rdb59 Reviews

Blood & Gold (2023)

Tarantino, Morricone, but the light version

[5/10 · 30 May 2023]

Starts exciting and ends hilarious. Once upon a time, Kelly's heroes, Tarantino movies, plagiarism to the max. Rubbing against horror, with much gore and violence. Storyline again starts good (gold!), is paper thin and soon goes into the shooting modus. The main character is a young Schwarzenegger light and his skills are comparable with Arnie. There is a "Herr Flick" (Allo, allo) as bad guy, a hilarious clownesk actor. There is of course a sentimental storyline and there are a lot, lot of people who get shot, almost everybody in the end. When you love the shooting, gore and blood, enjoy the ride.

The Night Agent (2023– )

Could have been so much better

[6/10 · 9 May 2023]

Storyline is good, bit over the top and sometimes farfetched (watch the ending...), but hey, so was the Die Hard-cycle... every episode ending makes you curious about the next one and that's a plus.

But the acting is so poor, with, for me, mostly unknown actors, which could be refreshing, but isn't this time. DB Woodside and Eve Harlow are the pleasant exception.

Between the main characters, our night agent (Gabriel Basso) and his female IT-partner, there is no chemistry at all. Basso resembles a young Schwarzenegger, and his acting skills are likewise. Luciano Buchanan is a walking cliché, sorry to say. The rest of the cast is mediocre at its best. The president looks like an office secretary, no offense. I could go on, but see for yourself.

Frikjent (2015–2016)

Could have been so much better

[5/10 · 7 November 2022]

Great sceneries, reasonable acting, but lousy script, surely for the first season. One of the few series where the second season is (a bit) better than the first. Totally unlogical plot twists. Characters who switch their opinion several times between one episode. E.g.: The main character is a suspect of a murder, but it takes about 14 episodes, before the local rednecks suddenly decide to beat him up for, at that time, no reason at all. In a court case, all the witnesses blame each other, but without any consequence or follow up from the DA.

When you watch it without analyzing the plot(s), you may have a good time. I didn't, the mrs did...

The Unforgivable (2021)

Starts well, ends ridiculous

[7/10 · 15 October 2022]

Good storyline, flashbacks, good acting by Bullock and D'Onofrio. It all starts well and throughout the movie, one starts to wonder what happened exactly. Some surprises underway, adultery, a little lovestory, it is almost too much what the director wants to tell us. But again, the storyline is catchy and one wants to know what happened and if it all ends well. But then the end is near and the scriptwriter probably got a block and the story derails. It is hard to believe the story's ending in this form. Nevertheless, it is a watchable movie and the fun could be to think about a satisfying ending.

Dertigers (2020– )

Goed acteer- en telefoonwerk...

[8/10 · 7 September 2022]

Prima serie, authentiek en herkenbaar, ook voor niet dertigers (ik ben 62 jaar...). Goed acteerwerk, vooral van Lot en Nora. Het gaat over de dagelijkse beslommeringen van een vriendengroep die elkaar al jarenlang kent. Ouderschap, rouwverwerking, drugsgebruik, overspel, alles komt aan de orde en wordt integer en uitstekend gefilmd.

Erg korte afleveringen waarin echter wel veel gebeurt. Waarschijnlijk gesponsord door een telefoonmaatschappij (de vele appjes vliegen over het scherm) en de stad Amsterdam, mooie sfeerbeelden. Het constante gezoen tussen de vele stellen irriteert soms. Voor de rest een aanrader voor serieus maar ook lichtvoetig vermaak.

Bedrag (2016–2019)

bad script

[6/10 · 20 July 2022]

First year is OK, wel written and well played, second season is rather over the top. If you don't know anything about banking, money trading etc. Don't write about it!

Characters are good and well played (main character policeman Mads is getting more and more annoying though), but storylines could be so much better.

Haven't seen third year yet.

Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)

Good acting, incredible plotchange

[7/10 · 24 April 2022]

A courtdrama always works when it's played well, and it is. But the twist in episode 4(?) is unbelievable and gets too much attention. Also the end is weak, but it still is well played, watchable and I have always a soft spot for Michelle Dockery!

The Power of the Dog (2021)

Much too slow

[6/10 · 5 December 2021]

Disappointing movie. Story could have been told in an hour without deleting anything. Cumberbatch is great of course but doesn't save the film. Mrs Campion was more concerned with the form and making beautiful shots (they are!), and not so much with a great storyline. The surprising ending doesn't save the film either.

BuZa (2021)

Niets lukt.

[7/10 · 29 November 2021]

Er wordt heel aardig gespeeld, met name door de usual suspects. Maar verder is het een erg mager verhaal. De hoofdpersoon, een alcoholische minister van BuZa, moet drie mensen redden uit een ver land. Niets lukt hem daarbij en aan het eind wordt hij daarbij nog gered door zijn woordvoerder. Een relatie op het werk en de alcoholverslaving zijn de twee andere verhaallijnen. Mager, goed spel, dus aardig tijdverdrijf, niet meer.

