2021.

"Black Adder, Black Adder, with many a cunning plan"

I used the first of January to binge-watch the whole first season. I can't say it's not good, but it disappointed me a bit. It wasn't nearly as witty and funny as I expected based on the memories I have from a couple of decades ago. As far as my memory serves, it seems that they haven't caught the momentum in the first season, so it is significantly below the level of what followed.

The plot is set in the Middle Ages, and Atkinson is a younger prince who, like Iznogud, plots "to be Caliph in the place of the Caliph." I don't like that Edmund's character is like Mr. Bean thrown into the alternative history of England, unlike the following seasons in which Atkinson's character is much more complex and in a way the opposite of Mr. Bean, while the humor is too primitive and forced for my taste. Atkinson himself does not like this season, although it is the only one he wrote himself. Also, this is the only season without Hugh Laurie, and without him, that simply isn't it.

On the other hand, the season had a high budget and was largely filmed outside the studio, so the Middle Ages were superbly evoked. And there's also the addictive "Blackadder Theme" that makes the credits perhaps the most fun part of every episode.

The BBC almost canceled the series because it is too expensive and not fun enough. Fortunately, they agreed to give it another chance if the budget is cut and the series is reduced to a studio sitcom. Because of that, we waited for several years for the next season, and the series, despite the smaller budget and production reduction, justified the trust and in the following seasons entered the legend.

7/10

Great, but not as much as it was hyped

HBO is not capable of making a bad show. Historically accurate, as much as possible for a five-hour adaptation of one of the greatest catastrophes in history, with excellent photography and sound, good acting, and an atmosphere that the fact that it is a historical event makes even gloomier. And yet, I did not experience it as a cinematic experience, nor did I enjoy it. I was not bored, on the contrary, I was interested in what it had to say and show. But, to compare with literature, I experienced it in the way that a textbook or a scientific publication on a topic that interests you is experienced, and not as a good novel. Emotionally, It didn't touch me nearly as much as a tragedy like this should. Besides, the combination of Russian and English drove me crazy. It would be much more impressive and convincing if the whole thing was filmed in Russian, but even if it was entirely in English, it would be just fine. Combined like this, the series didn't confuse me and I was aware all the time that all the characters were Russians and Ukrainians, but it created a strange divided atmosphere which on some background level was giving the impression of watching Americans save Russians, and that got on my nerves and spoiled the experience.

8/10

What's this all about?
17 February 2020

When viewing an adaptation of something you read, especially if you are a fan of the source material and know it by heart, you subconsciously intertwine the book and the adaptation, and often do not notice the holes in the script because your foreknowledge fills them. I guess the high rating of this series comes right from Pullman's fans. To me, who have not read the book, the first season of "His Dark Materials" wasn't boring. I enjoyed the visual appeal of the series, though it doesn't come anywhere close to "Game of Thrones" I just finished a few days ago, the interesting characters and the action, but to ask me what it's about - honestly, I have no idea. The first season raises countless questions and gives little to no answers. Everything is vague, confusing and without much sense. If they wanted it to be a mystery that unfolds in the end, the end that is coming in a few seasons, they should have given us at least some hints and cliffhangers that would motivate us to wait for the next season. It may be just me, but even though the series is within my favorite genre, I'm not at all interested in waiting for the continuation. That may change if in the meantime I find the time and the will to read the book, but by itself, without foreknowledge of the story, the series left me completely indifferent.

6/10

05 January 2021

After the end of the second season, everything written above still stands, but still, it left a somewhat stronger impression, both visually and story-wise. Except for the nonsensical last episode ...

7/10

"For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo"

While watching this movie, I was sixteen again and in love for the first time. During the scene on the balcony, I had a smile from ear to ear and a tear in my eye, and that feeling did not leave me until the end of the movie, which I was watching as hypnotized. When the film achieves such effect, all objective qualities are irrelevant, all flaws insignificant.

9/10

Wasted potential

The interesting premise, which could have been developed into a hilarious comedy, ended up as an indefinite nonsense, with only a few decent moments. The performances of Mel Gibson and Walton Goggins are really good, while everything else is totally lame.

