DaViD´82

Nordic noir, which is surprisingly not in the form of a freezing thriller as usual, but it´s a financial crime movie, where instead of blood and corpses stock trading piles up thanks to non-public information, where one shell corporation with a bunch of straw men covers another one and where corruption is a regular way of conducting business. Unlike the overseas Billions, which work with many similarly constructed dynamics, here all the corporate, financial, negotiation and sharp practice hidden behind stacks of documents are not a purely umbrella pretext, but a regular part of it all. It doesn't detract from the excitement of the result, because at the core it's still mainly about the characters and their actions, or simply "white-collar nordic noir" with everything one would expect from it: conflicting characters with incredible motivations, reserved procedural approach, everything tangled and confused and the already traditional problem of Danish series, where the pace is so specifically slow that it could / should be told in eight episodes instead of ten (or ten with shorter footage) and at the same time it would not seem rushed. | S1: 4/5 |

If you want to get your feet in it, it requires more than general knowledge in pre-Munich political plots. In other words, it´s more for knowledgeable viewers. But at the same time, it's not even for those who has a basic idea about the topic, because it doesn't offer them anything they wouldn't already know. It does not go into too much details in this regard. The same can be said about the plot frame that is done through the mentally broken Masaryk as a person who feels betrayed and at the same time he feels that he has betrayed as well. It is not that this mode is not interesting, but it does not get under your skin so simply put, it does not do the job. And then all the art-like shots of shattering waves, etc. In any case, as a feature film version of the Czech Century TV series, it's not really bad at all.

An apt satirical detached view of how caring for children has been replaced by obsession with children, trifling violent disputes in a small town and about what happens behind the closed doors of households when no one is watching (despite it is not so "scary", it is one of those chilling portrayals of domestic violence which will give you shivers). Rather than an adaptation, it is a literal illustration of the original, but it is so stimulating and packed with different themes (however on the leisure side of the spectrum) that, together with the excellent cast of parents and offspring is more than enough to keep you entertained. The only problem is the length. After all, just seven episodes showing four hundred pages is way to much. Not to mention that the original is already struggling with flogging a dead horse in the middle part. Surprisingly, in spite of all the literality, however, it has a rather sloppy ending compared to the original, where the story lines not only don´t have a proper ending but some of them in this version even make absolutely no sense.

A story of a man who is heading for disaster. To write that this is a French response to Homeland (in the style of The Hour / Mad Men) is like keeping saliva in your mouth for a few hours and then spit them onto the face of the creators, but... it is true to some extent, even if we might not like it. The main difference, however, is in the plainness of the concept (it is quite free of big words, gestures and actions) of the view of the operation of the department of recruiting "acquaintances", not only defectors, agents, terrorists, but mostly ordinary people who could potentially have access to interesting/dangerous (dis) information. It's about finding the way to them and controlling them, not about blackmailing them.* Simply put, a daily routine of an uncommon office full of hypocrisy, intrigue, outsmarting others, plotting, looking over your shoulder, paperwork, strict rules in the workplace, nicknames of operatives taken from Tintino and... And yes, it is absolutely cold procedural "lecarréov style movie" in the best possible sense of this word, which is moreover current and not at all black and white. Just an unbelievable believable spy master, where it is often not clear who is a mouse and who is a cat, with nerve-wracking tension stemming from the behavior and subsequent actions of missing people doing their job and what they are damn good at. Not from shootings, murders or impending terrorist attacks. Pragmatic decisions win, not emotion-driven ones. Already the first season had not many competitors in terms of movies with similar quality genre. Not to mention an even better second season, which then does not have too much competition across the entire serial spectrum, regardless of genre boxes. And after all, even the third season does not deviate from the established trend of "absolute quality", although in the last two episodes it contains the germ of something that could be a problem in the future, namely, excessive adherence to one of the lines, which potentially might become flogging a dead horse. Surprisingly, however, the problem of the "weakest" fourth season is not in the above so far. The creators handled that more than well not even in the quality of individual lines (they are on the same level as always), but in connecting it all into one coherent whole. There are three separate story lines. Let´s pretend they complement each other (although the one that looks like a major for a long time and eventually fades away and serves more/perhaps as a possible start for the next season), but one is completely sidelined from start to finish. It´s remote, far from all events, in another place and with different characters. Which, to a large extent, also applies to the fifth season, where the disarray and absent-mindedness is even more noticeable. With the only difference that the main story line is even more highlighted and slightly better. Unusual, however, is the final duo of bittersweet "epilogue" episodes, which close the chapter of one era. It seems, with regard to the building blocks of the series, almost out of place, as if they come from a completely different series (à la Soprano). After all, it is the fault of Audiard and we can clearly that he is the one responsible. But after five seasons, it starts work properly. It is completely justified as a conclusion of one era.* Your real task will be to destroy the lives of people who are not necessarily bad. They are only foreigners who work for their country and have access to information important to our security. People that we call villains just because they live on the opposite side of the border and know the things their government wants to keep secret at all costs. | S1: 5/5 | S2: 5/5 | S3: 5/5 | S4: 4/5 | S5: 5/5 |

