Stanislaus

I am ashamed to admit that until now I had no idea about the Great Bear Rainforest, which made this documentary extremely useful for me in terms of information. Accompanied by Ryan Reynolds' light-hearted commentary, with a witty remark here and there, the viewer is transported for forty minutes into an unspoiled and almost untouched by man landscape that is home to a variety of animal species. I was very surprised by the existence of the Kermode bear (pr “spirit bear”), whose survival is ensured by the descendants of the local indigenous population. But I also found the snippets from the lives of other representatives of the animal kingdom interesting, like sea otters or American black bears and grizzly bears.

Burning Blue offers a solid premise: a love story between two men in a naval air force setting under President Bill Clinton (the "Don't ask, don't tell!" policy), but the execution is nothing but average, which is a real shame. The film could have benefited from a shorter running time, better direction of the actors, and more emphasis on drama. It was interesting to see the different approaches of each character towards a taboo subject in a setting that looks at the issue through closed eyes. I also appreciated the restrained approach to the relationship between Dan and Matt, where physical action was replaced with more innuendo and sexual tension. However, like I said, there was definitely more to be made of it.

At Home with Olaf is a series of short sketches, some of which resemble everyday scenes rather than having any kind of plot, it will surely entertain the youngest audience, especially thanks to the infectiously positive Olaf, who seems to be on something (in a good way) the whole time. The quality of the stories varies, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained. I didn't roll with laughter, but a rueful smile did appear on my face a few times.

Death in Buenos Aires combines elements of (slightly romantic) drama and crime, but neither genre left a strong impression on me. While I liked the fact that you don’t know who is actually bad and who is evil until almost the very end, I still found the final twist somewhat weak and unfinished. On the other hand, I was intrigued by the line with the horses and their running through the city streets.

Watching Tale of Tales, I couldn't help but think of German Romanticism, the tales of the Brothers Grimm's or the texts of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Matteo Garrone's film is an evocative audio-visual spectacle with many wonderful locations and costumes that take the viewer back to a time long past, to a fairy tale world of kings, servants and various creatures. Each of the three stories appealed to me for its fantastical rawness and unpredictability. Despite its innocent title, this is definitely not a film for the youngest of audiences, children would quite possibly struggle with nightmares after the screening. A truly noteworthy film that, despite its "adult" treatment, retains its fairytale wisdom and lessons, like the struggle between good and evil, boundless selflessness, (un)safe love or the superficial judgement of "a book by its cover".

A slightly funnier continuation of Dji the Grim Reaper's travails, who is not doing so well in his "work" again. Compared to the first one at the hospital, the sequel at sea has more humorous moments, it was brisker and more balanced.

Dji. Death Fails was not (black) humorous enough for my taste, which is a shame considering the premise. Being a grim reaper has its advantages and disadvantages, and this animated flick, in my opinion, fell well short of the potential that offered.

A long-haired Eleven, a safe(?) Bellatrix and a no-nonsense Geralt in a film about the Holmes family, which neglects the figure of the famous detective and puts to the fore his "lonely" sister Enola, who is as fluent in the art of deduction as her big brother. In addition to the excellent cast, I was impressed by the unconventional way of narration, in which the main character directly addressed the audience, which gave the story a humorous edge. On the other hand, though, I have to say that I was probably expecting something more. I felt that its potential was not fully exploited. At times the film was perhaps a little too overtly feminist, but it was still an enjoyable two hours.

Animal Crackers will probably never make a dent in its genre, as it has a somewhat simpler animation, but it offers a fairly original theme, slightly overshadowed by the many clichéd educational scenes, but on the other hand the story does not offend and offers a surprising plot twist at the end. Who wouldn't like to have magic cookies that can turn you into animals? In addition to the humorous moments, the film offers a good dose of action in the last minutes, which, despite its predictable nature, is suspenseful.

The Sword in the Stone is a somewhat forgotten Disney film, which is a real shame, as it is a rather humorous take on the legend of Arthur and Merlin, which surprised me very pleasantly. The character of Merlin was hilariously distracted, while Arthur was more of a naive coward, though both had their hearts in the right place, as did the spiky-eyed Archimedes. I was very amused by the episodes with the squirrels and the desperately hungry wolf, who had similar bad luck to the Coyote with the Roadrunner. I must also not fail to mention the magical battle between Merlin and Madam Mim, which was really imaginative. The musical score was also good.