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Purple-cookie87
Reviews
Death and Other Details (2024)
Easy binge watch, but nothing special
I love murder mysteries, cosy crime and cheesy included, but I didn't love this.
I didn't really mind the characters that much, although they were pretty one dimensional and I didn't care about any of them. Also, sorry I love Mandy but that accent was possibly the worst I have ever heard! It changes constantly from a bad English accent, to a bad Germany, then Scandi with a bit of Australian thrown in. It was so absurd it was distracting haha!
The costumes and sets are beautiful, I thought the cinematography was really stunning and visually it was a work of art.
The story itself was meh, I don't think Death and Other Details actually knows what type of show it's trying to be. I got the impression it was trying to be a little bit different and quirky, but it's just not executed well. Episode 7 is a good example of this, I get what they were trying to do, but it was just repetitive. I was already bored by this point too, I just wanted to get it over.
And I am sorry, I hate to be that person, but you really didn't know who the big bad was?!? I don't want to give any spoilers away, but when we first meet them I was thinking hmmmmm something is familiar here, then when we start to revisit points I was like "ah ok, I think I get it now". I did doubt this a few times near the end but kept going back to it, and was right.
Not that that really matters though, I'm sure loads of us have guessed the killer in a Christie story or Midsomer Murders, but this went on for soooo long! It really didn't need to be 10 episodes.
This had potential but wasn't executed well at all, maybe it would have been better as a film.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7 (2021)
Dennis' bathroom speech tells you all you need to know
The irony of the arguments in the reviews for this episode seem to be lost on a lot of people.
Yes Sunny has always been political, but in this episode the gang do seem to be more self aware than they've been in the past. Part of the charm of Sunny is that the characters are a*holes and don't seem to realise it. Dennis in particular seemed a little off, especially when they were sat around the pool table discussing the wrongs of the film industry.
But then we get to the scene where they are in the bathroom. They start talking about how rubbish being woke is making their film. And Dennis reveals his motivations. That was my 'ah I get it now' moment.
This episode is on the nose about wokeness and their previous episodes being pulled, but no more so than The Gang Tries Desperately To Win An Award, which is a classic!
Dennis face when he says 'I'm 26' is genius! The subtle facial expressions of all characters in this episode are so good. And for those who are saying it's not quotable anymore can't have listened properly because 'finger on the pulse, finger on the p*ss' is definitely a classic line.
The end part of the episode is classic Sunny and makes the self awareness at the beginning make sense and brings it back to the characters we know and love.
The Lost Pirate Kingdom (2021)
Another docu-drama that looks promising but doesn't deliver
I was quite disappointed by this series. Maybe I'm becoming a bit cantankerous now I'm in my 30s, but I'm not a fan of the docu-drama trend, I don't think it does either genre justice.
You have 6, 40 - 45 minute episodes, so more than enough time to delve into the fascinating history of pirates, but this show just doesn't seem to hit the mark. In summary: the drama scenes are pointless, make-believe dialogue that add nothing to the narration. The historical information is thin and repetitive. Some of the experts offer their opinions as facts, and there are a few inaccuracies within other 'facts' which make me question the credibility of it all.
In more detail: Approximately half of the content is what you would call 'documentary' but it seems to be full of filler information. It's so incredibly repetitive, each episode you are hearing things you're already been told in previous episodes as though it's the first time (e.g. Blackbeard's syphilis, Anne Bonny's motivations)
There is also some slight romanticism being applied to the history by experts, they actually refer to them as 'Robin Hood' or slave liberators. One of the historians calls Mary Hallet the heroine of the story. Mary Hallet does absolutely nothing other than get pregnant out of wedlock and go crazy. Also the way another historian talks about Anne Bonny's decision to wear male clothes is ridiculous! Applying an assumed social justice motivation when it was just more practical for her. Pirate law and culture is fascinating as it is, no need to embellish the truth in order to appeal to the need for everything to be progressive. I say this as a lefty feminist too. I can handle the dark side of history thank you.
