Farhad Safiana - Boss Season 1 (x-post amazon.com)

If evil, ruthless, methodical politicians is your thing then this is pretty much as good, and occasionally better, than the original House of Cards. That should be enough to make it a surefire purchase, but i'll try to elaborate. The basic set-up of ruthless power politics is handled well and informatively. Most characters are interesting, and Kelsey Grammer is really nice as the outwardly charming, yet utterly scary, mayor. The storyline is a nice selection of double crosses over double crosses, and most of these are plausible enough. It shows the webs of power and money, and the matter-of-factlyness of arrangements between all the structures of a city. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the episodes, and the characters will remain with me for quite some time. Though it must be said that i felt the ending failed to work properly. There is neither definite closure, nor the proper set-up for a second season. Tom Kane coming out on top of this season relies too heavily on stupid actions/inactions on the part of actors who up until becoming slobbering imbeciles are ruthless, faultless, schemers. That they suddenly decide to flip out at the pivotal moment just does not seem likely. This is a shame, as the rest of the series is so darn good. It is also weird that mayor Kane's medical condition features so heavily in the first three or four episodes, then for all intents and purposes never to be seen again. Watch it and enjoy it, but keep yourself braced for a slightly disappointing ending. (I have not watched season 2, so the lay-up may be brilliant.)

David Lean - The Bridge on the River Kwai (x-post amazon)

This movie manages to be light-hearted and serious-minded in about an as perfect manner as i have ever witnessed in the movies. Whilst dealing with the gruesome backdrop of life in a japanese internment camp during world war 2 it manages to both portray the horrors and create a feeling of jovial fun to be had. This is kind of weird, but works quite well. Basically, the set up is a variant on the theme of necessary order, and how to maintain it in an adverse environment. The movie gets this point across quite well, whilst it also makes what this order is focused on something that is genuinely bad for the people the constructors purport to represent. This juxtaposition is well thought out, and the hopelessness in the choice between staunch opposition and collaboration is handled seriously, yet with a light and humorous hand. Never is there a scene that is too serious for an off hand humorous remark, and the movie is made much better by it. If this theme were to be presented without the humour, the movie would have been a bleak, bleak show.