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“Vanina: Season One” – TV Series Review

*A scene from Italian police drama “Vanina: Season One.” Courtesy of MHz Choice*

The light Italian police procedural “Vanina: Season One” is designed for those who seek a higher ratio of character development to crime solving in their entertainment choices. Vanina (Giusy Buscemi, who looks nothing like Steve, thankfully) is an attractive (former Miss Italy – the actress, not the character) thirty-something who heads a homicide unit in Catania. Seven months before the series begins, she’d moved there from Palermo, where she’d been an anti-Mafia superstar and paramour of leading prosecutor Paolo (Giorgio Marchesi). That success unfortunately generated more heat from the Mafiosi in her professional and personal “kitchen” than she could stand. Vanina had witnessed her beloved dad being whacked by them when she was 15 and sensed her hot streak against them created too large of a reboot risk for her and Paolo. So, she moved away from love and career arc to find an emotionally manageable substitute.

The four nearly two-hour episodes of Season One are separate cases, with unfolding subplots and character arcs for most of the cast. The first case began with poisoned ice cream and the death of their equivalent of our Ben and/or Jerry. In the second, the remains from a 50-year-old murder are suddenly discovered, leading to serious present-day consequences. The third swirls around criminal activity by a criminal lawyer for other criminals, including the very-criminal Mafia. The fourth begins with the murder of an international businessman who had more dubious connections than any one person should have.

But the plots are relatively unimportant, compared to the stories of the players. Vanina is torn between her lingering love for Paolo, and a new potential romance with an almost unbelievably empathetic doctor, Manfredi (Corrado Fortuna). One of her detectives, Marta, (Paola Giannini) is interesting enough to warrant her own spin-off. Others have an assortment of personal issues and crises sufficient to stuff a telenovela.

All of these sub-stories would have been too soapy for my taste but for the excellent casting, performances and quality of the writing. The more time we spend with them, the more we like and care about them. And this is coming from a guy with little patience for melodrama. The scripts are by Leonardo Marini, based on books by Cristina Cassar Scalia. The mysteries are typically complicated, with solutions that are mostly elusive enough for satisfying suspense. There’s less comic relief than other Sicily-based series I’ve reviewed like “Makari” or “Detective Montalbano.” No nudity or prolonged sex scenes, but relatively generous on eye candy for TV fare – especially in the first episode. Although the cops brandish guns frequently, I don’t recall a single shot being fired. The murders occur off-camera, and views of the stiffs are minimal.

The Sicilian locations provide a diverse range of lovely enhancements to the action therein. No cliffhangers, but a few significant unresolved plot points beg for a Season Two. Since this just aired abroad in 2024, it seems quite likely that more is yet to come, which I will welcome if and when that happens.

“Vanina: Season One.” in Italian with English subtitles, debuts streaming on MHz Choice on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

YADANG: THE SNITCH Review

*A scene from YADANG: THE SNITCH. Courtesy of Well Go USA*

The Korean crime drama YADANG: THE SNITCH is longer on plot and shorter on action than most of those I’ve reviewed. The title gives you the same word in two languages. Protagonist and narrator Lee Kang-soo (Kang Ha-neul, best known here from Season 2 of ”Squid Game”) is framed for drug possession, imprisoned, then given the chance to work off his sentence by informing, and eventually turn ratting out drug dealers into a career. His benefactor is an ambitious prosecutor, Goo Gwan-hee (Yoo hae-jin). Their efforts are variably appreciated and hindered by a top cop, Oh Sang-jee (Park Hae-joon). All three deliver fine performances.

The first two enjoy a long string of successes until something goes sour. The intertwining of the massively-profitable drug trade with law enforcement and politics makes for a mare’s nest of players and shifting alliances that many might find hard to follow. (OK, I confess that I did.) Friends become foes, and vice versa, often in ways that may not be clear to viewers. It’s not a casual binge for those who care about plot-lines. Writer Hyo-seok Kim put most of the emphasis on character arcs and plot twists, rather than titillation or splashy action in this dialog-heavy script.

