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[Vultural]

The Sweeney - 1975 - UK

The Sweeney - 1975 - 6/10

 
Hard-hitting, in-your-face series of London’s Flying Squad (Sweeney Todd).
Followup to Regan (1974) and a huge influence on Life On Mars.
Coppers try to nab petty crooks, get stymied by procedures, watch efforts come to naught.
Gritty, brutal at times, with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman an effective team.
Likely on a par with Starsky & Hutch as far a mayhem, except the odds more balanced here.
The team, the squad, the department, they lose their fair share of rounds.
These are also men who smoke, booze, swear, shirt chase.
Hardly a slick series, either.  A bitter, melancholy vibe pervades their world.

[Vultural]

Joko Anwar’s Nightmares And Daydreams - 2024 - Indonesia

Joko Anwar’s Nightmares And Daydreams - 2024 - 7/10  

Seven chapter anthology from Indonesia’s maestro of horror.
Installments are stand-alones.  Some conclude, others end weirdly.
While Indonesia is largely Muslim, these are steeped in folklore and superstition.

 
Stories reflect values, castes, horrors.
Wealth, and lack of same, hold hands with death and betrayals.
One soul gets lost in the theater of his youth, another searches for a sister she never knew she had.
 

 
Even the righteous, trying to behave ethically, err.  Consequences are swift.
These may be alien, but let Anwar’s mood envelope you.
The finale manages to go wildly over the top, and link preceding episodes.
Fans of this director, crash the gate.

[Vultural]

Cristóbal Balenciaga - 2024 - Spain

Cristóbal Balenciaga - 2024 - 7/10
 

 
Strolling biopic series of the formidable fashion designer.
Active in Paris haute couture from the 1930’s into the 1970’s.
This explores his obstacles, relationships, methods.
His rivalries / friendships include Dior, Chanel, Givenchy.
Homosexuality is touched on several times, as well as Fascist Spain, and Nazi occupied Paris.
Alberto San Juan digs into the lead role, showcasing Balenciaga’s innovation and almost monomaniacal need for control.
Superbly done – BUT – this is one of those series where one ought to have a handle on fashion history.
(I married a fashionista, one who is steeped in the major houses and keeps up with current designers and models.
I even went to an exhibition of Balenciaga’s garments a few years ago.
Hate saying this, but the less you know, the more you may miss out.)

[Vultural]

Haunted House For Sale - 2024 - Taiwan

Haunted House For Sale - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Xing fu fang wu shi jian bu // 幸福房屋事件簿
 

 
Fast-track, career relator, Lu An-Chi, and her rookie assistant, Yu Ta-chih, are assigned “stigmatized” properties.
Homes or buildings where a suicide or murder has left a lingering spirit.
Ta-chih is socially clumsy and slow, but he comes from a family of shamans.
He can see the dead, who are forever making requests.
Taiwan series filled with stand-alone episodes, funny, sad, dangerous.
Early episodes suffer awkward comic relief, which subsides midway as the overall arc darkens.
I appreciated the old-school special effects.  Color filters, visual distortions.
Also learned stigmatized property is a real thing in Asia.

[Vultural]

Black Butterflies - 2022 - France

Black Butterflies - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Les Papillons Noirs
 

 
Trendy author “Mody” suffers writer’s block.
That is the only reason he accepts a commission to ghost write some aging nobody’s life story
Except, as the plot unfolds, the old man is an uncaught serial killer.
He and his female partner had slashed a trail of blood and sex across Europe.
Hearing the history, the callousness and violence begin to seep into the writer.
Troubling mini-series loaded with graphic violence and sexual configurations.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν

[Vultural]

30 Coins: S02 - 2023 - Spain

30 Coins: S02 - 2023 - 7/10
AKA - 30 Monedas
 

 
Season 02 splinters off in several directions with multiple characters.
Also, with a new foe, the ultra rich Barbow, with his own agenda.
We follow Father Vergara, in the fires of hell, dealing with nemesis Angelo (Mr Cipher).
Elsewhere, villagers flee, hide, or conspire.  Fear not, everything coalesces.
The finale is a veritable avalanche of action and images.
Creator Álex de la Iglesia has announced that S03 episodes and conclusion are already written.
Lovecraft acolytes, this is a series of inspired insanity and mad brilliance.

