ronalamont-91472
Joined Apr 2019
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews74
ronalamont-91472's rating
I was torn between giving this limited series 7 or 8 stars. It perhaps wasn't the most remarkable I've seen but I found it very entertaining although I fast forwarded a few frames through some of the fight sequences and car chases. I think they were very well choreographed, exciting and impressive but just not my cup of tea. Very necessary for the storyline though.
But the unfolding stories, both in the present and the past, were engaging and I enjoyed the way her past trickled out cleverly seamlessly. The episodes were well directed, acted and edited even when the story got a bit ludicrous at times.
There are some things in the dialogue that are easy to miss on first viewing and many clues are there if you notice them. It isn't giving away a spoiler when I say that it's funny when she tells Jordie in a tender moment in the kitchen that 'after the supermarket incident she'd just like her old life back'. We naturally assume that means her life as a happy wife, mother and teacher .. but it's like 'careful what you wish for' since we become increasingly aware of her real 'old life' and how it's coming back to haunt her since the supermarket incident.
Posing as a substitute teacher in a Spanish school with a Spanish husband and British daughter, Erin Carter appears to be an ordinary ex pat trying to be accepted in a new country and a new job. Her husband is a nurse at the local hospital and is comfortable in the role of loving stepfather to her 11yr old daughter, Harper.
There is an attempted robbery at the local supermarket and we get the first indication that Erin is not who she seems to be when she skillfully fights off and shoots one of the robbers. The second robber gets a good look at her before running off and we know that things are going to heat up and take us on a different kind of journey.
Little by little, her back story unfolds and I think it's very cleverly done. I felt teased by snippets here and there and by her daughter's hallucinations and drawings. Then we are made privy to where it all began and that's an exciting episode in itself.
I liked that it was easy to watch and didn't take itself too seriously. Yes there were plot holes and yes she and others were thrown around and beaten up in fights yet appeared the next day without any visible injuries. Once you accept this is "that kind of action flick" it's easy not to let it bother you or find it laughable. I just accepted that it moved us quickly along with the story and it's entertainment after all. I can understand people who prefer reality but there's enough of that online and in other kinds of drama ... I think I enjoyed that it was unrealistic because it kept it more lighthearted. I'm happy there is a move away from sickening violence in quite a few entertaining shows I've watched recently. A return to the old "James Bond" days. There's enough of the other in the massive true crime and procedural drama categories.
Erin's character is quite the super heroine and I think she acted really well as a mother trying to protect her daughter and husband while getting herself deeper and deeper into a mess. I enjoyed the performance of all the characters and I liked the twists and turns the storyline takes.
Most people like Douglas Henshall but I'm tired of his dead pan acting. It was perfect for his character in 'Shetland' but he plays the same character in every role he does these days. I suppose he's being cast in projects specifically because of his acting style but I would have preferred someone else in his role. I found his acting to be at odds with the tone of the show and his scenes slowing down the fast pace. This can happen when a 'named' actor is flown in for a few days and all their scenes are shot at once. Usually they blend right in but sometimes they seem to be in a different show.
It was very well shot and didn't rely on the beautiful countryside and Spanish city streets to keep us entertained. That was just a bonus.
I don't necessarily like the way a tough female is portrayed in a show but I admired all these strong women interacting realistically with each other and, at the same time, moving the plot along at a fast, exciting pace. Women successfully dominating the action in a series like this is rare. It didn't feel contrived.
I binged it all on a rainy Saturday and a I'm really happy that I did.
But the unfolding stories, both in the present and the past, were engaging and I enjoyed the way her past trickled out cleverly seamlessly. The episodes were well directed, acted and edited even when the story got a bit ludicrous at times.
There are some things in the dialogue that are easy to miss on first viewing and many clues are there if you notice them. It isn't giving away a spoiler when I say that it's funny when she tells Jordie in a tender moment in the kitchen that 'after the supermarket incident she'd just like her old life back'. We naturally assume that means her life as a happy wife, mother and teacher .. but it's like 'careful what you wish for' since we become increasingly aware of her real 'old life' and how it's coming back to haunt her since the supermarket incident.
