People who are different, their time is coming! “Hairspray” (2007)

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directed by Adam Shankman
© 2007 New Line Cinema. All Rights Reserved.

Recently, I decided to watch “Hairspray” made in 1988 and it made me realise how much I liked the 2007 version. Also, I realised that I haven’t written about it on my blog yet, so let’s do it now. If you’ve seen it already, I hope you will consider my post as a reminder to rewatch and dance with a ridiculous hairstyle. If you haven’t seen it, let me introduce this crazy musical to you. We move back to the 60s, where a plus size teenager, Tracy (Nikki Blonsky), and her quite shy best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) share a hobby – watching “The Corny Collins Show”, a very popular dance show. Many young people want to participate in it, but you need to be a great dancer and look fabulous. Oh, and also, be white. I’m aware that new generations may be shocked to know about the racial discrimination and its scale in the past. Back then, black people weren’t allowed to take part in the same activities as white people. What’s more – they couldn’t even be in the same places… Luckily, we’re no longer that close-minded and we become more and more tolerant and respectful towards each other. Anyway, one day, the show crew announces an audition for a new dancer, so Tracy skips school and signs up. At first, she’s rejected because of the way she looks and the way she thinks – especially about cross-cultural integration. But thanks to some unexpected events, Tracy may actually make a significant change in the show and people’s minds. Even though the film is colourful, full of cheerful music and numerous jokes (including John Travolta as Tracy’s mother), it actually puts a spotlight on racial discrimination and how hurtful it was, especially to children and teenagers. I really hoped that 1988 version would be even more emotional than the new one, but it actually looked like a parody. To be honest, the topic of the importance of integration is practically invisible, because it’s covered by cringy humour… In my opinion, the remake is much better and I’m glad it was made. Obviously, I encourage you to see both versions and choose your winner. Either way, get yourself a fancy hairstyle and have fun dancing with all those wonderful people of all possible colours.

My rating: 8/10
S.

I’m afraid of dying lonely. “My Favourite Cake” (“Keyke mahboobe man”, 2024)

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directed by Maryam Moghaddam & Behtash Sanaeeha
© 2024 Totem Films. All Rights Reserved.

Is regime a good environment for artistic creativity? Well, that’s a controversial topic, but this film supports the statement. Difficult circumstances often lead to the need for expressing our disagreement and wish for change. Obviously, if I could choose myself, I wouldn’t like anyone to live in fear just for the sake of potential art pieces being made. However, today’s recommendation is an important say on the Iranian women’s rights problem. Now you know where I’m taking you – and to be exact, it’s Tehran. There, we meet Mahin (Lily Farhadpour), a 70-year-old widow, who’s been living alone for about 30 years. In Iran, women are allowed to get married again, but it’s not socially acceptable, so most widows decide to stay single till the end of their lives. Still, despite the reality in the country, Mahin craves company and intimacy. Therefore, she makes a brave move and invites Faramarz (Esmail Mehrabi), a taxi driver, to spend the evening at her house. That’s just the beginning of an unusual experience for both of them. To be honest, the ending really shocked me, so if you have any guesses what kind of story that is, you may also get confused. At first, I was irritated by the plot twist, but then I realised that it makes the film even more meaningful. Generally, I’m a fan of putting the spotlight on characters that are often forgotten in our everyday life, and I feel like an elderly widow is a perfect example. Especially, the one living in a country where all women are kind of invisible and ignored. This story reminds us that no matter what the political situation looks like, being an obedient citizen doesn’t mean they accept their reality. We’re all in need of affection and I bet most of us are scared of loneliness, so why would we force someone to suffer. Is it really such a crime if a woman finds a new companion in life? Does she hurt anyone by dancing and singing? Is it illegal to feel happy? Apparently, it is. And all this insanity you can experience while watching today’s film. I wish you a deep reflection. Keep in mind that the filmmakers faced legal problems and were even banned from travelling. Decide yourself whether that was really necessary to hold them accountable.

My rating: 7/10
S.

That was her safe place. “All the Empty Rooms” (2025)

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directed by Joshua Seftel
© 2025 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

Such documentaries are needed and it’s needed to talk about them. This year, one of the Oscars nominee is “All the Empty Rooms” – a short documentary that reminds us about what’s left after the tragedy. Steve Hartman, a journalist, and Lou Bopp, a photographer, decide to make a common project together – they visit empty rooms. But not just any empty rooms – they belonged to the children and teenagers who were killed during school shooting. The problem of such events is very big in the USA and we often hear the horrible news about yet another tragedy involving youth. When a school shooting takes place, the world stops for a moment to think about the victims. Then, life goes on. Unfortunately, for many families it’s impossible to deal with the loss and they decide to leave the victims bedrooms untouched. As if the child left it in the morning and was about to come back. Some of them don’t even wash the clothes or bedsheet not to forget the smell of their beloved one. Steve and Lou make sure to approach each family with respect and they wish to pay tribute to their late child. With each room you feel even more overwhelmed by the intensity of emotions, especially since you see all those toys and colourful decorations indicating how young its owner was. To me, it was difficult to watch, but sometimes I need such films. The idea to describe a person by the photos of their room is creative and it’s inspiring how this project may influence the victims’ families. Because even though they had to remind themselves of the tragedy, you can see gratidute in their eyes. That someone else remembers about their child. Make sure to put your phone away and focus on this short, but important documentary. Wishing them a win!

