200. Web-Series Reviews – 50

More web-series reviews…

Tabula Rasa – It means a Fresh Start! Series from Belgium😊!! A young woman with amnesia becomes a key figure in a disappearance case.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Tabula Rasa is an excellent psychological thriller. The acting is top-notch, particularly from the three lead actors: Veerle Baetens, Stijn Van Opstal, and Jeroen Perceval.

This is a show that will keep you guessing, with so many twists, layers, and hidden connections. There's a fantastic air of creepiness and menace. The imagery is stunning and the cinematography is great. My jaw dropped in shock more than once.

Aside from the intricate and compelling central mystery, the relationship drama is also great. There's nuance in the performances and the show really displays the complexity of family life. As an American, I found it fascinating to see what life in Flanders is like.

There are just so many fantastic elements to this show. It's the perfect show to bingewatch. Tabula Rasa, along with Dark, prove that some of Netflix's best content is the foreign language shows. I can't recommend Tabula Rasa enough. It's such a smart show.

My Take – A worthwhile watch😊!!

Navarasa – Tamil anthology series.  The nine episodes represent a different emotion or rasa such as anger, compassion, courage, disgust, fear, laughter, love, peace and wonder.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

For all its hype and relentless online marketing, Navarasa definitely scores high for its technical brilliance and production design. In fact almost all of its nine stories, put together has a runtime of 5 hours, and has a very few parallels on the technical side that can match Navarasa head to head, in Kollywood. But the screenplay and writing has more misses than hits, only 3 stories intrigued the viewers minds, while another 3 offers nothing new and 3 more are just boring and a makes a painful watch.

Episode 1: Edhiri, Very Good but not brilliant, Actor Vijay Sethupathi's talents goes under utilised here.

Episode 2: Summer of 1992, Has a few laughs but Director Priyadarshan offers nothing new.

Episode 3: Project Agni, Brilliant concept but director Karthik Naren rushes to tell and do too many things in a very short time.

Episode 4: Payasam, An Authentic 1960s tale, aided by some brilliant production design and costumes. Prakash Raj would have been an better choice than Delhi Ganesh here.

Episode 5: Peace, I never new LTTE spoke with such funny accents and wore makeup, before operations.

Episode 6: Roudram, Brilliant tale that intrigues the viewer minds for its entire run time. Arvind swami stuns us with his caliber as a director.

Episode 7: Inmai, Parvathy shines in this rather insipid folklore, that tries hard.

Episode 8: Thunintha Pin, An outright dud from the screenplay pages of Ravaan or Ravaanan (2007), that didn't make the final cut. Really? Mani sir?

Episode 9: Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru, A Typical Gautham Menon, blah blah blah that I have been watching for 20 years now. Frankly Mr. GVM, don't you have any other ideas? A Brilliant Song by Karthik in a dud within.

Overall, Watch Navarasa for its technical brilliance and a wonderful Toorigha song, when you have absolutely nothing to do, sans higher expectations. 6 out of 10 stars for a promising anthology which goes flat eventually.

My Take – Below expectations series.

 

Wisting – Series from Norway😊!! Homicide detective William Wisting struggles with the two toughest cases of his career. His serial killer investigation crosses paths with his journalist daughter's news story, putting her in grave danger.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

William Wisting is a detective in the Norwegian town of Larvik whose work gets in the way of family life. When a body is found frozen in a Christmas tree plantation he and his colleagues have no idea how big the case will turn out to be. Evidence links him to a serial killer who dropped off the radar in the United States many years previously... for this reason two FBI agents fly in to assist with the investigation. Meanwhile Wisting's daughter Line, a reporter, is back in town writing a story about the death of a neighbour; it was meant to be a story about neglect but the more she digs the more she thinks his death wasn't as it first appeared. As the case progresses the level of danger increases. This story covers the first five episodes; in the second five Wisting finds himself accused of manufacturing evidence in a case seventeen years previously. If he can't clear his name he could be sent to prison for a long time. There is also a race against time as a girl has disappeared in circumstances that mirror the case being complained about.

I rather enjoyed this Norwegian crime drama. It may feature a few cliché's such as the daughter who we just know will get in danger and disagreements with another agency as to how to handle the case, but it is still fine entertainment. While officially it was a season of ten episodes it very much felt like two five-episode mini-seasons as each half concentrated of different cases. Each provided a good mystery with some twists and a good sense of danger. The location was good; in the first half the snow cover adds to the atmosphere in the second everything is nice and green outside town. The cast does a fine job; most notably Sven Nordin, who plays the titular Wisting. Overall a solid detective series which fans of the genre should enjoy; I'd definitely recommend it. Hopefully there will be further seasons.

My take – An ok series.

The Twelve – Another series from Belgium😊!!  Twelve ordinary people are called for jury duty for a murder case as traumatizing as it is controversial in which a woman stands trial for killing her own blood.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Anyone who ever served on a jury can relate to the situation. The life of the accused is resting on your decision to weigh the evidence and then decide beyond a reasonable doubt if that person is innocent or guilty.

In addition to a gripping court room drama, "The Twelve" gives the viewer simultaneous insight into the troubled lives of each of the jurors. Each one of them has problems of their own, sometimes possibly conflicting with their assignment as jurors in a double-murder trial. Can each of the objectively decide the fate of the defendant?

Each of the 10 episodes focuses closely on one of the juror's personal life, and frequently individual jurors interact with one another, even forming friendships. The final episode delivers many shockers, and in the end all conflicts find a satisfactory resolution. Nonetheless, the very best surprise is saved for last! - I watched this series in the English dub version, which was quite well done. I can highly recommend this drama series!

My Take – A worthwhile watch!!

Cheers till next time😊!!

Daffy Definition

Successful Man – A person who earns more money than his wife can spend😊!

Successful Woman – One who can find such a man😊😊!!