Change Your Image
suncicalazanski
Reviews
Six Feet Under (2001)
To say its a masterpiece is an understatement
This show is truly brilliant. It has been with me through different life phases and never disappointed. After watching it today I decided that I want this show to continue following me through this weird thing called life.
Why is it more then a masterpiece?
Because it covers all the range of possible human emotions, all the range of cinematography (from comedy to drama and thriller and beyond) and finally all the range of life - from birth to death in such an elegant manner.
This show has made me closer to accepting death then anything in my life so far. What really struck with me are the character develompents that are all so beautifuly investigated and displayed through the course of time. Nothing is rushed, yet everything is happening. I can't point any character out as my favourite cus they are all so beautiful, nasty and human on their own path that it is a pleasure to watch.
Finally what I really adore about the show is the fact that it teaches a great lesson, the one about learning to accept and make peace with things, people and mostly with ourselves while on this interesting ride.
Io capitano (2023)
Beautiful scenery, gruesome journey
This movie is appalling when it comes to scenery, camera perspective and visuals.
However, I can't not notice that what a beauty on the screen is to us, it is a horror for so many who are escaping the violence, authoritarianism, dictatorships and poverty caused by centuries of injustice and colonization from the ancestors of us movie viewers.
I loved the supernatural, mirage moments intertwined with hope, solidarity and cooperation that is needed to endure this extreme journey from which there is no return.
I was especially pleased by the depiction of the following polarity - the typical teenage experience those two boys are experiencing in Senegal versus the cruel adulthood they enter over night. They should have just been innocent boys and their journey should have been a slow progression into adulthood. Instead the reality in which they find themselves is the one of torture, fights, mafia, life threatening injury and enormous responsibility for too many lives.
Lastly, the movie ends with a pride and proclamation of victory - Io capitano.
What the movie shockingly misses is the crueler reality that is waiting on the other side of the journey. The supposedly civilized fortress Europe armed with Frontex, militia and hostility. In other worlds, the journey didn't stop in Siciliy. The other form of torture is awaiting for them - the one of pushbacks, uncertaintily, extreme racism, violence and living undocumented for too long.
And this is not a small element. It is the crucial one to have the story completed.
Belfast (2021)
Melancholic tribute to childhood
The movie is a slow burner but easy to digest and sympathise with.
The author tells a stroy about his childhood and of all the people that made him who he is while simultaneously portraying the era of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Now I have to confess I have been digging and trying to understand the Troubles for years now and this movie didn't really made it easier for me to comprehend it.
However that was not the point.
The point was to show us how was it to live in a suddenly distrupted world of a childhood that already brings its own set of troubles with big Troubles lurking from behind the street corner.
Znam kako dises (2023)
Balkan
I would highly recommend this piece of art.
It depicts many universal layers of life that are similar throughout the world, such as parenting, divorce, morality and justice of everyday decisions. Apart from that it adds a unique spice called Balkan with its charm, wildness, brutal honestly and unfortunately povery and nepotism.
I truly enjoyed characters, mostly boomers (some post war) struggling with contemporary living and clashing with gen z.
Characters are grey and multilayered, but so so relatable, such as main character who is having so much love and so much worry for her son, who is both loving as well as an arrogant prick. The emotional immaturity of the ex husband is so perfectly described.
The end rushes it a little bit, but this mini series is still very enjoyable and it does keep you on the edge of the seat.
The House (2022)
Stop motion animation
I have never heard of stop motion animation, but have been attracted to the content when I stumbled upon it on Netlfix. It is amazing visually and since wathching this movie/tv show/omnibus I have discovered how truly fascinating stop motion animation is.
The stories are divided into three parts and each is directed by a different person.
They are dynamic, frantic, apsurd and each makes sense and has a strong message behind.
Maybe I am too much into deconstructing capitalism, but all of them are set in different time periods through which one thing is obvious. Human greed is constant throughout time and we as species are so lost and are constantly searching for meaning through various things - both right, wrong and inbetween.
Each time the main character sells their soul to material posessions and the possibility of entering percivebly "higher" economic class, some (or all) other things must suffer.
Such is the case in the first tale, that can easily be seen as a modern parenthood, absent parents, trapped by capitalism, suffocating themsleves for their children and yet missing them.
Such is the tale of the second story in which the mouse is trying to survive yet is utterly lonely and sad, but instead of dealing with it he is selling the house in pursuit of happiness.
Such is the story of the property owner in postapocaliptic world. She is unfortunately so intrenched in her property related goals, that she misses ti see that the world is falling apart. Both the actual world and her inner world.
