BeneCumb

/refers to Season 1/

Despite the fact that Sylvester Stallone reprises his "conventional" role as mobster, his approach and skills have not decreased, often the other way round, and the creators of the Series have the "decency" to put him in a role appropriate for his age. Although Tulsa King is undoubtedly always with and around him, there are multiple other pleasant characters and performances so Sly does not have to "break through" the script on his own...

The events and background seem logical, his past and its shadows provide pleasant touching moments, and the actions and ideas of Mr. Manfredi are not always ahead or circumventing the long arm of the law... I am really content with the balanced, yet catchy approach and looking forward to the next season(s).

I tend to be an admirer of Scandinavian and British crime series, but from time to time I would like to widen my horizons and find out what other countries can offer in this field... If real events-characters-history included, it is always a plus. And as I have accustomed to read subtitles, I prefer non-dubbing.

I had read some praising comments on this Series, but I had only very general prior information and no knowledge of Serbian actors at all... But I was able to delve into the events and characters right from the beginning; it was also visible that a lots of skills and funds were spent, and the contrasts of pre-II WW era well captivated. Evidently, there are some controversies and added artistry, but it is no documentary or historical study material, after all.

As for performances, I found them pleasant at least, with some supporting cast slightly excelling the main one (e.g. Marija Bergam as Maja Davidovic, Gordan Kichic as Alimpije Miric - or perhaps their characters were more versatile), and all representatives of different ethnicities spoke in their respective language - also an elevating factor for me.

I liked Season 2 a bit more, although a certain twist with a policeman was a bit too much...? Season 3 is underway and I am looking forward to it and the final episode of Season 2 ended in an intriguing manner.

Anyway, well directed, produced and performed, and the Series could be introduced to many more countries.

... bearing in mind that I do not belong to the target audience. Usually, I am not keen on teams consisting of female investigators solving complex crimes as they tend to become action heroes soon, and I have somewhat moved on from "one case -- one episode" series. But, as hinted already, My Life Is Murder excited my interest at once (and not only due to Australian and later New Zealand magnificent views). There are lots of funny scenes and dialogues, but always connected with the "good guys" -- crimes are never funny, their depiction is considerate.

It did not bother me that the wrongdoer was among 3-5 persons we got to know in the beginning -- I surmised the wright one only in a couple of cases, and even then their motives remained unclear to the final solution. True, most murders per se and carried out bluntly, but, on the other hand, the countries mentioned are not too "felonious", so e.g. Depiction of gang wars particularly in New Zealand would have been ridiculous...

Lucy Lawless is great as usual, but the cast includes other rather interesting (local) actors whom I probably remember if see them in other films or series.

So, Seasons 1-3 have been watched, and I am sure I will watch the next one(s) as well.

Thus, mostly rural scenes with beautiful landscape and old-time houses, classy people speaking intelligent language with diverse vocabulary... A kind a mixture of Marple and Midsummer Murder eras - I like that, although in Magpie Murders, there was no 1 episode - 1 case to be solved, but a really lengthy mystery. The approach of using similar characters depicted by same performers is not the first, but as not often used, it has a fresh effect here. Anthony Horowitz is a master of finding right angles and frames of minds and "a book within a book" brings it all forth.

I also liked the British character actors pleasantly forward here, although I have to admit that female ones were rather unknown to me, including Lesley Manville (about whom I read later and found out she is quite famous, my bad :)). In spite of tragic background, several dialogues bring giggling moments as well. Anyway, there was a good chemistry among them and I did not surmise the wrongdoer and the reasons behind, I can rate it with strong 8 points.

A good watch to everyone keen on "old-fashioned" murder mysteries.

Well, the employment of blind persons within a police per se is not too uncommon, but their tasks are hardly in the field or participation in chases... The background and circumstances are explained, convincing at first, but as the story develops and bearing in mind the real wrongdoer the reasons begin to feel odd. Several cliches regarding disabilities, superior-subordinate relations and police inattention are present too much, plus the flashbacks explaining the cause of blindness are too protracted and overlapping. 1.5 hours per episode is evidently too long as well.

