Movie reviews

HAUNTED MANSION

Watchable again. As usual, it gave me a chance to catch more detail, e.g. an animated candle. But the main reason was to see the original language version. There are smart lines in the original, in Poland the dubbed and subtitled versions have different translations but neither is a match for the original. "They're already dead!" "They'll be deader." is fine though. LaKeith Stanfield gives a top performance as Ben. No surround sound when watched in an ordinary screening room.

MEG 2: THE TRENCH

Watchable. Adrenaline-pumping entertainment. The megalodons look better this time round, other prehistoric animals are top-notch. In fact it's the megs that aren't entirely up to scratch. At some point you see the teeth are paper etc. The plot is so far-fetched you can't think for a second it might be real. But this time the protagonist is an 'eco warrior' and an honest and an evil corporation clash. And at least the York survives. It's an American-Chinese co-production and the Chinese song at the end credits is better than the English one. But Meiying's character is needless in the story and makes no sense - what is she for?! Shot in Thailand and a digitally altered Greek island. Decent 3D.

TALK TO ME

Watchable. A bunch of teenagers summon ghosts at parties - trite, one original element is that they let them into their bodies. The rest is so derivative it's boring. It drags. It's neither particularly interesting, whether the real life part or the supernatural, nor scary. The finale's cool.

PAST LIVES

Watchable. The writer/director Celine Song's true life story is a movie quiet, slow-paced, yet engaging with subtle irony but also tear-jerking at times. The Korean lines are sometimes a bit off in Polish, especially the one about living the future incarnation where a cause and effect grammar structure is used in Korean, none like that in the Polish translation, which leads me to believe some subtle changes in the meaning have occurred. The plot is a love triangle where cultural differences are stressed in a conversation but don't manifest in actions. The story's banal, though may appeal to people in relationships dissatisfied with their choice of partner.

WIKTORIA 1920 (VICTORY 1920) VR

Recommended. Gripping 360-degree pictures and wartime action. Top-notch acting and dialogue.

DZA-DZA (THE CHAMPION) VR

Recommended. Full 360-degree immersion, top dialogue and characters. The tennis match features superb music.

NIE KOCHAC W TAKA NOC (A NIGHT LIKE THIS) VR

Recommended. Wonderful music, comical action, superb 360-degree shots.

All these VR films can be seen free of charge at the Ministry of Culture gallery. Each is relatively long, up to 30 minutes.

EL FRED QUE CREMA (THE BURNING COLD)

Watchable. Barely. Andorran folklore is much like Polish at WW2 times, shots of the mountains are few and far between. The story, about providing rescue to Jews, is awfully trite. The Andorran clan feuds are the only new element but they sound like in Hispanic soap operas. And it all drags.

SCRAPPER

Director Charlotte Reagan started at the age of 15, making videos for local rappers. 

Watchable. The 12-year-old girl protagonist is a thief and a liar, however resourceful she is at the same time, so it's hard to like her. 27-year-old (now) Harris Dickinson, the star of "Triangle of Sadness", acts as Jason, Georgie's 30-year-old father. He's superb, especially taken how different this role is from his previous. He glues you to the screen, unlike silly comments from the people around Georgie or spiders' talk. Forced originality mars this dysfunctional family drama.

BELFER (THE TEACHER) SEASON 1 EP. 3

Recommended. Some characters show their warmer and/or weirder side. Top-notch, realistic dialogue. Maciej Stuhr as the teacher and Piotr Głowacki as the good cop are superb. A growing number of unknowns. No single cliffhanger needed. It's all gripping.

The first season is available free of charge on Canal+ online all summer.

POWROT (RETURN) SEASON 1 EP. 1

Watchable. The set-up where a chap rises from the grave - literally - is original and promising. Acted by a solid set of professionals and written with good lines, it often turns into comedy, e.g. his mother notices him by chance and wants to build a chapel in the place of the revelation. But, written and directed by men, it's overloaded with sex. At some point it even sees two rabbits having an intercourse. What's worse, different protagonists have sex 3 times in one episode, when at least his widowed wife, his best friend and he himself should be depressed so it's hardly plausible. If the writer had no better idea for the very first episode, what can we count for in the rest of the serial? 

This episode is available free of charge on Canal+ online all summer.