243. Web-series Reviews – 89

More web-series reviews…

Foundation – Foundation is an American science fiction streaming television series created for Apple TV+, loosely based on the Foundation series of stories by Isaac Asimov. Foundation premiered on September 24, 2021. In October 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Isaac Asimov was not a great stylist, but like a lot of the original pulp-fiction sci-fi writers, he knew how to combine smart futurism with page-turning suspense.

A lot of people are mad about switches in race/gender or in the story, but I read the original trilogy 40 years ago and other books in the series almost as long ago so I don't remember the characters. I don't recall Asimov writing especially compelling characters, so I'm surprised people are so attached.

Where I feel Foundation fails Asimov is that it's not the TV equivalent of a page turner. It's slow and not especially intriguing. I don't care what's going to happen next. I'm not interested in the fates of the characters. I'm not compelled by the underlying futurism Asimov built the books on.

I was going to stop after one dull episode but a legitimate page-turner ending got me to watch another, which like the first was 90% boring and 10% kinda-interesting-I-guess.

The special effects are good. Some of the cast is good, particularly Lee Pace as a cut-throat emperor (and I do like lead Gaal Dornick, who has been criticized a lot in the user reviews but has a solid intensity). The pacing is terrible, the writing is poor. Don't bother.

My Take – An OK watch, but a bit boring.  Finished it in one month with lots of break in between😊, with other series taking a priority over this😊!!

 

Darkness, Those Who Kill – Danish series.  Investigator Jan and profiler Louise constantly move around in the thrilling periphery of a murderer's view as they link a series of killings. 

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This eight-part Danish crime drama is centred on Jan Michelsen, a detective, and Louise Bergstein, a profiler. He has been working on the case of a missing woman, although after six months most people assume she is dead. Then a second woman of similar appearance vanishes. Desperate to solve the case he brings Louise in to help. Her profile leads to another, older, missing person's case... and the body from that case. While we observe their investigation we also see what is happening to the kidnapped woman and learn that she actually has two captors.

When I saw this advertised I wondered if it was a remake or a sequel to the earlier 'Those Who Kill', from 2011... in fact it is neither. It is thematically linked by the detective/profiler pairing, although the genders were the other way round in the previous series. Early on one might expect this to be a whodunit but we learn that very quickly; that doesn't make it any less interesting; it is an impressive psychological thriller that isn't afraid to use horror tropes as we are shown how the victims are treated. There is a real sense of danger both for the victims and our investigators. Kenneth M. Christensen and Natalie Madueño impress as Jan and Louise but it is Signe Egholm Olsen who stands out as Stine Velin, one of the kidnappers who despite outward appearances seems to be the more frightening of the two. The rest of the cast are solid too. Overall, I'd certainly recommend this to fans of Nordic crime thrillers.

My Take – A worthwhile watch

 

Landscapers – A devoted and mild-mannered British couple become the focus of an extraordinary investigation when two dead bodies are discovered in the back garden of a house in England. Starring Olivia Colman.  Came out in 2021 and based on a real story.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

This Crime Drama I found fascinating for a number of reasons from the very beginning we discover that it's based on a true-life crime and that the devoted and mild-mannered British couple Susan and Christopher Edwards who are the focus of this extraordinary story are still serving a long 25 year old prison sentence for murdering Susan's dysfunctional and abusive parents and burying them in their back yard.  It's not a spoiler that's made known to the viewer from very early on.

What's more extraordinary is that they both still proclaim their innocence even though they were found guilty.

The verdict was passed on the couple in 2014 for the crime of killing Susan's parents, with the judge calling Susan "an accomplished liar and a fantasist".

The sensational acting from Olivia Coleman as Susan and David Thewlis as Christopher is spellbinding as we see the story unfold from their perspective. The story left me feeling some sympathy and empathy when you consider the background story of the couple as presented in the fine Screenplay by Ed Sinclair and Will Sharpe.

Ed Sinclair the Co-Creator of this 4-part drama series is actually Olivia Coleman's husband so who better to write a role that I think is one of the finest of her career so far.

Olivia Coleman's portrayal of this mousey and insecure woman who is obsessed by the Golden Years of Hollywood and French Cinema. She especially loves romantic movies and the Western films of Gary Cooper. Her performance is so sensitive and touching in parts no wonder I related to her love of Cinema.

Her obsessive collecting even goes to the extent of buying a poster for over £200 when her husband is practically penniless and out of work. Her love and dependence on husband Christopher is so complex and fascinating and even leads to a wonderful plot twist that involves the famous French Cinema Star Gérard Depardieu.

A woman who can be gentle and sweet one moment and then erupt like a benevolent volcano when harshly criticised or feeling confused or betrayed.

David Thewlis is equally fascinating as the stoic and loyal husband Christopher Edwards. His wife as he correctly describes to police is a fragile woman who freely admits she is the cause of their dilemma. Even before their arrest after returning and surrendering he advises Susan to be calm and just tell the truth according to him anyway and not divert from their account of the incident that they both have agreed to.

I really enjoyed the technique that Director Will Sharpe uses of mirroring the plight of the couple in total fantasy Western movie scenes it sounds bazaar but it works beautifully in my opinion as it also lets us enter into Susan's cinematic imagination.

This series was a real surprise and pleasure for me as it more psychological than psychotic with more character development than I've seen in many a Crime drama the creators have cleverly combined a crime murder story with a sad but touching love story top marks to all involved.

My Take – A definitive watch!

 

Hawkeye – Series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Hawkeye, centering on the adventures of Young Avenger, Kate Bishop, who took on the role after the original Avenger, Clint Barton.

Strictly for Marvel fans.  Others can ignore😊 

Cheers till next time😊!!