[Vultural]

The New Avengers - 1976 - UK

The New Avengers - 1976 - 6/10
 

 
Agents Purdey and Gambit flank the man in charge, John Steed.
Half dozen years after the collapse of the original series, the franchise is rebooted for the 1970’s.
More action oriented, rapid paced, and Joanna Lumley returns the female agent to lethal capability.
Earlier episodes possibly the best, as they are more straight-forward and less campy.
While this never gets as silly as the final years of the original, the plots do grow far-fetched.
The action is very good, Lumley and Hunt did their own stunts.
Ironically, the States found the series too violent for prime time.

 

Edited June 7 by Vultural

[Vultural]

All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) - 2024 - Japan

All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Zen Ryoiki  // 全領域異常解決室
 

 
A series of unexplained deaths (suicides) catches the eye of this tiny agency.
Their expertise is not with extraterrestrials, but rather the supernatural.
Gods.  Demons.  Supernatural entities.
This plays out like X-Files with logical, scientific explanations given.  
However, deaths mount, and an obscure god claims responsibility via social media
Hiruko.
This program really goes into Japanese mythology, referencing numerous gods.
Enjoyable fantasy series.  Might even tempt you investigate Japanese myths.

 

Edited June 7 by Vultural

[Vultural]

The Capture - 2019 - UK

The Capture - 2019 - 7/10 

 

 
Imprisoned Gulf War soldier Shaun is released on trumped up charges after experts show his body-cam footage had been inaccurate.
Next beat, surveillance cameras show him assaulting and kidnapping his barrister!
Crack detectives are assigned, but Shaun, insisting on a frame, escapes and eludes.
While the detectives, the deeper they dig, the more questions they raise.
And they become increasingly aware of clandestine government agencies, meddling with camera footage.
 

 
Two season thriller mixes politics, security, espionage, and big data.
Almost everyone involved has tainted hands, justifying all manner of misdeeds.
A prescient series, frightening in ways, indicating how controllers and AI can “correct” realities.

 

[Vultural]

Danger Island - 1968 - USA

Danger Island - 1968 - 6/10
 

 
“Uh oh, Chongo!”
Professor Hayden and his young crew find sunken treasure in the waters near Tobanya.
They are soon overrun by pirates with Link (Jan Michel Vincent) kicked overboard for shark bait.
Although the boat is blown up, Link survives, is washed ashore, and is befriended by two other castaways.
Who inform him the island is replete with cannibals and headhunters.  Not to mention predatory animals.
Pirates, cannibals, snakes, sharks, lions!
Fast moving serial, aimed at children, originally aired on the old Banana Splits show.
20-30 episodes, but only 5 minutes each. Easy to dip in and out.
Mindless, yet the stunts, action, settings, indicate a quality budget and good faith effort by Hanna-Barbera.

 

Edited June 7 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Brokenwood Mysteries - 2014 - New Zealand

Brokenwood Mysteries - 2014 - 6/10
 

 
Amiable mystery with eccentric city inspector Shepherd assigned to a rural backwater.
And like all TV hinterlands, there are murders and nefarious doings aplenty.
By the end of S01, the ensemble team has been assembled (although none display much personality).
The mysteries range from pretty good (a wine competition) to predictable (a revenge).
Well written, passable entertainment, spawning 10+ seasons.
One season was OK for me, doubt I will watch more.

 

Edited June 7 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Syndrome E - 2024 - France

Syndrome E - 2024 - 6/10
 

 
“Hey, look.  Doctor Moreau’s clinic.  They treat animals … manimals ... people maybe?”
The man watching the film is already dead.  Police arrive.  The female officer, viewing the film, shoots her partner.
Partly, it’s the film itself, an old 8mm laced with subliminal images.
Partly, it is her history; she had undergone neurosurgery years earlier, and “something” was done.
Mystery thriller races across continents, foretelling a possible future of cranial implants and manipulation.
Thought provoking premise undermined by a trendy trope: defective detective.
Sure enough, our two detectives have more liabilities than a grubworm convention in Antarctica.
Both leads are “damaged”, the female more so as she is often triggered into murderous impulses.
Logic is cast aside when wondering why police brass stay with this pair.
Oh, because they originate from a series of  books.  Wait!  Does that mean more seasons?

 

Edited June 7 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Devil’s Diner - 2025 - Vietnam

Devil’s Diner - 2025 - 7/10  
AKA - Tiem an Cua Quy

 
The dark companion to Midnight Diner, as this is where visitors lose their souls.
This presupposes human nature is inherently evil, and weak.
Sins include greed, anger, delusion, pride, suspicion.
Diners enter, and with a smile, the owner coaxes them toward retribution, and eventual payment.
While cloaked in Horror, this has definite Asian sensibilities.
Revenge, while sweet, carries a cost, a terrible cost.
Acting ranges from adequate to excellent.  Everything else, pretty accomplished.

