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[pixxxie]

It's been a while since I checked this topic, but thanks for maintaining it, Vultural

[Vultural]

Spotlight On The Troubles: A Secret History - 2019 - 8/10

Seven part documentary on the decades long sectarian violence in northern Ireland.
Participants comment on bombings and assassinations, matter of fact, ofttimes proud.
Families left bereaved or shattered recall with far more emotion.
Hearing just how high up the chain of command responsibility lies, can be breathtaking.
Essential viewing, especially as our globe continues to swirl into darker uncertainty.

Coda:  Need a bit more?  Check out Peter Taylor: My Journey Through the Troubles (2019).
Different locations profiled, as well as personal, perhaps softer, takes on key players.

[Vultural]

Save Me - 2019 - 6/10

Nelly’s daughter disappears, supposedly on a visit to see him.
At first considered another runaway, cameras quickly reveal she was kidnapped.
For the police, Nelly is suspect number one.
Thing is, he has neither seen nor heard from her in a decade.
After the divorce, he gave up parental rights and never bothered to be a presence.
Yet once she disappears, oh my goodness, he transforms into Father Of The Year!
In between kicking down doors, browbeating suspects and friends, he tries to holepole most of the females he comes into contact with.  Including his ex, mad with worry and remarried.
His character, who is the whole show, and his “concern” borders on ludicrous,
Pity about the ending, as well, which many truly hated.

[Vultural]

The Guest - 2018 - 6/10
AKA - The Hand  //  손

A  hot-headed cop, an exorcist priest, and a psychic from a shaman family meet in a bar.
In between bottles of soju, they strategize how to combat Park Il Do.
Park Il Do, or Sohn, is a powerful demon who possesses humans and forces them to murder.
Such is the arc of this K-drama.
Individual stories play out, two episodes at a time, as the trio get drawn into a lopsided struggle.

The contrast of Catholicism and shamanism is a curious one, and I wish that had been explored deeper.
The series finale is excessive and wordy, but many of the episodes are pretty creepy.
Gruesome, too.

[Vultural]

Victorian Sensations - 2019 - 6/10

Three part documentary set in the late 1890’s, when starchy Victorians hurtled into the Modern world.
Scientific advancements, decadent literature, and interest in the paranormal.
Each topic is hosted by a different presenter, like a docent guide through the era of change.
Writers most mentioned include Wells (in each episode), as well as Wilde, Symons, and Stoker.
Beardsley devotees, fear not, there is a titillating side path into several of his illustrations.
There are omissions, to be sure, in this jaunt, but what is here should hold your interest throughout.

[Vultural]

8 Tage - 2019 - 5/10
AKA - 8 Days

In eight days, asteroid Horus will strike Earth!
Eight part series checks off our dwindling days, as individuals flee, others bunker down, others party.

In this depiction, most hop all over the place like frantic titmice, devolving to their base cores.
I disliked almost every character and kept urging the asteroid to accelerate.
Science is nonexistent.  Horus is 60 kilometers wide.  Aside from the catastrophic blast, the ensuing dust cloud would create the equivalent of nuclear winter.  No sun, crop failure, freezing temps.  Quit running, rodents.

What is my shallow advice?
Hit the stores.  Premium booze, gourmet food, plenty of ice.  Charge it all!  The bill ain’t never gonna arrive.
Savor your time.  If younger, relive 1978, pre-AIDS.  Splash.
To quote poet Magidson,  “Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.”
Apocalypse or not, it always applies.

 

[Vultural]

Tidelanders - 2018 - 6/10

Sultry, humid filpside to the Wolf Creek series.
The latter was relentless heat, dusty wastes and instinctive behavior,  
This is set on the Australian coast, where fishermen subsidize work as middlemen drug shippers.
No idea who they ship to, yet their suppliers, well now, they can breathe underwater.
Yep.  Mer –  No, that word is never used.
Intriguing concept, updated for modern times, with a few back stories and mysteries.
For most of the episodes, this stays fresh (although I had trouble with the main lead)
Near the end, the script shows evidence of being contrived with explanations and errant turns.
After the final episode, I cannot see a S02,  Viewers who disdain endless soap operas might appreciate.

