fciocca

"Taboo" tells the story of James Delaney, a sailor who worked for the East India Company. The ship where he was assigned sinks and everyone takes for granted that he is dead in the incident. He will resurface years later in the UK, to take care of some unfinished family businesses, bringing a lot of chaos.

The mysterious element that surrounds the main character is well built: the series will never fully disclose what happened during the hiatus period in Africa to James. We just understand that he witnessed some horrible and traumatizing events that haunts him in the form of visions that have some kind of paranormal tantrum. However, the series never overdo and these occurrences are pretty credible and they give a bit of dynamicity to the story without taking too much screentime. The plot revolves around a lot of subterfuges between the EIC, the English Crown and the American Government. These parties are all fighting against each other to obtain the monopoly of tea commerce on the China route. Delaney is in the middle of the war, as his family owns land in Canada of strategic importance.

The interpretation of Tom Hardy is spectacular: the terror that this man infuses to people that enter in contact with him is absolutely on point. He portrayed a strategist that always has an axe up on his sleeves and he obtains whatever he wants, making complex plans, involving people of trust and always delivering a turn of events, even when everything seems to go for the worst. The way he behaves: his direct way of talking to people or the gruesome actions that commits are conveyed really well by the actor as he dresses this character wonderfully, to the point where I really do not see anyone else playing James Delaney.

The secondary characters play a fundamental role and make the plot flow really well. Their stories are deepened enough to understand the social and historical context in which James operates. Certain morals did not exist and the corruption on high places was mixing with the lowlives. The cast is composed of many great names such as Jessie Buckley ("The Lost Daughter"), Jonathan Price ("The Two Popes") and Michael Kelly ("The Penguin"), so you can rest assured that the performances are charismatic. The photography and set locations are very well done: "Taboo" takes place on a gritty and grey London, where the audience is thrown into the dirty and criminal underworld streets.

The ending is very promising, and it opens the possibility for a continuation, as James' crew is now exploring different frontiers and new businesses. Unfortunately only one season got released in 2017, but it seems that the second one is in development and we might have news soon. I definitely recommend this show. My final rate is 8.5 out of 10.

With a director such as Michael Mann and a cast including Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, I was expecting a good, entertaining movie that was going to tell the story of one of the biggest Italian entrepreneurs that brought the brand Ferrari to international fame. I was expecting the adrenaline of race cars, exposing the failures and the successes of this incredible factory, showing one of the most interesting and peculiar stories in the automotive industry. But I was very disappointed.

The movie is extenuatingly slow paced and it puts way too much emphasis on the love story between Enzo and her mistress Lina Lardi with whom he had a kid outside of his marriage. The cars and the story of the company seems to be a subplot that Mann shows towards the end. It is like the director and the screenwriters remembered at the very last minute that this was indeed a movie about a car manufacturer. "Ferrari" is filled with over-the-top and pointless drama that does not progress the story and makes this feel more like a love tragedy. Enzo is portrayed like a problematic individual and it does not transmit that charisma that always distinguished him. By the end, I did not learn anything about the guy, if not that he was a guy that loved to be in a complicated love triangle. I think that this does not do justice to the real character.

On the bright side, the few racing sequences are dynamic and tense. I felt the pressure that the pilots felt before every curve, finding the perfect moments to break in order to pass the opponents. A few cents of a second can truly make the difference for the victory and the reputation of the different brands. The rivalry is real. The contestants will take every risk necessary to fight for their team. The photography offers some picturesque images. It is just beautiful to see the cars speeding in the different landscapes. But aside from this, there is nothing else that can save this film. I do not recommend, my final rate is 4.5, just because it was at least shot competently and the cast is really good.

"Alien: Earth" is more than yet another Alien franchise product. It expands this narrative universe with new creatures and characters that are products of a brand new controversial and yet groundbreaking technology. The overall rhythm is slower, giving the audience the opportunity to truly get to know the context. The beginning is tense and spectacular, with a direction that in many aspects reminds the original movies released between the 70s and the 80s: the set design and the locations, the photography with slow pans, the point-of-view of the aliens that are chasing down their victims. The 5th episode is the one that really bringed this intellectual property quality to the stars. It contains some plot twists that I never see coming, which is very rare nowadays, at least for me. Despite explaining many key narrative elements, the creators maintained that mystery and tension aura that pushed me to keep watching until the very end, sparkling my genuine interest.

The cast is composed of many great names. Wendy (Sydney Chandler) is a well-structured character with a complete and complex psychology. She undergoes a rapid transformation, becoming essential to the story's development. Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) and Morrow (Babou Ceesay) are two ambiguous personalities. Everything that involves them is not what it seems, and they delivered the most surprising twists. Kavalier, played by Samuel Blenkin, is the ruthless founder of Prodigy. He has perhaps the most peculiar acting of the show. He is weird but extremely focused on the expansion of his corporation, going against all the rules. He has several tragicomic moments, where the audience can really understand how emotionless and self-centered he is.

The creators reached the perfect balance, displaying deep dialogues, raw, violent scenes and interesting political subterfuges that put the audience in front of a world dominated by an oligarchy composed of only five companies, hungry to have more power and influence, putting aside any kind of morality, while the CEOs sees people just as expandable assets. It is an interesting element, that does not take too much space, but that at the same time gives some food for thought to the audience. This is definitely added value. After that huge failure of Romulus, this is exactly what the fanbase needed for a long time: a true comeback to the origins that actually enriched this franchise. My final rate is 8.5 out of 10.