majdo007 Reviews

Television Theater: Upior w kuchni (1993) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

A high quality TV movie

[10/10 · 31 December 2023]

This is certainly a production worth recommendation. It was released as an "episode" of a criminal series "Kobra" in 1993, but it is also the remake of the episode from 1976 bearing the same title. It was directed by Janusz Majewski under the pseudonym Patrick G. Clark.

The plot revolves around the two women who run a "room for rent" business but in reality they specialise in murdering of their guests and claiming their goods. They do it not only for money, but in a way out of boredom and being exposed to the violence of modern world, as well. The story may be considered as an interpretation of "Arsenic and Old Lace". This classic black comedy is even mentioned in one of the scenes.

The two leading characters are played by legendary Irena Kwiatkowska and excellent Hanna Sleszynska. Although it is common to praise Kwiatkowska as the best of the best actresses, in this production the entire cast is of the highest quality. All the actors clearly perform with a good degree of professionalism. I personally enjoyed the role of Marek Bargielowski as a pastor Sheppard. The comedy and interesting dialogues make the pacing of the show optimal. It is a must see and I return to it frequently.

Koniec swiata czyli Kogel Mogel 4 (2022)

Why was this made after part 3?

[2/10 · 31 December 2022]

What can I say, about this movie? Well, it exists but it shouldn't, just like the cringy part 3. Some people say that this one is better than Kogel Mogel 3, but I disagree. It is equally bad. To be honest, the third part was at least nostalgic during its first thirty minutes. Here, the cringe starts right away. So, in the end, both movies are difficult to withstand after the first half an hour. This one, after half on the running time becomes impossible to watch. Save this 90 minutes of your life for yourself.

The dialogues are artificial and so is the humour. The movie pretends to be smart by overloading the viewer with references to pop-culture and older (much better) Polish cinematography. The movie of course includes forced modern "progressive messaging".

What about the plot? Well, nothing much happens. One of the characters, played by Anna Mucha, sets up a revenge plan. And that's just it. Everybody argues and later all ends well. Oh, and also a new very farcical character appears (played by Dorota Stalinska).

Sadly, this is the last time we could see Katarzyna Laniewska and Pawel Nowisz on the big screen.

Miszmasz czyli Kogel Mogel 3 (2019)

Pointless cringe

[3/10 · 31 December 2021]

I won't bother with outlining the plot, because it is not worth it. The first half an hour of this movie has some sentimental value but later it is only geting more and more disagreable. Sadly, Jerzy Turek is no longer alive, however, Katarzyna Laniewska looked the same as thirty years before. Katarzyna Blecka-Kolska aged pretty nicely herself.

Unfortunately, the newer cast is simply pathetic and their dialogues are cringy. Unlike the other two movies, this one sell the folowing messages like: if you are a worthless a-hole you will get a caring woman etc. Of course it wouldn't be a "modern" Polish prodution without inserting the presence of the most pathetic "artist" whose level of performance is equal to the intelligence of typical people who listen to him. Avoid this movie. I write it while being terrified as the fourth part is soon to be released.

Fun fact: Katarzyna Laniewska (sadly no longer with us) trashes this movie in an interview on youtube.

Mörkö (2011)

Ok for amateur production

[5/10 · 30 December 2020]

Morko/Groke/Marran/Hufsa is a scary character from the Moomin franchise. In Poland she was called Buka and was very popular during our childhood as she was featured in 1990 animated series about Moomins. Needless, to say she scared a lot of us. Here the production uses the title Groke to present us a quite short horror like movie.

Four girls decide to wait for a bus inside empty school during the afternoon. However, they get trapped inside. Eventually they are joined by a school worker who comes to rescue them. Later they are joined by a young fellow who escapes from mysterious creature bringing cold and darkness.

The girls probably act ok, however, it is weird that when one of them is killed by the Groke they do not show that much affection about it. During the movie we observe that the presence of the Groke is causing nightmares and visions to all heroines. So this was a good idea to use some simple video effects like blurring, close ups and transitions. The apparition of the Groke was fine. Another good point is using of the soundtrack from 1990 Moomin animated series. This brings back the nostalgia.