Posing as a substitute teacher in a Spanish school with a Spanish husband and British daughter, Erin Carter appears to be an ordinary ex pat trying to be accepted in a new country and a new job. Her husband is a nurse at the local hospital and is comfortable in the role of loving stepfather to her 11yr old daughter, Harper.
There is an attempted robbery at the local supermarket and we get the first indication that Erin is not who she seems to be when she skillfully fights off and shoots one of the robbers. The second robber gets a good look at her before running off and we know that things are going to heat up and take us on a different kind of journey.
Little by little, her back story unfolds and I think it's very cleverly done. I felt teased by snippets here and there and by her daughter's hallucinations and drawings. Then we are made privy to where it all began and that's an exciting episode in itself.
I liked that it was easy to watch and didn't take itself too seriously. Yes there were plot holes and yes she and others were thrown around and beaten up in fights yet appeared the next day without any visible injuries. Once you accept this is "that kind of action flick" it's easy not to let it bother you or find it laughable. I just accepted that it moved us quickly along with the story and it's entertainment after all. I can understand people who prefer reality but there's enough of that online and in other kinds of drama ... I think I enjoyed that it was unrealistic because it kept it more lighthearted. I'm happy there is a move away from sickening violence in quite a few entertaining shows I've watched recently. A return to the old "James Bond" days. There's enough of the other in the massive true crime and procedural drama categories.
Erin's character is quite the super heroine and I think she acted really well as a mother trying to protect her daughter and husband while getting herself deeper and deeper into a mess. I enjoyed the performance of all the characters and I liked the twists and turns the storyline takes.
Most people like Douglas Henshall but I'm tired of his dead pan acting. It was perfect for his character in 'Shetland' but he plays the same character in every role he does these days. I suppose he's being cast in projects specifically because of his acting style but I would have preferred someone else in his role. I found his acting to be at odds with the tone of the show and his scenes slowing down the fast pace. This can happen when a 'named' actor is flown in for a few days and all their scenes are shot at once. Usually they blend right in but sometimes they seem to be in a different show.
It was very well shot and didn't rely on the beautiful countryside and Spanish city streets to keep us entertained. That was just a bonus.
I don't necessarily like the way a tough female is portrayed in a show but I admired all these strong women interacting realistically with each other and, at the same time, moving the plot along at a fast, exciting pace. Women successfully dominating the action in a series like this is rare. It didn't feel contrived.
I binged it all on a rainy Saturday and a I'm really happy that I did.
It's rare that I ever give a movie or series a 10 but this one deserves it for so many reasons.
The material, the screenplay, the acting, direction, cinematography, locations etc etc ... It is so raw and real you forget at times that it's not a documentary. I love the camerawork because it's so simple and classic. It classically tells the story without gimmicks or trying to impress or be trendy.
We get to see the good and the bad in each character as they peel back the layers of their relationships with themselves and eachother. Their characters build and grow naturally. Nothing seems forced. Nothing seems to be gratuitous. You forget a crew dressed each set and clothed and made up all these people. Such a large ensemble cast .. each with their own individual style.
The special needs children are amazing and it's obvious they all grew to be genuinely close friends by the way they interact. That's a lot of children to wrangle on a set at the best of times let alone those children dealing with disabilities.
I could have kept watching it for hours longer. I was so invested in these characters I felt a little bit disappointed when it just abruptly stopped!! Kinda like the ending of season one of 'Dead To Me' it just ends on a massive cliffhanger but I wasn't upset. Nor did I feel cheated. It was so realistic and totally believable. I can only hope there's going to be a season two.
The material, the screenplay, the acting, direction, cinematography, locations etc etc ... It is so raw and real you forget at times that it's not a documentary. I love the camerawork because it's so simple and classic. It classically tells the story without gimmicks or trying to impress or be trendy.
We get to see the good and the bad in each character as they peel back the layers of their relationships with themselves and eachother. Their characters build and grow naturally. Nothing seems forced. Nothing seems to be gratuitous. You forget a crew dressed each set and clothed and made up all these people. Such a large ensemble cast .. each with their own individual style.
The special needs children are amazing and it's obvious they all grew to be genuinely close friends by the way they interact. That's a lot of children to wrangle on a set at the best of times let alone those children dealing with disabilities.
