Kaka

It’s not it. Another dark episode full of black gipsy magic motifs that are pushed to too great an extreme at the expense of the main character's logic and pragmatism – nota bene sober. What lifts the third episode into the average is the character of Ada, who can handle even heavy hitters with nonchalant grace while being perhaps the only one still in oldschool mode from previous seasons.

Gloomy and dark, with bland and lifeless characters. No wonder some people say no alcohol no fun – for the protagonist it's guaranteed, for the creators it's hard to say. The participation of aces in supporting roles could have been much more intense. The political underbelly of the story may have solid potential, but you need to kick the propeller and get the Peaky Fuckin Blinders machine running properly.

A spectacular return that is aesthetically slick, musically heady and damn cool. So cool that the aspects that we love this show about rich assholes so much for – like a good plot and emotional turmoil – start to disappear. It’s still not such a big issue, we’ll see how the next episodes will work out.

Hotel Mumbai works well in every aspect. It is dynamic, the action is authentic, without any slow-motion and similar nonsense that doesn't belong in such films, and most importantly, it avoids the clichés of action thrillers and the problems of the main characters (who are very often not subject to the same rules as other mortals), who are treated realistically and very unsparingly for most of the film. Hotel Mumbai successfully, colourfully and thrillingly reconstructs the 2008 terrorist attack, which did not happen in the advanced Western civilisation, so not many people actually know about it, and the form in which the filmmakers remind us of this event is highly above average.

A light-hearted analysis of adult concerns in a well-balanced comedy with a dominating performance by Ellen Page, though the overall cocktail of scenes, dialogue and other actors is also decent. Indie-emo alternative to all those "real" and big films with similar themes that are taken so seriously. It’s not a cult-classic, but it can be watched in one go.

A rare oddity. Del Toro finally closed his usual toy store and made his most mature film in a long time, if not ever. Nightmare Alley is a dark neo-noir beautiful ride full of strange individuals, obscured motivations and human hardships, all in a phenomenal, delectable visual stylisation, which is elaborated to the smallest detail. It is not a particularly pleasant viewing and some passages drag a bit too much, but it has its highlights and there are quite a lot of them. Surprisingly, the violence can be as intense and experiential as some of the dialogue and interactions between the main characters. Bradley Cooper in an unusual role, which he tackled more than competently.

1 percent cliché, 99 percent authenticity. It's not the most polished, catchy series and probably won't be commercially successful, Tokyo Vice is too hard to read, unpredictable and procedural for that. It must be admitted, however, that the reality of Tokyo's neon and especially its underworld are portrayed brilliantly. It is not surprising that Michael Mann's signature is seen very often. It's a shame about the open-ended finale, because given the overall concept, I worry whether the money-hungry creators/producers will find the first season profitable enough to take on the second one. This is not a routine series for the masses, but a proper depressing ride through the dirty streets of a big city. I mean, not like a sunny, glossy Miami, but still enough "Vice" to keep an experienced viewer interested.

All in all, a very unexpected finale. Some characters are resolved, others are not, but almost everything in the overall is left open and that's a bit of a surprise given the beginning. Whether there’ll be another season, it’s not at all clear. Impressive as a standalone, we have a good script, some surprising scenes, but unsatisfying as the final piece to the mosaic.

The seventh episode lacks a bit of pace and the right cinematic dynamics, but it depicts authentic Tokyo like few other things and, as is usual in this miniseries, it is absolutely unpredictable, without any clichés or crutches. Praise for that, no matter how watchable and audience-appealing it is.

The directorial quality, structure and direction of the whole series goes down a bit, but on the other hand there is quite a lot going on and intense card shuffling. The finale will be interesting.