One other performer stands out as particularly sympathetic. Chae Won-Bin’s Um Su Jin is a popular young actress who starts using drugs and winds up in the middle of the plans and conflicts among the male leads. Her role as an ingenue who gets in over her head may be the most moving part of the film, despite relatively brief screen time.

There’s little sex or nudity; considerable drug usage and drinking – voluntary and otherwise; several scenes of gruesome violence. The result is a solid film requiring some concentration that may or may not linger in one’s memory.

YADANG: THE SNITCH, in Korean with English subtitles, debuts on digital Platforms from Well Go USA on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

BABY ASSASSINS 3 – Review

Although BABY ASSASSINS 3: NICE DAYS is the third installment of what’s become an action comedy franchise, it’s not really necessary to have seen the first two to enjoy this action comedy. The eponymous assassins aren’t literal babies, of course. They’re a pair of late teen – early 20s Japanese lasses who act as girlish and giggly as typical anime co-eds between their contract killings… and sometimes even during. Akari Takaishi again plays pretty, feminine brunette Chisato to Saori Izawas’s blond-shagged tomboy Mahiro. They are again as charming as in the first feature, and more so than they were in the sequel, BABY ASSASSINS 2. That one was out of balance, with too much silly and too little shooting and slugging.

The plot – for those who care about such things – begins with our duo hired to whack a guy on assignment from their assassin’s guild. But when they try, a rival freelancer, Kaede (Sosuke Ikematsu) shows up with the same goal and comparable skills. As the three fight over who will get the kill, the target escapes. For the rest of the film, our pair with a few allies dash around trying to finish the job, and also eliminate Kaede, who continues to compete for the scalp. Kaede’s interference makes the association lose face, and cannot be tolerated.

There’s relatively little down time between action sequences in this fast-paced romp. The fight scenes are quite exciting, with a significant uptick in quality and quantity from the first two. Izawa’s resume includes far more stunt gigs than acting, and she deploys that experience to great advantage. This one is more her film than Takaishi’s, especially due to a couple of long intense fight sequences. She truly takes a licking and keeps on ticking, as they used to say in Timex commercials. Yugo Sakamoto, who wrote and directed all three, upped his game significantly from their last installment. His new stunt coordinators outperformed their predecessors in choreographing more elaborate and graphic gun fu scenes, yielding a higher body count.

Among the newcomers, Ikematsu gets to flesh out a character more complex and nuanced than the genre’s typical foe role. Iruka Minami (Atsuko Maeda) also delivers a solid turn as the prickly overseer who eventually shows other sides to her personality.

It’s not a spoiler to write that the titular pair survive this 2024 adventure, since they’ve already followed it with a 12-episode TV series, “Baby Walkure Everyday!”. Sakamoto wrote all of those and directed seven. They must be a huge hit in Japan to run such a long string. I hope our domestic home-market providers will continue importing whatever these lasses keep on doing.

BABY ASSASSINS 3: NICE DAYS, mostly in Japanese with English subtitles, is available via digital streaming of Blu-ray on Well Go USA starting Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

“My Funeral” – TV Series Review

“My Funeral” (originally “Jardarforin min”) is a darkly funny Icelandic miniseries about a newly-retired man who, on the day he retires, gets some very bad news. But, first, an author’s note on this review: for those fluent in Icelandic, please excuse the spelling of the original title and names to follow. I don’t know how to type some of your language-specific letters, so this is the closest I could get.

This charming miniseries of six half-hour episodes covers a newly retired gent, Benedikt “Benni” (Porhallur Sigurdsson) who learns he has a fatally-advanced brain tumor. He rejects chemo and radiation which could possibly give him more time, but severely debilitated throughout. Surgery is an option, though his odds of surviving it are only 20%.

Benni has been quite self-contained. He’s known at work as a penny-pinching guardian of the company’s expenses. He lives alone. His new-agey ex-wife left him long ago to pursue an alternate lifestyle with her younger lover. His adult son, Bjorn (Evar Por Benediktsson), resents the old man who always seemed cold and distant. Benni’s only close friend is his work and golfing buddy Hjalti (Einar Gunn); and his only loving relative is young granddaughter Sisi (Birta Hall). Benni decides to enjoy some quality at the end, rather than shoot for quantity.