To summarise, we got a satisfactory amateur production but the movie probably would be slightly better if shortened to around 40 minutes as it gets slightly slow-paced in its second half.

A Tale of Winter (1992)

A thoughtless girl's (not woman's) tale

[3/10 · 27 October 2019]

Like some other reviewers I have no idea how this movie can be rated so highly. The plot is dull and the main female character is ludicrous, childish and stupid, pretending to be smart and having thoughts.

Nothing much happens during the movie. Some characters like Maxence dissapear during the movie and their fate is unknown. The ending is sudden and makes little sense.

Problemat profesora Czelawy (1986 TV Movie)

Old fashioned TV movie

[6/10 · 1 January 2018]

This short movie is based on a short story "Problemat Czelawy" by Stefan Grabinski from 1920. It is rather a psychological thriller but not a horror movie. It may seem to be shot in an old-fashioned manner, but it is a pretty interesting production.

The atmosphere in this movie may seem quite eerie. Indeed it appears to be quite depressing - especially during the events happening in the sleazy den. The cast is good. Eugeniusz Kujawski handles his dual role very well. You may want to check out "Dom Sary" (1985) with him as well.

Plot: Wanda is experiencing regular visits from a mysterious man who abuses her while her husband (Prof. Czelawa) is asleep next to her. She consults Dr Janusz Stocki about this as she thinks these are hallucinations. Stocki - a psychiatrist - uses hypnosis to find out that these visits are for real. He further investigates these findings to discover that there is an immoral man in the city who looks exactly like Czelawa but is called Stachur. Stachur and Stocki, when they finally meet each other, engage in a psychological battle which ends with an unusual resolution.

Zig & Sharko (2010– )

Silly entertainment

[9/10 · 31 December 2017]

This cartoon is presumably a remake of 'Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner'. Instead of a hungry wolf, however, we got a starving hyena whereas an ostrich is replaced with a mermaid.

The series so far consists of two seasons with seventy eight episodes each. The plot almost solely circles around Zig - a desperate hyena on a remote island who tries to catch and eat Marina - a redhead goofy mermaid. Most of the plans to catch the mermaid are neglected by Sharko - a great white shark (duh!) who is Marina's very protective boyfriend. Zig is also accompanied by a hermit crab named Bernie. Occasionally, a few other characters are introduced but most of them just once.

The cartoon is very colorful, nonetheless, the first season has different character and background graphic design than the second one. This may be probably explained by the fact that the first season ran during 2010 whereas the second was broadcast during 2016. Noticeably, some of the character changes are present as well. Personally, I prefer the first season.

There are several music themes present in both seasons and interestingly, there is no spoken dialogue. All characters communicate with each other by gestures and other ways of non-verbal communication.

As explained the cartoon bears considerable amount of similarities to the Road Runner show. Zig is very creative in methods concerning capturing Marina just like Wile E Coyote was. Very often he uses various sea animals to obtain his goal which is hilarious. Of course typically he is either out of luck or mostly his attempts are hampered by Sharko - needless to say in a quite horrific manner but as an adult I am not much bothered by this. The show was meant to be quite silly and as an entertainment it is pretty good.

Wyjazd integracyjny (2011)

Don't bother

[2/10 · 26 September 2016]

A very weak production, almost insulting. This is a part of the series of very mediocre (at best) series of very silly Polish comedies during 2010s. Typically they featured Karolak or Kot or Szyc. Most of them got very negative feedback and this example is of no difference. The plot is hardly existing - a bunch of some ice cream company officials are getting on a business trip (hence the title). Apparently, everything happening there is also supposed to be filmed by some whacko who reveals himself at the end. The acting of the cast is embarrassingly bad and the events are hardly entertaining to follow by the viewer. This movie is not acceptable even for a crazy evening with beer. It is a shame since some of the cast can perform much better so why are they still participating in a production like this?

Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre (2015 TV Movie)

Shawshark redemption

[5/10 · 8 March 2016]

There are already 50 shark movies and most of them are weak even for the fans of the shark attack films. This one is not the worst but actually quite hilarious one.

