Movie reviews

MONSTER FAMILY 2

Watchable. An awfully run-of-the-mill animation, combining futuristic science fiction with legendary monsters, to appeal to modern child audience. The consistent plot centres round teenage yearning for appreciation. As for the Atmos system, just once the sound impressively surrounds you. An early mid-credit announces a sequel. Unfortunately.

THE BUNKER GAME

Watchable. The opening LARP definition is easy to forget as a mockumentary charts a history in which the Nazis win the war and form the Fourth Reich, next bomb the US with nuclear weapons and in retaliation are destroyed themselves in a similar manner. Survivors perpetuate the Nazi ideology inhabiting a bunker. That itself is a great set-up. The illusion is broken when you're reminded of the game. What follows is a slasher with ghost interventions and a handful of jump scares. While, at some point, you're made aware darkness mixed with fear leads to our minds playing their own games, this promise is never fulfilled. Subsequent events are literal, whether supernatural or criminal. Some tropes remind you of "Halloween" and other movie references may be traced but they're just props, never truly playing with the genre. An upside down shot implies turning over the protagonists' lives but apart form most of them getting killed off, only one transformation takes place and it's a derivative one. The final scene implies transporting you to a different reality, as if it weren't a game at all. The problem is, it makes no sense since it serves no purpose for any character. Wasted potential.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Watchable. On a large screen to catch backdrop scenes. Various periods of history and culture from all over the world are mentioned but too crazily to let you muse over those associations. Stephanie Hsu shows off her acting chops. Atmos is applied but no special effects can be heard in an ordinary screening room. As for speech clarity, that's tricky since Chinese mixes with English. The main message seems to be: "We are all useless alone". Jamie Lee Curtis is unrecognisable as a civil servant. However bizarre the picture is, it will appeal to anyone who's dreamed of punching an IRS agent.

BURBISZKI

Walked out. One village and, mostly, its surroundings filmed for over two years. This nature documentary with classical music lacks order. There's nothing to look forward to, no story. Instead timelapse overload. The colours didn't look well at Kultura cinema Rejs room either.

Too much loud music makes the viewing exhausting and uncomfortable..

FESTIWAL FILMOW FRANKOFONSKICH NA NINATECE (FRANCOPHONE FILM FESTIVAL AT NINATEKA)

EILEEN GRAY - EINLADUNG ZUR REISE (EILEEN GRAY - INVITATION TO A VOYAGE)

Recommended. This documentary is incredible and puts famous Le Corbusier in the shadow. Funny how this envious male reacted to Eileen Gray's architectural design he had actually become infatuated with. She was admirable and used her 98 years of life magnificently. Never heard of her before but the film is explicit as to the reasons. At the same time you can't help but marvel at the functionality of her creations, e.g. a little table which can be transformed into a ladder. I could definitely do with one. She well deserved a biopic.

It's good it was online because I had to go back many times to catch all the details both of the narrative and of the designs presented visually. Unfortunately white subtitles made it hard to read even up close.