After a life of self-deprivation – financially and socially – Benni starts undergoing changes. More time with Sisi; spending money on pleasures he’d forgone, all in an effort to make the (almost certain) last few weeks of his life before the operation he probably won’t survive more meaningful than he’d ever allowed for himself. This further deepens the rift with his son, who wants the old man to help him buy a larger home with the money he sees Benni blowing on personal whims. Benni rants about how his son and that whole generation need to fend for themselves… like he and his did.

But the biggest indulgence is the eponymous ceremony. Benni plans an elaborate funeral for the day before his operation, so he can attend and experience the program he wants. From his perspective, it will be the first time he did something significant for himself. From almost everyone else’s viewpoint, he’s somewhere between insensitively selfish and just plain nuts. Sisi, Hjalti and the local reverend Olof (Ragnheidur Steindorsdottir) – who also happens to be the woman he pined for in his youth – seem to be the only ones who understand and support him.

The preparations are elaborate and not without glitches. The hassles from his son and ex are amusingly annoying. Benni also has a learning curve of self-awareness adding heart to the proceedings. Sigurdsson under-acts appropriately for one who has been virtually sleepwalking through an ordinary life until imminent death started generating new awareness and insights. Performances are excellent across the board from a very relatable cast. The comedic side is mostly more droll and bittersweet than belly-laugh hilarious, but the levity and sentiment complement each other quite nicely. If your eyes stay dry through the funeral sequence, you have a heart of stone.

“My Funeral,” mostly in Icelandic with English subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

“Trompoppie” – TV Series Review

*A scene from the South African TV crime comedy series “Trompoppie.” Courtesy of MHz Choice*

The title of the darkly comic murder-fest “Trompoppie” is Afrikaans for drum majorette. We first meet aspiring South African gymnast Luna (Melissa Myburgh), whose mom died leaving her with a drunk, depressed and broke dad. Poppa wants the best for her – a top-notch gym academy in Russia – but they can’t even cover their daily overhead. During a workout, she’s seen by a wealthy local celeb, Jill (Marion Holm), who decides to pay for Luna to attend the city’s posh high school and live with her family, in exchange for adapting her skills for the majorette squad her daughter Zanne (Celeste Loots) is due to captain. There’s a big competition that means the world to Jill and the school, and Luna seems to offer the pizzazz element needed to boost them from also-rans to champs. That contest seems far more important to them than it should.

The privileged jock milieu isn’t what Luna aspires to, but she agrees because it’s the only known path to her own goal. Luna is warmly embraced by Zanne, but immediately and callously spurned by the rest of the squad – especially Mindy ((Elzet Nel) – the current captain and leader of the pack. Mindy is straight out of a MEAN GIRLS clone, complete with intimidated minions in the roost she rules, and contempt for the new girl from the poor side of town. Luna perseveres, with Jill’s staunch backing. She’s a strident Karen among Tiger Moms, and throws her weight around liberally and loudly. She also looks uncomfortably like Eddie Izzard in his drag mode. As a veteran soap opera star, Jill can impose her will more forcefully than most, and without reservation or remorse.

For ten 50-minute episodes, we follow a tragic accident, a desperate cover-up and a string of consequential murders, with suspense about who is doing the rest of the killing. Suspects ebb and flow among members of the squad, their handsome coach (Armand Aucamp), Jill’s surly other adopted daughter, Elke (Luca Human), Zanne’s short-fused beau Tomas (Cantona James), and others. We root for Luna because she’s as pleasantly earnest and sympathetic as Lindsay Lohan’s character from MEAN GIRLS. She’d advocated for doing the right thing after the initial incident, but was outvoted and out-muscled by Mindy and the rest of the squad, ala HEATHERS.

