PERIOD CRIME/DRAMA. “Dark Winds” Season 3. / “The Abandons.”

-

“Dark Winds” (Netflix) Season 3. Crime thriller based on the Leaphorn & Chee novel series by Tony Hillerman. The series follows three Navajo Tribal Police officers, Joe Leaphorn, Bernadette Manuelito, and Jim Chee, in the 1970s Four Corners area of the American Southwest. 



       With George R. R. Martin and Robert Redford as co-Executive Producers, this engaging series banks on the lead anchor of Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn. Cool, composed and sans the macho bravado of most starring roles, Zahn keeps the story alive and thrills low-key but nevertheless, engaging. 

       Season 3 follows Joe, Jim, and Bernadette in 1971, six months after Season 2. The plot centers on the search for two missing Navajo boys, a conspiracy involving border patrol, and a drug-smuggling operation that threatens to destroy the community, while Leaphorn battles personal grief and haunting, almost supernatural, threats. 

       Those are my issues with Season 3. The overplayed dreamy, hallucinatory sequences. Otherwise, it's all good–aided by the guest appearance of Jenna Elfman as FBI Special Agent Sylvia Washington. Not so imposing but a welcome chaser. 🎥💻📽


“The Abandons” (Netflix) Western action drama. Set in the 1850s, the series centers on the conflicts of several outlaw groups during the Old West. Premise: In the 1850s, Fiona Nolan, a devout Irish woman who is incapable of conceiving a child, tries to build a family by adopting four orphans, believing in the higher purpose of her acts. She soon finds herself struggling against European aristocrats, led by Constance Van Ness, claiming possession of her recently acquired home in Oregon.



       First of all, I don’t get why the night scenes are so dark, you can’t tell what’s really going on?!? The powerful performance by “warring” Lena Headey as Fiona Nolan and Gillian Anderson as Constance Van Ness are the centerpiece of this series but the other characters appear like stereotypical side characters although there’s many of them. The plot isn’t original either. Borrowed from the true to life Hatfields versus McCoys of West Virginia/Kentucky (1863-1891). 

       Then there’s the open-ended finale scene. Season 2, I guess? 🎥💻📽

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

“Death By Lightning."

-
Image
“Death By Lightning” (Netflix) historical drama miniseries, based on the 2011 book “ Destiny of the Republic ” by Candice Millard . Stars Michael Shannon as United States President James A. Garfield and Matthew Macfadyen as his assassin Charles J. Guiteau .         The series depicts the election and presidency of Mr Garfield , the 20th U.S. President , including his anti-corruption and pro-civil rights stances, as well as how his path crossed with Mr Guiteau , a deluded admirer, who ended up shooting him , leading to the president's death. Garfield served for only over 6 months or 199 days to be exact.         In only 4 concise episodes, this significant chapter in American history is revisited in a tight, no-frills, no irritating Republican versus Democrat grandstanding. Yet we get the “traditional politico” frivolities and selfishness + shenanigans as an entertainment sidebar. Overall, the major atte...
Read more