“All the Light We Cannot See.” “Why Women Kill.”

“All the Light We Cannot See.” (Netflix) war drama limited series. Based on Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name, this miniseries follows a blind French girl and a German soldier, whose paths cross in occupied France during World War II. Stars relative unknowns Aria Mia Loberti and Louis Hofmann. 

       Ms Loberti won her inaugural role as the titular blind French teenage girl Marie-Laure LeBlanc, from a global search of thousands of actresses. Mr Hofmann may be “new” per American audience but in Europe, he is already a respected young actor. He won the Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a teenage German prisoner of war in the 2015 Danish film “Land of Mine.” On Netflix, we know him as Jonas in the 2017 cerebral German series “Dark.” Louis is Werner Pfennig, a young German boy who eventually becomes a soldier specializing in detecting and tracking radio frequencies.

       To add Hollywood gravitas to the series, two bankable actors play important roles: (American) Mark Ruffalo as Daniel LeBlanc, father of Marie-Laure and a locksmith at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, and (Englishman) Hugh Laurie as Etienne LeBlanc, a reclusive World War I veteran suffering from PTSD and the great-uncle of Marie-Laure. 

       But the actor who stole scenes in wicked ease is Lars Eidinger as Reinhold von Rumpel, an officer of the SS who certifies and evaluates art, jewelry. 

       Although the plotline isn’t really new and not so jarring for those who read/watched similar war-themed books and cinema, Shawn Levy’s non-ruminative, non-sermonizing direction manages to pierce through our emotional core like we are trapped in the same horrid situation. 

       Despite the fact that I get irked with the prevalence of dimmed lighting in most of current movies, the meticulously restrained sound editing that counterplayed with James Newton Howard’s musical score kept viewing focused. 🎥📺📹

“Why Women Kill.” (Paramount+) Dark comedy. Two Seasons, both set in Southern California. Season 1 follows three women from different decades who are connected through having all lived in the same Pasadena mansion and experiencing infidelity in their marriages. Season 2, timelined 1949, is about an awkward housewife and wallflower who yearns to be seen, with a reluctant serial killer veterinarian as an obedient husband.

       Funny the uneasy, awkward manner with traces of “old-school” acting (especially Season 2). Still very entertaining; adorned by fine performances. Special mention to Lucy Liu as Simone Grove, a twice-divorced socialite, and Ginnifer Goodwin as Beth Ann Stanton, subservient wife, and Alicia Coppola as Sheila Mosconi, the neighbor, in Season 1. In Season 2, Allison Tolman is all over her character Alma Fillcot, a desperate housewife wanting social attention. 

       I also need to high-five or fist-bump the production design and costume aesthetics of the period/s. Very cool and they capture the feel of the 1940s though I haven't been to that time, LOL!

       All in all, watching this series felt like I was listening to soap opera on the radio. That is not bad at all. I grew up with AM band dramas lazily putting me to sleep. 🎥📺📹

I GAVE UP: “Station Eleven.” Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel, this post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction miniseries received critical acclaim and was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards but it simply didn’t win my interest, after about 3 episodes. 

       Premise: Twenty years after a flu pandemic resulted in the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors who make their living as traveling performers encounter a violent cult led by a man whose past is unknowingly linked to a member of the troupe. Compelling plot but I didn’t feel the conflicts were moving fast enough to subvert my short-attention span. 🐝📺🐝