My rating: 8/10
S.

Good memories let you live forever. “Goodbye June” (2025)

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directed by Kate Winslet
© 2025 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

This film is considered a Christmas story, but I wouldn’t say so. Yes, it is set in December, but to be honest, as a sensitive person, I wouldn’t like to watch it for Christmas. However, it’s February now, so I absolutely recommend you to say goodbye to June. Who is she? June (Helen Mirren) is an elderly lady that is losing her battle with cancer and has very little time to live. She’s taken to hospital and is about to stay there until the very end, which most probably will happen before Christmas. Her family is quite… complex. She has 4 adult children and each of them is a different story. Connor (Johnny Flynn) is struggling to find his path and keeps living with his parents. Helen (Toni Collette) moved to the USA and focused on her spiritual awakening. Julia (Kate Winslet) is a successful woman, both professionally and privately. And Molly (Andrea Riseborough) hasn’t had as much luck in life as Julia, which led to a huge fight between them. Also, June’s husband, Bernie (Timothy Spall), seems to be living in a different reality and doesn’t express much interest or emotions about the whole situation. Before leaving, June wishes to do something for her family and help each one of them. How? You will see yourselves. It’s actually Kate Winslet’s directional debut, so let’s appreciate it! I believe she did a wonderful job and told an important universal story. On the one hand, it’s about a dying woman, who is waiting for her end while everyone around her is just living their live. They visit her and show the love, but in the end, she’s the one stuck in that bed and sleeping alone with her thoughts. Such picture isn’t pleasant, but it’s real. On the other hand, we get various issues the family members struggle with and perhaps it’d be easier to deal with them if only they sticked together. It’s a heart-warming story and a promising debut, so I hope you’ll enjoy it. Also, Helen Mirren did a marvellous acting job here, so make sure to experience it. And I wish Kate to keep directing!

My rating: 7/10
S.

Some things are not that obvious. “Undercover: Exposing the Far Right” (2024)

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directed by Havana Marking
© 2024 Marking Films. All Rights Reserved.

Generally, I stay away from politics, but this documentary caught my attention and I’d like to share it with you. Just to be clear, this film shows the dark sides of rightists, so if you’re one, perhaps you can skip it. Or quite the opposite – maybe after watching you will reflect on your choices. I’m not a rightist and I’ll be writing this post from my subjective perspective. You decide whether you want to keep reading or not. In the documentary you will learn about an anti-facist group called Hope Not Hate, who try to stop extremists from spreading hate and make sure communities live in peace and common respect. They decide to go undercover and expose the truth about far-right with the use of hidden cameras, microphones and by gaining the group’s trust. What you will see in this film isn’t much surprising, but surely it’s intense. I mean, we all know what those people do on our streets during protests or what they share on the Internet. But when you listen to the conversations they have between each other while nobody else is listening (except the hidden microphones of Hope Not Hate), you may actually have chills. Or you may be shocked how cunning they are. Because if you think the leaders of such groups aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. In fact, they know exactly what they’re doing, so any controversies or actions that seem unexpected are definitely well-planned. One moment made me reflect a lot – when I realised that far-righists promote absolutely ridiculous ideas, but it’s only to manipulate us. For example, let’s look at the topic of abortion. They will be stating that abortion should be illegal in all possible situations and anyone who’s done it should end up in jail. Then, leftists will be fighting for such extreme law not to be passed. There’s no way they could change the rightists mind and just make abortion available for every woman that needs it (without explaining herself), so it’s time for some compromise… And most probably the final decision will be that abortion is legal only in few cases and those who do it in secret will face serious consequences. Leftists are glad they stopped the implementation of the extreme idea, but… from the very beginning, the rightists wanted exactly that compromise. It’s their tactic – propose something absurd to make us think that the compromise is actually our victory. But is it really? That is why I believe far-rightists are way more dangerous than just rightists – because they are suprisingly more successful in forcing their values on the society. I recommend you to see this film, see a different perspective and reflect. Because I feel like the only weapon we have now is a decent reflection. My rating is lower because this documentary doesn’t stand out from others in its form and I believe the topic shouldn’t be the only criteria I consider here. But it’s still worth seeing.

