Television reviews – Page 4

The Glory—Forgiveness vs Revenge?

Written by Diana Paul on May 21, 2023. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on The Glory—Forgiveness vs Revenge?

The Glory is a sixteen-episode Korean revenge drama about high school bullying and associated trauma. Eighteen years later an elaborate, convoluted plot is conceived by the beautiful, scarred victim, Moon Dong-eun. Her obsession is to destroy the two girls and two guys who brutalized her and caused her to drop out of high school at the age of fourteen. She has been waiting eighteen years to mastermind their annihilation and humiliation. Dong-eun, abandoned by her drug-addicted, alcoholic mother at the age of fourteen, works menial jobs for years, earns her high...

Crimson Rivers–”Silent Witness” meets “Engrenages”

Written by Diana Paul on May 14, 2023. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on Crimson Rivers–”Silent Witness” meets “Engrenages”

Crimson Rivers (“Les Rivières Pourpres”-2018-2022), a twenty-four episode French detective series, has three seasons of two-episode crimes which special investigator Pierre Niémans (Olivier Marchal) and his protégée, Lieutenant Camille Delauney (Erika Sainte) are obsessed to solve. The much-younger Camille Delauney, intrepid to a fault, always finds herself in difficult situations chasing after clues. The aging Niémans arrogantly dismisses, derides, or reveals his Gallic disdain for anyone–especially Camille–who questions his authority and judgment. She is often on the right...

The Last of Us–An Apocalypse?

Written by Diana Paul on April 25, 2023. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on The Last of Us–An Apocalypse?

In a fictional America presented as 2023, not in the future, The Last of Us opens with the country under siege from a pandemic caused by a deadly fungus (cordyceps.) Based on the insanely popular video game (over 20 million copies sold) by the same name, the screen adaptation takes the viewer into a toxic world with more developed characters and personalities. Ellie (Bella Ramsey of “Game of Thrones”) is a teenage orphan who is believed to be immune to the fungal disease that has wiped out most of the planet’s population. Those who survive the fungus turn into monstrous,...

The Patient–More Restraint Needed

Written by Diana Paul on March 19, 2023. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on The Patient–More Restraint Needed

The Patient , a Hulu ten-episode mini-series, is a psychological thriller and entrapment drama that premiered in August 2022. The series stars Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, and Linda Emond. Sam, a sociopathological young serial killer (Gleeson), is determined to stop his murdering obsession. He seeks a therapist, Dr. Alan Strauss (Carrell), in the hope that he will be “cured” of his anger issues, which propel him to murder. The source of his rage: a brutal and psychotic child-abusing father. Wanting around-the-clock therapy when he...

The King’s Affection–”Romeo & Juliet” Meets “As You Like It”

Written by Diana Paul on March 13, 2023. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on The King’s Affection–”Romeo & Juliet” Meets “As You Like It”

In this Korean historical romance, The King’s Affection is part Shakespeare and part soap opera. Twins are born to the royal family: a baby boy and a baby girl. Having a crown prince share his mother’s womb with a girl is culturally unacceptable for the future heir to the throne. As a result, when the Crown Princess gives birth to twins, the grandfather orders the murder of the baby girl. Unknown to him the twins’ mother has her baby girl sent away with a trusted bodyguard in a Moses Biblical fashion. No one knows of her existence except for the mother, the bodyguard...

The Recruit–Not Your Ordinary Nube

Written by Diana Paul on February 19, 2023. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on The Recruit–Not Your Ordinary Nube

Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo of “All the Boys I Loved Before”), a newly minted lawyer hired by the CIA, is drafted into an investigation of a Russian double-agent, Max (Laura Haddock of “Downton Abbey: A New Era“). She is an invaluable asset who can air the dirty laundry of both the CIA and Russian intelligence. A brilliant survivor who has to please two masters, Max soon manipulates Owen into negotiating her release from prison, implying she will blackmail the CIA if he fails. Will Max reveal the CIA’s most heinous secrets? A subplot of The Recruit (Netflix 2022 mini-series)...