Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 - 2020)

Ca rezultat al dragostei dintre o vrajitoare si o fiinta umana, Sabrina este atrasa de ambele lumi si incearca sa se pastreze conectata de tot ceea ce iubeste.

Un serial plin de imaginatie, bazat pe o serie de benzi desenate ce a generat un alt serial cult in anii 90, cu un ton complet diferit ca sitcom. Serialul de fata pastreaza tonul intunecat al seriei de pe hartie si conexiunile cu mitologia oculta, dar si impresia jucausa si usor caricaturistica, rezultand intr-un mix ce nu poate fi condamnat de a insufla idei negative cand este atat de ingenios si placut, chiar si cand personajele se lupta cu lucruri complet neplacute. Face uz adesea de cliseele foarte comune genului, cand elementul lipsa perfect pica (a se citi "este inventat") in poalele eroilor exact in momentul cel mai oportun, dar povestea in cazul de fata este secundara spectacolului si vitezei vizuale, incat aceste scapari sunt usor iertate. 

Din pacate serialul a fost anulat de Netflix, si s-a terminat la finele sezonului 4 intr-o situatie nefericita ce ar fi avut o solutie deja planuita intr-un viitor sezon, dar  nu vom vedea ce ar fi fost, asa ca gustul finalui a ramas un pic amar.

Regia:  Rob Seidenglanz si altii   

Productie:  Netflix   

Creator:  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa   

Durata:  4 sezoane a cate 8-11 episoade (~1 ora fiecare)   

Cu: Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Chance Perdomo, Richard Coyle, Miranda Otto, Abigail Cowen, Alessandro Juliani

Rating: 8/10

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 - 2020)

As the result of the love between a witch and a human, Sabrina is attracted to both worlds and tries to stay connected to everything she loves.

An imaginative tv show, based on a comic book series that generated another cult tv series in the 90s, with a completely different tone as a sitcom. 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' retains the dark tone of the paper version and its deep connections to occult mythology, but also the playful and slightly caricaturistic feel, resulting in a mix that cannot be accused of inspiring negative ideas in any way when it's so ingenious and pleasant to watch, even as the characters deal with completely unpleasant things. It often makes use of the clichés that are very common to the genre, which usually involve having the one missing perfect element falling (read that as "being invented") in the heroes' lap at exactly the right time, but the story in this case is secondary to the visual show and speed of events, so these small missteps are easily forgiven.

Unfortunately the series was canceled by Netflix, and it ended in season 4 in an unfortunate situation that would have had a solution in an already planned future season, but the fans will not get to see what that was, so the series finale remains a little bitter.

Director:  Rob Seidenglanz and others   

Production:  Netflix   

Creator:  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa   

Duration:  4 seasons of 8-11 episodes (~1 hour each)   

With: Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Chance Perdomo, Richard Coyle, Miranda Otto, Abigail Cowen, Alessandro Juliani

Rating: 8/10

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

O calatoare din viitor cu imbunatatiri artificiale incearca sa apere o tanara cu importanta pentru viitorul deja cunoscut de ea.

O continuare a mitului Terminator ce urmeaza aproape imediat Terminator 2 Judgement Day, fara a anula filmele lansate intre ele, ce devin acte ale unui viitor anulat. Povestea e inchegata ok, jucata cum trebuie, tandemul Linda Hamilton si Arnold Schwarzenegger este binevenit pentru fani, dar povestea e spusa si respusa si de fapt nu prea multe s-au schimbat in naratiunea curenta decat poate efectele speciale, desi primele doua Terminator sunt si vor ramane mult timp impresionante vizual si tehnic.

Regia:  Tim Miller     

Cu: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes

Rating: 7/10

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Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

An augmented time traveler from the future tries to defend a young woman who's important for the future she already knows.

A continuation of the Terminator myth that follows almost immediately after Terminator 2 Judgment Day, without actually canceling the movies released between them, but merely turning them into acts of a canceled future. The story is cohesive enough, the performances are adequate, the Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger tandem is welcome by the fans, but the story has been told and retold and in fact not much has changed with the current narrative other than maybe the special effects, although the first two Terminator are and will remain visually and technically impressive for a long time.

Director:  Tim Miller     

With: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes

Rating: 7/10

Lucifer (2016– )

Lucifer se razvrateste impotriva numelui rau si paraseste Iadul in favoarea Los Angeles-ului, unde investigheaza crime.

Un serial plin de aventuri nonsalante. Cu o premisa simpla, Lucifer asculta cu adevarat ceea ce publicul fidel vrea. Ideea de investigatii criminalistice astfel a aparut, precum si prelungirea vietii serialului prin adoptarea de catre Netflix in 2019. 

Foloseste abil mitologia biblica si nu numai, dar fara a intra prea adanc in semnificatii prea complicate, foloseste clisee care functioneaza (bad boy, dragoste ispasitoare), actori carismatici si umor obraznic. In ciuda momentelor destul de dese in care eroul principal cam calca pe nervi, serialul e placut si usor de digerat. In plus, mutatul pe Netflix a oferit cateva ocazii fericite in care povestea si-a asumat niste riscuri interesante.

Regia:  Nathan Hope si altii   

Productie:  Warner Bros, Fox (<2018), Netflix (>2019)   

Creator:  Tom Kapinos   

Durata:  6 sezoane a cate 10-26 episoade (40-50+ minute fiecare, partea a 2-a a sezonului 5 si ultimul sezon fiind programate pentru 2021)  

Cu: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D.B. Woodside, Rachael Harris, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Aimee Garcia, Tricia Helfer

Rating: 7/10

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Lucifer (2016– )

Lucifer rebels against his bad name and leaves Hell for Los Angeles, where he helps investigate murders.

A series full of nonchalant adventures. With a simple premise, Lucifer truly listens to what its faithful audience wants. The idea of ​​forensic investigations thus appeared, as well as the extension of the series' life by being adopted into the Netflix family in 2019.

The series skillfully uses biblical mythology and more, but without going too deep into unnecessarily complicated meanings; it uses clichés that are known to work (bad boy, atoning love and so on), charismatic actors and naughty humor. Despite the rather frequent moments when the main hero gets a little annoying, the series is pleasant to watch and easy to digest. In addition, the move to Netflix offered several happy occasions when the story took some interesting risks.

Director:  Nathan Hope and others   

Production:  Warner Bros, Fox (<2018), Netflix (>2019)   

Creator:  Tom Kapinos   

Duration:  6 seasons of 10-26 episodes (40-50+ minutes each; part 2 of season 5 and the last season are scheduled for 2021)  

With: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D.B. Woodside, Rachael Harris, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Aimee Garcia, Tricia Helfer

Rating: 7/10

Vampire Academy (2014)

Dhampir, Moroi si Strigoi sunt trei versiuni diferite de vampiri. Rose si Lissa apartin primelor doua si arata o legatura prieteneasca ce depasteste masurile normalului. 

Un film horror cu vampiri adolescenti. Mitul vampirilor este dezvoltat ceva mai mult cu o tripla versiune a fiintelor ce au fascinat de secole intr-un mod destul de interesant. Pacat ca viteza productiei si lipsa de interes real a producatorilor fac risipa din dialogul ce nu e rau si povestea diluata pentru un public subapreciat.

Regia:  Mark Waters     

Cu: Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Gabriel Byrne, Olga Kurylenko, Claire Foy, Joely Richardson, Sarah Hyland

Rating: 6/10

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