DaViD´82

It's a shame about the beaten-down pique between the opinionated and powerful German factions, because otherwise, though somewhat slavish and cut-down on the production design, this is still a solid adaptation (thanks mainly to the cast) of an excellent easygoing novel.

The adapted original is based on "real" exorcist horror movies of the 70´s, and the series adaptation seems to be based on the same that is, the characters (great cast of Glenister and Fugit and perfect setting in the middle of nowhere where everyone knows each other) and the captivating, chilling atmosphere of tangible concern. On top of that it´s packed with Ross's (anti) musical accompaniment. So far, the introduction rather promises big things than delivers them but it still has the right atmosphere, uncompromisingness and undeniable genre potential. So, there´s a lot to be excited about. That´s for sure.

Olivier Marchal, David Ayer, Shawn Ryan, James Ellroy and, last but not least, Don Winslow are the big names of dirty harsh criminal movies about corrupt police officers in the movies/series/literature. And with this feature-length debut, Matt Cook enters the same room with them. He lags behind but only a little bit. Yes, it has such potential. It's a pity that it´s conflicting with Hillcoat's concept, because chose the wrong pace of narration. Considering how much is happening and on how many levels, it gives you feeling that it´s way too lengthy. I´m not saying boring, not at all. But this movie was supposed to be an adrenaline-fueled ride driven by inner tension and not a slow-paced something that looks like nothing is really going on. But even that being said, it´s exceptional in terms of genre. And even more considering that similar movies were almost exclusively made as series.

"Political procedure movie about the first year of the presidency of the controversial Lyndon B. Johnson he took office after the assassination in Dallas, when he struggled with behind the scenes plotting inside his own party, was scheming in order to seek support across the political parties while enforcing one of the US most reform laws, was working for re-election in regular elections, declared "war on poverty". When a massive wave of civic protests surged he negotiated with obviously racist South, not obvious racist Democrats and Republicans, Hoover and the civil rights movements around Martin Luther King, and on top of that the conflict in Vietnam slowly but surely escaped the attention of everybody. Although largely about the black-and-white question, not black-and-white in the depiction of the time and characters. One cannot shake the feeling that Johnson served with his many steps and his political "the end justifies the means" way as a forerunner of Frank Underwood, and not just in the sequence, where he makes friends with everyone with an American smile on his lips. Those who don't mind intimated dialogs that doesn't have to say everything openly and that relies on the excellent performance of great actors (Cranston finally has the role of "White/Heisenberg importance) who can do without big gestures, it would be shame not to watch All the Way. There has been a lot of good movies in this genre department in recent years, but almost exclusively in the department of television series and not so in the film (albeit television, even if it's HBO) backyard.

Starsky & Hutch by Shane Black. What's not to love? Perhaps only the disparity between the silly buddy comedy storyline loaded with one-liners (I haven't laughed so loud in the movie theater for a long time) and the regular gritty crime storyline, which is clearly only a makeweight, but for a long time is much more refined than it turned out to be eventually and in the final scene it is clearly too slow. In other words, both in terms of the story in a style like"nothing is going on" and in terms of comedy, it´s absolutely flawless. And I look forward to a sequel, the two of them get together in terms of mutual chemistry so unusually and in a unique way (after all, see for yourself. It would be terribly unfortunate not to give them proper space. However, the best movie in this department is still Zootropolis.