Yet, the performances are pleasant (Maria Chiara Giannetta, Enzo Paci, above all) and there is a pleasant symbiosis of one episode - one case and the leitmotif, elevated by beautiful Italian views... But as something was missing / not present for me (incl. No real chemistry between Blanca and Michele) and I surmised the wrongdoer too early, I would rate it with 7 points as I could name dozens of meatier Italian police series.

I had/have not read the book of the same name, but the era and some performers attracted my attention - and I was basically content from the beginning. Apparently, some strong feelings and fast action have been added, but I disagree with those who claim that the depiction on war and attacks is "cool" -- how come, if several "good guys" die too and there are many events where most of viewers have no desire to participate due to unpredictable outcome?

Still, the run of events is catchy, at least for those having no idea about this SAS, and the performances of all leading actors are strong, with love-friendship-hate aspects powerfully seen and with visible two-direction chemistry. To me, there were several "new names" exciting my interest (Connor Swindells, Jack O'Connell).

PS Later I read that historical accuracy was here maintained to a great degree which made me wait for Season 2 even more (plus the fact that Season 1 ended in an intriguing manner).

I remember reading several Mason books decades ago and now, seeing that a series was made, I assumed that it depicts one case - one episode or so, but the result I got was one case - one season with strong traces of procedural approach... Well, my bad, I should have prepared myself more in advance :) One the other hand, I do not complain that this Mason is totally different from original Mason (as I do not recall these ins and outs of that time anyway), but the case depicted was too "confined" and the inclusion of religious fanatics did not raise my spirits either.

Matthew Rhys and John Lithgow were splendid, excelling the others, but they are just wonderful actors who are worth following irrespective of a script... I think I would still watch Season 2 (planned already) as well, but without too high hopes, not expecting something wow! -- just a rather good series about detective in an era not familiar to me and without much technology as auxiliaries.

I was referred to this Series when browsing a list of best British spy series, realising that I have seen a little with David Tennant (whom I like) present and all this has been him being a policeman/detective... So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and delved into the world of frivolous glamour, deception and betrayal in a period when particularly smaller nations in Europe had uncertainty and difficulties in many layers.

Well, the events got going, the depiction seems realistic (several episodes based on real events), the cast includes pleasant British character actors (Tennant, Lesser, Haddington) and some also good Polish actors -- so I really can´t say that Spies of Warsaw is protracted or dull. True, I had-have not read the book, but in thrillers, for the sake of delight, I prefer twists and solutions unknown beforehand - it is yet no Hamlet or similar, after all...

Additional plus for the depiction of an era rather unknown today - Poland in the late 1930ies, and with both Warsaw and Berlin being splendid cities with fine architecture destroyed by subsequent war.

I have watched some praised and awarded films which are protracted and static, with max. Suitability for the theatre stage... Sorry, waiting-for-godot´s have another time and place. Here, in Werk ohne Autor, the approach and filming style are pleasant and distinct, enabling to reveal the events in a suffered and split nation for several decades. Fine are visual arts are strongly visible, but as a kind of supporting cast, so the film can be comprehended and enjoyed by people not familiar with art as well -- like e.g. Me.

The performances are also great -- well, Tom Schilling and Sebastian Koch are always worth noticing -- but all others included create the atmosphere of constant tensions and oppression, alternating hope and desperation. One can also clearly see that socialism was no real escape from gloomy Nazi past towards bright free future, one suppression was just replaced by another.

And last but not least - the general framework of the film or direction-script-production. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has stuck out before, with his Das Leben der Anderen, which I think I liked even more. Yet, Werk ohne Autor is a versatile and well made film, with good description of the era when traces of devastating war were clearly visible both directly and indirectly...

