Ediebalboa

A slightly slower start, but a grand finale. You can really feel a big difference between the first and second half of the film. Unlike Quantum of Solace, Mendes doesn't try to cram everything into an hour and a half like Forster, but develops the plot much more slowly and thus more naturally. The editing also calmed down with the pace, something I appreciate, especially because of the last Bond film, where the insane editing speed was more like a trailer than a movie. I would also like to praise the exotic and domestic locations. Thanks to this, much of the film is finally taking place in London and Scotland after many years. Of the new actors, Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris were great choices, but the new Q has so far failed to convince me. Otherwise, all credit to Bardem, who ranks among the best villains ever to rival Bond. The ending with the denouement was one of the most accomplished in the whole series and got me excited for the next episodes.

I may have watched the 13th Warrior too soon. Otherwise, I would have missed my most important banter motif of dragging knights across the floor, which would have been a huge shame for my parents. Jerry Goldsmith managed to successfully knock out all the Zimmers, Williamses and even the reigning Howard Shore with The Lord of the Rings. The film itself ended up several leagues worse, though, but even after all these years I don't have the feeling of downright frustration when watching it. Rather, it's just the shockingly untapped potential that, under different circumstances, could have led to the most epic Viking romp ever created.

A good drama by the standards of London tower block stories, quite unique actually. One lonely man in a flat manages to pull off a spectacle I never dreamed of. Andrew Haigh has tweaked Taichi Yamada's premise for the 21st century and delivers an emotional charge both from a parenting perspective and through the equally important queer line. The acting needs little comment. Just look at the four main names in the credits. PS: Perhaps Paul Mescal is already starting to grow from an immature father into an adult gladiator with his charisma :)

Tense, well acted by the aptly chosen cast, believable; Argo really deserved that Oscar. Ben Affleck had already proved in previous films that he could eventually make it as a director more than an actor, and here he has once again taken it to the next level. Throughout the film, you really believe the hopeless situation the American diplomats in Iran were in. By the end, though, I thought it was a bit overdone with the last-minute chasing of everything as they escape. After all, it couldn't realistically have been that intense, and I don't think the ending had to be so eye-popping and happy. Despite this, I would still call the film one of the highlights of the year, thanks to the brilliantly chosen premise.

The series could easily have turned into an ordinary crime drama set in 1929 Berlin, but it wouldn't have featured the famous Tykwer-Klimek duo. I do not mean to question the merits of other creators, but few could have so gracefully presented the political situation of the Weimar Republic, guided the nightlife of Berlin's bohemians with spectacular musical numbers, and solved over a dozen conspiracies from monarchists to communists. And with a period soundtrack that proves that even music in the spirit of the 1920s can be "cool", it's really easy. If it weren't for the somewhat rushed finale, it would have been flawless, as the main story is wrapped up with several excellent twists and turns, but the subplots of the secondary characters are a bit too contrived for that. Otherwise, great.

With the thirties comes the best of what Babylon Berlin has brought us so far. Several scenes are truly memorable thanks to excellent editing. The creators weren't afraid to stretch the plot again, so it gets to the Nazis, gangsters, Jews, Jewish gangsters, journalists, communists, and malnourished kids from the Zoo station, and everything more or less builds to a conclusion where no threads remain unresolved. Tykwer and co. made a great job of this script during covid.

You can only call Batman v Superman mediocre once you take into account its huge potential, which was more or less buried by unnecessary mistakes. Starting with Snyder's routine direction and ending with a rudimentary script without proper emotions, characters and twists, the film is a bore that naively understands darkness as more black on the screen. But rudimentary thinking is also connected with the two main characters. Instead of the chosen guardians of order, we get two little brats fighting over a toy in the sandbox. The only consolation is that Affleck's battered Batman at least looks far more natural during the dull beatings than if Bale was running around in the same costume. DC is floundering and it's only a matter of time before it puts itself out of the game for good.

After the phenomenal Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan could have created absolutely anything. In the end, however, he stayed in his favourite territory and invented a whole new storyline for his favourite lawyer, Saul Goodman. Again, there are strong characters, unexpected twists and turns, and a pervasive southern New Mexico atmosphere. Nobody’s rushing anywhere, the plot slowly unfolds and the author's confidence is evident in every scene or dialogue. So even though the first 10 episodes could be summed up in a few sentences, it's the details that make it stand out from the competition. Already the theme song at the beginning of each episode suggests that this is not going to be mainstream.

Despite its groundbreaking nature, Blade Runner has always been for me a film whose main point eluded me and I was rather carried away by its polished audiovisual, but Villeneuve has managed to do both. Together with visual wizard Deakins, he delivers a fascinating spectacle with a lucid narrative while answering everything left unspoken from the past, which is not surprising given the runtime. Villeneuve takes his time with almost everything and it wouldn't be a problem if the reward was catharsis like in Sicario. Here, however, Harrison Ford's scenes are the only highlights, and the rest is kind of left neglected. For a sequel, though, outstanding quality.

Brian and Roger wanted a big family affair and they got it, but if you want Freddie crawling dejectedly on the floor, go somewhere else. Bohemian Rhapsody is the epitome of pure entertainment, delivering a Queen’s Best of the Best with four individuals that would be right at home with the members of the famous band. But where this quartet personally overwhelms me is the almost complete and over-hyped Live Aid, which in atmosphere is nothing like the 1985 original. It's only there that you really realise how much you wish the concert, the film and especially Mercury's life had never come to such an untimely end.