zigzagtom Reviews

The Cokeville Miracle (2015)

Proselytizing Camoflaged as Entertainment

[1/10 · 10 April 2022]

Not much to recommend this film. Although based on a true event, the film goes off the deep end in an attempt to convert viewers to a particular brand of religion. I don't object to that, but I wish I had been told in advance so I could have spent my time more productively. My rating reflects the irretrievable loss of the time.

Tunnelen (2019)

An Insult to Dedicated First Responders Everywhere

[4/10 · 29 September 2021]

In any incident it is critical that there be a clearly established chain of command and that that chain be respected and followed. This movie glorifies the opposite - a bunch on individual first responders who act like cowboys, free-lancing and disregarding orders and protocols. As an occasional first responder myself, the more I watched it the angrier I got. The type of individual actions glorified in this film would, in any well-run emergency unit, result in immediate suspension if not termination - or at least I hope they would.

The Innocent (2021)

A Disappointment

[4/10 · 1 June 2021]

The incessant background of unnecessary, tawdry sex scenes really diminished the enjoyment of this series and prevented any attempt at serious immersion into the plot and its twists. The series would have been improved if there had been more focus on character development.

Dublin Murders (2019)

I Thought It Was Excellent

[10/10 · 30 November 2019]

And was surprised at the many negative reviews that objected to the "confusion" and slow pace. Perhaps some of those comments were from folks who bailed out after two or three episodes and did not hang in there. I agree with the many who say that the story is not easy, nor is it entirely logical - there are portions such as the doppelganger for Cassie that make it hard to believe. But I think that that these surprising elements are a big part of the charm of this series. I almost never give "ten" ratings, but this one deserves all of that. Its departure from the formulaic "drama mystery thriller" shows is much appreciated.

Bordertown (2016–2020)

Netflix' Dubbing of Audio: Destructive

[5/10 · 25 November 2019]

When Netflix acquired this series it decided to replace the original Finnish dialogue of the first series with English subtitles. A fatal mistake. While the first series was good, the dubbed-into-English subtitles of series two utterly destroyed the mood of each episode. The readers of the dubbed material seemed to have been reading from a script without even knowing what the visuals were portraying. Had dubbing been done with a sense of professionalism and artistic effort, the second series would have been much better. I do not intend to watch the third series as a result.

Money Heist (2017–2021)

Season 3 a Bitter Disappointment

[5/10 · 31 July 2019]

Seasons 1 and 2 were excellent, bordering on brilliant. The concepts were novel and well executed, the acting was quite good, the story line was taut and often exciting. Those seasons reflected a very European/Spanish approach. Season 3, however, is a bitter disappointment - it was "Americanized" so that now many scenes are pointless sex, needless violence, dialogue from the gutter for no good or artistic reason. I watched seven of the episodes of season 3 but got so disgusted that I walked away from the finale. What changed? I have no idea, but my guess is that the writers thought they had to pitch Season 3 to an American audience that is used to - and perhaps demands - mindless action, adolescent sex scenes, crude language, and a weak plot. Seasons 1 and 2 are well worth the time; as stated they border on brilliant. Season 3, however, is pure trash. Don't bother with it. If I could rate the seasons separately, I'd give Season 1 a 9, Season 2 an 8.5, and Season 3 a 3.

Missing (2017)

An Engaging Plot Poorly Presented

[5/10 · 1 March 2018]

I enjoyed the series overall, but was often distracted by gratuitous and irrelevant directorial shenanigans - such as the playing of English-language country songs loudly (for what purpose I'm not sure) and flashing sequences of past events at inappropriate and distracting times. It's a shame because the story line could have been presented much better.

Imposters (2017–2018)

Perhaps Not Cheap, but Certainly Shallow

[2/10 · 20 February 2018]

The score for "Imposters" - 7.8 when I considered viewing it - convinced me to watch the series. It started off reasonably well, but then fell into the slush of many if not most American-made serial dramas: Unbelievable plot, one-dimensional characters, a healthy dose of sexuality and sexual teasing that serves no purpose but to titillate, some FBI presence (almost mandatory in the current generation of slush), and no redeeming social or political value at all. With each episode I found my anger increasing as the faults of the series kept compounding; my happiest moment after Episode 3 was when Episode 10 was finally over. I continue to ponder what a different culture - say, Scandinavia - could do with the resources devoted to this dog.

Hotel Beau Séjour (2016– )

Deserves the "10" I Gave It

[10/10 · 18 April 2017]

Confession: I'm a fan of mysteries, crime dramas, and surreal situations. This series hit all three targets spot-on. A very complex plot, high-grade cinematography, excellent directing and acting, and intelligent dialogue all came together here. The plot was absorbing to the point that my wife and I binge-watched two or more episodes at one sitting. Well casted and sometimes challenging. This series deserves the time to watch, and more important, absorb it as it develops. One of the best.

Lavender (I) (2016)

Typical Hollywood-Style Crap

[2/10 · 18 April 2017]

The director managed transforming what might have been a plausible, absorbing tale into the standard Hollywood fare of over-made-up leading female roles and sympathetic little kids plodding through an essentially pointless plot, festooned with the obligatory Hollywood fare of slow-motion special effects (the car wreck, for example) and pointless scenic shots (the corn field, for example). Does anyone other than teenagers (who will consume anything and think it's great) or childish adults addicted to reality TV think this kind of stuff is entertainment? Not worth even a fraction of the bandwidth.

Beck (1997– )

Simply Delightful

[10/10 · 6 April 2017]

My wife and I enjoy mystery/crime drama series, particularly those from Europe. This series is one of the best, even though it has been around for quite a while. The plot lines are interesting, sometimes even captivating, the characters are sometimes fascinating (such as Beck's friend in the adjoining apartment), the character interrelationships sophisticated, and the settings well thought-out and realistic. Because I've spent some time in Sweden (particularly Stockholm), I also enjoy the series for personal reasons. I'm particularly enthusiastic about the lead character, Beck, who is not cast as an exceptional, almost super-human individual but, rather, as a thoughtful, sometimes vulnerable, but still very intelligent and caring human. My wife and I give it two thumbs up (to use another rating system). Tom Nelson

Estocolmo (2016)

Technical Problems with Subtitle Synchronization

[5/10 · 2 January 2017]

Estocolmo is an interesting Argentine series that focuses on the intricacies of human trafficking. It jumps around quite a bit - from "three years previously" to "three years later," and thus is often somewhat hard to follow. But, overall, it is entertaining. I would have rated it much higher had not the subtitle synchronization fallen apart in Episodes 11, 12, and 13. Basically (and I timed it) the subtitles were either a full minute ahead or behind the "live" voices. With short scenes, this became a real problem - to the point that I was quite confused toward the end. Fortunately, I downloaded it to play on PlayOn off of Netflix, and I was able to jump around, but toward the end I just gave up and tried to make a mental note of the prior scene as I saw the subtitle dialogue. Clearly, those involved in post-production deserve a very black mark, but Netflix also should bear some responsibility. (I'll apologize if someone else has a decent experience and my problem was the particular videos I downloaded from Netflix).