HISTORIA ROJA (THE STORY OF SWARM (ROJ) OR YOU HEAR BETTER UNDERGROUND)

Watchable. Lively action, brutality, good editing, great music. Unfortunately the film is so dark it's hard to distinguish between protagonists and  it's chaotic. It also shows people in different uniforms, uses acronyms of organizations without explaining who is who or how many sides are in the conflict. First it says that cursed soldiers fought the Soviet occupants. Later you see Poles slaughtering other Poles. I just couldn't make out who was shooting who and why. Whatever the film is about, it clearly glorifies violence.

OSCARS 2016

I love Chris Rock! I feared he would make racist anti-white jokes. Instead he's against political correctness and clearly states that what black actors need are opportunities. He rightly points out Leonardo di Caprio gets a great opportunity every year while Jamie Foxx who "was so great that when he was Ray they unplugged the real Ray" doesn't. Or about women who are no longer asked what they are wearing: "Men aren't asked because they all wear the same!"

No wins for my favourites so far. But I admit I haven't seen "Spotlight", "The Big Short" or "The Danish Girl".

Oh, no! That awful "Mad Max: Fury Road" gets 6 Oscars.

Visual Effects for "Ex Machina" is not too bad. At least not for "Mad Max".

Star Wars robots (all 3 of them) on the stage!

Scout cookies replace the pizza order gimmick. Barely funny. But at least I learnt Leonardo di Caprio had made 30 million.

Mark Rylance winning the Best Supporting Actor award for being the Soviet spy in "Bridge of Spies" is fine with me. He was brilliant. His speech made an impression as he said "I don't know how they separate my supporting acting from your glorious supporting acting" to his awarhttps://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6904490964741603406#editor/target=post;postID=7083504047651953856d rivals.

Best Documentary Feature "Amy". Exactly what I rooted for.

Hungarian "Son of Saul" deservedly wins the foreign category.

I hated the "Till It Happens To You" being nominated as the best song because the film - "The Hunting Ground" wasn't. To my amazement the vice president came to the Oscar gala, where he called himself "the least qualified man here" but came to urge everyone to take "a pledge to intervene when a consent has not or cannot be given". Lady Gaga also made a statement with her powerful rendition of the song.

Brie Larson won Best Actress In A Leading Role for "Room" just liked I hoped and she even thanked the movie goers for seeing her film.

Shame Lady Gaga's song didn't win. The worst song performed by Sam Smith did. I just could't stand his voice.
 
Ennio Morricone deservedly won the Best Original Score for "The Hateful Eight" and paid a tribute to his rival John Williams. I really appreciated it. Two greats had been nominated at the same time.

At his 6th nomination Leonardo di Caprio finally wins! He gets a standing applause and gives a beautiful speech on climate change and on how we should take our planet for granted just like he's not taking his Oscar for granted.

High time for me to see "Spotlight". Quite a lot of movie clampdown on sex criminals this year by the way.

I followed http://schoener-fernsehen.com/live/stream/de/PRO7/PRO%20SIEBEN/ without significant technical disruptions this year.

EL CLAN

Watchable. Based on true events it portrays a psychopathic kidnapper and his accomplice family so the story is interesting in itself. However, it's a tad chaotic, poorly scripted, directed, shot. The most interesting bit is a guy throwing himself from the fifth floor and... surviving.

BEFORE THE OSCAR GALA
 
Who would I like to win?
 
Leonardo di Caprio because he did more than any other actor in history.  I'm not even talking about his eating sushi (raw fish) and steak tartare (raw meat) on the screen but that he entered the horse carcass! I wouldn't ever do it and I suppose most people, even actors, wouldn't either. Respect for commitment and authenticity. If he didn't get it even this year, it would be outrageous.

Among the others who absolutely should get an Oscar is Roger Deakins for cinematography in "Sicario" - he elevated cinema to a whole new level of brutality, just like "Oldboy" years ago marked a new level of showing cruelty, now did "Sicario" and that's mostly due to the cinematography - so naturalistically nightmareous it's weird that actors didn't run from the filmset. Alan Robert Murray should by the way get an Oscar for sound editing as it completet the horror in the movie. 

Also Lenny Abrahamson for directing and Emma Donoghue for the adapted screenplay of "Room" - an exceptional storyline, where after, like I had thought, the climax, long continuation follows and it's no less hard-hitting than the first part of the film (who's seen it, knows where the division line goes). On the whole, that second part is the most meaningful because the events which inspired the first half were reported all over the world, while what happens to such persons afterwards disappears from the media even thought it's no less frightening.  

In the foreign language category Laszlo Nemes for "Son of Saul" which is impossible to forget. 

In the visual effects category Richard McBride for the bear scene in "The Revenant" - the computer-generated bear looks like a real one.

JAB TAK HAI JAAN (AS LONG AS I LIVE) (2012)

Watchable. Painfully slow for the first hour, with slow music, nothing much happening and all the modern Bollywood cliches (he's poor, she's filthy rich, they fall in unfortunate love). Still, it's heart-warming and quite moving for the next two hours. With Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.

DEADPOOL

Watchable. I didn't like the mostly vulgar jokes but enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek comment on Ryan Reynolds (by himself in Deadpool's costume) and opening credits listing e.g. Hot Chick as one of protagonists. Stiil, it's vulgar language plus lots of hip hop and the trailer slogan of "With great power comes great irresponsibility" should refer to the movie makers exploiting the X-Men's fame.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - ANTYWALENTYNKI (ANTIVALENTINE'S)

THE BOY

Watchable. Never truly scary, it's however full of mystery but subsequently gets ruined when the secret is revealed and the film ends like a classic slasher. The drowning scene is impressive.

THE GIFT

Watchable. The stalker isn't very annoying and the whole plot looks like an artificial set-up. But of course stalking involves so it's easy to follow till the end.

PRISONERS

Watchable when seen again. What makes the biggest impression at the second time is how nerve-racking the whole situation is for the families of the kidnapped girls. When you know who-done-it, you no longer sit on the edge of the seat so it's not that thrilling watched again.


SPRAWIEDLIWY

Recommended. It's not just a film about a Pole helping Jews under the patronage of the President of Poland (which is likely to put several people off). It's a moving film about universal moral dilemmas.

NA GRANICY

Watchable. Within this run-down genre, it's quite good, enough tension. One rubbish scene where a hypothermia victim's body is... rubbed instead of warmed gradually. The scriptwriter got duly reproached by me at the conference after the press screening.

THAT SUGAR FILM

Recommended. Before this documentary about the dangers of excessive sugar consumption I was going to buy chocolates. After the screening I didn't. So it worked.

AS MIL E UMA NOITES - VOL. 1 O INQUIETO (ARABIAN NIGHTS - VOL. 1 THE RESTLESS ONE)

Walked out. Slow-paced nonsense full of cursing and vulgarity.

ZOOTROPOLIS IN 3D

Recommended. Good 3D. Great fun, including a great translation by Bartosz Wierzbieta in Polish "Zwierzogrod", e.g. calling Rodentia Chomiczowka (hamster-related and a real suburb of Warsaw at the same time). It's also a captivating (pun intended) thriller with, clear to adults, references to immigrants and ISIS - an amazing achievement in a children's cartoon.

UMBRA

Recommended again. You know it's a masterpiece when you see it again and interpret differently, even more when you talk to others and realise that everyone, including the film director perceives it differently. And the music, acting, make-up enthrall no less than the mysterious story/stories.

GODS OF EGYPT IN 3D

Recommended. Spectacular. Visually absolutely stunning, worth seeing at IMAX (for me the screen seemed too small). The plot is a perfect Hollywood make. Ladies' costumes look strongly inspired by belly dancers'.

JUTRO BEDZIE FUTRO

Recommended. A great documentary without moral preaching. Fur industry is rife in Poland even though Poles don't wear fur coats. Foxes are bred for fur export. The appalling conditions in which they are kept haven't moved hearts. What causes outrage of people living in the vicinity of such farms is environmental damage, escaping animals attacking their hens and the lack of promised jobs. A gripping film avoiding graphic images and showing why the fur industry, while unwelcome, is so hard to fight. The fashion designer saying he's "only icing the cake" is a gem.

GOOSEBUMPS

Watchable. The highschool, the police and the family layer of the film are pleasant to watch. The fantasy layer is not: silly, simplistic and using all the rundown monsters like carnivorous plants, a ventriloquist dummy, an invisible boy, zombies, a gigantic mantis, a werewolf etc. Very predictable.

RENTANEKO (RENT-A-CAT)

Recommended. The cats are cute and the people endearing - each in their own way. A comedy drama about contemporary life where everyone is lonely with little prospects to break this predicament.

0.5 MM

Watchable. At 3 hours 18 minutes and several overlong scenes it's just too long. The story itself is peculiar, involving and very humane.

HAIL, CAESAR!

Watchable. Satire on Hollywood and religions full of movie stars. It's all fun but just mildly amusing, not a laugh-out-loud comedy.

BROOKLYN

Watchable. A very righteous film about a decent girl surrounded by friendly people on emigration. Domhnall Gleeson looks hot. Lame story, some interesting characters. Doesn't deserve any Oscar.

MUSTANG

Recommended. A depiction of teenage girls' lives in rural Turkey where sexual abuse, virginity tests conducted by a male gyn, hypocrisy and forced marriage rule.

A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS

Watchable. An inside view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Natalie Portman speaking Hebrew. Other than that nothing to attract a viewer.

UMBRA

Recommended. Poetic with fantastic music. Reminiscent of Bill Viola as well as Baginski's "Cathedral" while it tackles rape and pedophilia. Perfectly enacted too.