4/10

Cute and cuddly

"Comic-relief" penguins of the "Madagascar" franchise got their own spin-off, which may not be as high quality as the franchise they came from, but it is no less fun.

The frustrated octopus envies the penguins for being cute and wants to destroy all the species that are cuter than his own. It is up to our hilarious four to save the world from this unimaginable loss. Modern technologies of the secret service of polar animals, resourcefulness, and courage of our heroes are not up to this task, but penguins have a secret weapon - cuteness and cuddliness.

This action-comedy may not feature superb animation, nor the special depth and complexity of the story, but the pace that does not slow down for a moment, crazy action scenes, the constant shooting of various jokes, word games, and references to many film classics and strong cast will not leave you time to pay attention to its shortcomings. After all, who could possibly resist the cuteness and cuddliness of penguins ...

7/10

"A young girl, transfigured by Italy"

Helena Bonham Carter's feature film debut is an excellently filmed boring movie about boring Englishmen ... I wrote down somewhere during the first half of the film. And then in the second half, I was surprised to realize that it bought me with its beauty, simplicity, and charm. In addition to Helena, there are also Maggie Smith, Julian Sands, Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, and some other well-known faces that I can't connect with names without Google, which I'm too lazy to do at the moment. This adaptation of the eponymous novel by E.M. Forster, from 1908, combines a romantic drama with a comedy of manners which I didn't like, so I cannot support the Oscar for the Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, but the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design, as well as the nomination for Best Cinematography, are more than deserved.

7/10

"People, they love blood. They love action. Not this talky, depressing, philosophical bullshit."

When I left the theater, I was quite confused and did not know what to think about this movie. It was visually mesmerizing, but at times boring, original in a strange way that left a strong impression, but I wasn't sure if that impression was positive or negative ... A the time, I haven't even heard of Iñárritu. Years later, after watching all his films, this one came up again and, familiar with Iñárritu's style, I had a much more powerful experience.

The film does not rely so much on the story, which has already been seen many times and is not particularly elaborated, as on the impressive study of characters and at the same time the dramatic and black-humored satire of the entertainment industry. The cast is strong and everyone got enough space to show off in full glory. It is interesting that all the characters are somewhat parodies of the actors who interpret them as well as their previous roles. And perhaps the strongest trump of the film are the extremely long shots that try to leave the impression that the entire film was made in one take.

9/10

"Why don't you come up sometime and see me?"

The controversial "She Done Him Wrong" was scandalous at the time of its release and that is the only thing it can boast about. Today, when it is no longer scandalous, it has become pointless and lame. It is neither technically impressive, nor does it have any significant story, and femme fatale is totally unconvincing to me. I know that Mae West was a sex symbol in her time, and all men in the film are crazy about her, but to me, that whole craze was tragicomic, because then forty-year-old Mae leaves the impression of a middle-aged corpulent tomboy who I wouldn't touch with a two-meter stick. And I almost puked in my mouth on the last scene.

5/10

Why Hans Wagner hates the starry sky

At the time 22-year-old, Lars Henriks made his first feature film in his own production, for only 1,500 euros. The young man wrote a screenplay inspired by Lovecraft and directed, and he also wrote and produced the score and original songs for the movie himself. All three aspects are at a fairly high level. The story is great, although a bit rushed towards the end, and combined with the interesting directing and sound that perfectly evokes the atmosphere, it held my undivided attention for all 75 minutes. The main role is played by Hubertus Brandt, who convincingly portrayed an anxious young man sinking into madness, and I find it hard to believe that this is his first and only role. I would be lying if I said that I have no objections, but I don't think this film deserves that I mention them. This is by far the best amateur film (if I can use the word amateur at all) that I have seen so far, and the idea, courage, and effort deserve all the praise.

7,5/10 (10/10 within the non-budget amateur movie frame)

Cute

The last living male of the blue macaw, who lives in Minnesota as a pet, goes to Brazil with the owner to try and save the species. Of course, things are not going according to plan, and a completely tame male, who has never learned to fly, embarks on an exciting and dangerous adventure.