The dramatised scenes don't add any value to the content. It's all fictional dialogue expanding on what has already been said, I don't understand the need for it. The inaccuracy of Blackbeard's death scene does make me question the accuracy of everything else in the series too. I get they may have shortened this particular drama scene but none of the experts or narration clarified this and said what actually happened. Poor Blackbeard.
I noticed a lot of reviewers complaining about this not being a fictional series, it literally says it's a documentary!! Don't watch a documentary then moan about it not having enough fictional drama.
I appreciate I moaned about this being a docu-drama, but it's more that I just don't think the balance is right. I've yet to see a docu-drama series I think gets it right, but there have been some where at least the history was accurate. Unfortunately this series couldn't even get that right. Truth is, I learnt more about Pirates watching the bonus material on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean DVD. I was a teenager don't judge me! But tells you all you need to know.
It's frustrating because it feels like they had all the right tools to make something really interesting here. I'm not sure if it was rushed or not properly researched, but it just doesn't deliver.
The Lost Pirate Kingdom: Hoist the Black Flag (2021)
Another docu- drama that looked promising, but wasn't great.
I was quite disappointed by this series. Maybe I'm becoming a bit cantankerous in my 30s, but I'm not a fan of the docu-drama trend, I don't think it does either genre justice.
You have 6, 40 - 45 minute episodes, so more than enough time to delve into the fascinating history of pirates, but this show just doesn't seem to hit the mark. In summary: the drama scenes are pointless, make-believe dialogue that add nothing to the narration. The historical information is thin and repetitive. Some of the experts offer their opinions as facts, and there are a few inaccuracies within other 'facts' which make me question the credibility of it all.
In more detail: Approximately half of the content is what you would call 'documentary' but it seems to be full of filler information. It's so incredibly repetitive, each episode you are hearing things you're already been told in previous episodes as though it's the first time (e.g. Blackbeard's syphilis, Anne Bonny's motivations)
There is also some slight romanticism being applied to the history by experts, they actually refer to them as 'Robin Hood' or slave liberators. One of the historians calls Mary Hallet the heroine of the story. Mary Hallet does absolutely nothing other than get pregnant out of wedlock and go crazy. Also the way another historian talks about Anne Bonny's decision to wear male clothes is ridiculous! Applying an assumed social justice motivation when it was just more practical for her. Pirate law and culture is fascinating as it is, no need to embellish the truth in order to appeal to the need for everything to be progressive. I say this as a lefty feminist too. I can handle the dark side of history thank you.
The dramatised scenes don't add any value to the content. It's all fictional dialogue expanding on what has already been said, I don't understand the need for it. The inaccuracy of Blackbeard's death scene does make me question the accuracy of everything else in the series too. I get they may have shortened this particular drama scene but none of the experts or narration clarified this and said what actually happened. Poor Blackbeard.
I noticed a lot of reviewers complaining about this not being a fictional series, it literally says it's a documentary!! Don't watch a documentary then moan about it not having enough fictional drama.
I appreciate I moaned about this being a docu-drama, but it's more that I just don't think the balance is right. I've yet to see a docu-drama series I think gets it right, but there have been some where at least the history was accurate. Unfortunately this series couldn't even get that right. Truth is, I learnt more about Pirates watching the bonus material on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean DVD. I was a teenager don't judge me! But tells you all you need to know.
It's frustrating because it feels like they had all the right tools to make something really interesting here. I'm not sure if it was rushed or not properly researched, but it just doesn't deliver.
Vikings: All at Sea (2020)
You can skip this one
I think this is a skippable episode. Unless you care about Gunnhild.
I agree with another reviewer that the Ubbe / Greenland story was odd. Why is Ubbe running away from what was, in the end, one man when they were about 20 strong? I get that this leads to them finding the land the were originally looking for, but surely their reason for leaving could have been better than that! Feels like lazy writing. Ubbe's current story line is just a repeat of Floki's, and neither of them are particularly interesting.
The Ivar / Russian storyline is also strange. What is the point in the doppelgänger? Katia is even more pointless than Freydis, and that is saying something. Again, it's just a repeat of a storyline that already been done. Prince Oleg's demise was unnecessary. What was the need for crucifixion scene. I ended up skipping half way through that because it was boring and had nothing to do with the main characters.