MOW MI MARIANNA (CALL ME MARIANNA)

Watchable. Transsexualism isn't exactly my thing but this film has taught me something new - apparently huge doses of female hormones can lead to a stroke. I found the two parallel stories annoying at first, especially that one is in the form of a play seemingly being prepared. But altogether it tells a full story of turning male to female with its physical, social and psychological consequences.

THE ASSASSIN

Watchable. Silly, typical Chinese kung fu plot. Beautiful visually: the landscapes, the costumes, the scenography make for a pleasant watching.

D'ARDENNEN (THE ARDENNES)

Walked out. About lowlifes. I hate seeing them in real life and can't see a point in watching them at the cinema. If only they were as intelligent as in Tarantino's films. But no. They aren't. Just lowlifes they are.

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - NOC POLSKIEGO KRYMINALU (THE NIGHT OF POLISH CRIME FILMS)

PITBULL

Watchable. Chaotic, loose scenes with no comprehensible storyline, yet lively, showing all sorts of pathologies within the police force.

PITBULL. NOWE PORZADKI (NEW ORDERS)

Recommended. Comprehensible, twisted and contorted story line, beautifully shot, with fascinating characters. It comprises entirely of authentic dialogues and features real police and real criminals. Great action movie.

FOTOGRAF

Recommended. Seen for the second time it's still fascinating and definitely the best film of the marathon. Full of mystery and insight into Russian mentality (the film's banned in Russia) together with the criminal intrigue.

PSY (PIGS)

Walked out. Cliche lines, lousy plot, no fascinating crime either.


PLANETA SINGLI (PLANET SINGLE)

Watchable. Sometimes funny, e.g. to a little boy previously scorned by a teacher, now called over by him: "Nie boj sie, badz mezczyzna!" ("Don't be afraid, be a man!"), sometimes tear-jerking, never hilarious. A Polish film scripted in one half by Americans, in one fourth by a Canadian and one fourth by a Pole. In result it looks like a frame-by-frame remake of a concoction of American rom-coms. It's also fairy-tale-like, very light entertainment. Far from real life online dating experiences.

CAROL

Watchable. It's boring, slow, phoney. None of the Oscar nominations justified apart from the score which creates old time Christmas charm.

THE FINEST HOURS 3D AT IMAX

Recommended. Chris Pine - handsome and acting superbly is the film's main asset. Combined with great visual effects and a clear storyline it makes for a pleasing watching. The final song is beautiful too.

LUCIFER

Watchable. Mexican village folklore is about the only asset of the otherwise slow film about nothing with ugly actors. A colourful bore.

ICH SEH, ICH SEH (GOODNIGHT MOMMY)

Watchable. Similar to "Funny Games" but here the two boys are children. With a horror twist. The storyline is good but poor acting and some pointless psychological/nudity scenes ruin the effect.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - TARANTINOC (TARANTINIGHT)

I skipped "The Hateful Eight" having seen it just 4 days earlier.

PULP FICTION

Recommended. The dialogues and situational surprises are a gem.

JACKIE BROWN

Recommended. A perfect heist movie. Keeps you trying to figure out who'll get the upper hand.


ALVIN AND THE CHIMPUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP

Recommended. Never mind the child-like voices of the chipmunks, especially in the Polish dubbing.  The pets are cute, the film hilarious (e.g. "I can't run so fast!" "Think about donuts!") and heart-gripping, the locations glamorous. A perfect family movie.

LA LOI DU MARCHE (THE MEASURE OF A MAN)

Watchable. Very realistic, like watching the protagonist minute by minute so it's quite slow, its aim is to help you relive some distressing life issues when it shows the eponymous law of market. Also, you can learn some trivia of supermarket security work.

JANIS

Watchable. Clearly made at the wake of the "Amy" success. But it lacks its drama. The film just consists of: people talking, Janis Joplin singing, people talking about her, Janis singing again etc. All in all it tells a sad story of a sensitive girl drugging herself to death.

15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

PROPHET'S PREY

Watchable. While it tells the story of what happened, it doesn't explain how he managed to persuade all those people to give him all their money and their young daughters.

BURDEN OF PEACE

Watchable. Claudia Paz y Paz may look like a housewife but she's been the most effective General Attorney in Guatemalan history fighting corruption and getting drug gangs and war criminals prosecuted. The film lacks shocks or twists and turns. It's a well told story but taken the subject it could have more teeth and suspense.


RAMS

Watchable. A beautiful film about the love of animals and family. Sadly Iceland doesn't look as beautiful here as it does in real life.


15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

AILEEN WUORNOS. THE SELLING OF A SERIAL KILLER

Watchable. Nick Broomfield at his usual mediocre. The hot subject deserves better. Still, it brings you face to face with the insane serial killer or maybe a serial rape attempts survivor (?) as the director managed to get her speak to the camera.


EXCENTRYCY, CZYLI PO SLONECZNEJ STRONIE ULICY

Walked out. Too fake. Everything seems forced. The protagonist's love interest is the worst actor/actress of the film - just totally implausible and theatrical.


15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

ATTACKING THE DEVIL

Watchable. It chronicles the struggle for compensation for thalidomide victims, highlighting how a stubborn journalist made it happen. Lacks suspense though.

JUVENILE LIAISON I

Watchable. Britain of the 70s is what all of Europe should be now - discipline in upbringing. Sadly it just follows one case after another without delving any deeper into short- and long-term effects.


LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG

Recommended. A beautiful, modern-world story about love and family. Moving at times, well-paced.

DEMAIN (TOMORROW)

Recommended. It tackles all future issues: food (growing edible plants in urban gardens), (green) energy, economy (zero growth), politics (power back to the people through power-sharing or drawing representatives at random rather than electing), education (hands-on, discovery approach). It says a disastrous future with scarce food, water and energy supplies is coming in 30-40 years but there's a way round it too. Even if the temperature is rising faster than ever before, we can survive changing the world as we know it.

CREED

Watchable. More interaction than action which means even a woman can stand a film about boxing. It's moving, a bit funny at times (Sylvester Stallone as old Rocky Balboa trains a rookie) but a little too long and that cancer is needless.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 3D

Watchable. I loved the return of the original trilogy characters and the slower version of "Imperial March" over Darth Vader's remnants but why does Snoke look like Lord Voldemort?! An interesting take on "I'm your father" and the slow version of "Emperor's March". Rather poor 3D - not entirely bad but I expected more off such a blockbuster.

THE PEANUTS MOVIE

Watchable. Cute, endearing story, decent 3D but too many stories in one film which makes it too long as well.

MOJE CORKI KROWY (MY SISTER)

Recommended. Mostly sad due to the hospital subject but showing such realistically absurd people's reactions that you can't help but burst out laughing.

JOY

Watchable. Best to skip the first 45 minutes about nothing. But after that silly prelude it becomes a truly involving drama of fighting for one's business, freedom of choice and law.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Recommended. Tarantino is like wine - better and better from one movie to the next. I worried how I would stand 3 hours at the cinema but there was no dispensable second in the film and suspense was, slowly, minute but minute, growing. From the characteristic music and picture at the interlude up to the final brutality beating recent "Sicario" the script, acting, picture and sound have been masterfully put together.

15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

THE LEADER, HIS DRIVER AND THE DRIVER'S WIFE

Walked out. The camera just follows the crew as they try to get an interview with someone not well known anyway. He doesn't have time for them. I decided not to waste mine either.

HYVASTI AFRIKKA (LEAVING AFRICA)

Watchable. Two close women friends: one Finnish and one Tanzanian have been providing sexual education and fighting stereotypes in Africa for decades. Now they're facing a smear campaign. While the film lacks clear-cut conclusion, it's just endearing to watch their friendship and entertaining classes.

MY JIHAD

Recommended. It shows the jihadists' recruitment process and gives hope presenting Muslim counsellors working with youngsters to keep them on the right pious path of Islam.


MON ROI

Walked out. A protracted film about weirdos, including a drug addict, who, halfway through the film, have a baby.  No way of identifying myself with any of the protagonists.

15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

CITIZEN KHODORKOVSKY

Watchable. Slow, brings nothing new and is far from the point. It mentions speculations about him planning to run for president but lacks any more than evasive comments. The only thing worth noting is that Putin let him free on mercy grounds and Khodorkovsky doesn't contest that.

15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

THE FEAR OF 13

Watchable. It's a monologue full of theatrical expression by a sentenced criminal which highlights how inefficient the American legal system is. So while the form is not exactly to my taste, the legal battle is unsettling.

15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

A SYRIAN LOVE STORY

Watchable. I expected to learn more about Syrian politics. Instead that part of the film is terribly obscure. What makes viewing bearable is just the story of how the protagonists' relationship developed.

15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

PROUD TO BE BRITISH (1973)
BEHIND THE RENT STRIKE (1979)

Watchable. Both are moderately interesting historically - portraying the times when Britain was white. Other than that they're quite skippable.

L'HOMME QUI REPARE LES FEMMES (THE MAN WHO MENDS WOMEN: THE WRATH OF HIPPOCRATES)

Recommended. An insightful film about the plague of rapes in the eastern Congo.

Trivia: Ben Affleck is one of Eastern Congo Initiative donors.

Another backlog to clear (partially):

LOVE THE COOPERS

Watchable.  Supposedly a comedy but hardly funny, sad rather. Another conflicted family full of people with weird habits. It didn't make me laugh even once.


WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL (2015)

SNOWPIERCER

Watchable. It's like "Soylent Green" on Trans-Siberian. Full of class struggle. I was curious of the vision of the future but it's just a class B movie.

