TV Series: Narcos - Season 2 (2016 - Netflix)

                         WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!

All Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar wanted,  was to be able to spend some quiet time with his family, smoke his fine (I’m guessing) Colombian weed, and run his Cocaine business in peace.

And if he had to slaughter every living soul in his country to get these things, so be it. 

  Before I continue writing this piece, I think I should make clear that I enjoyed this show so much, that I didn’t want it to end. Because for me, ‘Narcos’ is finished. And here’s why: Although Netflix did a fantastic job with this series, I strongly believe that they messed it up totally with their plans. Because, when you have to deal with a real person and not a fictional character, there is not much you can do, since there is a historical background anyway. Everybody, even if he/she never heard of Pablo Escobar before, can make a research and learn almost everything about his life. So, when this series begun, everybody knew that is was going to end with Escobar’s death. But as it seems, there is a lot of money involved in this business…

  I finished Season 1, and I was literally counting the days for the 2^nd season to begin. But a few days before that, I learned that Netflix announced 2 more seasons for Narcos. That was it for me. It spoiled my whole appetite for the show, and that is maybe the reason I delayed to begin watching the 2^nd season so much.

  In the 1^st season we witness the rise of Pablo Escobar and we watched him “building” his empire from the late 70’s ‘till 1992. Knowing beforehand that Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, we knew that there wasn’t much time left for him anyway. So, when I heard that there will be 2 more seasons, I understood where the whole thing is going and kind of lost my interest. Anyway…

  Season 2 picks up in 1992, after Escobar’s prison escape and only covers the last year before his murder in 1993. Because the events are taking a very dramatic turn, this season is more focused on Escobar himself. So, we are watching him fall and slowly but steadily loosing his allies, his money and his men. Near the end, he is hiding, trying to escape his fate, having after him the whole Colombian Police Force, plus some of his Rival cartels that are trying to steal a piece of his former empire. He finally meets his end on a terrace, shot by man of the Colombian Police force.

  Wagner Moura, in the role of Escobar is fantastic, especially in this 2^nd season. I am really going to miss his performance to be honest. Congratulations Mr. Moura, you did a really great job!

  Concluding this, I just want to add that I definitely recommend Narcos, to those who are interested in TV series, and are not bothered by the extreme - in some occasions - violence. Personally, I enjoyed it a lot, but I am not going to continue watching it. For me Narcos is finished here.

  In the review I wrote about season 1, I gave a solid 9.0 out of 10. I am going to give exactly the same number in season 2 as well, so my overall rating is 9.0 out of 10.0 stars. 

                                 IMDB’s rating is 8.9 out of 10.0

If you are interested, you can read the - rather detailed – review I wrote for season 1 here:

http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2016/07/tv-series-narcos-1st-season.html 

If you click on the following YT link, you will be able to watch a trailer for season 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOKkS7mKfY 

I hope you’ll find this post kind of useful. Thank you for reading…

TV Series: Outlander (Starz) (Seasons 1 & 2)

                           WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD.

 Having nothing to watch while I was waiting for the 2^nd season of ‘Narcos’ to come out, I decided to give Outlander a try. I read a few things about the story, it seemed kind of interesting, and the fact that it had to do with Scotland and it was filmed in the highlands made me watch it. I am obviously not a Scot, but I have been to this wonderful country, and spend almost one week in the highlands, in several places actually. Despite it was August, everything was so green and beautiful that it took my breath (and mind) away. Well, up to a point I could bet that this series wasn’t filmed there! I don’t remember seeing so much grey and brown and faded yellow colours in the Highlands. (Later on the landscape becomes more “Scottish”). Maybe I’m wrong, so don’t take it into consideration.

