bottoms and suntan of the 70s, open arms from this season and floral patterns of the past which have made a come back a few years ago and stayed till now. An immigration officer commenting on people's hair-cuts is an ironic addition. A post-credit of him makes you leave the cinema with a broad smile.

Saturday 21 July 2018

DOLPHIN MAN

Recommended. I saw the VR version first and at the beginning the ordinary 2D screen was disappointing. For a larger part it's some biography intertwined with technicalities of freediving but the deeper you get into the film the more it engulfs you. You learn trivia like the impact of Zen on freediving: Zen meditations require you to stop thinking which, in turn, makes your brain use less oxygen hence lets you dive longer on a single breath. Yoga breathing techniques are more obvious. Mountain training turns out to be vital too since it makes your body produce more red blood cells. It's also incredible that with lungs being such sensitive organs so many people risk their lives, in one case day after day till the guy died after spitting blood on all 4 occasions, to set records in freediving. Visually, I felt impressed with everyone's beautifully toned muscles. This sport certainly makes your body look amazing. No wonder Luc Besson shot "Le Grand Bleu" ("The Big Blue") - you see him at the premiere. The interpretations of Jacques Mayol's death are also fascinating. An old dolphin separates from the group to die, just like the dolphin man did. On the other hand I heard that there was nothing disgracing in suicide in Japanese culture - he must have absorbed it through Zen - which made me wonder if a suicide is shameful in other cultures. To me it has never been. I don't associate it with samurais, like his Japanese friend did, but perceive it as sad rather. In spite of being so sociable he just felt lonely deep inside.

LE RETOUR DU HEROS (RETURN OF THE HERO)

Watchable. I didn't laugh but I smiled a lot. A very pleasant comedy with serious undertones, i. e. how little people care about the truth, how far boldness can take you or what makes you fall in love.

Thursday 19 July 2018

JIM KNOPF UND LUKAS DER LOKOMOTIVFUHRER (JIM BUTTON AND LUKE THE ENGINE DRIVER)

Watchable. Based on a children's book by Michael Ende. A traditional style fairy-tale, with a quest to save a princess and dragons on the way, but a globalised one: Jim is black and the land of the princess resembles China. The exotic land setting gives a chance to show the relativity of cuisine: we wouldn't eat worms or other "delicacies" while the Asian host hearing about cheese reacts: "Made from milk which went off?! Disgusting!" The quest map comprises imaginative places like the Thousand Wonders Wood but the forest with fruit looking like hanging eyeballs is only glimpsed at. The movie feels a bit slow, especially with fairy-tale-like, unhurried music, however it is filled with love of all kinds of people. "Neverending Story" it isn't but I'm looking forward to the sequel kind-of-announced by the final scene.

SKYSCRAPER

Watchable. I'd visit the Pearl building as a tourist attraction if it existed. But most of the story, obviously, is man-made fire in the extraordinary architectonic structure. A pretty standard plot, decent cinematography.

(DROLES DE PETITES BETES) TALL TALES FROM THE MAGICAL GARDEN OF ANTOON KRINGS

Recommended. A delightful animation about bugs inhabiting a meadow most suitable for nursery and primary school age children. It's colourful. Wasps' wings shine blue, green and golden. Insect anatomy is cutely recreated with a buttefly having a rolled-funnel-shaped nose. Clothes and weapons are modelled on leaves and flowers. A bee and a cricket sing "La vie en rose" together. Action bits are played to hoedown music.

ODNAJDE CIE

Watchable. Very Polish. Shabby places, people average on the beauty scale, coarse language, professional punching techniques make it realistic but also little comprehensible at times. It's engaging but the main story frame, with soldiers peddling cocaine in Afghanistan, is far-fetched. Some dialogues are smart: Justa's talk to the priest or about alimonies to her unfaithful husband or her and Sztyra each trying to persuade his ex-wife to do two contradictory things carry specific social humour. I also liked the game with the viewer when two different knockings on the door are heard and shown one after the other. Quite decent as Polish action films go.