CAT FUNERAL

Recommended. A very pleasant drama/rom-com with a cat (dead or alive) in the background. Several funny scenes e.g. the cat's reaction to people eating his food or parents arguing above their baby's pram: "Of course it's all daddy's fault!" "No, it's mummy's fault!" At the meeting after the screening I suggested to the director he should make a sequel about dogs which are easier to film.


15. INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WATCH DOCS (2015)

NO PLACE TO HIDE: THE REHTAEH PARSONS STORY

THE HUNTING GROUND

Recommended. Both films convey the same message: 95% rape claims are genuine which means 95% presumed victims tell the truth and only 5% rapists do. The thing is it's perpetrators who get authorities' trust! Statistics of false claims are just like for any other crime but no other crime victims are treated that appallingly. 1 out of 4 or 5 women gets raped. They are severely victimized later while the perpetrators are genuinely cared about. No one worries about the impact of the crime on victims' lives but authorities worry about the outcome for the criminal! The same situation in Canada and the US as elsewhere in the world.

"The Hunting Ground" has been nominated for an Oscar for... a song.

AKTORKA

Recommended. A documentary featuring celebrities like Meryl Streep as well as lesser known persons from Elzbieta Czyzewska's life. A story full of controversy: Did she get married to an American out of love or for an American passport? Was she overlooked for roles because she was Polish? Why did she fail in the US?

IL RACCONTO DEI RACCONTI (THE TALE OF TALES)

Watchable when seen for the second time. Didn't evoke emotions this time. But it's remarkably well-acted and there are details to the stories I forgot after the first viewing. Truly original.

LA MONTAGNE MAGIQUE (THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN)

Walked out. Prolonged sequences of animation in an unnerving jerky style with infrequent, slowly spoken commentary.

SZABADESES (FREE FALL)

Watchable. Great music: both vocal and instrumental. A few stories, all of which are interesting, some are fascinating, one superb (the reversed childbirth).

MA MA

Watchable. The film's very Spanish - it's a declaration of enjoying your life regardless of circumstances. About living. Here everyone has fun. Watching this I was also full of awe of how good Spanish healthcare must be - everyone is so nice, caring and you get all appointments and treatments in no time. Unfortunately it's one of those mainstream movies which praise radio- and chemotherapy. And the subject dies all the same.

BELLE ET SEBASTIEN: L'AVENTURE CONTINUE (BELLE & SEBASTIAN: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES)

Watchable. Not as beautiful as the first part. It's very pleasing to watch, ends well, offers some Alpine landscapes. But the story lacks depth and even the mountain views are quite monotonous.

ROOM

Recommended. An Irish film set in the US and spoken in American accent. I can't make out why. Nevertheless it's an amazing thriller which seems to be based on the Cleveland case. Half the film is about living as a captive and the escape plot. The second half is trying to rebuild your life after the unimaginable horror you lived for a number of years. In-depth, up close. Brilliant.

BRIDGE OF SPIES

Recommended. An excellent thriller: based on facts, superbly scripted and acted, with lots of tension from the beginning to the end, with a pinch of humour (e.g. after the counsel got mugged and had his coat stolen the other side's spy says: "What would you expect when it was 5th Avenue's Burberry?"), courtroom drama and moral dilemmas. Also an excellent scene repetition where jumping over a fence means something different in cold war Berlin and in the US.

KAMA SUTRA: A TALE OF LOVE (1996)

Watchable. Beautiful visually, full of elaborate costumes and scenography, with obligatory Indian music, at the same time quite sad - 5 people suffering from unrequitted or forbidden love in one movie!

CZERWONY PAJAK

Watchable. The whole film is built on understatements, really - the whole film. Lots of protracted silent scenes so it's easy to switch off your focus and miss the essential. The only plus of it is that when after long silence you suddenly get the killing, it makes impression. There's also a good effect where first you hear the killer's hammer and later the same sound when his coffin is put together. The story is fictitious but based on the knowledge of criminal profiling and forensics. The topic of a serial killer is certainly sensational but here the execution of the movie is just annoying.

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - (NOC IGRZYSK SMIERCI) THE NIGHT OF THE HUNGER GAMES

THE HUNGER GAMES (2012)
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (2013)
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1 (2014)
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 2 (2015)

Recommended/watchable/watchable/watchable respectively when re-seen. The first instalment, even though I had seen it the most times, still bewitches not only with the visuals but also with the plot. There are always details you won't remember. Other parts are still fun but without the 'wow!' effect when seen again.

AFERIM!

Watchable. A black and white film presenting a world old gone: full of overt and widely accepted racial predjudice, sexual abuse and slavery. Original but disturbing at times. Clearly power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Part of unknown history of Gypsy slavery in Romania. It's the Romanian Oscar candidate.

WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL

I went to a meeting with two film editors: Agnieszka Glinska and Marcin Kot Bastkowski. Here are some funny quotes:
"Czasem film wygral festiwal, a jakby jury to zobaczylo, to by sie zdziwilo." ("Sometimes a film has won a festival but if the jury saw it, they'd be surprised.")
"Kiedys mialam sytuacje, ze rezyser nie chcial przyjsc do montazowni, bo nie chcial patrzec na to, co zrobil." ("I once had a situation where the film director didn't want to come to the editing room because he didn't want to look at what he had done.")
"Teoretycznie moglam tu dorysowac lub dopisac, ze mialo byc to, tylko nie mialam tego nakreconego." ("Theoretically I could draw or write something extra here to show it was to be there. The thing was I didn't have it shot.")
"Ktos kiedys stwierdzil, ze film to aktor i operator. I siedz tu w kinie 20 godzin." ("Someone once said that a film was an actor and a cameraman. So go and sit 20 hours at the cinema.")
 "Co pani robi, kiedy pani chce cos zrobic w jedna strone, a rezyser cisnie w druga?" "No, to musi byc, jak ja chce." ("What do you do when you want to do it one way and the director pressurizes you the other way?" "Well, then it has to be the way I want.")
"Kto z panstwa widzial ten film?" "Aha, 1 osoba. I to jest moj syn." ("Which of you have seen the film?" "Right, one person. And it's my son.")


LEGEND

Recommended. Tom Hardy speaking Cockney in a double role - well, I had never liked the actor before but here he's unbelievable and the role(s) is Oscar-worthy. Very London-oriented. I guess not everyone will understand it. But Londoners will. It builds the legend of East End and tells a bit of history of what London was like in the famous 60s. It's also about emotions, family, love. A beautiful and moving story. With some tasty bits like all the cuppa scenes.

WOMAN IN GOLD

Recommended. Seen again. Loved it all the same. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, is brilliantly acted, has sharp dialogues and a moving, based on facts, story.


ADWOKAT W ROLI GLOWNEJ (ADVOCATE IN THE LEADING ROLE)

INHERIT THE WIND (1960)

Recommended. Brilliant, often humorous dialogues, like between a darwinist and a biblist: "Your views have evolved". A great, clever courtroom drama.

...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (1979)

Recommended. A great courtroom and outside-courtroom drama about law and ethics.


11 MINUTES

Recommended. Never mind the plot. The cinematography itself deserves an Oscar. Nothing I have seen before. Just like years ago in Aronofsky's "Pi" the world was a system of interconnected characters and events, here the same effect is achieved in the most film way - visually through cinematography and editing.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY

Watchable. I'm not into sadism or masochism, not lesbian, not fond of aging people and hardly interested in entomology. Yet, this film sustains a lot of erotic tension. With no nudity! That's an achievement. Well-structured with clever subtle twist of action.

AGNIESZKA

Watchable. The first part is very much like drab Polish movies of the 80s. The second part is more modern and a bit of a psychological thriller. Unfortunately terribly stereotypical - the main character is a strong woman indeed but working in sex business and specialising in ball busting.

CRACHE COEUR (RAGING ROSE)

Watchable. No taboos in this film about adolescents (e.g. the girl masturbates). Quite refreshing, very life-like. Great music by the director Julia Kowalska's younger brother Daniel Kowalski. If I didn't quite like it, it's because of shabbiness and the closeness to real life which is both a plus and a minus.

BESTIA (1916)

Watchable. Simplistic plot even if the story is relatively involving. Expressionistic acting for the silent movie looked quite funny.

LE TOUT NOUVEAU TESTAMENT (THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT)

Watchable. The Polish Oscar candidate ("11 Minutes") is much better. The trailer implied a comedy but there was only one funny scene in the film ("Is this God? I imagined him differently"). The film is very sad and depressing, about child abuse. Full of stereotypes, e.g. Icelandic Jokularsson plus an Eskimo. The last few minutes are the best - a completely new, cheerful even if tacky vision of the world, including e.g. pink sky with flowers scattered on it and gravity switched off. The world is created on a computer.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - NOC DEPPA (THE NIGHT OF DEPP)

I skipped "Dark Shadows" which I had seen before.

Depp is quite an actor, capable of pulling off a few distinctly different roles. Each of them convincingly.

BLACK MASS

Watchable. The first half an hour was so dull and boring I considered walking out. But James "Whitey" Bulger was clearly a dangerous psychopath (20 on Hare's scale is a likely guess) which made the remaing 1,5 hours more and more interesting. At some point you just find yourself glued to the seat.

THE LONE RANGER

Watchable. Beautiful views of New Mecixo fantastical rock formations, characters resembling those of the "Pirates of the Carribean", handsome Armie Hammer and action make it fun to watch. Could be a bit shorter though.

THE RUM DIARY

Watchable. The best of the three films of the night. Involving from scene one in which Johnny Depp is the most realistic drunk ever. Then he meets a beautiful lady (stunning dyed blonde Amber Heard ) and her manipulative husband. The story itself could be clearer and the drug-taking scenes were less interesting to me. Seems like one lowlife got extremely lucky.


