Category: Series Review

The Patient

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http://www.hotstar.com

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, Andrew Leeds, Laura Niemi, Linda Emond, David Alan Grier
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 10 episodes, 20-odd minutes per episode
To watch or not to watch: A must watch for all the thriller lovers, and non-thriller lovers. Will need a tolerance for violence

Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson) is a serial killer, seeing a renowned therapist, Alan Strauss (Steve Carell) because he doesn’t want to kill anymore. Since the information given during the sessions can be used to implicate him in the crimes he commits, he kidnaps Alan and chains him in his basement. He then opens up about the abuse he suffers at the hands of his father, which might be the root cause of his killing behaviour. Alan is shocked to discover the truth about his patient and is appalled by the nature of the crimes. He is also struggling with the loss of his wife to cancer and the estranged relationship with his son. He tries his best to control Sam and also gets out of the captivity. There are bouts of clarity and craziness for Alan as he thinks through his situation.

The series is essentially a two-hander with Steve and Domhnall in leading roles. Other characters like Sam’s mother and Alan’s family come and go. Plus their roles are not entirely centric to the plot. The plot is completely about Sam’s struggle to stop himself from killing people he thinks look down on him and on Alan’s recollection of his past and hallucination of his therapist. The series is a slow burner, but it manages to keep the audience engaged by keeping with the theme of a kidnapped therapist to a serial killer. There are dark humour moments which lend a certain lightness to the theme and maintain balance, otherwise, the viewers might go crazy themselves. Alan’s past is well explored, including his relationship with his religion. It plays a major part in the story too, where Alan compares living in Sam’s basement to living in a Nazi concentration camp. That felt a bit tangential and if they had directly explained the feeling of being trapped, it would have garnered more sympathy.

Hats off to Domhnall Gleeson for this incredibly acted out part – it wouldn’t have been easier playing the role of a person who is so socially challenged. Steve Carell is perfection, but that doesn’t surprise anyone. These two are the main reasons that this series is a wonderful watch. Other reasons are the subject matter itself – imagine a serial killer wanting to get better and struggling. It is almost like Single Drunk Female, but without the hilarity and much severe consequences. It is by no means perfect – if they have given more insight into Sam’s behaviour and how his mother is also partly responsible, it would have made for a better protagonist, who also has some warranted sympathy. Right now, we have to take a lot at face value. Unless one sits and muses on the series, these factors will not take away from the enjoyment. It is highly recommended.

Sh**ting Stars

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https://www.koreaboo.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Lee Sung-kyung, Kim Young-dae, Yoon Jong-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye, Lee Jung-shin, Park So-jin
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons and episodes: 1 season with 16 episodes and around 1 hour per episode
To watch or not to watch: It delivers the promise of K-dramas – it is light-hearted, sweet, and gives hope of finding love to all the singles

Oh Han Byeol (Lee Sung Kyung) is a kick-a** PR manager for Star Entertainment and is usually kept busy handling the escapades of their biggest star Gong Tae Sung (Kim Young Dae). The both of them were friends in college and took separate paths after graduation. Tae Sung resents Han Byeol for a mistake she made which affected his reputation. And Han Byeol doesn’t trust/like Tae Sung as he is notorious and has decided to make her life a living hell. Eventually Tae Sung realises his feelings for Han Byeol and tries to win her over. In the parallel, there are people around the lead actors who have their own paths to finding their respective romance.

The above written synopsis is just about everything in the story. There is little to no depth to the characters or the story built up. But then Kdramas don’t promise anything earth shattering – they are to take your mind off real life, without adding intensity. There is a slight emotional drama related to the male lead’s apparent difficult childhood, but that’s easy to skip.

While this series does some things right, it does lose points on somethings which are touched upon but are not explored, namely the challenges in a celebrity’s life. This can be due to difficult relationships, adopting an untrue persona, etc. Tae Sung had a tough childhood, it is shown that it has impact in his adult life, but how, what and why are still unanswered. The jobs of a PR person and celebrity manager are have a certain set of challenges and are used as a comic relief. It feels hollow and unsatisfactory. The leads are all good actors. The choice of casting Lee Sung Kyung was a good one, as she fits this character and her expressions add to the humour. All in all, do watch it for a nice and breezy break from reality.

