Movie reviews

US AGAIN

Recommended. The short film preceding "Raya and the Last Dragon" expresses both longing for youth and joy of life at any age and is bound to tug on your heartstrings. Shown through dance, with the city looking real in the background, it recreates the "Singin' in the Rain" iconic street post scene, though without a song. I felt deeply moved within 7 minutes.

RAYA  AND THE LAST DRAGON

Recommended. This animated blockbuster, made from 400 individual homes, dazzles from the opening with a wide array of visual contexts: pictorial books, Disney fairy-tales, Chinese puppet theatre, Barbie films, realistic backdrops at times. The movie draws on the artistic and musical traditions of the East and the West. Shiny outfits give the impression of silk. People of all shapes and sizes inhabit the realm. The separate lands evoke both China before it was united and "The Game of Thrones" where the peoples also competed and differed both geographically and culturally. Music by James Newton Howard derives from Chinese and Western music and, over the end credits, from African and Native American melodies. Atmos sound quality ensures you don't miss a note. The story is complex but lucid and abounds in adventures. It educates on international co-operation and explains how our attitudes create our world and how we depend on one another. Every evil has its source and our lack of understanding of others' motives leads to disagreement. Facial expressions of humans and dragons attract. A cute beetle is used as a vehicle. There is witty banter, e.g.: "I'm awfully hungry." "Dried seaweed?" "Not that much." but also several touching moments and a tear-jerking finale. Sisu, dubbed in the original by Awkwafina, in Polish is dubbed in much the same voice - I'm impressed with the attention to detail Disney put in it. 

LOKAL ZAMKNIETY - OFFICIAL PREMIERE

Watchable. Energetic drinks were handed in on entry so my first thought was the movie might be hard to survive without one. I was proven wrong. The crime story is engaging. But the comedy is not funny at all, partly due to poor direction, partly because of stereotypical characters. After a year of the pandemic, writer-director Krzysztof Jankowski got even the Covid details wrong, e.g. you hear that someone went to hospital after he had lost his sense of smell - doesn't make sense, does it? What I couldn't help but see all the time was poor lighting used, what's worse never changing through the film. The production company was called Ego Movies and taken the ropey quality of this offering, their egos must be overblown. 

Director's initial idea was to put the protagonist's wife in more than just two scenes, she was to storm into the brothel. The number of shooting days meant cutting it out. So the movie could have been worse and only the low budget saved the remains of grace. Chabior, Damięcki, Solarz didn't turn up at the premiere. They had acted fine, taken the circumstances. As for shooting during the pandemic, the 30-strong film crew was tested a few times and no contagion was found. Sebastian Stankiewicz, whose friends made the movie, won a pizza voucher in the business card prize draw. Marta Długokęcka was offered to act in the film but turned them down because she carefully selects the roles assuming later you are recognizable by them. I didn't recognize her face, nor did I find any film titles in which she acted. Snacks: 1 vegan, 4 vegetarian, 1 with fish were all provided by Zdrówko Restaurant from Legionowo and the 5 I tasted were really good. Better than the movie.