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Reviews
Queen of the South (2016)
Traumatizing
It was good for a while, but I got to 2nd season and I find it traumatizingly bad.
Here is a particular scene of a DEA agent calling Teresa on her mobile:
- Teresa picks up the call
- DEA caller tells Teresa something she might be interested into
- Teresa says "what do you want"
- We see DEA trying to trace the call to find her position. One of the coworker tells the caller to "keep her talking" so that they can trace her.
- Caller tells Teresa "let's keep talking"
- Teresa realizes that she is being traced and hangs up.
Honestly this is terrible.
The acting also gets terrible, not all of it, but Camilla Vargas feels asperger, she always speaks in the same tone. Teresa's constant tight-lipped expression is also irritating.
And the music, it just goes on and goes on all the time. It feels like there are maybe 5 or 6 background tracks, each assigned to a different mood (suspense, anxiety, nostalgia, chill-out, etc) and they keep re-using them all the time.
Basically it's like going to an eat-as-much-as-you-can buffet which only offers McDonalds fries with maybe ketchup or some sauce. It's only nice for a while.
When Heroes Fly (2018)
Surprizingly good
I have been through a few series on Netflix lately. Having watched a bit of "Fawda" in the past and having hated it, I was not expecting much from this Israeli production. However, I found it to be pretty good. Although, to be fair, I'm coming from "Queen of the South". Any series is going to look good after that.
It has some deep moments, it's acceptably realistic, the pace is good, the acting is solid. It's only mildly addictive, so I can stop at the end of the episode and look forward to watch the next one the next day. It doesn't compel me to binge watch, keeping me perpetually unsatisfied and craving for more, like some other series do.
So yeah some quality here, enough to recommend that you have a look and see for yourself.
If I would criticize, I would say it lack some gritty, human flaws. The heroic aspect is sometimes pushed too far for no reason. For example, there is one war scene where a group of soldiers know that they are about to be hit by a rocket. Anyone with half a brain would be terrified, but they act cool and walk around chewing gum and supporting each other. Even the guy with PTSD is touching and admirable in his "illness". Even betrayal and animosity are done in a grandiose manner. Everyone have supporting surroundings. Love is deep. Friendship is deep.
We get it!
A bit of imperfection, skeletons in the closet, swiping the dirt under the rug, laziness, etc. would make the series better.
I have only watched the 1st episodes, so I hope it gets better, not worse.