BURNT

Watchable. Standard American artisanship - accents don't matter to them, acting is good and the plot good. Dialogues could be more humorous. On the whole, it's one of several movies-about-restaurants.

LARJUNGEN (THE DISCIPLE)

Watchable. Finnish Oscar candidate? Is the 2016 Oscar race for the best dog abuse award?! In this film one disturbing dog scene only. The whole film is Strindberg-like: set in the Åland Islands hence the characters speak Swedish, a family in which the relations turn more and more perverted, slow development, increasing brutality. But I've read and seen it several times before.

IL RACCONTO DEI RACCONTI (TALE OF TALES)

Recommended. In my opinion the year's best movie. Finally in the 21st century these unusual tales from the 17th century could be filmed. Modern day make-up, casting, costumes, access to locations in Italy, acting, special visual effects made it happen. Visually stunning, with powerful stories.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF HORRORS

None of the presented four movies was scary. In other terms the quality varied.

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER

Watchable in parts. Best to wait for a DVD so that you can fast forward from time to time. A mixture of interesting scenes and good CGIs with lousy ones and ridiculous visuals. The human part of the plot was more comprehensible to me than the magical part.

DEMON

Watchable. I couldn't fully grasp the story. The film is very chaotic. At the same time it's well acted, with some witty lines, e.g. to a son: "Uzyj swojego mozgu choc raz. Po 30 latach." ("Use your brain at least once. After 30 years."). All shot in almost black and white.

THE GALLOWS

Watchable in parts. Some scenes are fun, predictable but fun. Most of it, though, is a camcorder record which is just completely overused by movie-makers.

THE VATICAN TAPES

Watchable. The best of the four. It has an interesting story, made look plausible by the opening Church officials' statements. Good acting helps enjoyment. The whole Antichrist motif is nothing new though.


ASIAN HORROR NIGHT

None of the presented three movies was really scary. But all of them were innovative, at least to a European viewer.

FAK WAI NAI GAI THOE (THE SWIMMERS)

Watchable. Beautiful cinematography. Intriguing story being part-horror part-crime. Unpredictable too.
Chutavuth Pattarakampol as Perth is a true hottie. The ending is protracted.

DEO WEB-TOON: YE-GO SAL-IN (KILLER TOON)

Watchable. Too many twists in the protracted ending. Other than that it's an involving detective story.

YIEUTJIB JOMBI

Watchable. Here zombies are a containable and curable disease. The five short films vary in quality: from downright ridiculous, like the zombie/human couple in love, to quite good like the one about finding your way back to the society after you've eaten people when ill.


THE PROGRAM

Recommended. Not just another gripping headline story of a journalist investigation. It changes your view on doping in sport. As the doc in the film put it, now we're able to bypass physiology. The point is, not everyone is born strong but winning is in your will, not body. Besides, Lance Armstrong donated lots of money to a cancer foundation which wouldn't have been possible without his doping-based victories. A clever film showing there are two sides to each question.

I AM MICHAEL

Watchable. A dull film about a controversial issue - a gay activist turning Catholic and straight. Too many protracted scenes.

SPECTRE

Recommended. Nothing short of perfection and cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema deserves an Oscar. Unmissable first scenes. The whole thing is just killing in opulence. The plot is smart and some, even if few, lines are hilarious e.g. Bond asks Q to make him disappear and says: "I'll send you a postcard" to which he responds: "Please, don't". Ah, and another brilliant, multi-layer title.

DHEEPAN

Watchable. There is a story so it's quite easy to follow but it's just about immigrants trying to build a new home while troubled by their war past which gets reignited by French gangs' shootings.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT WITH LISTY DO M.

I skipped "Listy do M." which I had walked out from a couple of years ago. So I ended up watching:

LISTY DO M. 2

Watchable. A few funny scenes like with the sheep in a shopping centre: "Wiec to jednak pana owca." "Przepraszam, nie rozpoznalem na poczatku." ("So it's your sheep after all." "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize her at first.") make it better than part one. It's touching at times too. But the plot is far from perfect. The cast also doesn't always act out the humour of dialogue lines.

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE

Watchable again. "No one wonders how is crack doing or is cocaine mad at me" and the accompanying changing room scene are the highlight of the film. Together with the beating up of the gyn. The rest is well-paced and easy to follow but not entirely funny.

LOVE, ROSIE

Recommended again. Rosie's best friend and her lines like "It's great being your best friend. You think your life is fucked up but look at you and it puts it in a perspective." are my favourite. Sam Claflin and Christian Cooke as well as Suki Waterhouse and Tamsin Egerton are hot. The plot is contrived and heart-touching.


FIVE FLAVOURS FILM FESTIVAL

BIG FATHER, SMALL FATHER AND OTHER STORIES

Watchable. The story is dull. It's mostly loose scenes from the countryside and from the city plus a few disturbing facts, like a rape, dullified too. I watched mostly for the exotics of Vietnam: both nature and culture.

BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING

Recommended. Tollywood which is very much like Bollywood minus the change of language from Hindi to Telugu. The most costly Indian production ever - 40 m $, it earned 9 m $ worldwide on its opening day. 90% of the film are CGIs. And it's all top-notch: the fairytale-like story, the music, the opulence, the visuals, the clear-cut characters. I'm looking forward to part 2 to be released in autumn 2016.


SLOW WEST

Watchable. Typical western motifs, brutality but also a lot of humour resulting from a clash of cultures.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 3D

Watchable. Brilliant twists of action, CGIs, music, scenography (shot in Paris, Berlin and Atlanta - I wonder where). Unfortunately mutants look like pale Giger's aliens and act like zombies. It also gets annoyably politically correct at times.

MACBETH

Slept through. Lullaby-style music from the beginning to the end. Monotonous recitation. Dull darkish colours.


FIVE FLAVOURS FILM FESTIVAL

ANINO SA LIKOD NG BUWAN (SHADOW BEHIND THE MOON)

Watchable. It's all talking - 3 people, 1 place. It should be a short story or a theatrical play, not a film. But the dialogues are full of twists and turns.

DIE XUE JIE TOU (BULLET IN THE HEAD)

Watchable. A light take on "Deer Hunter" - this time by John Woo. Violence here looks like in "Miami Vice", one of the characters even wears a white suit, so even pastels have been derived.

L'OMBRE DES FEMMES (IN THE SHADOW OF WOMEN)

Watchable. Contrary to the title it's awfully chauvinist. It's watchable just because stories of betrayal normally are.


PERFORMER

Watchable. I'm not sure what the whole is about but it's a string of top-notch avantgarde artworks. Great visuals and music.

EL CLUB

Watchable. Partly uninspiring, partly brutal (especially for animal lovers). The subject is interesting because it's about priests' sins, mostly paedophilia.

I'm clearing part of the backlog reaching... summer. I've finally put my notes together.

TERMINATOR: GENISYS 3D

Watchable. Actors are getting fatter and fatter - the fattest Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese ever. Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn were slender! The film plays with the famous scene of landing in 1984 and with the "I'll be back" line. The highlight is 2 Arnies: the young one and the old one fighting against each other. A contemporary twist is Skynet which, in this installment, is due to be released as a new operating system, widely awaited as it's to connect and master all.

PIXELS 3D

Recommended. Very funny, e.g. the power struggle between the gamer and the smart lady on entering the White House and perfectly 80s. Great light entertainment.

TRAINWRECK

Watchable. Not very funny. The whole film is based on a gender swap: women act like men ("It was only sex. Why is he calling me now?" and her girlfriend: "I'll call the police.") and men act like women ("I have to watch 'Downtown Abbey', all my mates will be talking about it tomorrow.") which is interesting but not very amusing.

AMY

Recommended. A great film even if you're not a great fan of Amy Winehouse's voice. It clearly shows how love killed her. A beautiful tragic story of her love for a wrong guy.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF BOOKS

There was only one film I hadn's seen before:

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

Watchable. Old English literature has its charm even if the story is hardy plausible, at least nowadays, and the acting is second rate.


A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT

Watchable. Too western. Promoted as an Iranian horror, it's neither Iranian nor a horror. Arash Marandi looks good playing Arash and I liked the vengeance for abused women ideology. Other than that, it's slow, weird and how westerners imagine Iran. With needless nudity.

DANNY COLLINS

Recommended. Having read the synopsis I thought the story might be sombre. Luckily it's all told in jest. Dialogues are a delight, e.g. "You were married to Mary-Ann? Really? What was she like?" "I don't remember." or "I'm here as your friend, not your manager." "I want to cancel the whole tour." "Sorry?!". It's all so cheerful, optimistic and funny. Great acting too.

EFTERSKALV (THE HERE AFTER)

Recommended. A quiet film with no music and few words. It shows how one crime leads to a series of other crimes - this time aimed at the perpetrator. A powerful yet sad story of harassment.

EN DUVA SATT PA EN GREN OCH FUNDERADE PA TILLVARON (A PIDGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE)

Watchable. More like a theatre of absurd than a film. Consists of separate scenes and you never know how each of them will develop. Well acted.

KRAFTIDIOTEN (IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE)

Watchable. A gangster comedy which is not very funny but has some amusing bits, e.g. "You'll go to hell!" "See you then.", in a wintry Norwegian scenery


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF MUSIC

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

Watchable. Not a worldwide phenomenon, nevertheless a fascinating story of an investigation - looking for a musician who changed South Africa without ever being there and without knowing it. A curious local thing.

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

Watchable. You can feel the Coen brothers' work here - the action forms a loop. Other than that you just follow a musician's miserable life. The lead actor could look better too.