Cheerful, fun, at times witty, set in the middle of a carnival in Rio and accompanied by music that will surely jig your foot, and most of all colorful, but not particularly original and quite forgettable. Worth a look, but I expected more from the creators of "Ice Age".

6/10

"Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into."

Laurel and Hardy, or Fatty and Skinny, as we called them as kids, were a comedy duo who conveyed slapstick comedy in the style of silent film to talkies and added character comedy to it, stringing successes during three decades of cooperation. They were an inexhaustible source of entertainment for me as a child and I understand that in the first half of the last century they could have been hilarious to adults too. But to me as a forty-year-old in the third decade of the 21st century, they are now worth only as a historical curiosity and a dear childhood memory.

6/10

"He no nuts. He's crazy"

The second film about Indiana Jones in the timeline of the story actually precedes the original. It retains the technical qualities and spirit of the first film, but this time the dramatic elements of the film fall into the background, and preference is given to an adrenaline action roller coaster that does not slow down almost throughout the film. Spielberg strings impossible situations at such speed that you get dizzy and, although this overdrive is quite fun, it builds a frivolous atmosphere which, in combination with the amount and type of humor in the film, leaves the impression of a parody. Maybe it's just me, but Harrison Ford in the lead role of a story obviously devised by George Lucas, accompanied by music by John Williams ... during all two hours, I couldn't get "Star Wars" out of my head.

7/10

Lost souls are obsessed by something that disconnects them from life. I'm going to live every minute of it.

Pixar proves its creativity once again. Attempt not so much to explain the essence of life, as to encourage us not to forget it. The story is deep enough not to be just cheap entertainment, but carefully balanced to not go in pretentiousness or in vain philosophizing. Funny just enough to be entertaining without making the point meaningless. Emotional as much as it needs to warm the heart without causing tears. Visually imaginative and sprinkled with jazz music, this cartoon is a feast for the senses for all generations. Its only drawback is that at times it seems a bit hasty. As if it had much more to say and show, but it lacked time. Although, maybe it's better that way, because otherwise it would risk getting too entangled and losing its meaning.

8/10

Timeless classic

Marty is a high school student who, by an unfortunate coincidence, travels thirty years into the past and prevents his parents from meeting each other. In order not to be erased from existence, he must now find a way to unite them and secure his own birth, as well as to return to his time.

This SF comedy is perhaps the greatest classic of its genre. If there are some who have not seen it, at least they have heard of it, and references from the film have long been implemented in pop culture. Fast-paced, fun, witty, with top effects for its time, a multi-layered story that stimulates thinking and awakens the imagination, and accompanied by great music, this film aged well and is as impressive today as it was at the time of its creation. Great choice either for watching with a partner, for drinking with friends, or for a family movie night.

9,5/10

Mary Poppins II

In 1964, Julie Andrews played the role of the magical governess Mary in the cult musical "Mary Poppins", for which she won an Oscar. The following, 1965, she starred in "The Sound of Music", also a musical, and again in the role of a governess, Maria, but this time she remained on the nomination. Although "Mary Poppins" is a fairy tale, and "The Sound of Music" is realistic, the stories essentially have many similarities. The same goes for the characters, especially for the main role, which is why I decided on this title. Both films have excellent cinematography and directing and cheerful, upbeat music full of life. However, as much as they are similar, they won't bore you even if you watch them one after the other. The streets of London and the imaginary landscapes here have been replaced by the endless pastures of the Eastern Alps and the stone of old Salzburg, over which the threat of the Third Reich looms. But don't worry, this is still a feel-good musical and love conquers all, so if you embark on this adventure, expect three hours of positive emotions and pure children's joy captured on film just for your enjoyment.

9/10

C. R. A. P.

Crow Research And Production is the name of a company that has developed a device that stimulates the nervous system and muscles. While the creator of this device lives in the delusion that it will bring a revolution in the treatment of people in wheelchairs, his company actually plans to sell it on the black market for the purpose of creating super-soldiers. But his son and his son's friends from primary school are there to expose the villains and steal the device in order to protect nerds from school bullies.

