The One Where You Are Being Asked: What If...?

I wanted to seize the last opportunity to watch Woody Allen's new movie, but mixed up screening times and ended up watching the new production with Emily Blunt (whom I adore and wanted to see that film even more).

Your Sister's Sister

Two sisters: Iris (Emily Blunt) and Hanna (Rosemarie DeWitt). Half-sisters, actually. But in practice more than regular sisters - true friends. And you can really see that, not only through dialogues, but in subtle smiles and glances, the way they talk to each other, how they act.
And Jack (Mark Duplass) in the middle of and contributing to all the emotional mess.
Only three people to fill an hour and a half. On a secluded island, in a remote house. And you do not get bored even for a minute, even though the narrative seems pleasantly lazy for the most part.
What I find amazing about this film is the fact that half of the story has been told by pictures and music - instead of tormenting you with pompous speeches, the creators decided to show you only glimpses of how the characters deal with their problems. Another curious thing: while watching I was worrying that it might get spoiled by either [too] happy ending or a forced catastrophe - and neither turned out to be the case. Your Sister's Sister ends with a question, quite popular recently: what if...?
So I wholeheartedly recommend this funny, sincere, touching, intimate, non-obvious comedy-drama.

To Rome With Love

Barcelona was crazy and true. Paris was melancholic and magical. Rome is funny - but nothing more.
I smiled and I laughed, but I did not fall in love with Rome. It is certainly better than some of the recent Allen's movies (like You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger or Whatever Works), but worse than others from this European city series. Yes, it is funny. Yes, there are great actors in it (and Woody Allen himself, the best of them); they are coupled to show the similarities and differences between regular and famous people and answer the question what may happen if you meet such a person or become one.
All in all, however, you are left with some pretty pictures of the Eternal City and a few separate stories, most of which are trivial and predictable.

Stay tuned.

The One That Starts Before Dawn

!@#$%^&*! Getting up when the Sun has not yet come up (or has just risen, but is covered by heavy clouds, any way) - grrr... A tough month ahead.

Stay tuned.

The One At The Birthday Party Of A Three-Year-Old

Agrafka came into being on Sep 10th 2009. Instatntly it became my favourite cinema in Cracow and I have felt this way ever since. So I just could not miss the birthday party. Good wine, good company. And a film, of course.

On the Road

Sal, a writer-to-be, sets off on a roller coaster ride throughout the U.S. with Dean, playboy, easygoing with people, but selfish, irresponsible and lost. On the road they meet the whole variety of characters possible to imagine.

I am not keen on American movies - 'American' meaning set strongly in American reality, having to do with the American dream or other motives strictly related to the U.S., its history, its citizens' mindset etc. And this one, being a portrait of the Beat Generation, is American inside out. Nonetheless, I liked it.

From the first scene where you meet Sal and Dean, and their friends you can feel the tension. And actually, too much of it - I did not know who to focus on: Sal, the author; Dean, Sal's inspiration; all the others - for often they seemed more important than the main characters.
The movie consists of a series of episodes, one after another. Supporting actors at their best in every one of them: Kristen Stewart, Tom Sturridge, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi... And somehow, at the end, all the parts add up and make sense.
Interesting music: somewhere between blues (hardly any more) and rock'n'roll (not quite yet).

Stay tuned.

The One Where The Music Conveys More Than A Lot

There is a certain kind of songs... These calm, inconspicuous songs which, at first, seem slow and lazy. And, in fact, they are. They are never strong or fast, or rhythmic; there is no rapid beat or any heavy tones, no.
What they have and what makes them so powerful is this incredible emotional charge.
(I have an easy means of recognising such a song: I run faster when listening to one.)

A random example list:

Bat for Lashes - Laura

U2 - Miss Sarajevo

Explosions in the Sky - So Long, Lonesome

Stay tuned.