BRITISH CRIME THRILLER: “Dept. Q.” / “Red Eye.”

-

“Dept. Q” (Netflix) British crime thriller. A former top-rated detective tackles a cold case while turning an Edinburgh (Scotland) basement office space into a well-oiled machine full of misfit officers dedicated to cracking whatever seemingly impossible cases come across their desks. This series is based on the book series “Department Q.” by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. 



       The plot: Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck is tasked with leading a new cold-case unit after being injured in a shooting. Alongside a team of unlikely colleagues, Carl investigates the mysterious disappearance of Prosecutor Merritt Lingard, uncovering a traumatic past involving the kidnapping and confinement of Ms Merritt in a hyperbaric chamber by Lyle and Ailsa Jennings, who blamed Merritt for the death of Lyle's brother, Harry.  

       What's interesting about this series is--it poses a different criminal case from what we usually encounter with police procedurals. And most importantly, the main characters are unique individuals that are orchestrated well.

       Matthew Goose's DCI Merck is an obnoxious, seemingly unfeeling bloke. Russian/Syrian and Swedish national Alexej Manvelov as Syrian immigrant Akram Salim is quietly brilliant and dangerously cool. Leah Byrne's DC Rose Dickinson is a determined nerd looking for a chance to prove herself in the basement-camped team. And the usually watchable Kelly Macdonald as here as well, as Dr Rachel Irving. 

       As expected, “Dept. Q” is renewed for Second 2. 🎥👍📽


“Red Eye” (Hulu) British thriller. Premise: Takes place during an all-night flight between London and Beijing after a British man is extradited to China on suspicion of manslaughter. 



       Topbilled by Jing Lusi as unassuming but cunning Det. Hana Li, this series had enough thriller chops to earn a binge-watch foray. Since I saw Jing in Season 1 of “Gangs of London,” I have been wanting to see her again. So here's “Red Eye.” She is the life of this 6-episode highwire suspense, although bankable British stars Richard Armitage and Lesley Sharp are here, too.

       Direction is fluid and crisp + the script is tight. So a Season 2 has been announced. 🎥💻📽


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
“The Promised Land” a.k.a. Danish “Bastarden” (2023, Hulu), epic historical drama film directed by Nikolaj Arcel and written by Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen . Based on the 2020 book “The Captain and Ann Barbara” by Ida Jessen . The main character Captain Ludvig Kahlen is a real historical figure although the movie and book largely dramatized the real events at that time.          Plot: In 1755, Captain Ludvig Kahlen , an impoverished Danish officer of humble birth, retires after 25 years of service in the German Army with a measly pension. He obtains permission from the Royal Danish Court to build a property on the barren Jutland moorland for land cultivation . He hopes to establish a settlement on this land, and in return for that he requests from the Court the privilege of a noble title with an associated manor . Soon after arriving at the site of his prospective homestead , he comes into conflict with Frederik Schinkel, a local magistr...
Read more

“Toxic Town."

-
Image
“Toxic Town” (Netflix) British drama miniseries , follows the story of three mothers involved in the Corby toxic waste case , which was a London court case that was decided in 2009. The Corby Borough Council was found liable in negligence , public nuisance and a breach of statutory duty for its reclamation of a Corby Steelworks in the town of Corby , Northamptonshire , between 1985 and 1997.          The landmark decision was historically significant as the first in the world to establish a link between atmospheric toxic waste and birth defects – all previous cases have involved water pollution – and held implications for other council reclamation programmes and the methods of conducting reclamation in England and Wales.        The case easily reminds us of Erin Brockovich and the 2000 movie that chronicled Erin's legal fight against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) in the early 1990s involv...
Read more

MOVIES That I Just Saw: “Dream Scenario.” / “Arizona.”

-
Image
“Dream Scenario” (2023, Amazon Prime) dark comedy fantasy film written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli , and starring Nicolas Cage. I didn't know who Mr Borgli was until this fine movie reminded me of Mr Cage in 2002's “Adaptation.”        This movie received positive reviews and was nominated for awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Nicolas Cage .        Plot take off: Sophie, a teenage girl, has a dream in which a man is raking leaves by a swimming pool. As Sophie starts floating up to the sky, she cries for help from this man whom she calls Dad. Her father, Paul Matthews (Nic) is a professor of evolutionary biology at a local university. The story threads into the same “dream scenario” plot point.         Nic carries on with his usual brand of oblique comedy: Stutters, cluelessness, wrinkled fore...
Read more