213. Web-Series Reviews – 61

More web-series reviews…

All these series are based on Harlan Coben books😊!! I have already reviewed his “The Stranger” in my Blog No 151 (Web-series Reviews - 19) and “The Five” in my Blog No 201 (Web-series Reviews - 51)!  Following are the next 4 series.  The 7^th series review in the next blog😊!

The Woods – Came out in 2020. Polish series.  Twenty years earlier, the Kopcinski family dealt with a horrific situation involving the woods surrounding a summer camp. Now, one of the original homicide victims has resurfaced - with a different name and hints that he survived. Pawel Kopcinski finds himself dragged back into the anguish of that dreadful evening. Not only did he lose his sister, he lost real connection with his parents, due to their grief. As he explores the widening mysteries, he is forced to face hard truths about each and every person he has loved.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This six-part mystery is centred on Pawel Kopinski, a Warsaw based prosecutor who is forced to revisit a tragic event from his past. A man's body is found and items found with him point to a link to Pawel; at first Pawel doesn't recognise him but then realises he is a friend he last saw at summer camp in 1994. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that one night four teens disappeared from the camp in the woods, including Pawel's sister. Two bodies were found and the others assumed dead till one died as an adult; Pawel must consider the possibility that his sister is still alive. While he is trying to uncover the truth he is also dealing with a rape case where the father of the accused, a prominent journalist, is applying pressure to have the case dropped.

I haven't read the book so I can't say how this compares; I did enjoy it though. The mystery quickly got me hooked and the way the stories played out in two different time lines worked well. The woodland setting of the 1994 storyline was suitably atmospheric; brightly lit by day as the teens enjoy their camp but suitably sinister once darkness falls. Plenty is packed into the six episodes as suspects emerge in each case and blame is pointed at the camp's owner. The cast is impressive, most notably Grzegorz Damiecki as Pawel and Agnieszka Grochowska as Laura Goldsztajn, the owner's daughter in the scenes set in the present and Hubert Milkowski and Wiktoria Filus as the same characters in 1994. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. The various questions are resolved in the final episode; some details the viewer is likely to have figured out while others provide a nice surprise.

These comments are based on watching the series in Polish with English subtitles.

My Take – A worthwhile watch!

 

 

Safe – Came out in 2018.  After his teenage daughter goes missing, a widowed surgeon begins uncovering dark secrets of the people closest to him.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Tom Delaney is a widower living with his two daughters in an exclusive gated community; he feels safe. Then one day his elder daughter doesn't return from a party; there is no sign of her boyfriend either. While the police start their investigation Tom, with the help of his friend Pete, starts his own unofficial investigation; something that may put them in danger. As the investigation continues many of the community's secrets are revealed before we learn the truth about what happened that night.

Normally I'd include more in my plot description but somethings that are revealed quite early in the series are better not known about when one starts watching. The series gripped me from start to finish with its numerous twists and turns and some good misdirection as various secrets are revealed, all leading to a resolution I didn't see coming. The cast is impressive; Michael C. Hall impresses as Tom, his accent may have slipped occasionally but I soon stopped thinking of him as 'Dexter'. There are also notable performances from Amanda Abbington as Tom's girlfriend who is also the policewoman leading the investigation; Marc Warren, as Tom's friend Pete; Audrey Fleurot, as a teacher with accusations made against her; Hannah Arterton, as a policewoman with a secret; and Nigel Lindsay, as the father of the girl whose party Tom's daughter disappeared from. The series nicely captures the sense that there is something wrong with this community without always being too obvious about it. The ending might be a bit melodramatic for some but I liked it. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of a good mystery.

My Take – A definitive watch!

 

Stay Close – Came out in 2021.  Follows three people living comfortable lives who each conceal dark secrets that even the closest to them would never suspect; Megan, a working mother of three; Ray, the once promising documentary photographer, now stuck in a dead-end job pandering to celebrity obsessed rich kids, and Broome, a detective who's unable to let go of a missing person's cold case. Lorraine, an old friend from Megan's past, delivers some shocking news which will impact on all three characters. As the past comes back to haunt them, threatening to ruin their lives and the lives of those around them, what will be their next move?

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This eight part series opens with a young man disappearing after a night out at a club in North West England. This will spark a series of events that involve a wide variety of people. Detective Michael Broome speculates that the case could be linked to the disappearance of another man, Stewart Green, seventeen years previously. On the same day Cassie, a stripper at the club disappeared... she is now a suburban mother calling herself Megan, who has recently got engaged. After being told that Green has been seen again her past starts catching up with her and her family. Also involved is Ray Levine, a photographer, who accidentally took a picture of the recently disappeared man and was once involved with Cassie. Things are made more dangerous by the arrival of a strange pair of killers hired by the missing man's father.

If you don't like stories that feature numerous coincidences and twists then this won't be for you; however if you like lots of twists and turns it is a lot of fun. The three main characters; Megan/Cassie, Broome and Ray are interesting; we are constantly learning more about them, their connections and their pasts as the series progresses. Secondary characters are also fun; most obviously the two killers, who are prone to dancing while doing their work and Harry, the drug addicted lawyer. The cast is solid with Cush Jumbo, James Nesbitt and Richard Armitage impressing as Megan, Broome and Ray respectively. The supporting cast, including Eddie Izzard as Harry is also pretty good. There are plenty of tense moments and not everybody one would expect to survive does.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable series; well worth watching if you are a fan of previous Harlen Coben adaptions; I've not read the book but somebody who had informed me that there had been quite a lot of changes.

My Take - A worthwhile watch!

 

 

The Innocent – Came out on 2021.  Spanish series. Mateo Vidal is jailed for negligent homicide for 4 years and when is released he makes a living with his beloved Olivia. Once their life has stabilized a phone call will change everything in the couple, the past leaves no one behind and many secrets will force them to try to prove their innocence.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

As this series opens we are introduced to protagonist Mateo Vidal; after accidentally killing a man in a brawl he is convicted and spends four years in prison. Once free he rebuilds his life and gets married to Olivia. She tells him that she must go to Berlin for work so he drives her to the airport... she never gets to Berlin; all his attempts to contact her fail then he is contacted... it would appear that she has been kidnapped. The second episode introduces us to the second protagonist, Lorena Ortiz, a police officer who leads the investigation into the apparent suicide of a nun. It isn't long before she is convinced that it was murder. Attempts to discover the nun's original identity hit a brick wall as there are people with secrets to keep. A clue leads her to Mateo; perhaps the two cases are related.

I really enjoyed this series. As one would expect from a story based on a book by Harlan Coben there are lots of twists and turns and things we think we know aren't always so. The first two episodes got me gripped even though until the final scene of the second episode one could be excused for thinking you are watching two unrelated series. There is a good sense of mystery and plenty of genuinely tense moments. At times the tone get fairly dark with subjects that include underage prostitution and brutal violence against women. The cast does an impressive job; most obviously Mario Casas, Alexandra Jiménez and Aura Garrido as Mateo, Olivia and Lorena respectively. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody wanting a good mystery.

These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles.

My Take – A worthwhile watch!

Cheers till next time😊!

Daffy Definition

Magnifying Glass – A tool for making mountains out of a mole hill😊!