Category: comedy

They like to own something forbidden. “Vinci” (2004)

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directed by Juliusz Machulski
© 2004 Studio Filmowe Zebra. All Rights Reserved.

Over twenty years later I’ll soon see a sequel to one of my favourite Polish films. But before I see part II, perhaps it’s a good moment to introduce you to part I, which was released in 2004. If you like action films that trick you with several twists, then you’ll enjoy this one as well. We get to meet Cuma (Robert Więckiewicz), a quite known art thief, who’s just got out of prison. Even though he was sentenced for stealing art, he doesn’t mind going back to business. This time the spotlight is on the “Lady with an Ermine”, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s about to return from Japan to Poland and it seems like a perfect occasion to steal the piece. Cuma contacts his old friend Julian (Borys Szyc), hoping the man will join him again. However, even though Julian owes Cuma a lot, it turns out that he’s now… a police officer. If that’s not complicated enough, Julian comes up with an idea – he will help Cuma steal the painting, but at the same time he’ll make sure that the painting won’t be sold to some overly wealthy guy who just wants to have something special in their mansion. And in order to succeed, Julian starts cooperating with Magda (Kamila Baar), an incredibly talented art student. What comes out of this cooperation is for you to see. Generally, I’m a big fan of Juliusz Machulski as a director, so you may say I’m not being objective. However, I saw “Vinci” before even exploring his other films and I already loved it. It’s a complete story to me, because it has well-written characters, an adventure, lots of plot twists, a pinch of humour and all that is covered with respect for art. I remember that after watching this film for the first time I wanted to learn more about painting techniques. No worries, I’m no art thief – I’d rather die of anxiety than plan something like this. But what I mean to say is that good films don’t only entertain you – they should also push you to exploring some topics. And I guess that’s the best about Machulski’s productions. Recently, I rewatched “Vinci” and I still felt entertained, even though I knew the story very well. Soon, we will have a chance to see “Vinci 2” and I’m both excited and worried about it. On the one hand, I’ll be thrilled to see Cuma and Julian once again, after all those years, but on the other – it’s a sequel made about 20 years later. The possibility that it might be a slight failure is high, like with most sequels. But hey, I’m staying positive! So if you see a post about part II in a few weeks it means they succeeded with the sequel. If there’ll be no post, let’s accept the reality, alright? After all, there’s always part I, which is truly awesome, so go ahead and join the heist in Kraków.

My rating: 8/10
S.

Grotesque and disgusting. “The Big Feast” (“La grande bouffe”, 1973)

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directed by Marco Ferreri
© 1973 Films 66. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re looking for something to watch while having a meal, don’t choose this one. DO NOT choose this one. I made this mistake and I had to stop the film to finish my lunch in peace. Just as the title says, you’re about to experience a big feast. So what happens during that film? Are they eating and that’s it? Well, pretty much, yes. But there’s more to notice if you look closely. We get to know four friends, who have way too much money and way too much time to waste. Classic upper class. And as you can imagine, they come up with a “brilliant” idea to spend a weekend in a villa and eat themselves to death. No, I haven’t made a mistake and your reading skills are on point – they want to commit suicide by eating huge amounts of food. Why? Because they can. And that last sentence is the perfect summary of this story. So, the spoilt men have a villa, lots of food, and the only thing they’re missing is sex to feel completely satisfied. Here come some lovely ladies, whose job is to keep the eaters company. What you see next is exactly what you might be expecting. They eat, have sex, eat, talk about pointless things, eat, fart, eat, waste oxygen as human parasites, eat… So why am I recommending this film? Firstly, it’s super weird and sometimes we need to watch something that surprises us. Oh this one does, trust me. Secondly, I really like the idea behind the story. The director presents upper class in the most suitable environment, where they can be themselves. They only care about pleasing themselves and even if they have enough, they still want more. Why? Because they can. They could spend money in order to help others, they could share this food with those who need it, they could build healthy relationships instead of pleasing themselves with the use of prostitutes. But they choose the easier way. Why? Everybody, say it with me: BECAUSE THEY CAN! I felt both disgusted and amused by this production, but also got some food for thought (this expression fits perfectly right now). I believe the director had a marvellous idea to make such film and even if it may seem disgusting at so many levels, try to watch and reflect on it yourselves.

My rating: 6/10
S.