I skipped "Amy" and "Begin Again" which I had seen before.


MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION

Watchable. The ending is funny - combined with the beginning ot the film. Unfortunately Simon Pegg is not in the only comic scene. Actually his part, however significant, is not comic. A great talent wasted. In addition the whole movie plot is rubbish. I spent most of the film considering walking out.

MIA MADRE (MY MOTHER)

Watchable. The strength of the film is its weakness at the same time. It's very down to earth in how it shows our daily problems.

FANTASTIC FOUR

Watchable. It's never completely lousy due to the superpowers the characters manifest but never fascinating either as the powers are weird rather than useful: extendable body, body armour, invisibility (better, but not used in any eye-catching or surprising way) and self-inflammable body. X-men they aren't.

LOVE 3D

Watchable. Finally someone says the truth - that no one likes children, including their parents. The film isn't shocking, taken the amount of porn on the internet. I'd rather say cinema has reached the level of the internet. It's about a guy who's fallen in love in his own way. None of the threesome looks hot enough to deserve 3D nudity. But, like all Gaspar Noe's films, it's got its rhythm. You just enter his disturbed world and sit there till the final credits.

SINISTER 2

Watchable. Scary from scene one but in fleeting moments. Interesting casual family story background. Chaotic, especially in the beginning. Maintains suspense. Full of atrocities which one of the kids is forced to watch.

LA GIOVINEZZA (YOUTH)

Recommended. Smart, tongue-in-cheek, beautiful visually and musically. I'll happily see it again.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF HORROR WITH SINISTER 2

I have seen all the films already but as I quite enjoyed "Sinister 2" and I had walked out from "Sinister" I decided to give the first part another chance.

SINISTER

Watchable. Silly and boring. But when you have learnt the story from part 2 and have taken to the Deputy So And So's character it's bearable. Only the final sudden Bughuul's appearance was scary.


THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

Watchable. The American, Russian (acted by hottie Armie Hammer) and British spies are endearing and so is the ending of the main plot (the warhead) and of the whole film. The rest is just fine. David Beckham has a cameo as a projectionist and is unrecognisable and quite good.

ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING

Watchable. It's really funny but the humour is often of more vulgar quality e.g. "I want a penis all women admire. Make it white." or based on the 'be careful what you wish for' rule. Simon Pegg as good as ever. The film's very British too.

THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED

Recommended. Really good entertainment: great views of the St. Raphael area, especially the road along the coast, club music, action is fun, good looking actors of both sexes. The transporter shows his more human face too. Simply a well made film.

OBCE NIEBO (STRANGE HEAVEN)

Recommended. A great film: based on true events, full of suspense, very well acted, showing cultural differences as well as surreptitious racism, a deeply moving story. Swedes should see it.

ZYC NIE UMIERAC  (LIFE MUST GO ON)

Watchable. A story of a terminally ill sober alcoholic won't exactly glue you to the screen unless it's enacted by Tomasz Kot. He's the biggest asset of the film.

KARBALA

Watchable. A fascinating story, great music, incredible scenography (I just couldn't believe that Iraq was recreated in Zeran, Warsaw, Poland). Unfortunately the main actor is barely plausible acting like an undecided army commander - when he says "Zachowac spokoj" ("Remain calm") looking nervous himself it's hardly convincing, also some of the Polish utterances are so muddled I couldn't make out a word.


BOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL

ENGLISH VINGLISH

Recommended. A pleasing to watch family movie with language issues. I obviously loved the English class subplot as much as the romantic and family side of the film.

ROCKSTAR

Watchable. The story is not too clever and is partly set in Prague but it's typically Bollywood meaning it evokes emotions and has lots of music. Gets better and better as the film develops.


MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS

Watchable. Being a great fan after part one I managed to see the disappointing part two full of annoying zombies. A plus is that now the mystery of what's going on is finally resolved. Now the viewer knows what the factions are and what they're fighting for.

GIOVINEZZA (YOUTH)

Recommended. Visually impressive. Some scenes, like the one with the Venetian St. Mark's Basilica or with Miss World, are breathtaking. It's funny at times and full of peculiar characters.

SICARIO

Recommended. It raises brutality to a whole new level, like "Old Boy" did years ago. The open ending implies a sequel. But how will they beat the brutality of part one?

SAUL FIA (SON OF SAUL)

Recommended. Harrowing, brutal reality of concentration camps.

MISS JULIE

Walked out. A far-fetched story, pretentious, theatrical acting, slow pace, an ugly head star.

THE INTERN

Recommended. The digital generation gap is shown in a humorous way by great actors. The story is moderately funny, e.g. snoring scenes, very heart-warming and deeply involving. Great light entertainment. There's a fantastic scene mocking "The Taxi Driver" too.

CHEMIA (CHEMO)

Watchable. Starts with two infantile adults doing silly things and talking jibberish like 5-year-olds. Then you get sarcastic doctors and are able to follow the hero's journey through breast cancer which are the only reasons not to walk out. Most ridiculously, it's a musical about a deadly disease. Just add the ghastly costumes and scenography.

RICKI AND THE FLASH

Watchable. "Danny Collins" it isn't but it's an interesting broken family story and well acted too. Shame it wasn't funnier. Very American-rock.

SOUTHPAW

Watchable. Very good and involving. Predictable at the same time. Good music by Eminem but just twice.

VACATION

Recommended. Laugh-out-loud funny throughout. Chris Hemsworth showing off his six-pack, car adventures, the rollercoaster - all are gems of comedy.

THE MARTIAN IN 3D

Recommended. "Gravity" was nothing. Here the views of space and the survival struggle are breathtaking. Humorous comments on the situation enliven the film.

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE

Watchable. Well acted by beautiful main acts. Sometimes funny like the mother holding her kid and telling the couple not to get themselves a baby, sometimes clever like the lines about commitment: "Then I get all that 'you're scared of commitment!' No, I don't want to commit to you!" and cheating on a girl in order not to tell her that in her face or on a casual, sex-based relationship: "To him you're like cocaine or crack. Nobody wonders 'how is my crack feeling'."

PAPER TOWNS

Watchable. A story about adolescence which is part sad, part life-smart, part intriguing, part fun.

IRRATIONAL MAN

Watchable. It's Woody Allen so it's clever and full of introvert ponderings but it's not funny. A specific allenesque crime story.
 

PANDORA'NIN KUTUSU (PANDORA'S BOX)

Watchable. A realistic story about a lower end family where the granny gets Alzheimer's. It's dull but in a calm way with some charming family moments.

SELF/LESS

Watchable. Lots of chases and shootouts. Little science fiction. The beginning is very promising. Later it's just a regular action movie, a decent one, with a happy ending.

LA FRENCH (THE CONNECTION)

Watchable. Very well enacted 70s. More suspense would have made it more involving but it was still fun to follow the game between the drug mafia and the prosecutor.

MAGICAL GIRL

Watchable. A mysterious story but too long - each scene should be twice shorter. And the action only really takes off after nearly an hour. At the same time I'd welcome a sequel.

SPY

Recommended. A brilliant action comedy, very well acted. A series of surprises. I'd welcome a whole series of the fat lady spy's adventures.

POLTERGEIST

Watchable. Reasonably scary. Cleverly plays with the original "It's not like it's build on an old Indian cemetary"). Avoids the protracted muddy bath full of corpses final of the original but has a black mud flowing from under the floor fragment. Fully updated in the script and the CGIs. Quite fun, especially the ending.

THE LONGEST RIDE

Watchable. A far-fetched fairy tale but very involving (both parallel stories), with great and good-looking actors and lots of American lifestyle. The clash of two very American ways of living together with another very American story from the past were particularly alluring.

TIMBUKTU

Recommended. Islamic State encroaches a moderate muslim territory and cruelly enacts its own laws. Chilling at times. Intriguing African background and landscapes.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF HORROR

Skipping the already seen "Poltergeist" and "What We Do In The Shadows" I decided to see only two of the marathon films:

OCULUS

Watchable. The past and the present mix and you never know what was/is real and what was/is imagined. The trap system didn't make much sense to me but the film keeps you glued to the screen. It's not a run-of-the-mill horror.

IT FOLLOWS

Watchable. Another truly involving film that night. Keeps you at the edge of your seat. Even if the idea of a deadly phantom curse transmitted sexually is silly just like the "it" crawling into a building (seen it a hundred times before). Enigmatic ending.


STREFA NAGOSCI (NUDE AREA)

Walked out. They only stand and one looks at the other on the street, they stand and one looks at the other in a shower, they stand and one looks at the other at home.

MANGLEHORN

Walked out. An elderly man murmurs something dwelling in the past. The protagonist's life is going nowhere and so is the movie so if your life is going somewhere, this film is not on your way.

DZIEWCZYNA SZUKA MILOSCI (1937/1938)

Watchable. The story is shallow but delightfully acted in that old pre-war style.

It shocked me that the audience laughed at the old-fashioned manners. I found that charming.

TOMORROWLAND

Recommended. Rightly filmed at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias in Valencia, Spain as well as in British Columbia, Florida, LA and Paris the creation of the future is breathtaking. Story-wise it's close to "Neverending story" (a world nearing an end because of people giving up their dreams) but in a SF way. Never mind the first 25 minutes of a shoddy plot, the whole film still blew me away.

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3

Recommended. 1,5 hours that scared the shit out of me.

HEMLOCK SOCIETY

Watchable. A "dark comedy" which isn't funny, is quite slow but is quite a clever film about why we shouldn't give into depression and suicidal thoughts.

