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adrianmichaelfrost
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Reviews
Dakteoseu (2016)
So much promise undelivered
After watching the first few episodes I was hooked. A strong independent lead making her way in the world despite a troubled past,including being groomed by her teacher at high school. However as the story progressed, her strength dimmed and her independence was undermined by her love interest, the groomer from her school. The passage of 13 yrs between school and arrival at the hospital, presumably to make the romance more age appropriate, also highlighted that the lead character, whilst qualifying as a doctor, had not experienced life outside of work. So is still painfully naive when reunited with her groomer. The revenge/justice which early on was a driving force to the story drifted away in favour of a creepy will they /wont they romance. They were several side stories but all woven into the romance theme. If you are looking for beautiful people wearing lovely clothes,driving expensive cars then you will like this .The acting, camera work and production were all perfect as they always are but an opportunity was missed to tell a good story.
White Lines (2020)
Not great but still watchable
I watched this because it was written by Alex Pena who contributed to the excellent "Money Heist" and was intrigued to see a Spanish viewpoint of an English drama. The basic premise of a long dead body found in suspicious circumstances far from home, reignites the victims sister's feelings of abandonment and changes the orbit of her life. She experiences a kind of mid life crisis whilst trying to discover the killer of her brother. She drinks,takes drugs and has passionate sex with a man she shot with a harpoon gun. Other potential storylines were touched on, the powerful Spanish crime family who seemed damaged but honest, the brutal Romanian drug smugglers, a rival crime family plus a casino land deal that seemed important but had no bearing on the story after the opening episodes. The performances were good on the whole. Laura Haddock as the demure University Librarian, was good. Reviewers have complained about the Manchester accents which seems snobbish as what the actors say is important not the accent its said in. Plus it's good to show the world that not every English person speaks with a London accent. Overall it was ok, I think the drama lost it's way a few times and the ending could've been much better unless they are hoping for a second season which I dont think would work. It doesn't deserve some of the negative reviews I have read but watch it and form your own opinion.
Black Lightning (2018)
This is not a good show irrespective of race portrayal.
I have been watching Tv and movies for over 50 years. I enjoy both English language and international (Subtitled) programmes because a good story is a good story irrespective of the language, gender or colour of the actors plying their craft. I want a diverse cast of players in my movies and programmes as a reflection of the world we all live in. I have a Netflix subscription and do binge watch programs as they are released and i do lean toward SciFi/Comic book type stuff. So Black lightning caught my eye. Mainly because black super heroes are so rare and curiosity as to how a black lead story would progress. The storyline is standard comic book stuff and the players all make the best of the material they are given except for China Ann McClain who is not a good actor in this story and really lets the whole ensemble down. She struggles to portray even "Day to day real life " situations and do feel sorry for the cast who have to react to her wooden performance. Not everyone can act and there is no shame in pursuing other forms paid work. Otherwise this story is ok but I would be surprised if their is another season.
Vlucht HS13 (2016)
Promises much but delivers little.
I am a big fan of international TV dramas and don't believe that a different language is an obstacle to enjoying a great story delivered through quality acting. As many have commented this story starts with an interesting premise but descends into a soap opera of contrived plot twists that stretch the story beyond the boundaries of credibility.The initial plane crash/terror plot is never really explored and is written off halfway through as a technical fault ( The cause of the crash that is). Obvious leads to find the "missing" lead actor are left hanging around until nearly the very end before someone acts on them.There is a historic fatal car crash that is presented several times with having some great significance but actually appears to explain why the lead character would entrust the care and supervision his child and "one time?" lover to a very vulnerable old man. There is also a mentally disturbed female character who displays overly sexualised behaviour toward her male therapist, who is supposedly obsessed with her, they have sex but again none of this behaviour was accounted for because in the end she makes a critical plot observation before being shot by mistake..
There was also a relationship between the lead female character and her missing husbands brother that appeared to have been inserted as an excuse for a scene of gratuitous female nudity. I'm no prude but the scene was out of context with anything else we had been shown, and ultimately it didn't lead to anything more than the end of the brief relationship.
I appreciate that this is a fictional account but the story and characters should be real enough for the viewer to invest some interest in. The characters keep changing character by pursuing courses of action contrary to how the character has been presented previously. I did soldier on and watch all 10 episodes if only in the forlorn hope that the conclusion would in some way transcend the awful plot and at times, the wooden acting.The 4 stars award is a reflection, that generally I want TV viewers to appreciate that there is so much good television outside of the english speaking world but for every Bridge and Professor T there is a Flight HS13. The only satisfaction I can draw from this series is that the producers and writers had the good grace not to stretch this drama to a second season.