I don’t believe in quantum physics when it comes to matters of the heart. “Bull Durham” (1988)

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directed by Ron Shelton
© 1988 Orion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve just had presidential election in my country and I need to wash my brain in bleach and set it on fire. Or I could also recommend you a rom-com with baseball in the background. I guess the second option sounds better. At least for now. So, let’s move back to the 80s and have fun with very young Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins. That last one plays the role of Nuke, a young guy who perhaps doesn’t like to use his head too often (if you know what I mean), but he’s quite of a talent when it comes to baseball. In order to calm him down and work on his technique, Crash (Kevin Costner), a player with more years of experience, appears. Obviously, those two start to compete, because they don’t seem to respect each other that much, but there’s also one more reason. And that reason is a woman. Annie (Susan Sarandon) is an absolute groupie of the team and she’s also a dedicated educator, because each year she chooses a different player to have a romance with. And since the guys are younger and less experienced than her, she enjoys being the teacher. What a wonderful person, isn’t she? Things get complicated when Annie finds two players quite interesting – and yes, you’ve guessed it right, those are our two competing roosters. It’s a very relaxing comedy and it gives the 80s vibes so I cannot complain. Generally, it’s a combination of two ideas. One is a picture of a sport team where you don’t only need to be well-trained, but you also need to learn how to be a team-player. A lot of people praised this production for the way it presented baseball and its atmosphere. I cannot say much about it because I’ve never been interested in such sports, so perhaps they are right. The second idea, however, is the love story and the picture of a woman, who finally finds someone to challenge her romantically. What I mean by that is Annie has always been the leader and the dominant figure because she couldn’t find similar or more intense energy from another man. Until Crash has crushed into her heart (please, appreciate this wordplay!). Maybe I don’t know much about sport, but I’m very familiar with Annie’s case and it was fascinating to watch such character. So, if you need some romantic experiences and lots of sweaty men with bats and balls (I’m talking about baseball, obviously!), then grab a cold drink and relax with this trio.

My rating: 6/10
S.

Our entire life is a punishment. “Mickey 17” (2025)

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directed by Bong Joon Ho
© 2025 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Lots of people are disappointed with this film, but I’m here to support it and actually recommend it to you. It’s the kind of sci-fi that I personally really enjoy watching, because it plays with my mind, emotions and morality, so if you also like to be “played” by filmmakers – voilà. We move to 2054 where a man named Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is a member of a colonising crew. Some years before, a team of people decided to conquer an ice-planet called Niflheim and the mission continues. Mickey’s job is quite controversial because he has to risk his life on a daily basis. Well… not even risk it – he goes to work in order to die. Before you lose your mind trying to understand, let me explain: Mickey gets incredibly difficult tasks to do thanks to which the crew learns about the new planet. If there’s some unknown place to explore or some substance to try – Mickey is the guy. How is it possible this guy is still alive? The answer is: reprinting. When Mickey dies during a mission, his body gets reprinted, so basically they create Mickey’s clone. But what’s quite innovative is the fact that his original memory stays. So even though Mickey has been reprinted several times, he’s still the same person, who remembers all his deaths. Yeah, that’s the creepy part. Things get complicated when Mickey survives one mission despite being considered dead and the crew reprints him before he even dies… Are you still following? If not, you must see the film to clear things out. Anyway, I love the idea and I had a lot of fun watching this production. Pattinson is great as Mickey, who’s slightly goofy and naive, so I was quite surprised. Personally, I wouldn’t have guessed the actor could do well with such task, but he nailed it. There are lots of hilarious moments, but there’s also the other side, which definitely caught my attention. You see, in such reality, Mickey becomes a lab rat, who is pushed to doing things others wouldn’t even dare trying. Of course, he can be reprinted, so basically he’s immortal, but the memories are saved, which means all the deaths stay with him. Some might be quick, but others are long and painful. It’s terrifying to imagine. In fact, Mickey, in my opinion, represents all the animals that humans torture in order to receive certain answers. Just in Mickey’s case, he gave his consent. Animals cannot do that. And animals cannot be reprinted. It’s just another film showing how cruel and selfish humans can be. Yet, it’s told in a fresh and quite interesting way, so to me – this is a cool sci-fi production that you should see.

My rating: 6/10
S.

Please do not disturb a busy man. “My Grandmother” (“Chemi bebia”, 1929)

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directed by Kote Mikaberidze
© 1929 Georgian-Film. All Rights Reserved.