PRINS (PRINCE)

Recommended. Middle class teenagers, judging by their places to live, in a rough neighbourhood. First it's just great acting and fantastic music, including "Ibiza" by Amnesia and lots of other techno (director Sam de Jong used to make video clips), then, just when it appears Ayoub will do something which will land him in jail, he does something which makes him a hero. The film made me very emotional.

JURASSIC WORLD 3D

Recommended. I had never taken to "Jurassic Park" but this one is so much more pleasing to watch. Filmed on two Hawaiian islands, with Chris Pratt looking his life's best, with music by John Williams it's a delight. The plot is great: you get references to the previous park, corporate culture conflicting with army culture and with animal behaviour, interesting twists of action and most of all a fantastic vision of a dinosaur amusement park together with accompanying technological advancements. The 3D is OK but not outstanding so you can save your money and see it in 2D just as well.

The trailer of "Terminator: Genisys" is flattish as well so while it promises great plot with top notch CGIs, 2D should suffice.


THE NIGHT OF CINEMA

As I had seen 8 out of the 10 films, I only saw the following:

RUN ALL NIGHT

Watchable. Surprisingly well acted. Liam Neeson is quite good for action. The chase is involving obviously. But still it's standard action fare.

TU VEUX OU TU VEUX PAS (THE MISSIONARIES or SEX, LOVE & THERAPY)

Watchable. Charming but hardly funny. A typical French movie full of sex and seduction obsession.


SPY

Watchable. No more surprises this time round but still thoroughly entertaining.

LOST RIVER

Recommended. Strongly and overtly inspired by David Lynch. A dark fairy-tale with its own world and climate. The "shells" are memorable. An intriguing idea that a rundown town needs naff bloody entertainment.

UNE NOUVELLE AMIE

Watchable. I hoped for something enigmatic and it isn't. The marketing description was more intriguing than the very film. It's a typical French film - full of obsession with sex and relationships. It still deserves credit, though, for the gentleness with which transvestism is shown.

REALITE (REALITY!)
 
Watchable. The first hour is protracted and full of silliness and ridiculousness. I was seriously considering walking out but I was curious of the announced fantasy in the film. And the second part is intriguing indeed. Cronenberg-style so not fully to my taste but full of mystery.

CHASSEURS DE DRAGONS (DRAGON HUNTERS)

Watchable. The interaction scenes were cute, the fight ones were less appealing.

PASSION

Recommended. A 2012 movie by Brian de Palma structured in the way reminiscent of old classics. A multi-layer unpredictable ending.

MAGIC MIKE XXL

Watchable. They do know how to sing or dance, with Channing Tatum doing a routine somewhat akin to "Step Up", but the chit-chat in between the scarce dance scenes is rubbish.

SIGHTSEERS

Watchable. A dark comedy which isn't funny. A sharp satire on the British which kept me interested. At the same time it shows how miserable a caravan holiday is.

LIBANKY (HONEYMOON)

Recommended. Not easy to watch, quite disturbing. the images stay with you. Every bully should see it.

SERCE, SERDUSZKO

Watchable. Not your typical Jan Jakub Kolski film. We're leaving the fairy-tale countryside universe. The main protagonists are a punk and a little girl ballet dancer and it's a film of the road. There's a fantastic character of a priest rapping in religious fervour. The film fortunately retains much of Kolski's characteristic style.

The screening I went to was followed by a meeting with Borys Szyc who only truly proved his acting skills mocking movie directors. No film has given him the chance to show off the way he did then. He was brilliant.


LA ISLA MINIMA (MARSHLAND)

Watchable. Protracted and ambiguous to the point where I barely understood the film. Shot imitating the 1980s in a bad way (the picture looked old technically). There's a mystery which never gets fully explained.


QUE HORAS ELA VOLTA? (THE SECOND MOTHER)

Watchable. A social drama, well acted and involving but with an ending which offers neither a hope nor an explanation of the girl's motives.


IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS (LABYRINTH OF LIES)

Recommended. Another great German film dealing with the country's Nazi past. Very much a courtroom drama but also subtly revealing both the concentration camps horror and the scale of ignorance in the happy-go-lucky post-war society.


FASANDRAEBERNE (THE PHEASANT KILLERS)

Watchable. A typical Scandinavian (even if geographically Danish) crime story: brutal, with the culprits being rich and being hunters fond of torturing humans as well. While it's all executed perfectly, the plot is standard in this manner.


SONG OF THE SEA

Watchable. Slow and stylish. Not to every taste. Disney it isn't. It's based on the touching Nordic or Celtic tale of a seal living as a woman and hence longing for the see.


AFRYKAMERA 2015

VIRUNGA

Recommended. A very well shot (especially the initial part in which the camera follows running shooters), planned and eye-opening documentary about national park rangers defending the world's only mountain gorillas habitat not only against poachers but even more so against a British oil company which is doing its utmost to drill in a section of the park. The film's so good it only makes me wonder what "Citizenfour" must be like as "Virunga" lost the Oscar race to the film about Edward Snowden.



THE BOY NEXT DOOR

Watchable. For a bigger part pleasing to watch - J-Lo plus a hot guy twice younger than her in steamy situations plus the tension in between. Ruined by a standard Hollywood ending in which the hot guy suddenly turns out to be a psychopatic killer and the whole thing ends in flames. Much over the top. "The Guest" it isn't.


MARY KOM

Walked out but would have stayed if I hadn't had a more promising cinema offer for the evening. Slow and ramshackle with mediocre music and even Priyanka Chopra looks so masculine she's hardly appealing to the eye. Still, my guess is it may be worth seeing for motivational purposes as it tells the story of a humble background female boxing champion who has everything going against her. All she's got is her inner strength and it suffices to succeed.


THE RIOT CLUB
Watchable. A very British film dealing with the class system. An Oxford University-based secret society consisting of upper class guys is capable of every atrocity committed out of the need to fill superior to lower classes while being sure of excellent connections to the legal and political circles letting them act in total impunity. Nothing new but very well acted by a few good-looking guys. New acting prodigies in the making.


PK

Watchable. Silly and intelligent at the same time. A warm comedy about an idiot alien deals with the notion of God/gods and the issue of charlatans. It's not very funny though. Nor is it high-tech.


YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI

Watchable. A simple love story where the travel-hungry protagonist got me intrigued. It's about the clash of domestic and nomadic lifestyles. But it's mediocre in all possible ways.


THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

Watchable. Great, if sparse, music throughout, with a Bollywood-style dance at the end. The dialogues should be amusing but somehow aren't. The pace is a bit too slow and the stories too far-fetched. A nice mix of English accents.


WOMAN IN GOLD

Recommended. First you just notice the great actors at their best. Then it becomes an involving courtroom drama. Finally, while mixed with the court case, a moving story of coming to terms with exceptionally traumatic past. And it's based on true stories surrounding a famous painting by Klimt.

Have you seen the hologram advertising the new Terminator in cinemas? It changes top to bottom revealing the machine and Schwarzie interchangeably. I love it!


JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

RADICAL EVIL

Recommended. The film dissects, through the Einsatzgruppen quotes, psychological experiment cases and expert opinions, how ordinary people in groups can become ruthless murderers.

LE PROCES DE VIVIANE AMSALEM (GETT: THE TRAIL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM)

Recommended. Both a courtroom drama gripping from the first scene and a psychological film, the latter even more, about a difficult unrequitted love.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF AVENGERS

I skipped "Avengers 3D" as I had seen it before and had found it just watchable then. So I saw

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Watchable. Both films have rubbish plots and the hot Chris Evans for a girl viewer to survive the movies. Plot-wise the first "Captain America" movie was much better.


CHILD 44

Watchable. Loosely based on Chikatilo's murders but as unexciting as a serial killer story can possibly get. What ruins the film is: Tom Hardy - it was hard to watch his ugly, fat, boar-like face for 2 hours 17 minutes, Tom Hardy again - his fake Russian accent sounded just weird and, finally, a protracted plot.


PIKU

Watchable. A nice light comedy about... family and constipation issues. Situationally amusing at times but not hilarious. No singing and dancing.


JOURNAL D'UNE FEMME DE CHAMBRE (THE DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID)

Watchable. Don't expect hot action or eroticism. It's a story of violence and of a psychopathic relationship between masters and servants - psychopathic from both sides. It's just sick.


NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE MARATHON OF MAD MAX

MAD MAX
MAD MAX 2
Watchable. Both 80s films get you interested from scene one and maintain a steady pace. Silly and full of violence for the sake of violence yet quite involving (in the action and its developments, not the twisted psychology of the characters). A nice 80s-style set of weirdos.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Watchable. Tom Hardy's revolting face doesn't hinder much here. His deep, low voice is a perfect match for the burnt-out, cynical rebel. The female beautiful breeders characters and zombie-like bald swarms of workers are very naff. It's all too fantastical. The weakest of the three films of the night.


SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY

Watchable. Again: well-acted but hardly hilarious. Some situation humour makes you laugh out loud at times. Lots of famous actors and one director (Quentin Tarantino) cameo, a ridiculously inept detective as well as amusing connections between the characters make for a good watch.


EDEN
Watchable. The director's name may appear somewhat Scandinavian but don't get mistaken - she's French and it's a typical French film following the hero seemingly all the time which is just plain boring. It's bearable just because of occasionally good music (the best bit is at the very beginning however, feel free to leave afterwards) and club atmosphere.