I am not too keen on household dramas, but as I value Imelda Staunton and Stephen Rea, I gave it a go... The events appeared and developed with a distress (yet not as profound as in Nordic Noir), and in spite of the police not revealing the one who got hurt, avoiding he-she mentioning even, I realised soon that things were not as the creators attempted to lead the viewers´ attention, and the main "vice" and the motives behind were clear to me before long. Depiction of the issues of all family members was sometimes a bit much for the 4-episode series, and generation gap and unwillingness of children to see their parent remarry are no novel topics as well.

As for the performances, the "older" generation (Staunton, Rea, Annis) excel the "younger" one, although all the main characters and versatile and realistic and there are no underperformances... Bearing in mind the very last scene, one could envisage Season 2, but it is probably not the case here, at least I have not heard any hints.

"Only" 7 points as I hoped more of a thriller and less predictable moments.

Bearing in mind split Germany and Berlin, there are not too many films and series depicting the events just before building the Berlin Wall -- so the benchmark/background excited my interest already. And the events began rolling immediately: killings, lies, cover-ups, disguises and many other things intrinsic to a good thriller... It did not bother me at all that the pursuit for a certain envelop was the backbone of the Series - there were so many other interesting angles and I was unable to surmise the content of that envelope.

Members of the cast were rather unknown to me (apart from Rupert Vansittart and Adrian Lukis in minor roles), but I found them definitely above average, and it was also to my liking that the performers of different nationalities/ethnicities were used for corresponding performances (although the Russian language had a rather heavy accent, apparently spoken by emigrant actors).

PS I am really surprised that many viewers here have rated this Series so low. I can only suggest them to watch different ones on similar topics, particularly from U. S. and Canada, and then you may want to revise your rating :)

True, Ridley is a rather old-fashioned approach, but yet no strict "one case per one episode" creation (well, there were 4 deaths to investigate, but due Ridley´s tragedy it is not advised to watch the episodes in random order) and it would be ridiculous to expect events or cases resembling Trainspotting in a small town or rural area... First 2 episodes were meatier as I did not surmise the wrongdoer, but the final 4th episode brought a nice closure to all the relatively recent events shadowing Ridley´s thought and actions...

And Adrian Dunbar is a great actor, excelling all the others, so there were no solid confrontations or equal team levelling, but it did not bother me much as I figured it out in advance. Thus, although not much is fresh here, it is still a solid British series with no solution known beforehand as it is the case when you watch series based on real events widely depicted in the media.

The era was unknown and fascinating, the intrigue for pursuit was present, great character actors included (e.g. Stephen Rea, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds - yet all in minor roles, alas), beautiful scenery visible - a good benchmark, isn´t it? But soon predictable moments appeared, the number of flashbacks created additional confusions, and it often seemed that the quest/pursuit is never ending and new and insignificant factors appearing... I tend to like stories with fast twists and intertwining characters, but here their motives, circumstances and findings came to the fore in a slow and somewhat pushed manner. For the sake of total insight, I had to read the plot brief afterwards...

Emily Blunt has had many catchier roles, and her character´s relation with Sgt. Eli Whipp / Wounded Wolf was like a chewing gum and with limited sensibility. Thus, only 7 points of me and I was happy that the final episode brought closure - so no Season 2 is envisaged :)

/Refers to Seasons 1 and 2/

Although the benchmark is not too plausible (any similar teenager employed by any secret service ever?), the Series is based on the novel series written by a talented crime novelist Anthony Horowitz who is a certain sign of quality and a hindrance of events getting too airy-fairy. Well, there are some chases and confrontations with evident desire to make the run of events more adventurous, but luckily they do not prevail and all season-based open questions are answered satisfactorily by the last episode at least.

As for the leading performances, they are definitely above average, most of them even pleasant, but I tend to be wonder why teen roles are often played by those far over 20. For instance, in Season 1, when Otto Farrant was 23-24, he looked a lot younger and could be easily regarded as minor, but he was less convincing in Season 2 regarding that aspect. Almost the same applies, although to lesser extent, applies to e.g. Brenock O'Connor and Marli Siu as well.

