221. Web-series Reviews – 68

More web-series reviews…  This time, original and its remake😊!  Remake review first as that was the order that I saw them!!

 

Suspicion – Five ordinary Brits are accused of kidnapping the son of a prominent U.S. media mogul. They embark on a desperate race against time to prove their innocence, but will anyone believe them - and are they telling the truth?  Came out this year.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This show has potential, but it fumbled too much across all 8 episodes, especially in its mystery, story, and characters. The first 3 episodes introduce the characters and tries to develop them and the mystery and story. Despite 3 whole episodes being used, the characters, story, and mystery are all so underdeveloped and extremely dull. They pretty much take each episode and divide it amongst each character being developed separate but also despite this they are completely forgettable. The 5 main characters each have one basic characteristic attached to them and it makes them so boring. The 2 cop characters are extremely uninteresting and it doesn't add that much to the shallow mystery.

The 4th and 5th episode however are great actually. All of the main characters finally converge and the cop characters are not even shown and it overall feels way less cluttered and more connected. They come into some interesting situations and have fun interactions that help build the characters and make you enjoy them and the story more.

The 6th and 7th episode however resort back to the bore of the first 3. The characters split up into groups and the cop characters are back and they go back to being the same old one more characters. The mystery still feels like it isn't going anywhere, there's random twists that get revealed and they do literally nothing with it.

The culmination of the first 7 episodes overall completely ruins the 8th episode. There is no reason to care about any of the characters, they are so dull and one-dimensional that you could care less about anything that happens to them. The mystery and twists are so shallow and boring and borderline stupid. None of the characters have any sort of satisfying conclusion, except Tilson I guess. Very unsatisfying ending.

Overall to summarize: dull characters and a shallow mystery hurt the show to its core, and while there are some great parts it overall culminates to an unsatisfying conclusion.

My Take – I thought it was good, until I saw the original one.  The original one finished in one season and the next season was a different story.  Suspicion ends on a twist and there will likely be another season, this time in US.

 

False Flag (Kfulim) – An Israeli series😊!  1st season came out in 2015, second in 2019 and the third will be out this year. 

Israel awakes one morning to find itself plunged into an enthralling espionage affair that threatens to become an unprecedented international crisis. Breaking news alerts around the world broadcast video footage depicting the Iranian Minister of Defense being kidnapped from his hotel room during a secret visit to Moscow. The identities and photographs of the five kidnappers are made public. They are all Israeli citizens with dual nationalities. The governments of Russia and Iran point the finger at Israel's Mossad. The methods, the audacity and the high-profile target leave no room for doubt. The five Israelis-all ordinary, undistinguished people, awash in their daily routines-are stunned to find themselves implicated in the daring kidnapping. Their attempts at denial, followed by anger, laughter and indifference, are all in vain. The publicity turns their lives upside down and sweeps them up a wave of public attention. At first these so-called heroes believe the affair will fade away. But they soon discover, to their astonishment, that official Israel, the state that is supposed to protect them, as well as Mossad itself, are denying all involvement and view them as suspects. Instead of helping them, the authorities persecute, investigate, and point fingers. Even among their loved ones, doubt starts to nag. Could they have been involved?

One of the reviews from IMDB...

The story of five random people that get entangled in a world of politics, conspiracies, and death, "Kfulim" starts strong, keeps a grip-your-sofa gripping second act and ends on a high note (even if, though, it leaves some loose ends that could have been better tied).

The plot in its basics: five citizens of Israel with double nationality but otherwise seemingly normal lives are accused of kidnapping the Iranian Minister of Defense. Little by little we get to know why, how and all the other answers to the questions behind the kidnapping. At the beginning, though, all five of them seem to be completely innocent people (ok, except Sean, who looks shady from second one). The plot does a decent job on developing this premise (even if, when you think about it after ending the show, it is all a little bit head-scratching because some plot points make no sense).