Somebody blows up something and the prehistoric monsters are released (which time already? Dinoshark, Malibu Shark Attack, Jersey Shore Shark Attack, Megalodon, Jurassic Shark). Parallel, some good looking female prisoners are taken to the forest for some involuntary work. Nobody knows that one of the ladies is organising an escape plan. On the way back the prison truck is ambushed by Rayne - the vampire slayer and a lover of one of the prisoners. Nonetheless, their plans to reach for freedom are quickly revised by river/sand sharks. The local area is also investigated by two agents - Sculder and Molly I presume.

This flick contains everything bad you can get in a shark attack film. It also has everything charming concerning the amateur productions. The special effects are practically none, most of the attacks happen in an off-screen fashion. There is a cheesy romance subplot, god knows what for. However, I must say I was interested in the events. Why? Because the humour was really good. Actually it makes you go throughout the movie quite quick and fortunately it's only 80 minutes long. So normally it would be like 3/10 but I gave more for the funny parts.

Nie ma mocnych (1974)

Perhaps even better than Sami swoi

[10/10 · 18 November 2015]

A very strong sequel to "Sami Swoi" shows the continuation of the struggles between the arguing Pawlak and Kargul families. Wacław Kowalski and Władysław Hańcza again put their best effort to make us laugh continuously. The supporting cast also performs very convincingly. The film nicely portraits the look of typical Polish village farm at that time. The comedic features are highly developed. First, the quotes uttered by two lead characters are very memorable. Second, the situations which are turning up are hilarious. Possibly the best scene of all is when the pig is painted with shoe shine paint to be disguised as a boar and it is all politics! It is also worth mentioning that we witness difficulties of conservative village people when encountering outsiders with their definitely non-traditional beliefs.

Kochaj albo rzuc (1977)

Ignorance is bliss

[8/10 · 18 November 2015]

This is last part of the trilogy about Pawlak and Karguls family. It is clearly worse than the first two instalments but still very entertaining. Unlike the previous stories, this one takes part in United States. It clearly shows how Poland in general is traditional and mono-cultural. At that time it was beyond everyone's imagination (especially peasants')to have a child outside marriage or marrying someone with different nationality or race. In fact, in some places in Poland, that still would be unthinkable. So interestingly comedic accents are slightly weakened here but occasionally it gets more dramatic.

John Pawlak sends invitation to Pawlak and Kargul to visit him in the US. Unfortunately when they arrive with their granddaughter Ania he had already passed away. With the help of the local lawyer September they find out that John had a illegitimate daughter Shirley, to their shock. Although Pawlak wants to bury John in Poland, September says that John wanted to be buried in the US. September's son promises Ania to find Shirley. During the funeral, Pawlak to his horror, sees that Shirley is half Afro-American. Ania and Shirley get along very well but her grandparents are sceptic. In the end everyone accepts the situation as it is and Pawlak and Shirley both visit John's grave. When returning to Poland Kargul still wonders what to say at home.

Wladyslaw Hancza died shortly after filming this so the fourth part was not issued.

Sprawa sie rypla (1985)

When sh*t hits the fan

[7/10 · 17 November 2015]

The film was shot in villages in southern Poland where the terrain is hilly. It depicts well the look of a typical agricultural farm whether it is inhabited by rich or poor. This production might be the mockery of certain behaviours between neighbours especially in the countryside. The main character, Ludwik Placek (played by Franciszek Pieczka who over-dominates any other role here) envies prosperity of his hated neighbour Kadela's family. Kadela's on the other hand, despite already having wealth, cannot stand when Placek's family gets more attention than his family. The lead character is also a typical psychologically abusive person towards his son. All of this is of course shown in a comedic manner. The roles are played fine and the plot is not too dull despite simplicity.