Wednesday 18 July 2018

TAG

Watchable. Comparable to "Game Night" but more intriguing and actually amusing at times. I would burst out laughing e.g. when they knocked over the priest at the ceremony, when a cleaner rattled so loud while cleaning he rendered an office conversation impossible or when an infatuated guy couldn't hide his elation talking to his dream woman: "Is your husband dead? Really?!" The core storyline was gripping from minute one till the very end. Music heavy on the 80s, e.g. Beastie Boys with "Shake Your Rump", Ice T, Boys II Men, Ozzy Osbourne, Naked Raygun, Pixies etc. The whole thing still is not exactly hilarious but inspiring and returning faith in adulthood - you can still have fun and still have true friends. The original tag players - older and fatter but strikingly nice and every bit just as playful - are shown right after the plot is concluded. Some ridiculous song is sung by the actors along with the end credits. 

KURIER (THE RESISTANCE FIGHTER)

Director Władysław Pasikowski gives freedom to everyone he cooperates with, i.e. actors or cinematographers and is said to be a true gentleman. What can we expect in the upcoming Polish movie? Long shots, more like in the theatre than in the film. More female roles than in his earlier productions. The movie hero Jan Nowak Jezioranski couldn't use the parachute well, didn't know how to cycle - was a hero but not a superhero. The cinematography has been inspired by paintings of the time (WW2) since photographs were only black and white. 

Info for Polish people reading it: the Warsaw Rising Museum is hosting a casting for the roles of insurgents and AK soldiers for people aged 18-24 on 7th August.

Sunday 15 July 2018

ON CHESIL BEACH

Recommended. An unusual love story. At first even funny, e.g. taking shoes off hastily in bed. In the middle it suddenly turns quite heart-wrenching. Words heard from the beloved one can ruin your life forever. I had tears in my eyes. Also class tensions, first marginalised, come to the fore. England is a parallel protagonist of the story which starts in England of old values and takes you through bits of social history of Britain. Lots of classical quartets in the soundtrack but also Amy Winehouse's "I Wake Up Alone".

UNDIR TRENU (UNDER THE TREE)

Watchable. An engaging story of a neighbours' feud, rich in events but easy to follow. The finale's over the top and the very last scene predictable.

EARTH: ONE AMAZING DAY

Recommended when seen again. You notice new details when you see it for the second time: pandas which need to eat for 14 hours daily, a snoring sloth or mesmerising underwater views of the sloth swimming through a blue river, cute bears standing and rubbing thier backs against trees, raccoons. Fluorescent mushrooms and threads glowing blue in the dark must have inspired "Avatar". It's just all about the immense beauty of the natural world. 

LE GRAND MECHANT RENARD ET AUTRES CONTES... (THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES...)

Recommended. A delightful animal tale for everyone from nursery age upwards. Cute, ironic, with smart dialogues. Last but not least, it's not dubbed but with voice over in Poland and you can hear clearly most of the French original.

살인자의 기억법 (MEMOIR OF A MURDERER)

Watchable. Not a masterpiece but an entertaining crime story with plenty of second bottoms and a constant game with the viewer. Very good in the class B category. Resembles Nolan's "Memento" from 2000 but in an even more inventive version. A serial killer meets a serial killer and, in addition, one of the two suffers from Alzheimer's. The effect is totally engrossing, you never know what is true and what is a false memory. Plenty of twists of action, till the very end. If only the execution wasn't of such an inferior kind, the acting especially. Anyway, you can't get bored. Some bits are funny, e.g. when the old chap forgets who's in his car and leaves his woman passenger on the road in the middle of nowhere. 

