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. 

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