JE SUIS FEMEN (I AM FEMEN)

Recommended. A fascinating documentary which answers all the questions I've had about the topless feminists and reveals even more. Ukraine certainly has worse problems than we could imagine in Poland or Britain: a girl was raped and burned alive, survived, had har limbs amputated after which she died anyway and the suspects were let free or a zoo owner poisoned animals to take over the land. All the more you get to appreciate the activists' determination to bring the perpetrators (often successfully) to justice. So why do they protest half-naked? Because: 1. it guarantees attention and media coverage, 2. feminists are said to be ugly and unattractive so they've decided to show you can be beautiful and sexy and still be a feminist. Who finances them? The media and their online shop sales. Other little known facts are that the Euro 2012 brought about a huge rise in the number sex parlous in Ukraine, again something we didn't experience in Poland and that the girls where tortured in Russia and Belarus. Kudos to Femen heroes!

PHOENIX

Recommended. A gripping story where "will he recognise her or not?" keeps you on the edge of your seat and a disturbing truth about human emotions is shown as well - no one wants to hear about the woman's concentration camp memories, all people want is to see her just the way she was before the war. The final song is very beautiful and constitutes the film climax.

FEHER ISTEN (WHITE GOD)

Recommended. Not a film I'd like to see again - it's full of cruelty to dogs and humans - but it's unusual - certainly nothing like whatever I had seen in the cinema before. And clearly made by someone who loves dogs. A disturbing must-see.

I'm adding a comment about 1.5 years later when I had a chance to ask the director, Kornél Mundruczó, about the film. The story behind the film harks back to his visit in a dog rescue where he saw dogs which were, effectively, waiting for death. This film, just like his later "Jupiter Holdja" ("Jupiter's Moon), is a mirror or ourselves. The title comes from a South African philosophical essay by John Maxwell Coetzee: a man from a dog's perspective is a white god. Dorota Chrobak asked him about cruelty common to Hungarian cinema. The director explained that the conflict of poetry and reality came from Hungarian tradition. It's present in folk tales and in Bartók's works. Unlike French or Romanian cinema, which is built on realism, mixing reality with poetry is typical for Hungarians. Scriptwriter Kata Wéber added that black humour was common in Hungarian society and that could be seen as brutality.

PLEMYA (THE TRIBE)

Watchable. Very poorly acted. Mildly interesting just because, as you're told upfront, "the film is all in sign language with no subtitles or translation". At the same time it's full of talking - sign language - which only adds length to the film.

THE PYRAMID

Watchable. While I hate horrors full of jumping monsters, I have to admit these ones are scary. I hope they won't make a sequel.

LA FAMILLE BELIER (THE BELIER FAMILY)

Recommended. I laughed and cried and wallowed in the songs. A heart-warming family comedy (the sign language "translations" are brilliant).

DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT (TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT)

Watchable. It's intriguing to see how people will react to a choice of saving a colleague's job vs. getting a pay bonus of 1000 euro and you're obviously curious to find out if the main protagonist gets to keep her job. Other than that the film and the actress in a leading role are quite average, quite clearly couldn't win the Oscar.

SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY

Watchable. Very well acted. With some hilarious situation humour, especially a few scenes with dogs, yet not that funny throughout.

LA DISTANCIA (DYSTANS)

Walked out. I couldn't make any sense of those ugly people, mostly dwarves, doing weird things.

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF ADAPTATIONS

I skipped "Divergent" which I had seen and hadn't been delighted with before.

INSURGENT

Watchable. Artisan make: quite good CGIs but not mind-blowing, involving action at a good pace but far-fetched and terribly PC plot.

THE HOST

Watchable. A good number of hot guys, involving plot, happy ending. It's just no longer funny or moving when seen for the second time.

IF I STAY

Walked out. If you stay (I didn't) you're likely to get frustrated by the silly plot heading nowhere.


CANIBAL

Watchable. Not as shocking as the title would imply. While it's still involving, for obviously morbid reasons, it's slow-paced and not very convincing.

BLUE LIPS

Watchable. A few stories in one film rarely work. Here you just watch a handful of peculiar characters who all happen to be in Pamplona at the time of the San Fermin Fiesta. From the safety of your cinema seat you follow their issues with accommodation or lost luggage. Nothing unusual.

THE GUNMAN

Watchable. A standard action fare - well made and acted but with sime obvious ridiculities of the plot and protracted shoot-outs.

ELLE L'ADORE

Watchable. An involving crime drama for an unknown reason advertised as a comedy. About how a mundane incident changes ordinary people into criminals. Keeps you hooked from the first quarter of the movie though not on the edge of your seat - you can relax and recline.

CHARLEEN MACHT SCHLUSS (ABOUT A GIRL)

Watchable. The main two characters are sort of weirdos but likeable ones. The story of teenage depression rang some bells to me so I found it easy to identify myself with the girl who suffered just with growing up, no particular reason to it.

PARTY GIRL

Watchable. The protagonists are simple minds but the whole story of a family reunion was touching.

OPTIMISTENE (THE OPTIMISTS)

Recommended. Finally two nations where over-60s don't act like old pricks. It's so uplifting it's a must-see.

DIE FRAU DES POLIZISTEN

Walked out. Everyday life of an average family is so mundane and average that when some violence starts the action doesn't get any more lively.

THE DUFF

Recommended. I laughed and cried. It's all very involving, sometimes emotional and with some situation humour here and there. Kept me glued to the screen.

JAK CALKOWICIE ZNIKNAC

Watchable. The lesbian night tour of Berlin, with its shabby clubs, streets, gutters and kebab joints, is not interesting but is hypnotic.

FAST&FURIOUS 7

Watchable. Let your brain rest. Stop thinking and admire the views (hot chicks, muscled guys, landscapes, flying cars, glamour, cliff-hangers, crashes) and the music (by David Guetta among others. It was shot on locations in Atlanta, Colorado, Abu Dhabi, California. Only Japan is fake.

DIFRET

Recommended. A 14-year-old girl is kidnapped, held captive, raped, beaten, has her arm broken. When escaping she kills her main oppressor. She gets arrested, expelled from her home village and is waiting for the trial which will most likely end in her getting the capital punishment. Well, it's rural Ethiopia. An in-depth portrayal of the conflict of customary law with state law and the clash of modern city vs. traditional village cultures. The Ethiopian film is, curiously, produced by Angelina Jolie.

EX MACHINA

Recommended. Hard SF. A fascinating, if scary, vision of the near future. Very plausible and frightening when you think how easy it is to build somebody's profile through their google search. It reminds me of "Species" somehow - a beautiful, non-human protagonist uses men to her advantage threatening all of humanity.

After the film I visited the top level toilet in Galeria Mokotow, Warsaw. It felt like from the world of the future as well: a shoe-cleaning machine, touchless taps as well as soap, disinfectant and hand cream dispensers, conveniently located hand-dryers.

JOURNEY TO THE WEST

Walked out. You follow a monk who takes each step for five minutes. Literally.

CHAPPIE

Watchable. As cute as ET. The story with a clearcut military baddie and his adopted family reminds me of ET as well. The main difference is that the film is full of machines and that at ET I had been crying through the whole film. This one is not that sad. The machines and the temporary lack of police resemble "Robocop". On the whole it's an entertaining, if uninnovative, mix of popular SF movies.

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA

Watchable. Actually not all of it. It's boring, about a washed-out star played by one (Juliette Binoche). Kristen Stewart acts very well. But the true highlight of the film is the view of the clouds forming a snake in the Sils Maria Valley.

VIOLET

Watchable. Shot on 65 mm and digital Alexa, it tries to be original and visually it is to some extent but it's nearly silent, following the external expression of the protagonist's reaction to a tragic event. It's pleasingly quiet and drowsy at the same time.

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF POLISH CINEMA

DISCO POLO

Recommended. A warmingly fairy-tale, full-colour view of the 80s. It all looks more like Wes Anderson's than any Polish film. It's unique here. And makes you love the disco polo genre even if you always despised it. The "Funny Games" references are brilliant too.

ZIARNO PRAWDY

Slept through. I just saw the beginning I had missed the previous time and fell asleep. Was so knackered couldn't help it.

POLSKIE GOWNO

Watchable. It's not a good film. I guess I watched it out of interest in how businesses work. There is one moderately funny situation where a band member drunkenly hires someone who ends up in bed with him after which the band run before dawn.

BOGOWIE (GODS)

Watchable. It's not that funny the second time round but watches smoothly, the action is fast enough.

SASIADY

Walked out. A set of weirdos living in one dilapidated block. A guy taking pleasure in electrocuting himself is just one of them.

BODY/CIALO

Walked out. A bunch of lowlifes: a cynical prosecutor, his bulimic wife, a voyerist therapist.

NAR DYRENE DROMMER (WHEN ANIMALS DREAM)

Recommended. Kept me gripped from the first minute. It has some memorable scenes and is quite stylish. Altogether it has captivating atmosphere.

MANGE TES MORTS (EAT YOUR BONES)

Watchable. I'm not really interested in everyday lives (or deaths) of criminals but you can see it as a psychological portrayal of low IQ people who know no other life than crime.

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF HORROR

I skipped "The Woman In Black" as I had seen it before. So I saw:

THE WOMAN IN BLACK ANGEL OF DEATH

Watchable. A few startling bits don't make for a truly scary horror. At least it has a plot to follow.

ANNABELLE

Watchable. A few startling bits don't make for a truly scary horror. At least it has a plot to follow.

REC 4

Walked out. The first 20 some minutes had a plot. Later zombies, all covered in blood for some reason, started jumping on everyone. I wasn't interested in watching who'll get killed when.

JUPITER ASCENDING 3D

Watchable. The storyline is really silly, for kids only. At the same time though the visual effects, costumes and cinematography are spectacular and worth seeing in 3D.

INTO THE WOODS

Walked out. It's a musical and it's really full of typical ear-tearing musical songs with hardly any word spoken in between. Couldn't stand it, even for Chris Pine, a glimpse of whom I caught only once before leaving.