Single Drunk Female

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Sofia Black-D’Elia, Ally Sheedy, Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington, Garrick Bernard, Jojo Brown
Where to watch: Disney+
Seasons: 1 season, 10 episodes, 20-odd minutes each
To watch or not to watch: A nice, decently-paced dramedy on adulting

Samantha Fink or Sam (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is an alcoholic. After a major blow-out at her workplace where she arrived late and drunk for a meeting, blamed the “system” and assaulted her boss for firing her, she is mandated by the court to go to rehab, do community service, and is put under probation. As she was broke and without a job, she had to move back home and go through the 12 steps of recovery. Not many people struggling with addiction have a well-functioning family, and such is true for Sam as well. Her mother, Carol, (Ally Sheedy), is not exactly happy to have Sam back, wants to carry on with her life unencumbered after losing her husband. The loss of the father/husband is the major cause of rift between mother and daughter. Anyway, Sam finds help in the AA support group, gets a no-nonsense sponsor, Olivia (Rebecca Henderson), a job in a supermarket under a warm-hearted Mindy (Jojo Brown) and a potential for romance with James (Garrick Bernard). She also confronts the reality of her ex-boyfriend marrying her ex-best friend.

The above synopsis sounds like Mom without the fun, and it is not entirely false. It is only much more than just that. There is hilarity in the struggles of sobering up, a comfort in seeing an adult “adulting”, and succeeding in it. Sam beings as a train wreck but by the end of the 10 episodes, she has been 1 year sober, is more in control of her wants and expectations and that feels like a personal win for the viewer. It is a class of work which makes us wonder why we have the series, since it doesn’t feel like a sitcom, a slapstick and other types of comedies but still delivers. It upends the common belief that humor is in being drunk and consequences thereof, instead there is humor in growing-up while being an adult along with other adults around. Felicity (Lily Mae Harrington) is a single mother who is a party girl, and at the same time, she is highly responsible of her son and her job. This embodies the essence of the series.

Single Drunk Female is made on the real life experiences of the creator Simone Finch, and hence this is not an over-the-top series which makes us live vicariously. Many viewers would know someone struggling with addiction or are that person themselves, and can absolutely relate. It tells us, it is not fun being wrapped up in a childhood which once was, but there is happiness, comfort and pleasure in growing up as well. In this day and age, the media we are exposed to tells us that growing up and taking responsibility is hard and hence it is better not to. This series tells us that that thought is a potential fantasy, and life is hard at all stages, we just need to embrace it nonetheless; there are others who are in the same boat and together we can sort our lives out. This process is not limited to misfits, minority or marginalised groups, but is applicable to one and all. Also, it is refreshing to see new/lesser-known actors and that takes nothing away from the quality of the production. It makes for a light-hearted, feel-good, fresh dramedy which is highly recommended to binge watch.

Criminal: UK

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https://bgiccnew.bgicc.net/

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Katherine Kelly, Lee Ingleby, Mark Stanley, Rochenda Sandall, Nicholas Pinnock, Shubham Saraf, Aymen Hamdouchi 
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 2 seasons, 3 and 4 episodes each, 43 min per episode
To watch or not to watch: A highly recommended watch for every whodunit aficionado

Criminal comes in different versions, that is, for different countries, but this review is only specifically for the UK version.

Jumping the gun here a bit (and breaking structure of the reviews), this is one of the best series written (and seen) in a long while. In a world of mediocrity, comes this masterpiece which will have you at the edge of the seats and biting your nails, heart beat so loud that you can’t hear the dialogues.
Ok, that last part was a bit exaggerated. But the series is good. Ok?

This is an anthology series, with every episode a new case, so the viewers get the gift of 7 expertly crafted episodes, which have compelling stories with masterful performances.
The concept of the series is to get to the bottom of the crime and the criminal while the suspect is in the interrogation room and is being questioned. Most of the investigation is already done and that makes the series a kind of closed room mystery, what is left is either irrefutable proof of the crime or a confession. The police officers in the interrogation room and the ones in the observation room (on the other side of the mirror) have one goal only – to catch the criminal.

