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[Vultural]

Made In Italy - 2019 - 7/10



“Elegance is not being noticed, it's about being remembered.” Giorgio Armani

Her parents want her to finish university already, marry a nice boy, stay in the house and make lots of babies.
Irene, less sure that is what she wants, hires on at Appeal, a mid-tier fashion magazine.
Milan, mid 70’s, and a very heady time as new designers Versace, Armani, Pucci, Fiorucci pull the center of the fashion world to Italy.
Apprentice Irene, in this fairy tale, swiftly meets designers, tours factories, goes on foreign photo shoots.
By the conclusion, character trajectories predict who will succeed, and who will disappear.
Funny, sexy (ample nudity), somewhat historical, this short series is well conceived and tightly focused.
Audience may be limited, but this will be irresistible to fashionistas.

[Vultural]

Wolf Creek:  S02 - 2017 - 6/10



As with the theatrical releases, the second season of serial killing is mixed.
This time out, Mick Taylor hijacks a bus full of turistas.
Where does he take them?  Where do you think?
A busload equates to more meals, yet also less Mick.
The writing team fails to concoct an ingenious narrative, and promising adversaries are underutilized.
Initial episodes are solid, last two brim with tension and twists.
In-between those, characters muddle along and talk and talk.
Disappointing.  Nevertheless, Mick is hard to kill and it appears he shall return.

[Vultural]

The Museum - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - Yr Amgueddfa



Daniel, right, brings new mate / love stud, Caleb, to the museum gala.
Whereupon Caleb immediately puts the moves on Dan’s mom, Della.
And Della, apparently as heedless as she is weak, succumbs and opens the velvet temple.
First episode of a corkscrew puzzler from Wales.
Believe me, there are twists and turns throughout this labyrinth of schemes and secrets.
At times, this is a little too contrived from its own good.
Soap opera elements detract from the mystery angles.

[Vultural]

30 Coins - 2020 - 7/10
AKA - 30 Monedas



Shepherds assemble in a tiny village, supplicants to the new invocation.
Wait, getting ahead of myself here.
Before this, the village experiences all manner of unexplained doings.
Miracles, resurrections, bloody dismemberment, a wild series of escalating cataclysms.
Hold on, back up even further.
This series launches with a crackling heist, followed by a cow giving birth to a human infant.
We meet the priest, who is an ex-convict, owing to an exorcism turning into death rites.
What else?  Possession, the fetish, the insectoid?  This is only the FIRST episode!
You know when shows front load the works in E01, then the next installments stagger?
Not here!  Writers have a shelf of ideas and the series goes from one outrageous strength to another.
From opening credits to the close, the writers and producers pour it on, visuals, locations, faith and action.
This may resonate more with Catholics, lapsed Catholics, even those who snoozed during Sunday school.

[Vultural]

Open Your Eyes - 2021 - 5/10
AKA - Otwórz Oczy

She wakes in the hospital bed.  What happened?  Where am I?  Wait a minute … who am I?
Another day in the amnesia clinic for Julia.
An exclusive center, where all patients are young and talented.  Gifted.
Also tightly watched and controlled.



Two episodes set up characters, stories, and the “surveillance village” concept.
Followed by three episodes where everyone twirls their thumbs.
Padding.  Trying to make characters with the personalities of potatoes seem intriguing.
Then the last episode, where the plot is shuffled, and is suddenly interesting.
Why didn’t writers do this from the beginning?  Why?  Because they were told to deliver a Netflix ending.
Meaning, there ain’t no ending.  Producers hope for a S02 for a series with more fat than an elephant seal.
Dull writing, weighted down with zombie actors.

[Vultural]

The Sleepers - 2019 - 8/10
AKA - Bez Vědomí



Top notch espionage thriller set in Prague, 1989, as the revolution is imminent.
Maria wants to visit her sister in Czechoslovakia, husband Victor is less keen.
After all, they fled as dissidents years ago.  What could happen?  asks Maria.
A traffic accident could happen, with Maria waking up with no husband.
From there, she contacts the British embassy, Czech security, none with answers.
Clouding her search further are agents of the KGB and StB (Secret Police).
Narrative twists and turns, most characters are determinedly miserable.
Realpolitik predominates.

