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White Lines (2020)
Ludicrous & Unlikeable Characters
Most 'mysteries' these days require one to not be too critical, not to scratch the surface or ask too many questions or the whole plot falls apart. In watching White Lines it falls apart pretty quickly and then gets more stupid, far-fetched and complicated as it slogs through the next 9 episodes.
The four main characters as youth in Ibiza were vapid, self-centred and annoying. The three remaining ones as adults 20 years later were in a state of arrested development, yearning for the good old days which turns out weren't that good.
Why the trio maintained the illusion of how great everything was and how tight they were with Axel is hard to swallow once it's revealed what a jerk he was: disloyal, big ego and none too deep.
The naive sister on a quest to find out what happened to her brother turns into an idiot as well.
The best thing about this series was the character of Boxer portrayed by actor Nuno Lopes. He was fantastic and should have kicked Zoe to the curb long before she went rogue.
White Lines would have been served by cutting 4 episodes and not entering the territory of 'must suspend all sense of reality' in order to get to the end (which itself was a big disappointment).
Stay Close (2021)
Suspend Common Sense
Why is it these detective mini-series always require one to suspend all common sense? I.e. Folks who can't tell the whole truth (which would have saved a lot of trouble), do as they're told, leave a voice mail or call the police?
How is it that people who know there is a serial killer on the loose, who know they are being stalked and their kids are at risk manage to act as everything is hunky dory? Who goes out and leaves their kids alone or let's their kids go out for the night?
I like the cast, but the implausible plot twists were far fetched. And what was up with the hired hit team 'Barbie' and 'Ken' who looked like they parachuted in from another production?
The Lost Daughter (2021)
The Lost Plot
I like Olivia Coleman and I expected to like this film, but I couldn't. There's no doubt she's a good actor, but given what she had to work with it wasn't enough. The first 1/3 was a total snooze - I kept waiting for the pace to pick up and it never did.
There were all kinds of unspoken and unclear things that were going on with the other folks at her Greek holiday resort. Why did the men all look so menacing? And if that was the case, why did she repeatedly walk around at night, sleep with the doors open if she was afraid? What was her illness? Her weak spells seemed like a throwaway diversion.
The cinematography was highly annoying. It seemed like this was a film school project in which most scenes were super close up which didn't feel intimate, but disconcerting.
If you like Coleman watch some of her other work and give this one a pass.
Folk med ångest (2021)
Feel Good Series
This series was heart-warming, funny and poignant without being over-the-top. All the characters were engaging and I liked the structure of moving being perspectives of each character.
Special (2019)
I Wanted To Like It
I heard Ryan O'Connell interviewed on the radio. He was funny and articulate, which made me want to check out 'Special'. Unfortunately the things that make him interesting weren't evident in his Ryan character in 'Special'. It's hard to like someone who seems like a self-centred drip.
He is characterized as being a high functioning disabled person but he never says or does much to demonstrate it. Why would any of the 'hot' guys be attracted to him? It's definitely not his stellar personality.
I hung in there till the second episode of season 2. Too bad there wasn't much character development or growth. He was still the same guy.
I did like the mother and best friend characters though.
Keeping Faith (2017)
Keeping Faith Turned Me Into A Masochist
From the very beginning to the finale, 8 painful episodes later, Keeping Faith is an over-rated melodrama rife with hammy over-wrought acting, an unbelievable script and insipid music. The number of times the camera lingered over Faith's shoes and feet one wonders if it were product placement or a case of a foot fetish. I've seen and liked Eve Myles in Torchwood, but her performance here was overacted and unbelievable. That she left her children alone, time and time again, while she played amateur detective was incredulous. Those kids will live with the trauma of enduring that experience, as will I for having watched it. Save yourself the disappointment and skip it. For those who have given this drek high ratings I wonder if we were watching the same program.
W glebi lasu (2020)
Mediocre, Muddled Plot
I've seen adaptations of Harlan Coben's books before which were good. This was a big disappointment: long drawn out cinematography (new film school grads?); terrible soundtrack; muddled plot; slow moving and the worst thing of all were so many plot devices with no explanation as to why they were there and never got resolved.
There are a number of subplots that were not explained: why did Artur visit the camp director 25 years after the murders? Why was he killed? The camp counsellor was at the scene of the murders and just so happened to have killed another woman in an unrelated case? The cops never questioned the staff at the camp? Pavel's mother disappeared with no further contact for more than two decades and he never questioned as to what might have happened? Kamila and Artur, as teenagers managed to make new lives with no one ever finding them?
I watched the whole 6 hours hoping for some reasonable resolution and I just feel ripped off.
Alone: The Beast (2020)
Epic Fail
Everything that made the first seasons of Alone interesting: contestants were actually alone; the length of the season allowed us to get to know them; no camera crews, just one-on-one are missing in Alone: The Beast.
One episode covers the three teammates being dropped off, caching the large amount of food they've been given and building shelter. There's very little info on their backstories, no real insights into them as people. Since they know they only have to stick it out for 30 days they hunker down with their food and endure it.
The text explanations about potential food contamination, predators, primitive tools and what First Nations did to survive are repeated on each program. By the second episode there was nothing new.
I watched two episodes, which was one too many. This series should not be called Alone. It's a three person team and a camera crew which has none of the interest of the original series. Skip this one and watch the real Alone.