334. Web-series Reviews – 157

More web-series reviews…

 

Miss Scarlet & The Duke – Came in 2020 and has completed 4 seasons.  When Eliza Scarlet's father dies, he leaves her penniless, but she resolves to continue his detective agency. To operate in a male-dominated world, though, she needs a partner - step forward a detective known as the Duke.

A review from IMDB...

Miss Scarlet and the Duke is a Victorian era period piece involving our main character miss Scarlet who is a lady detective in a time where that was unheard of. In fact Victorian lady's were preferred to be seen and not heard in general. Miss Eliza Scarlet's father is missing at the beginning of this series and she is left to her own devices. She almost immediately calls upon Scotland Yard's seasoned detective and family friend, William "The Duke" Wellington for help finding her father. This establishes a very contentious relationship between William and Eliza as Eliza is determined to both find her father and become a private investigator.

The period sets and in particular the period costumes are spectacular...right down to the grit and grime. There is a toughness to this film that some of the other Victorian mysteries lack, giving this a more authentic feel overall.

What was truly brilliant about this series wasn't the mysteries themselves, although those were decent, but the fabulously written dialogue and relationship between William and Eliza. They built such a passion between these two that I thought at times the screen was going to burst into flames and it was WONDERFUL! I wish there were more relationships written like this. It is absolutely my favorite troupe.

I don't normally write reviews before a series is over and I have seen the whole thing...but I loved Season one so much and I just watched the first episode of season two tonight when it aired in the U. S. for the first time. I felt compelled to write this because I was disappointed in what they did with the "will-they-or-won't-they". In fact it made their relationship feel very watered down, which made me sad as that is what I truly loved about season one. Now I know they have to keep them apart somehow...but I am really hoping they can get back to their sparky banter, otherwise it will fall into a category where there are plenty of mysteries...even Victorian era ones to be watched and I would hate to see it just be one of a crowd.

Both Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin are fabulous and really made season one such spectacular tv drama. Ansu Kabia made the character of Moses not only delightful, but a must see. Moses collecting money from a little girl...priceless! The character of Eliza's business partner is a fun partnership and I am enjoying the building of Eliza's character into a trustworthy and loyal friend deserving of empathy.

Charm and magic, I can't recommend season one enough. You should watch it...I don't care who you are, romantics, mystery fans, history fans, fans of good storytelling.

Hopefully they will not let us down with season two because I have been so eagerly awaiting it!

My Take – An excellent series.  Waiting for then next season😊!!

 

Indian Police Force – Came out in 2024. Delhi, during the Delhi Police Raising Day serial blasts take place in the city committed by IM terrorist's Zarrar who lives the fake identity of Haider. CP Vikram leads the mission along with DCP Kabir Malik who are asked to collaborate with ATS Chief Tara Shetty Vikram's old classmate. Kabir and Vikram track a terrorist Shahdab by breaking protocols which leads to an encounter between Zarrrar and Kabir's team. Vikram looses his life in the firing and Tara comforts Kabir for not following protocols. Kabir is then given demotion unwillingly by DCP Bansal. During this time Kabir tries to find movements of Zarrar and Bansal gets him back to the force to join with Tara. Kabir and Tara patch up and decide to team up to get hold of Zarrar who has conducted several blasts in other city and currently his target is Goa.

A review from IMDB...

Created by Rohit Shetty, Co-Directed by Sushwanth Prakash starring Sidhharth Malhotra, Vivek Oberoi, Shilpa Shetty, Sharad Kelkar.

Movie Analysis.

1) As mentioned in the one-line review, the story does not offer nothing new. It travels through the same route of terrorism-based movies.

2) When comes to the technical aspect, after Circus movie, bad colour tone usage had been conceived by the team. Many day light sequences had been over brightened making a viewer discomfort. Below average VFX makes us confirm that neither there is a thorough research of a new story to be produces nor the team does not try to invest a good amount in VFX work.

3) Talking about the performance, Siddharth Malhotra had given his best performance & it would be one of the good performances in his career. Vivek Oberoi character could have been made a full length but due to an illogical situation trimmed his screen presence till Episode 3. Shilpa Shetty performance is like a carrying heavy weight which is more than her carrying capacity, a mis cast in the series. Sharad Kelkar minimal screen presence adds a cherry in the cake especially the music given for his intro scene was for me a goosebumps moment.

4) Another illogical thing noticed was, if a terrorist who perfectly plan and executes the attack, will he not have the instinct that his wife who had been apprehended by the police & when his wife calls him that she is on her way to meet him, does he cannot check her signal to confirm whether she is saying true or a lie but here I think terrorist is deeply in love with his wife.

So, a sugarcane which is repeatedly crushed to its last to get its last juice, in the same way Bollywood always crushes the saleable topic which they believe to encash & thereby raising the level of Bollywood.

My take – An ok watch!

 

Freud – Came out in 2020.  In 1886 Vienna, young Sigmund Freud is still far from being a globally-revered national figure. His peculiar concept of the unconscious and his use of hypnosis draw ridicule and see him marginalized by the medical establishment. His professional reputation is at stake, as is his engagement to his beloved Martha. He finds distraction by accompanying his friend Arthur Schnitzler to cocaine-fueled nights with Vienna's high society. When this same society is shaken by a series of mysterious murders, Freud enlists the aid of fragile medium Fleur and traumatized war veteran and policeman Alfred Kiss in his bid to expose the masterminds behind the crimes, which are causing a stir--even in the upper echelons of political circles.

A review from IMDB...

Honestly, I am appaled at the level of ignorance from both critics and simple viewers that write reviews here! If you just bothered to read thoroughly Freud's masterpiece "Introduction to Psychoanalysis", you would have figured out before the end of the first episode that this series is NOT about the real historical person, but a wonderful and daring series about his magnificent writings and yes, also a fantasy combined with thriller, horror, historical fact bites and a real bold vision to put this together. For ignorants, the title of each episode covers a name of chapter in Freud's book mentioned above and dwelves in the depiction of the mental process in the book by the details of the case. Yes, it is Sherlock Holmes plus supernatural, but the movie explains a lot of its hidden meanings, you just have to pay more attention to the dialogue. The actors are perfectly chosen, and each actor plays the role 10 out of 10 according to the weight of role they were casted in for. Freud is appropriately played by Robert Finster who had to portray a young psychiatrist that would display both stiff and tormented attitudes, which is quite a difficult partiture. Ella Rumpf has a challenging role in portraying a delicate and sensitive young woman and a powerful demon. The inspector and the others play their part admirably and their stories or subplots are adding to and enhancing the substance of the main story. The decor, setting, light, cinematography are excellent. Nothing is ridiculous, despite all negative reviews posted here. If you can get past the title and open your mind to a new experiment and vision, then you might be able to see this series in a different perspective. Again, this series does NOT propose a biopic or documentary about Freud, but it is inspired by his writings having Freud as a hero in search of truth to validate his theories. Can't wait for the next season, kudos to the film makers and actors! European cinematography rocks indeed!

My Take – Worth a watch!

Cheers till next time😊!