[Vultural]

50M2 - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - (Fifty Square Meters)



Shadow has a falling out with his boss, a businessman / gangster.
While Shadow was his #1 enforcer, no one is indispensable.
After surviving a botched hit job, Shadow hides himself in small shop in a run down quarter.
Where residents soon assume he is the son of the recently deceased tailor.
He has unique abilities to deal with neighborhood blight and small time chiselers.
The larger adversary is the property developer, bullying, badgering, misleading.
Writing is sharp throughout, in this surprisingly funny dark tinged series.
How dark?  The final episode goes full Noir, filmed at night, simmering tensions released.
Unfortunately, this is a Netflix show, with a Netflix non-ending.
While I would be inclined to view S02, I would have to wait to read comments to see if inspiration remained.

[Vultural]

Bauhaus: A New Era - 2019 - 7/10
AKA - Die Neue Zeit



Scoring this for history, and info pertinent to the rise and difficulties of the Weimar artistic house.
Behind the scenes, conservatives and academics struggle to undermine and control “new” visions.
Students, meanwhile, are idealistic and romantic.  Expect liaisons.
Name-checked are Walter Gropius, Alma Mahler, Johannes Itten, Joost Schmidt, and the enigmatic Dörte Helm
Although there is a chronological series of events, there is an underlying theme of male / female conflict.
At times, this got soapy and I was unsure of accuracy vs. demographic calculations.
There is supposedly a second season planned, where the movement encounters the National Socialist Party.

[Vultural]

Dead Mountain - 2020 - 7/10
AKA - Pereval Dyatlova  //  Перевал Дятлова

Docudrama based on the 1959 Dyatlov Pass Incident, where hikers mysteriously froze to death.
Nine students from Ural Polytechnic head for the Otorten peak in January.
Accompanying them is a helper / observer, we later discover is KGB, mission undisclosed.
The series has two narratives, the hike and subsequent investigation.
In addition, there are numerous WWII flashbacks of the storming of Berlin by two characters.
Finally, local Mansi natives repeatedly warn the group the mountain is dangerous, an evil spirit.
Gripping throughout with superb photography and production values.
Best viewed during the coldest months.



Happier days.  Students relaxing, checklisting inventory, eager for adventure.

[Vultural]

The Girl Before - 2021 - 7/10



Tight four-part thriller, based on hit novel (that apparently received negative blowback).
After passing a peculiar series of examinations, a single woman moves into an austere dwelling.
The house, which resembles a modern museum interior, possesses a clinical personality.
The architect who designed it seems an emotionless, tightly wound obsessive.
Oh yeah, the previous tenant had died there.
Oh, so had a woman before that.
Our tenant, Jane, does not find that out until later.
Well constructed burner will absorb some, alienate others.

[Vultural]

A Murderous Affair In Horizon Tower - 2020 - 7/10
AKA - Mo Tian da Lou  //  摩天大楼



Locked room mystery finds attractive coffee shop owner dead in her luxury apartment.
Straight off, how can a mere barista afford to live in the opulent Horizon Tower?
Yes, the investigating detectives wonder at that, as well.
Suspects?  Ha!  The building teems with them.
Smitten building employees, jealous women, alpha males.
Episode 1 - 2 is of one suspect, 3 - 4 another.  That is the structure.
Each episode is a little over 30”.  I dislike binging, yet I watched two at a time.
Two things stick out in this Chinese drama.  Police are honest; rules & evidence types.  Yeah, propaganda.
The other is the undercurrent of oppressed or second status females.
I would not have pictured China admitting such occurs – though it is global wide.

[Vultural]

Katla - 2021 - 6/10



Promising mystery flirts with folk horror throughout.
After the volcano eruption in Vik (Iceland) most of the village is deserted.
The first stranger arrives, covered in mud, naked underneath.
Turns out she was in Vik twenty years earlier, and she has not aged.
Only wait!  Her older version is actually living in Sweden.
Then another mud covered person arrives, one who had disappeared a few years earlier.
Followed by a boy, who –  you get the picture.
At six episodes this would have been excellent.  Unfortunately, there are eight and the midsection is repetitive and padded.
Moreover, the locals, a depressed bunch, are casual beyond belief toward the new arrivals.
To a soul, they are like,  “Oh, hi.  I though you were dead.  Are you hungry?  Would you like a burger?”
This undercuts tension, and the unrelenting tone of saturated grief is tiresome.

[Vultural]

The Chestnut Man - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Kastanjemanden



It’s an old case, a year gone, almost cold file.
Still, the kidnapped victim was – is! – a politician’s daughter.
Then, after a year, a string of women are murdered, limbs removed, displays mounted.
And always those eerie chestnut men somewhere on the scene.
Six part thriller, well written, diabolically constructed, sure direction, solid acting.
None of the detectives are drooling, weirdo types, an overused crutch from imaginatively bereft writers.
Convoluted, perhaps so much, you may need to rewatch a few episodes.

