Necrotongue

I found the sequel (?) to the original film confusing. Nikita Mikhalkov, as a co-writer of the screenplay, would risk having his ankles broken if he had to defend the weird continuation of the story to Annie Wilkes. General Kotov was shot dead in 1936 (original information), in 1941 (new information), not shot at all (latest information). Don’t even get me started on his family. The war scenes sometimes felt like a parody (defecation, being hit by a flare, Ju 87 equipped with a bombshell, etc.). On the other hand, I have to appreciate the extremely realistic scene that showed what a typical man is willing to go through to persuade a woman to reveal her charms.

This film won me over years ago. What I enjoy most about it is the brutal contrast of the relaxed summer idyll with the harsh reality of Stalin's purges, the perfect atmosphere, and the three outstanding performances by Oleg Menshikov, Nikita Mikhalkov, and Nadezhda Mikhalkova. I've said many times how I feel about children in film, but Nadia gave a truly excellent performance as Nadia, albeit mightily supported by her daddy/co-actor/director/screenwriter.

The cast was literally crammed with so many big names that I was confused by this actually being an average romantic comedy, albeit a well-executed one. Catherine Zeta-Jones was very pleasing to my sensory functions, I was impressed by the acting talent of George Clooney's teeth, Billy Bob Thornton didn't stick around for too long, but it was worth it. I rate this a weak four stars.

Even twenty-seven years after it came out, the film hasn’t lost its charm for me. The filmmakers managed to create a perfectly gloomy atmosphere, which made it easy to escalate the suspense. I must say I didn’t find Buffalo Bill very interesting, but who cares anyway. Anthony Hopkins had the whole film to himself, and Hannibal Lecter belongs to one of the must-know characters for any movie fan. Plus, as the owner of Harris' eponymous novel, I appreciate the fact that the filmmakers didn't turn the book into complete nonsense, as is often the case with Stephen King’s work.

Season 2 of Fargo surprised me more than I'd expected. I thought I would sorely miss Lorne Malvo and Lester Nygaard from the first season, but the opposite was true. The creators went back in time, bringing daddy Lou, the tragicomic Blumquist couple, and terminator Ohanzee Dent, and launched a war between two mob families. As usual, they didn't forget to add great atmosphere, tension, brutal action and a whole series of situations in which characters died completely unnecessary deaths caused by sheer stupidity. The only problem I had was with the appearance of a UFO. On the other hand, I was absolutely thrilled by how the two seasons were linked. What a great series!

The final episode, while successful for the creators, I only rate it four stars. After the previous two episodes, I was so spoiled that this time the pace of the story seemed too slow to me. Nevertheless, it was a quality and dignified conclusion to the second season. I enjoyed the reward for Mike Milligan and the first encounter with Mr. Wrench and Numbers.

Thanks to the ninth episode, I finally found out what the talk about the Sioux Falls massacre was all about that I've been hearing throughout the entire first season. This was a great episode with an excellent atmosphere, full of brutal action, tension, and interesting development. I know I'm repeating myself over and over again, but what can I do? I saw it there. I only have one objection - aliens? Why? I'm more than satisfied with the Blumquists.

The creators did a great job again, the atmosphere, tension, and action were perfect, but what amused me the most was the personal development of Peggy Blumquist. The transformation into Positive Peggy and her subsequent work with the knife really got me, equally interesting but much gloomier was the mental transformation of Ohanzee Dent. Great episode.

This time almost everything went wrong and the seventh episode turned into a showdown between two mafia families, revealing that both have their own internal problems that they must find solutions for. I had a great time also because I found out who Molly Solverson inherited her bulldog nature from in the first season.

The atmosphere remained great even in the sixth episode, the Gerhardt's journey to the city brought a special form of tension, where I couldn't tell if someone's nerves would snap and there would be one less character, or if everyone would keep their composure. Especially in the case of lawyer Karl, I understood the state of his pants. I finally realized why the creators sometimes refer to UFOs, because the Blumquists behaved like aliens during their interaction with the police.