albert-balvers Reviews

Ferdinand von Schirach: Feinde - Gegen die Zeit (2021 TV Movie)

Not the usual von Schirach quality

[4/10 · 4 January 2021]

I love the books by von Schirach, who is a (former) lawyer and now a popular writer in Germany. Most of his stories are based on real-life events, and his storytelling is clinical factual. My expectations for "Feinde - Gegen die Zeit" were high, but I am extremely disappointed. I am not sure if von Schirach was actively involved during the making of the movie, but there are many totally unrealistic developments and circumstances that would never happen in a police investigation. The pace in which the detective involved is jumping to the unethical methods, which is a key point in this movie, is ridiculous. The acting during the water boarding sessions is poor. During such treatments people are literally terrified of dying, yet the suspect remains laying on the bench without much resistance, only with his hands shackled. There is one highlight however: the acting of Klaus Maria Brandauer is perfect. This is where we see the true lawyer at work, and I suppose this is where von Schirach's experience is mirrored. Despite this good acting, it remains a disappointing experience.

Frikjent (2015–2016)

Really disappointed - unrealistic

[6/10 · 3 January 2021]

After reading the announcement of the series on German TV I was intrigued by the theme: A businessman returning to the small village in Norway, where he grew up and, after being a prime suspect in a murder at the age of 18, was acquitted of the crime. He left the town, made a successful career in the Far East, only to return after 20 years or so to save the main employer in the town from going bankrupt. Such a topic offers plenty of opportunities to make an intriguing TV-series. However, already after watching the first episode I was really disappointed. The actors walk, behave, and are dressed like clichés. The investors are of course all smartly dressed good looking young men, who prefer to travel by helicopter, but many of the details have nothing to do with the reality of this world. Their behaviour is irrational, and they take risks that investors would never take, even if they were driven by sentiments. After watching for a while, this gets so annoying, that the basically great theme of the series disappears into the background. There are really much better Scandinavian crime series to watch (like The Bridge), don't waste your precious time on this one.

The Pleasure Principle (2019)

Good and interesting Eastern European production

[8/10 · 1 December 2020]

The Pleasure Principle is a Polish/Czech/Ukrainian co-production, which has its setting in three cities in these countries. It evolves around the murder of three young woman. The first few episodes were somewhat confusing and the story was really divergent, but after episode 4 it started getting together. Politics, corruption, perversities, it all plays a role. There is a Scandinavian kind of touch to the production. The characters are real people, with their own issues to deal with, without being completely derailed, like we see so often in other crime mini-series. It was really getting better in the end and only in the last episode the puzzle gets together. We truly enjoyed watching and believe it deserves a better rating than where it is now. Well done, decent acting, good story!

Bad Banks (2018–2020)

Disappointing second season

[7/10 · 8 February 2020]

I rated the first season as 10 out of 10, but unfortunately I am not so enthusiastic about the second season. The basic setting has changed from Frankfurt to Berlin and also from traditional banking to the startup scene, but it appears a bit over the top. The dialogues are poorly written and loaded with clichés, the actors limit themselves to stressful looks in the camera, and directing is chaotic. I know the financial world quite well and it is almost funny to see how most extras have been cast: they need to have colorful hair, strange habits, big piercings and tattoos, whereby the reality is that people who are looking like normal human beings also can work in the startup scene. I am under the impression that the writers and producers wanted to do their utmost to provide a realistic view of banking in the year 2020, but this is simply too much. It is really a pity, because the first season was excellent.

Narcos (2015–2017)

Like drugs this series is addictive...

[9/10 · 10 January 2019]

I started watching Narcos and although I am not an typical bingwatcher, the series proved to be quite addictive, almost like the drugs Pablo Escobar earned his billions with. Of course it is a matter of taste if you like the series. The frequent voice over could be annoying, Pablo reminds me in his last months of Adolf Hitler in Der Untergang, there is a lot of violence, but acting, directing and producing is great and after every episode you think "ah, just one more...". It is fascinating to see how series like this are developing. We have seen The Wire, maybe the all-time standard, but then there were many more, like Peaky Blinkers, Breaking Bad or Billions. For me, Narcos is certainly among the best!

Billions: Elmsley Count (2018) Season 3, Episode 12

A little over the top...

[6/10 · 17 November 2018]

I was a big fan of Billions in the first two seasons and my expectations were really high for this season. For me it is like The Wire and Game of Thrones have been picked up and set into the world of modern finance and hedge funds. But somewhere in the middle of the third season things got lost. Acting is still great, the locations are wonderful, music is cool - that is all not the problem. I believe the actors are doing brilliantly what the director wants them to do and what the writers tell them to say. But unfortunately they have become caricatures of the type of people they are playing. There is not one normal conversation here anymore. They are all so tied up in their uncountable conspiracies that it is impossible to still execute their jobs: earning money, prosecuting criminals, whatever. E.g. a type like Wags is completely over the top, and the same goes for John Malkovich playing the ruthless Russian billionaire. Again, acting is great, but the series is starting to look like a satire instead of a somewhat realistic show on haute finance. I hope they get it better in the next season.

