Australia in Budapest cinemas

Just after Christmas Australia was launched in the cinemas of Budapest, and it is not often, but for some days it was three films that I wanted to see in the cinema (which does not happen often). The first was Bedtime Stories, the second was the "The Tale of Despereaux" (Cincin lovag) and the third was Australia. So far I have seen two of them, Bedtime Stories and Australia.

We went to Palace Mom Park to see Australia, as this was the only cinema showing the film with English speaking and Hungarian subtitles. As I read about the film I noticed that it was a long film (160 minutes), so I bought a big popcorn and a big coke, just to be prepared.

The film was long, but it did not feel to long. It tells the story of Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) leaving for Australia to visit her husband and to help him on his farm. Things does not turn out to be the way she thought they were, and eventually she meets with Drover (Hugh Jackman) and Nullah (Brandon Walters), a little boy who does not fit into society.

In the film these three together face several challenges, and as the Second World War breaks out in Australia with an attack on Darwim, the events heat up even more.

During the film I was never bored, but I rather enjoyed the film from start to end. It was not a superfilm, but quite okay, and a nice way to use 160 minutes inside, if you do not really want to go out into the cold Budapest winter.

Based on all of this I give the film 6 out of 10 smiles!


Hungarian title: Ausztrália

Cinemas in Budapest

Bedtime Stories

A good laugh is said to extend your life. Going to cinema should therefore extend your life, at least if the film is a funny one. Adam Sandler is supposed to be a funny guy, and when I saw his name as the main character in the film, I knew that this is supposed to be a humorous film. Earlier this year I saw the film “You Don't Mess with the Zohan” and though it did not became a favorite, it managed to give me a good laugh several places.

Can you imagine what would happen if all the stories told you turned true? That is what happens to Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) in Bedtime Stories. Or maybe not all turns true, but just some parts. What parts?

This is the story of Skeeter that has to watch out for the children of his sister, and every day ends up with a bedtime story. On the first day after telling such a story he notices that the bedtime story starts coming true, for example as chewing gum starts raining down from “heaven”. Following these episodes he wants to take advantage of the bedtime stories for his own promotion, but all things does not seem to happen the way he would like it to.

Bedtime stories took away 90 minutes from my life, but hopefully it gave back just as much through the funny things happening in the film. Though it could have been even funnier, I was quite satisfied watching the film. All in all this is a family film; totally pure (no sex), no violence, fun things happen all the time and for the girls some romance as well!

Based on all of this I give the film 8 out of 10 smiles!


Hungarian title: Esti mesék

Cinemas in Budapest

The Day the Earth Stood Still

When I went to the cinema to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still" I did not have to high expectations. The last Keanu Reeves film I saw in the cinema was "Constantine", and I remember only the fact that in my eyes it was terrible. With that in my mind I sat down to enjoy this film, the reinvention of the classic from 1951.

There are some things that makes me laugh when I go to cinema. One of those things are strange robot creatures which behave strangely. I got a nice laugh in this film! A giant robot that reminded me of Robocop with red laser coming out from the mask gave me a good reason to smile. But, the problem is that it was not meant to be funny.

The story of the film deals with Keanu Reeves coming to the earth as an alien (Klaatu), and he is here to decide what should be the destiny of the earth. Destruction or a second chance! We follow him and Helen Benson (played by Jennifer Connelly ) who tries to help him, who has a son following them throughout the film.

This could have been a good film, and though it might be that I do not like science-fiction to much, this was quite boring. I survived the film, and though one of the persons I watched the film together with really wanted to leave the cinema, and some other guests actually did, we stayed towards the end.

All in all I gave the film 3 out of 10 smileys!


Hungarian title: Amikor megállt a Föld

Cinemas in Budapest

Whats up with James Bond?

Some weeks ago I mentioned in the blog that James Bond was going to have its premier in the cinemas of Budapest. Yesterday I was able to see the film myself, and I watched it with very low expectations. The reason was that I really did not like Casino Royale, and Daniel Craig was a way too brutal James Bond for me.

But, somehow the Quantum of Solace was much better than Quantum of Solace, at least in my oppinion. He is still quite brutal, but as I watched it, I still enjoyed this film much more than Casino Royale. It must be said that it is starting to look much more like a pure action film than a James Bond, since Q is not in the film, he is not introducing himself as "Bond, James Bond", and it is no more "Shaken, not stirred". But as an actionfilm I enjoyed the 1 hour and 40 minutes the film lasted!

Quantum of Solace in Budapest

While the newest James Bond film Quantum of Solace has had its premiere in several nations around the world already, it will reach the cinemas in Hungary this Wednesday (12 November). The film that has been seen by crowds already can be seen in all cinemas in Hungary, but watch out; if you do not want to hear Daniel Craig speak in Hungarian you should go to a cinema showing it with subtitles, instead of synchronized speaking. WestEnd (Palace Cinemas) shows the film only with syncronization, but it you go to Mom Park they will show it with english speaking and hungarian subtitles (but watch out... they will show it on three screens, but only one of them shows it with subtitles).

If you want to see a nicer film than James Bond you can also see High School Musical 3 and Madagascar 2 in the Hungarian cinemas in these days. But watch out with the language problems here as well (High School Musical is normally dubbed, but the singing remains in the original language).

To read more about the cinemas in Budapest, go here!

Mozi Ünnep 2008 is here

Mamma Mia, one of the films shown at the Mozi Ünnep 2008

We just wanted to remind you all about the current Cinema Celebration going on in all the cinemas of Hungary. For 490 forints you can see old and new movies in cinema. It started yesterday and will last until Sunday, so be quick and go to the cinema.

A good advice: Be in good time, as loads of people visit the cinemas in these days. Therefore it might be that you will not get tickets for the movies you want if you just drop by some minutes before it starts.

Mozi Ünnep 2008 article

Cinema Celebration - Mozi Ünnep 2008

Every year the cinemas in Budapest arrange the Cinema Celebration. For four days you can watch every film for around 500 forints (to be exact, 490 forints), around 2 Euro. In 2008 they will repeat this event, and from September 25-28 you can join several hundred thousand people in Budapest and visit one of the cinemas.

For more information about the cinemas in the city, check out our cinema page where you can read about Palace Cinema, Corvin, Sugar Cinema, Cinema City Arena Plaza and so on.

The official Cinema Celebration page (only in Hungarian).