dmny92

The season finale managed to touch me as very few other series did. It was pure, tragic art. And it was beautiful. I love film noir and this second season was as noir as it can get.

While the season started slowly, as a whole, I consider it to be masterfully crafted. I liked it even more than the first season, and I thought that was amazing at the time (the Mccounaghey - Harrelson duo was perfect but the story wasn't as exciting overall as this season). It was daring, it was consistent in tone. The characters broke away from the apparent stereotypes in the second half of the season, being defined by both the writing and the acting ability of the cast.

The casting couldn't have been better. I've read a lot of complaints about Vince Vaughn. I was doubting him but he proved me wrong, I'm actually wondering why he's sticking to romantic comedies, seeing him act in True Detective. He has more to show than that. During the first few episodes, I thought Taylor Kitsch is trying to fill in for Rust Cohle in this second season and it wouldn't work. His character was actually very different and he brought much more than a cheap imitation of Mccounaghey's style. Colin Farrell was basically born to play Ray Velcoro and Rachel McAdams was a great fit for the powerful Ani Bezzerides who was able to keep up in a world dominated by dangerous men.

The photography and the music (most of it was very subtle, but noticeable, creating a constant tension) were beautifully intertwined and have really helped to create this gloomy, dark, hopeless atmosphere that seemed larger than everything and everyone. The city as a whole and some locations in particular (the bar deserves a special mention - Lera Lynn's music!) became characters themselves. Frightening characters.

It was very daring for the writers to have all the male leads die. And it worked much better than a predictable, boring happy ending. Their deaths weren't accidental, they were the result of their beliefs, the consequences of their actions. Each death felt significant and tragic and that isn't easy to achieve.

There are a lot of subtle touches in this series that some people, myself included, really appreciate. Everything is pieced together on a deeper scale than it might look at a glance (a good example from the finale is the irony of Frank dying in the desert while Jordan was on a boat).

I'm glad I wasn't as vocal as the majority in the first few weeks, I was confident in the season as a whole and my expectations weren't just met, they were exceeded. And that's such a good feeling. I hope there will be a third season, with a different setting and different characters. I think it's a brilliant formula, having high caliber actors, great writing and several hours (instead of 2 or 3 for a feature film) to develop the story and the characters. I'm absolutely sure that it would be just as good. Maybe better. In a different way.

Just when I was thinking the series is losing its focus, the last few episodes have proved me very, very wrong! Digestivo's (S3E7) ending felt like a season finale and it very well could've been one, so the introduction of the Red Dragon is exactly the breath of fresh air that the rest of the season needed. This new arc was set up beautifully and it sends us back to the style we've seen in the first season, just that this time we're looking at a different design, instead of Hannibal's.

I'm very interested in seeing how Will's relationship with Hannibal will evolve. I'm also wondering what Hannibal is actually up to now, being locked up in the mental institution and seeing another serial killer taking his place in the public spotlight and in Will's mind as well, which is probably even more important to him at this point.

I have a lot of questions after this episode and this is a good indicator of how good of an episode it was. With each episode I see in this season I feel more disappointed by the fact that this is the last we get to see from this art piece. We might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

When this season began I was hopeful but skeptical, seeing how slowly it started. However, this was by far the most enjoyable episode of the season, at least to date. The pacing, the mood, the use of music (Lera Lynn's songs create this eerie atmosphere during the bar scenes, which is so fitting for this show), the plot advancement, everything was done right. I also noticed the opening credits featured another verse of the hypnotizing "Nevermind" song performed by Leonard Cohen. His voice and lyrics fit the theme very well.

There was some great dialogue, very similar in tone with the first season's discussions between Rust and Marty. I've seen a lot of complaints about the dialogue being pretentious. Yes, average people might not talk like that in real life, but this is art and I absolutely love philosophical lines, it's where this series truly shines and it was the same in the first season.

Now that we know our characters' motivations and personalities, it's actually very enjoyable to watch the story unfold. Without spoiling the twist for the people who haven't watched the episode yet, I'm very interested in seeing how this power turn will impact the relationship between the two.

Here I am hoping for more of the same quality in the upcoming episodes. If it goes on like this, this season is going to be just as good, if not better than the first season, since people love to draw comparisons between the two, even though they're significantly different in many ways. But, as something Frank Semyon would say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

At the time of writing this review, I have watched 5 episodes. The first season is 8 episodes long and we don't know if there will be a second season at this point, I'd say it's unlikely.

First of all, it's an ambitious project. It borrows ideas from series like Breaking Bad, which feel refreshing for the Romanian audience, but are definitely not original. Therefore, it currently stands at 9.2, which is way too high for what it had to show so far. A 6-7 would be more appropriate.

The main character is a taxi driver who's also working as a street collector for a local mobster. To be expected, it gets more and more difficult for him to hide one life from another, as they tend to become one and the same.

Most characters unfortunately feel like cardboard cut-outs, following stereotypes that we've all seen in plenty of movies and TV series before, however most of them are passable.

Serban Pavlu's performance isn't outstanding but it's solid enough for a lead role. He's a struggling man with two sides, a loving husband and overprotective father and a ruthless money collector, so that gives him quite a large range to work within.

Stefan Velniciuc delivers some funny lines as Nea Puiu and he's definitely the highlight in some scenes, providing most of the comedic tone in the show, lightening up the mood whenever it gets too tense.