Plot: The film actually begins with...its ending! A TV transmission shows celebration of 100 years old birthday of grandma from Placek's family. Next, the film cuts to the scene Ludwik Placek riding a horse carriage with coffin with grandma to the cemetery. However, since the documents confirming grandma's death were not made yet, Ludwik receives the letter from the council in which congratulations for grandma reaching 100 years old are given. Ludwik greedy on the gifts lies that grandma is still alive. Unfortunately for him, the local press wants an interview with the grandma. Ludwik disguises his brother Jontek as grandma to deceive the reporters. Things get messed up, however, when some high rank officials want to issue a celebration on this occasion. Initially everything goes well but jealous neighbour Kadela, who knew about the intrigue, gets Jontek drunk. Jontek undresses from female costume and starts running. The officials are furious with Ludwik but they also realise that this event will put a bad mark on them as well. They decide to redress Jontek who is put very firmly on a chair disallowing his another escape. The live transmission is broadcast and Ludwik thanks heaven for such conclusion.

Jest sprawa... (2003 TV Movie)

Cheesy flick

[4/10 · 12 November 2015]

It slightly resembles film "Pieniądze to nie wszystko". This is a simple production which tells a story of some village people who are mostly unemployed. The leading character finds out that in the priest's shed there are statues of Lenin. The rumour is that a big diamond is hidden in one of the them. The main character tries to retrieve it by pretending to be a woman and working as a priest's maid.

The film is accompanied by very good cast including Tomasz Sapryk, Bogdan Łazuka and Krzysztof Kowalewski. At the end there are also cameos of some famous Polish football players. Overall, however, it is very average production. The dialogues are quite dull and there is little action going on. Presumably the movie loses a lot since it is based on TV series Skarb sekretarza from 2000. It is a harmless entertainment to watch once and forget it.

Ja wam pokaze! (2005)

Boring rubbish

[3/10 · 8 November 2015]

After "Nigdy w życiu" this sequel was filmed. It is bad in any aspect. The previous cast was almost entirely replaced with worse one. Their "acting" is atrocious. The plot is very dull, almost nothing happens. Adam, Judyta's boyfriend, gets a scholarship in the US what disrupts their preparations for wedding. Tosia uses this as an opportunity to get Judyta's ex-husband back to the family. And of course in the end everything happily works out. The humour presented in the movie is very low, presented mainly by one small annoying brat. The only funny moment was when Tosia told about the measuring of the speed of light. The music is provided by overrated pseudo talents who all that can do is clap to the rhythm. The only good point for me was eye-candy actress playing Tosia.

The movie was trashed generally by everyone in the reviews. It was filmed in Warsaw and Zakopane in Poland (the winter scene was done with artificial snow).

Galimatias, czyli kogel-mogel II (1989)

Even bigger mix

[10/10 · 7 November 2015]

This movie definitely keeps up the level of its predecessor thanks to the same actor crew and overall similarity. The comedic features are again focused on very complex twists resulting from simple coincidences. The other funny parts result from characters traits i.e. Zenon is very impatient and difficult to convince traditional peasant, Marian is an alcoholic playboy and his mother is ignorant about her grandson Piotrek but overprotective about her poodle. The actors again did excellent job and Jerzy Turek and Małgorzata Lorentowicz are the best again. This part like its prequel never gets boring.

Plot:Katarzyna and Pawel got married and their parents expect grandchildren. Zenon, Katarzyna's father does not want to give his land to them before that. Initial plans of Pawel to raise a sheep farm fail and Katarzyna is expelled by Zenon again after Zenon argues with Pawel two times. Meanwhile Wolanskis try to sneakily get help from Katarzyna to take care of their son Piotr when they go on a scholarship. Katarzyna in return wants to get back to the university. However at the same time Pawel is going to Netherlands. Piotr and Grandma Wolanska and her poodle arrive to the Katarzyna's home. She invents an idea and convinces her mother to take care of them as tourists unbeknown to Zenon, so she can go with Pawel abroad. Unfortunately, the poodle is released from the room when its during estrus. Grandma Wolanska is very shocked and runs with the dog to Warsaw leaving Piotr. Zenon's wife tells him where did she find them to his anger. Although in the end Piotr is returned home, another argument breaks out when Barbara finds Marian with Katarzyna at home having a party. Marian is thrown away and stays in Katarzyna's home. When Barbara retrieves him later she discovers Marian is flirting with Pawel's friend. The chances for Katarzyna's studying are gone as the movie ends when Katarzyna finds out she's pregnant. She reunites with her parents who are very glad of the family growing bigger.

