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Reviews
Painkiller (2023)
Weak Storytelling, Unnecessarily Frenetic
This was a disappointing use of an excellent cast and probably many other talented folks behind the scenes. My primary complaints are with the writing, editing, and/or directing, depending where certain choices were made. First, the overall vibe of the entire series is a frantic mess of cuts between multiple scenes at once and a constant soundtrack of suspenseful music as if every minute was a thrill ride. It was definitely not that. Which leads to point two: every opportunity for powerful dramatic impact was undermined by the style (and probably the writing), which deflated every actor's performance with gratuitous cuts between scenes and an utter lack of character development. No character's actions appear logical, sensible, or sympathetic because it's all rushed, and the opportunities to feel for the characters in their struggles are erased. In short, the whole thing felt like an extended movie trailer lacking the payoff of a complete story with a structure resembling anything like an arc. And that's all summed up in the final shot of the last episode. What high school graphic design intern threw that in?! Ridiculous.
Inside Man (2022)
Fair; Entertaining enough
This was different and compelling enough. It reminded me a little of Your Honor (with Brian Cranston), and I liked this somewhat more. In both cases the writing is very heavy-handed. Like packing too many plot elements into a limited series, resulting in an amplified level of drama that stretches the suspension of disbelief a bit too far. I know people are on a big Tucci kick these days, but this is not his best work. He's not BAD, but his performance of this role is nothing more than adequate. He leans into the melodrama, striving unsuccessfully to be as interesting as Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal Lecter. But I expect he'll get nominations and wins because he's trendy right now. David Tenant is decent. The lesser-known cast is adequate though annoying at moments-that's probably more the writing than acting quality, though. I loved the score for the show, even though it probably contributed to the sense of melodrama, given how intense and persistent it is. I wouldn't NOT recommend the series, for whatever that's worth.
Haunted Trail (2021)
HORRendous in every respect
The opening actually gave me high hopes for this movie, then as soon as the credits were finished it immediately went to crap. Using the "scares" of the haunted house/trail within the movie for most of the horror elements doesn't make a good horror movie. It's actually frustrating as a viewer to just be watching the characters react to scares that we don't get to enjoy as even mild startles ourselves. The constant babbling and shrieking of the characters doesn't amount to decipherable or meaningful dialogue that moves a story forward in any way. Outside of the chaotic filming of disjointed house-of-horrors scenes, attempts at a storyline are pathetic. Some of these actors should never appear in front of a camera again, the skill level is that poor. And I don't even think there were writers. It's just so painful, in the worst possible way.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Borderline abysmal, especially the acting
I don't understand the accolades this show has received. The acting, in particular, is sub-par, freshman scene study-caliber at best. I think the script is partly to blame for that-melodramatic lines delivered in awkward sequences by actors who sound bored or artificially chipper. I should have known from the very first terrible voiceover that I mistook for background noise coming over a radio or TV. Nope, just dispassionate reading by an actor bored in front of a microphone. And the promised "scares" (1) aren't terribly frightening, and (2) don't make sitting through the the lame story in between worth enduring. But I suppose by horror enthusiast standards this is a high-quality film-"cinema," not a mere "horror movie" or "ghost story." (Eye roll. Yawn.)
And Then There Were None: Episode #1.3 (2015)
Missed opportunity
Others clearly loved this finale, and I agree it was pretty good. I had to knock stars off, however, because the final standoff on the beach was SO WEAK! What a missed opportunity for what could have been an incredibly tense scene (especially given that this version played up a passionate relationship between the characters that isn't in the book). Even in the book the scene reads as suspenseful, but here it was rushed and a flop of a climax compared to what it could have been. I wish they could redo it! I didn't dislike the treatment of the conclusion, but I almost wish they had used voiceover-a uniquely cinematic convention that I generally find over-used-in order to show how each of the murders was pulled off, while the murderer narrates it (essentially following the finale of the book, but letting us see it happen).
And Then There Were None (2015)
Unnecessary changes with little payoff & some detriment
This is a very watchable adaptation, but any Christie purist should find there are some arbitrary modifications to the story for no good reason. Most of them can't be explained as necessary adaptations for translation to the screen. Some of them are relatively inconsequential, and a couple might even be enhancements Dame AC would have endorsed (such as the play on the "bee sting" that has always struck me as a weak point in the book, which Christie even seems to acknowledge in the epilogue); but other changes did nothing to improve the story and some arguably weaken it. Namely, one of the elements of the book that makes it so intriguing is that the prior sins of those being picked off on the island have some element of moral ambiguity, or at least uncertain culpability. Turning some of those into blatantly cold-blooded crimes takes away from the murderer's motivation of serving justice for crimes "the law couldn't touch" for various reasons. Anyone who's not a purist won't be phased, and the series is worth watching. Good production value and great cast.
Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star (2022)
A head-scratcher
Interesting, but it almost seems like this wasn't ready to be released, or the producers were counting on a big breakthrough that never came, so they had to just roll with what they had. I agree with others that they dragged it out by rehashing too much repeatedly. Could have laid out all the information in 2-3 episodes. A bit unsatisfying, even for someone who is ok with cases remaining unsolved by the end of a series, if there seems to be a good reason it was made. Hopefully this effort puts pressure on the right people to achieve justice, but I'm not sure this is it.
The Bay (2019)
Overall engaging
The show held my interest for the most part. As others have said, the personal life storylines are a bit heavy-handed and overlap a bit too much with the professional to seem plausible. I'm not sure the main characters are on the right side of the thin line between flawed-but-likeable and just plain unlikeable. And the most surprising shortcoming of the show is that the endings are so anti-climactic. The final episodes were consistently the least interesting to me, and it's like the writers were tired and just wanted to quickly tie up the loose ends after building suspense throughout the previous episodes.
Dark Heart (2016)
Strong start, downhill from ep 3 onward
Apparently episodes 1 & 2 were originally a stand-alone, based on a book. The difference in quality of writing between those and the remaining episodes is noteworthy. The main characters become nonsensically moody, abrasive, and unlikeable after starting out very likeable. By the last two episodes the writing (or maybe it's the editing?) seems sloppy, with some really odd sequences of events. Overall it's an ok mystery/drama. Episodes 1 & 2 might be worthy of a 7 or 8 out of 10, but the later ones really do some damage.
Atlanta: Tarrare (2022)
Big letdown
The expense of taking the cast to film in Europe seems to have cost the show in quality, too. Loved previous seasons and a few episodes this season but overall a major disappointment. This episode was the nail in the coffin for a really meh season.
The Tunnel (2013)
Engaging but a fair share of weaknesses
I'm a big fan of thriller detective series like this. It held my interest fairly well, but there were frequently moments when choices made by the detectives or police were downright inept, irrational, or short-sighted. I'm far from a law enforcement professional or even a good armchair sleuth, so seeing things the characters (and thus the writers) overlooked leaves me feeling underwhelmed. Dillane has many good moments, and the rest of the cast is adequate.
Admit One (2019)
Weak
Tries really hard to be a witty mockumentary but falls on its face with every line.