The Team (2015–2018)

Season 2: so bad that it becomes entertaining

[2/10 · 28 October 2018]

I have not watched season 1, but based on the good reviews I started with season 2. This turned out to be a catastrophe. The story revolves around a number of killings, related to stolen art from Syria. The case is given to three police officers from different countries, that are obviously carefully typecasted: the nerdy one from Belgium, the cool sporty blond girl from Danmark and the tough i-am-married-for-the-third-time type from Hamburg. I wanted to give up after episode 2, but continued to watch because it became so bad it was actually funny. People are being killed by the dozens, but the three completely incompetent police officers are not being relieved of their mission and receive only little support. When two policemen from Hamburg are killed, the chase for the killer is given up easily and e.g. no helicopter is used to track him down. But as compensation for the loss two main characters jump in bed and have sex, which one could see coming for miles. The scenario is extremely poor, the story fails any logic, persons seem to be able to travel between Brussels, Hamburg and Danmark within seconds. The dialogues are crazy and completely unbelievable. I have not watched one interrogation of a suspect (and there are numerous), where an attorney was present. Or another example: when two villains meet in restaurant, one just having arrived per motorcycle, and agree on a sales price of 15 million for a piece of stolen art, the guy that came by bike says: "but I do not have the money with me right now". Yeah, sure, I also carry just a small amount of cash when I travel... Do not expect something like Homeland or other excellent series from the UK or Scandinavia. This looks cheap (despite the filming on location in many cities), acting is poor, the story is a laugh, dialogues are crazy and characters are way too stereotype. What a pity.

The Team: Episode #2.3 (2018) Season 2, Episode 3

No, sorry, not good

[4/10 · 28 October 2018]

I have been watching The Team, season 2, for two episodes now, but I am not sure if I will watch the remainder. The story is getting weaker and weaker and it seems to be getting worse. The plot holes are becoming craters, the characters are way too stereotype, the dialogues are stupid and "wooden", and the whole story is simply unrealistic and unbelievable. If this series is a reflection of how police forces in Europe are working, it is a wonder we do not have daily attacks from evil looking terrorists (well groomed and with nicely trimmed beards, even after fighting their battle in the Syrian desert...). Sorry, not good.

Greyzone (2018)

Nice try, but way too much plot holes

[5/10 · 20 September 2018]

It is a nice try to make something different from the typical spionage thrillers from Hollywood or the USA in general. But there are so many plot holes, it spoils the fun to watch the series. Just to mention a few: The heroin has an important job as department leader, but seems to be able to not be present in her office and she has no normal meetings whatsoever. During the first episodes she has numerous possibilities to flee with her son, but she seems to be paralyzed. Her son is not speaking about the strange man in the house at his kindergarten? The secret service investigators are really card board characters and in some cases truly incompetent. So once again, nice try, good concept, but too much plot holes.

Gladbeck (2018)

At last: excellent German TV-drama!

[9/10 · 14 March 2018]

As a Dutch national living in Hamburg, I am not a big fan of German TV-drama. Most productions are unrealistic, melodramatical or far too psychological. Gladbeck however is a great exception. I can only confirm other reviews, that this movie shows what actually happened, how strange the events may seem. I remember the hijacking very well, because it partly took place in the Netherlands too. The acting is superb, the production design is (almost, with just some minor errors) perfect. It shows how much fear the authorities had to take responsibilty and move to action. I hope this will set the standard for coming German TV-productions. Very good indeed!

Bad Banks (2018–2020)

Truly excellent!

[7/10 · 27 February 2018]

Being a Dutchman living in Hamburg, I am not a big fan of German TV-Drama. In many cases it means strange and artificial dialogs, "overacting" and a lot of melodramatic scenes. Bad Banks however is a fantastic series, I am truly amazed how good this German production is. Everything seems to fit: the acting, the scenario, the story in itself, the production design. And what is best, is that they skipped the crazy German synchronisation and let the actors speak in their own mothertongue or dialect. This series is just as good as comparable English or American TV-drama, like recently Billions or (some years ago) Damages, both with similar topics in the financial world. Desiree Nosbusch is great, so is Paula Beer and of course Barry Atsma, with an intensity and authenticity that I have rarely seen before. A good thing that ZDF immediately offered all 6 episodes on their website, because you should simply enjoy a terrific series like this in one long session. 10 out of 10. Excellent!