J. R.'s Piece
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- Messages
- 2,684
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- Member Since
- Feb 2007
Lucky you! I wish I could see it for the first time again.
The Servant, season 2. I'm at episode 6
I find Shyamalan's movies to be more miss than hit so I was skeptical about this one; halfway through season one, and it's been pretty strong so far. Very atmospheric and weird (in a good way). I've only recently signed up for Apple + and I've been alternating between SERVANT and THE MORNING SHOW.
Many dutchflixers have hopped over to the recently introduced HBO Max and somehow that made netflix just a little bit more attractive.just as everyone else is bailing out, it seems
I cancelled my Netflix subscription a few months when my physic stated they were going to cancel the much anticipated animated series called PearlI've gotten back into Netflix recently (just as everyone else is bailing out
View attachment 37749
A BBC TWO production.
I understand that not every British series can be a winner but this....
To give it the benefit of the doubt, let's ignore the cliché premise of powerful Asian clan wars and their tit for tat shenanigans, and also the Detective who's compromised his work ethics in order to save his younger brother who sort of accidentally got involved with criminal activities.
The problem is that this is one of those "streamingfied" alternative realities where no cultural identities can exist.
The story takes place in London and Tokyo but if feels as is everything is happening in New York.
I also understand that Asian culture and language are difficult to translate to western audiences, not because of the culture and language themselves, but because of the way it's experienced and expressed by native Asians.
Some leeway has to be allowed for it to make sense in a western production, but GIRI/HAJI takes it to extremes.
And then there's the London characters, with their "streaming" English expressions and the cringe-making delivery thereof.
Kelly Macdonald's performance is probably the most extreme example. She does that kind of apology-humour i.e. saying something inappropriate and then fake-apologizing for it which is supposed to be funnier than the inappropriate comment itself, and it's exactly that international modern slickness that undermines the credibility of the script and character.
She also does the on cue facial expressions for every line or thought which, at least to me, seems to be the complete opposite of British acting.
I had hoped for a Line Of Duty meets McMafia, but instead I got a McNetflix where everybody speaks in exactly the same tongue.
There's not much fun in posting negative reviews but I had to get it out of my system and tell the internet how shockingly disappointing this series is, especially since the mix (or clash) of these different cultures could have made it very special.
The most convincing performances are by American (!) actor Justin Long and by a Japanese actor who plays a hacker with a fetish for masturbation-in-public. Asian people are notorious pranksters therefore that scene made perfect sense to me.
I knew someone had mentioned it here but I didn't remember it was you (where's that sepia flashback when you need it?)In fact, I think I recommended it to you, didn't I?
Haji, haji, hajiSorry about that
Oh this didn't last very long at all...I just realised I don't watch that many tv shows on Netflix. It's more like docu-stuff. The only one I am currently watching is Nu-Dynasty.