I could have kept watching it for hours longer. I was so invested in these characters I felt a little bit disappointed when it just abruptly stopped!! Kinda like the ending of season one of 'Dead To Me' it just ends on a massive cliffhanger but I wasn't upset. Nor did I feel cheated. It was so realistic and totally believable. I can only hope there's going to be a season two.
Like others here, I was really looking forward to binging this series. Four top cast members (Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Buchanan).....how could it not be great? Well...a poor script, bad dialogue, annnoying soundtrack and the wrong director answers this question in regard to this series.
I just couldn't get into it .. The first episode began well with the swift execution of three friends and a mysterious call to the seemingly innocent, happily married wife of the British Minister of Defence. Then it quickly went downhill.
It's so implausible it's not even funny. Portions of potentially exciting drama are ruined by attempts to be quirky, introducing odd characters, overly dramatic and lingering camera shots ....and bad dialogue. Not even Keira and Ben could save this one.
We are supposed to accept that a spy (Knightley) with no real experience in the field, would be able to fight off a couple of female assassins and then take down the trained assassin, who killed her lover, while her husband and cherished children slept upstairs in their home. Walking him to the garden shed to kill him was laudable. He'd have overpowered her in a flash.
She stresses how much she loves her children but has no qualms about leaving them to have a serious affair or rushing off to kill people.
It could have been a better show had there been better direction and a different cinematographer. There were not only gaping holes in the plot but an overall problem with the pacing, soap opera pauses, and annoyingly intrusive camera shots and moves. The deliberately trendy, abstract and ofttimes dramatic close up camera angles and shots were meant to stylishly impress but just added to the pretentiousness and choppiness of the piece. When the camera breaks the mood rather than create it, the show is in trouble.
Both the editing and the storylines were incongruous. And after a segment of serious spy drama, a ludicrous situation or set of comedic characters followed. .
It was too difficult for me to get invested in any of the characters as they were so corny and/or contrived. The humor infantile at times. Instead of engaging the audience, it just disappoints them with the intrusion of comic book characters and situations. The soundtrack needs improvement too.
If trying to compete with a superb MI5 caper like Slow Horses....they failed miserably. I blame the director for all his poor choices. Even the basic script could have been tweaked and executed completely differently in the hands of a different team. It might have worked better.
I stuck with it because of Knightley, Lancashire, and Whishaw and it had its moments but, in general, it was annoying, frustrating and disappointing.
I just couldn't get into it .. The first episode began well with the swift execution of three friends and a mysterious call to the seemingly innocent, happily married wife of the British Minister of Defence. Then it quickly went downhill.
It's so implausible it's not even funny. Portions of potentially exciting drama are ruined by attempts to be quirky, introducing odd characters, overly dramatic and lingering camera shots ....and bad dialogue. Not even Keira and Ben could save this one.
We are supposed to accept that a spy (Knightley) with no real experience in the field, would be able to fight off a couple of female assassins and then take down the trained assassin, who killed her lover, while her husband and cherished children slept upstairs in their home. Walking him to the garden shed to kill him was laudable. He'd have overpowered her in a flash.
She stresses how much she loves her children but has no qualms about leaving them to have a serious affair or rushing off to kill people.
It could have been a better show had there been better direction and a different cinematographer. There were not only gaping holes in the plot but an overall problem with the pacing, soap opera pauses, and annoyingly intrusive camera shots and moves. The deliberately trendy, abstract and ofttimes dramatic close up camera angles and shots were meant to stylishly impress but just added to the pretentiousness and choppiness of the piece. When the camera breaks the mood rather than create it, the show is in trouble.
Both the editing and the storylines were incongruous. And after a segment of serious spy drama, a ludicrous situation or set of comedic characters followed. .
It was too difficult for me to get invested in any of the characters as they were so corny and/or contrived. The humor infantile at times. Instead of engaging the audience, it just disappoints them with the intrusion of comic book characters and situations. The soundtrack needs improvement too.
If trying to compete with a superb MI5 caper like Slow Horses....they failed miserably. I blame the director for all his poor choices. Even the basic script could have been tweaked and executed completely differently in the hands of a different team. It might have worked better.
I stuck with it because of Knightley, Lancashire, and Whishaw and it had its moments but, in general, it was annoying, frustrating and disappointing.