Tag: crime shows

Show Review: Falsa identidad (2018)

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I’m definitely on a Spanish-language show roll this week. [I also recommend Las chicas del cable and ¿Quién mató a Sara? And at some point I’ll write up a review for Vivir sin permiso.] I stumbled across this whopper of a romance-thriller show at random and fell in love after the first episode.

*SPOILER WARNING EPS 1-7*

The series follows Diego, the wayward brother of rising politician Eliseo. Diego is caught on film stealing petrol and Eliseo reluctantly issues a warrant for his arrest. At the same time, Diego is caught on film with the wife of his fiancée’s father, who also happens to be in charge a cartel. (He gets caught, like, a lot in the first ten minutes, goodness. Not a sneaky sneakerson) Gavino, the head of the cartel, makes it his personal vendetta to hunt Diego down. Now on the run for his life, Diego turns to Eliseo, who is still trying to clean up his mess with the petrol and warrant. Everything rapidly changes when Eliseo’s maid’s dear friend Isabel shows up at Eliseo’s house with her two children, fleeing from her abusive husband, Corona. Eliseo quickly devises a plan to get Diego, Isabel and Ricas, her son out the country, with the aim of her daughter joining them in the US once things settle down. (Eliseo can only get three passports.) Unfortunately, it doesn’t go swimmingly. At. All.

This is very much an on-the-run romance, with side plots developing amongst the characters chasing Diego and Isabel and it’s kept me on the edge of my seat every episode!

Something I noticed throughout the episodes is the running commentary on toxic masculinity and misogyny. Fair warning, this show has a lot of rough elements and dark themes. The main guy, Diego, is contrasted by the abusive Corona and his just-as-terrible father Mateo. (THEY ARE BOTH ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE AND THE WORST AND UGH). But Diego is kind, sensitive. He encourages Ricas to face his fears and tells him that real men show emotion. He talks Ricas through everything step by step and supports Isabel at every turn. And you can see how his conversations with Ricas impact Isabel, who is still expecting the worst after being married to Corona for so long. This dynamic is contrasted by the situation Circe, Gavino’s only daughter, is facing. The misogyny of those around her has left Circe largely on her own, with only her close friend and advisor at her side. Then there’s Lourdes, who has been lied to and abused by Mateo. Her storyline breaks my heart and I hope it improves. I have a feeling that she’s going to cross paths with the other characters eventually, though.

I find Circe an interesting character. When Diego cheats on her and she’s ordered by her father to handle it, she can’t and instead turns on her father. (He, like Corona and Mateo, is also THE WORST.) She determines that she’s going to make her own decisions and quickly becomes a power player in the series. Her hawking is super cool, too. Lady’s got style. I want her to rise up and be rid of José for good. He’s her father’s right hand and so awful, ugh. (THE WORST, etc.)

The relationship between Diego and Eliseo is also great. I love close brother dynamics and theirs is wonderful. Very Prison Break, with Eliseo the calm headed, well connected one, and Diego the wild, kind-hearted one. Both are so well meaning and adore each other. The family dynamics that begin almost instantly with Diego, Isabel and Ricas are great, too.

I’m curious to see where the show goes, but there’s 169 episodes, so it’s going to take a while to find out! Has anyone else watched this show? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Show Review: ¿Quién mató a Sara? (2021)

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¿Quién mató a Sara? takes chaotic family mysteries to a whole new level. The show follows Álex after he’s wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his sister, Sara. Eighteen years later, Álex is let out and determined to get revenge for Sara’s death, his imprisonment and what his mother endured all the while.

The story flashes back and forth between before Sara’s death, when the characters are all teenagers, and the present, where Álex is going after Rodolfo and Chema, his former friends. Rodolfo was dating Sara when she died and Álex is convinced that he and his father are responsible. Elisa, Rodolfo and Chema’s little sister who was too young to remember Sara, befriends Álex out of curiosity and suspicion – she’s not fooled by all the half-answers her brothers and father are giving her.

SPOILER WARNING

Álex and Elisa were definitely what made me fall in love with this show. I wasn’t sure at first, but as soon as this pair met up, it tied everything together perfectly. And you know what’s so refreshing?? Everyone gets to the point in this storyline! Everyone’s straight forward about where they stand by episode two (except the dad, who’s the WORST, and the mother, for that matter). So, really, the core four are pretty honest, which I appreciated. Álex keeps Elisa apprised of his plans, or at least tells her when he can’t tell her things. They’re a solid couple and they work together so well and it was just refreshing that their storyline didn’t have the drama it otherwise could have.

Chema and his boyfriend Lorenzo had a good overall storyline, although I’m a bit worried about them for season two. I want everything to work out! Lorenzo is such a supportive partner, I love him.

The dad was the absolute worst, I’m sure we can all agree on that. Argh! THE WORST.

This is definitely a binge-worthy show filled with drama, mystery, romance, angst and more. I totally suggest checking it out!

Show Review: Tin Star (2017)

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I’d never heard of Tin Star until yesterday when it popped up on my streaming service, but I really like Tim Roth as an actor (Pulp Fiction is the movie my partner and I watched on our first date, haha) and figured I’d give it a go. I also found out the amazing Christina Hendricks is in the show, so OF COURSE.

FYI: it’s brilliant.

As usual, this has some spoilers.

