A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of L.A. about to explode in violence in this look at the gang culture enforced by the colors that members wear.

Excellent movie about the gang wars in Los Angeles, credited as the movie that brought the war to the mainstream. Directed by Dennis Hopper, with Sean Penn and Robert Duvall in great roles and supported by Don Cheadle, Trinidad Silva, even Damon Wayans, this is a great insight into the gangbagers culture. Six popcorns and goes into the Movie Vault.

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A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.

This is one of the first movies of Christian Bale and it’s also one of his best. This is not an overstatement, as I consider this movie to be one of Steven Spierlberg’s best, which says a lot. There are also appearances by John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Joe Pantoliano, Masato Ibu, Peter Gale and even an appearance of Ben Stiller, but Bale manages to steal the show. Seven popcorns and goes into the Movie Vault.

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In 2024, Marcel Iures brings back Romania’s Enigmas for a second season. Being short, with only three episodes, it’s even better made and with interesting topics of discussion. Once again, featuring interviews with good people from their specific fields, it brings into the spotlight subjects that are usually left in the shadows. Four popcorns.

Episode 1: Barbu Catargiu: Who Is The Killer?

The first political assassination in the history of modern Romania. The first Prime Minister of Unified Romania, Barbu Catargiu, is shot in broad daylight under mysterious circumstances that have never been fully clarified.

A mysterious story about the first political assassination, the prime-minister Barbu Catargiu, in 1862.

My take:

Episode 2: UFOs in Romania

Numerous UFO sightings have been reported in Romania — even aerial enigmas observed in flight. Most appear to be exaggerations, but not all of them! One such incident occurred in 1989 at Kogălniceanu Airport — today a NATO base on the Black Sea — witnessed by supersonic jet pilots. Another case involved nine military helicopter pilots and technicians during a night flight in 1992.

The first UFO sighting photographed in Romania, above the Baciu Forest, was acknowledged by experts and later mentioned at an international symposium on the subject. Dumitru Prunariu, Romania’s famous astronaut, was himself a witness to a strange aerial event during his Soyuz space mission in 1981.

Military and government officials have always remained silent. What really happened in Romania’s skies — and why was it all kept so secret?

A great modern enigma regarding unidentified flying objects. I was surprised to see one of the actors in one of the re-enactments to be a former workmate. Neat!

My take:

Episode 3: Maria Tănase: A Forbidden Love

Known as the “Divine Bird,” Maria Tănase was the Edith Piaf of Romania. Her songs, voice, and beauty captivated both Romanians (including today’s youth and celebrities) and international audiences. But there was also a darker side to her fairy-tale life, largely due to her passionate loves — sometimes for the wrong people.

The fantastic tale of one of Romania’s greatest musician of all time, and the unbelievable story of the person behind the artist.

My take:

Acclaimed Romanian actor Marcel Iures will dig into a series of unanswered enigmas arising from the Romania’s history, geology, castles, who-done-it crimes, celestial lights, mental derangements and hidden religious rites.

The episodes explore mysteries and enigmas from Romania’s history, in a blend of cinematic re-enactments, dialogues with experts on the matter or people close to the case one way or the other. Decently written, well filmed, it’s not a masterpiece, but it’s nice to see these stories getting some screen time. Four popcorns.

Episode 1: The Brukenthal Museum Robbery

Romania in 1968 was better guarded than Alcatraz. No one moved a stick in the country without the Secret Services being informed. And the Bruckenthal Museum in Sibiu was one of the hotspots monitored by the dictator Ceausescu s Secret Service (the Securitate). Under these conditions, 8 very valuable paintings were stolen and taken out of the country. 55 years later, nobody knows what happened. Only 4 of them were found, in USA and President Emil Constantinescu took them back, with the help of Bill Clinton and the World Bank. How did the paintings end up in USA? Who stole them? How were they transported over the borders of two communist counties? (Romania and Hungary) Where are the other four paintings? What the police found out? Who are the main suspects? These are only a few of the questions.

Really nice episode about a story that I didn’t even know it happened.