However, the strongest points of the show are the characters, all of them really interesting and well developed, and the pace of the development of the story. In regards of the first, the characters are fleshed out and the acting good enough. And in regards to the second, the rhythm, the music, the camera work all work to make every episode "Lost"-style gripping, normally ending with a cliffhanger and with some really nice twists along the way.

My Take – Better watch this rather that Suspicion😊!

 

Mithya – Hindi literature professor in a Darjeeling college, Juhi Adhikary accuses her student Rhea Rajguru of plagiarism. While Rhea pleads that she is innocent, this sets off a series of incidents with Juhi and Rhea getting into each other's crosshairs. Matters soon spiral out of control; triggering an adverse psychological combat between them that leads to a shocking revelation. Amidst it all, things get further complicated when Juhi's husband- Neil Adhikari is murdered and both the women are plausible suspects.

Again, a remake of English series Cheat that came out in 2019.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Juhi Adhikari (Huma Qureshi) is a Hindi professor aspiring to become the head of the department at a college in Darjeeling, where her husband Neel (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) also teaches. The couple has been trying to conceive, a subject that has all but consumed Neel, and all but frustrated Juhi, as their marital life has nothing more to it, so much so that Juhi has started falling out of the marriage. In office, Juhi has encountered Rhea Rajguru (Avantika Dasani), a feisty and complex student who she believes is plagiarising her essays, and Juhi is out to prove it. The problem is that Rhea is the daughter of one of the trustees and is considered privileged. Rhea also uses her reputation to her advantage by charming her ways with the college resources and, once antagonised by Juhi, won't stop without a fightback.

The duel slowly builds up a crescendo in which Rhea resorts to getting personal with Juhi. She forms a relationship with Neel that keeps getting more complex with every passing day, much to the chagrin of Juhi, who realizes that matters are spinning out of control. Suddenly, one fateful night, Juhi comes home to find Neel murdered and is certain that Rhea is the culprit. Police investigations, however, do not support her allegations and, instead, suspect Juhi of the murder. The event brings the two women face to face where their differences threaten to reveal an ugly truth that shake up several people and the very family foundation that Juhi sought refuge in. Lives will be changed forever, and relationships disrupted, with no one benefitting from the duel that was merely a facade to unravel the mystery.

Mithya is a dark, disturbing, and tragic story that is hard hitting. You are forced to take sides often, and sympathies keep swinging like a pendulum as you discover the collateral damage of the duel. Huma Qureshi is spot on, sophisticated, and effective in portraying the professor and wife whose world is slowly disintegrating. Avantika Dasani is sheer menace yet credibly vulnerable as the young student and a daughter searching for her foothold and recognition. Parambrata is fantastic, as usual. Ably supported by Rajit Kapoor, K C Shankar, Samir Soni, Avantika Akerkar, and Bishaka Thapa, Mithya is a quality production directed by Rohan Sippy. Darjeeling looks dreamy, cool, and beautiful, adding to the mysterious proceedings.

My Take – Worth a watch!

 

Cheat – Centered around a dangerous relationship between university professor Leah and her student, Rose. After a series of events take place, things escalate between the two leading to fatal consequences.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

A solid four part mystery series from ITV, after a pretty average first episode, it turns into something pretty good.

You think initially that the events are pretty petty, schoolyard antics, but as the series develops, those antics become something a whole lot more serious.

It seems very fashionable to start dramas in the present day, and go back in time to tell the story, that format is getting a little old hat now.

The star of the show for me was Molly Windsor, she was superb, Rose was fascinating from start to finish, her motives, behaviours, and those eyes! Katherine Kelly, as always was very good, trouble is I didn't care for Leah one bit, so found it hard to sympathise with her.

It's silly in parts I would have to say, but overall I'd recommend it, it's worth a watch, 7/10.

My Take – Mithya is a scene to scene copy of this series.  You can watch either of them and skip the other😊! 

Cheers till next time😊!

Daffy Definition

Compliment – Thing often paid by people who pay nothing else😊!!