[Vultural]

Tell Me A Story: S01 - 2018 - 7/10



Had I more appetite for US fare, I might have stumbled upon this earlier.
Three fairy tales, updated and relocated to New York City.
Hansel and Gretel, Three Little Pigs. Little Red Riding Hood.
Common to all, the wolf.  Yeah, a bad one.  Make that wolves.
I found myself engrossed in one thread, irritated with another.
An episode later, my allegiances would shift.
In addition, several times I second-guessed.  “Aw, man, is going to happen?  This is so predictable.”
Except that seldom happened.  The writing is high, they always took unexpected directions.
Sharp little series, at least S01.  I might try another season.
Based on the Spanish series, Cuéntame un Cuento, about which I am now very curious.

[Vultural]

The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window - 2021 - 7/10



Long overdue spoof of the seemingly endless string of Hallmark Mystery films.
Anna, divorced, finds comfort in neighbor watching and quaffing gallons of red wine.
The drunken voyeur sees shady business, murders, potential lovemates.
Fantasy imagination polluted by alcohol.
At times, thriller / mystery angles dominate over the satire.
Most of the cliches are here in full parody.
Bad reviews hail from people who have limited sense of humor, a growing tribe.
For those of us who have viewed countless perky sleuths, this will be a tonic.
Netflix show, yet it has a passable ending.  Actually, the last episode is a hoot.

[Vultural]

Alice In Borderland - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Imawa no Kuni no Arisu // 今際の国のアリス



Three friends gaze out at deserted Tokyo.
Warm car engines, cigarettes burning in ashtrays, frosty drinks still cold, but humans are gone.
Night falls, and they are summoned, as are others.
And the “games” begins.
Games of life and death, meaning winners survive, losers zzzztt!!
First 3-4 installments move crisply, the contests are inventive, characters fleshed out.
I wondered if the creative team could maintain this level.
In a word, no.  Once at the stagnant “oasis” energy plummets.
The “ending” is a Netflix ending (meaning there ain’t no ending).
The finale is drawn out, sluggish and inconclusive.  S02 is confirmed.

[pixxxie]

Yeah, I got a bit bored with Alice In Borderland after the first few episodes. It all seemed a bit same-ish and I agree with you on the ending.

As for The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window, I must admit I have so far relied on the reviews (should know better!), but I might give it a go based on your assessment. I can always abort if it doesn't suit me.

Never even heard of Tell Me A Story, but then that's why I follow your thread   Perhaps I'll find it somewhere.

[Vultural]

Pixxxie, appreciation of Woman House Girl Window may depend on how familiar (tolerant)  you are with this sub-genre.

For better, or for worse, I have seen plenty of these formula Hallmark mysteries and similar.  Usually featuring perky virgins and neutered male sidekicks.

Aurora Teagarden, Chronicle Mysteries, Mystery 101, Mystery Woman (one of the better, early ones, pre-Hallmark, no romance).

Miss Fisher has deco fashions, and she ain't chaste.  The Australian spinoff, Ms Fisher, is lame and ran outta steam.  The Chinese version, mother of God, is spectacular.  It looks like producers spent a fortune on Miss S.  The qipao fashions alone would fill a September Vogue.  Also, the leads have real chemistry, something the Hallmarks NEVER have, nor do the Fishers.

Still, if you are a single guy, with total control of the remote, chances are most of these are as tempting as a tofu, quinoa and spinach sandwich.

[Vultural]

Callboys: S02 - 2019 - 7/10



Second, and final, season of the misadventures of the studs for hire.
You might think, or foolishly hope, after the painful conclusions of the first season, these guys might have wised up.
Or matured.
One is older and wiser, two others make the Three Stooges look like Rhodes scholars.
Wes is in rehab.  Devon and Vleugels are incapable of sound judgment.
Even when they get lucky, gloriously lucky, Fortune turns terribly, horribly against them.
Slow to get going, but this finishes painfully funny.

[Vultural]

Black Sands - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - Svörtu Sandar



Police thriller set in remote Iceland town.
The dead body, a survivor, and a young officer who has been charting a series of accidental deaths in the region.
The main protagonist is not that cop, but Anita, returning from Reykjavik.
Apparently she left because of her abusive mother, a chain smoking, passive-aggressive type.
Anita, like most TV crime solvers, is screwed up.  She never even bothers to wear a uniform, she wears the same sweater day after day after day.
Episode after episode, more characters reveal their script-written weirdness.
Plot and pacing are pretty good.  Characters and motivations, cliché city.