"Moonrise Kingdom" - all the Anderson's imaginary worlds

Can't hide it, I'm a huge fan of Wes Anderson's movies. If I were to pick my favorite so far, the choice would have to be between "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," "The Darjeeling Limited, " "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the latest gem - "Moonrise Kingdom," which means almost all of his movies. "Moonrise Kingdom" really has it all - great cast, lovely atmosphere, set design, script, music, and I bet it was all supervised personally by Fantastic Mr. Anderson himself. Even if one doesn't "feel" his vibe or sense of humor, it's worth seeing, just for Edward Norton's khaki scout shorts, Frances McDormand's loudspeaker, Bruce Willis' glasses, Tilda Swinton's hat, and the two main protagonists, those kids really have their grand debut on the big screen! For me "Moonrise Kingdom" is like Bonnie and Clyde, James Dean and Holden Caulfield were all back and well and this could only happen in a Wes Anderson movie. Highly recommended!
For my review in Polish published on filmnews.com.pl go here or scroll below.
There are also three other great reviews in The Guardian, The New Yorker and by Roger Ebert, film criticism guru.

"Tango libre" - a good idea there, but execution... not really

This movie directed by Frederic Fonteyne has won the international competition this year in Warsaw. And... it wasn't the best choice. In fact, there were plenty of better movies. So why this one? Well, the idea of inmates learning to dance passionate tango is really good. That might have been a hit, provided the director dealt a little more with all the drama in the lives of his own heroes. Without an in-depth analysis of the real-life problems, the dance classes behind bars are a little not enough to consider "Tango libre" a really good feature. Too bad, too many chances were missed. Better luck next time. My review of the movie was published on filmnews.
Other reviews from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

Bakery: Buns with Marmalade Filling

A few weeks ago I made walnut buns according to the same recipe for the yeast-dough, as I use now (see here and here). But time however instead of crushed walnuts I used old-fashioned hard fruit marmalade, not jam. It's tricky business with jams sometimes, as it tends to leak from the ready-to-bake buns. And so, if you'd like to keep the lovely form of buns, it's safer to use marmalade, as I did. The way to make two types of shapes is really easy, once you try for yourself. One way, to make hearts, was already presented in the walnut buns recipe. The other, the round shape, can be found here (scroll a little bit down).

Sundance 2013 - films announced

Sundance Film Institute has already announced the films that will be shown during the 2013 edition of Sundance Film Festival between 17th and 27th January 2013. The full article can be traced here.
The news is that 16 features will have their world premieres there, which is an astonishing number. There is also one Polish film there, in the World Dramatic Section, directed by Jacek Borcuch, "Lasting."

"Lawless" and the Times of Prohibition

"Lawless" had its Polish premiere at American Film Festival in Wroclaw just recently, but for a week now it's  been storming the cinemas. The story is written by Nick Cave, directed by John Hillcoat, with great acting performances of Tom Hardy, Shia LeBoeuf, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Gary Oldman and Guy Pierce. All set in the troubled prohibition times, when booze was illegally pouring in small town and villages, and people became super-rich overnight, but could be killed as easily. The Bondurant Brothers, main protagonists of the film, try to make a decent living by production and retail of self-produced alcohol of high voltage. They're fierce, they're brave and they don't bow before noone. Making profit is not an easy task those days, but although casualties and scars are frequent, they stay strong.
The movie is bloody as it should be, violent and brutal, but very realistic at the same time. It's thrilling, it's fast and has energy and vibe. It's also very very entertaining. Can't wait for the other movie in a similar stylistic - "Gangster Squad" with Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Emma Stone.
Reviews from The New York Times and in First Showing.

New York's Most Important Living Writers

Cultural News and Critique FLAVORWIRE has published a list of 100 New York's Most Important Living Writers. When one realizes that New York became the centre of the world some time ago already, the conclusions are rather simple. One is for sure: the most creative and influential intellectuals are in the complex process of creation in this special city that never sleeps. Plus, if you can make it there, you can make it everywhere, as one wise man named Sinatra once sang. Here is my subjective excerpt from the list.

39. Malcolm Gladwell
Staff writer for The New Yorker, an academic, public speaker.
Works:
"The Tipping Point," "Blink," "Outliers," "What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures."

28. Michael Cunningham 
Writer, screenwriter, professor of creative writing at Yale.
Works:
Novels: "Golden States," "A Home at the End of the World," "The Hours," "Specimen Days," "By Nightfall," Screenplays: "A Home at the End of the World," "Evening."

26. Jonathan Safran Foer
Writer, essayist
Works:
Novels: "Everything is Illuminated," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "Tree of Codes," "Escape from Children;s Hospital" (2014).

 Malcolm Gladwell

 Michael Cunningham

Jonathan Safran Foer

British Independent Film Awards

British independent cinema is particularly close to my heart, well, actually, British cinema in general. Those indies are usually very intimate, classy and talk about crucial issues for our society. Through that thread they are also closer to Polish sensibility and sensitivity. The Moet British Independent Film Awards have nominated some great films this year, and the 15th ceremony is taking place soon, on December 9th 2012 in Central London which usually means Leicester Square or somewhere near Covent Garden (or perhaps Royal Albert Hall, like the premiere of "Skyfall"). To learn more: go or check it out here.
This year's nominees are:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Berberian Sound Studio
Broken
Sightseers
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Imposter