– Collateral (Netflix)
Carey Mulligan stars as Detective Inspector Kim Gillespie investigating the murder of a pizza delivery man. No motives. No apparent reason. So it’s probably a case of mistaken identity, or is it?
Involved in the murder as witnesses are a gay vicar and her girlfriend, and a Member of Parliament and his ex-wife. There’s also human traffickers, illegal immigrants, and the some members of the British military – so it’s quite a mess.
Mulligan impresses as calm, cool-headed DI Gillespie. She’s firm and sprinkles dimpled smirks in lieu of intimidation. It was nice to see that her 6 month pregnancy doesn’t come in the way of her job, whether it be pursuing a possible suspect or a making a trip to the morgue. Some nice acting and quick pace make this 4 episode BBC series a very entertaining and addictive watch.
– Waco (Netflix)
This day, 27 years ago, the 51 day Waco siege came to an end. Several people died, ATF officers and Davidians. The 6 episode series, based upon two different books – one from the hostage negotiator Gary Noesner, and another from a cult member David Thibodeau – chronicles how it all came about.
An excellent cast, and a well-paced script make this series very watchable. Taylor Kitch bears a striking resemblance to cult leader David Koresh, and Rory Culkin who plays David Thobodeau in the series is the brother of Macaulay Culkin , the little boy who starred in the Home Alone movies.
– Laakhon Mein Ek – Season 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
In the last edition, I also mentioned Laakhon Mein Ek – Season 1. Season 2 deserves its own mention though because it is a different storyline – the seasons might as well have been two completely different series! This season is about earnest, young doctor Shreya Pathare (Shweta Tripathi), who, against her wishes, gets assigned a task that nobody wants – the task of organizing cataract removal eye-camps in a remote village.
Dr Shreya bravely takes on the task, but not only does she have to win the trust of the villagers, she also has to combat the bureaucracy, corruption and sheer incompetence of the government and its agencies. Does no good task ever go unpunished?
I like everything Shweta Tripathi does (like Mirzapur) and LME-S2 is no different. Well-made, this is a bit of a sad tale, but kudos to Biswa Kalyan Rath for creating the important stories that need to be told!