The series is very focused on the case, but there is a small sprinkling of office politics to keep the viewers invested in the characters as well as the case. The tangential story line is only the sprinklers, and not the actual donut so it adds to the whole, but doesn’t distract. All in all, a refreshing, must watch.

Aside: There are about 3 plot holes, which appear towards the last few episodes, but it is nowhere a deal breaker.

The Ipcress File

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https://www.youtube.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton, Tom Hollander
Where to watch: Lionsgate on Prime Video
Seasons: 1 season, 6 episodes, 45 minutes each
To watch or not to watch: A brilliant, exciting watch. Definitely stands out from the crowd

Harry Palmer (Joe Cole) is under arrest for smuggling American ware across the border from West to East Berlin during the 1960s. He has some special skills and knows people, which is ideal for the British Intelligence. Major Dalby (Tom Hollander) is the leader of an unconventional and elite spy agency WOOC(P) and needs a man like Palmer to help the British find a nuclear scientist feared kidnapped by Kremlin. Jean Courtney (Lucy Boynton) is the second is command and is a handler for Palmer. Courtney and Palmer then go through a series of events which leads to the unravelling of the mystery behind the kidnapping and a plot to create an international scnadal.

This series is a breath of fresh air in a long list of less than average recent releases. It has a very strong female lead, which they are very comfortable with (they don’t push that fact in the viewers face, it is just a fact) and a regular looking male lead. The story is non-linear and thus can be a bit difficult to follow, a little reminiscent of John le Carre, but it is the way of good spy thrillers, probably. The excitement is real, the thrill can be felt through the bones, and the plot setting is something the world can relate to, given the current international political situation.

The best compliment to give this series – it is binge-worthy. Not only you would want to watch it all it one go willingly, it is also recommended to be able to follow it better. The acting is superior, the sets, costumes and storyline believable, and a great tribute to the old movie, on which it is based (which is, in turn, based on a book). There is no reason to not watch it. Make time over a weekend to watch it all together.

The Great Indian Murder

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https://celebwikibiography.com/

Rating: 3 out of 5
Starring: Richa Chadha, Pratik Gandhi, Ashutosh Rana, Sharib Hashmi, Shashank Arora
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
Seasons: 1 season, 9 episodes each around 40 minutes
To watch or not to watch: Meh. Won’t be missing out if this is missed

Vicky Rai (Jatin Goswami) is the son of Chhattisgarh’s Home Minister Jagannath Rai (Ashutosh Rana), and is an industrialist in his own right. He is caught by Delhi Police when his car was found with 2 dead bodies of underage girls, creating a frenzy in the media. He is also not exactly the model human being, and doesn’t have any regard for human life. Rightly, he is shot and murdered in a party he has thrown on being acquitted of the crime. Then progresses an investigation which is mired in political agenda, corruption and self-serving mis-directions.

The series is loosely based on the book titled “Six Suspects” by Vikas Swaroop. The people suspected of being involved in the murder plot are his father, a retired IAS officer (Raghuvir Yadav), a petty thief (Shashank Arora), a B-list actress, his step-sister whom he raped when she was 13 years’ old and a tribal from Andaman. There are other characters too, whose job descriptions is impressive, but like in real life, the resume is good but real action is negligible. The creators also forgot that there needs to be six very clear suspects – people who were supposed to be suspected, had no means and those who had the means, had no motive – so either everyone was a possible suspect or no one was.

The series is a complete kaleidoscope of plots, stories and characters. There is a random naxal angle too, and another related to supernatural phenomenon which apparently make sense in the whodunnit genre?! Because that is what this series basically is, a whodunnit. Just a poorly done one. It does keep the audience engaged in the first 3 episodes, then like a parent who is sure their kids are engrossed in the film, they slip out and leave the kids to their own, the series forgets all the responsibilities of the concept of story, time or sequence of events.