Even King Harald can't save this episode I'm afraid. I don't care about anyone left in Kattegat. None of these characters, Gunnhild included, have any emotional tie to the story for me. So the focus on them, from my personal point of view, is a waste of my time. Gunnhild's suicide was, again, odd. I felt it was out of character for her to essentially give up, and also took up too much time. I just didn't care.
I love Vikings, I have been watching since it came out. I also don't have as negative an opinion on the post-ragnar seasons as others do. I'm hoping that things start to come together in the remaining episodes. Although there aren't many characters left that I care about. (Hopefully Torvi can have one child that isn't taken from her.)
Midnattssol (2016)
Could have been better
I wanted to give this a higher score, but I just found myself so frustrated with some parts, to the point that frustration was probably my overall feeling.
The good - it's an interesting police mystery. A few twists and turns and developments that do keep you guessing. I wasn't really familiar with the Sami People and found this focus interesting. The story does well to discuss discrimination without you feeling like you're being smacked over the head with it. It felt so much more genuine and an interesting thread throughout the series.
I know some people have commented on the unrealistic police procedures or story line, but the only thing that has ever come close to realistically showing police procedures was Hot Fuzz, and that's saying something. If you want real life stories, watch a documentary.
There were some great characters and actors too, which is key really. No matter how good a plot is, if you can't connect to the characters, you won't be as invested.
That being said, the parts of this series that I disliked were in relation to a character. Kahina, the French detective, was insufferable! I don't want this to take away from Leila's acting because she was brilliant. I'm tired of the neurotic female police officer character, why can't women be police officers without having some mental trauma? She was incredibly self righteous, as well as being back stabbing and selfish. She betrayed the one person who she trusted. She was rude to almost everyone she met, disrespectful to other cultures, and never seemed to stop crying.
This was made worse as a seemingly large portion of the show was focused on her and her child, which offered no real growth to the plot or to her character. She didn't redeem herself in anyway. When she finds out her son is at the bottom of a well, she lets someone else go get him and stays inside to get a one up on someone. The storyline between her and her son was such a waste of time. You can skip anytime you see him on screen.
When you compare Kahina's character arc to Andres' it feels like two different writers. Andres' was subtle and paralleled with the story line well. He didn't get anywhere near as much focus as Kahina, yet he was the more likeable of the two.
So in summary. It's a good, binge-able show with an interesting storyline. No it's not real life, but that's what stories are for. Would be better without all the Kahina drama, but I would still recommend it.
Glacé (2016)
Why all the low scores?
I thought this was a decent tv series. Interesting storyline that had the right amount of twists & turns, without becoming over complicated.
The characters were well written, enough personal elements to allow you to connect with then a little. Not so much to at it takes over the investigation storyline, which is so often the case in these series.
6 episodes mean it's easily watchable in a day or two. We watched it over two evenings, and we enjoyed them.
Warrior Nun (2020)
Season 1 - Final Episode a sign of things to come
This is definitely a show for binge watching. I don't think there is enough going on in the episodes for them to stand alone, certainly not at the beginning.
Far too much time is spent on the main character's reluctance to except their new circumstances. I understand the character has suffered some terrible traumas, but is supposed to be about Warrior Nuns and yet the first six episodes are spent with everyone chasing after Ava every time she runs away. I didn't find her relatable at all and I thought time was wasted on this angle of the story.
Because of this, everyone else's character development was rushed and shoe horned in, if it existed at all. I would have liked to have seen more about the order and the other nuns. Seen them together more too. I would have liked less of Ava's inner monologue.
The other characters are good, obviously the selling point here is a group of ethnically diverse women being kickass. I did feel that there was some stereotyping though, Beatrice an Asian who excelled academically, Mary the black character who is portrayed as the black 'angry' and distant woman. I think they could have done better here.
Having said that, the show is enjoyable. There are some good scenes, and the characters do become interesting once the story picks up pace away from Ava. It does take awhile to get into it, but I would say it's worth it for the final episode. I think this first season has been laying down the foundations of the characters and background stories. The final episode is a taster of what is to come, and I'm looking forward to the next season! It has definitely left me wanting to know more.