Paris Police 1900 Seasons 1-2 (2023) As the title says, this is a crime noir series set in turn of the century France. Its an ensemble cast, which reminded me of LA Confidential. Unlike the usual BBC and Netflix period dramas like Bidgerton or The Gilded Age, this one is extremely realistic. Theres plenty of racism, antisemitism and misogyny in this show and it doesnt pull any punches. You get to see the past in all its ugly glory. Awesome show, and they need to make more like this. Gruesome, spine tingling stuff. Rating 8.5/10
Fargo season 5 (2023) I thought this season was better than the previous ones, but thats not saying much. The story is actually a variation of an old action movie called The Long Kiss Goodnight, about an amnesiac assassin who ends up being a housewife before she gets discovered by her old crew. This version is very close to it, all the way down to both protagonists having a daughter. But this one is different because its played for quirky laughs, and of course in order for that to happen, everyone except the heroine has to be a total idiot. It was amusing for the first 4-5 episodes or so, but then it got stale towards the end. Rating: 6/10
Escape at Dannemora (2018) this just popped up on my streaming queue, so I didnt even know about this till now. A miniseries about that real life manhunt, with Benecio Del Toro (who is great playing a sociopathic killer). I was expecting a police procedural about the incident, but it turns out to be more like a prison drama, and its a very very slow burn. It delves into minute detail about the two prisoners and their relationship with a woman who worked there. I thought it covered way too much of the set up and the actual escape happens only in the final episode.
This could have been better if they had less episodes and tightened up the structure a bit. Rating: 6.5/10
Ferrari (2023) I was so looking forward to seeing this, but it was very disappointing. Adam Driver is OK as the title character, but the movie is one huge bore. Most of it is about a love triangle between him, his wife and his mistress. There just isnt a whole lot of interesting things going on, no drama thats compelling enough to make this watchable. Theres one race sequence (and accompanying tragedy) that nearly turned the movie around, but it was too little, too late, and ultimately went nowhere. If youre looking for a good racing movie, youre better off watching Ford V Ferrari or Rush, or even the old Steve McQueen movie Le Mans is way better. Forget about this one. Rating: 4.5/10