By the way, Season 2 has more twists and thrill that Season 1, yet the pursuit is not over and several question unanswered. I am looking forward to Season 3.

Recent years I have been rather cautious about watching US crime series as many of them have been airy-fairy, any logic of events is so suppressed and the screen is dominated by cute faces, political correctness and liberalist agenda...

True, The Recruit has several exaggerations and strange benchmarks as well, but nothing is annoying, and Noah Centineo (as Owen), whom I did not know before, was up to his task as a young inexperienced official - not another teen idol in an ill-suited role of becoming an sudden hero...Laura Haddock as Max was also convincing, I really thought she was of Slavic origin, and the odd chemistry between her and Owen was one of the highlights of the Series.

In spite of my doubts that the staff policy of the CIA is not as depicted, I found the course of events and twists becoming, thus my 8 points are becoming as well.

I had not heard of the books by Louise Penny and the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache character, but as an admirer of British and Nordic crime series, I sometimes attempt to widen my horizons and see what other countries tend to offer... Well, the 1st episode was rather promising, but, alas, everything that followed stagnated into trivial village relationships and guilt related to past attitudes towards indigenous people. Many twists and wrongdoers were expected and soon Three Pines became apparently the biggest crime spot for whole Canada (definitely so if taking account the size of the population). As for performances, only Alfred Molina (whom I remember from some other works) and Tattoo Cardinal fixed in my memory, the rest just came and went and I am not sure I would recognize them in the future.

Sorry, Canadians, you still have to work on catchy crime series (e.g. Australians have managed already :) )

The thrill is in place, there are some unexpected twists incl. "the good guys die too", but the benchmark seems strange as I really don´t think that a MI6 deputy head can be appointed in the event of such doubts... And several times, otherwise skilled agents behave oddly, bearing in mind the technology available today. Many background and past events referenced remained vague and did not provide additional value to the Series, often the other way round (e.g. The role of the daughter of Sir Angelis).

Apart from Ciarán Hinds and Oona Chaplin, there were no memorable performances. Thus, only 7 points from me (and I think the number of episodes could have been less, e.g. 4 instead of 5).

Nicola Walker is a fine character actress and she is worth following, so it was logical that "Annika" attracted my attention. The protagonist within the Scottish gloomy nature, talking to the camera using historical/Nordic comparisons, and attempting to divide and conquer her personal life creates often awkward and funny situations providing this otherwise second-rate crime series big additional value. The characters and also versatile, without black-and-white approach, included in the police force.

True, the crimes are not "too sophisticated", but one can not expect e.g. Guy Ritchie´s characters boasting in small Scottish villages and islands, it would be fatuous... I have read that Season 2 is planned and I have decided to watch it as well.

Well, it should be Trapped and Season 3, but someone somewhere decided that "a new start" would attract fresh audience? The number of episodes is also smaller (6 vs. 8), but on the ground of the story here, it could have been easily 5... Everything is slower, the star Ólafur Darri Ólafsson spends less time on screen, and the inclusion of otherwise great Danish actor Thomas Bo Larsen did not provide much value, as his character has a few dimensions only... The beautiful nature of Iceland is yet visible, but the distress and dreariness are more or less gone or in the far background.

Still 7 points from me as I was unable to surmise the wrongdoer and the reasons behind the crime was a nice twist.

I remember most of the era depicted living in a country with similar fate, where political bureaucracy, fear of expressing nonconformity, shabby public buildings, etc. Were part of daily life. Here, the creators of Bez vedomi have maintained a high grade of plausibility, highlighted by pleasant character actors (females in particular) and skilled camerawork; however, the thrill and dynamism vanished from time to time (so I guess the No. Of episodes could have 4 or 5 instead of present 6).

Although I am aware that there were several double agents between East and West and some of them were not "abandoned" after the fall of Iron Curtain, the escape, return and new career of Viktor Skála seemed a bit far-fetched to me. Thus, the very end/solution of the Series made me shrug me shoulders more than it seemed a decent round-up of the events depicted earlier.