You truly need to see this film to understand why it’s such a magnificent production. Recently, the Klassiki team has shared several satire films from the USSR on their platform and I was invited to see them, which I gladly did. Today I’d like to recommend you “My Grandmother”, directed by a Georgian director, which was actually banned in the USSR for many years. How surprising! And you may soon get why. It’s about a man (Aleksandre Takaishvili), who’s a bureaucrat working at an office. From the very beginning we can see that it’s not an ordinary office when it comes to the visual part, but definitely typical when it comes to the atmosphere and work intensity. I’m sure you’re all very excited when you need to go any kind of office and try to get things done. First you need to find the right room, then find out the room is actually wrong, so you need to go to another one which turns up to be closed, so you go to someone else to ask for help, they send you to yet another room and you basically feel like Asterix during that one task of his (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I recommend seeing “The Twelve Tasks of Asterix”, 1976). Let’s be honest – bureaucracy looks exactly the same everywhere, so in each office there’s a bunch of people who have no idea what they’re doing and they’re so tired of that that taking breaks becomes their favourite activity. In today’s film we have this idea presented in a rather abstract way, but I’m sure you’ll relate to it anyway. Getting back to our protagonist – the man loses his job, so he has to find a way to get a new one. And at this moment we’re introduced to his wife (Bella Chernova), who’s a true icon of this film. The woman is so mad with her husband that she becomes a complete nightmare chasing him with pure anger in her eyes. If you needed some strong female character – here she is, you won’t be disappointed. In order to get back to work, the man is advised to get a letter of recommendation from a “grandmother”, because apparently that’s the only way. I had so much fun watching this production, because it is hilarious at numerous moments. However, what actually amazed me are all the techniques they managed to use there. I can tell it took a lot of creativity and a lot of work to make it, which is quite paradoxical considering what the story of the film is about. I couldn’t believe it was made in 1929! I really wish current film crews watched more of those old gems and got inspired to be more innovative. The camerawork, the unusual frames, the moving objects… all that made the film incredibly interesting. If I may – my favourite little moments are when the protagonist is cleaning his glasses (you’ll see why), and also when he talks to another man and puts his glasses on him (you’ll see what’s special about it). Those are those little things that matter to me, so if you’re also a meticulous cinephile, you will have so much fun!

My rating: 8/10
S.

You don’t get old at the table. “Nonnas” (2025)

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directed by Stephen Chbosky
© 2025 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re starting the week with as much energy as I do (which is surely below zero), then you may need some nonnas in your life! Nonnas – meaning grandmas. Their sarcasm, their hugs and also their cooking. Even though I’m an adult myself and I’m the one cooking now, I still miss my grandmas’ dishes. They were experts in the kitchen and I have no idea how they were doing it, but everything tasted better at their place. No matter how hard I try to repeat some recipe, I always miss one thing – I’m not my grandma. That’s it. And if you share similar reflections with me, then this film will cheer you up. We get to know Joe (Vince Vaughn), a middle-aged man who’s just lost his beloved mother. The man is obviously grieving and searching for a way to feel better. That’s also a very emotional moment in his life, so he suddenly finds some motivation to make huge changes. Joe comes up with an idea to open an Italian restaurant where the chefs would be grandmas of Italian origin. At first even his family considers it a ridiculous way to waste money, but Joe is stubborn and does everything to make his new little dream come true. Isn’t it adorable? But before you melt completely, let me just add that this film is based on a real story of Joe Scaravella who’s the owner of such restaurant with nonna-chefs. When it comes to the idea itself, I find is marvellous. Not only we can eat delicious dishes, but also those women get a chance to stay active and keep working. And I believe it’s incredibly important, because a lot of elderly people feel useless and unwanted – which is absolutely not right. They have so many skills and we should be learning from them as long as it’s possible. When it comes to the film, I guess it’s a cute comedy that is here to make your day a bit brighter. And from time to time we really need such good vibes, so I’m sharing them with you and I hope you’ll have fun with those Italian nonnas.

My rating: 6/10
S.

It’s not enough to survive, you’ve got to live. “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (2025)