My rating: 6/10
S.

Permission to hug? “Zootopia 2” (2025)

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directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard
© 2025 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

As I promised, here’s my recommendation of “Zootopia 2”. If you haven’t seen the first film, you may check out my previous post and perhaps watch both parts together. Although, if you decide to see only the second film, you’ll still understand everything there, because the characters are introduced to us again and the story is not really connected to the previous one. But if you haven’t seen the first part, you may find my post a little spoiler, so just so you know. In this film, Judy and Nick (Ginnifer Goodwin & Jason Bateman) are work partners at the police department, but even though they managed to succeed last time, they are still very different from each other, which causes lots of problems. During one mission, Judy spots a shedded snake skin, which seems unreal, because there haven’t been any snakes in the city of Zootopia for years. However, the more they investigate the case, the more probable it becomes that there is, in fact, a snake somewhere here. Since they are considered a threat to the community, Judy and Nick must find it before anything bad happens. And soon, those two might realise that nothing is that obvious and simple… Intrigued? I hope so. What I definitely loved about this part is that it doesn’t stand out from the first one. If you watch them together, I bet you can’t really say they were made 10 years apart. The jokes are still there and I actually liked the main plot twist, because, again, the filmmakers take stereotypes and crush them into tiny pieces. I have to say I’m not a big fan of modern children’s animations, because they seem too complicated and, in fact, tiring to me. I get it, now, younger generations expect everything, everywhere, happening all at once. But it would be nice to see more animations like “Zootopia”, because there are still adults who like watching such films and we feel discriminated. On behalf of millenials, please, keep making such animations! Thank you in advance. Besides, in what other film you may watch a gazelle singing with the voice of Shakira? That’s a very unique experience.

My rating: 7/10
S.

What Do You Call A Three-Humped Camel? “Zootopia” (2016)

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directed by Byron Howard & Rich Moore
© 2016 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Recently, I’ve seen “Zootopia 2” and, while writing a post about, I realised that I haven’t recommended the first part on my blog. So today we’re moving back to 2016… wow. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! It’s about time to create a post about it then. Some of you probably already know this animation, but for those who don’t, sit comfortably and enjoy the plot: Imagine a world without people. Awesome, right? Instead of them, we have animals, who can talk and do everything humans do. There, we meet Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a very ambitious little rabbit who wishes to move to the city of Zootopia and become the first ever bunny policeman. Or… police-bunny. I’m trying to be politically correct, ok? So, Judy is assigned to do rather basic boring stuff at work, but then things get complicated and she is given an urgent case to solve – but she must do it quickly. In order to succeed, she has to cooperate with Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a smart but rebellious fox. As we know, bunnies and foxes don’t really go together, but, surprisingly, those to make a great team. Will they manage to solve the case? It’s for you to see. Even though I was already an adult watching “Zootopia”, I enjoyed it very much. If you miss good old animations for children, then this one shouldn’t disappoint you. The characters are well-written, the plot is fun to follow and you may spot numerous jokes that are actually hilarious. Besides, I’m sure that you’ll love their sloth – because if you’ve ever been to any office, you’ll definitely have flashbacks. Fun fact, at first the filmmakers wanted to make Nick the main character, but then decided to switch roles with Judy, and I actually believe it was a great choice. Not only they created another inspiring female character (even if she’s not human), but also made Nick in the supporting role a more insteresting element of the whole story. Generally, the film is fast, entertaining and educational, so to me, it makes a very good animation. If you still haven’t seen “Zootopia”, it’s about time! Especially since I’ll be writing about the second part soon, so stay tuned.

My rating: 7/10
S.

When there are more sick ones than well ones, the sick ones will lock the well ones up. “The Snake Pit” (1948)

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directed by Anatole Litvak
© 1948 20th Century-Fox. All Rights Reserved.