I have not seen the film with the same name, so I have no opportunity to compare, but the Series captivated me from the 1st episode. Wonderful and apparently realistic atmosphere (with real events and real persons included), skillful mix of comedy and tragedy, great performances (Francesco Scianna as Massimo and Edoardo Buscetta as Salvatore Giammarresi excelling others a bit)... And pleasantly and surprisingly free family relations in a Catholic country, with reference to love and growing pains. With 2 generations constantly visible, it should be both interesting to parents and children, with apparent explanation what was going on in Sicily in the late 70ies / early 80ies.

Although the Season 2 is somewhat less interesting / more protracted than Season 1, yet 9 points from me, well done! And again, as after watching Montalbano series, I am very keen on visiting Sicily, still never been there.

I had not the read the book, thus many scenes and twists remained incomprehensible to me and I had to read the plot afterwards... Well, the story was there, present, but it could have been shown far less than in almost 2 hours, and in spite of several intrigues and beautiful views, I can´t say it is too catchy.

The main reason I finally found time for this movie was the participation of Benedict Cumberbatch, whom I really admire; here, as well, he was great, excelling the others, even in dialogues with otherwise good performers as well.

I am really surprised that the movie got 12 Academy Award nominations - and not too surprised that it got 1 Award only (although, the nomination list already was not too impressive either and none of them earned more money in box office than production costs).

It is not an easy task to bring together characters from different books, feel the environment and create a meaningful and smooth sequence, providing interpretation of images and persons that millions know from dozens of previous book illustrations and films...

In my opinion, the executives and producers have created a fine bundle where the anime of Dickens is clearly visible - dark neighbourhoods, vicious people, more poverty and misery and less hope and light... And the choice of actors: e.g. Peter Firth, Anton Lesser from older generation, several gems from younger generation, and last but not least - Stephen Rea, who is always wonderful to watch, in spite of the film or TV category.

Pity that the number of episodes is 20 short ones only, I could have enjoyed much more.

In many aspects, it is not an ordinary depiction of life in a Western capital and world city, and those not familiar may think that it is a place where you easily fall victim to any violence and crime... Thus, plenty of exaggerations, although different ethnic gangs do exist in London and over 100 people are murdered annually. But the story is in place, motives explained, characters seem realistic, and the performers used are not regular in British series (I think I know as I have seen hundreds of them this century :)). To me, the "older" generation excels the younger one -- I enjoyed the performances of e.g. Colm Meaney, Michelle Fairley, Asif Raza, Mark Lewis Jones most.

Well, the fight scenes are a kind of Evans´ trademark, not too realistic and not fun, but harsh and violent. A sharp contrast to non-agile London life and the scenes immediately preceding -- apparently not to everyone´s taste who sat to watch a British crime series, moreover, the shot or stabbed ones die slowly and "with style"...

Nevertheless, a good series, far better than using supernatural forces or comic book characters for solving crimes.

The Series includes so many layers, so many confusions, generation clashes, strong attitudes, polar events, that is painful to watch at times... And all this is not static, but highly dynamic. People change back and forth, the line of goodness is vague, and Karma hovers above all this... Thus, Suburra is catchy to watch, as there are no black-and-white depictions and the characters you think are good can be not and the ones you think survive to the very end of the Series may not to do so...

Although I have seen dozens of Italian films and series, most of the performers here were unfamiliar to me, I think I recognised Francesco Acquaroli only, who gives concise yet memorable performance. The real stars are definitely Alessandro Borghi as Aureliano Adami and Giacomo Ferrara as Alberto "Spadino" Anacleti, both in dialogue and separately, and you often symphatise with them in several occasions, in spite of their previous deeds and thoughts.

I just wonder how realistic the events depicted are -- really so much killings-shootings-arsons without abrupt reactions from the police? In an EU/NATO country?