KINGSMAN

Watchable. Great fun. My only objection is that it's too anti-class-system PC. But other than that it's light entertainment in the style of old Bond movies minus chauvinism.

PRIDE

Watchable. Hard to believe gays used to be discriminated in Britain in the 80s. I'm neither gay nor a miner yet I enjoyed this cheerful comedy about predjudice. It's also an interesting fragment of the modern history of the UK. You can learn how certain rights were gained. Also, it features lots of great music of the 80s (Bronski Beat, Culture Club, Dead or Alive).

ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY 2015

I set my alarm for 1:45 (Polish time) expecting a reliable Pro7 Live Stream as in previous years. It didn't work. Resorted to the Filmweb forum under the Oscars nominees list. Finally http://www.brettygood.com/ seems to be working and it's 2:58 am already.

Costumes and Make-up Awards for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" - not surprised.

Foreign Language Film - I'm on the edge of my seat already. Pawlikowski's speech is nice, especially the bit about being "in the epicentre of world attention".

Lousy jokes so far. Snacks forbidden but seat fillers presented instead.

Finally a stream where even commercials are in English (ABC).

Now a winner's advertising his local donut bakery.

As I said before, "Joanna" didn't deserve an Oscar. It didn't get one. Neither did "Our Curse" which I haven't seen and most likely won't.

The stream's breaking up a bit.

Jokes still lousy.

Several actors in the audience look as if they were wearing masks, specially John Travolta. Surgery plus make-up? They somehow all resemble Putin.

The "Birdman" mock sketch is good!

"American Sniper" for Sound Editing. Happy to hear that.

Patricia Arquette's feminist manifesto speech was astonishing. Why is she talking about it?

Visual Effects - my fave category. Deservedly "Interstellar" this year.

Cinematography unfortunately not for "Ida".

Can't wait to hear Lady Gaga perform.

Oh, so Giger died last year? I didn't even know. Marquez In Memoriam too - what did he have to do with films?

Cumberbatch's speech about film editing was interesting. Apparently editors: help find a needle in a haystack, "save actors' asses" and remind directors why they made the movie in the first place.

I've just realised how bad the Polish translation of "The Imitation Game" title was - completely neglecting the protagonist's trying to blend in with the straight crowd.

"Citizenfour" winning the Best Documentary  - "the subject of the film, Edward Snowden, couldn't be here for some reason" - finally a good joke!

Polish commentators expected references to Ukraine. So far I've heard only one possible about the celebrities' oscar goodie bag containing "an armoured ride to safety if a revolution comes". Instead it's all about a bigger number of blacks incarcerated in the US nowadays than in slavery times.

Best Score for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" whose music I didn't like.

One of "Birdman" scriptwriters thanked his family and dog - loved it!

Ah, so "The Theory Of Everything" was based on Hawking's wife's book. That explains why the film's more about her than him.

What a moving speech by The Imitation Game" scriptwriter Graham Moore who admitted he had attempted suicide at 16 because he "didn't fit in".

Best Director - Alejandro G. Inarritu for "Birdman" - who else? The only film which was different.

Very good speech by Cate Blanchet about great acting being when you're afraid to blink an eye lest you miss an important moment. Not the case of Eddie Redmayne but his performance was remarkable. Must be terribly hard to act mobility impaired.

Actress In A Leading Role - Rosamund Pike is my hope and the Oscar goes to...Julianne Moore. Haven't seen that film. Her husband's younger than her. At last a woman admitting it.

The PWC guy really looks like aged Matt Damon.

"Oscar predictions" were brilliant!

Is Sean Penn the only one looking actually his age?

"Birdman" the Best Picture? I disagree. Preferred "American Sniper".
Clearly the whole ceremony was about equality.

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE OSCAR NIGHT

As I had seen "Birdman", "The Imitation Game" and "Joanna" before and none of them delighted me, this time I saw 2 out of the 5 marathon movies only.

AMERICAN SNIPER

Watchable. Begins like an ordinary war movie but later throws you in the middle of it, showing how merciless it is. Chris Kyle is cheesily pure here but the long-term rivalry between him and Mustafa keeps you on the edge of your seat. I wouldn't mind it if it won an Oscar.

IDA

Recommended. Shot in modern quality black with stylish acting it has a lot of character and the forest views resemble artistic woodcuts. Storywise, well, I admit I didn't expect a nun's story to move me but it's more of a life journey here.

ZIARNO PRAWDY

Recommended. Pure logic over superstitions. A cross between "The Da Vinci Code" and the "Genesis" series. A criminal intrigue involving you deeper and deeper.

JOANNA

Walked out. About bringing up children.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

Watchable. It didn't make me laugh but it interestingly ridiculed both youth culture and all sorts of vampire movies.

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Watchable. At the second watching the sex almost disappears, it feels so mundane, you hardly notice it. It didn't make me laugh or cry this time either. I mostly admired the views of Seattle. The whole story felt also light-hearted and pleasing to watch.

ESKIYA (THE BANDIT)

Walked out. Archaic. Gangsters' daily lives weren't exactly fascinating to me.

REDIRECTED

Watchable. "Hangover" British-gangster-style. Here guys are coming to after a party in Lithuania. You just follow one crazy adventure after another.

THE VOICES

Watchable. It's downright ludicrous. It's just one of those movies which keep you hooked from the first killing. It could be a deep psychological movie about a disturbed man hearing voices telling him to kill. Instead it's just unbelievably silly.

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Recommended. I haven't read the book but I know it was meant to be an adult version of "Twilight". With all this hype around the film I expected them to cock up this "Twilight" imitation, especially the scene with Christian saving Anastasia from being run over or the mind-reading thing and the like. I have to say the film proved to be incredibly good. I laughed, I cried, I was excited. While I have seen the first "Twilight" movie four times at the cinema alone, with "Grey" I guess once is enough. But I did have fun.

KEBAB I HOROSKOP

Walked out. First of all it's not funny. Additionally it's slow and absurd.

THE LITTLE DEATH

Watchable. More of a psychological drama than a comedy about sex. Will be well received by single people as it's comforting to see how dreadful it is to be in a relationship. Other than that it's not very funny. Well, once in a while you'll hear a joke, e.g. "I want to tell you something important. I love you..." "How was that important?!" but mostly it's about people with weird sex preferences trying to save their relationships.

HROSS I OSS (OF HORSES AND MEN)

Walked out. For the half an hour when I stayed I couldn't figure out what it was about.

WALK OF SHAME

Watchable. Fun to watch. Several people laughed out loud. I didn't. But I'm blonde and the story just range very true to me. Too short. I want more!

SACRO GRA

Watchable. A film for people who haven't seen much in their lives. It shows people from all walks of life but could have been shot anywhere in Europe.

SERENA

Watchable. An original but far-fetched story.

SHAUN THE SHEEP

Watchable. A film with very few words. Some funny bits, e.g. one of characters, dressed up as a surgeon in the operating room, looks at the patient's records and gets a vomiting reflex. But on the whole it's a sad story about how people treat animals.

WILD

Recommended. I was nearly half an hour late but the storyline was easy to get into. A backpacker's dream movie, showing the highs and lows of trekking. I found myself in many of Cheryl Strayed's travel experiences. Lucky me I've always had a padded rucksack which never gave me abrasions.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Watchable. It's more about a woman who devoted her life to nurturing her disabled husband only to be betrayed by him with a nurse. It still shows Hawking's strong personality and will to survive. Altogether, in spite of superb acting, it's mediocre.

LA FORCE MAJEURE

Watchable. A quiet drama about how one little unsettling incident can grow into permanent fear.  A plus is a wide array of different lifestyles portrayed, a minus its slow pace and making a mountain out of a mole hill, as I see it.

CARTE BLANCHE

Watchable. Not as good as the trailer implied, with some protracted sequences, nevertheless altogether interesting in the way the protagonist managed to hide his blindness taking advantage of  others who often found it convenient to turn a blind eye.

P'TIT QUINQUIN

Watchable. Weird. The criminal intrigue is involving, crimes peculiar, characters even more so. It's a dark comedy which made me smile several times but not laugh out loud. It's too long for sure, those 197 minutes could have been shortened. At the same time I kind of miss the police chief with his ticks and the film's bizarre philosophical humour and would like to see part two, especially that the film lacks a clear-cut ending. The storyline and grotesque form are incomparable with any other film and while many people were laughing loud, many left too.

THE NIGHT OF CINEMA

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Walked out. A talking raccoon, a tea creature, a man listening to old rock and a green woman together with interesting scenography won't compensate for a downright stupid plot.

JESSABELLE

Watchable. I expected better. It was more annoying than scary. The local voodoo folklore and the birth mystery kept me till the end. Other than that it's skippable.

BOGOWIE

Watchable. Really good, almost a comedy, with brilliant dialogues and situational humour. Well-paced, it showed absurds of living under communism. Religa was an admirably strong personality. It ends all too suddenly.

JOHN WICK

Recommended. Music in film matters. I knew I was going to enjoy it already after watching a trailer. The movie doesn't disappoint either. But, while I imagined that it would be a mindless shootout, it far surpassed my expectations: the jargon, the cinematography, the plot, acting and the music of course were superb. Great idea with the hotel for hitmen. It was really fun.

THE IMITATION GAME

Watchable. The storyline is predictable: we've had war espionage, Asperger's syndrome and the discrimination of women and homosexuals in cinema before. At the same time it's interesting, very well acted on all parts, with a shocking ending which has nothing to do with Enigma.

If any of you happens to understand Polish, here's historical truth about the 3 Polish men who broke the Enigma code:
http://warszawawpigulce.pl/?p=2244