Reviews

Thank you, MTV crew, for the raw edgy uninsulated insight into how the cruel war breaks human lives but not the dignity and faith. The war is zoomed on by the prism of two Ukrainian girls safely evacuated to welcoming Poland (thank you, Polish sisters-and-brothers-in-arm). Their Dads are left behind in Ukraine, one fighting, another in reserves, and the very thought of a possibility of never seeing them again flashes here and there through the movie. The same is true the crouching thought asked to themselves if girls would stay in Poland or wherever in Europe - the echo of the dilemma which Ukraine's societal and economic fabric anticipates with hope or dread. A skilled snapshot of how Ukraine braced itself for new and new challenges back in summer and early fall 2022. Thank you!

You start suspecting something is fishy from the end of Episode 1 and you make a choice if to continue watching. When Episode 4 unravels as a laughing stock of the most unrealistic and sloppy turn of events, you belatedly acknowledge you choice had been dismal. Poor acting, abysmal plot, sketchy characters, ghost police, undeveloped family members, posh suburbia contrasted against rednecks - all ingredients you need to create a sleezy flop. And whatever channels you have been flipping, you inevitably encounter Rhashan Stone. But even in a sleepy McDonald and Dodds his acting was more convincing then in this pseudo drama of tired middle class.

The long demanding exhausting movie is permeated with Eastern European scent. The legacy of the poor relatives and backyards of Europe is recognisable in every excruciating detail for those who had grown up there. Smallish crowded kitchens with dilapidated cabinets. Worn out light switches which were the same in Bucharest or Kyiv. Long tables if unfolded occupy the whole living room and you squeeze yourself out to get to your seat. Low-waged doctors who downshift to medical equipment salesmen. And the family saga which unfolds painfully slow and mesmerisingly absorbing. Once you are on the other side of the film equator you cannot but start guessing what the hell is going on in this family. Cutting of the movie is so unorthodox that you start wondering if there had been any cutting at all.

The writer and a director is a household name in Ukraine after she has catapulted herself into fame with the meritorious TV series To Catch the Kaidash.

For the latter, Natalya Vorozhbit has served as the writer and a showrunner. She has transplanted the 19th century classic Ukrainian novel into nowadays reality where all Ukrainians recognized themselves and their troubles and guilty pleasures. The whole country has been swept away with the master craft.

Now Mrs. Vorozhbit has made her way into the big screen, and the start is vertiginous. 100 minutes of the grilling movie is painful experience to stomach and to delve into. As Ukraine goes through the catharsis of the war in the East, one might expect that the movie, especially propped up with a dole of public funds, would transgress into a piece claining, albeit subtly, the righteousness of our case.

Far from it. The war is cruel and demanding for both sides, and especially for those caught in between as the DUI-ed headmaster of Popasna School N3 who launches a string of interconnected novellas.

After the third episode when the gates of the hell seem to have widely open, you are plunged into the seemingly innocent mild road incident when a strayed hen is killed. Would you expect what you see from a pair of peasants whose rusted shaving razors are piled in a filth sink?

It is still evident that the dramaturgic power of Vorozhbit, given her experience, still dominates over her cinematography. Details are gripping as the aftertaste and anticipation of more to come from this ascented star of Ukraine's cinema and theater.

I had had many questions on what a Kyivite Vadim Perelman has been doing after he had out of a blue shot a magnificent House of Sand of Fog - until I read his column in Ukraine's Forbes. He openly shuns those movies he has done interregnum. With this movie the great director is back. Gripping narrative, masterful cutting, edgy mastercraft of both protagonists and of supporting staff. You may forgive certain inconsistencies for the sake of unrolling immersing story. Perelman's success seems to rest upon outstanding books and scripts on which his movies are based. So let us wish him next time pick up the lucky book in the airport when he flies from LAX to Kyiv Boryspil.

The movie leaves a lingering aftertaste of an action movie turned a Christmas comedy. The FBI of Trump times has descended into a sewage pool of Dumb and Dumber. Protocols are no longer in place as two agents (they somehow had fooled all admission integrity screening tests) rush to a self-storage to retrieve money on their own and unbeknownst to bosses. The boss himself with a twisted arm happily waves it a sec after it was damaged and loudly cracked in a fight. The boss returns a lost gun to a wayward agent as if nothing fishy and incriminating had happened. A lady escapes the hospital unnoticed despite her concussion. The movie is so plagued with inconsistencies and cheap twists that it is saved by Tazzier the dog who deserved the FBI badge and Boston views. Fights are staged on the Gothic cathedral steps and against the background of its brownstones. I reckon the city has contributed to the movie budget.

