Kaka

A spectacular return that is aesthetically slick, musically heady and damn cool. So cool that the aspects that we love this show about rich assholes so much for – like a good plot and emotional turmoil – start to disappear. It’s still not such a big issue, we’ll see how the next episodes will work out.

Hotel Mumbai works well in every aspect. It is dynamic, the action is authentic, without any slow-motion and similar nonsense that doesn't belong in such films, and most importantly, it avoids the clichés of action thrillers and the problems of the main characters (who are very often not subject to the same rules as other mortals), who are treated realistically and very unsparingly for most of the film. Hotel Mumbai successfully, colourfully and thrillingly reconstructs the 2008 terrorist attack, which did not happen in the advanced Western civilisation, so not many people actually know about it, and the form in which the filmmakers remind us of this event is highly above average.

A light-hearted analysis of adult concerns in a well-balanced comedy with a dominating performance by Ellen Page, though the overall cocktail of scenes, dialogue and other actors is also decent. Indie-emo alternative to all those "real" and big films with similar themes that are taken so seriously. It’s not a cult-classic, but it can be watched in one go.

A rare oddity. Del Toro finally closed his usual toy store and made his most mature film in a long time, if not ever. Nightmare Alley is a dark neo-noir beautiful ride full of strange individuals, obscured motivations and human hardships, all in a phenomenal, delectable visual stylisation, which is elaborated to the smallest detail. It is not a particularly pleasant viewing and some passages drag a bit too much, but it has its highlights and there are quite a lot of them. Surprisingly, the violence can be as intense and experiential as some of the dialogue and interactions between the main characters. Bradley Cooper in an unusual role, which he tackled more than competently.

1 percent cliché, 99 percent authenticity. It's not the most polished, catchy series and probably won't be commercially successful, Tokyo Vice is too hard to read, unpredictable and procedural for that. It must be admitted, however, that the reality of Tokyo's neon and especially its underworld are portrayed brilliantly. It is not surprising that Michael Mann's signature is seen very often. It's a shame about the open-ended finale, because given the overall concept, I worry whether the money-hungry creators/producers will find the first season profitable enough to take on the second one. This is not a routine series for the masses, but a proper depressing ride through the dirty streets of a big city. I mean, not like a sunny, glossy Miami, but still enough "Vice" to keep an experienced viewer interested.

All in all, a very unexpected finale. Some characters are resolved, others are not, but almost everything in the overall is left open and that's a bit of a surprise given the beginning. Whether there’ll be another season, it’s not at all clear. Impressive as a standalone, we have a good script, some surprising scenes, but unsatisfying as the final piece to the mosaic.

The seventh episode lacks a bit of pace and the right cinematic dynamics, but it depicts authentic Tokyo like few other things and, as is usual in this miniseries, it is absolutely unpredictable, without any clichés or crutches. Praise for that, no matter how watchable and audience-appealing it is.

The directorial quality, structure and direction of the whole series goes down a bit, but on the other hand there is quite a lot going on and intense card shuffling. The finale will be interesting.

The first one was youthful, impetuous, restless and surprisingly a lot harder and less predictable. The second one plays on safety. Lest it sound bad, it's a great movie. What Bruckheimer was able to produce, Kosinski to shoot, and Cruise and co. to star in will be in the textbooks for the next decade on how to make an "aerial film." All those polished shots, breathtaking camera twists and F18s rolls (and it wouldn’t be Tom Cruise without a Cobra at least once per film) are truly eye candy and you can't help but smile at the commitment of the actors. But there is not a single surprise, not a single unexpected scene throughout – there is one hint towards the end, but after a few seconds the sensation dissipates in another onslaught of clichés. Of course,we are speaking about clichés with refinement, elegance and overall acceptable consistency throughout, though. The filmmakers partially develop the story of Maverick and actually kind of recreate the fan-favorite moments of the first film for audiences three generations younger. The older ones smile because they know, the younger ones stare wide-eyes because they don’t know and they like it a lot. That means everyone is a target and that's why Maverick will make a bundle and deservedly so. However, the screenwriting qualities are not nearly as high as the technical ones. But that in the end is obviously not such a problem for a high rating, because when Cruise puts on his dusty jacket and sits on his motorbike at sunset, it's hard not to just slap five stars on there out of nostalgia.

Probably the best and most intensive episode so far. It mainly dramatises the situation around the main female protagonist and brings the inevitable clash between the two Yakuza clans. Some of the movements on the chessboard are utterly unpredictable, thumbs up for that.