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Reviews
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Why do so many people like this awful series?
This is one of those series that could have had half the number of episodes it was given. And I still have no idea why so many people like it. Who is anyone rooting for, here? The sad sack Baby Reindeer, who has a seemingly endless amount of patience for the offensive behavior of his stalker, and whose on-stage comedy routine plays like a dated (read: not funny) vaudeville act? The bonkers Martha, whose sugary-sweet turned psycho behavior is so exhausting and goes unpunished for so long that her final punishment seems irrelevant? The one genuinely moving scene, between Baby Reindeer and his parents, is the only scene in this series that doesn't feel gimmicky. But it comes so late in the series, by the time we there it feels like watching another movie; it's no longer a "thriller," but a coming out story.
Maryland (2023)
Lovely scenery, middling drama. And why is this called "Maryland"?
The theme of this at times painstakingly slow drama is one of information withheld -- from viewers and between sisters. Thrown into the mix is a series of brief scenes with supporting characters forced to recite often mundane dialogue seemingly for no other reason than to plant bits of back story and nudge along plot points that, frustratingly, don't add up to a whole until the final episode.
The main characters, sisters Becca and Rosaline, have been withholding information about themselves - and about each other - for decades. It affected this viewer's understanding of the animosity between them, which didn't come clear until a scene at the very end of the series, when Becca and Rosaline's individual childhood traumas burst into the ether.
Going from episode one to the last episode (three), I couldn't quite grasp the reasons for the deep animosity between these two sisters. I got that they'd made different life choices, but siblings do this all the time, and it doesn't necessarily result in them detesting each other (as it appears Becca and Rosaline do).
Then there is the mysterious back story of Becca and Rosaline's mother, a story that is slowly teased out in between sisterly scowls, alarmingly insensitive commentary by Becca's husband, a side plot involving Becca's 16-year-old daughter entering the dating world, and other supporting character obfuscation.
It's a lot of plot points to juggle, with performances that bounce between nuanced and over-the-top. Strong performances by lead actors Eve Best and Suranne Jones lifted the script beyond its natural capabilities. And the scenery was something to behold.
But I'm still trying to figure out why this series was called Maryland. Was it a nod to the mother, named Mary, and the elusive "land"(scape) of her mind? I found the title confusing. Every time I saw it, it reminded me of the state of Maryland. It in no way suggested the Mary of the story, Becca and Rosaline's mother. But maybe that's just me.
Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
Explosions & Chase Scenes Can't Fix a Ridiculous Script
I threw myself into watching this as a fan of previous LUTHER shows. Talk about flipping off loyal fans. The explosions, chase scenes, and fight scenes choreographed like a Broadway show were so frequent and excessive, the filmmakers seemed to think their audience didn't need an actual story. And the story we get is so thin and intellectually insulting, the producers would have been better off giving us a soundtrack and nothing more.
Apparently the filmmakers assumed viewers wouldn't notice a basic continuity error like the spotless condition of Luther's prison cell after it went up in flames during his escape (the pristine cell is where the older detective finds a clue to Luther's whereabouts after Luther's escape). Then there is the introduction of Detective (Odette) Raine's daughter. For us viewers it's not exactly "meet cute". It's more like "meet slaughter". We meet the daughter for the first time well into the film when Odette calls her from police HQ -- conveniently, when a plot turn is needed. The killer is on the loose and Odette is at her wit's end. She calls to "check in" on her daughter, out of the blue. As soon as we meet the kid, you know where that killer is going next.
And go there he does, capturing the daughter as soon as viewers meet her, setting up the final showdown in... the North Pole? Luther and Odette arrive in some far-off wintery location in a matter of minutes, speeding through snowdrifts toward a castle in the distance -- in their Volvo. They "park," get out and plod through piles of snow clad in nothing more than their thin New York garb, showing no signs of being cold (no breath in the air on this "wintry" soundstage). OK. Sure.
I did not watch this film to its conclusion. The plot was too far-fetched and the action overblown. The characters were so uninteresting I felt disconnected from all of them. It's hard to watch a movie when you don't care what happens to anyone in it.
This is the kind of movie you watch and think: they probably had at least 2 different directors on the film, writers who quit along the way, new characters written in at the last minute and an editor who kept asking himself "how did I get stuck with this piece of garbage?" as he tried to patch together something resembling a story.
Yep. They really laid an egg with this one.