Andreea Vasile plays the kingpin's apparently cold-hearted underling as Nico and Doru Ana plays Capitanu', a feared kingpin who everybody respects and listens to religiously.

The supporting cast generally does a poor job, with some exceptions (Gabriel Huian as Tedy comes to mind) and that isn't helped by the script, sometimes resulting in some awkward scenes.

The dialogue feels forced, due to the overuse of street slang that is unlike anything you'd actually hear in real life. It's mostly "by the book" slang and it feels artificial, even though it's intended to be genuine. This is probably my biggest complaint, since it constantly breaks the illusion that you are watching real people and not a TV series.

There's some smart use of music at times, which is always nice for people who appreciate such details, so it's worth mentioning.

The story progresses at a relatively good pace, but the character development is pretty much non-existent, which is a shame, because there is potential.

As it stands, unless it's taking an unexpected turn, it's an average "man with money issues who would do anything to provide for his family" story which is refreshing because it's set in Romania, that being the only reason to watch it.

People who criticize this movie either can't move on from Raimi's trilogy or just wanted to see a regular action flick which happens to feature a superhero. Everyone else should love this, for so many reasons.

I have seen many complaints regarding the amount of time that was spent developing the Peter-Gwen relationship. I found that to be the strongest point of the movie (same as it was for TASM1), mainly because of their surreal chemistry. Emma Stone is adorable, they're a sweet couple (this is coming from a guy, OK?). I have never watched a superhero movie where the "regular guy" scenes were just as (if not even more) interesting to me than the "superhero" scenes. SPOILER: Gwen's death scene was truly heartbreaking (both well-written and greatly acted by Andrew Garfield, who basically had to watch the most important thing in his world fading away through his fingers).

Spider-Man's trademark light-hearted comments were put to good use on multiple occasions (both as Spider-Man and as Peter - his childish excuses to Aunt May were hilarious) and actually managed to amuse me (unlike most comedies that try so hard to get a laugh from you but fail to do so).

Visuals wise, the movie uses more daytime scenes than TASM1 and most of the CGI looks very natural (by today's standards), unlike Raimi's trilogy (subpar even up to that date). Spider-Man's suit is the best representation so far, as well. The small, yellow eyes from TASM1's suit were replaced by bigger, white eyes, the overall suit design being both classic (almost straight out of the comics) and modern at the same time.

As for the audio, lots to praise as well. First of all, Andrew Garfield has mastered the Spidey voice. He sounds young and joyful, as he should. The soundtrack (composed by Hans Zimmer - everything this man touches is pure gold) is heart-pounding, emotional, it flows with every scene. There's Electro's suite which is goosebumps inducing every time the dubstep mixed with the whispering voices starts filling the theater room. Then there's the emotional piano sequences, that fit perfectly with the Peter-Gwen scenes. The soundtrack feels like part of the movie and not some random generic music added into the final stage of editing.

Villains, the necessary evil in every superhero movie. Many people complained that Max Dillon's transformation was rushed and unbelievable. I disagree. During the first half of the movie we can see multiple events that build up Max's frustration and you could tell that at some point he was going to crack, he just didn't have the means to unleash his frustration and anger, prior to his accident. When he becomes Electro, Spider-Man's betrayal (as his messed up mind perceived it) was the drop that spilled the cup. He's a victim, but he turns into a threat, so Spider-Man had to deal with him, helped by Gwen (who isn't just Peter's girlfriend, but the force driving him forward as both Peter and Spider-Man).

Then there's Harry Osborn (whose encounter with Peter was believable and beautifully done as well). He's desperate for saving his life, he feels betrayed by his best friend (unlike Max being delusional, they were actually friends), as well. His motives make sense. His transformation into the Green Goblin is raw, powerful and frightening. No more silly costume or cheesy voice delivery (sorry, Sam Raimi and Willem Dafoe).

Rhyno was more of a filler, I was really surprised to see such a small screen time from him (but I didn't feel he needed more, having Electro and Green Goblin already).

If you're trying to nitpick, you can probably find some minor plot holes or things that you think should've been done differently. I'm not saying that it's a perfect movie (no movie is flawless), but I consider it to be an almost perfect superhero movie (faithful to the source materials, checking all the right boxes on my list of things I wanted to see). During its runtime - 142 minutes - so glad it wasn't shorter, I basically relived my childhood (I grew up with the 1990s Spider- Man cartoons and reading Spider-Man comic books). That's what good movies do, they make you forget about real life while you're watching them.

Marc Webb achieved what Cristopher Nolan did with his Dark Knight trilogy, taking all the needed elements that fans love, giving them the right touch and creating the ultimate Spider-Man experience for us to enjoy (web swinging in 3D genuinely felt like you were on Spidey's back). I found TASM1 to be solid, but TASM2 is superior in many ways.

Don't trust the naysayers, watch it!

I wasn't expecting much from it at the beginning, but it turned out to be great. Good story, enough mystery to keep you interested, good performances.

Joseph Fiennes, John Cho and Dominic Monaghan have done a great job, with natural and good emotional acting. It was a pleasure to watch them every second.

One of the best, original shows I've ever watched.

I'm so sorry that ABC killed it after 22 episodes. After Kyle XY, a very promising show is again canceled. I'm glad I watched it, but I wanted more...