Isherwood

An experience after an experience. And also an internal redefinition of when it still makes sense to pay absurd amounts for sitting in front of a giant screen with a perfect audio set. The well-deserved praise is abundant, so perhaps just to the extent that compared to the first part, it may lack a certain lightness that seemed to stem from Denis Villeneuve's awareness of huge expectations, refusing to make the slightest wrong step. This paradoxically happens at the moment when to fit into a runtime of under three hours, and to keep the widest audience in theaters, especially in the last third, it is edited in a way that you completely feel those missing fragments (especially if you have read it) and mentally beg for another hour. But otherwise, it is all we fervently wished for two years. It is an absolute peak of Hollywood craftsmanship in the best possible form. It is a visual masterpiece and total overkill of cinematic sound design, to which Hans Zimmer's galactic chorales respectfully yielded. For the first time, I truly understood how people felt forty years ago when they were shown Star Wars in movie theaters.

A masterpiece! Even twenty years later. When the series premiered, "Medal of Honor" and "Call of Duty" were being played daily by players. But two decades have passed, and over time you gain some experience, learn a few things, and thanks to media coverage, the war is actually online on our phones, and suddenly we perceive the ten-hour colossus is completely differently. That senseless massacre in the Ardennes is no longer as cool, and neither are the torn bodies. Suddenly, there are ten mini-stories about one huge bit of determination, about real "ordinary men" who did "extraordinary things," which stands precisely on the edge of a celebratory ode and simple military pathos, never sliding into kitsch or pleasing flattery. HBO spent an extravagant budget for its time, which the creators pumped into the magnificent set design and huge cast, where mud and snow get under their nails. These small outbursts of humanity (particularly the medic's ordeal) only confirm the power of the storytelling. A genre benchmark and a series standard that continues to dominate in many aspects and leaves most competitors far behind.

The echo of the 90s, sending postcards about villainous AI through a time machine, sometimes appears to have the upper hand over the audience, but do not be lulled by the admitted stupidity, because the running scout Cruise and McQuarrie send it uncompromisingly into the present. It's not about WHAT, but HOW. Seeing a film that layers action scenes with stunt attractions, as well as plot twists of "good guys vs. bad guys vs. (other) bad guys," is an absolute delight for the audience. If Fallout is an amusement park of action entertainment, Dead Reckoning is the top form of creative concentration. Venice may be an early peak, but the climax of the episode with the trains, when the appreciation of the second part of the game "Uncharted" is realized, ultimately closes it off as the peak of this year's popcorn entertainment and easily parks this part of the film series behind the unattainable Rogue Nation.

No family gathering can do without the tipsy uncle drinking a few shots and starting to tell stories. You know that sometimes he exaggerates a lot because you already know the stories from the past, given that they are a notorious part of the family canon, but you still can't resist and you keep listening. If he continued telling stories for a while longer, you would leave the table, but then you don't. The storytelling continues and it's incredible entertainment that has charm and lightness, and you just purr with delight. And even though you know where it's all heading, you're still tense and shaking your head at how everything could have turned out in the end. Then it ends and you are genuinely moved. And then you go rediscover the source from which it all began.

The Mazin-Druckmann paradox. I don't know to what extent I would enjoy it as a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but I wouldn't mind the "tabula rasa" position. Either way, it's a spectacle from an alternative universe where nothing essential is missing and everything extra is just a bonus. If we exclude the long minutes of sneaking and bloody battles, there remain about 8-9 hours of plot material, which is utilized absolutely perfectly. The minimum number of clickers is not the fault of the creators, but it contributes to Joel's experience, who leads the journey thoughtfully, and all encounters with them are moments when the well-thought-out plan falls apart. I discuss my minor objections in more detail in the reviews for the individual episodes. Otherwise, I am extremely satisfied.

It wasn’t time that did it. [Probably spoilers.] There we have it. Joel in a 'raging' mode and especially the memorable final conversation that "made" the game, once again got to me like it did years ago. What is "good," where does the greater interest lie, and what are we (not) capable of sacrificing for others? It cannot be judged; it can only be endlessly debated.

David's community deserves one more comprehensive episode, but even so, they abundantly fulfill Sartre's words that hell is other people. Even though Cordyceps is God.

This is a directing masterclass, no irony in that. Or how the Bosnian director of award-winning festival dramas came up with one of the best episodes of an A-series (so far). It has a completely different feel from the previous episodes. The cinematography goes into more detail, making full use of the snowy scenery, the actors are subdued, and the stark dialogue lets the emotions bubble up through the lids of the morose faces. Then when it spills over (the workshop, the children's room) and comes crashing down on the viewer like an avalanche. It’s an intense and exhausting experience in the best sense.

It affects one’s emotions as effectively as Gustavo on the guitar, which confirms the creative intention to ride the (surprisingly) intimate wave that brings those "big" audience-appreciated moments rather unexpectedly, and only for a while because it is necessary to escape from them. I do really appreciate this, but I don't deny that if the rampaging Bloater had raged a little longer, I wouldn't have objected.

I'm actually amazed at the hunger everywhere, for action and terror, incidentally confirming all the rumors about the toxicity of the gaming community. The series is gradually breaking free from the shackles of the video game and following its own path, whilst keeping a finger on the map. Pedro and Bella were already parked in it like an old pickup truck at a diner window. I am no longer a spectator, but rather pure "cargo" that these two have taken with them.