It would have made more sens if the movie only had lasted three hours rather than to have two movies with a footage of almost four and a half hours. It has the potential, the excellent characterization of the characters as well, the sad melancholic atmosphere is well portrayed too but the footage simply fragmented everything and thus ruined the whole thing. The beginning (first hour) is well-paced but it later fades until it almost disappears and gets stuck in many death end sequences, when the movie is only treading water. And it's a pity, because the original obviously provided a strong and inspiring theme (the author has only published one book, Whisper, so far, but it would be a mistake to miss the fairy-tale Brave Story. He is basically a Japanese version of Lord of the Flies. The schoolchildren do not end up on a deserted island this time, but otherwise the whole thing is based on the same allegorical overlap, when the society is reflected the children and it is spooky. Young people take justice into their own hands and investigate the death of a classmate through a court trial, during which everything from bullying, hypocrisy, prejudice or class differences to hypocrisy, envy, cowardice, their own ambitions at the expense of others, etc. comes to light. The movie revolves around the main storyline so much than one 90-minute boring feature-film is hidden in these two very long movies and this is not helpful. Not even remotely. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Specifics of international humanitarian aid or an absurd road-drama about the daily routine of humanitarian workers in the Balkans and their Don Quixote struggle with both officially bureaucratic windmills and common sense in a movie that masterfully and functionally balances on the edge of a serious portrayal, unforced honest emotions "reflection on society" and black cynical humor which ambulance crews take advantage of. Maybe it could have been a little bit two shorter, especially the detour sequence.

Netflix's first European huge project, which has the impressive genius loci Marseille at its disposal and is not afraid to use it properly. But sadly it follows well-known pattern of predictability, so you will see everything you would expect from quality TV, such as corruption plotting from, stabbing knives in each other’s back, comprehensive approach across all social strata. However, if it doesn't just tick off the mandatory check boxes which you know well from elsewhere and it starts to be a little more by original. It is kind of a mix of overseas, Boss, Suburry and Franck previous political series. There is not much to complain about. Perhaps only a constant and almost ridiculous "increasing stakes" through wannabe dramatic eclipses/transitions with a really tense musical undertone and silly slow scenes. The cast of the main roles is a great match (led, of course, by the Gargantuan style Depardieu). Performance of a few supporting characters is rather average. In any case, a decent and exceptional movie with a slower opening, the biggest problem of which is that considering this genre department they could have done much better job. And especially in France there have been made some really good series in recent years, so the quality bar is set higher. But what deserves a special mention (and overrides the quality of the series as such) is insanely stylish theme song.

Three long-term problems of the Marvel movies (if we do not count the uniform unisex kind of movies that Disney regularly produces) is the absence of proper respect for real respected bad guys with clear motivation, who do not only stare aggressively, depersonalized generic interchangeable CGI action and no consequences, impacts or personal sacrifices of the characters. It has always been the case that Marvel movies are better at squabble rather than at blockbuster action. The director brothers did try to change it in the Winter Soldier, and I must compliment them on trying to do the same in this movie too. They were successful in two cases (a scam in the form of the need for a bad guy, no matter how much potential this one has, and amazing action based on stunts) but terribly failed in one, because the unwillingness of Marvel movies to make main heroes any sacrifices has always been obvious but in this movie it is even more obvious in a silly way. In any case, this time the director's duo deserves more praise, because to handle so many characters in a way so that all their intentions are clear and understandable, that new players are properly introduced and do not act as useless as the fifth wheel, that the tension is tangible (unfortunately only in the final) and despite the escalation (although it is more required by the script than the movie itself) and the ambivalence of opinions of both parties, it kept the style of minor exaggeration and on top of all that, all the characters do their job and have enough space. Obviously, even much more experienced movie makers often fail in this department. On the contrary, they did not handle the footage well. It is not lengthy, but it has more sequences with very slow pace than would be appropriate. Other flaws include the epileptic camera in action scenes, and that the whole trifling dispute is more like a pub brawl of a few individuals than a war, let alone a civil war.

Gallows humor. Literally. As can be expected from McDonagh, his return to the stage is adorned with refined verbal skirmish, a graduating dense atmosphere of fate events, excellent characterization of characters and black humor that make you laugh a lot. The only complaint is that this time he largely (but not completely) gave up his characteristically distinctive mix of chilling black humor going hand in hand with dramatic seriousness, where incorrect humor serves as a reflection and not "only" as a source of amusement. As a result, this is not only a funny but one time performance loaded with one-liners. So, it belongs to his weaker performances like Behanding in Spokane. But it certainly lags behind the masterpieces that have made him "Shakespeare of Tarantino poetics", that is for sure.