Crimson Peak Review

 Usually I'm not very fond of the horror movies. Most of them lack a basic quality and original ideas. Others are filled with greasy horror ideas rather than choosing a more clever psychological angle. This years' thriller Sicario showed a good example that it's enough to have loads of tension with a mystery background to nail it. Maybe, that's exactly that movies are lacking these days coming  out as too revealing and destroying the whole mystique aura right away.
  Sadly this was also the case for this movie. It would of been just enough to show us that something was off with with two foreigners after their first appearance. But the creators had to go as far as making main characters to spill out their evil plans 20 minutes into the movie. The only thing left for us to sort out was which sibling is more evil. But starting of with  the dirty laundry first let me continue with the positives.

 First of all, this movie brought my attention as true dark Gothic story. It was a concept that nobody tried to get their hands on for a while for some reason. Old dark houses can help to create a perfect atmosphere and bring your darkest dreams alive. For us 19th century manners, style, costumes becomes no less of a ghost from a past itself, so it's a very good place for the real spirits to show up. The entire cast also made a good job of making the story to come alive. The main theme included a deep thought, that it's not the ghosts we should be afraid of, but rather the people who can affect you directly.
  If I could choose my final rating would be somewhere around 7, just because there's so much more to be found here than in typical movies of this genre.

War & Peace Review

  By the beginning of this month BBC has debuted with new 6 episode mini-series War & Peace based on Leo Tolstoy original novel. The story shows on lives of  wealthy Russian aristocratic families between the Napoleon wars. It mostly focuses on the youngsters and their efforts to find themselves in  an ever changing world with getting to know what love and betrayal is, balancing between the will of their parents and all the unfortunate circumstances.
  The show flourishes with all the wonderful costumes and unique backgrounds that can easily pull you into the rhythm of 19th century. Of course it's not without flaws either. Some of the dresses, especially the ones of what Helene wears, seems to belong to an entire different century, and you might truly have all the rights to say that there's quite enough of intrigues to remind us of modern TV. But all the great work done with filming, musical background and some great acting helps to cover weaknesses of the plot. I'm happy to see much more than one dimensional stuff coming from the leading characters and hope for further focus here.
 I'm currently 4 episodes in and what a drama last nights' episode produced! It makes to come back for more. Some say the series are to short to cover the grand story that the original book produces. And yes, you get the feeling that most of the action is being rushed. I believe that the book should help to cover all the blind spots, but before that lets see what the future brings to the show.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Review

It's a surprisingly good year for all the spy movies! After all the unexpected that came from Kingsman: The Secret Service early on, now we can look up to another amazing piece of cinema or just The Man from U.N.C,L.E. It's a movie based on mid-1960's TV series. I promise that even by missing half of a century older original show you won't feel robbed in any way. This film could be called a perfect combination of everything. Though, it might not surprise you with an incredible weaponry or ground breaking twists, it is for sure a classic and a must see for everyone who enjoys a good spy movie.
The whole story starts in the early 1960's with true unlike companions CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin having to participate in a mission against mysterious criminal organisation developing nuclear weapons.

All original costumes and decorations  were a  great fit for a 1960's spy scene atmosphere. The other thing I really enjoyed seeing was the chemistry between the leading actors as well as their own performances totally fulfilling their roles. And who could forget Armie Hammer's Russian accent, just a  job well done! Overall, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a movie with a great taste and who could say no for that sort of thing?

Rate: 8 out of 10

Pretty Little Liars Mid Season Finale Review: Game Over, Charles

That's really all what we've been waiting for, is't it? A is finally fully revealed, all questions truly answered. For a show like Pretty Little Liars it really looked like an impossible task for the last 5 years. Various finales and reveals did sent as to completely different, even super drastic directions. And while questions were never fully answered, show kept on going with more new secrets and theories intact. At one point it became obvious that there was far too many twists going on to make a story too tangled up and avoid ridiculous explanation.
Although, we all seem expect for clear answers, it kind of feels that none of us truly wants them. This show was never about answers, it's about getting lost in enormous labyrinth and meeting another dead end when you're just about to see light by the of the tunnel.
This weeks episode was a good example of that. Again, it is one of the shows which does not flourish in any particular category, but is addicting enough to reach huge following anyway. With those points covered, A's reveal came as a big shock to me. Rumors said that Wren should of been mega mastermind behind all of this. And suddenly a mysterious guy appears to be girl after all !? Although, after hearing the full story it seems that writers made this move to stick, it just wasn't as convincing as it could of been. As well as this storytelling episode was not as good as the other thrilling finales, but I guess we tend to enjoy mystery more. Yet with another cliffhanger (only not so surprising for this time) we leave summer just to meet in a winter again. And the story is destined repeat itself time after time again.

True Detective Season 2

And here we are! Season 2 of True Detective is finally over and it looks like the right time to jump right into the conclusions after one and half an hour mega finale. I did not miss a single episode every week, but only now it seems right to rate it after the show gave it's all. Or did it?