Jak to sie robi (1974)

For fans of Maklakiewicz and Himilsbach

[6/10 · 7 November 2015]

They have got Monty Python we have got this. It is a production based on cheesy dialogues and apparent lack of advanced plot. Two main characters meet in the train going to Zakopane - a Polish town know for mountain tourist business. They figure out that they could try to make a movie. They stay in a resort where they comically try to blend with the rest during meal. In the search for the characters they acquaint local women. Like said, the production is quite cheesy and based mostly on dialogues rather than action. Hence, to me the movie starts well but gets boring in the last 20 minutes. Humour is based on absurd and may be not very well received by some. What I did not like was annoying character played by Halina Kowalska. To summarise it is a pretty good movie but rather for the fans of this gender.

Kogel-mogel (1988)

Always funny

[10/10 · 7 November 2015]

The title is a name of Eastern European dessert made of yolks and sugar grinded together. Here, it is a symbol of very mixed situation encountered by characters in the movie, especially for leading person Katarzyna played by Grażyna Błęcka-Kolska. The plot is cleverly presented as a aggregation of very hilarious coincidences and twists. The humour in the movie is mostly based on situations sometimes enriched with cheesy background music. Arguably the most entertaining character is Grandmother Wolanska brilliantly performed by Małgorzata Lorentowicz and she is also responsible for major misunderstandings shown in this production. Jerzy Turek and Zdzisław Wardejn also own every scene in which they play. Apart from comedic parts, the film shows problems of countryside society. The leading character is forced into unwanted marriage. The parents of Katarzyna seem to be concerned more about the position of her soon-to-be husband rather than luck of their own daughter. Needless to say, the other issues are visible as well: 1)the position of a woman in the village is diminished, 2)one should act so that the neighbours will not gossip about you and they will anyway, 3)failure to raise a polite child (Wolanscy family) and 4)being a momma's boy (Wolanski).

Plot:Katarzyna is promised to one of the village man as a wife because he prospers very well. Especially, Zenek (Katarzyna's father, played by awesome Jerzy Turek) is putting stress for this event to happen. Nobody seems to care that Katarzyna does not love him and wants to study. Such life at that time was not so often for people from the countryside. Katarzyna receives a note she passed exam for psychology in prestigious Warsaw's University and escapes the night before wedding. Zenek is infuriated at this and expels his daughter from the family. Katarzyna cannot find a place to stay in Warsaw and coincidentally is hired as a private child care by Grandmother Wolanska but unbeknown to the kid's parents. The spoiled kid Piotr immediately likes his carer. Later because of broken lights at home Marian (Piotr's father) wakes up in the bed with Katarzyna sleeping next to him and are witnessed by Ms. Wolanska. Overjealous wife is given explanation by Grandmother Wolanska who in fact lies that she knows Katarzyna's family. After a few months Ms. Wolanska evicts Katarzyna when she finds out about Katarzyna's studies. Piotr gets into tempered tantrums again. Unbelievably Katarzyna is found in the university where Marian is a lecturer and they try to work out the new situation. Katarzyna meets Pawel and he invites himself into Wolanskis' flat. Ms. Wolanska throws away Katarzyna again who is tricked by Pawel into living with him. Movie ends when Pawel drives Katarzyna to his village and forces her into marriage with him in front of his and hers parents. Zenek is happy with the conclusion saying that Pawel will make Katarzyna very obedient person.

The Story of Sin (1975)

Moderate

[4/10 · 18 September 2015]

People either praise this film or rate it very low. Unfortunately, I was bored with this production. In a way, there are plenty of events here, but you get the impression that several stories were cut out from something and directly glued together without any explanation what happened between them. Those pieces are joined together by leading female character but sometimes it feels like the other characters popped out randomly. I do not understand this but plenty of things happen and there are hardly interesting to follow. The novel by Żeromski was not that long and the film is quite lengthy. Nonetheless, it could possibly be better when converted to miniseries, obviously with some extensions to understand the motives and suffering of the main character (compare Lalka film and series). Disappointing, but I would not discourage from seeing and making one's own opinion about it.

