Tag Archives: Youssef Kerkour

Ride or Die: Season One – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A solid, engaging romp that felt like it would have been better in a more contained version.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service used to view this series.

A wanted leaflet for our two main cast.

Ride or Die Review Introduction

I have been wanting something new in the spy genre for a while now to scratch that subterfuge action itch I have been having in a world where we still don’t know who the new Bond is. But while I am happy to dive into something old, I am also always ready for something new, and today we look at the latter.

So, to set the scene, Debbie (Octavia Spencer) is an American who married a British politician and has been content to follow that world, building up power bases for her husband behind the scenes, while also enjoying her love of aggressive antique hunting. Her best friend is Judith (Hannah Waddingham), who is an assassin, but not that Debbie knows that. They enjoy a world that includes not making fun of the lady in book club with the awful new haircut, well at least not her face. But all of that slightly falls apart when Judith is tasked with taking out Billy Donovan (Ed Skrein) and accidentally walks into an Albanian mob deal that includes David (Jamie Parker), Debbie’s husband. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Season 1 – TV Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A concise, character-driven return to Westeros that proves how powerful focused storytelling can be.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the HBO Max service that viewed this series.

A horse walks through a forest at dawn.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Review –

I am going to admit up front that I came into this series quite cautiously. The Game of Thrones universe has brought me much joy in the past. However, we have seen in the past with Season 8 of GoT and Season 2 of HotD that it is a very precarious world that can fall apart at short notice. Was I willing to let my heart be broken for a third time, because I think that makes it shame on me? Well, like a fool, I gave it a go, and I think that was the right choice.     

So, to set the scene, we open with Duncan (Peter Claffey) burying his Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb) in the ground, now all alone, no real skills to call his own. While he may not have skills that would earn him honest employment, he could be a knight. Taking on the moniker of Ser Duncan the Tall, claiming that his master knighted him in his dying moments. There is a tournament in Ashford, which is a substantial risk, because he does not have the money to ransom back his horses even if he fails once. But maybe the young, orphaned Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), whom he meets along the road and cons his way into being a squire, might bring the luck he needs. Or a complication that will completely change his life. One of the two probably … or, more likely, both. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Continue reading →

TV Review – Criminal (UK) Season 1

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – This is an interesting concept, with some powerful performances, but I am not sure three episodes was enough time to really show it off.  

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Criminal (UK). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

Netflix as the premier multi-national streaming juggernaut (for the time being) has been doing a lot of experimenting in recent years. With Black Mirror: Bandersnatch they gave the world a choose your own adventure in cinematic form and with Ultimate Beastmaster they produced different versions for each of the countries participating. Well today we get to take a look at the next experiment with Criminal a series that produced four different versions for France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Well today we are going to take a look at the UK version to see how this experiment works out.

To set the scene, we open in on DI Natalie Hobbs’ (Katherine Kelly) team as they begin an interview with the suspect of a murder. For you see her team are experts in interrogation, so they are used when there is a time crunch or a serious case that needs their attention. The first of these involves a doctor (David Tennant) that is accused of molesting and then murdering his step-daughter. The interview has been going for hours and time is running out because if they can’t find some way to get him to crack he could walk free. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

Continue reading →