Kaka

Delightfully deranged madness that you'll forgive most of its ills, like the fact that it doesn't make any sense at all. Skull Island may be far from surpassed in its imaginative visuals and original retro atmosphere, but Godzilla x Kong takes itself far less seriously than previous films in the Godzilla multiverse, so all bad things are forgiven. As an absolute no-brainer, it's easily watchable.

The Japanese version of Game of Thrones. Only instead of seedy pubs, profanity, tons of coitus and chivalrous jousting in an alternative European medieval setting, there's sake at five o'clock, views into the carefully cultivated gardens of Japanese dwellings and pagodas, and everything the viewer touches is more refined and pretty. If The Last Samurai, for example, was 70 per cent Hollywood boilerplate and 30 per cent reverent homage to refined Japanese culture, Shogun is the opposite. We don't see many spectacular action scenes, nor a classic Western narrative with a fierce finale. This Japanese insight into the world of the samurai flows slowly, sensitively, and takes great care to build atmosphere and develop the characters, their thoughts and motivations. Shogun isn't meant to be epic because of how many battles there are, or how fiercely it fights, but because of how powerful a story it conveys and the compelling bond that forms between the main characters. And I enjoyed this idiosyncratic, thought-provoking, moodily coherent, fragile mosaic, supported by fantastic production design and great actors. Despite the tepid pace, I rate it highly, because there are damn few such contributions to cinema. The First Samurai.

Gareth Edwards wanted to revive this dramatic concept back in 2014, but the mass success of his Godzilla seems to have been broken by Hollywood dictates. Godzilla -1.0 has it a lot easier in this regard, having been made for a few bucks and in a far more Godzilla-friendly environment than the US dream factory. And the result is something the filmmakers have nothing to be ashamed of. Of course it's not the bombastic heavyweight eye-candy spectacle that the West boasts, but it has a wonderfully gripping post-WWII post-apocalyptic atmosphere, a sinister lizard that manages to wring the absolute most out of it, and even if the limit of the production budget is occasionally apparent in some shots, it works brilliantly. However, I couldn't get into the characters at all and the wistful emotional charge completely missed the mark for me. One of the few films that IMHO would have benefited from a black and white version.

I enjoyed Eva Green in the corset more, but otherwise I enjoyed everything else less. The first one was better. Still top-notch production values, big-movie ambitions and the right dynamics and visuals, but the second part doesn't stand out in any significant way and only serves as a necessary bridge for the finale. Sort of like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, a good second part, necessary for the great first and third.

The premise is estimated to be about 45 minutes of film material and the 113-minute running time is quite noticeable in some passages, but it is good for Chiwetel Ejiofor's directorial debut. The compelling story of a boy who manages to save the life of his family and village with a clever invention is filmed simply, with a few key and clearly delineated characters and their interactions and connections with each other, plus the misunderstanding of his father, the corruption of the government and the hard life in a poor country in the middle of Africa - as a necessary peppering of the plot. All the key points are sketched out decently and the narrative value is worthwhile, even if the film doesn't usually go completely in depth and rather just skims the surface and focuses primarily on one level.

A gritty low-budget historical drama that can hold its ground compared to its Western friends. A fine Mads Mikkelsen as a soft-spoken retired captain, a great villain escalating the pissed-offness of both the protagonist and the viewer, and a magical landscape of Danish moorland wilderness, very impressively shot by Rasmus Videbaek. I expected a tougher finale, but it somehow fell into a romantic template, but it was not a big deal and Bastard retained its toughness and dignity.

The wildest season of the series with several over-the-top twists, indiscriminately fantastically staged, and a shocking finale, ending with the most gruesome vote in corporate history, with a perfect punchline that makes clear sense and, dare I say, couldn't have fit together any better. A screenwriting masterclass.

Like Game of Thrones or Yellowstone, Succession manages to create a unique, self-contained world with its own rules and ecosystem. Moreover, this is complemented by masterfully written, tangible, physical, fragile and strong characters full of different moods, conflicting attitudes, great interactions and moving ideologies. How deep and far the creators went in the psychology of each character and their anchoring in the imitation of the modern-day corporate high-profile world is quite impressive and a unique feat. It's been a fantastic ride, without exception all four seasons have been good, but I'm inclined to think not to add any more. For one thing, it's not really helped by some of the shocking twists in the last season, and secondly there's been enough of the negative stuff already. That is, unlike the series mentioned above, where you could find your favorite good and bad characters, Succession has a completely unique position in that NO character here is like or worthy of any kind of cheering. And watching 40 episodes of a battle of spineless turds can be too much of a mouthful at times, even for a jaded viewer.

The third season lacks the originality of the first and the intense drive of the second. The middle feels a bit inconsistent to the point of being muddled, and some of the family etudes are not as interesting or entertaining as the usual corporate chessboard brawl. While the finale hits it again at level 100, and Tuscany, not to mention Lake Como, are a nice twist to the mostly New York backdrop of iron and concrete, the high point of the series so far has been elsewhere. Still, it's top production quality and a brilliantly layered series with an uncompromising appeal to the superiority and power of the rich.

While the firs season benefited primarily from an interesting and novel idea of how raw and authentic the corporate world of billionaire families can be and introduced us to characters in a very peculiar way that made you keep looking for signs of some good (without finding any), the second season focuses primarily on the characters and further develops their inner and outer worlds, their interaction with each other and their individual ideological characteristics. A freak show of slick suited and costumed elegance, driving Mercedes and sailing yachts, where the daily stress and hustle is dealt with in a kill or be killed way, because the winner gets everything. A corporate series with by far the most flamboyant and layered characters far and wide. All credit to the creators because they have given enormous care to each character and the result is also enormously good accordingly.