Maid (2021)

Starting off good, getting worse at the end

[6/10 · 8 November 2021]

The series follows a young mother, Alex, and child, Maddy, who leave their emotional abusive husband/father. The intense problems they face are well played and you get involved with their problems. But after say 4/5 episodes, the story is starting to repeat itself and while one solution after another to get out of trouble presents itself, the mother desperately wants to solve her problems on her own, which hopelessly fails several times. It even started tot irritate me how Alex constantly makes the wrong choices. Her real life mother Andie McDowell plays her bipolar mother, and that's no recommadation, on the contrary.

Downton Abbey: Episode #4.7 (2013) Season 4, Episode 7

Best "costume-drama"-series ever!

[9/10 · 15 September 2021]

A must watch for everyone who loves the genre. Great acting, great stories, got everything but sex in it. Plays between 1912 and 1926 where peers find it hard to adapt to a new world in and after the Great War and during the roaring twenties. And where servants slowly start to understand how to take their rights.

The english which is spoken is really wonderful (listen to Edith!). The series is funny, sad, intriguing, exciting and binge worthy.

The Wife (I) (2017)

Brilliant Close

[8/10 · 13 July 2021]

A good movie, must be watched because of a brilliant Close. Especially in her silent play she is outstanding. The storyline is predictable halfway the movie and the end is not a big surprise, but in total still very watchable movie.

The Handmaid's Tale (2017–2025)

One of the beste ever!

[9/10 · 25 June 2021]

Great show, most of the USA changed into Gilead, a mix of Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Cambodia and the old DDR, but then set in white male extreme-Christian USA. Women are nothing in this society, only for the production of children for the mostly impotent upper class.

First two years are formidable, third year a bit slow, where as the key figure June Osborne, a handmaid, becomes rather bold, which, in my eyes, wouldn't be tolerated in the Gilead society. But she gets away with it, illogically. Fourth year is great again! Must watch!

Mr. Brooks (2007)

Ridiculous script, but has its moments

[6/10 · 21 May 2021]

The script is ridiculously bad written, unlogical sequences. The actors are struggling, especially Demi Moore hardly knows how to play her character. William Hurt irritates more and more during the movie. Still, the film has its exciting moments, the short kidnapping for instance, well filmed.

Dunkirk (2017)

Brilliant script!

[8/10 · 6 May 2021]

Great movie, three storylines coming together at the end, script wise brilliant! Not much dialogue, but the constant tension and escape-urgency is sensible.

The Serpent (2021)

Could have been so much better

[6/10 · 25 April 2021]

Starting off exciting but getting more and more boring and repeating over and over. No great acting either. Drugging people, robbing them, killing them. And even the constant smoking by everyone gets annoying.

Behind Her Eyes (2021)

Good, with a twist

[7/10 · 24 February 2021]

Good, not great acting, suspense but not too much. Story could have been told in 4 episodes. For me the end was a disappointing surprise. Fun to watch but don't expect too much.

The Equalizer (2014)

Way too much violence

[6/10 · 9 February 2021]

Could have been a great revenge movie, but the violence shown is ridiculous and fascist-like. Totally unnecessary.

Mindhunter (2017–2019)

Boring start, getting better

[7/10 · 4 February 2021]

Seen only the first ye@r so far. First three episodes are a bit boring. Lots of uninteresting conversation about how to start profiling serial killers. When dr. Carr is introduced it's getting much better. But I can't be as enthousiastic as others on this forum.

Wanted (2016–2018)

Fun if you're not too critical

[7/10 · 28 January 2021]

If you can put aside the numerous script flaws and unlogical decisions the ladies make, it is fun to watch.

Anne with an E (2017–2019)

Rating says nothing

[8/10 · 22 January 2021]

Is is hard to rate the series because of its different quality-levels between episodes. Most are great to watch, others have a high "little house on the prairie"-level and look more like a children series. Anne is most of the time fun to watch, but can be very irritating as well. But in the end it's fun, tragic, coming of age and good to watch. The third and last year is great, but also a bit heavy on feminism, racism and gender equality.

The Undoing (2020)

Good show, not great

[7/10 · 10 January 2021]

Good thriller, good acting as well, though the whispering voice of Kidman starts to irritate after a while. There are ofcourse some flaws in the scenario, esp. in episode 5 (why not get rid of the hammer?) and the carchase at the end of the series is totally unnecessary. But the way Kidman steals the show in court is sublime! Sutherland is always great, Hugh Grant mediocre at best.

Love & Friendship (2016)

Getting better

[7/10 · 9 January 2021]

Starts slowly, introducing too many characters at once, but getting better and funnier, especially when frederica's "fiancé" gets introduced. Still not great though

King of the Skies (2020)

Great series

[8/10 · 24 October 2020]

Thorough film making, great scenes, acting and camerahandling. If you watch 'the making of' as well, the admiration rises. The similarity between the young and older Fokker and Plesman is stunning. Historically not quite correct, as Plesman's son gets KIA in WW II and not in the thirties.

Rebecca (I) (2020)

Reasonable

[7/10 · 24 October 2020]

Reasonable, Kirstin Scott-Thomas is great. Script follows the book. Not very exciting, but good enough for simple fridaynight entertainment