The dark side of politics depicted using ambitious mayor of Dunkirk. Basically exactly what Netflix Marseille or Spin wanted to be. Namely, an advanced amoral uncompromising political thriller about all-able politicians who, with French charm and grace, put intriguing political knives into their backs (through turncoats, manipulation with distribution of subsidies, strikes, etc.) in the style of House of Cards or Boss. Except that not only is the politics of the highest political levels played here, but also everyday lives of normal people affected by it are shown here. Just a good old French school depicted in eight hours, based on non-template characters as well as on captivating course of grudge. The only flaw is the fact that while Rickwaert's motivation, which drives him forward, is clear, it´s not the case of Dorendeu/Laugier.| S1: 4/5 |

The more raw, the more mature. The comic equivalent of the Unforgiven / Gran Torina, in other words thank God it's not an adaptation of Old Man Logan, but an uncompromising advanced neo-western road movie from the department of "no change that things will go better, we just need to last till our death". It's just another Eastwood movie about the autumn of the life of an icon tortured by inner demons, only the footage is unreasonably long.

What is the second Raid movie compared to the first movie, is the first chapter of John Wick compared to the first one, let´s put it this way, creators learned from their own mistakes. We have not had the opportunity to watch something like this in Czech cinemas for a long time, something with such a clear, diverse (the monotony of action of the first movie is long gone) and above all an imaginative composition, aesthetics and choreography of true contact action scenes. And if, in addition, the "obligatory plot frame as a makeweight" is not really a make weight, then what more to ask for an uncompromising straightforward action from the old school? Perhaps just an imaginary icing on the cake in the form of graduating of the memorable final shootout in the gallery also of the equally memorable one-on-one duel, third round of "Wick vs. Cassian" would call for it.

A case from "and now what" department, i.e. when it´s sometimes not possible to distinguish between guilty and innocent person even when your conscience is clear. A large family living the American dream until the wife falls down the stairs and dies in her husband's arms. It soon becomes clear that there is something strange about the tragic accident. On the one hand, there is a lot of blood and wounds on her head that simply could not be resulting from a fall from the stairs, on the other hand, there is no bruised skull or any brain swelling or splashes of blood at the crime scene. On the one hand, there is the central expert analysis of a man who was later convicted of false testimonies (which does not mean that he gave it in this case), on the other hand, the fact that years ago the husband was suspected of another strange fall from the stairs (which does not mean that he caused it). And these are just some of the facts of this case, there are much more discrepancies, weird things and questions without answers. In addition, several years of lawsuits, a crumbling family, conspiracy and alternative theories of the public and... And none of this interests the author of the document (to be fair, he already partially reflected it several years earlier in a series depicting the defense's preparations for the trial). For him, a one-sided portrait of a husband accompanied by plaintive violin, complaining of his lawyers about the corruption of the system, etc. is crucial. Not that it would be bad or uninteresting (on the contrary, it is quite impressive due to intimacy), but with all this being said, if they had tried a little bid hard the ambition could have been exploited more than just depicting simple agitation for liberation. All happy families are similar, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. With this quote from Tolstoy it could be concluded, because nothing captures this "noir of family relationships" better than Anna Karenina 's introductory sentence.

