DaViD´82

The preparation and consumption of food in a small kitchen-dining room as a unifying element of destinies, dreams and traditions in a geisha "boarding school". Utter Koreeda, utter melancholic feel-good, utter food porn. | S1: 5/5 |

How little it takes for our advanced Western society to sink to the depths where paranoia, misinformation, anarchy, panic and baser instincts begin to triumph step by step through lack of information, accountability and resources. How little it takes to make concepts like ethics, morality, humanity meaningless. It is hard to criticise anyone, to find fault (although that is what this is all about), but wrong decisions made in good faith can lead to disastrous consequences. We are used to seeing this in (zombie) apocalyptic science fiction, not in a less than two-decade-old event from an institution "on the cusp of human progress". The reconstruction of the events of a few days after Katrina on the grounds of a hospital where everything that could go wrong did, with very tragic consequences, and the ensuing hunt for the culprit through procedural investigation and judicial finger-pointing. The best disaster thing since Chernobyl, with which it shares some of the same DNA. Chilling, compelling, revealing. The only problems are the length (it would have been better to cut across the episodes to make it one episode shorter overall), the hospital/court break (both passages are excellent, but for me it's better to mix them than half this and half that), and the unsuitable melodrama of the second episode, it may serve as a "calm before the storm" (or after the storm), but it doesn't fit the otherwise raw concept one bit.

A beautifully animated snowy, melancholic tale that would very much like to be a modern-day Little Prince, but annoyingly overwrought in that "Paulo Coelho way", full of recited platitudes and big life truths pulled out of thin air instead of dialogue.

Brilliant, playful, and with the timeless "la résistance contre les adultes" poetics of Dahl. The musical guise fits it unexpectedly well, which is something you wouldn't think in your wildest dreams. After all, what could be more repulsive on paper than a musical remake of a children's classic where most of the parts are sung by first graders. But everyone is enjoying it to the max, led by Thompson, who tops them all in an unprecedented way. And how that thirteen-year-old Alisha can keep up with her performance is an unfathomable mystery. A "Paddington-esque" film for the whole family, which even the biggest grumbling adult "why the hell are those kids singing" moron will be so energized that at the end of "Children Rebellion" they will be humming along with a smile of satisfaction on their lips.

An artsy tale about the small joys and sorrows of Christmas in an Italian Catholic girls' orphanage during the war told through the innocent childlike gaze of a likeable rebel. It really breathes Christmas atmosphere, and despite the setting it doesn't lean towards emotional blackmail for a moment, and in general it's all so... Adorably Christmassy.

Fascism, war, propaganda, Christianity, loss, growing up, death, problems with fathers… And yet, it’s mainly for kids. Sophisticated and stylish, the best version of a classic – in the first half, not all the way. Given all it addresses, much of it is left to fizzle out in the last act. Nevertheless, the execution and visual concept are breathtaking.

"I burn my decency for someone else’s future." Adult, gritty, cold and procedural, deliberately quite "anti-Star Wars" in every respect; often to its own detriment. Andor is its own in both a good and a bad sense, and with an uncompromising vision that is not like what we are used to seeing under this brand (whether in movies, TV shows, comics or games). Untamed and peculiar to the point where it will soon become a lasting cult classic, and like any cult classic, it won't be for everyone. But while no one will ever miss Fett or Obi-Wan, there will always be a demand for adult Star Wars after Andor ends. Of course, there's no point in beating around the bush; for all its undeniable qualities, it mostly shuffles its feet by poisoning the viewer with the opening quartet of episodes. They are boring, grey, with wannabe adult themes and uninteresting characters. But it builds up tremendously, to the point where specifically the sixth to tenth episode segment is the best thing ever produced under the Star Wars banner, it just has nothing to do with it; a positive for me, a negative for others, and rightfully so, since if you want serious adult sci-fi, you're not looking for Star Wars. It rides a wave where the ends justify the means for both sides, it's all about individuals who are damn good at their jobs, where there is no room for emotions and chatter. The political backstage backstabbing under the guise of pretense works, as does the stumbling apparatus of the Empire, its internal struggles and the tension arising purely from dialogue or the unspoken between the lines. It simmers under the surface, I never thought I'd see something so Le Carré (not to mention the obvious inspiration of Melville's Army of Shadows) in a sci-fi guise, let alone in a Star Wars guise. Gilroy has a vision and everything conforms to it (stylization, music, direction, set design), sometimes it's to the detriment, sometimes to the benefit, with the latter outweighing the former. Andor won’t leave you cold and without an opinion, which doesn’t mean it won’t (will) entertain you. If you are able to survive the failed first third and fancy some “proper adult Star Wars”, the chances that you’ll find your next favourite thing are more than slim. | S1: 4/5 |

It can't decide whether it wants to be a sociological probe à la Dycky Sunderland or a docu-series with a "how two clueless Yanks get to know the uncompromising world of lower-division football management" angle, while realising that they don't make money in football and are purely in the role of sugar daddies with marketable faces. But it’s too forced, it feels cynical, that they went into it for the documentary rather than for their proclaimed altruistic reasons. Add to that a straddling concept where one scene deals with how a guy's life sucks (his job sucks, his partner left him, his small-town prospects are nil, all he has left is the club), only to be followed by a scene where Reynolds does the obligatory funny thing. One moment you're dealing with a fan's cancer, the next you're dealing with the issue of "how fans have been screwed over by previous managements", and then it's on to like TV sports news where the duo of owners make (un)funny quips. It doesn’t feel like a whole. The more interesting sociological aspect doesn't get the necessary space, the behind-the-scenes part doesn't go deep under the hood of the club's management, if at all (and it's a pity, the story around finances, ownership rights, contract negotiations it's SO rewarding). It's rather about those two, who (logically) only have it as an appendage to many other investment activities or don't have much to offer as subjects of documentary interest. It's not bad, not really (the episodes are short and snappy), especially when the plans fall apart under their hands, but it's too much in the shadow of many other sports docuseries in concept, delivery and moving outside the sports box. | S1: 3/5 |

The Addams' nihilistic-sarcastic daughter in a "sort of Hogwarts school" in the guise of new concepts from Sabrina or Riverdale; i.e. some mysteries, murders, secrets and high-school loves like from Heartbreak High. The on paper biggest setback of a one-note central character who has a speechless prop as a sidekick is not a weakness at all. Ortega is both assured and mesmerizing, not merely imitating the iconic Ricci, and Thing is used playfully and imaginatively. The problems are elsewhere. The conception of Wednesday as a goth teen isn't always entirely happy; in the original Wendy, that wasn't a shell protecting her emotions, but her true self. The weaker detective mystery is also a shame. Above all, though, it's dragged down by the filler, of which there's far too much for just eight episodes. In any case, solid as a one-note fantasy macabre high school relationship show. There is a lot to build on, the concept is solid, just not yet fully exploited. | S1: 3/5 |

It’s watchable, but with a little of eye-rolling. Of course, even in its finest moments it is average at best (well, okay, there are some excellent scenes in the final three episodes). The biggest problems are in the concept, the characterisation, the dialogue, the non-intersecting lines (the fact that two of them don't even count is a topic in itself, not to mention that the best line is completely unnecessary), that is, aspects that, even if they improve substantially for the next series, won't be enough to lift it out of the B-movie waters. Sadly, McCreary is doing more for this than anyone else. If (and it's a big if) you can get past the degradation of "LOTR" (whether literary or cinematic), it's passable as a dozen badly written episodes of fantasy, which is criminally little. | S1: 3/5 |