Etienne Fourie apparently wrote and directed the entire miniseries. His effort contains considerable merit, including some effective misdirects and twists. The script’s wry, morbid humor blends nicely with the suspense. The media frenzy and fickle reactions of the public add a fine social satire element. Jill’s high profile and central involvement make the ongoing situation a big attention-grabber, as we see from inter-cut scenes of random folks’ responses to the swinging pendulum of the unfolding story. Performances are fine across the board from a large cast of featured players. On the downside, this would have been much better if compressed to seven or eight episodes. A lot of fat could have been excised without losing any of the meat. The acts of violence and their results occur mostly off-camera. For those expecting a bunch of titillating scenes of young lasses in skimpy outfits, locker rooms and shower scenes, cool your libidos. There ain’t many such cheap thrills to be found.

There’s a lot to like, including some laugh-out-loud moments and a satisfying ending. Perhaps others will have more patience than I for the length of the winding path to reach it.

“Trompoppie,” mostly in Afrikaans with English subtitles, starts streaming on MHz Choice on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

GHOST KILLER – Review

The Japanese action dramedy GHOST KILLER blends an element of the supernatural with its underworld (the criminal kind, not the realm of the damned) format. Kudo (Masanori Mimoto) is an assassin who is betrayed and killed as the movie opens. Fumika (Akari Takaishi) is a timid college girl who happens to pick up the shell casing from the bullet what offed him when she trips on the street where he involuntarily shuffled off his mortal coil. That magically connects the two (don’t ask how), allowing Kudo to take over her body whenever she touches his hand to trigger the switcheroo in moments when his skills are needed for mutual survival. She is understandably freaked out, but reluctantly agrees on the belief that the only way for his ghost to move on and leave her alone is to avenge his death via her body.

This is somewhat reminiscent of the Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin comedy of yore, ALL OF ME, in which the odd couple of comic legends clash over control of one body. Fumika is the wimpiest of women, containing no instincts, skills or predilection for the violence that must ensue. The comedic side comes mostly from her resistance to the necessary actions, yielding to dependence on Kudo in various crises. Neither of them were at all prepared for this linkage or understand quite how it works.

The tone is mostly silliness with spurts of fighting and shooting until reaching a rousing climactic battle. Takaishi’s looks and timidity are adorable. This is particularly interesting for those who’ve seen her in the series of BABY ASSASSIN flicks, in which she paired with Saori Izawa as teenage non-mutant ninja hit persons for variably amusing rounds of comic mayhem, easily flaunting the essential skills and dedication to their jobs.

There’s nothing special or memorable about most of this, though the climactic battle is worth whatever impatience one may feel during the run-up. Akari’s charm can probably carry just about any load she chooses, and the fight choreography is well above average. Mimoto comes through as a fine co-protagonist, and Mario Kuroba’s Kagehara plays off them well in a key supporting role.

GHOST KILLER, in Japanese with English subtitles, is available on digital formats from Well Go USA starting on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

“The Traveller” Season 2 – TV Series Review

*A scene from French TV series “The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”) Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice*

It’s been over two years since I praised Season One of this fine and unique French procedural “The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”), The protagonists were sequential disenchanted cops who went rogue – and native – to solve their choice of cold cases, often finding previously undetected links among multiple murders or abductions. Here’s the link to my coverage of Season One to prep for Season 2: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2023/03/the-traveller-review

Season Two consists of eight more 90-minute episodes along the same lines, but even better written than before. I thought the improvement must have been due to added writers, but Herve Korian is the only credited author for the whole series! Kudos to Herve for upping his game from what was already very good.

Bruno Debrandt returns as iconoclastic Kandinsky, still going case-by-case, living in the same old van accompanied by Emy, the same helpful former police dog. His involvements in each new town are met with varying degrees of resistance or appreciation by the local authorities.

As before, his unofficial investigations are unhampered by usual police procedural constraints, and supported by Elise (Maelle Mietton), the judge who provides intel and legitimizes his efforts when needed. They and Emy are the only regulars, since each episode is a new crime or set of crimes in a new locale. Many of these unmask serial killers who’ve been flying under the radar by spreading their crimes over time and multiple jurisdictions.

Each “whodunnit” episode unfolds in a linear presentation, except for episode two, which begins at the end, and is brought up to date in progressive clips over the preceding year to reach that point. In many of them, new crimes relate to previous ones – some decades before and across borders – that Kandinsky’s broader, detached perspective reveals.