All in all great piece of art, would recommend!
Beef (2023)
Two different worlds, so close and yet so near
Basically it is a show about two people seemingly coming from two different worlds realising they have far more in common then they expected.
What they do have in common is shared humanity and struggle of living in a neoliberal capitalist world where all the value is measured through profit.
They are also second generation Asian Americans, sharing similar backrounds.
What I found interesting is the headstart of both.
One (Amy) has emotionally distant (and traumatised) parents who provided her with far more opportunities to reach higher social ladder because they came to US before she was born.
The other (Danny) has recived more warmth from paretns (at least my perception), but far less social mobitily opportunities which puts him in all sorts of legal troubles later.
Through one small car honking incident their world start crumbling down to the point where nothing is left but themselves, their unique selves. So it is a path of self discovery for them both and although reluctantly they have to go through it together.
I liked this show a lot, mostly because of its dynamic, multiple storylines and complex and well composed lifes intertwined.
From time to time it seemed like things are artificially put together to make story more juicy (the storyline of Amy and Danny's brother).
But the represenation of under represented groups, multiple layers it contains (race, class, lifestyle, personality, trauma) mixed with good humor makes it a great show!
Would definitely recommend!
This Way Up (2019)
Hm..
Aisling Bea takes us into the challenging world of mental health without us realising we are in one.
As it should be, mental health issues are just a part of a person suffering from those issues, not their while personality.
The main character is complex, witty and smart. Her relationship with her sister is definitely the coodependent one in which they both heavily rely on each other. But can we blame them? In an often grim and isolating world, in a city such as London, where finding friends is not easy, sisterhood copendency might not the such a big sin.
What I loved is that mental health challenges are not defining the main character, nor are they the focus of the show, yet they are somehow omnipresent through episodes. The show also manages to tackle on immigration issues, refugees identity, feeling lost, isolated and not having a clue where to go in life.
I think it the plot could have been developed deeper and better in a sense that many scenes somehow didn't reach their peak nor point. The ending is rushed a bit and the format is confusing - is it a drama, a comedy or both? All in all, a good show with some space for improvement.
Shameless (2011)
Love it
Shameless is my favourite comfort show and has followed me through my many ups and downs for the past ten years.
The season finale, despite some wholes in the plot is brilliant. The main focuses of this season were climbing the social ladder and gentrification (the ultimate reason characters are forced to move away from the hood).
It triggers me how accurate Lip's and Ian's struggle to change their predestined life paths of poverty are portrayed. The stuggle to raise their head above the waters of the unfairness, corruption and violence is so difficult that characters constantly fall back into their old destructive routines.
The show revelas that the most violent are actually the rich - protecting their sacred property and rights with agents, officers and law enforcements while deepening the unequality gap to the point of absurdity.
From my perspective the show is focused on booming of the evil and unjust system called capitalism. This was best depicted in the case of Carl's naivity when trying to protect the community and his too vivid realisation that police is there only to protect the rich.
On the down side, the lack of representation of other people of color such as black and hispanic is a huge fail (I have read that this particular neighbourhood of Chicago is not nearly as white as presented).
However, since the show highlights so many important contemporary issues and is doing it with so much humor, wit and courage I can only congratulate it for job well done.
Bad Sisters (2022)
Blood is thicker than water, or is it?
The show left me on the edge of the seat multiple times as I watched this dramedy of complex and nuinaced human relationships.
It is an almost perfect depiction of psychological violence manifested through control and intermittent positive reinforcement from the abuser.
It was scary to see Grace fading more and more as a person while becoming bonded to the trauma and abuser. He (the abuser) would switch from being a regressive toddler to cold psychopath in a matter of seconds. The show depicts amazingly the situations in which something/someone would touch upon shame and percieved humiliation in JP and the consequences of it that Grace have felt the most (and so many others).
It shows exactly how hard it is to escape such terror of a relationship and how little even the most caring people can do to help the victim leave.
The constant need to be "just the two of them" and percieving others as treat are so typicall for the abuser (or in this case a psychopath). The scariest is that the scars are not visible to the outisiders and to the victim itself when the violence is coercive control, undermining self esteem and humiliation.
Although the topic is very much serious it was presented with a lot of humor (mostly the relationship between quirky sisters with each of their chaotic lives).
It could have been 8 and not 10 episodes and it started to repeat itself towards the end of the show. The storyline of insurance company guys was okey, but nothing special. It seemed more like a filler then a necessity. There are some plot inconsistencies as the story unravels, but nothing too dramatic.
