DaViD´82

When it comes to movies or series about first responders, pathos is sort of part of the territory; it simply comes naturally with the job for those who put their lives on the line every day. It becomes a problem, however, when the filmmakers are unable to judge the correct and bearable degree. If there is a little more of it than just right, it becomes inadvertently ridiculous very quickly. However, the creators of Chicago Fire have managed to find the right measure (so far). They don't need to celebrate the fire department with slow motion footage of a puppy being carried out of a fiery inferno - they simply let them get on with their job. Of course, it is adapted for the eye of the viewer; thus, the frequency of breathtaking and dramatic emergency call-outs is too frequent and somewhat over the top. However, all emergency response scenes work without exception; partially because there are no solo superhero stunts (which, on the contrary, would rather add work for colleagues); instead, there is a realistic interplay of many team members, where everyone has a precise role. Individual characters are also well depicted; everyone’s personal life is ruined (if they are lucky enough to have any at all) and they no longer expect any gratitude. The people they have rescued don’t tend to offer words of thanks but lawsuits. It's basically a big-budget, uncynical, American version of the British series Sirens about everyday heroes and, of course, an unacknowledged Third Watch spin-off. As far as the production is concerned, it’s pleasing that the creators are not afraid to take advantage of photogenic Chicago, and thanks to the budget, it looks and sounds good. And so far, only the Barbie-like duo of female paramedics is a nuisance; compared to the male ensemble (whom, in addition to male charisma also has acting talent), it is an eye sore.

Study material for political scientists among us. Machiavellianism as a real, unadorned face of (not only) overseas everyday politics à la season four of The Wire. Kelsey Grammer as the most charismatic (not to be confused with the nicest) character of contemporary TV broadcasting. A big city atmosphere like from Mann. On the outside cold, but under the surface overflowing with emotions - emotions from the dark side of the human soul, it should be said. The best, but also the least “viewer-friendly" drama series around, even despite the redundant (but good) storyline with the daughter, the full-frontal sex or the one-dimensional, supporting characters. And when David Novotný is at least another ten years older, I want to see a similarly uncompromising and truthful local version about Prague City Hall.

Although it took them thirteen years, in the end the Dwarf got a decent new season, that doesn’t just rely on it’s name to find it’s place in the spotlight (that’s right, I’m talking about you, you pesky season nine!). The creators achieved something here that you don’t see very often: a comeback in all its glory that made (and still makes) this legend a legend. For example, I would have no qualms at all about inducting episode two into the dwarf hall of fame. And if season eleven is going to be this high quality, I’ll gladly wait another thirteen years for it.

A Terminator wannabe and the stupidest science fiction movie among the intelligent ones. Longwinded; after the opening few minutes completely without ideas; set in the future only for effect; it is shamefully superficial, it has no rules (neither for time travel nor the simple laws of action/reaction; for instance, the reason behind getting rid of people in such a complex, costly and uncertain way, which it later completely denies), but it has the most annoying child around... It wouldn't matter with a dumb popcorn action movie, but with a movie supposedly based on its "smartness", it makes you want to slap the filmmakers in the face. So there are precisely two pros; the opening quarter of an hour before the well of ideas dries out, and Willis’ dialog-less scene at the first meeting. Just disappointing. And yet it's the best non-action science fiction since Source Code. Which is darn sad.

As for the son Honza, it shouldn’t jump his childhood and adolescence by summing up ten years in two sentences and begin to focus on him at the age of thirty. If it was meant to record the ups and downs of a regular family against the background of Czech(oslovak) history of the past forty years, it would have to go into much greater depth (impact of post-revolution changes etc.) and not to just cut in a couple of New Year’s Speeches and a little reading of diaries, when the family doesn’t have the chance to say anything more interesting than “such and such a year: our first car". But this way, this is only about our bard Karel Gott and his typical “little-Czechness", meaning he would have even sung Happy Birthday to Hitler, if the era demanded. So what was Třeštíková trying to prove? Hard to say, but the result is identical to a visit to see elderly in-laws, who without fail immediately reach for the family album as soon as you appear at the door.