Though he’s still living off the land, there are no more scenes of his bare butt while bathing in whatever lake or river abuts the spot where he’s camped for the night. That’s a plus or a loss, depending on your preferences. The series makes excellent use of rural and small-town exteriors, with lush greenery, picturesque vistas and picture-postcard old streets and buildings.

The course of the season reminded me of “The Fugitive” TV series, since Kandinsky has an easygoing, empathetic nature that allows him to make friends easily with witnesses and other locals. His need for odd jobs to cover his meager expenses also lets him be as helpful as Dr. Kimball was in his travels. The main differences are that Kandinsky is doing this by choice, and there’s no Lt. Gerard on his tail.

The last of these programs aired abroad in May, 2025, which means there might well be more to come. I certainly hope that will be the case, even if Herve just writes at the same laudable level, without any need for further improvements.

“The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”) Season 2, in French with English subtitles, debuts streaming on MHz Choice on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, with staggered releases of episodes through early August.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

“Chantal” Season 2 – TV Series Review

*A scene from the Belgian TV series “Chantal” Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice*

Season 2 of the charming Belgian crime dramedy “Chantal” picks up where the first season left off. The way lead detective Chantal (Maaike Cafmeyer) handled that concluding hostage situation landed her in hot water with the brass and – even worse – the rich asshole who runs the town as his own fiefdom, Schiettekatte (Wim Opbrouck), who is the driving force behind her suspension. That puts “The Sheriff” reluctantly in charge of the department, to absolutely no one else’s satisfaction – especially his. Here’s the review of Season One to bring you up to speed or refresh your memory. The season also starts with a brief recap of prior events: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2025/02/chantel-tv-series-review.

This round gives us six episodes, opening and closing with two-parters and a pair of stand-alones in between. Chantal’s look and life remain quite disheveled, as she has yet to be accepted by the feds and higher-ups who view her initiative and opinions skeptically, despite the success she continues to deliver. The sexism is rather amusing, albeit frustrating for her to slog through, making it all the more gratifying when she outshines them. The tone remains largely playful, apart from a couple of serious developments for balance.

This season brings more of the same type of lightly-presented crimes, ranging from missing cremation ashes to major theft to killings, with a very low cumulative body count. The season’s running subplot is that Schiettekatte has decided to challenge the feckless mayor in the next election, which would spell disaster for the department and community. He’s itching to get even with the cops for how he was treated in Season One. Compared to before, there’s more script time for a number of supporting characters and their story arcs, letting the cast of (mostly) oddballs and eccentrics develop more than in their debut season. Chantal’s daughter Emma (Anna-Marie Missoul) and bar owner Muze (Zouzou Ben Chikha) make particularly good use of their increased presence.

Season 3 has just aired abroad, so it’s quite likely to cross the pond to our streaming shores. I hope it won’t be as long a wait for its US release as this was. Too much fun to defer.

“Chantel” Season Two, mostly in Dutch with English subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, July 15, 2025, with two episodes debuting weekly through July 29, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

“Mafia” – TV Series Review

*A scene from the Swedish TV crime series “Mafia.” Courtesy of ViaPlay*

The crime drama “Mafia” (originally “Maffia”) from Sweden is a bit atypical in its focus. Covering a period from 1991-1999, it’s mainly about Yugoslavian gangs in Sweden smuggling tax-dodging cigarettes for unimaginable profits. The timing is key, since there were Serbian and Croatian factions in conflict over not only turf and profits, but the beginnings and continuation of the war between the two back home. Both involved sides relied heavily on their cut of the multi-millions of smuggling revenue to fund the fighting.

The main character is Croatian Jakov (Peshang Rad) who is the shrewdest member of either gang, trying to maximize profits while minimizing violence and risks. The other two leaders are his “brother from another mother” Goran (Nemanja Stojanovic) who is more impulsive, and Drago (Cedomir Djordjevic) who is a reckless bully. The other two have more physicality and charisma than Jakov (think of Tim Roth vs. Jeff Fahey and Vinnie Jones), making them the ones others will follow, and whom Jakov always has to wheedle into patiently pursuing a wiser course of action. He’s the only one who sees the big picture and understands how to fly under the radar and play the long game.

