Some films and series that we didn't finish watching

On this blog (elliotswatching) I post on movies and miniseries we've watched, but rarely post on shows that we start to watch and then abandon - so this blog may give the (false) impression that we like everything! Not so. Without belaboring the point, here are a few shows that we recently started hopefully and abandoned for various reasons, all on Netflix:

A Very Secret Service (France) was funny, at least at first, as it's a Jacques Tati-like satire of the ineptitude and sometimes malevolence of the equivalent of the French CIA, largely seen through the lens of a hapless  recruit who gets involved in helping African states in their push toward independence (set ca 1960). We laughed, at first, but by the 3rd episode it became clear that the humor was tinged w/ racism and paternalism, all of which made us uncomfortable, even though the show probably had the best of intentions.

Sacred Games (India) is mean to be a mystery/police procedural as a down on his luck detective gets a mysterious call from a stranger, a violent criminal who wants to narrate his life story. OK as a premise, if not quite believable, but the caller's criminal activities are so gruesome and violent as to give us pause - and plot itself was ridiculously baroque. Dropped it. 

Unsolved Mysteries (2020). As it sounds, a series of one-hour documentaries about true unsolved cases, leaving the ending open and calling on the viewers for any useful info. I like this more than M did, but it can be somewhat voyeuristic and unsettling; unlike most narratives, these offer no conclusion. 

Stateless (Australia). A tendentious show about the obstacles and difficulties an immigrant faces, with over-the-top performances by Domenic West and Kate Blanchette that make no sense at all. Strange that a movie in large part about immigrants to A and focuses on a white Anglo woman.

We did like the first part of Hexagone, an hour-long standup show from the French comedian Fary, though much of the humor eluded us (e.g., his takes on French Canadians) and of course much is lost in tr. We didn't watch part 2. Shows by Hannibal Buress, Eric Andre, and Mark Maron lacked the essential element of comedy - laugh lines.

Wasp Network, a film about 2 refugees from Cuba get involved, in different ways, in the attempt to overthrow the Castro regime and to aid the "boat people" - well intentioned, but incredibly confusing as there are so many organizations and schemes, most of which will not be familiar to most of the viewership. 

Finally [couldn't even remember the title at first!], Tangle, another Australian show, started off OK as the story of a young woman absent for many years returns to her family in A w/ intention of reuniting of the teenage son whom long ago she'd entrusted to her sister. But the plot as it develops is completely improbable and the lead character is so dislikable that we had no interest in going beyond the first episode.