AUGUST 2021 - FILMS + TV (HOME VIEWING)

A decent month's viewing on the home front with a couple of ok films and some TV series, new and old .... 

Lie With Me (2021) - Channel 5 - Mini Drama

Tense four part drama starring Charlie Brooks as a wife who is caught in an imperfect marriage around the other side of the world ..... manipulation, infidelity, mental health, scheming, drugs, isolation, payback. I really enjoyed it overall, though some of the situations made for uncomfortable viewing.

From Wikipedia ....

The series centres on a British woman and her husband seeking a fresh start in Australia after infidelity threatened their marriage. They hire a young local nanny who isn't as innocent as she appears with deadly consequences.

White Chicks (2004) - Film

A re-watch of a comedy film starring the Wayans brothers. An okay watch. Not hilarious all the way through, but it does have it moments. The sort of film you can have on in the background, while chatting. It doesn't demand all your attention. Seen better, seen much worse. 

From Wikipedia ...

White Chicks is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It stars Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans as two black FBI agents who go undercover using whiteface as women to solve a kidnapping plot. The film was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004, and grossed $113.1 million worldwide against a budget of $37 million.

Limetown (2019) - TV Drama Series

About four episodes in from a total of ten and after a cracking start, it's flagging a bit with a draggy fourth episode which bored me. I kind of want the survivors' stories and some forward momentum. I don't want to hear the details about one of the architects of the project. I do like Jessica Biel and it's one to stick with. 

It's an intriguing set-up - 300 people vanish. What happened. Kind of a Lost vibe about it.

From Wikipedia ...

Limetown is an American drama series, based on the podcast of the same name created by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie, that premiered on Facebook Watch on October 16, 2019. The series stars Jessica Biel and Stanley Tucci.

Chaos (2005) - Film

I do like a gritty crime film and I do like Jason Statham as an actor. I liked the film, though his efforts at an American accent aren't entirely convincing. More to like than dislike though. Decent story, but I did guess where it was going.

From Google ...

A veteran detective joins forces with a rookie policeman when they are despatched to carry out negotiations with a group of criminals holding a bank hostage.

Law & Order UK Season 8 (2014) - ITV Drama Series

BOOM - another long running series put to bed, with the last four episodes watched. Farewell, I've enjoyed the ride!

From IMDB ....

Customs  S8, Ep5

The body of elderly businesswoman Ranya Habib is found at a suicide spot but foul play is suspected after a neighbour tells Ronnie he heard her arguing with somebody. Ranya was meeting Egyptian doctor Yafeu Elsayed, whom Ronnie suspects of terrorism though he claims to be Ranya's specialist. CCTV footage links Ranya's daughter-in-law Safia to the crime scene and she is arrested and charged with murder. However it transpires that Safia opposed Ranya's desire for Safia's little daughter Laila to be subject to genital mutilation by Elsayed and Kate tips off Sania's ...

 

Bad Romance S8, Ep6

Maids find blood-stained sheets but no body in a hotel room, booked with a credit card stolen from businessman Charles Hutton by Rufus Barton, a school classmate and secret lover of Hutton's daughter Georgia. Georgia admits that she had a miscarriage in the room but evidence shows that the baby was born alive and the young couple are arrested for infanticide - despite the absence of a corpse. At their trial, where they are represented by smooth Maitland Cosby, a long-standing adversary of Jake, they claim to have no knowledge of what happened to the baby but its ...

 

Hard Stop S8, Ep7

When a spate of shootings claims one of Ronnie and Joe's own, Wes Leyton, the pair are left with a race against time as the next target the shooter has in his cross-hairs is CPS boss Henry Sharpe.

 

Repeat to Fade S8, Ep8

Still affected by the death of one of their team, Ronnie and Joe have a new case to deal with when a young mother is stabbed to death in a busy London marketplace.

 

Deceit (2021) - Channel 4 - TV Drama Mini-Series

One episode from four watched of a True Crime drama. I don't think there's a person over a certain age in the UK, who can't recall the horrific murder that forms the heart of this series. Niamh Algar is pretty damn good as the officer sent undercover to get close to the police's main suspect.

It's an interesting reminder of the culture in the police in the 90s (and before). Male dominated with little kudos or respect given to equally capable female officers. 

From Google ....

Examining the controversial honeytrap at the heart of the high-pressure investigation into the devastating murder of Rachel Nickell, a young mother brutally attacked in front of her two-year-old son on Wimbledon Common in London in 1992.

Annika (2021) - Alibi - TV Drama series

Another new drama series which started airing in August. Only one episode in and I'm liking it. I did enjoy watching Nicola Walker in the last series of Unforgotten, earlier this year. Here she's a single parent to a stroppy teenager as well as the lead for a Marine Homicide Unit. Not quite sure I like the talking directly to the camera thing - ie the viewer - or not. 

First episode was good and it's only 6 episodes long in all. I like the setting. It reminds me a bit of the drama, Shetland which I enjoyed.

From Wikipedia ...

Annika is a British crime drama television series, based on the BBC Radio 4 drama Annika Stranded. Produced by Black Camel Pictures for Alibi and All3Media, the first episode aired on 17 August 2021.

The series follows DI Annika Strandhed as she takes over a new Marine Homicide Unit in Scotland.

The radio series Annika Stranded was also written by Nick Walker and featured Nicola Walker as Annika Strandhed but was set in Oslo.