Kaka

The excellent character psychology continues in the third season, which seems to be the core building block of the entire series, as there's no way the creators can pull off the heist effect of a cop vs. robber game again. All the surprises and great moments of the cat and mouse game have long since been used up and it's quite apparent that they intend to keep the viewer enthralled with the personal connections of the main characters, and the new ones on the scene, especially Sierra, who is a proper badass. The last episode is then a level above the others. It no longer has the charm and hype of the first two seasons, but it keeps at a decent level, and as an enjoyable military/heist relationship drama with a great bunch of people you'd like to get to know better, the third season of Money Heist still works well.

An exemplary build-up, a depressing atmosphere of despair and unsurprisingly superb performances. Cate Blanchett's performance is exemplary again, in the style of Blue Jasmine, and Judy Dench is also amazing as the bitter, old and psychopathic crone. High School Misery.

Although the second season still maintains a very promising pace and rhythm primarily in the first half, the ending doesn't quite manage to build-up properly. And instead of a heavyweight conclusion to a promising European heist series, the finale feels slowed down, with an overdose of emotion and a lack of momentum and realism. It’s nothing new that Money Heist is purely an entertaining screenwriting game of cat and mouse rather than a raw crime drama. Unfortunately, however, as time went on, it got to the point where I was just waiting for the protagonists to have a siesta at five with a sangria tasting and passionately dance flamenco together, after which they would properly dissect their relationships from A to Z from the heart. It's got a mostly fine vibe, a hugely likeable mix of (anti)heroes, but over time the series morphs from action crime drama into a gritty romance to the sound of a browning machine gun, and unfortunately that doesn't suit it very well. Still four stars, but just barely.

And then they say only Hollywood can make stories like this. Money Heist is quite deservedly Netflix's prime work. It's got a fresh cast, well-written characters and a gripping plot. It can be faulted for some questionable lapses in logic and weaker technical aspects; after all, the action looks at its American friends from afar with its charge and overall set-up, but surprisingly this Spanish parade doesn't really need action as a driving force, it easily makes do with such well-acted and spontaneous characters, wit and tension. The only concern is towards possible future over-complication of the story, but for now Money Heist will maintain its high standard and fresh European feel. A top addition to the heist genre.

A fresh and novel existential love story primarily intended for nerds and intellectuals. Despite its relatively normal running time, the film feels too long and plodding. The screenwriter plays with the viewer quite well, but many scenes are unnecessarily drawn out. The uncompromising ending also fails to deliver.

I can understand all the objections from die-hard fans of Yellowstone and 1883. Yes, it's a little more difficult with 1923, because it's moodily disjointed, emotionally sprawling, with several story lines developing to too much breadth, and the ending of the first season is actually far from what one expects after the first two or three episodes. Of course, if 1883 was about a crude loner and a homage to the western, 1923 is a homage to all the glorious adventure films. At times I felt I was seeing the best of Africa and some moments made me think of the legendary The Ghost and the Darkness, at other times the romantic twisting of the central couple (Brandon Sklenar is perfectly cast, by the way) was reminiscent of Out of Africa. Taylor Sheridan simply plays out a bigger and more colourful story here than in its previous work, and he's not afraid to soften it in the form of a rather breezy romance that is strikingly reminiscent of the one in Titanic. Even so, the spiritual father of the franchise doesn't forget about moments of pure violence and ultra-violent villains. Above all, Timothy Dalton is excellent. Well set to a second season.

The most ambitious in content, the most magnificent in production design and the strongest in characters of the entire Dollar Trilogy. Unfortunately, it's also excruciatingly long, and as iconic as Morricone's music is, it's mostly about its central melody. Eli Wallach is the most interesting and best-acted character. But I would venture to say that Once Upon a Time in the West is qualitatively much higher.

Fallout is teetering between 3 and 4 stars. One might assume that for die-hard fans of the game it would be more like 4 and the opposite for the uninitiated. From the perspective of someone who has never seen or played the famous game, form clearly trumps content. I'll leave aside the fantastic visuals and special effects, which are a given in a project of high ambitions. What I liked more were the huge amount of wisecracks, cynical humour, the gadgets and gizmos, the imaginative creatures and the great scenery. The story is framed by a rather intense socio-political subtext that is topical at the moment. And the subtle allusions to current world events are all very good. Of the actors, Walton Goggins is good, and Ella Purnell has a pleasantly naive character, but Aaron Moten, who looks like Denzel Washington in 1998, is not much fun, and neither is his character. Still 4 stars for the original retro-futuristic visuals, but barely.

A more melancholic and weepy version of Me Before You in the lower middle class. Javier Bardem is excellent, there are some great ideas and some interesting dialogue, but it's primarily the strength of the premise and its existential overtones than how it's executed. The love triangle was like something cut out of a soap opera in places.

A more thoughtful, tense and overall more minimalist version of Civil War with a gradually escalating atmosphere in the style of Take Shelter. Technically outstanding. Great cinematography and editing. Superb acting, a shame some elements were left unexplained and perhaps the conclusion was too rushed given the carefully constructed build up to the finale.