Kaka

The cool outdoors in the style of the Bourne series, a tough, good-guy protagonist whose gestures and musculature sometimes want to resemble The Punisher a bit, and that's where the positives end. In Season 2 Alan Ritchson confirms that he's the one setting a new standard for the film (or series) Jack Reacher. Nothing against Tom Cruise, but he could have tried harder for the physical action, in profile he's not as suited to the character of the jacked good guy as the walking Hulk. Shame about the execution of the second season, which drags too much and doesn't even develop the main character. The team is pretty cool and the character interaction goes well most of the time, but the plot slips into TV-style filler a lot of the time, and that can't be tolerated in an A-list production. Robert Patrick as the villain was fine.

If the third season was wild, the fourth is a blast full of contradictions and contradictory moments. On the one hand, according to the creators of the utopian past, we don't even have mobile phones in 2003, but supercomputers are operating on Mars and rockets have a new propulsion system that makes it possible to cover the interplanetary distance in 14 days. If this is supposed to be a not-so-seriously taken space spy comedy that oscillates somewhere between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Cold War reverberations, then OK. As a serious alternative history of the space conquest, however, it's not even close, and both the first and second seasons had a great start. The third and fourth, on the other hand, are already veering in the wrong direction. What’s worth praise, however, are the Russian actors and the entire Roskosmos, with its typically cold, detached and dark Iron Curtain atmosphere.

Sadness and disappointment. At times, with the often empty and self-serving droning of Josephine and Napoleon, I thought I was watching a compilation of Bridgerton instead of Ridley Scott's new masterpiece. That's how bad Napoleon is dramaturgically: disjointed, inconsistent, fragmented in plot. Decently filmed bloody battles are interspersed with an odd, para-romantic level, and if you thought it would be saved by at least a rich factual-informative level, an analysis of the personality of the brilliant warlord, you are left halfway there – which may be the only reason to watch the director’s cut, to get a larger and more detailed overview of what Napoleon actually accomplished during his time. That is, assuming you accept the medium of film and don’t want to look at Wikipedia or history books. But I highly doubt it the director’s cut will give the film any specific shape or identity. Scott's worst historical major historical film, along with Robin Hood.

Kenneth Branagh continues with the same, generic whodunit that is a carbon copy of the previous one. Only instead of the sunny Nile Delta with its often overly digital Pyramids, we have mysterious Venice, specifically a gothic house full of strange sounds and untold secrets. Not a single moment is remarkable, not a single shot or sequence of events unpredictable. At least it is briskly told and with a few wannabe horror moments and a decent production design, and it also has a decent (meaning short) running time.

A battle of two equally dirty worlds and two implacable rivals on opposite sides of the barricade. From the perspective of a study of two interesting protagonists, it's actually quite an impressive series. Both Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis' characters have charisma, and both are well written and expertly acted. The depiction of a functioning universe around them is less well done, and often some of the moves on the imaginary chessboard are very simplistic. Speaking of cinematic metaphors, of which there are a dozen in every episode, it's safe to say this is Neil McCauley vs Vincent Hana, but if the you are willing to accept something a level or two below, this series will be watchable once finished. It's a great shame that the last 2-3 seasons slide heavily into mediocrity and come across as tired, generic and unnecessarily drawn out. Four stars for the first half, barely three for the second.

If anyone was expecting back to basics and the definitive elimination of "paper dialogue" and endless speeches and annoying metaphors with the seventh season, they will be sorely disappointed. It continues, give or take, in the rhythm of the tired sixth season, and even the main attraction, the return of Bobby, is delivered rather sporadically in a supporting role. The over the top crazy finale just shows the total inability of the creators to come up with a story that frames reality and doesn't edge on the fictional world in the style of Ocean’s Eleven, and even most of those guys had more charisma than the robots here.

The breezy mix of documentary, art and pop continues in its final season. The first couple of episodes with Diana have an engaging pace and a traditionally well-drawn setting. There is no shortage of controversial moments, or iconic shots that went around the world in the tabloids of their day. All masterfully matched by a top-of-the-range production ensemble and superb direction. The pace falters a bit in the second half, when you actually realise that the most gripping story of Diana won't cover the whole season, but other, sometimes less interesting personalities are given space. But, as is often the case with The Crown, even the less interesting parts are still top-notch, and film enthusiasts big and small will find their appetites whetted.

A heavy-handedly narrated prison drama with solid atmosphere, Paul Newman's mesmerizing face and a specific feel-good vibe. Good as a precursor to The Shawshank Redemption, but hand on heart, Darabont's opus tells the story of get busy livin' or get busy dyin' more comprehensively and on a whole other level.

A meticulous and thorough biography of the master, which for my taste spends far too long charting his early youth and far too little on his best-known work, with which he captivated much of the music world. The fact that they completely omit any mention of some of his most famous oeuvres and instead go to great lengths to name and analyse in minute detail early works that are unknown to most viewers is hard to understand.

Another fine Netflix series that is remarkably similar to The Crown in its craftsmanship, period feel and focus on a detailed study of a strong female protagonist in a man's world. It's just less expansive and deals almost exclusively with chess instead of politics. And just as The Crown is primarily about the life of a statesperson, The Queen’s Gambit is filmed in such a way that diehard fans of the supporting theme – chess – will find it enjoyable, but more mainstream viewers who need the classic, emotional level of the plot to be entertained will not be bored either. This series has almost everything. Occasionally, the gaudy production design and visual effects are disappointing, but it's no fun to do retro on a limited budget, so it can be overlooked. An awesome “bad guy” in Borg and Anya Taylor-Joy excelling like never before.