The series is set in Canada (yay!) and follows an English-Irish family who have just arrived in the small, picturesque town of Little Big Bear. The opening scene is one that really sets the grim, brutal tone of the series: the family are driving fast, afraid, on the way to Calgary. They stop at a petrol station and the young son tells them he has to go to the toilet. When they pause, just for a second, a man in a mask appears and fires into the front window. We only see blood spray on the daughter, so it’s unclear who’s been hurt inside the car.

The show then flashes back a year to the family’s arrival in the town. Jim is the new sheriff, his wife Angela is settling in with the kids, Anna and Peter. The family want a fresh start and things are looking up in the town. Jim’s arrival at work is so quiet that the other officers are playing video games and tell him to go fishing; Angela goes to sell some fudge at a local fair and meets Elizabeth Bradshaw, another new arrival. Elizabeth, we soon find out, is the spokeswoman for North Stream Oil, who want to move in and start working around the town. Jim and many of the other townsfolk oppose this, but the push for more income into the town is strong. Susan, Jim’s friend, says people have been following her since she started speaking out. (I got really strong Zone Blanche vibes, actually.)

The harassment of those opposing the company begins to pick up, but the proof is hard to find. Until Susan is found dead in an apparent suicide on the side of the road. Not everyone believes this, however, and Jim and his officers start looking into other reasons she might have been targeted. Unbeknownst to Jim, Louis Gagnon, the head of security for the company, has bugged his office and is hearing every word that goes on.

Then, one night, Jim and his family are attacked in their home. They gather their things to leave and we arrive back at the intro scene. We find out that Jim ducked upon seeing the shooter and that the victim in the car is young Peter. (It’s really, really heart-wrenching.) Angela, too, is injured and taken to surgery. As Jim and Anna reel from the painful series of events, Jim spirals back into alcoholism and we learn that he has an alter-ego: Jack. Jack is nothing like Jim. One is a cop, one is a criminal. And so Jack begins trying to track down who killed his son by truly brutal means.

And the answer is far from clearcut … (trust me, the twists, guys!)

I was so stunned by how intricate and engrossing this series is. The actors are absolutely amazing, the scenery stunning and the soundtrack is lush. If you like crime drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat, this one is for you.

Show Review: Zone Blanche (2017)

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Zone Blanche, or Black Spot, is a dark and twisty show. (I’m still not clear as to how a show with the name ‘White Zone’ gets an English title of Black Spot, but I digress …) It follows the residents of a small French town, Villefranche, which is surrounded by miles and miles of forest. It has a murder rate six times the national average and very little technology. (Even microwaves are known to fritz out.)

Prior to the events of the show, the mayor’s daughter went missing. No one knows anything, but everyone’s holding out hope that she’s just run away. When Prosecutor Franck Siriani arrives in the town, he begins poking around in everyone’s business. He immediately butts heads with Laurène Weiss, the head of the local police with a dark past. And when I say dark, I mean dark. There’s a tradition in the town that every teenager spends a night in the forest alone and let’s just say we see it end poorly in more than one episode.

While Laurène and her partner Martial Ferrandis (Nounours, or ‘Teddybear’) try and solve the numerous murders and mysteries of the town, her daughter Cora delves deeper and deeper into a radical group determined to mess with the town’s mayor. The mayor and Laurène have a complicated history that resurfaces as she tries to find his daughter; meanwhile, Nounours is one of the few out of the closet gay men in the village and in addition to dealing with backlash from some of the less-than-open-minded locals, struggles with his burgeoning relationship with a closeted man.

There’s some seriously twisted sides of the town that are slowly revealed as the episodes unfold. Often the characters talk about the forest like it’s speaking to them, and you’re left wondering if it’s a metaphor or if the forest is, in fact, sending them messages. I feel like the forest becomes its own character in the show.

One of the first things I loved about the show is the imagery. It’s so, so atmospheric and beautiful. If you like foggy small town mysteries, this one is for you. It fits right in with Øyevitne and La Forêt, which I just started. Kind of reminds me of, like, a less creepy genre of The Ring. It’s not nearly as horrific, but the atmosphere and creeping quietness are similar. It’s a genre I really, really like.

I definitely recommend this to fans of crime dramas and small town mysteries!

 

**gifs found online, not mine

Øyevitne (2014)

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The series follows Philip and Henning, a young couple in a small Norwegian town, after they go out dirt biking one night and witness a murder. They manage to hide until the killer stumbles upon them and tries to attack Philip. Henning saves him and they flee, getting rid of the murderer’s weapon on the way. They vow never to speak of it again as Henning isn’t out yet and is terrified that his father will find out the truth about him and Philip.

The vow is quickly put to the test when Philip sees the murderer on a train and fears he’s been recognised. Elsewhere, a young girl named Zana is running from someone, although it’s unclear who. All the while the police, lead by Philip’s foster mother, the local sheriff, try to unravel the mystery of the killings, which has frustratingly few leads. As it turns out, one of the dead was an undercover informant in a biker gang and there’s a great deal of fallout from that once it’s discovered that he was snitching to his sister-in-law, a cop. All of the characters have something to hide, all are interconnected.

The show is super intense. My heart broke for Philip at every turn. Bless his heart, he tries so hard and gets so much hatred and frustration from those around him. Definitely my favourite of the characters, though I really adored the foster dad. He really tried to be Philip’s dad and I loved him.

The show is short, only six episodes, so it’s a quick one to marathon. Definitely recommended for fans of crime dramas!

 

**gifs found online, not mine