EamonTracyCritic

This show had a lot of promise. You have Kate Mara and Brian Tyree Henry as well as the excellent Mark Pelligrino playing a Joker type villain. The miniseries begins grounded but falls into extravagant superhero-esque plot contrivances. The cgi is particularly awful when catastrophic scenes or fake mist are put onscreen.

I really was rooting for this show with its ambitious three decades spanning story, but the far-fetched plot and poorly executed action scenes left me feeling cold. It is a shame but thankfully it is only a miniseries that will not continue on.

I have not heard anyone talk about this series, and it is probably for the best.

What an Incredible episode featuring the immortal king Ciro himself. Once again, Gomorrah steps away from Italy to showcase yet another European country full of spectacle and gangsters.

There's So many twists and turns, but that final showdown was sensational.

Ophüls brilliantly connects the atrocities of the Nazis to countless American Military Interventions. Although this was produced by Paramount, it's quite hard to find in the United States. Not surprised!

I love Bourdain but this propaganda for Libya is awful.

An entertaining episode mainly focused on the characters' domestic troubles and relationships. That doesn't mean it's without its fair share of bullets flying. I still can't believe this series isn't more internationally acclaimed but I'll keep spreading the good word.

Like Mt Etna, Things are beginning to heat up on the ancient island. Rival factions are forming and the fascist police are getting owned. And all the while, the Corleone clan is scrambling for survival amongst the growing chaos.

Karlov is faced with life-changing decisions while Guillaume experiences a brief reprieve in the French countryside. A beautiful and devastating episode akin to a Greek tragedy.

A brilliant episode introducing the bloody bond between Mafia violence and Capitalist control. Excited to see where this series goes.

Wow, what a stunning finale fitting for such an incredible season. We lose some amazing and awful characters and no matter how many times I've watched, it's still hard.

I've noticed each season references Scorsese films like when Richard Harrow took out Rosetti's crew last season, paralleling Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. This season and this episode in particular has homages to Gangs of New York and it works beautifully. I love this series but Season 4 and 5 are just astounding.

This remarkable episode is full of The Bureau's best ingredients: intrigue, betrayals, globe-trotting, and propulsive music.

I've heard some people complain that the series is lacking action. Well stay tuned for this!

The Ghosts of JJA's past come back to haunt him and give further insight into this cryptic character.

Sylvian is having a tough time with his girlfriend and it's affecting his work.

Paul or Pavel is getting more accustomed to FSB life.

If you've come this far you now Nadia and Guillaume are happily reunited. Their conversations and dates around the city age sweet are a welcome reprieve for a brief period.

Our boy Jonás is back and ready to put his ingenious mind to work. Meanwhile Marie-Jeanne is being betrayed by someone but only time will tell who.

Guillaume tells a loved one who he really is (at least currently this moment) and it doesn't go well.

His conversations (now fluent in Russian) and target practice with Karlov remain some of the best moments between the two.

An old flame inaccurately finds out her love is dead and is overwhelmed by the news. JJA is determined Guillaume can be repatriated but things have a funny way of working out in the world of espionage.

Guillaume is becoming further entrenched in his role within the FSB. Cesar is sent to Phnom Pe Penh, Cambodia to oversee hackers on a 2 year operation.

One of my favorite scenes involves Karlov describing his missing JFK figurine from a set of Russian nesting dolls illustrated in the likeness of recent US Presidents.

I Can't overemphasize enough how much I love this show and can't believe there's an American remake in the works. Just watch this series!

Guess Who's Back? Yes, that's right, our boy thought to be dead is alive and recovering under the watchful eye of Karlov. Their unique relationship is completely enthralling and I could almost envision a spy spin-off featuring the duo.

Things are getting heated in Egypt, Yemen, and the DGSE's HQ in Paris. Past and present events continue to unfold in yet another splendid chapter of a magnificent season.

Caesar's grizzled like an old Cowboy facing off against Woody Harrelson cosplaying as Colonel Kurtz. It's pretty magnificent and political throughout. Serkis is truly the MOCAP maestro!

