187. Web-Series Reviews – 39

More web-series Reviews…

Hustle – Hustle is a British television crime drama series starring Adrian Lester, Robert Glenister and Robert Vaughn. The show premiered on 24 February 2004, and ran for eight series, with its final episode aired on 17 February 2012. The show's premise is on a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended forms of deceptive frauds that require greater commitment, but offer higher rewards than simple confidence tricks. The show's most notable qualities are plots that involve behind-the-scenes action that the viewers are unaware of until near the end of an episode, along with fantasy scenes and occasional breaches of the fourth wall by the main actors.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Thank God that AMC saw the light &, in conjunction with the BBC, allowed us "Yanks" to view one of the coolest shows to come on the scene in decades. When AMC initially aired trailers for it two years ago, I intended on checking it out because of Robert Vaughn, actor that I've admired since his "Man from U.N.C.L.E.” days & the sole American in the cast. However, its airing & my schedule could not get "in sync".

It was until this third season that I started watching the show and what a pleasure each and every installment has been. The cast is flawless: Adrian Lester is authoritative and classy as leader "Mickey"; Marc Warren brings the right persona as "Danny," the "eager beaver" neophyte; Vaughn, of course, is perfect as "Albert," the senior grifter of the group; Jaime Murray holds her own as the sole female member of the quintet, providing the sexual allure but equally adept at the art of con; and Robert Glenister's "Ash" is the group's "jack of all trades," the one that stages and sets up the elaborate situations and locations for the respective "stings".

Major kudos must be given to creator Tony Jordan, as well as Bharat Nalluri for providing the idea.

The story lines are enthralling and the occasional "winks" at and asides to the audience are brilliantly executed, adding to the "tongue in cheek" flair of the show.

The cinematography is such that London has never looked better and hipper. The wardrobe budget must be astronomical because each of the principals gets to "dress to the nines."

For those of us old enough to remember, there was a short-lived American show in the 60's called "The Rogues," starring the stellar cast of Charles Boyer, David Niven, Gig Young, Robert Coote, Gladys Cooper, and a young Larry Hagman.

Not since that show has "conning" been such fun...until "Hustle"

My take - DON'T MISS IT!! INCREDIBLE SERIES!!  Binged it with my wife and finished it in about 15 days😊!!

I am a Killer – I Am a Killer is a series on Netflix and Crime+Investigation UK featuring interviews with death row inmates. 2 seasons with 10 episodes each. Watched only the 1st season.  Will see season 2 sometime later!!

One of the reviews from IMDB...

I skipped over it many times because why would I want to hear from death row inmates? But its now my current favorite show. Very well made with equal time given to each side of the story so that the viewers fully understand what happened. This isn't a show about some liar criminal pleading innocence in the face of evidence proving guilt, they know they are guilty - its often the full story that wasn't told or isn't widely known that will pull you in and that makes it such a good show. As someone else said and I will agree with, prepare for a roller coaster of emotions - and yes, you'll likely shed tears more than a few times.

My Take - Worth a one-time watch

Truth Be Told – Truth Be Told is an American drama streaming television series based on the novel Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber and produced for Apple TV+. The series premiered on December 6, 2019.Apple renewed the series for a second season, which is set to premiere in 2021.

True crime podcaster Poppy Parnell is called to investigate the case of convicted killer Warren Cave, a man she incriminated after he murdered the father of two identical twins. Soon, Parnell must decide where the lines between guilty and innocent lie when Cave confesses to the fact that he was framed for the crime.

A review from IMDB...

I genuinely don't get all the hate on the comments. This is literally one of the better shows I've seen in a while! Great cast, great storyline. Lots of twists and turns. Binged it in 2 days. The story just kept me hooked! Only critiques were the 'suicide' trigger warning at the start of one episode is a bit of a spoiler! And I get this is an Apple TV production but the apple product placement is a bit cheesy MacBooks, iPhones, iMacs, beats and EarPods are very obvious.

My take - An ok series.

Cheers till next time! 😊

Today’s Observation

While giving a speech, if you don’t strike oil within a few minutes, stop boring! 😊