Przyjecie na dziesiec osób plus trzy (1973 TV Movie)

Short and entertaining

[7/10 · 17 September 2015]

A classic old Polish film with plenty of top actors like Leon Niemczyk or Zdzisław Maklakiewicz. This black and white production was filmed in Cracow, Poland. The plot is very simple but this production has very positive feedback. It focuses on the problem of certain class of unemployed people who are unfit to recent situation because they lack qualifications. This includes main character who has just left the prison. This is a good opportunity to see some of the actors when they were very young, i.e. Jerzy Stuhr or Olgierd Łukaszewicz. Interestingly the movie censorship in communist Poland prevented its release for almost eight years. It was first shown on 14th October 1980.

Plot: The main character, who spent many years in jail for "innocence", is sent by the police to the unemployed centre. There, him and ten other people are offered an one-time job by Piątek (Leon Niemczyk) but without any details. The workers (ten and one old worker) are taken to the factory and learn that the offered job is hard and badly paid - they are to reload tons of gravel from the wagons of the freight train. The workers feel deceived and deny any will to work. In that case Piątek calls chairman of the board and together they decide to spend money from their delegation funding to provide extra benefit for the workers. Men carry out their exhausting task and are rewarded with money and reception with plenty of alcohol (hence the title "A reception for ten people plus three" - 11 workers, Piątek and chairman). After the reception they are given gifts and driven to the bus stop. At the end, the workers are inspected by the police but Piątek clears the situation.

Rewizja osobista (1973)

Interesting despite simple plot

[6/10 · 17 September 2015]

Basia and Krystyna, are trying to smuggle clothes, perfumes and other things purchased abroad through the border back to Poland during communist period. They are accompanied by Basia's son Piotrek, infatuated with Krystyna. At the beginning everything appears to go smooth. Suddenly, however, the custom officer Roman (played by brilliant Zdzisław Maklakiewicz) stops pretending being fooled and demands body search which has to be carried out by next shift. Basia tries to aid the inconvenience by calling her husband Jerzy. She also tries to psychologically abuse Roman. Meanwhile Krystyna tries to bribe other younger customs officer (Łukasz) by sleeping with him on a meadow. They make out (film contains some nudity) but Łukasz says he knows why she gave herself to him. Young Piotrek is shocked to observe that scene. At the end Jerzy, an important figure in communist party, appears, threatens and later begs Roman to allow everybody to go through border. When in the end Roman agrees, heart-broken Piotrek torches the car with smuggled goods, burning everything.

An interesting film about the times when getting stuff from outside communist block was very difficult. It depicts on one hand greediness and wearing fake masks by the people trying to smuggle goodies from Western Europe to Poland, and absurd of the communist system on the other (the pecking order and who has greater power over who; also preventing from getting purchases from abroad). As being born in 1983, not all of the events were perfectly understandable to me. Especially why Jerzy tried to convince Roman. I found explanation that Basia's attempt to smuggle would put a bad mark on Jerzy's carrier. This is quite surprising to me as I would think of Jerzy as of someone who could destroy Roman effortlessly just by using his position. Ironically, the viewer may be tricked into thinking that Roman is a negative character whereas he is just carrying out his job. The rest of the story is however quite straightforward. The other aspect worth mentioning is a problem of young idealised love, which can be shattered when discovered that many females will use their body as treats to their advantage. In summary worth watching although not very dynamic movie. People who know that times better, may rate it one star more.

Ps. The cuckoo scene is worth 10/10 and actually is very connected to the issues displayed in this film.

Straszny sen Dzidziusia Górkiewicza (1994 TV Movie)

Very boring

[2/10 · 16 September 2015]

Unlike most of the old-school Polish comedies this one is very disappointing. This is quite surprising taking into account that many very good Polish actors play here, like Leonard Pietraszak and Leon Niemczyk. The humour in the film is poor and dialogues are hardly interesting. This is mostly unexpected since leading character was played by well praised Edward Dziewonski. Unfortunately the main character was simply annoying to me. A good point goes for using the idea of a cliffhanger at the end, rarely used phenomenon in Polish comedies.