[Vultural]

Kfulim: S01 - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - False Flag  //  כפולים

When an important Iranian diplomat is kidnapped, five ordinary Israeli citizens are accused.
Security cameras capture them, disguised, but they were unearthed because of passport activity.
They claim innocence, but soon even friends and family cast a suspicious eye.

Who could forge your passport?  What agency has the capabilities?  And why?
Wicked series of intrigue, espionage and murder, with constant dark turns and reveals.

[Vultural]

Mr. Sunshine - 2018 - 8/10
AKA - Miseuteo Syeonsyain // 미스터 션샤인

High stakes K-drama set primarily in the early 1900’s, a few years before the Sino-Russian War.
In the 1870’s, slave boy, Choi Yu-jin escapes a death sentence and goes to America.
Flash ahead a few decades, and Eugene Choi, Marine Captain, is assigned to the US legation in Korea.
The small nation is filled with would-be partners:  the English, Russians, Americans, Japanese.
Seeking control.
Friendships and alliances ebb and surge, knives are drawn to carve up the country.

More than most K-dramas, the characters are nuanced and well developed.
Attention to detail is astounding.  The series looks like a million bucks.
In line with historical events, the tone grows increasingly fatalistic and foreboding, and begins to deliver one emotional punch after another.

Several romances (this is a K-drama!), in between a lot of “history.”
The personages and facts are as shifty as modern history.
There was a Righteous Army, there was a war between Russia and Japan.
And Koreans fought desperately to retain their sovereignty.
Yet the globe has a dire history of the small oppressed by the powerful.

[Vultural]

Innocente -  2016 - 5/10

Roxane wakes up on the floor, half naked.  Near her, is a half naked man, only he’s dead!
Does she phone the police?  No.  She slaps on some clothes, grabs her things, and runs.
Police come calling, her explanations are absurd, and into the slammer she goes.
After an eight year stretch, she’s out, desperate to find out who framed her and why.
And then she steps in it.  Again.  And again.

Sad sack Roxane drove me nuts.  She is impulsive, heedless, and often downright stupid.
Moreover, she does not learn from mistakes, so she keeps repeating them.
I started rooting for any potential baddie to whack her.
French series grows preposterous, but is mercifully brief.

[pixxxie]

Based on your rivetting review, Vultural, I'll be giving Innocente a big fat miss.

[Vultural]

Gogol - 2018 - 7/10
AKA - Гоголь

Government clerk and part time writer, Nikolai Gogol, while taking notes at a murder scene, suffers another fit.
During such seizures, he often has visions, premonitions, and exhibits automatic writing.
Mr. Guro, of the secret police, realizes Gogol might be quite useful and takes him as his assistant.
They depart St. Petersburg and head into remote Ukraine, where a series of brutal, baffling murders are ongoing.
Circa 1840, the look is period costume and dark Gothic.
The narrative is loosely based on “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka” and “A Terrible Vengeance.”
That said, this is Gogol on acid, with nudity, serious bloodletting, and a surreal vibe.
People will probably either love or hate this – but – if you are remotely tempted, this is a must.

Note:  Subs for the film trilogy, which I attempted to watch two years ago, were atrocious computer generated.
The eight-part television adaptation subs were much better.

[Vultural]

Kingdom: S01 - 2020 - 7/10
AKA - 킹덤

Rumor is, the king is dead.  If so, the crown prince is heir.
Except, the king is not exactly dead.  Dark medicine, and an herb, the resurrection plant, keep him alive.
By day, he sleeps.  By night, his hunger for human flesh is ravenous.
Those bitten, also turn into flesh eating monsters.
The contagion soon spreads across the countryside at a blistering rate.
Government ministers officially deny the disease exists, while quietly amassing more power for themselves.
The population, meanwhile, is given short shrift and left to fend for themselves.

