3DD!3

A succinct summary of Elon's life and, above all, a celebration of his genius, with talking heads taking a relatively uncontroversial and kind view of his past. The dirty laundry stayed home. It doesn't impress, but it doesn't offend either.

A powerful series full of bold narrative experiments. A moralizing work from Fincher about unfathomable sailors throws out the bait and the viewer is hooked until the end. The homage to Lovecraft almost sighs (shame about little glitches - robots instead of Shoggoth and the truncated ending) and the frenetic ending about a deaf miser and the siren had my jaw dropped to the floor. And no shortage of witty moments. Although the return of the Three Robots is no longer such a wow as first time round, but it is still very well-done and Mason’s Rats is an absurdly bloody massacre. Night of the Mini Dead shows the huge scale that the miniatures have to offer and gives the destruction of the earth an even wittier slant. The best season so far.

Well, it just about worked. The rocky road of season four showed that artificial draw-out never produces any good. Some moments are a little over the top and unnecessarily extremely over-combined, but the ending managed to maintain some self-esteem. The satisfying finale is full of intrigue, rows and suspicion. Laura Linney gives an impressive performance and in places is terribly unlikeable and Bateman’s Marty is a saint in comparison. It is almost surprising how their relationship made a complete U-turn. But the main powerhouse is, of course, Julia Garner. The loud-mouthed redneck has grown into the very soul of the Ozark. But it certainly would have helped having four episodes fewer without unnecessary side-stepping and it would have been harder-hitting without so many unnecessary deaths of family members and visitors from god knows where.

Nostalgia pushed to the limits, driven by the human desire to overcome obstacles. Cruise breathes life into this and sets out on the ancient battle between man and the machine meant to replace the man. The test is a Mission Impossible = to destroy an impregnable and almost invisible (probably) Soviet nuclear missile development center. Overall quite current right now... nostalgic but still current. Excellent actors. Primarily Teller and Powell. Equally macho hard-asses as last time learn to work together and keep pushing the limits and Maverick is the boss that is meant to teach them how. This direct and simple story is presented excellently and giving feelings of intense pleasure in just the right places, with the main protagonist looking for a place to belong. The bits with Kilmer are great and Jennifer Connelly is amazing again. Oh, and Tom Cruise carries it all on his shoulders with the strength of the last rightful star in Hollywood. A dying breed. But a chapter in itself. The mucking about at Top Gun is just a warm-up for the final inferno which will bowl you over not only at the IMAX, but even in a regular movie theater. Marvelous maneuvers by the F-18 (and another iconic machine) with gripping dog fights that have the viewer pinned to his seat. For two hours, the world was completely fine; the movie worked wonders on me again - I enjoyed it. Time is your worst enemy!

A wonderfully played game of battle subs under the baton of Tony Scott with a soundtrack by Zimmer which is legendary today. Fresh-faced Washington as the man at the moral helm fights over command with Hackman’s old sea dog. Themes of justice and arguments against mindless obeying of orders and violence are basic, but they work. The atmosphere of impending nuclear holocaust is almost tangible. But better submarine thrillers exist. P.S.: I bet the conversation about the Silver Surfer is Tarantino’s contribution to the script.

In the first episode Michael Mann set the bar high and Tokyo Vice and, also thanks to him, this is one of those shows that at the same time educates the viewer. About Japanese culture and the interpersonal relations, killing and betrayal. Gaijin Adelstein, who personally experienced these events and wrote a book about them oversees the practical side of this from his producer’s chair and so the neon lights are shining a little more authentically than we are used to from American productions. The realistic slow tempo and following the development of the individual characters pays off more and more with every episode. Not much action, but that makes it all the more earthy. The acting is impeccable. Despite initial doubts, Elgort proved himself in the end. Apart from the bullshit at the end, Keller was excellent (meth clouds the mind!), while Watanabe doesn’t take any chances. My favorite from the first round has to be the complex cop, Hideaki Itô; he is the perfect counter-balance for the good and evil that the police has to give. A wonderfully begun show and I look forward to season two. Lie Down With Dogs Rise Up With Fleas!

No murder without body... these stories about photographers from various war zones are real eye-openers. These strongly polarized countries stricken with civil war show what can happen if power falls into the wrong hands. The most powerful episode is definitely Rio which kept its eyes firmly shut during preparations for hosting the Olympic Games. The shots of dead bodies hidden in sewers or charred remains that look more like rotten tree roots than a body are harrowing sights.

Barantini serves up pure hell on a golden tray. Graham’s chef experiences the worst shift in his life. A packed restaurant, a visit from the hygiene department, a well-known food critic accompanied by a mate who owes him money and his ex-wife on the phone complaining that he didn’t wish his son a good night. Mistakes by the staff, bad communication, no time to spare. Boiling Point is about extremes, but real life can be just this fraught. Maybe this might not happen during one shift, but over the course of a week, but even so... The pressure is immense and unbearable. The question isn’t whether, but when...

A hippo, a crocodile and a bird walk into a bar and a fight begins... Moon Knight is slightly different from what you might expect. Which on the one hand is fine and on the other is really bad. The violent and bloody potential is approached rather naughtily. We do get dead bodies and bloody slaughter, but unfortunately the killing happens in a flash, so the viewer misses everything and just gets to see the hero with a pile of dead bodies around him, looking in bewilderment at his blood-covered hands. But the storyline with the changing personalities peaking in the psychiatric hospital is excellent. Unfortunately the quality of episodes isn’t balanced. The ones directed by Diab lack oomph and the scenes roll out, like on a conveyor belt. Conversely, Moorhead and Benson are playful, surprising and they add the oh-so-important atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty. Isaac was excellently cast; the only problem I can find is the way Spector turns soft in the final episodes. It’s easy to watch and, yes, unexpectedly rough for a Disney; Moon Knight had as much potential as Deadpool, but they failed to take full advantage of it. But it’s a good watch, all the same.

A playful, but rather oversimplified sequel to the story about an arrogant surgeon who turned his hand to magic takes us to other worlds, but also into his subversive inner self. During the opening of the movie, Raimi came up with a surprise parallel on the west Russian conflict, and also with an ending involving a demonic resurrection and all-in-all inconsistent storytelling. The second Strange would have benefitted from about a half hour extra to give Raimi the chance to give the multiverse a good long cuddle and also give the sub-stories the chance to take off a bit. I don’t believe that Waldron’s screenplay was to blame; this is more like studio intervention to bring the running time down to a more sensible length. The guest appearances are fine as a whole, but I’m not at all thrilled about one choice by casting department, so that means minus one point. The horror make-up is awesome (eyeballs dropping out of sockets!), but rotting cadavers, impressive deaths and pieces of body dropping off indicate that Disney is willing to turn a blind eye occasionally and please orthodox fans with a bit of gore. But will it be enough? Are you happy?