I believe that cinema is for everyone and it should impact people in two ways – either make them forget about their reality, or make them reflect on their reality. Today’s film was released many years ago, but it’s one of those productions that were significant even outside the screening room. Also, if you think that old black and white films are boring, then “The Snake Pit” should be on to-watch list. We get to know Virginia Cunningham (Olivia de Havilland), who’s a young woman diagnosed with schizophrenia. She doesn’t recognise her own husband, Robert (Mark Stevens), and hears strange voices, so she needs to be treated at a mental hospital. Dr. Kik (Leo Genn) tries various methods to help the woman, but staying at this institution seems like an even bigger challenge than dealing with schizophrenia… When I read about this story, I just had to see it. Especially, since thanks to it the US mental health institutions were forced to improve their organisation. In this film, you may not only get engaged in a mysterious case of a troubled woman, but also observe the way patients are treated. It seems the film crew did a marvellous job, because there was also a lot of drama around it. For example, viewers believed that the extras were real patients with mental issues and using them for the purpose of the production should be forbidden, while those were just talented actors. So talented that they tricked the audience. Or well directed. Or both. Also, nurses in the US were protesting against showing them in such negative way. On the one hand, I understand, because not every nurse is wicked, but let’s face it – we have all met at least one witch in our lives. Just to be clear, I admire health workers, but there some who should change their profession based on the way they treat people. And in mental health institutions the patients are even more helpless, so there are more opportunities for maltreatment. That is why I support productions like this one – for making an impact. Very often it must be covered in controversy, but it’s worth it. I bet lots of patients and their families are thankful for that. Besides, the film plot is really exciting to follow, so I bet you will enjoy it. Even though it’s old and without colours.

My rating: 7/10
S.

I was looking in the mirror. “Stolen Children” (“Skradzione dzieci”, 2025)

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directed by Jowita Baraniecka & Martyna Wojciechowska
© 2025 HBO. All Rights Reserved.

Imagine one day you accidentally bump into a person that looks like you. As if you were looking in the mirror. At first it may seem funny, a great opportunity to take a selfie and share on social media saying “hey guys, I’ve found my twin!”. But what if that actually is your twin? Impossible? Well, fasten your seat belts and prepare for a ride. Today I’m recommending you a documentary about a horrible series of crimes (because I cannot call it differently) that happened for over 30 years in Georgia. Approximately from the 70s till 2005, stealing and selling children was very common there. How was it possible? Well, Georgian women were giving birth in hospitals and later told that, for example, the child died right after. In fact, the baby was alright – and it was already on the way to their new parents. It was a very well organised business and many different people were involved in it – from the hospital staff to drivers. If you think it’s a story about several children, let me share a heart-breaking numer: 100 000 – that’s how many children might have been stolen in Georgia. It was (and in some places still is) a popular way to earn money – women from post-Soviet countries were giving away children for money, but it was often a process of surrogacy. However, here, the Georgian mothers were lied to and treated in the most horrible way. This documentary tells you the whole story and also presents the victims of the shady business. For example, we get to know a woman who, after her mother’s death, finds out that she one of the illegally adopted children. Or we meet twin sisters who got separated at birth and accidentally found out about each other many years later. I cannot even imagine how those mothers and those children (the ones who know about their background) are dealing with such unfairness in life. A hospital should be one of the safest places you can end up in, where they want to help you. Instead, you get hurt even more. On the one hand, I love watching documentaries and learning about the world, but on the other… I get scared of the reality we’re living in… Still, I hope you’ll find time for this production. And I hope for a lot of strength for all the victims.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Everyone deserves the chance to fly. “Wicked: For Good” (2025)

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directed by Jon M. Chu
© 2025 Universal Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

I think we can all agree that the world of musical has had one very strong leader in the last two years. Well, no surprise if you take a legendary play, brilliant singing actors and put so much money into marketing that an ordinary human being cannot even imagine. Am I a hater? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, without promotion, lots of marvellous films aren’t known to a wide audience. So I’m glad everyone is talking about “Wicked”, because both parts are worth seeing. I guess it’s obvious you should see the first part before watching this one – because it’s actually one very long film divided into two (thank you for not making us spend 5 hours in front of the screen!). And when it comes to rating – it’s also difficult for me to rate this part differently. I look at the general story and, in my opinion, both films are equally good. The second one is way more serious and mature, I’d say, which is understandable considering the fact that the characters have also changed. Now, despite their strong friendship, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) stand on opposite sides. One is considered a wicked witch that wants to destroy the Land of Oz, the other one is taken for a saviour. Elphaba wishes to protect everyone from the Wizard, but almost nobody believes her. In every story there must be the good and the bad one, and sometimes we have to accept it. The film looks beautiful, it’s full of colours, stunning set design and costumes, lovely songs – so everyone, despite their age, may find something entertaining for themselves here. Not to mention Cynthia and Ariana’s singing… I melt. And I actually wish I could listen to them singing live, because they are magnificent. So if someone with lots of money is reading this – if you want to do some charity, here’s a very dedicated cinephile wishing to go abroad and enjoy angels’ voices. I promise to send you a postcard! Anyway, back to the film – another reason why I like it is because thanks to such adaptations, people get interested in the theatre. I bet a lot of you want to see “Wicked” on stage. I do and I’m planning to do it in my country this year. As much as I love cinema, my first passion was the theatre and I’m glad I can be a part of both worlds. And remember – everyone deserves a chance to fly!

My rating: 7/10
S.