hwc-60878 Reviews

One Lane Bridge (2020– )

Could have been much better

[5/10 · 23 April 2023]

I wanted to like this and write a glowing review. The New Zealand setting and cinematography are outstanding. The plot has an interesting premise. It's fairly well paced. The leading man, Dominic Ona-Ariki, has great presence. However...some of the characters really wear you down being so abrasive, and some of the sound effects and jump cuts are just irritating instead of adding to the drama. The background music veers off into sounding like wonky drain pipes. Two of the female characters are so unpleasant that they distract from whatever plot is at hand. Ultimately it's difficult to sympathize with anyone and care where things are going..

My main point is how in the world did Netflix rate this TV-14? The constant profanity is unbearable. Everyone yells "fu** in nearly every sentence, similar to a Tarantino film. Are today's writers really unable to do better and write something of depth and substance? How lazy to think pervasive "fu***" lend weight and meaning to a story. Add ominous atmosphere, bloody violence, alcoholism, car crashes, brutality to gay men and gay sex taunts, etc. And this cries out for TV-MA.

Five stars is generous and based on the plot foundations, the impressive overall look, and Dominic Ona-Ariki. The rest of it barely rates one star.

FBI: International (2021– )

Clueless writers

[2/10 · 5 March 2023]

I continue to watch this series mainly for the unintentional laughs. Perhaps the writers have never been to Europe. Everyone interacts with the FBI's "fly team" in perfect English, regardless of living in a city or a tiny remote village. Have you been in a remote village in Hungary or Bulgaria lately? No one speaks English. I don't believe for a moment that these brusque agents can take over investigations because of one call from "Europol" and find cooperation everywhere, in fluent English. "We caught a case! Wheels up in five!" barks the alpha leader, whose main acting effort is to knit his brow and give icy stares. The plots themselves are predictable. (I have to give them credit for avoiding comic subplots with quirky tech personnel, like in every NCIS episode.) The budget must not extend to actually filming anywhere outside of Budapest, since it's a stand in for every plot location. This is achieved by hanging some signs or posters in a different language in locations we've seen before. A recent amusing episode was set in Morocco, achieved by taping three Arabic posters on a wall, and a short drive through a bazaar set less convincing than a 1940s Hope/Crosby road comedy. I expected an overturned fruit cart to hinder our heroes, but everyone in Morocco speaks perfect English.

Treason (2022)

Poor

[2/10 · 5 March 2023]

How does stuff like this get funded and taken seriously? Will Netflix show anything? Weak and unbelievable from the start. I didn't believe for a minute that the alleged hero would be in charge of MI6 when he barely shows enough talent to be a support staff clerk. The plot started unraveling midway in the first episode. It's the kind of show where you see every cliche coming before it hits, right down to the part with a teenager in peril, and everyone yelling "fu**!!!!" repeatedly to sound dramatic. Made it to the end of episode two and turned it off. And this is the writer who gave us "Bridge of Spies." Search out "Babylon Berlin" if you want to see a gripping and well written show.

Alba (2021)

Another overwrought soap

[1/10 · 31 July 2022]

Harsh, tawdry, endless Spanish remake of a Turkish show. Nothing original as a rich family abuses a lower class family with assorted subplots for extra padding. The plot meets all the worn out cliches we expect in telenovelas. It's all predictable paint-by-numbers style with stereotyped characters, constant profanity, sex, violence, etc. Why does Netflix keep churning out trash?

Presumed Guilty (2018)

Glacially paced soap is an insomnia cure

[2/10 · 28 July 2022]

This is a plodding Spanish remake of the 2015 Norwegian drama "Acquitted." It makes no improvements. The plot would fit in four episodes but the writers stretch it to thirteen.

Everything is based on the tense interactions and affairs between two families, one rich and one working class, involved in the shipping business. The padding includes endless landscape and sea views and frequently replayed footage of a hand slowly touching moss. And the same conversations occur over and over. We could solve the national debt if we had a dollar for every time someone says "you killed her" or "I didn't do it" or "why aren't you looking for the killer instead of talking to me" etc. Padding also includes red herrings and subplots within subplots; certain characters who take up screen time simply disappear toward the end, without explanation. I also noticed that no one locks the doors to their homes (people wander in at any hour) or lock desks or put passwords on phones (enabling snoopers to cause big trouble).

