“Squid Game” (Season 3) / “The Blacklist” (Season 10 Finale) / “Gangs of London” (Season 1).

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“Squid Game” (Netflix) Season 3, South Korean dystopian survival thriller. Seong Gi-hun and the players fight for survival in ever-deadlier games. Of course, you know that. In-ho welcomes the VIPs while his brother Jun-ho continues the search for the island, unaware of a traitor in their midst. 



       The Finale Season received positive reviews but I am not impressed. The easy ruthlessness and soap-operatic dramatics are no different from the two previous Seasons. It’d seem writer/producer and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk ran out of bloody confections and side-stories? I also don’t concur with the early elimination/deaths of the more interesting characters; those who remained except Seong (of course!) are all clowns in monotone grunts. 

       And those non-Korean wackos who are supposedly the gamblers watching the mayhem are simply irritating. And what’s the deal with the baby? Was that necessary? 

       Intrigue: The last scene. 🎭👎🎬


“The Blacklist” (Netflix) 10 Seasons, crime thriller series. James Spader is Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives who cooperates with the FBI in hunting down other criminals on his "Blacklist.”


       I am glad that I am done with it, finally! The first 4 Seasons were very addictive until the interest waned significantly. It was my OCD fix that labored to finish the show.

       I had to bear Mr Spader's slow, rambling, philosophical mini-arias. And all the others seem tiring. Their voices, mannerisms, and gestures. And I don't like the final season's Anya Banerjee and Alex Brightman  either. 🎥💻📽


“Gangs of London” (Netflix) Season 1. British action thriller. This series is definitely well-created, exceptionally acted, tightly-written. The action sequences are aesthetically choreographed. The characters are matched pretty meticulously, no redundancy or stereotyping. One of the best in its genre. 


       But then violence is mischievously excessive, which is now the identifying feature of Gareth Evans’ work. Check the Tom Hardy headliner “Havoc” movie. 

        Meanwhile, Joe Cole as Sean Wallace deserves an acting award. 🎥👍📽


GAVE UP (after 2 episodes). <>“The Cleaning Lady” (Max) crime drama. About a Cambodian-Filipino doctor who becomes a cleaner for a criminal organization after witnessing a murder. Too melodramatic or predictably soapy to me.

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