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petertjharman
Reviews
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Starts well, quickly descends into chaos
Ignore the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie, this is the exact opposite. John and Jane Smith are rookie recruits of an organisation (CIA? FBI? SMERSH?) that are thrown together to do 'things' that are clearly undercover ops, but they are never told why they are doing them. The first episode, ok it sets the scene (although Jane, the one who's never killed anyone before, seems not to question the mortality of killing 9 anonymous people at a family get-together).
Episode 2 involves trying to get a pervy at liver to 'soul the beans' about something out other - we never discover who he is, what he knows it why the information is so essential to their secret organisation.
Episode 3 require or inexperienced couple to plant bugs on the phones of a married couple in a ski resort. Sharon Horgan is sadly wasted in a walk-on role as the woman in distress. Why the bugs? Dunno. Who are this couple of interest? Dunno. Why is she kidnapped, by whom, and what are our heroes supposed to do about it? Dunno, but a good excuse for some random killing of the abductors, a ski mobile chase, and some cheap attempt at humour regarding thawing out John's penis after he had a roll in the snow
Episode 4... Oh, I can't be bothered to watch it
Overall, a poorly written attempt to cash in on the movie's reputation, think I'd rather watch The Rookie, at least there is some sort of discernable plot.
The Inheritance (2023)
Don't waste your time
Started quite promisingly, but rapidly descended into a tangle of ludicrous sub plots. Coroners liaising with relatives of the deceased? Police who ask a suspect to "keep your eyes open for anything suspicious"? A family that had apparently not strayed far from their place of birth (although displaying a vast range of regional accents). And the cast losing any belief in the dialogue they were forced to utter along the way of the convoluted plot?
The whole thing was a train wreck, with two-dimensional character and not one likeable. It amazes me how a TV company can produce a series like this - is the production company given free reign with no editorial input?
Then You Run (2023)
Bloody fun
Fans of Bad Sisters will enjoy this blood-soaked romp across Europe. The humour is dark, the language foul and the head count astronomical.
The four young lead actresses are brilliant, though the dialogue can be difficult to understand at times. The characters development is well done, though a surprising number of them meet a sticky and unpleasant end at various stages of the 8 episodes. The various storylines intersect in a satisfying way, and you'll find yourself willing Tara and her friends to succeed in their quest, even though it's not the most legal of objectives
A worthy and entertaining binge-watch.
The Terminal List (2022)
Fairly gripping, but raises concerns...
I'm part way through episode 3, and yes, it's a gripping conspiracy/is he-isn't he thriller about an ex SEAL. The audience is teased as to whether he is being hunted down, or that he is just paranoid.
In this episode he arms himself from his own personal arsenal with enough weapons to start his own war - which is where my concerns lie. If he IS paranoid, as his employers allege, how can he be allowed access to this type of equipment? Do all 'vets' have a temple dedicated to their rifles, handguns and machetes like Reese? If so, no wonder anyone with a gripe with authority can apparently go on a killing spree (which explains a lot to my UK centric understanding). My sympathies are with the American public.
Before We Die: Episode #2.3 (2023)
Getting worse by the episode
I seemed to recall enjoying series 1, although my memory of the first series was shadowy to say the least. However, I decided to give series 2 a go, and there's 5 hours of my life that I'll never get back.
My main criticisms:
Wooden acting (particularly from Lesley Sharpe, Priyanka Burford and Laurent Heirbaut, though a shot out to Issy Knopfler, who threw herself wholeheartedly into her role as Bianca)
Plot holes big enough to drive a sinister black BMW X5 though (e.g. Journey time from Costa Rica to Bristol by air: 6 hours, by sea: 6 weeks, yet Bianca and Christian seem to arrive back in the UK around the same time)
And finally, predictable story lines that made every episode drag.
My recommendation: watch Blue Lights instead. A much better constructed series.
We Are Lady Parts (2021)
Loved the whole show
OK, so it's not LaLaLand, the music is raw and amateurish, (that's the point), but the characters! The whole cast threw themselves into their (lady) parts, and it was obvious that they really enjoyed themselves. Please don't say there won't be a second series.