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directed by Michael Morris
© 2025 Universal Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Oh Bridget… I can’t even name the number of times you cheered me up after another failed relation. Whenever I had a broken heart, she was there with me to sing “All by Myself”, drunk, in a cute pyjamas. I simply adore this woman, although the third film was already slightly disappointing to me – you absolutely cannot compare it to the first two. That is why I had quite mixed feelings about the 4th part. On the one hand, I was excited because Bridget is back, on the other… what could go wrong…? Well, the first thing that hits us like a metal chair (SPOILER COMING) is that her one and only love, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), has died, so Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is now a widow with two children, Billy and Mabel (Casper Knopf & Mila Jankovic). Before you get frustrated, let me just add that it’s exactly what happens in the book as well, so it wasn’t the filmmaker’s choice. To all Darcy’s fans – I feel you… Anyway, Bridget is a happy mother of two adorable kiddos, but she’s single again, so her friend comes up with an idea to create Bridget’s profile of Tinder. She’s a bit unsure about it at first, but that leads to dating Roxster (Leo Woodall), a much, much younger man. In the meantime, we also get to know Scott Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Bridget’s children’s teacher, who is just there somewhere in the background, but as you might be guessing he may become quite significant at some point. First things first – I’m not disappointed about this part. In fact, I feel like this one is better than the third one and we get to experience the good old Bridget Jones. As much as I am sad about the death of Mark, there are two good sides of that. One – Bridget gets to date a much younger man, which is still some kind of a taboo topic. The other way round? No problemo. But when the woman is the older one in the couple, then it seems unusual. So I’m glad that we’re fighting with the age stereotype and show that love may be found literally in any combination. And two – I’m glad for the character of Scott, the teacher. He’s a middle-aged man who has always wanted to find true love and start a family, but it’s just never happened. And that’s something we often see being pictured about women – that they “failed” to find that special someone and have children. But it works both ways – there are such men as well. And it’s not about failing, but about something I personally call “fate”. We may be disappointed that life hasn’t worked out the way we wanted, but there’s something else coming. Something different, maybe better, but surely something specifically for us. This film also covers the topic of men’s loneliness, which is an important thing to talk about. And Bridget? She’ll manage anytime, anywhere. Just like all of you reading it. Thank you Jones for being just the way you are; in your silly little boots, silly little dress and absolutely enormous pants.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Iris, go to sleep. “Companion” (2025)

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directed by Drew Hancock
© 2025 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Monday always sounds like science-fiction to me, so I guess recommending a sci-fi film would make it complete. If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you already know that I’m a fan of quality sci-fi, especially the one that touches human nature and psychology. And before writing today’s post, I was wondering whether I should tell you the whole truth about it or not, but I guess it’s not something I can keep to myself and literally every description of this film spoils the first plot twist. So, we meet Iris (Sophie Thatcher), who’s a companion robot (boo, the tiny spoiler). Meaning, she was bought for the sake of keeping a lonely man company. And who’s that man? That’s Josh (Jack Quaid), who apparently isn’t attracted to women that think for themselves and he likes to take control even of the partner’s brain. Sounds like patriarchy may hit another level in the future… Anyway, Iris doesn’t know that she’s a robot, but she’s soon to find out. The couple spends some time at a lakehouse, where a horrible thing happens to Iris (come on, I have to keep some secrets for you to see) and when she seeks for support from Josh, he instead shuts her down. When she wakes up, that’s the moment when everything becomes clear. The woman doesn’t want to be controlled so she steals Josh’s phone (with which he controls her) and runs away. But will a robot survive in a human world? Doom doom doom… Listen, I had a lot of fun watching this film, because I just adore such stories. However, except some funny moments and simply entertaining plot, I see a lot of education happening here. My sarcastic comment about patriarchy hitting another level wasn’t far from the truth. We can already observe how difficult it is for men to get into healthy relationships these days and one of the reasons is that they can’t control women as much as they could in the past. Now, with an equal partner, some of them get lost, scared or even frustrated. So obviously, such companion robot will exist some day to fill in this gap. Some men just need a servant that looks good, praise them no matter what and doesn’t bother them when it’s not needed. Before you consider me a toxic feminist let me just add that women may have very high expectations that lead to intimidating men and embarrassing them in their eyes. A fact is that there’s something really not right in current relations, but seems like technology is here to help. “Help”. To me Iris represents women that finally realise what a shitshow they’re living with their partners and they decide to change their lives, even though the new beginning seems like an abstract idea. And I swear, the final scene of this film is such a cherry on top, which perfectly presents what it’s like to be a woman with “experience”. Loved it! And I loved Sophie as Iris – she was magical. You didn’t even need to read anything before because from the first minutes of the film you can already see she’s not 100% human. Those absent eyes, stiff body language – all that was both subtle, yet present. Great performance. And I really hope you will see what our future will sooner or later look like. Should we be scared or relieved? No idea anymore…

My rating: 7/10
S.

My heart is, and always will be, yours. “Sense and Sensibility” (1995)

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directed by Ang Lee
© 1995 Sony Pictures Releasing. All Rights Reserved.

