Category Archives: Reviews

(tv series) AEW ALL ACCESS season 1 – wrestling up and close!

I love wrestling! I remember when I watched it for first time on cable tv at my friends Igor and Jura and we together concluded that this is something great! In the meantime, they stopped following wrestling and I still love it and watch it for all these years! Of course, I love WWE(former World Wrestling Federation), but in the last few years there is another wrestling league worth watching and paying attention to, because it is getting better and better month to month, pay per view to pay per view. That is AEW(All Elite Wrestling). Formed by Tony Khan, this promotion holds talents that are original, but also many former WWE talents that were cut loose due to expense cuts during covid pandemics, like Dean Ambrose(in AEW known as Jon Moxley), Daniel Bryan(in AEW Bryan Danielson) or Cesaro(here as Claudio Castagnoli), also Paige(here as Saraya) or Ruby Soho too. This is quality wrestling, only they should work more on angles and storylines a bit. This six episodes docu series deals with behind the scenes of their flagshow AEW Dynamite and lives of couple of wrestlers like Britt Baker DMD, her boyfriend Adam Cole and also married couple Sammy Guevara and Tay Mello, also Ruby Soho and her return, Young Bucks and Elite. This is interesting watch for all of us who love to peak behind the scenes and how this all looks behind the curtain and backstage. To be safe, this show does not show how it is made, how the wrestling moves are done and matches booked, this show is about real people and their injuries, their heartbreaks, hopes, luck and life behind the glamour, sweat and blood of wrestling ring. That is why it was interesting to me and I am sure, if you are wrestling fan, that you will watch this show and enjoy every single minute. I can’t wait for season two to return with some other interesting and my favorite AEW characters, some of them larger than life.

8/10

(review) Century – ‘The Conquest of Time’ (Electric Assault Records)

Century are hailing from Sweden and have been in the scene since 2020. This is their first debut full length opus after releasing a demo and couple of singles. As far as I understand this is a duo, members are Leo Ekstrom Sollenmo (drums, guitars bass) and Staffan Tengner (vocals, guitars, bass). This one contains nine songs. Music of Century is rawer and melodic version of heavy metal, reminding me a bit of all those early NWOBHM bands, that influence is here for sure, also I can hear some eighties influences Mercyful Fate and King Diamond here and there. But, there is also fresh energy for the new metal millennium on this album with fast songs like ‘The Fighting Eagle’ or galloping ‘Sinister Star’. Vocals on this album are epic, neither mellow nor too high, just somehow right to fit music perfectly. Guitar work is impeccable and there are some melodies that you catch yourself humming to later after listening to this album with that distinct Swedish style of metal like Hammerfall coming to mind or maybe Sabaton. My personal favorites are above said songs, but also ‘Master of Hell’ and ‘Servants of the Iron Mask’ but you will have to find yours for yourselves. So, this is a fine true blooded heavy metal eighties meet modern times record with no philosophy or bullshit.

8/10

Bandcamp

(tv series) Midnight Mass – još jedna odlična serija Mikea Flanagana!

Za Mike Flanagana sam prvi puta čuo kada sam pogledao filmove koje je režirao, kao što su ekranizacije Stephen Kingovih djela Doctor Sleep(nastavak Shininga), te Gerald’s Game. Pročitao sam nedgje preporuku za njegovu seriju The Haunting of Hill House, pa sam ostao oduševljen kombinacijom horrora i drame, Flanagan je u toj seriji prikazao kako je stvarni život pravi horror u odnosu na fikciju. Nakon toga sam pogledao i The Haunting of Bly Manor, koja mi nije toliko legla kao Hill House recimo. Pa, evo nas na još jednoj seriji koju je stvorio Mike Flanagan.

U seriji je riječ o otoko Crockett, udaljenom otoku na kojem živi mala zajednica ljudi, povezana u vjeri i religiji koju nad njima provodi stari monsinjor Pruitt. Jednog dana, Pruitt ostane na kopnu jer je bolestan i dođe ga zamijeniti mlađahan otac Paul koji svojom energijom i željom unese novi život u pomalo učmalu sredinu čiji je glavni prihod ribarstvo, ali doznajemo da je havarija tankera u prošlosti prilično unazadila otok. Na otok se iz zatvora nakon što je pijan uzrokovao nesreću vraća i Riley Flynn, te trudna učiteljica Erin Greene čiji životni putevi se isprepletu zajedničkom poviješću. Tu je i vjerska fanatkinja također učiteljica Bev Keane, te šerif musliman Hassan i njegov sin. Stvari krenu ukrivo kada ljudi počnu nestajati, a na otoku živi vampir koji se hrani krvlju mještana, no taj vampir u kombinaciji s mještanima postane nešto mnogo opasnije.

Ova serije se odlično gradi, prvih nekoliko epizoda je potrebno da upoznamo sve likove, njihove želje, vrline i mane. Obiluje za neke preogromnim dijalozima koji su nekima naporni, no odlično su napisani i fenomenalno odrađeni i daju pravi uvid u likove i psihološki horror koji se na izoliranom otoku polako gradi. Tema ove serije je zapravo religija, njene vrline i štetnosti i što fanatizam može izazvati i napraviti u ljudima, kao i vjera u zagrobni život, besmrtnost i filozofski je odlično postavljena. Naravno, ima i nešto gore scena, ukusno odrađenih, kao i smrti i užasa, te na kraju u zadnjoj epizodi jedan od najboljih monologa napisanih kojih sam ikada odgledao u nekom filmu ili seriji. Ako vam je prvih nekoliko epizoda od desetak naporno, strpite se jer druga polovica serije je nešto najbolje što sam odgledao u zadnjih nekoliko godina i zarosile su mi oči na kraju serije, da se ne lažemo.

Gore scene: 8/10 sjekira – ukusno odrađene i trenuci horrora u seriji su poprilično realistični. Nema ih puno, ali su taman gdje i koliko treba.

Gluma: 10/10 sjekira – svi glumci su odlično odradili, odlično napisani, neki se ponavljaju iz ranijih Flanaganovih serija. Fe-no-me-nalno.

Zaključak: 10/10 sjekira – gledati!!! Moja topla preporuka!!!