Each character is a one-note stereotype: a long-suffering matriarch, an angry vengeance seeker, a sad alcoholic, a political loudmouth, and there's the obligatory male/male sex affair. The leading man (played by handsome Miguel Angel Munoz) is hollow and wooden, with one emotion - anger - played repeatedly by slamming his fist on a table and yelling "fu**!". We're also supposed to believe an expressionless teenager is a world famous PhD marine biologist. Well, she does look in a microscope once and whisper feeble dialogue about "synthesizing proteins" to eliminate cancer. Did all the trouble start when someone failed to spotlight her at a press event? Slog through hours of repeated conversations to learn the truth.

There are some jarringly graphic sex scenes and the usual harsh profanity we can't escape in streaming shows these days. Nothing can be done about a script and direction that moves everything in slow motion with the same dialogue again and again. One waits in vain for a train derailment, a boiler explosion, a bus full of loud tourists, SOMETHING to alleviate the same droning talk. I'm giving this two stars, not one, only because it's not as aggressively vulgar and stupid as the Spanish language "Who Killed Sarah" on Netflix, which deserved no stars at all.

Sex Education (2019–2023)

I tried

[2/10 · 3 May 2022]

Someone recommended this to me, saying it was fun for the whole family. I read about it first, and it's not a family viewing experience. Many adults and older teens will love the constant sex and raunch. It was lost on me. My wife and I got through the first five episodes with barely a chuckle. Happy we excluded the under age 10s. It's not appropriate for small children. I found the whole thing loud, crass, foul mouthed with flashes of porn. There are many who will enjoy it, so have a good time. We didn't. (It reminded me of "Catastrophe" which I couldn't bear.)

Hope Street (2020– )

Good start. Shrivels away to nothing.

[4/10 · 13 March 2022]

The first two episodes were brisk and entertaining and indicated something good. However, there was a distinct falling off after that with the usual tropes coming thick and fast. A secondary bickering romance subplot got stale quickly. I expected better writing and something more interesting than an interpersonal soap romance. Every scene is preceded by a shot of the outside of a building, so a third of each episode is devoted to endless establishing shots of the pub, the police station, a person's house, and so on. Overall a low voltage snooze that could have been better.

Days of Our Lives (1965– )

Intermittently amusing camp

[2/10 · 21 January 2022]

Ah, the alternate universe of Salem. Acting and production values that might pass muster in a high school play. The same set of plastic greenery representing a beach, a city park, a desert island, or a street in Italy. Demonic possession is rampant in Salem of late, with Satan infecting various citizens. It's good thing certain characters can masquerade so effectively as gun-toting nuns or priests. Wiki data lists character occupations as "femme fatale/business executive/waitress" and "race car driver/politician/business executive" for billion dollar corporations. Where are the thousands of toiling wage slaves making Basic Black haute couture and Countess Wilhelmina cosmetics the global brands they are? Do they get to enjoy those nonstop flights to Italy or South Africa from the Salem International Airport? Why are there never labor unrest issues troubling these "executives?" Every few weeks the unbearable character of Susan Banks appears, babbling incoherently in prop buck teeth (played with relish by the same actress who plays Kristin DiMera in one of the most annoying performances ever preserved on film.) Residents of Salem can also avail themselves of magic rubber masks that not only change facial appearance but incredibly replicate someone else's height, weight, voice tone, past memories, and fashion sense. And don't forget the human-sized talking teddy bear; dirty mob dealings by the docks; people perishing in building collapses or car crashes who return from the dead; and not one but TWO Salem residents who have identical twins in prison. There's poor Sarah Horton who constantly bursts into tears over her shaky love life while ignoring her complex duties as premier brain surgeon. A world famous opera diva who never treats us to a tune. And a young man (who spent perhaps a week in medical school) saving patients because the head of the hospital is undercover as a crime fighting nun. As one Salem police officer memorably put it "I love fighting crime, but I need to take a shower first."

Suspects (2014–2016)

No point at all

[3/10 · 15 December 2021]

The production team must be aiming for a raw, in-the-moment, breaking news type look. This means a constantly shaking hand held camera zooming in and out, frequently looking through windows, catching people either in close up or at great distance, and panning frantically back and forth, left, right, during conversations. (A fifteen year old can provide better photography with a cell phone.) The color is brackish and the recorded sound muddled. While the plots themselves aren't bad, they're fumbled by monotonous and repetitive dialogue. We don't really see a crime, we hear people discuss it or sometimes see brief grainy CCTV footage. Each episode begins and end quite abruptly, so if you miss a plot point, too bad. Most of the performances are undone by heavy accents being muddled in poor sound recording. I'm being generous with three stars.