Style-wise (not quality-wise) half way between Justified and Walker. An old-school crime series, resting heavily on the main protagonist and a little-seen corner of the USA, which unfortunately loses points for swaying too and fro. It can’t decide whether to be mainly a crime series with a storyline running throughout the series and with a case here and there or a classic with a separate case each episode, without any central connecting story. When it finds itself falling into the first situation, it suddenly pulls out, resulting in a weird kind of hybrid: neither dog or cat... For instance, Vic’s difficult marriage: here and there there is some important talk about it, but it never leads anywhere and in the end it all seems superfluous and like they ran out of ideas; the same with the situation concerning the elections, Longmire’s past in the reservation etc. Perhaps the creators will take a lead from Justified which learned surprisingly well from its (almost identical) first season errors.

The sincerity and naivety of youth. In many ways the same as today, and in many ways different. Particularly the part about traveling abroad provokes a gloomy smile. If only they knew... Well, in any case this is outstanding and still has something to say today. Too bad that it’s all jumbled up together; this half-hour documentary seems to have no concrete form or direction.

A stylish cinema release and a dreamlike cast in an excellent redneck gangster film capturing a specific sultry atmosphere. Actually, the whole thing only reaches the final twenty minutes, because instead of a build-up, it gradually fizzles out; and that to a complete loss.

The reform of the Camorra and its journey back to the top in one of the best mafia movies of all times. This applies to the first half which focuses on relationships and takes place inside the prison and one town and is mainly about the professor (the phenomenal Ben Gazzara who interpreted this role identically to Toni Servillo, thirty years later, in his role of Andreotti). Less so to the second half which is about the organization as such and the Camorra begins to break into global drug trafficking and dabble in high-level politics, influencing state-funded monster contracts. If you have read Saviano’s “Gomorra", you probably have a very good and precise idea of what the second part of this picture is about. The problem is that because of moving into this ground, the focus becomes so wide and ambitious that the characters are moved to the background, it starts to be very brief and simplified and so the viewer loses the unbounded enthusiasm that he had at the start. The problem is this feature-movie cut; I believe that the TV five-hour version doesn’t suffer from this, because the individual sections are perfection in themselves; they just don’t hold together very well. In any case, although this was Tornatore’s debut, this is the first of his many timeless masterpieces.

Aaron Sorkin is cool in the end, although his idea of reporting has absolutely nothing in common with our staple news, because with Sorkin the reporters actually want to inform about something meaningful (don’t confuse this with impartial reporting, because here we have tendentious news with a more Republican bias for the “white man", full of old-fashioned, lofty ideals). Simply a classic Sorkin movie with all the trimmings, this time set in a news environment. If you expect numerous nice (or nasty) characters who, despite a breakneck tempo, are not silent even for one second, but in fact aren’t rambling and really have something to say, then... Your expectations are quite right. But there’s a hitch: it isn’t easy for an actor to manage Sorkin’s moralizing machine-gun-mouth dialogs and not everyone can deliver them without sounding like a parody of themselves. And you have to accept the simple fact that although Sorkin is exceptionally talented and capable dialog/monolog writer, he is only an average storyteller and so it has become a tradition to expect both polished dialogs but also impaired storylines. And in addition to this we can expect an absence of modern guise (not meant visually) or rather this is an old-school series; especially in the superfluous, but bearable relationship part. Season two is just like the first. Of course, there are areas for improvement. It has a storyline that runs throughout the season which is refreshing and puts some excellent characters in front of the camera (and makes for a spin-off for Rebecca Halliday). Yes, in the end there is less room for relationship management escapades and when they occur, they are often dealt with more tastefully and gracefully. The final third season then incomprehensibly dumps the best and sturdiest theme in story material terms (as early as episode two!) in favor of a fan-pleasing melodramatic homage to relationships “him with her and her with him" (or: who didn’t yearn for the slowest and most painful possible death for the Jim/Maggie duo must be a saint, making Jesus look like the epitome of maliciousness in comparison). Plus it stops the interestingly kicked off theme of “the stuffy old media versus a new, predatory media with no scruples, where both sides are equally right as they are wrong" in its tracks using personal tirades that don’t even play out (Reese, Elliot and even Neal). And it’s like that pretty much the whole season/series as such. S1: 4/5 S2: 5/5 S3: 3/5