Kaka

The premise is estimated to be about 45 minutes of film material and the 113-minute running time is quite noticeable in some passages, but it is good for Chiwetel Ejiofor's directorial debut. The compelling story of a boy who manages to save the life of his family and village with a clever invention is filmed simply, with a few key and clearly delineated characters and their interactions and connections with each other, plus the misunderstanding of his father, the corruption of the government and the hard life in a poor country in the middle of Africa - as a necessary peppering of the plot. All the key points are sketched out decently and the narrative value is worthwhile, even if the film doesn't usually go completely in depth and rather just skims the surface and focuses primarily on one level.

A gritty low-budget historical drama that can hold its ground compared to its Western friends. A fine Mads Mikkelsen as a soft-spoken retired captain, a great villain escalating the pissed-offness of both the protagonist and the viewer, and a magical landscape of Danish moorland wilderness, very impressively shot by Rasmus Videbaek. I expected a tougher finale, but it somehow fell into a romantic template, but it was not a big deal and Bastard retained its toughness and dignity.

The wildest season of the series with several over-the-top twists, indiscriminately fantastically staged, and a shocking finale, ending with the most gruesome vote in corporate history, with a perfect punchline that makes clear sense and, dare I say, couldn't have fit together any better. A screenwriting masterclass.

Like Game of Thrones or Yellowstone, Succession manages to create a unique, self-contained world with its own rules and ecosystem. Moreover, this is complemented by masterfully written, tangible, physical, fragile and strong characters full of different moods, conflicting attitudes, great interactions and moving ideologies. How deep and far the creators went in the psychology of each character and their anchoring in the imitation of the modern-day corporate high-profile world is quite impressive and a unique feat. It's been a fantastic ride, without exception all four seasons have been good, but I'm inclined to think not to add any more. For one thing, it's not really helped by some of the shocking twists in the last season, and secondly there's been enough of the negative stuff already. That is, unlike the series mentioned above, where you could find your favorite good and bad characters, Succession has a completely unique position in that NO character here is like or worthy of any kind of cheering. And watching 40 episodes of a battle of spineless turds can be too much of a mouthful at times, even for a jaded viewer.

The third season lacks the originality of the first and the intense drive of the second. The middle feels a bit inconsistent to the point of being muddled, and some of the family etudes are not as interesting or entertaining as the usual corporate chessboard brawl. While the finale hits it again at level 100, and Tuscany, not to mention Lake Como, are a nice twist to the mostly New York backdrop of iron and concrete, the high point of the series so far has been elsewhere. Still, it's top production quality and a brilliantly layered series with an uncompromising appeal to the superiority and power of the rich.

While the firs season benefited primarily from an interesting and novel idea of how raw and authentic the corporate world of billionaire families can be and introduced us to characters in a very peculiar way that made you keep looking for signs of some good (without finding any), the second season focuses primarily on the characters and further develops their inner and outer worlds, their interaction with each other and their individual ideological characteristics. A freak show of slick suited and costumed elegance, driving Mercedes and sailing yachts, where the daily stress and hustle is dealt with in a kill or be killed way, because the winner gets everything. A corporate series with by far the most flamboyant and layered characters far and wide. All credit to the creators because they have given enormous care to each character and the result is also enormously good accordingly.

Doug Liman off the chain. A decently executed summer testosterone romp that's funny and manages to mix humour, self-parody and action, with a backdrop of the sun-drenched Keys at its back. A worthy remake to the awful original, plus an ensemble cast that has resuscitated Jake Gyllenhaal's action career (all honours to his physical form), and discovered the acting, or rather comedic, potential of Conor McGregor. It's a shame about some of the appallingly handled digital shots and botched editing, but within the context of an action flush with no higher ambitions, relative satisfaction.

Watching Succession, you feel as if Paul Greengrass was behind the camera and Martin Scorsese wrote the dialogue, with the actors free to improvise at will. A heavy-weight corporate and family drama against which Billions is just slicked up tinsel for IT geeks. There's dirt, mud, malice and real intrigue. The first season hasn't reached a boiling point yet, but one can assume the next will.

With a bit of exaggeration, you could say of this colossal film it is about the USSR fighting the Arabs for oil and the Americans pulling the strings. Dune: Part Two is the pinnacle of modern big screen in every way. From the engaging storytelling, to the sound design, the fantastic sets, the visual effects, the sound and Hans Zimmer's beauty. Hands down, this a brilliant job by the filmmakers and the actors. A monumental epic that for years was considered unfilmable has succeeded for the second time. Everybody says it can't be done, until somebody does it. And that somebody is Denis Villeneuve. The event of the year – the riding of the worm and the duel between Chalamet and Butler are absolute cinematic delights. And the whiners who will complain about the final third and who knows what else are not worth addressing.

The opposite of Le Mans in many ways. In terms of time narrative, it is a small, intimate racing film, a study of the tormented genius of Enzo Ferrari from the surprising perspective of a family drama, not a flashy driving symphony of speedsters. It's not that there's no driving, and it even has a nicely retro tone with an extreme dose of realism and physicality (except for those awful digital flying cars), but Enzo's living room, bedroom and office are the primary focus. Michael Mann has made a dream come true, in a largely un-Hollywood, non-mainstream way. It's going to be hard to make a lot of money with this film, but the production values are solid. It's not the genre we're used to with Mann, and some of his traditional trademarks are not and can't be here, but he hasn't disgraced himself.