So sad to see one more star to fade and cripple. Does Russell follow the path of Nicolas Cage, Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp? This C movies leaves no doubts about that - he does. He would better let this script go than agree to attach his name to it. Even worse, his acting is horrendously one-dimensional. And I agree with previous reviewer - one courtesy honk from a similarly one-dimensional lady, and this disaster movie would have never occurred

The movie is great not only in both powerful and subtle delivery of its message but also in construing incessant details which recreate the habitat of Georgia and Tiflis. Being seen from Ukraine, those details are storytelling and captivating. The electricity is cut off in Merab's and David's flat; this tells a lot to those who happen to know not only about Georgian blackouts but also about utilities enforcing the payment of electricity bills. Have you noticed how worn out is the floor of the dance studio? And how grandiose is Tiflis from a car windows when friends return from Mary's birthday to the capital? This is the movie which remains embedded into the memory. Longing now Golden Thread by Lana Gogoberidze as well as for Levan Akin's Passage

What a trash. I could hardly stomach it. Special kudos go to the art director. Ok, everybody drinks vodka, that is a cliche. But when a protagonist reads in a cafe in mid-50s a ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA which would be founded 40 years later, in November 1990. all the credibility and gusto for the movie is unconditionally lost

A costly costume drama which cost a fortune to Ukrainian taxpayers (state support for the cinematography which compensates for a half of production budget) but vanishes in the distant fringes of memory. Though the author of the novel upon which the movie is based on is one of the scriptwriters, the piece is the pale semblance of her pretty decent story. Characters are shallow. With all respect for the Polish actress who performs Stephanie, it remains an enigma for me why a casting director could not find a Ukrainian for this role. Scene backgrounds seem to be plastered on a canvass; at least the crew told stories they could not find proper locations because all Ukrainian cities in the West are tarred with plastic window frames which could not be found in Austrian-Hungarian empire. The only solace is that it takes time and quantity to hone skills in domestic cinema production. This movie is just a humus for future Ukrainian blockbasters.

The script is bordering on boredom. The priest's presence is a must to add to the morality preaching. The knife scene in the nocturnal woods with a vagabond husband parachuting from cold Scotland. The heroine who stops short of calling police but instead concocts a machiavelian plan to get rid of an intruder. A movie where you are thankful for a single thing: three episodes only of this nightmare

What is Ben Kingsley doing in this piece which can hardly be called cinematography? A remote Greek island, a vast reservoir of water beneath a road curve and the death by punching pencils in eyes are the only leftovers from the boring movie but even they would evaporate by the next day. Loose characters, a sycophantic mercurial perpetually drunk protagonist and his stalker which should necessarily be lame all in their haze add to the general feeling of comprehensive absurdity

The cheesiest war TV series I have ever watched. Even in the depth of Polish woods rebels are immaculately dressed up and groomed. Passions are shallow, pacifists are grotesque, shot down pilots return to an airfield on bicycle, an American jorno freely reports from the very depth of Nazi hell. Credits go only to Lesley Manville for her portraying of a snobbish disheartened blue blood with a remote strike of fondness. If there are any plans to proceed with Season 2, please abort them expeditiously.

I am utterly shocked with this amauterish movie which would leave an indelible imprint on Brad Pitt's legacy. His name drew viewers into theaters and left them aghast with the irresponsibility of the script and pseudo science of poor action. The same applies to Tommy Lee Jones whose Neptune stint is appalling grotesque

A kind of movies you exhaust your patience to suffer through it long before the end of the season. What remains embedded into the memory are only colours: Eve Myles predominantly wore yellow in season 1 and now in season 2 everything is blue

The movie gets you perplexed. First you do not believe that, with Nazi aces being shot en masse, all Polish make it safe to an airfield. That is until you see the final credits which inform you that only 8 Polish pilots have been KIA in 303 Dywizjon. Otherwise the movie is overflown with Poles' victories of British women's hearts, their combat tactics superior to RAF's, and the ability to instantly command British fighter with never having flown them before. Many ends remain loose like the murky role of the actress Victoria Brown and sketchy story how Poles got finally to the Isles via Romania. The combat scenes are very amauterish perhaps due to the modest budget. Still, this is tribute to Polish heroes.

