Movie reviews

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

Watchable. Starts with music on the opening credits. DJ Khaled is the guy behind the soundtrack and he also makes a cameo as Manny. An excellent theme is played over and over during the movie, including the end credits. Worth hearing in Atmos where available. The movie resembles "Fast & Furious": bright sun, speeding on the street, a protagonist prays and it's set for a sequel. As for the plot, is Will Smith going to find out about a son or clone in each movie now? Well, at least, unlike "Gemini Man", here the whole story's served with a big dose of humour - I didn't quite laugh but it felt lighthearted. The humour was partly based on social observations, e.g. the two cops' conversation on the plane sounds as if they were criminals or even terrorists. In another situation, Mike Lowry remarks there are only vegans in Miami so why Manny claims to have made money selling meat. Most importantly, the movie lifts your mood and makes you ready for life challenges: "Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, when we come for you?" There's one very early mid-credit (the passenger on the plane).

SPIES IN DISGUISE 3D

Walked out. In spite of decent 3D. In Poland, you can see it only dubbed in Polish so no chance to hear Will Smith. The plot is terribly run of the mill and when the main protagonist is turned into a pidgeon, it focuses on the disgusting stuff the birds do. DJ Khaled's music sounds pretty average too.

MAYDAY

Watchable. Another cinematic release by decent comedy craftsman Sam Akina. Still romantic but this is a comedy of piling up errors. Based on Ray Cooney's stage play "Run For Your Wife" but heavier and more brutal, gangster way, than the original play or than the subsequent British movie. Complex plot. Great dialogues by 5 writers of both sexes. Piotr Adamczyk i Adam Woronowicz are phenomenal in the two lead roles. The two wives, by Anna Dereszowska and Weronika Książkiewicz, are too serious though. The running from hospital  sequence with superb Piotr Adamczyk is top-notch comedy. I laughed out loud a few more times, e.g. the guy is having sex with one of his wives when they hear a banging on the door so he shouts out: "Jeszcze nie!" ("Not yet!") or he's running to and fro at a horse race venue to the commentary about racing horses and a policeman remarks: "Zaraz wygra Derby" ("He'll win derby soon"). But the plot is convoluted, partly through the opening scene and then going back in time. After a longer analysis I understood the crime subplot but that was unnecessary confusion on top of the romantic comedy of errors. No mid- or post-credit but at the end you read that any similarity to actual persons or events is coincidental unless you have two wives. Or husbands.

NASZA MALA POLSKA (OUR LITTLE POLAND)

Recommended. Czech Matěj Bobrik has made a comprehensive and thought-provoking documentary about Japanese students reading Polish at Tokyo University. Their perceptions of Poland and Europe appear weird at times, e.g. about milk being sold in large containers in Poland and going off quickly - I wonder how milk is sold and preserved in Japan. And their remark on the two child actors who later "became presidents" in Poland shows their blessed ignorance of the fact all Poles associate it politically at present. It's quite refreshing to hear about it in such a light tone. Also their summer course in Poland sometimes leads to funny observations, e.g. the conversation about what's a national dish: when sauerkraut is put in kebab it becomes Polish. It shows their struggles with the language but also a creative enactment of a traditional story where a legendary character meets a historic figure and where many male roles are replaced by female. Add on their pondering about the value of such niche knowledge as well as the comparison of ultra-busy lives of Japanese corporate staff and the "slow" life in Poland. What's fascinating is how the other culture changed them: both the deep analysis of Polish legends and the experience of a different lifestyle. I bet they'll never be like the other Japanese just like I'll never be fully Polish. The ending touched me.