Credit where credit is due, the plot is very interesting, and all the characters are well crafted. Richa Chadha and Pratik Gandhi were spot on, surprising no one. Vicky Rai was a truly deplorable character, and the acting makes you hate the actor too. Wish they stuck to the theme and had a better story board for the screenplay. All in all, the series can be skipped.

Another Miss Oh

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https://asianwiki.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Starring: Eric Mun, Seo Hyun-jin, Jeon Hye-bin
Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes: 18 episodes, each close to 70 min long
To watch or not to watch: Should watch, it leaves a happy feeling in the heart

One day before getting married, Oh Hye-young’s (Seo Hyun-jin) (aka just) fiance calls off the wedding, saying he has fallen out of love with her and that he doesn’t like to watch her eat. Understandably devastated Hye-young has only one condition, that the world should know she has called the wedding off. Some time passes, and Hye-young meets Park Do-kyung (Eric Mun) and they start to fall for each other. There comes the twist in the story. Park Do-kyung was engaged to be married to another named Oh Hye-young (Jeon Hye-bin) (aka pretty), who left him on the day of the wedding. One year after that, he hears Oh Hye-young getting engaged to another man, and ruins his business as revenge. Only that woman was not his Oh Hye-young. So yea… Also, Do-kyung is suddenly clairvoyant and can see how the future will pan out.

The biggest reason why this series stands out is because of Oh Hye-young’s (just) attitude. She is the boss. Despite being gossiped about, ridiculed and almost cast away from society for cancelling her wedding, she owns it like a bada**. Whatever her internal emotional state may have been, she never let anyone put her down. Another reason to like the show is because it is good. The story line is very different and refreshing and all the main character and most of the supporting characters were well crafted, they had depth. The human state of mind is pretty rightly defined, there is jealousy, revenge, want of societal acceptance and self-esteem issues. The chemistry between the main characters is lacking though – Oh Hye-young (just) has a better on screen chemistry with her ex-fiance than the man she is supposedly in love with.

K-dramas do know how to play on the heart strings, they have that right. The viewer cannot help but feel Oh Hye-young’s words when she says she is ok to not be happy later, but she wants to be happy now. As with all other K-dramas, the series could have been wrapped up within 12 episodes easily, if they had reduced the work which Park Do-kyung was doing. And his sister’s absurd behaviour was overly exaggerated and at some places stood out like a sore thumb with respect to the tune of the main story. These can be easily skipped. But the rest is well worth the watch, highly recommended.

Flower of Evil

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soompi.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Starring: Lee Joon-Gi, Moon Chae-Won, Jang Hee-Jin, Seo Hyun-Woo
Streaming on: Netflix
Seasons and epiosdes: 1 season, 16 episodees, slightly over 1 hour per episode
To watch or not to watch: Brilliant watch 90% of the time

Beak Hee-Sung (Lee Jong-Gi) seems to live a happy life with his wife and daughter, but doesn’t seem to get along with his parents. His wife, Cha Ji-Won (Moon Chae-Won) is a police detective and stumbles upon a murder case which has links to a serial murder from 20 years ago. It also brings up Hee-Sung’s past. Nothing is as it seems since he met his wife 14 years back. There is more to him, his family and his personality, which is revealed slowly and need-based as the story progresses.

This is a typical thriller where there are hidden depths to the protagonist. There are parts where the viewers doesn’t know whether to root for the hero or not, and it makes for a fascinating watch. The first truth, where they reveal a mysterious part comes up pretty quick in the story and makes the series exciting from the beginning. Then comes the second truth, which makes the first truth questionable. All a very twisty-turny roller coaster ride, all very thrilling and exciting, minus the unnecessary gore. It also balances out the serious and tense moments with few moments of humour and cuteness.

About 70% of the series is streamlined, with the information coming out as it is supposed to, which makes logical sense to the viewer and also keeps enough information of the action to keep wanting more. It touches the topics of effects of unwarranted social stigmas, and how the victims sometimes get no respite. It ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. After that 70% mark, the series then becomes a bit too unexpected. There is overuse of twists, exciting, but tiring. All this combines results in a series which is a brilliant watch 90% of the time.