ALL I WISH

Watchable. Sharon Stone has produced a romantic comedy, cast herself in the lead role, added plenty of cheerful pop songs and it is what it was meant to be - light entertainment. I laughed out only once: "You sang?! You told us you were tone deaf!" to which a barman reacts: "He is." There's a bit with a stupid good-looking man - refreshing, rare in movies. Sharon Stone styles herself quite like Madonna and the story takes you through a series of the protagonist's birthdays which smartly shows her life changes. It's all light, summer fun. 
NOWE HORYZONTY (NEW HORIZONS) INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

I'm not going to the festival in Wroclaw though it's very enticing. Firstly, the Girlhood section whose name refers to the famous movie by Richard Linklater and which is going to comprise of films about growing up girls made by women. In men's movies they've been terribly sexualised. I'd love to see how women present that period in life. Secondly, Iran Iran is going to focus on science fiction and surrealism. Thirdly, there's going to be a room devoted to Polish movies in different stages of production. Retrospectives and Theatrology are perfectly skippable for me.

Saturday 14 July 2018

SHARP OBJECTS - EPISODE 1

Watchable. Amy Adams?! Or shouldn't I judge by appearances, even in the case of films/serials? Shouldn't a reporter be smart or shrewd? She looks gentle, vulnerable, maybe sexy, but not sharp. As for the story, I'm most intrigued by the sex violence pictures she saw as a teenager. And the letters appearing on her skin, full of cut scars, to form word "vanish". But the murders on girls and a serial killer in a small town are so cliche. OK, now I'm curious to learn more but very dubious as to whether it's worth it. The music, the song over the end credits makes impression in its own right.

SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO


Recommended. Far from a direct follow-up. It takes you down a surprising path. This time ISIS is the pretext for the story which, through politics, brings you back to the world of Mexican drug cartels. Filmed in the State of New Mexico. The plot is clear-cut and keeps you on the edge of the seat, sparing you the extreme brutality of the 1st installment. The same memorable music - "The Beast" theme from "Sicario" - creates both the chills down your spine and gravitas. Judging from the last scene, a 3rd part is coming. I'm looking forward to it.

Tuesday 10 July 2018

FINCHE C'E PROSECCO C'E SPERANZA (THE LAST PROSECCO) 

Watchable. Plenty of very Italian vistas. Old style investigation. Babak Karim acts as an uncle. The police detective is half Persian which justifies the presence of the Indian actor as his uncle as well as accounts for his own apparent ignorance of some things Italian, prosecco in particular. Italy is the best actress of the film. The main characters are heart-warming in spite of cold-blooded murders. There's an adorable elderly chap cleaning graves and chatting to the deceased as if they were his living friends. The detective is learning the ropes of his profession and looking for an adequate jacket. Subtle irony abounds. It's a small town with plenty of skeletons in the closet. The bad industrialist plot detracts from its old-fashioned charm.

Monday 9 July 2018

NOWE KINO CHINSKIE (NEW CHINESE CINEMA)

XIE YAOHUAN

Watchable. The plot's rubbish - some key elements are never concluded. But characteristic singing, opera acting and, most of all, fabulous costumes are an attraction enough.


‎我的战争 (MY WAR)

Watchable. Love for Chinese Democratic Republic must surpass the love for a man with sexy eyes. As a romantic story it's disappointing since in ends sad but the Chinese communist girl with pigtails finds consolation in return to the homeland. 
刘烨 (Liu Ye) as the male lead is quite attractive. The story's moralistic.


VYKRADENA PRYNTSESA: RUSLAN I LUDMILA (THE STOLEN PRINCESS)


Watchable. A postmodern fairy-tale where a girl on a magazine cover has "make-up like from Renaissance" and a scythe is a "tuned-up version". Chaotic. With a story within a story and plenty of different elements thrown in: talking animals: cats and a hamster, a stone monster breathing fire, kung fu. The characters have big eyes, Ukrainian aesthetics is present in their costumes and the look of the town. Lots of adventures, plenty of magic and fantastical creatures. Standard music, doesn't disturb but nothing to remember either. The songs are in English even with the whole film dubbed in Polish.



NOWE KINO CHINSKIE (NEW CHINESE CINEMA)


蕭紅 (FALLING FLOWERS)


Watchable. The biography of famous Chinese writer Xiao Hong is a touching story of a woman loved by every man she met but let down by each of them. It let me understand certain relationship choices, e.g. the man who was the most responsible in terms of work and finance betrayed her with several women. Others were either romantic but unreliable and one was a calculative egoist. With 11 years of history of China (1931-1942) in the background. Fascinating but feels lengthy and doesn't explain why she evoked such infatuations in the men. It's also difficult to make out who is who in the story.


