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The tagline in the in-flight entertainment menu that sold the movie to me was intriguing enough on its own, doubly so for a former translator. The cast did a great job (it was particularly wonderful to see Patrick Bauchau speaking French) and the first 40-50 minutes rolled out in a promising way. But once the main plot kicked in, it all went downhill. For one, the main twist could be seen from a mile away. More importantly, however, the whole pseudo-heist thing and the revelations that followed made no sense at all. The critique of capitalism in the literary scene - for which there was a lot of potential, from the slave-like conditions the translators worked in to the fact that their work gets recognition - fell flat, especially against the shallow drama. And ultimately, the movie ended up dealing in tired old tropes. What a waste.

... and yet, this one is such a dud. Which is a shame, because I love Italia Ricci and Chad Michael Murray is always a pleasure to watch. And yet, no one looked like they wanted to be there: CMM tried, but Ricci looked positively miserable and/or angry; whatever chemistry these two are capable of having, there was none of it present. The entire movie feels very by the numbers and there is nothing romantic about that. What a wasted opportunity.

Knowing and loving Cezary Pazura as the "Kiler", I was very much looking forward to this movie. And I sure wasn't disappointed, since "Kariera Nikosia Dyzmy" is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. This story of a loser who becomes - by the purest of chances - the Prime Minister of Poland is filled with funny characters and hilarious comments. Lines such as "Ja pana dymam!" or "Blizniaki czterojajowe", "Karmilam kaczky" or "To jest samochod" are truly unforgettable and funny even after I've seen the movie seven times. The story itself is an adaptation of a 20s novel and the creators of this movie deserve credit for transforming the plot and characters into early capitalist Poland of the 90s and doing it perfectly. Characters such as the twins, the ministers and especially the businessman were to be found all over Eastern Europe those days. Last but not the least, the music of the Polish band "Elektryczne gitary" is brilliant. If you are looking for a reason to learn Polish, this movie is definitely worth it. 9 stars out of 10!