I understood that I love watching shows that are normalising that each and everyone's life is a mess and series of trials and errors and not just mine.
And it manages to send an important message about the horrible scars and effects the psychological violence has.
Cunk on Earth (2022)
Brilliant
Diane Morgan is amazing in this satirical mocumentary. It presents human history through lenses of brutal humor and irony.
Diane interviewd multiple expert on topics of human history sometimes making fun of the topic, many times actually stating the obvious (such as the episode about Jesus).
The show is brilliant, there are many extremely funny catchphrases and sentences.
I admire the seriousness with which the experts have responded and their dedication to the subject.
What I didn't ike as much is the forces humor that was sometimes not necessary in certain situations and was there as a filler. I would rather it to be left educational, with humor then to be total parody.
Still a great show that I have enjoyed watching!
Four Hours at the Capitol (2021)
Appalling
This documentary shows how a mob mentality can destroy even the highest and oldests bastion's of democracty such as the Capitol.
It follows the events on January the 6th, when shameless mockery of a person called Trump was luckily not reelected as a president of the US.
As an activist and a person who believes that unfortunately police in many cases and places "protects" the government institutions with highly dubious intentions, I still felt very sorry for the police forces standing in front of that Capitol.
It was disgusting to watch so called patriots arming themselves and boosting each other to destroy democracy with violence and rage. The outnumbered police outside was trying to protect lives of people inside and deescalate the situation in a fight in which few of them unfortunately lost their lives and many lost their souls.
What shocked me was that the same Republican senators who were held captive inside the Capitol by Trump puppets have decided to support the conspiracy idea of election fraud on that very same night.
I did find producers giving the proud boys and similar group members a little too much screen time to spread their propaganda, but that is my only critique.
Trump with his narcisissm and fragile ego is responsible for mobilising this sick machinery and should be held accountable.
Lead Me Home (2021)
Visually impressive
The authors of the documentary have chosen to show us the raw emotion of homelessness. It doesn't provide too much inside into strategies and tactics of dealing with homelessness on a structural or personal level. It does however provide us the emotional and visual perspective of it. It shows tears, mud, dirt, frustration, hopelesness and more important strong will, spirit and the willingness to live and to survive in this cruel world. I liked the emotional side of it as it has touched me deepely. Sometimes less is more and for me it was crucial that the rawness of the experience doesn't get lost in the words and politics.
Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022)
Starts as a chiche, but is so much more
The series depicts a moment in life when everything seems to be falling apart as a consequence of a divorce, where main characters are left with pieces to cristslise the image of their present and past: "What have we done, how did we become this, who am I, who is this person".
It starts as a chiche at the beginning and it seems that it would be shallow one sided story, but it is so not. It describes a couple getting a divorce and their way of managing two young quirky kids, their careers (hate this capitalistic expression) and finally their crash and revival.
I especially liked facial expressions and acting skills of Claire Danes as one of the main characters, her "inivisible" trauma explored in such a nuinaced way.
It is a critique of doctors brutality and display od sexism and misoginy inside delivery room (where nobody watches), critique of technology expoliting our traumas, it is about falling down at picking yourself up, but for me it was a story about friendship.
About how friends provide comfort in times of trouble, how they can see us for who we are and were. I like that it removes the romance among friends part as it adds to the depth, but it also shows nuiances, fights and all the hurdles of being a friend (not being there, being there, not giving enough, giving too much).
I would however like to see the same story in the working class arena, not only the Manhattan, Upper east and West side and the Hamptons. But I guess that might be the future of tv shows, where one day we will be wathing are very lives unfold on the tv screen.
The Bear (2022)
Love Lip and the show is great
This is definitely not a comedy, but a fast building, intense thriller/drama with elements of all the working hero classics - trauma, addiction, violence mixed with love, community and devotion.
I liked the show, even though I wouldn't recommend it to light sleepers as a before bed story, because it keeps you on the edge of your seat and aggitated.
It depicts a micro universe of family/extended family dynamic inside one small restaurant as well as a macro critique of male/cruelty dominated industry of kitchen chefs in general.
Many interpersonal/family troubles and are mixed with racial, age and gender tensions, which are presented through cis male leading chef with his impatience and lack of self care (which pours out to others - often female and black characters). At the same we are witnessing this leading character struggling to keep his sanity, business, loss of a brother and the team together - oftentimes sucesfully, more times failing.
All in all, great show with short snip scenes and very much needed critique of profit driven capitalism in the area of gastronomy.