FULL CIRCLE


Watchable. A warm tale about very old people regaining independence. Likeable characters. A touching moment when a woman counts hours spent with her parents which over 20 years amount to 10 days. At the same time very old people aren't exactly pleasing to look at and there's a lot about diseases and a bit about dying.



OVERBOARD


Watchable. Few moments made me laugh out loud, mainly people falling over and one of parental overprotection: 'We've just given your sister space." and seeing her talking to a boy: "We've given her too much space." Becomes moving towards the end but the whole thing is just very cheerful, nothing sad. 



NOWE KINO CHINSKIE (NEW CHINESE CINEMA)

玄奘 (XUAN ZANG)

Recommended. Breathtaking visuals owing to top-notch cinematography, stunning locations, splendid costumes and dancing as the road movie takes you from China to India. A beautiful song over the final credits. No wonder the Chinese nominated it for an Oscar in 2017. Makes impression even if your knowledge of Chinese history, culture and Buddhism is next to none. 


狼图腾 / LE DERNIER LOUP (WOLF TOTEM)


Recommended. Amazing cinematography. Deeply moving. Impossible to stay indifferent. Plenty of cruelty to wolves: murdering puppies, burning adult ones, bomb traps. I certainly wouldn't want to see it again but I'm happy I saw it once. Based on a true story. 



UNSANE


Recommended. A thriller chilling more than all those supernatural horrors. Imagine yourself involuntarily getting committed to a mental institution. Everything's legal and set up with a meticulous plan (of financial gain). You, being perfectly sane, find yourself locked up with aggressive harassers and perverts who are truly mentally disturbed. There are further, more standard twists to the plot but keeping you on the edge of your seat as well. On a deeper level, you see how 
perceptions of the perpetrator differ between the victim and the guy's superiors at work, a cautionary tale. I felt relieved reading the usual "all similarities are coincidental" note at the end.


NOWE KINO CHINSKIE (NEW CHINESE CINEMA)


美人鱼 (THE MERMAID)


Watchable. I was astonished by the brutality in the romantic comedy about love of a mermaid and a wealthy entrepreneur. Of all mermaid films I've seen in my life this one is by far the most bloody and violent. 


青春派 (YOUNG STYLE)


Watchable. Characteristic protagonists, though such exaggerated acting by children looks weird. Yet, it's easy to distinguish between them. About unrequited love in high school. 
There are mid-credits of a class and of students showing their Gao Kao results.


LA PROMESSE DE L'AUBE


Watchable. Max Richter's slow music makes it feel even longer than it is. It's Romain Gary's biography with too much time, nearly half, devoted to his childhood and next to none to his adult post-war years. Impressive how his initially poor mother provided for him and how well she prepared him to become a gentleman to fulfill her dream of her son becoming a consul and wearing suits tailored in London and how she and he achieved that against all odds. The bond between the two built him and destroyed him leading him to a suicide in the 1960s. The cinematography puts stress on poverty using gloomy dark colours excessively.


Watching it at Warsaw's Amondo Cinema I couldn't help the feeling spending the 2 hours 11 minutes on a Ryanair flight would give me more leg room.



NEW CHINESE CINEMA


尋找成龍 (LOOKING FOR JACKIE)

Watchable. Usual fun with Jackie Chan. The main young actor, 
张一山 (Yishan Zhang), is so good he could replace Jackie Chan one day. Of course it's just a moral tale for teenagers but pleasant and light with good, light music.

The movie put me into a fighting mode for an altogether different reason. 3 (!) small children were brought in by their parents to the movie. 2 were taken out after causing disturbance - I wonder why those people came in at all. 1 woman, however, persistently refused to get her kid out for a bigger part of the screening and the cinema staff were nowhere to be found when needed the most. 


YI A SUO MI MA (THE SECRET OF IMMORTAL CODE)


Watchable. Very western in style standard SF plot with a monster but black and white which gives the ship a more isolated feel.



JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM 3D


Watchable. Little point in 3D, it's almost flat. The plot and even some shots resemble "Jurassic Park" more than "Jurassic World". But the dinosaurs are still looking good and the action kept me on the edge of my seat. And the ending - partly before and partly after the credits - is fantastic. The co-existence of us and other contemporary species with dinosaurs looks adorable. I'm looking forward to part 3. 


BAO 


Recommended. A short film preceding "Incredibles 2". It's spot on with teenager behaviours. Stresses love of family and love of food. Now I have an appetite for steamed dumplings.

INCREDIBLES 2


Watchable. Memory erasure like in "Men in Black", lines from "The Outer Limits" opening sequence hypnotise citizens, the motel the family stays in is in pastel colours like in "The Florida Project". Not very funny but when the father discovers the baby's superpowers it is amusing. The storyline is predictable. Continuity has been preserved mostly due to jokes based on references to Mr. Incredible's previous insurance job. No mid- or post-credits.

Update: I've compared it with the 3D version. The 3D has depth but ends at the screen surface, doesn't come out to the viewers.

ADRIFT


Recommended. A perfect date movie. A story of love on a holiday/life/voyage in Tahiti runs parallel to a sea disaster aftermath. Sam Claflin in the role of Richard makes it all even more romantic.Two consecutive stories merge into one. You learn step by step what, how and why. And, once the tales have merged, there comes a shock. Based on facts. One day after the movie I still felt like crying whenever I remembered the film. Powerful stuff.


Some info from a meeting with director Baltasar Kormákur: He was a competitive sailor himself but he felt frustrated with the fact that in movies survival used to be about men, e.g. fishermen. The "Adrift" real life protagonist had just lost her daughter to a gas leak when they started the work. So he decided to make a film about that strong woman and shot it all in the actual ocean. He's aware people treat movies as truth. The actors on the first, sunny day were like: "I can't believe people are paying us to do this" and would snap selfies. On the next day they started vomiting and that was when he started shooting. He's used to shooting in bad weather. When he was making "Everest" in the Dolomites it was -30 degrees Celsius and wet every day. He's Icelandic so he feels the connection with nature and doesn't get upset by it. He lives in Reykjavik and has a farm up north. Currently he's working on "Independent people" based on the book of the same title - the only Icelandic Nobel so he feels lots of pressure. He loves acting too but directing is his job so acting would be like a vacation. He also mentioned how it was to work with Denzel Washington. The actor gets 20 million for a movie so "he's like Coca Cola, he's a brand" which also means he's incredibly well prepared.

Wednesday 4 July 2018

I FEEL PRETTY

Watchable. I'm still not a great fun of Amy Schumer since she doesn't really make me laugh. Yet she gets me thinking. Her comedies always convey some hidden message. This one is not concealed much. It's about whether our life success depends on our looks or on our self-esteem. However, what provided me with even more food for thought were the truthful remarks about high-end cosmetics consultants, who intimidate less attractive or less confident women, versus lower end buyers who make fun of bargain-hunting, unlike upper class women who just wouldn't shop in cheaper stores. What I found comforting was fat Amy getting upset with her beautiful slim friend feeling bad about herself: "Do you have every rib I have? Do you even have organs?"


BENZINHO (LOVELING)


Watchable. Not much of a story. However, it struck a chord with me since it told a story of a family where one member was going abroad "forever". The travel preparations were so authentic.

OCEAN'S EIGHT


Recommended. The heist has a double twist so the movie plot matches the original "Ocean's Eleven". The team comprises of women of different races. In the beginning we get the introduction of all the con artists, like in "Ocean's Eleven". It's Danny Ocean's sister's master plan this time. We see a picture of Danny who apparently died in 2018 "but it's not sure". An acrobat takes part like in the previous three "Ocean's" movies. Cameos by e.g. Anna Wintour, designs by giants like Fendi or Vivienne Westwood. McQueen is mentioned when the actress gives the tour of the exhibition. Right before the release of McQueen's cinematic biography.