305. Web-series Reviews – 138

More web-series reviews…

The Fall of the House of Usher – Came out in 2023. Another Mike Flanagan series.  The Usher family is never far from controversy. The fortunes of siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher were made through Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, a company whose products are often under scrutiny due to health concerns. Assistant District Attorney C. Auguste Dupin is determined to land a conviction and his case against Fortunato and the Ushers has gone to trial. Now, right in the middle of the trial, Roderick's children are dying under mysterious circumstances. Roderick Usher knows who/what is behind the deaths and meets with Dupin to reveal all.

A review from IMDB...

In my opinion, polarising creations are always fascinating, and generally I don't think ill of people who happen to dislike what I enjoy very much. I'm not particularly fond of being meta in my reviews either, but I feel that in the case of "The Fall of the House of Usher" something needs to be said on this matter.

I'm not going to question personal taste when it comes to the technical aspects of this show, such as acting, directing, and production value. Personally, I think is an excellent TV series graced by some seriously spectacular money shots (the rave party's abrupt ending comes to mind), but that's just my take.

The hill I'm ready to die on is about whether or not Flanagan did justice to Poe's work, and I'm afraid I won't be very forgiving to whoever says he didn't.

Poe didn't just write Gothic literature, he added heavy personal touches to it that would eventually become genre-defying, and ultimately, the most iconic aspects of his work. If you ask Chat GPT to write like Poe, that's what you'll get.

But whilst extremely picturesque and entertaining - and tempting, from a Production's pov (the costumes, the Victorian gloomy setting, the riddles, it's a guaranteed spectacle) - those elements are the proverbial arabesques on top of something infinitely more substantial.

The deep psychological implications of his work is what makes Poe a genius, and not just a good writer. The man described illnesses and neuro-divergences centuries before there was even a name for them. He delved in universal fears and anxieties that not only have transcended his time, they couldn't be more relevant today: the unhealthy approach toward death, living in an alienating society that has lost its human touch, feeling the constant pressure of uncertainty.

The core of Poe's work is bleak and modern, and Flanagan captured it to perfection with "The Fall of the House of Usher". Above the must-have iconic references, he resisted the easy road of a shallow costume piece, and focused his script to what's underneath instead. I, for once, can't praise him enough for it.

The only reservation I may have with this TV series is about the title's choice, which may have mislead some spectator to believe that this was going to be an adaptation of the eponymous short novel instead of a broad homage to Poe's greatest hits.

Other than that, as a longtime fan of Poe's work, I won't shy from stating that "The Fall of the House of Usher" is storytelling at its best, and nothing short of one of the most quintessential Poe-esque piece of content in existence.

My Take – Worth a watch!

 

Lupin – Season 3 came out in 2023. A review from IMDB...

Having watched "Lupin," I feel compelled to share my thoughts, and I'll start by saying this: if you're going to watch it, be prepared to switch off your brain and fully embrace it as a fantasy series.

The central premise of "Lupin" revolves around a character who operates in his own cinematic universe, where he can seemingly do anything he wants without any credible challenge or consequences. After just the first two episodes, I quickly realized that logic had been left far behind in this series. Lupin is portrayed as an invincible genius, while everyone else in the show comes across as inexplicably clueless, which can be frustrating if you're looking for any semblance of realism.

The absence of a logical foundation made it challenging for me to suspend disbelief and fully immerse myself in the story. It felt like Lupin had an answer for everything, and no obstacle or adversary could genuinely impede his progress. This predictability took away much of the tension and excitement that should accompany a heist or thriller series.

The overall acting in the series falls somewhere in the realm of average. While there are moments of decent performances, they often get overshadowed by the prevailing sense that the characters exist solely to react to Lupin's actions.

In terms of a rating, I'd give "Lupin" a 6 or perhaps a generous 6.5 out of 10. It's worth watching if you're simply looking for some time-pass entertainment and are willing to disregard logic and believability. However, if you're a fan of shows with well-thought-out storylines, good logic, and minimal loopholes, I'd advise you to skip this one.

It's also important to note that comparing "Lupin" to series like "Mission Impossible" or "John Wick" is quite a stretch. Those franchises, while also in the realm of action and adventure, are known for maintaining a certain level of internal consistency and logic that "Lupin" seems to deliberately eschew.

My Take – The 2 earlier seasons were good. This season, not so. An ok watch.

 

Person of Interest – Came out in 2021. A billionaire software-genius named Harold Finch creates a Machine for the government that is designed to detect acts of terror before they can happen, by monitoring the entire world through every cell-phone, email and surveillance camera. Finch discovered that the machine sees everything, potential terrorist acts and violent crimes that involve ordinary people. When the government considered violent crimes between normal people "irrelevant", Finch built a back door into the system that gives him the social security number of a person involved in a future violent crime so he could act. Partnered with John Reese, an ex-CIA agent, the two work in secret to prevent violent crimes before they can happen. Eventually their activities lead to being hunted by the New York Police Department, CIA Agents in pursuit of Reese who was listed as dead, a computer hacker named Root who wants access to the Machine, and government officials who want to keep all knowledge of the Machine a complete secret.

A review from IMDB...

A billionaire software-genius named Harold Finch creates a Machine for the government that is designed to detect acts of terror before they can happen, by monitoring the entire world through every cell-phone, email and surveillance camera. Finch discovered that the machine sees everything, potential terrorist acts and violent crimes that involve ordinary people. When the government considered violent crimes between normal people "irrelevant", Finch built a back door into the system that gives him the social security number of a person involved in a future violent crime so he could act. Partnered with John Reese, an ex-CIA agent, the two work in secret to prevent violent crimes before they can happen. Eventually their activities lead to being hunted by the New York Police Department, CIA Agents in pursuit of Reese who was listed as dead, a computer hacker named Root who wants access to the Machine, and government officials who want to keep all knowledge of the Machine a complete secret.

My Take – Worth a watch. Saw 3 episodes and kept it for later watch!

Cheers till next time😊!