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Reviews
Forbrydelsen (2007)
Brilliant, compelling drama
Series 1: This is a compelling and gripping drama. By episode 3 you are saying "Good Grief, there are another 17 episodes!" but by episode 6 you are saying "Great! There are another 14 episodes!"
There are several sub-plots - the police investigation, the detective's private life, the dead girl's parents, the politicians - and all of them are skilfully woven together and there is no discontinuity. This is very well-written, with powerful characters and great acting. I know some English-speaking audiences have difficulty with subtitled foreign-language TV shows, but I can earnestly recommend this one. It does go on and on - one suspect after another is shown to have evidence against them, then this is discounted and a new suspect arises. It just keeps getting more and more interesting and you can't stop watching. Stick with it - it's worth it! Definitely the best Scandi Noir I have seen for a long time, since Department Q, in fact. I just wish that the UK productions were half as good.
Forbrydelsen (2007)
Brilliant, compelling drama
Series 1: This is a compelling and gripping drama. By episode 3 you are saying "Good Grief, there are another 17 episodes!" but by episode 6 you are saying "Great! There are another 14 episodes!"
There are several sub-plots - the police investigation, the detective's private life, the dead girl's parents, the politicians - and all of them are skilfully woven together and there is no discontinuity. This is very well-written, with powerful characters and great acting. I know some English-speaking audiences have difficulty with subtitled foreign-language TV shows, but I can earnestly recommend this one. It does go on and on - one suspect after another is shown to have evidence against them, then this is discounted and a new suspect arises. It just keeps getting more and more interesting and you can't stop watching. Stick with it - it's worth it! Definitely the best Scandi Noir I have seen for a long time, since Department Q, in fact. I just wish that the UK productions were half as good.
Forbrydelsen (2007)
Brilliant, compelling drama
Series 1: This is a compelling and gripping drama. By episode 3 you are saying "Good Grief, there are another 17 episodes!" but by episode 6 you are saying "Great! There are another 14 episodes!"
There are several sub-plots - the police investigation, the detective's private life, the dead girl's parents, the politicians - and all of them are skilfully woven together and there is no discontinuity. This is very well-written, with powerful characters and great acting. I know some English-speaking audiences have difficulty with subtitled foreign-language TV shows, but I can earnestly recommend this one. It does go on and on - one suspect after another is shown to have evidence against them, then this is discounted and a new suspect arises. It just keeps getting more and more interesting and you can't stop watching. Stick with it - it's worth it! Definitely the best Scandi Noir I have seen for a long time, since Department Q, in fact. I just wish that the UK productions were half as good.
Viewpoint (2021)
Poor, even by ITV standards
Well, what can I say.... The script seems to have been written by a team of 1st year media studies students who have not been shown anything about Manchester at all - especially as to what the aveage Mancunian is wearing. Haven't seen such terrible costumes in Manchester ever!. The story line is deplorable, and bears no resemblance to real police procedures. This it one of the worst productions ITV have ever made - characterisations are poor in the extreme and the plot is so convoluted and just fails miserably in its credibility and continuity. You are just left thinking "That's not right..." and "They wouldn't do that....." A story HAS to have a certain amount of believebility if it is to succeed, and this just doesn't have that. Best avoided, in my opinion.
London Kills (2019)
Compares badly with other crime dramas.
Compared with other great British crime series like Unforgotten, Scott & Bailey etc, this show has many failings. The better programmes show more believeble and, I assume, correct, police procedure, while this one ignores the basics completely - e.g. No legal representation during interviews, no recording and so on ad infinitum. There is a lot of frantic running around and a lot of silent gawping at one another amongst the coppers. This is very mundane acting from quite well-established cast members, so it is all down do writing and directing. (Not to mention wardrobe - where on earth did they get some of those outfits from? Oxfam?)
What is significant, I think, is the fact that there are SO MANY directors and writers! Why? It seems that the underlying plot line - the missing wife and the first murder case - is interwoven into a stream of other cases which have poor believability and are very badly investigated. Some reviewers have said they think it got better, but I think it just deteriorated as it went along.
One to miss, unfortunately. Acorn TV? More like Acorn Antiques, if you know what I mean.
The Little Mermaid (2018)
Surprisingly good
I watched this film with my 4 - year old granddaughter, and was fully expecting a load of rubbish, but was truly amazed. It was enthralling from start to finish. Reviewers who knock it are obviously critical from an adult point of view, whereas to a child this is an enchanting film. Characterizations are strong yet subtle enough to satisfy adult viewers, and the story line is simple and uncomplicated so a child can follow it. The acting is good, and the direction strong. At no point did I lose interest, and my granddaughter loved it as well. Please don't dismiss this as a rubbish movie - it is surprisingly good. Compared with the awful acting and story line of the film "Splash", it's refreshingly entertaining.
Endeavour: Degüello (2019)
Superb ending to an excellent series
The "Endeavour" programmes continue to delight all lovers of British crime drama, and there is no deterioration of plot lines or story writing. This series has been superb, and we have seen all the "City" coppers coming back from the debacle of the last story. We have been kept in suspense, wondering if Morse's new boss Ronnie Box is just incompetent or truly bent, and whether Thursday, in his depressed state, will lose his integrity. Is Chief Superintendent Bright "out to grass" and no longer a powerful character? What is DS Strange up to, trying to get Endeavour to help with finding out the truth about PC Fancy's death?
While each episode in the series has had its own story line, with a different mystery to unravel, there has been the continuing theme of corruption within the Force, and the difficulties that Morse and his friends are struggling with.
Without giving the plot away, suffice it to say that the ending is dramatic, and the writers have not spoiled our enjoyment by creating an unsatisfactory cliff-hanger this time. We are left with the feeling that the next series will see the old pals back firmly in charge, and seriously prodding buttock.
The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (2018)
Disappointing start to the new series.
I was expecting so much more from the latest series, having enjoyed the previous two. This time, only Millie (Rachael Stirling) and Jean (Julie Graham) from the original cast appear, which is a shame in itself.
Now they zoom off to the US on the track of a killer who they believe struck back in the 40's. How they afford to do this is a mystery in itself!
Meeting a wartime American colleague (Iris - Crystal Balint) and her friend Hailey (Chanelle Peloso) - who must have been all of 15 during the War - they track down the locations of the next murders and body drops by some means not explained - apparently, they just look at a map and point....
This story line is very weak, glossing over the solving of the riddle and leaving the viewer mystified.
At the end, Jean says she'll return to the UK, but Millie is staying in California, so that will leave only the one Bletchley woman for the remainder of the series. I doubt that it will improve, but I live in hope!