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Reviews17
ldbear-31508's rating
Hubby and I watched "Eric" over yesterday and today and really enjoyed it. Benedict Cumberbatch shows his great acting talent here for sure, playing this damaged guy looking for his son with an escapee from "Where the Wild Things Are" in puppet form. His mission was also to drink every, single bottle of vodka in NYC. It was hard to tell if he was mentally ill or a tortured, damaged artist who grew up with such dysfunction that his parents put him on medication when he was a kid just because he wanted attention. But mentally ill or otherwise, the endless substance abuse didn't help.
The show takes place in the mid-1980s and really benefited plot-wise from the technology and forensic science that was normal for that time, such as blood typing over DNA and also VCRs, answering machines and people having to leave people messages to get calls returned.
There are a lot of stories on this show. It's not just a missing/dead child mystery or the story of a man who's seemingly out of control. It's also a story of police and political corruption, racism and homophobia. In this case, McKinley Belcher III did great work as Detective Ledroit who has lots of pain as an African-American who can't be himself.
Cumberbatch's voice and work with Eric is fabulous and Eric itself is well used. Gaby Hoffmann is all about the desperation as Cumberbatch's wife, playing the one character who's most focused directly on her son's return. It's actually a pretty understated performance, considering what's going on in her scenes. And there's great chemistry between Dan Fogler and Cumberbatch, playing the long-time friends and colleagues who run the "Good Day Sunshine" kids' show together. One of the most memorable scenes for me is one between Fogler and Cumberbatch, where the looks on Fogler's face are absolutely heartbreaking.
The other most memorable scene for me is one at a nightclub with Cumberbatch, Eric and "Gloria" from Laura Branigan playing. Lots of great and well-used 1980s tracks in this, with my favourite probably being the use of "A Forest" from the Cure.
At some point, I wondered how they could possibly bring all these storylines together, but they did and it was very successful IMO. And there's one particularly outstanding set that appears as the show continues. I don't want to say what it is other than to say it's a place of misery and wretchedness and quite important to the plot.
It reminded me a lot of that Jim Carrey show "Kidding" from a few seasons ago, which also involved a kids' show, puppets and a very damaged guy. Lots of similarities, many differences, but if you liked "Kidding," you'll likely enjoy this too.
The show takes place in the mid-1980s and really benefited plot-wise from the technology and forensic science that was normal for that time, such as blood typing over DNA and also VCRs, answering machines and people having to leave people messages to get calls returned.
There are a lot of stories on this show. It's not just a missing/dead child mystery or the story of a man who's seemingly out of control. It's also a story of police and political corruption, racism and homophobia. In this case, McKinley Belcher III did great work as Detective Ledroit who has lots of pain as an African-American who can't be himself.
Cumberbatch's voice and work with Eric is fabulous and Eric itself is well used. Gaby Hoffmann is all about the desperation as Cumberbatch's wife, playing the one character who's most focused directly on her son's return. It's actually a pretty understated performance, considering what's going on in her scenes. And there's great chemistry between Dan Fogler and Cumberbatch, playing the long-time friends and colleagues who run the "Good Day Sunshine" kids' show together. One of the most memorable scenes for me is one between Fogler and Cumberbatch, where the looks on Fogler's face are absolutely heartbreaking.
The other most memorable scene for me is one at a nightclub with Cumberbatch, Eric and "Gloria" from Laura Branigan playing. Lots of great and well-used 1980s tracks in this, with my favourite probably being the use of "A Forest" from the Cure.
At some point, I wondered how they could possibly bring all these storylines together, but they did and it was very successful IMO. And there's one particularly outstanding set that appears as the show continues. I don't want to say what it is other than to say it's a place of misery and wretchedness and quite important to the plot.
It reminded me a lot of that Jim Carrey show "Kidding" from a few seasons ago, which also involved a kids' show, puppets and a very damaged guy. Lots of similarities, many differences, but if you liked "Kidding," you'll likely enjoy this too.
This show takes place between 1921 and 1953, with no fixed number of years between each episode. In 1921 after the Russian Revolution, the aristocrat Count Rostov isn't sentenced to death, but rather he's sentenced to live his life inside the swankiest of prisons, the chic Metropol Hotel. The first two episodes had a whimsical quality and I figured that would be the tone throughout. I was wrong. It becomes something dramatic, heart-wretching at times, even tense and exciting and rarely overly sentimental despite all the human drama. Things happen that you won't see coming.
With 99.9% of the show taking place at the hotel, it's a small story of one man's life, yet it's a sweeping, epic story of Russian history. Even the soundtrack is epic, as though the composer channeled Jarre's soundtrack from "Doctor Zhivago." Rostov experiences Russian events through hotel visitors and staff and by what he reads. The writing for these actors is excellent, allowing characters to develop, grow and change over 30+ years in some cases. It's through them all that we see the consequences of the outside goings on and, by extension, the consequences to Rostov. This is what drives the plot.
McGregor depicts Rostov as positive, incredibly charming, respectful to everyone, adaptable, intelligent and ethical. The workers at the Metropol, among others, become his family.
There's a sweeping love story, a family saga, spycraft, classical music and outstanding art direction. If you like McGregor, it's hard to imagine you won't like this. He has plenty of chemistry with Winstead, not really surprising considering they're married.
With 99.9% of the show taking place at the hotel, it's a small story of one man's life, yet it's a sweeping, epic story of Russian history. Even the soundtrack is epic, as though the composer channeled Jarre's soundtrack from "Doctor Zhivago." Rostov experiences Russian events through hotel visitors and staff and by what he reads. The writing for these actors is excellent, allowing characters to develop, grow and change over 30+ years in some cases. It's through them all that we see the consequences of the outside goings on and, by extension, the consequences to Rostov. This is what drives the plot.
McGregor depicts Rostov as positive, incredibly charming, respectful to everyone, adaptable, intelligent and ethical. The workers at the Metropol, among others, become his family.
There's a sweeping love story, a family saga, spycraft, classical music and outstanding art direction. If you like McGregor, it's hard to imagine you won't like this. He has plenty of chemistry with Winstead, not really surprising considering they're married.
I don't know about you, but I don't have much experience watching South-African TV series. This is a great introduction. It's light-hearted, but heartfelt. If you overthink the plot, you'll be in trouble. There are holes for sure. But what makes it work is the chemistry between Lloyd, Marcus and Dineo as they face challenges to fix a problem created by performing a ritual.
There is family drama and enough backstory and fleshing-out of these characters that you really care about them. Add to all that the sometimes incredible exteriors of South Africa.
A very entertaining watch after the first three episodes.
There is family drama and enough backstory and fleshing-out of these characters that you really care about them. Add to all that the sometimes incredible exteriors of South Africa.
A very entertaining watch after the first three episodes.