Sound familiar?  Whoever developed this had a crystal ball.
Slow to catch fire, but by E03 this explodes at fever pitch.
Followed immediately by season two.

[Vultural]

Jan de Lichte - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Thieves Of The Wood  //  The Flemish Bandits

Retelling of 18th century highwayman and his gang of desperadoes.
Jan deserts from the War of the Austrian Succession, returns to find a blighted home.
The mayor and cronies are banning as many lower orders as they can,
Outside the city walls, the only jobs are brutal toil for a pittance or petty thievery.
Jan helps them take their thievery to a higher level.
Actually, though, there are few capers.  There are settings in officialdom, in brothels, in gambling dens, in the gypsy camp, and the outlaw camps.
Talking, maneuvering here and there, but damn little action.
Overlong by about four episodes.

[Vultural]

Callboys:  S01 - 2016 - 6/10

Black comedy about a quartet of male escorts.
Instantly likeable guys are soon revealed to be dimmer than a 2 watt bulb.
They decide to branch out and peddle their own dildo line based on their own stalk.
Females, they assume, will flock so they order accordingly.
The website they design, their YouTube video.
Everything they attempt seems to “go to 11.”
The gods have their jokes, yet they can be cruel, as well.

[pixxxie]

On 8/12/2017 at 8:44 AM, Vultural said:

Altes Geld - 2015 - 8/10
AKA - Old Money

Hey there Vultural, you wouldn't happen to have the ENG subs available for this show, would you? My German is a bit rusty after years of non-use, but this sure looks like a fun show to watch.

[Vultural]

On 5/7/2020 at 9:57 PM, pixxxie said:

Hey there Vultural, you wouldn't happen to have the ENG subs available for this show, would you? My German is a bit rusty after years of non-use, but this sure looks like a fun show to watch.

Whoa, necro post!
The version I watched was HC, and I did not keep the series.
I imagine you checked under "Old Money" as well.
And at Addic7ed!
Good luck - I've been there.

 

[pixxxie]

Yeah, checked every where both ways. I found some bad ENG subs which I'm cleaning up. I was hoping that you may have had some good ones lying around, saving me many hours of work. Never mind, on with the job!

[Vultural]

Atiye:  S01 - 2019 - 6/10  
AKA - The Gift

An Istanbul artist begins having visions after seeing reports from an archeological dig.
Found cave drawings eerily mirror the artistic motif she has used for years.
Her family is unnerved by her awakening second sight.  Whispers mention a dead grandmother.
Furthermore, she is engaged.  Her fiancé’s family is rich, powerful, and wants a “traditional” daughter-in-law.
On the plus, beautiful exterior photography, and a mystery suffused with the spiritual and supernatural elements (pre-Islamic shamanistic rituals).
Negative, the script was sloppy, worsening as it progressed.
The majority of the acting bordered on melodramatic at times.
Lead actor, Beren Saat, rolls her eyes and makes dismissive expressions throughout.  Akin to “nudge-nudge wink-wink, yes this show is so beneath me,”  which is regrettable.
Moreover, the characters consistently did stupid things.
The ending is vague, unexplained, open to interpretation, open ended - but - I am OK with that.

[Vultural]

Nyrkki - 2019 - 7/10
AKA - Shadow Lines

Outstanding espionage thriller set in Cold War Finland.
Mid 1950’s, the nation had recently gained “independence” from the Soviets.
Helsinki becomes a locus of spies and intelligence agents.
The Fins desire advantages the West has on offer, but do not want to antagonize the Russian bear.
Real events that play out in the series include the return of the Porkkala Naval Base, and the contentious presidential election of 1956.

The production design is fantastic throughout.  These folks really did their homework.
Period fashions, hairstyles, even makeup, all pretty accurate.
From vintage cars to music to dialogue (meaning, no modern phrases).
Writing is taut, with barely any fat, following the compact Finnish intelligence team as they maneuver between the KGB and the CIA, as well as politicians and military forces.