Edited June 10 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Missing Noir M - 2008 - S Korea

Missing Noir M - 2008 - 8/10  
AKA - Siljongneuwareu M // 실종느와르 M

 
“A history of injustice manipulating justice to kill off justice.”
Exceptional K-drama.  Bleak, true-to-life, set amidst modern realities.
A small team is formed to work on unsettled cold cases.
An ex-FBI agent with too many killings for the Bureau.  A hot-headed cop.  A computer hacker with a past.
The opener is a two-parter, with clues for imminent murders, ala Se7en.
There are other two-parters, as well as stand-alones.
Contrary to the usual clichéd formats, the team don’t exactly bond, but begin to buckle under the stress.
The final episodes are pitch black and, unfortunately, eerily prescient of today’s normal.
For those skeptical of justice in this world, in this life, this is for you.

Edited June 10 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Crime Is Her Game - 2019 - France

Crime Is Her Game - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Le Crime Lui va si Bien

 
French female buddy cop mini-series.
Straitlaced, by-the-book transplant from the city, and the local who shirks protocol and actually does illegal acts.
The chemistry is awkward, the mysteries routine, supporting players mere caricatures.
Notwithstanding, this never takes itself too seriously.
Murders here and there, amidst jokes and jibes.
Mid-tier, but acceptable when you want a break from cozy or Scandinavian.

[Vultural]

Pagan Peak - 2018 - Austria

Pagan Peak - 2018 - 7/10  
AKA - Der Pass

The corpse straddles an Alpine marker between Austria and Germany.
As in The Bridge, two police jurisdictions arrive.
Except when the Germany inspector expresses interest, the Austrian shrugs.
“Be my guest.”   And he’s gone, although he is eventually drawn into the investigation.
The core is an isolated serial killer, escalating, trying to make a point.

 
Society needs to reconnect with Nature, primal roots.
Convoluted, with personal sagas that added little.
More compelling were the survivalists, Krampus, and the Red Season.

[Vultural]

Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam - 2021 - Pakistan

Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam - 2021 - 6/10
 

 
Women and their relations with menfolk.
Domineering swine, gullible fools, doomed lovers, lying deceivers.
Yes, it’s a man’s world, this time in Pakistan.
While these are individual stories, an underlying arc links them.
Time and again, there are dark twists as the men underestimate angry or hungry females at their own risk.  
While this is modern (cars and cellphones) the Look is supernatural Gothic.
Ruins, shadows, bonfires, wastelands, layers of impressive visuals.

Edited June 20 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Cassandra - 2025 - Germany

Cassandra - 2025 - 6/10

Reeling from a family tragedy, the Prills move to a smaller community, new home.
Actually an old home, from the 1970’s, retro with then state-of-the-art technology.
Video monitors in every room, and a eager robot, Cassandra.

 
Who, we soon realize, is as lethally neurotic as it is cheerfully helpful.
The back history orbits in and out, although I grew up in this era.  The gobot is sheer fantasy.
Family dynamics are a mixed bag, both kids grated on me.
Lavinia Wilson as Cassandra is brilliant.
The ending struck me as writing room compromise.
Great scene when the kids play hide and go seek and one child crawls into the oven.
My wife, who had ignored this show, “Is this a German series?”
“Yes.”
“And an oven!  Didn’t someone realize the parallels with –”
“Hey, German humor.  Go with it!”

Edited June 20 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Oktoberfest: Beer And Blood - 2020 - Germany

Oktoberfest: Beer And Blood - 2020 - 7/10

 
Beer drinkers, raise your steins high!
Circa 1900, rich brewer Prank from Nuremberg arrives in Munich.
His vision is to revamp, modernize, the annual beer-fest.
A mega-tent, instead of seven allotments.
Entrenched rivals regard him as an upstart, an outsider, and crass.
Per the title, expect blood, along with murders, beatings, and carnal relations.
The side story of Prank’s daughter wandered, yet tied in by the end.
I will say, this grew on me as threads coalesced.

Edited June 20 by Vultural

[Vultural]

Faster Than Fear - 2022 - Germany

Faster Than Fear - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Schneller als die Angst

 
André Haffner, serial killer who enjoys torturing his victims, escapes from prison.
After Marcus bungles the initial dragnet, Sunny is put in charge.
Fellow officers think Sunny is unstable.  Truth is, she has been traumatized but won’t confide.
Perceived as damaged goods means no promotions, no lead roles..
To my mind, the actress playing Sunny is over the top. A melodrama queen.
Most charismatic role is, natch, the footloose serial killer.  Doing what he does best.