efeldman2000 Reviews

Harry & Meghan: The Complete Story (2022)

If you think the hate isn't real, just read the reviews here.

[10 December 2022]

I have only seen the first 3 episodes so far, but I have read some of the comments here, which clearly give evidence of the lunacy and hatred this couple has had to endure. QED!

Many people seem to be under the impression that if someone has money and a public profile they're "asking for it...so suck it up". That is envy talking. Pure emerald green jealousy. It's hunting season for 'celebrities' for the press and those people who read that slathering stupidity. The tabloid press doesn't give public people a forum to defend themselves against the lies and conjured nonsense, but in this case the couple does have a platform and I have no problem with them using it. Of course they aren't going to attempt an unbiased assessment of their personal experiences, because it is personal and it's about human emotions and they are reacting to some real hate that impacts their lives and that will impact their children.

My advice for the haters is if you don't want to see it, you know where the remote is. And go find a charity to work for. Maybe you'll get your face on TMZ.

1899 (2022)

After I watched the amazing 'making of' video I was angry that the series was dubbed!

[3 December 2022]

I started the series thoroughly engaged. By about the 5th episode I started to speed through unnecessarily repetitive scenes and just wanted to get past the tedium to the payoff. Then when I watched the absolutely fascinating 'making of' reel I became hugely disappointed that the series was all dubbed in English, when apparently the filmmakers made a point of hiring an incredibly diverse multinational cast to have the characters NOT understand each other and filmed the series with many of the actors speaking their native languages! WHY, Netflix?! We can all read subtitles, but the intended charm and complexity of the mixed languages was lost by dubbing.

Having fallen in love with the concept of filming with 'Volume' (WOW!) I acquired a real appreciation for the production itself. It's truly brilliant. Cast and crew were an especially talented group of people working in a completely new medium. The added 'making of' reel gets 10 stars!

After having seen what the director intended the series to be, I would like to see it again without dubbing, but I'll still FF in the same spots.

The ending left the show wide open to season 2, and I will definitely give it another shot.

Now I have to see Dark!

The Little Drummer Girl (2018)

If you loved the original film, don't watch this!

[17 April 2019]

I was very much looking forward to this new version. Sadly, I was instantly struck by what it didn't have: Passion. Chemistry. Depth of character development. ENERGY! I didn't care about any of these characters at all at any time. The acting was wooden, the motivation was just words, not belief or cohesive back-story. It was disjointed. From the beginning they failed to show the point of Charlie being chosen, it was addressed in the most cursory way. For reasons passing understanding, Pugh played her role as an obnoxious angry child. The leads were badly cast, both for the roles and each other. I didn't belive Pugh for one minute. Alexander Skarsgaard is a wonderful actor badly miscast. I could go on, but watching this sorry attempt to capture this great story on screen was torture enough. I'm floored to see Le Carre's name on this as an exec. If you haven't seen the original film, please do. It had everything this version didn't, in abundance.

Crossing Lines (2013–2015)

First 2 seasons entertaining and engaging 3rd season destroyed this show

[8 July 2018]

I really enjoyed the first two seasons of the show. The flavor of the EU was a wonderful departure from the usual American fare. The cast was fun and were close and each had an interesting back-story which highlighted the countries where they were raised. They had personality and heart and fascinating stories, all of which kept me engaged. That is what my rating is based upon. Don't bother watching season 3. New cast, new show runners. Terrible writing. Very cold and procedural. Wooden acting. I think they tried to slick it up for American audiences, whom they clearly think are idiots so they explain everything. The characters are very stiff and all-business. The acting is bad and the relationships unfriendly. Instead of warmth and 'family' atmosphere between them, a lot of criticism and meddling. I absolutely loathed it. What a waste to murder a fun show that gave us a feel for the world outside the US.

The Five (2016)

Ridiculous and annoying.

[22 June 2018]

The plots are convoluted tangled and contrived and at no point what anyone is doing makes any sense at all. It's like the stoned Keystone Kops. The police are idiots and way behind the amateur sleuths, who are friends but never tell the police anything. The cop, however, leaks everything to his pals who do not return the favor. The many many plots are so mangled that you get to the point where you don't even care how it ends anymore, but you pray that it will, soon. The relationships are like no relationships anyone has ever had. Not one of the characters is believable. I will never watch anything written by this person ever again. Feh.