Linear, naive, and even stupid script, Nickelodeon level of acting and production ... Honestly, it is crap, a nuance above the level of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" from the nineties. And again, I have to be honest, I had a good time and, as this is a film for children, I think it is more important than objective qualities. Plus Jessica Alba in her sweet sixteen ...

5/10

The eyes of Natalie Wood

"A woman doesn't enjoy those things the way a man does. She just lets her husband come near her in order to have children." A mantra that will effectively ruin your child, regardless of gender. The prejudices and narrow-mindedness of the Puritans from the beginning of the last century destroyed the love and passion of the two teenagers, to whom Natalie Wood (probably her best performance) and Warren Beatty (his film debut) breathed life on the big screen so impressively. A film about growing up, love, excessive dramatization so typical for teenagers, especially those in love, parenting and prejudice, set in America on the transition from the "roaring twenties" to the Great Depression. An excellent choice of actors for all, even the smallest roles, who, under the baton of the great Kazan, convincingly tell us a simple but very emotional story, whose main strength lies in the fact that most of the audience can easily identify with it. One of those movies you won't easily forget.

8,5/10

Bastard son of a bitch

After the bad reviews of the first season, the series was almost canceled. They gave it a chance on the condition that it transforms into a standard studio sitcom with a much lower budget. Despite, or perhaps thanks to this, the series flourished and spawned a second season that secured its cult status.

Atkinson gave up writing and was replaced by Ben Elton, who did a fantastic job. While the first season had a unique story in which Blackadder tries to seize power, here each episode brings a separate story in which our anti-hero tries to get out of awkward and potentially deadly situations. The medieval malicious incompetent is inherited by an intelligent and cynical descendant, placed at the court of Elizabeth I. For the counterweight, there are Baldrick (Tony Robinson), who is transformed into a dirty and extremely stupid servant (To you, Baldrick, the Renaissance was just something that happened to other people, wasn't it?), and Lord Percy (Tim McInnerny), a simple but irreparably optimistic and loyal sidekick. On the other hand, we have Elizabeth, a childish and spoiled queen, who uses people as toys and cuts off heads if they are not to her liking. Miranda Richardson performed this role with unforgettable charm and stole every scene in which she appears. She also has two sidekicks, played by the excellent Stephen Fry and Patsy Byrne. In two episodes also appears Hugh Laurie, an indispensable part of the cast for the rest of the series. The characters are more complex and diverse than in the first season, and the humor is more natural, intelligent, and incomparably funnier.

9/10

• Give the place a more family atmosphere.
• The family atmosphere? This is meant to be a place of pain and misery and sorrow.
• That's what I mean, Sir.

"For the most part it's Neanderthal compared to the Pixar stable." - James Mottram, Total Film

The Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year and sound names such as DreamWorks, Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds, lead to expectations that this film does not meet. It is visually beautiful and quite entertaining, but the silly caricatured fairy-tale creatures and slapstick comedy cannot compensate for the unoriginality, simplicity, and linearity of the story and characters and the emotional clichés with which it tries to mask the essential shallowness. If you choose it for a movie night with a child, you will not regret it, and if you skip it, you will not miss anything special.

6/10

"There's always a girl in the picture. What's the matter, don't you go to the movies?"

After the phenomenal "The Lady Eve", Preston's next achievement slightly disappointed me. The adventures of a rich director who tries his hand at the life of a hobo, in order to be able to make a film about the hard life of the lowest class from his own experience, are undeniably fun. It is always interesting to watch a film that combines many genres in one story. A mix of screwball and slapstick comedy, social criticism, drama, prison film, thriller, and romance sounds like a fun idea, but it is very difficult to make it work. The atmosphere of the film changes radically several times, to the extent that it gives the impression that we are watching parts of different movies combined into one, and although Veronica Lake, always pleasing to the eye, performed her role well and has chemistry with Joel, to me, this romantic subplot was redundant. At one point, Preston's protagonist, director Sullivan, declares: "There's always a girl in the picture. What's the matter, don't you go to the movies?" As "Sullivan's Travels" is perhaps primarily a critique of the film industry, I believe that the entire romantic subplot was deliberately made that way, in order to parody this unwritten rule of Hollywood. Although the different genres are roughly blended and the whole thing seems hasty, the film is fun, satire, if not in the center, still hits the target to some extent, and the author must be commended for the courage to bite the hand that feeds him.