Hogir Hirori edits and films the harrowing rescues of women trafficked for sex and slavery by members of ISIS. The women are Yazidis, a Kurdish minority group who have been displaced by the Iraq War. Some women are being held in the Al-Hol refugee camp/prison which is overloaded with people and the guarding Syrian Defense Army is either useless or getting a payoff to ignore the atrocities inside.

"Sabaya" is what ISIS or Daesh call their sex slaves. Yazidis aren't practicing Muslims, but their monotheistic religion goes back to ancient Mesopotamia. There's plenty of horror stories discussed but the genocide in the Sinjar province, where ISIS killed thousands of men and kidnapped scores of women, severely impacted almost every person in this feature. Without the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, there'd be no ISIS.

Every subject's identity is protected and the men rescuing the women are simply referred to as "the infiltrators." In the beginning, they send an undercover woman in to help get information to secure the escape of a young woman. Director Hirori continues to interview the young woman and over time, she seems to be healing from the past wounds. There are car chases, shootouts, massive fires, and remarkable Syrian sunsets while survivors detail their traumatic experiences.

206 Yazidi women have been rescued by their organization called the Yazidi Home Center which is based in Syria. Not only does the Home Center have to fear retaliation from ISIS, but they're also close to an active war zone involving several Nations and ethnic groups. While the word hero gets thrown around way too often, these men are the epitome of one

Visual artist Pasquale Sisto steps behind the camera for his first feature along with an exceptional cast. The compact team playing the wealthy family facing a unique crisis consists of Charlie Shotwell, Michael C Hall, Jennifer Ehle, and Taissa Farmiga.

With a stoic glare, John (Charlie Shotwell ) attends tennis lessons, practices piano, and has one friend mainly existing only online. He's completely disconnected spending the majority of his life alone. One day while out exploring with his drone he stumbles upon an underground bunker.

Later that night, John drugs his family and transports their sleeping bodies into the deep bunker where they're unable to escape. With his newfound freedom the 13 year old takes his father's car out for a joyride and checks their back account. After noticing a balance just shy of a million dollars, he purchases a bigger TV for himself. Before inviting his only friend over, John continues tennis and piano lessons while beginning to role play being an adult.

With a screenplay by Oscar winner Nicolás Giacobone themes of isolation, skewering upper class, and the toxic effects of individualism are fully realized. In particular money is constantly displayed as a central theme of adult relationships. A subplot with the one of my favorite underused actors Georgia Lyman is intentionally confusing but important nonetheless.

Sisto and Director of Photography Paul Ozgur shoot in a tight 4:3 aspect ratio. Through the use of long lenses they frame the large house and surrounding woods in a surveilled perspective that feels claustrophobic. While the vision and story are original, I kept thinking of Michael Haneke's "Cache" and "Funny Games". Both of those films involve bourgeois couples in disturbing situations while the films maintain a clinical evaluation of history and society. Just like his stories "John and the Hole" is reminder that the past never stays buried.

In his debut documentary using footage that was gathering dust in a basement for over 50 years, Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (aka Questlove) captures a remarkable weekend of music and politics at the Harlem Cultural Festival in July, 1969. Since it was a black concert no white owned media outlet wanted to distribute it and thus it was ignored. Furthermore it's significance was overshadowed by Woodstock and the historical Moon Landing that occurred on the same weekend that summer.

Right off the bat, a 19 year old Stevie Wonder gets the party going singing some hits while playing his keyboard and even a solid drum solo. Editor Joshua L Pearson splices the drum's tempo to a montage of images showing news clips reporting familiar stories about inequality, unarmed black men being shot by police, a useless War, and the other unresolved social maladies. Taking a breath, the focus shifts back to the outstanding performers. Next up are the Chambers Brothers with a brief jam before BB King lays down an upbeat song while wearing a periwinkle blue suit.

