Reviews done quick, Vol. 1

Just some quick reviews of things I’ve watched lately.

Criminal: Season 2

This little series is a bit of a marvel in that it gets a lot of bang for not a whole lot of buck. Everything takes place on the one set: a police interrogation room, the adjoining observation room and the hallway outside. This means the story is told entirely through dialogue (and the viewer’s imagination). That’s all well and good, assuming you have a compelling story to tell with engrossing performances… unfortunately this season was a bit lacking in both departments.

Julia

The twist came off as a bit contrived, and I was not convinced by the actress playing the suspect.

Alex

Probably the best one of the lot. My expectations were upended as it played out, developments weren’t limited to the four walls of the interrogation room, and the lead actor put on a good performance.

Danielle

Second best, and a bit of fun. Its premise posed an intriguing question that was pretty satisfactorily answered at the conclusion of the episode.

Sandeep

They saved the worst for last. It was really difficult to get through this one, not because of the subject matter, but because the lead actor’s characterisation was a bit over the top. I also have a very fuzzy memory of the previous season so the significance of the additional character is lost on me.

Woman in Gold

It’s got Tatiana Maslany in it, speaking German! Is there anything she can’t do?

Sadly this film was a bit dull, which is a real disappointment given its star-studded cast and fascinating source material. It doesn’t do enough to highlight the injustices of the period, nor does it try hard enough to humanise any of the characters apart from Maria.

The Rainmaker

My impression of this film is that it’s a bit disjointed. While watching it, I had a vague feeling that there was a little too much carved out of it to achieve a reasonable running time. Yes, it’s subtle, but probably too subtle. The court scenes were enjoyable to watch but that’s all.