To be fair, first four episodes were slow and didn't give the satisfaction of any sorts whatsoever. Although, the first episode caught enough of my attention to jump right into season one,  it was all over the place. I struggled to like actors I usually respect, because everything they had to say was exaggerated. I struggled to get familiar with their intriguing stories, because the whole big city-corruption background just wasn't right. The character I used to hate the most was Frank for his long irrelevant talks which helped me to catch myself in a sleep. And that just didn't seem right. I absolutely loved long monologues of Rust from season one, but it just didn't stick for the second time in a row with a different character.
Everything changed by the end of episode 4 and the shootout which came out of nowhere. You can not sit and choose to not react to scenes like that, they can almost blow your mind. Although, I believe that True Detective really got it's mojo back in episode 6, when things did really get interesting enough for me to impatiently wait for the outcome. Well, but did it bring what I asked?
First, I have to mention that the end was very different from what we've seen last season. Leaving only one standing might of been a cliche move, but this time very fitting, I have to say. "We get the world we deserve" easily translates to "we get what we deserve".  Sadly to say redemption doesn't always release you from your sins, but it helps to move on. I really liked how Ray's and Frank's (which grew a lot as a character since the beginning) stories were ended. On the other hand, Paul caught me as a huge surprise or indicator of change if you can call it that way. In the end I was surprised that Bezzerides did not do anything foolish. And it was easy to hate bad guys even more, which I would see as good sign. We saw characters' stories ending, but their legacy stands with us.

The main downfall of the show was the lack of surprises. The big story behind the closed doors was not enough to satisfy the viewer. Maybe it was just those same old typical characters that we would be able to find in every gangster movie, which were responsible of the sinking ship situation. Mystique makes the show extra special, but an old script shouting "I've already seen it somewhere" can only take you up to a certain level and nothing more.

Rate 7 out of 10.

True Detective Season 1 Review

Usually I know that I have found that perfect thread of gold when I can't stop thinking about it. It's like a deja vu virus which catches you and makes to come back to the same spot over and over again.
Obsession is not exactly what you would call a healthy experience, but no one really pays attention.

For the first time I have caught a side of series during the commercial breaks of F1 coverage. The second season was on the way TV people had to spread the word about the comeback of hugely successful series. With my hands full of time I've decided to give it a go. With the first episode of second season making an impression of very tangled but kind of promising show I came back to the original series to see the full potential.

This time I was hooked starting from the very beginning of the first episode. Somehow it seemed that this ritual murder would be very different from the likes you would find on well known detective shows. Deeper and darker than ever.. However if you would take a close notice the show was never really about a single one murder it was more about the lives and relationship of two detectives who decided to solve it.

Both the acting and the scenario were great. And there's just some kind of misery about those swamps of Louisiana that pulls you right in doesn't let go until the end. All of those different people, religious communities seem to become objects of suspicion right away. I believe there was a perfect background of  those never ending Rust's speeches, and yet it didn't seemed like there's enough of them. Definitely, one of the deepest detective dramas out there, just one of the kind.

F1 British GP 2015

Having quite a few days passed after the last F1 race hosted in Silverstone it might look like a history already. However, from a fan's perspective that could be remembered as the most exiting race of the year with bits and pieces of everything.

If we would took notice only of the final result it might seem like a funny business as per usual:

"So, how was the race?"
"Great, very exiting"
"Who was the winner?"
"Lewis Hamilton"

Well yeah, not much excitement surrounding the final result, but the controversy of what could of happened always looks more juicy than real news.
And we could of been talking about a 1-2 victory of mighty fast Williams if it would of come all their way during the race. And why not? Their quick start and overtake of both dominating Mercedes cars should of raised a bunch of eyebrows. The race is on - that's what every single one of us should of recognized afterwards. Who knows, maybe if Massa released Bottas which seamed to had been faster at the time, maybe that could of helped to save the lead. And many fans seemed to be angry about this kind of lack of reaction from Williams side of garage up until Hamilton won the highest spot after pitting first.
Well, after the first part of the race the excitement came back when everyone started counting time for the rain to start. I believe it was the first rainy race of the year and oh boy oh boy how many of us have waited for this. With Silverstone being such a long track as it is, parts of the track became slippery quite quickly with rain starting to come as there was still quite a lot of dry patches for a while. This slow start made a lot of confusion in between the teams. While some drivers found it hard to stay on the track, others found the better end of the stick as besides the pits most of the track has stayed relatively dry. 4 drivers went straight on intermediates and immediately fell short as it was too dry for their tires. Others made a choice too late and lost a large chunks of time and let me say those Williams seemed terrible in the wet. While exactly two drivers got it right - Hamilton and Vettel. Well, the biggest improvement could be seen from Vettel - driving in 8th for most part of the race and jumping into third. Impressive! The unluckiest pair must definitely be Williams duo for loosing shot at the podium after leading the race. But the unexpected is really what we love. Don't we?

Score: 8,5 out of 10