In a charming twist of fate the 5th Dimensions explain how they met the producers of "Hair" after the lead singer's wallet was found by one of the latter in a cab. Fifty years later, the singers are thrilled to watch their old footage for the first time and throughout Thompson continues to keeps the camera rolling on various subjects that attended while they watch the recovered footage.

I was on my feet dancing along to "Oh Happy Day" by The Edwin Hawkins Singers which debuted on the hot Harlem afternoon. Backed by a sea of choir singers in bright green suits and robes Hawkins' arrangement soars onscreen. The song is a classic and has lived on through various soundtracks. Sadly afterwards, the Band was persecuted by their strict Pentecostal Church for engaging with an unorthodox platform and audience.

I could go on about every performance but to name some others: The Staple Singers, Gladys Knight and the Pips, David Ruffin (who recently left The Temptations), Sly and the Family Stone (dressed in Psychedelic purple glasses, matching outfit, and a large gold chain), Hugh Masakela ,and finally her highness Nina Simone. Simone closes with a commanding act including a sensational call to revolution with "Are You Ready?". If I had a time machine, I'd pick this show over Woodstock.

Hailing from Memphis, Ben Branch was a saxophonist and activist who happened to be the last person MLK spoke to before the leader was gunned down at the Lorraine Motel. On the stage Branch joins Rev Jesse Jackson along with a full band and a mournful organ while Rev Jackson details the legacy of MLK.

Thankfully, Mavis Staples, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder appear onscreen to reflect on the event, and their experiences. Wonder could've easily cruised in the commercial friendly Motown Sound but evolved and went on to make genre-defying albums like "Innervisions" and "Songs in the Key of Life".

Leaving no stone unturned, a reporter describes how the Black Panthers assisted with security while the liberal Republican Mayor Lindsay was welcomed on stage. It was interesting to learn a white republican was mostly favorable in the black community at the time. It's also impressive how cleanly the 16mm concert footage is restored with nearly flawless sound.

Currently in 2021 music venues and theaters are some of the places most hard hit by the global pandemic. With live shows having ceased "Summer of Soul" is a minor escape to that feeling of sharing art, ideas, and an intimate space with one another. Plenty of attendees and archival interviews explain the impact of seeing far-out dressed musicians inspired them to change their conservative clothes and let their freak flag fly.

In one of the most important scenes the reaction to the Moon Landing show a polarized Country. While white Americans are thrilled over the lunar adventure, local Harlem residents proclaim it's a waste of money when people are struggling. While I appreciate certain aspects of Space travel it's the similar today witnessing a gross mismanagement of priorities. For a debut Thompson marvelously captures people processing years of racial discrimination through art, and I can't help but stand and applaud.

Based on the astonishing true story of Charles Sobhraj aka the hippie trail killer, Tahar Rahim slips into the scales of the titular Serpent.

During the 1970's Sobhraj wreaked havoc on western tourists and eluded authorities. There's so much more that I won't spoil but I highly recommend watching this fascinating miniseries.

The music, clothes, editing, and sociological commentary supersede anything coming out of Hollywood.

JJA is leaving for work before sunrise due to the breaking news of Guillaume's alleged assassination ordered by the CIA with DGSE's consent.

Marie-Jeanne is far away from the Parisian HQ stationed at luxurious hotel in Cairo. She receives the sad news and is unhappy.

While JJA overlooks the Seine under dark blue skies we get an overview of the last 8 months and the introduction of an Italian spy.

Solid opener to an exceptional and intriguing season.

Guillaume and Marina are held at the Ukrainian border used as pawns in triangle clusterf$ck between the FSB/DGSE/CIA.

Jonas leads a fascinating interrogation that reveals more insight into his delicate but brilliant mind.

Stunning finale with a good cliffhanger.

Guillaume has to part ways with the lovely Samara. He's held in solitary confinement by the DGSE and is confronted with past choices.

Jonás is on the trail of the ISIS leader and once again experiences some intense field experience.

This all leads up to a stirring finale.