Plot: Zdzisław "Dzidziuś" Górkiewicz goes back to small town with his granddaughter. Suddenly he gets an opportunity to become a mayor there. Reluctant at the beginning he gets convinced to apply for the position. However, just before submitting his programme he falls asleep. During the dream he, instead of being allowed to present his programme, is being interrogated by the local council about his past from second world war period through the communist period. While getting verbally ambushed he encounters shocking news about his private life as well. After waking up from the nightmare he wants to leave, but his granddaughter convinces him to stay. He decides to go to the meeting with the council only to find out that situation from the dream is about to happen for real.

Show (2003)

Brilliant

[9/10 · 28 October 2008]

A rare example of production where comedy accents are mixed with things being a part of deeper thoughts. Funny situations and events result in dramatic ending. Is it TV that inflicts the society or is the society so stupid that TV shows only what society wants? What is also interesting is performance of Cezary Pazura. Surprisingly he is much better while playing a serious part, just like in "Nic śmiesznego" directed by Koterski. When he is not playing a dumb comedian role, he is not only funnier but also a much better actor, I presume. This movie pretty well warns about cultural poverty which may result in multiplying shows where there are many false matters, programs filled with pseudo talented 'stars'.

Superprodukcja (2003)

Good enough

[7/10 · 28 October 2008]

It is an example of a movie that should be taken lightly. It is rather not the very best but several new ideas were used. What is definitely unchanged, it is Janusz Rewiński's overall performance. His specific humorous acting is unlikely to become boring. Another point for this production goes for several Polish movie stars like Fronczewski, Globisz or Przybylska who surprisingly well played her role as nutty woman. Perhaps the main purpose of this production is pointing out decreasing quality of Polish cinematography but it should be noted that the movie is, despite of its originality, still far from perfection. Nevertheless, many quotes heard during the viewing and general concept encourages me to recommend this movie for those who like Polish comedies.

Widziadlo (1984)

Average as a horror, good as a movie

[6/10 · 28 October 2008]

Piotr Strumieński (played by excellent Roman Wilhelmi) is an owner of a manor at the beginning of the 20th century. He lives with his second wife Ola (Marzena Trybała) but he is haunted by memories about his first spouse Angelika (Dorota Kwiatkowska). Angelika in visions foretells that Piotr won't be happy with any other woman. Piotr cannot forget Angelika's perfect body, this causes his second wife to have an affair with her cousin Mariusz (Mariusz Benoit). Meanwhile his son Paweł has first sexual experiences with Kseńka (Monika Braun), local deaf peasant girl.

Like a typical Polish horror this flick is full of gloomy colours and a bit of depressing, decadent atmosphere however not as much as in "Wilczyca". Instead of greyness, the dominating colour is brown characteristic for Polish autumn. It also contains of plenty of nudity (full frontal). Unfortunately it is pretty boring, but still enjoyable in general. In the end, it should definitely be watched by fans of Polish horror movies. The cast is also very good. Simply as a horror movie I can hardly rate it higher, especially in comparison to "Medium" or even "Wilczyca".

Medium (1985)

Best Polish horror film

[10/10 · 27 October 2008]

It's one of the first Polish films that is fully devoted to occult and parapsychology. It's pretty difficult in reception and it's definitely one of these forgotten movies. Action takes place in Sopot, where Wagner is some kind of fortuneteller and his sister is a medium. They detect the presence of a few people which are guided by insanely powerful medium. Those people meet in Sopot (where there is famous Polish pier shown later) but while controlled they are unaware what they did or what they were doing in that location. Later, an investigation carried out by detective and his deputy that sworn his loyalty to Nazis, results in conclusion that this is repetition of a cycle in which... The movie is accompanied by excellent music which enhances the atmosphere of the mystery. Interestingly, casual dialogues are without any background music. In addition to that we got some historical background when Hitler started to rule in Germany along with the party of the Nazis (NSDAP). To summarize, we receive a very original Polish production, however it will be difficult to examine for those who don't like movies concerning psychological things rather than gore and action. A must see for Polish horror lovers and mystery films.