214. Web-Series Reviews – 62

More web-series reviews…

Russian Doll – Came out in 2019 and a 2nd season has been green-lighted.  On Nadia's 36th birthday she is struck by a car and killed while leaving her party. In an instant she is alive again and transported back to her birthday party earlier that night. Moments later she dies again and finds herself, once again, back at her party, Nadia begins to question her sanity as she strives to unravel the mystery of her situation.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

I love Groundhog Day-ish entertainment, so I guess I'm the target audience for this intriguing comedy-drama. It features a quirky, rather abrasive woman (amusingly played by Natasha Lyonne) who finds herself continually dying and returning to her birthday party.

As is typical of the genre, her goal is to find out why. Along the way she finds strange connections and odd inconsistencies in her time line.

It's all terrific until the final episode, when it becomes clear the writers were more into the ride than the resolution. Russian Doll is one of these fantastical narratives that use neither sci-fi (the repeated day is caused by quarks!) nor fairytale logic (it was all a spell), but just kind of say, well, this is what happened and why do you need an explanation.

That sort of ending is always frustrating but not always destructive, and as with the movie Colossal, I was ultimately entertained enough by the story to not let loose ends and plot holes bug me too much.

While the first season appeared to be a self-contained miniseries, there are two more seasons planned, so perhaps we will ultimately be given a quark or curse explanation for it all. But even if not, as long as it continues to be so entertaining, I'll keep watching.

My Take – A definitive watch!

 

Springfloden – Swedish series. 1st season came out in 2016 and the 2nd in 2018.  Springfloden alternates between the time lines of 1987 and 2011. The latter follows Police Academy Cadet Olivia Rönning and her work for a class assignment: She is tasked with unraveling the mystery of a cold case from 1987, one in which three people sadistically murdered a young woman on a Koster Islands beach - a killing that a young boy inadvertently witnessed. At that time, national homicide investigator Tom Stilton was unable to solve the case, since he couldn't ascertain the victim's identity, locate the murderers, or establish a motive for the killing. And so it was shelved. Fifteen years later, he took a new approach to the case, but a bruising divorce left Stilton in a fragile mental state that deteriorated even further. As Rönning digs through case files, she sorts out as much as she can, but there are still many questions left unanswered. What would really help her is getting input from the now-former detective, the homeless Stilton.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Along with Denmark, Sweden is a leading representative of fine crime series and Nordic Noir, and after Millennium or The Bridge sagas one might wonder is there any room for more of the same or close quality and thrill, when you can do without constant shootings and chases, without fancy policemen... And yet, the Swedes continue surprising.

As many others, the events in Springfloden started working from the very beginning. True, the pace is calmer than in most US and many UK series, but this is one of their special characteristics. There are different cases to be solved, from past and present, and their sophistication and intertwining let fill the 10 episodes nicely, without undue tardiness or inclusion of "filling" characters or scenes. The solution of the major crime might seem trivial, but is realistic, and an unexpected twist in the very end rounds the series up in a fine manner.

But the gem of this series is undoubtedly Kjell Bergqvist as Tom Stilton (for this, above all, my total 9 points). I have seen some of his performances before, they were decent, but not so special to start to follow films or series based on his acting. But here in Springfloden, he is really something, his performance worth of Emmy of even Golden Globe, if the language of the series was different... But he obtained Kristallen for his role, a big honour in Sweden.

Thus, a highly recommended series, even for audiences outside Scandinavia.

PS Series 2 is a bit weaker, including Bergqvist less on screen, but still at least 8 points worth.

My Take – A definitive watch!

 

The Puppet Master – Hunting the Ultimate Conman – Came out in 2022.  From the acclaimed filmmakers behind The Imposter, this three-part series tells the jaw-dropping story of one of the world's most audacious conmen who was convicted in 2005 for stealing fortunes and destroying multiple lives. But now, in an incredible twist, the story reaches into the present day, with a desperate family who fear for their mother's safety.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Robert Freegard may well and truly be one of the greatest conmen ever to walk the face of Earth. The series unfurls in a non-linear fashion, making it a true-blue thriller where the makers cleverly leave clues for the audiences to connect the dots. Moreover, all the interviews are spot-on. And the RIGHT set of people is given all the weightage, i.e., the victims and their families. This docu-series runs roughly for 2 hours, taking us through details of Freegard's well-known cons while subtly telling us that the list of victims is a lot larger than we can imagine.

Another feather in the cap for Netflix in their true-crime section, The Puppet Master, is fantastically shot, crisply compiled, and stays rooted to its emotional core even when it thrills and leaves us frequently bewildered.

My Take – A worthwhile watch!

 

No Second Chance – Another series from the book of Harlan Coben😊!!  Came out in 2015.  French series.  A doctor is shot in the back in her home, her husband is murdered and her infant daughter kidnapped. Faced with inept police, who at times suspect her, she begins her own hunt for her baby and the culprits.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This decade, several good French-language series have been produced, with intense plots and twists, suspense and mystery moments, good character actors, etc. Having seen more than ten of them, it is natural that one becomes picky, starts to compare and find flaws or cliches not providing additional value. True, I really like the benchmark, how the events broke loose, pondering on and over the motives, but then, when a doctor took matters into her own hands, the number of unrealistic moments enhanced (e.g. regarding the police activities and attitudes), and later, particularly in the last episode, the amount of twists was too much, some scenes were not reasoned, and the solution how all was resolved reminded me more of the US series than European ones. As for the cast/characters, Alexandra Lamy as Alice Lambert and Hippolyte Girardot as Commandant Cyril Tessier outperform the others; besides, some characters were apparently included for political correctness (well, the source novel is written by an American anyway). All is all, not bad, but not in line with similar French series, e.g. Disparue, Engrenages, and others. And having seen the series, I find the title not too felicitous.

My Take – A worthwhile watch!

Cheers till next time😊

Daffy Definition

Income – Something you cannot live within or without😊!