They butt heads with a larger gang headed by the utterly ruthless Serbian Zlatko (Miodrag Stojanovic, who looks like James Carville in a perpetually foul mood). The maneuvers and shifting alliances among them and others make for a lot of dramatic tension and periodic violence. Those relations are further complicated by the involvement of the cops, headed by Gunn (Katia Winter) whose cooperation with Jakov as the lesser evil of the lot is tenuous, at best. Is she using him to limit the smuggling and body count, or is he using her to unseat the others? Or both? Will she wind up appreciating his relatively low-key approach to the racket or jailing him?

The six 45-minute episodes each cover different years in the decade, as events in Sweden and back home unfold. There are a lot of moving pieces to follow and several compelling side relationships keeping the tenor more human and less geopolitical. I frequently complain that such seasons and miniseries from The Continent run 8-10 episodes when six would be sufficient. This one proves my point, as there’s little fat in the package that lesser producers might have milked for more running (and commercial-selling) time. Performances are excellent all around. The pace and scope of action are above average for such fare. I’m not exactly thrilled with aspects of how the season ends, but the product was engaging enough to make me hope for further developments in the lives of the surviving players.

“Mafia,” in Swedish and Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles, streams on ViaPlay starting June 19, 2025.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

“Fatal Crossing” – TV Series Review

If you’re in the mood for a dark, slow-moving Danish crime drama miniseries, “Fatal Crossing” (originally “Pigerne fra Englandsbåden”) might fill the bill. Nora (Marie Sando Jondal) is a Danish journalist working for a major London paper. The story opens with her being suspended for boinking the tycoon she was profiling, who wound up being arrested for fraud. Tail between her legs (figuratively, not literally) she shuffles back to her hometown in North Zealand and moves in with her dad to escape the flak in England. That attempted withdrawal is dinged when someone anonymously stuffs her mailbox with photos from the unsolved disappearance of two teen girls in 1984 from a ferry to England. It was a big deal at the time, and still casts a pall over the community. As she starts probing that case, another young girl goes missing. For eight hour-long episodes we follow her investigation as it takes many turns. Could there be a link between the old and the new? Have there been others in between perpetrated by the same undetected serial killer(s)?

Nora’s abilities are validated somewhat by her uncle, who owns the local paper that launched her award-winning career abroad. He gives her a desk and a short leash. She turns to an old friend, Andreas (Jesper Hagelskaer Paasch), who is now on the police force. She thinks there may have been a cover-up of the earlier events. Andreas is conflicted, because he sees some questionable aspects of that file, but his late, revered father was the lead cop on the case. Law enforcement vs. legacy?

I won’t elaborate on specific plot details. Nora’s efforts take her to England and back, unearth possible connections to a number of similar disappearances, and lead to multiple suspects. A couple of supporting characters chip in excellently creepy performances – notably Susan A. Olsen’s Jytte, Ian Burns’ Hix, and Karin Bang Heinemeier’s turn as the mother of the latest victim. The series is long on mood and dialog and short on action, as all sorts of psychological issues from previous traumas of multiple figures are hashed out. Dead, departed and distant parents seem unfortunately common for such a small town.

The slow emotional and investigative themes of the first six episodes pick up considerably in the last two, with more physical action and danger. Nora is not the most bond-able of protagonists. She makes some costly mistakes, and seems overly self-absorbed, with little regard for the effects of her moods and actions on those around her. And any mystery buff will second-guess about some questions she should have asked. Even so, Nora maintains enough appeal and reasons for the way she faces the world for us to hope she purges her devils and solves the crimes.

Side note: Kudos to the casting director who chose Bue Wandahl and Mogens Holm to play Nora’s father and uncle. Both handle their roles with suitable dignity and sensitivity, while bearing enough resemblance to actually look like brothers.

FATAL CROSSING, in Danish with English subtitles, debuts streaming on MHz Choice on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

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