7/10

Trainspotting, but unpolished

The controversial Belgian writer has been adapted into an even more controversial film. Extremely sick drama, full of black humor, explicit sexual violence, and scenes that a good horror film would not be ashamed of. But the story that this film brings is not fantasy, but the cruel reality of the lowest strata of society that we, who have better luck in life, choose not to see. "Ex Drummer" chooses to rub them on our noses, uncompromisingly and ruthlessly. The script cuts the political correctness at the root, fills us with vulgarity, and does not refrain from insulting everyone, the camera pounds us with scenes from which the stomach turns awry, and all this directed with the effect that can be compared to those of heavier drugs and accompanied by raw garage punk. The film brings a lot of freaky, eccentric, and in their own way handicapped characters, performed by mostly lesser-known actors (to most of us all completely unknown), which, along with good acting, makes them more believable and realistic. Although we consciously do not want to identify with them, I believe that deep down each of us could find ourselves in at least some of them, and, on a subconscious level, that adds to the strength of the overall impression. To bring you closer to the overall atmosphere and experience of this film, I will make a musical parallel. If we compare "Trainspotting" to a mainstream band that fills stadiums, "Ex Drummer" is a low-budget garage band, with an unpolished sound, playing the same genre much more brutal.

8/10

Spiderwolfs, chickenseals, land-sharks...

A bit of "The Flinstones", a bit of the "Ice Age", hints at original ideas and a mountain of Hollywood clichés. Everything I said about the first applies to this one as well. However, the sequel is a bit more complex, diverse, faster, and more fun, and some intelligent humor has been added to the slapstick on which the first part was based.

7/10

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do! That gives you a lot of leeway..."

Burt Lancaster is a New York columnist, whose word is heard far and wide, whose advertisement everyone wants, and whose criticism they fear. But so much power has caused him a god complex, which never works out for good. Tony Curtis plays a petty press agent who would stop at nothing to please the famous columnist and with his help feel the "sweet smell of success". When the columnist's younger sister falls in love with a club's jazz musician, the two start a series of plots and blackmail in order to separate them.

This late noir, from the late fifties, instead of murders and private detectives, shows us how journalists and PR agents, arrogant, unscrupulous, greedy and possessive, alter destinies as they see fit. Superb black-and-white cinematography and directing build a tense and dark atmosphere of noir, which with the fast pace of the film holds the attention from beginning to end. But the story itself is so melodramatically told and acted out, that the film eventually left a bland overall impression.

7/10

"Monsters, ghosts, a magical treasure hunt, curses, the past, the future..."

The series is neither an adaptation of a Lovecraft work, nor is it based on his mythos or his life. "Lovecraft Country" is a combination of fantasy, horror, mystery, and Indiana Jones adventure, but the emphasis is not only on these aspects, but it significantly concentrates on racism in America in the 1950s. I have the impression that the authors used the "father of horror" to attract the audience to a famous name. We have "racist horror", and Lovecraft is a racist horror writer ... let's name the series after him and attract fans. At first, it may work, but those same fans will very quickly realize what is happening and will be disappointed with the series that they could have liked under some other name, which does not offer false promises.

The other thing that bothered me was the soundtrack. With good production, cinematography, and acting, they skillfully evoked the atmosphere of the fifties, and then spoiled it with inadequate music. I watch the South Side of Chicago in the fifties, but I listen to Rihanna, Manson, and hip-hop ... it doesn't work. It breaks the atmosphere and spoils the experience.

Third and most important, after a promising start, the script turned into a total mess. Had they stick to the great premises from the first couple of episodes until the end, the series could have been awesome. For some reason, they decided to overwhelm it with new subplots from episode to episode, until it turned into an overcomplicated and incomplete mishmash of everything and anything.

However, the series is technically indisputably well done, the visual aspect, atmosphere, and characters are very likable, and the story is, if you don't mind the confusing and chaotic storytelling, basically quite interesting. If you don't expect too much, it's worth a look.

7/10