Catastrophe (2015–2019)

I don't get it

[1/10 · 13 December 2021]

I made it through three episodes. Many will find this hilarious, deep, and touching. I found a never-ending explosion of foul language and raunchy sex, not to mention discussions of genital size/flexibility, with excrement jokes tossed in, and jokes about disease. The characters in this show behave like people I do everything in life to avoid. An absolutely rancid experience.

Silver Skates (2020)

Delightful

[9/10 · 10 November 2021]

An absolute pleasure to watch. My only complaint is that it should be multiple-episode, not a stand alone movie. It's sumptuous, fast paced, and beautifully filmed. (The TV-MA rating is ridiculous - this is a sweet, Disneyesque experience that would warrant a "G" in the cinema.)

Bancroft (2017–2020)

Needs TV-MA rating, not TV-14

[8/10 · 10 November 2021]

This is a very dark, twisty drama with a fast pace and excellent performances from the whole cast. There's a lot going on plot wise. The leading character is such a cold, unrepentant villain that she becomes quite off putting well before the plot winds up. It's interesting to see her meet her match with a similar villainous character in season 2. No one to root for as I wanted both of them appropriately punished. This is without doubt an adult program in need of a strong TV-MA rating. No way a family-friendly TV-14 viewing experience. Blistering profanity and extreme bloody violence throughout, and a kinky incest/blood fetish subplot. Parents are cautioned in advance.

Darkness: Those Who Kill (2019– )

Needs a strong TV-MA rating

[5/10 · 7 November 2021]

It's well acted and well filmed. But how is it rated TV-14? Young girls are kidnapped, beaten, raped, and murdered - in detail, with a scene showing a man masturbating while torturing someone. The profanity is blistering throughout. This is not a show for children. I am mystified as to how it's rated TV-14.

Grace (2021– )

Unexpectedly good.

[8/10 · 16 September 2021]

I came across this almost by accident and watched both season 1 episodes in one sitting. There were are a few of the usual stereotypes, but overall it was quite good, and kept my attention throughout. Well paced and well acted. It's possible to make a serious, enjoyable drama without graphic sex scenes and constant unnecessary cussing (although I know there are some viewers who need those elements to make something "edgy" and "real"). I'd be happy to watch season 2 when it comes out.

Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace (2021 TV Movie)

Dire

[2/10 · 11 September 2021]

No better, no worse than all the other Lifetime Harry & Meghan dime store epics. Embarrassing dialogue and unintentionally comical situations with high school dramatics. The villains might as well have the word "villain" tattooed on their foreheads as they set out to ruin the innocent and unsuspecting title couple. Groan.

The Sommerdahl Murders (2020– )

50% of a good show

[5/10 · 15 August 2021]

The mystery and investigation portions are entertaining. However, the soapy marriage squabbles drag the whole thing down.

A Simple Favor (2018)

No

[2/10 · 30 May 2021]

It's not a comedy, not a drama, not a mystery. It's just obnoxious. Anna Kendrick seems adept at deadpan humor, however, but needs a better script.

The Child in Time (2017 TV Movie)

An insomnia cure

[3/10 · 29 April 2021]

A lot of top-notch talent, but like watching paint dry.

Who Killed Sara? (2021–2022)

Rubbish

[1/10 · 26 April 2021]

All the standard cliches found in trashy telenovelas, augmented by lots of sex and constant foul language. Perhaps someone should develop a check list for these types of programs, and you could check off each cliche and tired plot mechanism as they occur. Must include: family business empire (a casino), glowering patriarch, long suffering matriarch guarding secrets, abused and lurking employees, the family fixer, obnoxious teenagers in trouble, a gay couple, trafficked prostitutes, frequent adultery, a car chase, obligatory shots of scantily clad women trying to run in very high heels. And there's sex, sex, sex in the predictable locations - table top, shower, public restroom, floor, kitchen cabinet, boat pier, in front of open windows - and no one looks left or right to see if someone is watching, which they often are.

