Without “The Last of Us”: 7 best series of the beginning of the year

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Television and cable channels, VOD-platforms and streaming slowed down a bit at the beginning of the year, squeezing the gas as much as possible at the end of last year. Therefore, it was not easy to assemble a strong assembly even from 7 points – we have quite high requirements. But we still did it, without even resorting to attracting the bestseller of audience viewings – “The Last of Us” (highly overrated in our opinion), and without that, it was either glorified or thrown off the pedestal at every corner. This time, as many as two Korean series made it to our recommendations, which, after all, is not a lot, considering the place of dramas in the top five of the most popular serial products in the world. Less so, the Americans lead the way, and in our top 7 as well. French “Balthazar” is the only one representing the European continent. Which in no way devalues ​​the product of Europe – we simply recommend the films presented below, thus saving your time. Enjoy! The author of the collages is Andriy Kalistratenko. 1923 Screening: Paramount+, USA Since last year, it has flowed briskly into another genre masterpiece of screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (“The Mayor of Kingstown”), as an ideological continuation of another masterpiece – “1883”. And also, as a prequel to the epochal “Yellowstone”, which immediately went beyond the boundaries of a pure western, and appeared as a social and cultural protest against the “culture of forgetting” or, more precisely, the forgetting of culture. The first series in January already introduced the viewer to the stormy events of the protection of justice on the land of the Dutton family with a new serious actor in the chair of the family – Harrison Ford and an even more serious actress in the role of his wife, Helen Mirren. And about the wife – a woman in general – it is almost more serious. Again, as in all of Sheridan’s series (and films as well, for example, “Sicario”), the woman does not play secondary roles. Both Dutton’s wife, and his nephew’s girlfriend, and a Native American woman – all of them are brave, strong and at the same time feminine, and they don’t just demand their rights – they choose their lives. During February, 4 more series will be released. Decoy Show: Coupang Play, South Korea “Most murders in Korea are revenge,” one policeman tells another. In this case, serial murders, as the cornerstones of this criminal drama, have a non-trivial reason – as a result of the collapse of a financial pyramid, like the scoop MMM. The first 2 episodes of the 6-episode miniseries are made in the best traditions of dramas: with an intelligent police hero not without problems in the past; a tyrannical anti-hero – the head of the pyramid and a shrewd journalist. Kim Hong-sun is responsible for the direction, especially memorable after “The Voice” in 2017 and “The Guest” in 2018 (we wrote about him), so the quality here is at a high dramatic and formal level, with skillful additions of action and thriller. The pleasure of watching a movie, devoid of exaggerations. And also on a topic that is quite rare on the screen, and, one must admit, so desirable for a mass viewer, Korean or Ukrainian, vulnerable to rich scoundrels and indifferent authorities. The topic of revenge is also very interesting for us. 2 new episodes were released on February 4th, 2 more will be released on the 11th. Pocker Face (Pocker Face) Show: Peacock, USA A witty and light combination of card tricks and detective work in the spirit of Mrs. Marple. Only instead of a caustic old lady, there is a caustic young Natasha Lioni (“Matryoshka”). The 10-episode series is built as a kind of almanac, where each piece has its own murder story: a hotel cleaner, a cook, a drummer or the rest. Everything is connected only by the uncontrollably talkative splinter in the ass character of Leoni, who, in addition, is a mobile lie detector, reading it through the face and voice. The outspoken heroine, fleeing from persecution for her other intemperance – a sense of justice – sometimes plucks up the courage to speak for all of America. She openly attributes child trafficking and child pornography to the Russians. And in general, Lyoni is a kind of Nemesis, because every murderer in every series is immediately known to the viewer, and we only watch the thieves being brought to light. Accused (Accued) Screening: Fox Network, USA Format remake of the 2010 British TV series of the same name on the BBC channel. The remake is as bold and difficult as the British one, although the stories in the American one are already their own. What should parents do if they see their son’s intentions to hurt other children? How to perceive the deafness of a newborn daughter, if she was carried by a deaf-mute surrogate mother? Should the son be considered crazy