My take:

Episode 2: The Miracle from Maglavit

Was it a fraud, or was it God talking to the people through a deaf -mute shepherd? In the summer of 1935, over 2 million people left for Maglavit to see God. To talk to him. To be healed. All the newspapers talked about Maglavit, a poor village in Oltenia, where the shepherd Petrache Lupu claimed to have seen and talked to God. And then, started, as a deaf-mute to speak to crowds of hundreds of thousands of people. There were only a few newspapers and most of population that didn’t know how to read. However, it turned into a pilgrimage of the masses, compared to Lourdes. A wasteful amount of money was collected from donations and people claimed to have been cured of serious illnesses. Where is the money? Was Petrache Lupu a saint or a fraud? Was the whole movement put down by moguls or was it something saint oppressed by war and communists?

Another story that I didn’t know about, combined with seeing Gigi Becali in the role of “philantropist”. Lmao.

My take:

Episode 3: The Death of Mihai Eminescu

Was Mihai Eminescu killed, was he the victim of a political complot, the victim of the malpraxis or he really died because of the syphilis and serious mental illness? Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889) is the most famous and influential Romanian poet and journalist. He is described as a genius. At the age of 33 he was hospitalised in a mental asylum. On the same day, Romania was changing its allies, something vehemently criticized by the very influent journalist, Eminescu. He died 6 years later, but during this time he was many times hospitalized by his friends who supported the country s new foreign policy orientation. The conspiracy theories start from the mercury treatment that was administered to him during the 6 years.

I like this episode because it reaches stuff that they don’t tell you in school about the guy that’s considered one of the best poets in Romanian literature. Loved the cinematic re-enactments.

My take:

Episode 4: The Ostara Yacht Mystery

In 1920, in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta, a yacht full of gold belonging to a family of very influent and rich Russian nobles ran aground. The victims were fleeing the Bolsheviks. 11 or 13 were found dead on board, most of them shot. The bodies of two other nobles were washed ashore by the waves, two months later. The boat was full of gold, money, and jewellery which were never found. The family tried to convince the fishermen and the border police to help them get to the shore. But it never happened. Instead, all of them were found dead. The documents disappeared, as well as the treasure. What happened to the treasure? Were the nobles killed for it? Did the commit group-suicide? These are only a few questions we are trying to answer.

Rich people turn out dead and their wealth turns out missing. Tale as old as time.

My take:

Episode 5: Elisabeth Bathory and Julia Hasdeu

Countess Elisabeth Bathory also known as the Blood Countess, was a Hungarian noblewoman. After her husband’s death in 1604, rumours began to circulate about her involvement in the torture and killing of young girls, because bathing in the blood of virgins would preserve her youth and beauty. She was accused of killing dozens to hundreds of maids, but nobody could prove that. According to the speculations, she put the young girls in a cage, from where they were wounded and bled. Their blood was used for the skin of the countess. According to other sources, the story was invented by King Matias who was in debt to the countess. Sentencing her to death would help the King seize her wealth. Almost the same happened to Anna Bathory, her aunt, also rich and powerful, she was judged for the same accusations, and even more: witchcraft and incest. Were they both victims of a complot, of the fake news, or the most ruthless serial killers?

This episode was a weird one. I was the most excited about it, because it treated the story of the Julia Hasdeu castle (which I’ve written about before), but it only talks a bit about it. The rest of the episode is about the Bathory family drama, which doesn’t connect that much to the Hasdeu family, nor Romania.

My take:

Episode 6: Vlad the Impaler

Everybody heard about Dracula. A bloody character inspired by the historian figure of the Wallachian prince Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler). He is the most famous Romanian warrior who fought against the Ottomans. There are 5 theories about the place he was buried in. We would need Sherlock to find out where is the grave. How did he die? Who killed him? We tried to find out all the answers from people who made a goal to study his life, from the archaeologists who searched for his grave in 1933 and in 1972. Here is what we found out.

Interesting little episode about one of the greatest rulers of Wallachia and the mysteries that outlive him and are puzzling even to this day.

My take:

In 2045, Spain like the rest of the western world has been driven into a dictatorial regime by the lack of natural resources. Life in the countryside is impossible, and in the city a fence divides peoples into the powerful, and the rest.

Set in a not too distant future, in a world fairly possible. Mixing a bit of dictatorship (the police uniform are straight up nazi-SS), a bit of The Handmaid’s Tale, a bit of Children of Men, it’s a decent dystopian drama. I’ve seen it get a ton of praise, but I find them too much. The show is fine, it’s a strong European production, but also has some pretty strong flaws, characters taking weird decisions, and somehow, in Madrid, a city with several million occupants all the characters seem to be connected somehow and the show is riddled soon by bloated storylines that could be axed from the get go or that straight up make no sense. All in all, an okay watch, four popcorns because good European productions are rare, and the bar is not that high.

