3DD!3

Money. Power. Power and money. And politics is a means of getting both of them. Fincher spot on as always, Spacey again enjoys his role marvelously. So far I see this very optimistically. Season one: Naively I thought that this would be more encapsulated, but that would be wanting too much. Fincher set the tone, Schumacher moves on in a similar vein, but all those involved in the direction are doing an excellent job. In this beautiful to exemplary insight into the game of high-level politics. You are on Spacey’s side, Kate Mara at last shows her true colors of a little careerist bitch. What is missing when you compare it with The Boss is urgency and greater sympathy with the characters, as if the high-level politics was too perfect and cleansed. This isn’t downright bad, I just want to explain why I prefer the other series (even though it was certainly lower budget and less bombastic). This doesn’t mean that we won’t meet up with Frank Underwood again next season. Quite the opposite, I look forward to him tapping me on the shoulder again and taking me through that rotten place that goes by the name of the Whitehouse. Season two: A much better-knit game than the last, slowly-dosed season. But Frank is aiming high and he needs a larger screen for his masterpiece. The details undermining his mastery slightly bother me, but the last episode assuages my fears. America is in the right hands. Good things happen to good people. Season three: Political intrigue trampled by the relationship storyline. It is the dynamics of the first couple and mainly of Claire, played perfectly by Robin Wright, that drives this year’s campaign forward. Thanks to the Russians, foreign policy is heavy-duty and, along with probing the Underwood’s marriage, it exceeds all expectations. The ending is brutally open-ended. Season four draws on the very best historical events and decisions by the United States. Things aren’t easy for Frank and Claire, but they manage to pull an ace out of their sleeve when they are waist-deep in quick sand. The finale is brilliant, even though I’m sure that lots of nitpickers will be talking about a departure from reality, but they should brush up on some not so distant history. Barack is no longer a fan. And Donald is becoming one.

It hit me very hard. Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age. Perfectly played characters, neither Naomi Watts nor Ewan McGregor are trying to be falsely nice, the kids (like in reality) are sometimes begging for a spanking, but things rarely get out of hand. You can’t tell that when the wave washes everything away that it’s special effects. I don’t understand how they could film this so well without demolishing a hotel and defiling a bit of Thailand coastline. The introductory mayhem is replaced by emotionally draining search for the family split up by the catastrophe. And you know how everybody lies, saying they didn’t cry at the end of Titanic? That applies here for a whole half of the movie. The Impossible is a sincere tear-jerker with a powerful ending. Bayona is a director I will have to look out for in the future. His style turned a regular disaster movie into a breath-taking event where chills run up and down your spine, you feel nauseous and at the end you’re be so relieved that later you will cuddle up tight to your better half, female or male. I’m scared too.

I didn’t like this much. Unlike Hitchcock movies, this semi-biography has no soul. Some of the gags work, the actors seem to be enjoying themselves and the directing is high class. The period design is delightful. But we don’t get anything more than that. There isn’t one single thing that remains in one’s memory. Too bad.

An atmospheric slaughter movie that I found surprising thanks to some of the twists. Great ideas put into practice well. Wan certainly knows his stuff. It was pleasant to see many well-known and quality actors alongside some unknown ones. But it isn’t so brutal and doesn’t make you jump, so don’t be afraid. ;)

Maybe the best comic book adaptation. Nolan milks the maximum from it in his movies, but still he remains in Miller’s shadow. Part two of the Return of the Dark Knight pulls a joker from its sleeve. The chilling and brutal confrontation with the loon with the smile across his face in the tunnel of love is probably better than the epic finale with the Man of Steel. The action sequences are of course longer than in the book and it’s a treat to watch them. All the people I've murdered...by letting you live.

The original is on a higher level, but Oliva approached it from the right direction. Weller’s thunderous voice is just right for the old man whose psychopath inside awoke with a mission to wipe out injustice. Good drawing, and the fights have pace and style. On the right road.

Darn stylish, with lots of iconic scenes. Bond’s one-liners are real pearls this time. The scene with the laser is unpleasant to watch, even after all those years. But the locations could have been a little more exotic.

A great romantic comedy, the best for the past... a really long time. Very untraditional, argumentative and full of paradoxical situations. Bradley Cooper is excellent (well-deserved nomination) and Jennifer Lawrence (well-deserved nomination) is the perfect psycho fox with a sensitive soul. Notwithstanding the unarguable qualities of the main duo, De Niro (well-deserved nomination) rocks the most. An unpredictable, cute, but unintrusive movie that you can take a girl to and rather than the date turning bitter, you will more likely be treated to a sweet dessert.

The Arctic is no place for a man... A powerful rescue epic with a much darker dimension thanks to the dream-like hallucinations. The first half drags on a little, but then the atmosphere begins to thicken. The most powerful scene is without a doubt when Amundsen discovers the wreckage of the Italia. Powerful shots of the icy wilderness and Morricone’s music give the picture much needed beauty surrounded by despair. The acting performances are excellent. The final verdict is a jab at humanity which is more than right. /// I watched the original Russian version.

Pilot: It looks like a fairly well cast thrilleroid series with a weird, perverse and unarguably unlikely (even though Yankees can be real maniacs) plot about serial killer fans (Hi there, Dexi ;-) ). Poe is rather overused inspiration, but for the pilot it suffices. I hope that Bacon starts to drink more, if there’s not much action, a broken heart is annoying. So far, Purefoy isn’t chilling enough, but he didn’t get much room. We’ll see, so far I’m quite hooked, but it’d better get better soon. Season one: A twisted game with the viewer and his taste? The first half is stupidly refined and Joe and his little sect are quite entertaining. Then they start trying to finish writing the book themselves and that’s where everything starts to fall apart. What’s with the attempt at literary cliché and screenwriter’s cliché? Where is it Joe’s fault and where is the screenwriter at fault? The whole thing goes unpleasantly against the genre by copying it. At the end Purefoy is a completely different person from the one who says at the beginning... “It’s too soon for me to kill you". At the end, pacemaker or no pacemaker, Bacon jumps into the shoes of Jack Bauer just to look like a complete idiot at the end. This ending is a dirty trick on the viewer, who wanted to part company with this serial after the first season, but now I don’t know what to do. I suppose I’ll take a look at season two, at least one episode.