Except the fact that I watch way too many film, I’m also a bookworm. However, the idea of reading a romantic novel doesn’t sound like anything I’d like to do in my free time. I get it, they are adorable, moving, showing what love should be like – but I guess I’m too much of a realist to deal with such stories. I’m sorry. Still, considering the fact that that “Sense and Sensibility” is an absolute classic and the film adaptation was praised by numerous critics, I had to finally give it a try. I haven’t touched the book yet, but the film is surely worth your time. We’re moving back to the end of the XVIII century, where we meet the Dashwood family. The head of the family dies, leaving his wife (Gemma Jones) and three daughters (Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Harriet Walter) without any significant support. The one to inherit the most is the man’s son from his previous marriage, who’s asked to take care of his father’s new family. Despite the promises, he does everything to save money and makes the widow with her daughters move into his large house instead of helping them be more independent. While the ladies are staying there, the hostess’ brother (Hugh Grant) pays a visit and immediately falls for the oldest sister, Elinor (Emma Thompson). Obviously there has to be some obstacle so those two cannot be together, but that’s for you to discover and learn the rest of the story either by reading or watching. I’m not a big fan of such romantic stories, but this adaptation is really good. It won an Oscar for the best screenplay, which is fair to me – Emma Thompson, the author of the screenplay, did it marvellously (she spent about 5 years working on it!). There wasn’t a moment I felt bored or annoyed, which is quite common for me while watching romances. Besides, the cast of the film is an absolute cherry on top. So many talented and great actors to admire. And they must have had a lot of fun shooting the film. For example, they had specific movement classes to learn how to move in a way people from the XVIII century did – which means a bit less comfortably. Also, it’s said that Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet liked to walk around the town of Salisbury in their film costumes and apparently nobody even cared or found it unusual. Adorable if you ask me. Speaking of costumes, I’ll always appreciate the work of people creating those pieces of art, so it’s another reason for you to see the film. Quite a lot of those reason we have already, don’t we? So what are you waiting for?

My rating: 7/10
S.

My head hurts. “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” (“Moartea domnului Lăzărescu”, 2005)

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directed by Cristi Puiu
© 2005 Tartan USA. All Rights Reserved.

I was hoping to see this film for a long time and recently I finally watched it. Romanian cinema is actually very specific and it definitely aligns with my preferences, so I always like to discover their productions. The one I’m recommending to you today is considered a dark comedy, yet I see nothing funny in this story. Perhaps someone noticed the witty replies here and there, but other than that, this film is a very emotional drama, at least to me. We get to meet Dante Remus Lăzărescu (Ioan Fiscuteanu), a man in his 60s, living alone with cats and enjoying alcohol drinks way too often. The film begins with the day when Mr. Lăzărescu is suffering from a horrible pain and calls an ambulance, which does not arrive. Then, the man goes to his neighbours and asks for help. Thanks to them, the ambulance finally arrives and Mioara (Luminița Gheorghiu), a nurse, examines Mr. Lăzărescu. She guesses it might be something serious, so together with the ambulance driver they take the suffering man to the hospital. And that’s just the beginning of this very long night. Generally, this film presents the inefficient health care system and how hopeless people are in case of emergency. Before you even see a doctor, there are multiple obstacles that you need to deal with. What’s more, Mr. Lăzărescu is an alcoholic and on this very night he’s also drunk, which becomes a huge problem. Everyone focuses on that, even though there’s a man suffering. Obviously, if you drink too much, it’s natural that you may end up with a headache. But even then, if you see someone vomiting with blood, feeling dizzy and struggling with some pain, you should help them in the first place. However, which is unfortunately true, many health care workers have the need to lecture you about the cause of your state. I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it at all, but maybe let’s educate people after they stop puking in red, shall we? And this arrogance coming from doctors, calling their patient a drunkie and not having even a pinch of respect. Yes, I know he drank. Yes, he’s an alcoholic (which is also another reason why he needs help). But he’s a human being. Sending a man in pain from one hospital to another, making him wait for hours to get help – this is horrendous. Personally, I also had a chance to experience the tragedy of our public health care (I’m not Romanian, but I guess most of us may relate to this film reality). I remember how it is to feel like a no-name, to wait the whole night in pain because there’s no bed to sleep on at ER, to wait for months to get the surgery I needed immediately. This film is not a comedy, it’s a drama showing how little a human life matters. That in the end, we may all be like Mr. Lăzărescu – pushed from one place to another, slowly dying because the system is not organised to help us. The system is here to destroy us. Also, I was incredibly moved by the character of Mioara, the nurse, who was the only one fighting for the patient’s right to be treated. To me it was a symbol that there are some decent people in this world. Maybe not many, but they are here. If you’re still wondering whether you should see this film – let me clarify: YES! And before I finish the post, I’d like to add one linguistic fact -> the main character is named Mr. Lăzărescu, and his surname comes from the word “lazaret” (or “lazaretto”) meaning… “hospital”. I guess that’s the best dark joke of the film.

My rating: 8/10
S.