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A young boy is arrested by the U.S. Secret Service for writing a computer virus and is banned from using a computer until his 18th birthday. Years later, he and his new-found friends discover a plot to unleash a dangerous computer virus, but they must use their computer skills to find the evidence while being pursued by the Secret Service and the evil computer genius behind the virus.

Remember when movies used to be cool, interesting and fun? A then-upcoming star, Angelina Jolie in a techno-punk thriller, what more could you ask for? One of the best movies of the 90s, reaching cult-movie status, with well written story, absolutely banging soundtrack, and even if it drags on some cliches of the technology (like visualising the digital medium like a maze of 3D buildings, or laptop screens reflecting on actor’s faces), I think they’re part of what makes this movie good. A great cast (Angelina Jolie, Jonny Lee Miller, Fisher Stevens, Jesse Bradford, Matthew Lillard, Laurence Mason) and some nice appearances (Wendell Pierce, Marc Anthony, Penn Jillette) make this movie one to remember, but I think its strongest point now 30 years later is the nostalgia factor, the days when hackers were actually hacking, when computers were used for more than just mindlessly consuming content, back when dorks were people with a computer trying to hack the planet, not ugly bitches trying to promote their OnlyFans accounts.

Seven popcorns straight up and goes into the Movie Vault.

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A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place.

This is a funny sci-fi, and although the story is not extremely well-written, it’s “Friends” meets “Alien”, but without the Alien. Or Rachel. All in all, it’s a fun quick watch (ten episodes of less than half an hour), the visuals are great and the jokes land nicely. Can’t wait for the next season. Five popcorns.

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Follows Wednesday Addams’ years as a student, when she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart and solve the mystery that embroiled her parents.

From the genius mastermind behind a lot of dark movies, Tim Burton, this series puts the big daughter of the Addams family into the spotlight. It’s “Harry Potter” meets “Murder She Wrote”, meets “Stranger Things”. A fun series, filmed in Romania, with great casting, writing, and direction. The perfect series to binge in a cold winter day.

Five popcorns and a Thing 🤚.

Update: Season 2 of this dropped, I’ve watched a few episodes, and it’s bad and boring. I don’t know if they changed the target audience or something, but it just doesn’t click. It’s so bad I won’t make a new article, hence I’m updating the old one. Score for season two is one popcorn.

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Landman is set within the world of oilfields in West Texas, where “roughnecks and wildcat billionaires are fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.” The lead character, Tommy Norris, can be abrasive, as is the out-of-town lawyer investigating a fatal accident early in the season.

Nice little modern western created by Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone”, “Tulsa King”), starring Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter and Jacob Lofland, with great appearances from Colm Feore, Jon Hamm and Michelle Randolph. Also mad props for the DP, as every episode has at least 4 butt shots, I guess we found our “Ass Man”. Five popcorns.

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After an alleged UFO landing, a TV star and an enthusiast investigate the extraterrestrial beings’ origins, debating their theories as a politician exploits the paranormal activity.

Great Polish mini-series, blending science-fiction, drama and comedy into a great looking show. Also watch it with the Polish voices and your favourite subtitle, not with the English dubbing. Five popcorns.

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After being released from prison after 25 years, New York Mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone), just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.

Was nice to see Stallone still rocking it at almost 80 years old. Love the vibe of the series, the acting is fine, the jokes land properly and it’s altogether a good mobsters show. Four popcorns for the first two seasons, and can’t wait for the third one to land soon!

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Hunt and the IMF pursue a dangerous AI called the Entity that’s infiltrated global intelligence. With governments and a figure from his past in pursuit, Hunt races to stop it from forever changing the world.

The American James Bond is back at it, in the second part of the “Dead Reckoning” chapter, called Mission: Impossible - The Flashback Galore. Great special effects, incredible stunts, and a Tom Cruise that is as good as in the 90s. The movie wraps up the story and path of Ethan Hunt, the eight installment of the franchise putting an end to the saga (although I’m sure some prequels or something wil pop up in the future). Four popcorns for a predictable twisty movie that is a must-see for action fans.

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