All happy families are similar, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. With this quote from Tolstoy it could be concluded, because nothing captures this "noir of family relationships" better than Anna Karenina 's introductory sentence. A series about how trifling disputes about silly things can irreconcilably tear family bonds for decades. A series on how these substitute disputes replace solutions to real problems that are being ignored and everyone pretends they don´t exist. A series about how we can make others believe in our version of events so that we can live with ourselves. It´s simply a series about a family you know/have. It takes time with the exposure and the characters. The style of the creators of the first series of Damages is clearly recognizable in this, not only by its structure and perhaps even by the superfluous allusions of events to come. We could praise the script, the charm of holiday free of the dark side of paradise on the Florida Keys, the characters and performances, but ... But it is not necessary. Everything is above standard, almost excellent. The driving force of the action are the characters. The characters are not only puppets in there story packed with twists, turns and cliffhangers. However, the building block of the series is worth pointing out, namely tension (and performances) between Ben Mendelsohn in the role of the black sheep of the family and Kyle Chandler as the "good guy" brother, whose actions are the embodiment of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". On the contrary, Mendelsohn is a type of character that everyone knows well, because everyone has one in their surroundings. Someone you like to wake up with once in a while because he has great stories to tell and is never boring, but you would not want to live with him, because he simply attracts problems. He always gets into troubles and always know how to solve every problem. At least that´s what he thinks. And just how Mendelsohn coped with (more precisely he just drank and smoked heavily and was sad all the time) this "well-known to everyone role" is admirable. The above applies to the alone standing first season, as the second season is spare (unlike the final third). Which is paradoxical, because it's still eye-catching, albeit full of padding (actually everything except John's central story line). However, with regard to what the creators have to follow and what characters they have to do without, it´s not bad. Which, on the other hand, is not something insignificant, like this can be said about the lengthy patchwork, which it inevitably is. However, a nice one. That´s for sure. The third "I think... they´re all lying." season is completely free from any padding (except for the Ozzy story line) and it is very good, although from the final episodes you can tell that the creator originally wanted to make more series and only because they were stopped they ended the series hastily. To put an end to this after the trial, would be better than launching new story lines and try to deal with the outstanding case. It seems as if the creators only learned about the fact that this is the last season during the filming, because the structure of the first half is perfect. Only the last three episodes are "kind of weird" in many ways.". | S1: 4/5 | S2: 3/5 | S3: 4/5 |

Israeli response to documentary crime series about tangled cases with social overlap similar to The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst or Making a Murderer. In terms of quality and "unrealistic moments" and as a plot of the fiction, it wouldn't work simply because it´s to excessive. The biggest difference is in the structure, as only four episodes here are conceived as four views of the case of the brutal murder of a thirteen-year-old girl on school grounds. An Ukrainian guy who does not speak the language and whose working permit run out already is soon accused. The first episode is made from the point of view of investigators and everything seems clear. The second episode is made from the point of view of defence lawyers, when most of the evidence and conclusions are refuted or at least a doubt is sowed. The third episode is "conspiratorial", as there are still so many questions about the case that entire discussion forums addressing even smallest published details were founded. Consequences such as cyberbullying or individuals hungry for attention came up soon after. In the last episode we can see a "shocking twist" when years later a witness comes up with a different version of the story and... Or maybe not. The biggest snag of the series is that the creators were unable to take full advantage of the very simulating social overlap, i.e. it is not given the necessary space. A lot of different topics are mentioned, namely the rigidity of the courts, favoring security forces, the public's attitude toward immigrants as easy targets, child cruelty, and more. But it is only briefly mentioned and not "documented" as in the case of the mentioned genre standards.