Frankly, I often just listen to many docs as the background while commuting or doing chores. This movie disallows you to do that, both for the respect and empathy for guys and for the video and information load the movie is charged with. Atomizing the endevour in chapters is very useful as they get embedded into memory. Fume tales from engines warning Nazis 50 miles ahead the formation is approaching. The code of Americans flying in daylight (why? never gets explained here but you could find an explanation elsewhere) while Brits did it at night. FLAK mortal danger. Red flares on airfield approach signalling there is a wounded serviceman aboard. Frostbite as flying fortresses have not been pressurized. And ever increasing number of missions which sends you back to Catch 22. In a somewhat weird way, this two great movies - Cold Blue and Catch-22 - get intrinsically intertwined.

The very fact of having been shot in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains presented as Washington's State Rocky Mountains which is expected to give the movie an extra vibe at least here in Ukraine, the piece is a total disappointment. An amauterish script, the loose ends which eventually get never connected, the hollow characters and Jean Reno long past the pinnacle of his glory. The only thing which forces you to survive this disaster until the finale - as far as Ukrainian viewers are concerned - is to glimpse Ukrainian landscapes disguised as Washington state. And you are finally rewarded with recognizing the housebound widow's residence as the fugitive ex-president Yanukovych's mansion Mezhygirya.

There could hardly been anything more disastrous this season than ABC Murders but Rockets of Summer, or sorry, Summer of Rockets hit the bottom from beneath. Under which circumstances did such a splendid constellation of actors agree to partake in such a boring and mediocre vaudeville, with private tanks, vanishing vegetarian and omnipresent but never located Russian spies? It takes stamina to sit these six episodes through. Radio Times, in its cover story on the piece, has been cautious enough to highlight the pinnacles of actors' careers but not to comment on the emptiness of the plot.

The concluding scene nails into you so deep you do not notice credentials start running the screen. Nuanced, complex crescendo reminding you the world is far from being white and black. And the evil is not always coal black and the good is far from being glaringly white. Top of British TV drama

A motley assortment of facts and speculations regarding diet end exercise thrown together in one pile and compartmentalized by nutritionists and personal trainers. Two advantages, though: broken down in short episodes and a possibility to put it on screen when your kids swallow junk food in a vain effort to teach them a healthy food lesson

That is kind of a film where moviegoers do not stay in their chair after the picture is over to meditate and savor an aftertaste. You rush for an exit being sorry for time and money spent as the script proved to be unsurmountable for the master of the Sixth Sense. By the middle of the movie you lose interest to what happens next. You do not care if that skyscraper would be hijacked or not. And the fact that it has eventually been not leaves you totally bored and uninterested. And yes, for folks not raised in the comics culture this movie is a double blank shot

The show has run out of steam and hopefully the 5th has been its last season. Please keep Alice where it has been at the end of the final episode and please do not resuscitate her again. Bringing her back to life was supposed to add the energy to the series but instead gulped it out of it making episodes diabolically boring and predictable. The mercurial Luther who never sits at the table to dwell at least for a moment is tweaking every time hen he is at at the wheel and he is there most of time. And yes, he inexplicably always finds himself at a right spot. DC Halliday - she is the only one who would be genuinely missed.

This movie is a comparable success in Ukraine's movie season-2018 by having grossed the major box office and having been able to repay the investment, including to a public purse. Still, it is a boring flop. No twists, no memorable jokes except for the one about the lack of surgeons in the hospital located in the street named after a famous Ukrainian doctor ("no surgeons left in the hospital except for the title of the street we are in"). When a student of a Paris medical school who is not even an intern yet is allowed at the end of the movie to operate on his future farther-in-law who has suffered a heart attack, the film becomes unbearable. It seems one of the reasons behind its domestic success is the striking resemblance between the main character and the current President of Ukraine and some ensuing innuendos. Still, it takes many movies to put Ukraine's cinema back on its feet, and this is precisely one of those, and not the weakest brick.