if he blames the caregiver of his mother with cancer for her death? Almanac “The Accused” is dark and sad, but it asks questions with the inexorability of time – it is better to answer them now, otherwise it may be too late. Despite the drama at the core, the development of each series has the character of a thriller, and sweating is the least it can lead to. It is not often that such a palpable tension and faith in its source happens. But guest directors such as Michael Cuesta (“Homeland”), Marley Matlin (“CODE. In the Rhythm of the Heart”) or Jonathan Mostow (“U-571”) fully correspond to their previous achievements. So far, 3 series have been released. From February 14, the remaining 12 will begin to be published. Balthazar – 5 (Balthazar) Screening: La Une / TF1, France A brain heated by dramas needs something spicy and funny, such as “Balthazar” – certainly a consolation prize already at the beginning of the year. And it cannot be called fun-empty, because the whole flavor of this comedic, police-criminal, mystical and dramatic work is in the combination of elements. Here, the main character is a humorist pathologist, with sarcasm in the first place; he is not completely normal, because he talks to corpses; and Gulvisa, a la James Bond – a handsome man capable of seducing any woman; and a drunkard, able to drink all night and come to work refreshed. Vertical-horizontal, “Balthazar” follows the train of the hero’s relationship with the imprisoned maniac-murderer and his newborn daughter from her, and at the same time adds new wagons of stories, where the nightmare of Balthazar’s relationship with his brother is interwoven and developed. Everything begins with family – everything ends with family, because it is this story that finalizes everything – probably, the performer of the main role, Tomer Sisley (“Largo Winch”) has already been tormented by his character. Your Honor – 2 Showtime: ShowTime, USA One of six remakes of the 2017 Israeli series that became a bestseller as a format, sold around the world. But, unlike the rest of the remakes, the American series, like the original, was renewed for a 2nd season. And it was worth it. Because this is a movie, and the director of the first 3 series, Peter Sollett, confirmed his ability by working in “Evil” and even better in “Vinyl”, a production project by Martin Scorsese. The level of directing, cinematography, and scripting is the reference level here, and the level of dramaturgy is Shakespearean. After the explosive 1st season, the character of Judge Michael Deciato, crushed by the murder of his son, the loss of his career and put behind bars due to court rigging, leaves prison to learn to live anew and somehow reconcile with the New Orleans mobster with whom his son connected him , but combined posthumously. This life casuistry is convincingly embodied by the acting ensemble, where, of course, Bryan Cranston plays the main violin, and his music is the best since the best TV series of all time “Let’s go to the shore”. Enjoy! Payback Screening: SBS TV, South Korea Another Korean drama, this time a corporate one, raises the bar of quality to the top of the genre. And here we have a complex of components: from the boldness of criticism and the large-scale display of modern Korea to the director’s and actor’s performance. Bandits, moneylenders, brokers, prosecutors and politicians – the ladder of evil is examined from the lowest rungs to the top, along with showing the interaction of one with the other. And also how this ladder can be broken. Despite the cultural differences between Korean society and cinema, “Retribution” has everything that concerns and suits Ukrainians. A very motivating series, because on the example of two heroes, an uncle and his nephew, in retrospect of the 90s, 2000s and our time, it shows how you can get out of shit, and bring the culprits to justice. “What can you do? Take revenge? It’s not worth it,” says the hero’s sister. To which he answers prophetically: “You always have to pay the bills. Don’t count the losses – count the profits.” PS In case of an itchy desire to watch something else, we can recommend something that did not reach the level of our criticism^ the British teenage fantasy “Agency “Lockwood & Co” based on the novels of Jonathan Stroud, and this writer was once called a “genius” among literature for teenagers; the police thriller “Crusade” is a little twisted in Polish, but it has a whole and quite interesting concept. In addition, here the heroine is an emigrant from Donetsk, where she fled, because she does not like when she is “shot from a cannon”; only -but the 3-episode “Nelly” with Helena Bonham-Carter from the screenwriter of the outstanding series “Long Years” Russell T. Davis has been released; for drama lovers, we can offer a good duo: the comedy melodrama “Mind Cooperation” and the fantasy melodrama “Cokdu Seasons”.

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