The plot is very murky. Some of the cast members make a big effort but are not convincing. The cinematography is competent. Much of the dialogue causes chuckles. Some writer must think constant profanity makes us take these people seriously. I was amused with a character trained in "neuropsychiatrics" who can't put together a heap of very obvious clues that someone is keeping prostitutes in the basement. Do we ever get the mystery solved? Not really. Netflix has a second season coming. It can't get much worse.

I've watched some entertaining and well made Spanish language programming on Netflix. Those include "Grand Hotel" and "Cable Girls," both enjoyable. "Who Killed Sara" falls at the bottom of the dreck barrel with "Mar de Plastico" and "Monarcha."

Virgin River (2019– )

An epic length Lifetime movie

[6/10 · 26 January 2021]

UPDATE - Season 3: Ok, just finished season 3. A total disappointment. Original rating of 6 must drop to 2, and that's generous.

Season 3 is little more than an extended series of conversations. Talk, talk, talk...mostly men telling women how much they love them, and women questioning their motives and negating what they say. Wash, rinse, repeat. Male character, "I love you." Female character, "Oh, no, let me think, do you really mean it, maybe I love you, I need time." Male, "you're wonderful and exciting, I love you, please marry me." Female, "You might be lying, but you're a nice man, let's talk about it later, my phone is ringing." Let's put hundreds of little candle luminary bags around the lake, row a boat, and repeat it AGAIN. Let's put on harnesses, do a tree top rope walk, and REPEAT it AGAIN.

The amusing "lumberjack day" is directly related to Hallmark's phony winter carnivals and fall festivals, and features our leading lady (Mel) and gentleman (Jack) competing in a cute log-sawing contest while repeating the SAME discussion heard several times before. Mel and Jack aren't the only ones stuck in this repeated conversation loop - same for Bree and Brady, and same for Lizzie and Ricky. I'm left wondering who supplies the bountiful pastries and cakes for the neighborhood bakery truck. The unconvincing leading lady simpers about how much work she has ("so many charts, insurance forms...I'm swamped!") but we only see her cuddling in a blanket, flashing a coy smile, or having yet another chat.

Yes, the scenery remains pretty and there are some appealing performances in supporting roles. And, no kidding, it's refreshing to watch something in which people do not say "fu**" in every sentence. All plot points are left dangling at the end of season 3; season 4 promises a replay of many already repeated and unresolved conversations.

Seasons 1-2: There are pros and cons to everything. This is essentially something you would find on Hallmark or Lifetime, but expanded to multiple episodes.

On the plus side: Beautiful scenery (filmed in Canada) and a pleasant, appealing cast. An outstanding performance by Annette O'Toole as the cantankerous, controlling town mayor and busybody. Also, it was very refreshing to watch something on Netflix without everyone saying fu** in every sentence.

On the negative side: Every predictable cliche is in place. You can see each plot development coming in advance, whether it's a pregnancy, an abusive spouse, a car accident, a PTSD flashback, the town picnic, a blossoming romance, or someone hiding a deep dark secret. All the standard boxes are ticked, and the pace is slow. (On an amusing note, I don't think I've seen so many scenes in which people order drinks or food, don't touch them because they're busy talking, and leave without paying.)

Overall, nothing dramatically challenging but a pleasant way to pass time.,

Monarca (2019–2021)

Lifestyles of the rich and despicable

[3/10 · 7 January 2021]

I watched this based on all the good reviews. It's a Lifetime channel movie tarted up with sex, violence, and profanity. It was difficult to sympathize with any of the characters as they lie, cheat, betray, and occasionally kill each other. A couple of good performances (the family matriarch Cecilia, and the well-meaning teenager Cami) can't raise it above the Lifetime channel level. At least I learned a little about how tequila is made.

Vientos de agua (2006)

Slow and sleep inducing.

[3/10 · 30 August 2020]

Barely made it through the first episode. Very slow and dull. The constant switching between time periods doesn't work.

High Seas (2019–2020)

TV-MA rating is the real mystery here.

[7/10 · 19 August 2020]

Entertaining and well paced and a perfect way to pass time during our quarantine days. Actually sorry it ended so soon. Very high production values; it clearly wasn't made on the cheap. The attractive cast is game for whatever the script tosses at them. You can't take the plot too seriously, as there are moments that border on camp. However, why is it rated TV-MA? A theatrical release would probably get a "G" these days.