Only Murders in The Building

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spoilertv.com

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez

Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar

Seasons and episodes: 1 season, second in production. 10 episodes, 30 minute each

To watch or not to watch: A must watch, a mandatory watch

Arcadia is a posh Upper-West side New York apartment where Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) live. The three bond over their mutual love for true-crime podcast, and don’t you know, there is a murder in their own building. They start their own podcast investigating into the death of Tim Kono. What follows is a series of twists and turns and hidden information surfacing about the three hinting towards nothing-is-as-it-seems. There is even a sly reference to popular sponsorships on podcasts.

The show owns up everything – how everyone is starting their own podcasts these days, the generation gap in communication and challenges faces by people after a certain age. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger, which makes you want more, but also, it is not a tease. This right here is art!

Mentioning the acting skills of Steve Martin and Martin Short is redundant – it is like saying the sun is bright. The real stars of the show despite this cast are the story, dialogue and screenplay. There is one episode in which the sequence of events are shown through the point of view of someone mute, and the whole episode did not have dialogues, or sound in general. That did not take away from the story – it was just weaved in. There is so much to admire. The colour palette, the music, use of graphics to depict textual conversation. But then we come to Selena Gomez. That’s the only gripe with the show – her dialogue delivery sounds like it is played in slow-motion and lacks the punch the wriiten word could have had. Also, her make-up makes her look dry and wrinkly. That’s it. The only negative thing about the show. A show after a long time makes life look better.

Strangers From Hell

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https://www.hancinema.net/

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Starring: Im Si-Wan, Lee Dong-Wook, Lee Jung-Eun, Lee Jong-Ok, Park Jong-Hwan, Lee Hyun-Wook, Ahn Eun-Jin

Streaming on: Prime Video/Netflix

Runtime: 1 season, 10 episodes, 1 hour each episode

Language: Korean (Prime Video’s subtitles are better)

To watch or not to watch: A must watch for people looking for a true mind-bending psychological thriller

Yoon Jong-Woo is a young man who has moved from his hometown to Seoul when he lands an internship at a company run by his school senior. Seoul also meant being in the same city as his girlfriend Ji-Eun and being away from home with struggling single-mother and sick elder brother. Jong-Woo is looking for a cheap accommodation where he can adjust for a few months, while saving money for his family and security deposit for a flat. He ends up renting a room at Eden Studios, where the neighbours are strange to say the least and the landlady who appears friendly, is a miser and has her own secrets. The relationship with his girlfriend is also less than ideal and is not helped by his work situation, which is filled with jealousy, suppression and harassment. In the parallel is the dentist Seo Moon-Jo (Lee Dong-Wook), who is everything that is successful, charming and friendly – only on the surface. The rest is Jong-Woo’s struggle with life and how it all comes to a head.

It is one of the best in the psychological thrillers genres. It subverts the tropes in that it doesn’t play big on blood and innards. It keeps the audience at the edge of their seats by playing the show-not-tell rule perfectly. We go back and forth in time when Jong-Woo was in the military and had to deal with unruly subordinates. It keeps us guessing about the truth about Jong-Woo, and what drives him. Then we come to Moon-Jo, the one normal functioning around Jong-woo, and how he fits in with the rest of the residents of Eden Studio. Another important character of the story is So Jung-Hwa (Ahn Wun-Jin) who doesn’t have a high run-time but is critical in joining all the plot points to make a comprehensive whole.

The series is near perfect, starting from scenes telling us about his search for a dorm and how sequentially Jong-Woo compromises on the living standards for cost. The scene where he visits Eden Studios has subtle hints on how he gets signs that living there will be difficult like his luggage trolley loses a wheel and he has to lug it up a flight of stairs to reach the dorm. It wins hearts right there. We also feel sorry for the protagonist as he has to tackle everything at home and work, not helped by the lack of support from his girlfriend as she has her own problems to solve. The soundtrack is subtle and well done (underrated part of production but critically important). The end will keep you guessing, and that’s all there is to say about it. Highly recommended to watch at one go, not to lose the beat. Keep something light-hearted lined up to watch after to help get over it. It is that good.