Better take a look a closer look to the series itself:

  Outlander is based on a series of books, which I haven’t read, nor plan to do it. (Especially now). The main story is about Claire Randall, a young woman serving as a nurse in the 2^nd World War, who has somehow travelled back in time and found herself in 1743 in Scotland. So far so good… There, she tries to adapt herself, having at the back of her mind to find a way to return “back to the future” and to her husband Frank. But things become complicated when she is taken by a Scottish clan, and at the same time she is hunted down by Jack Randall an officer of the British army, who is actually her husband’s ancestor. In order to avoid her capture by the British army, she is “forced” to marry Jamie Frazer a handsome (of course) Scottish warrior and a Clan laird, and from that point and on her life takes a different turn.  

  This is the whole story more or less written in a serious manner.

[On a lighter and funnier approach, the whole story could summarize to something like that: The books are written by a woman, and as it seems, their main target is the female audience. That is something that is becoming clear from the start, and many times it looked like a teenage girl's wet dream. So far the series followed that tough, smart (but not so smart as it turns out) and constantly horny 20th century woman who accidentally travels back in time. She spends her time thinking mostly about two things: 1. How to travel back to her time and to her husband. 2. When to bang Gingerguy (who is obviously not her husband). The series asks us intriguing questions such as: - Will she sleep with Gingerguy? (Just kidding, of course she will) - When will she sleep with him? (After almost 6 weeks) - How awesome is Gingerguy actually? (Very awesome, obviously, what did you expect? He is the hero after all).]

  If I want to be honest with you and myself, I must say that I did enjoy some episodes, but there were some times that I was struggling to continue. Also, I can’t understand why they focused for almost 2 whole episodes on that homosexual prison rape. Yes, it was including some very intense scenes, (I fast forwarded most of them), but spending almost 2 hours on that subject was a little too much for me.

  Also, despite that I really enjoyed the last 2-3 episodes of the second season, I don’t think I will continue watching it.

  So, let’s sum up: Outlander’s first 2 seasons are including 29 episodes in total, with each episode being almost an hour long. (The only exception is the 29^th episode, which was almost 90 minutes long). As it seems, Outlander is more of a “female friendly” series, and you will understand that if you read the viewer’s reviews on the internet. The production and the filming are excellent, the scenery is gorgeous, but mostly because Scotland is gorgeous! So, I will give a 10 out of 10 for Scotland, but I don’t think I could give more that 6.5 - 7.0 for Outlander.

                          IMDB’s rating is 8.5 out of 10.00

By clicking on the following YT link you will be able to watch the trailer for Season 1.

TV Series: Stranger Things. Season 1 (2016 - Netflix)

ATTENTION TO ALL OF YOU WHO LIVED YOUR YOUTH IN YEARS 80’s: If you liked movies like Goonies, Poltergeist, The Evil Dead, The Thing, Alien(s), Star Wars, ET, Clouse Encounters of the Third Degree, Indiana Jones, It (by Stephen King), and all of you who grow up playing Dungeons & Dragons, you should definitely watch Stranger Things!

But watch it accordingly: At night, turn off your mobile, what’s-app, Facebook, Instagram, blah blah blah, watch as you should watch every movie; with immersion, transport yourself into the adventure, and I assure you, you will remember how it used to be, when going to the movies itself was already an adventure. You will be transported to the 80's and re-live the atmosphere of that decade, even for a while.    

   Stranger Things is a new mini TV Series by Netflix, consisting of 8 episodes. Each episode is almost an hour long, so have in mind that you’ll need almost 8 hours in order to finish it. Personally, I watched all 8 episodes in just 3 days!

   The story is set in Hawkins Indiana, in 1983, and it revolves around the disappearance of the young Will Byers. But as his family, his three close friends and the town Sheriff are looking to find him, they stumble across an unexplainable and a horrific chain of events. And when a mysterious girl named Helen enters the story, everything becomes more complicated and mysterious than before.

  Everything in this series has a wonderfully dark - 80's - feel, starting from the music and the neon letters of the opening titles… As for the songs they picked to play in the background, well… they are just fantastic!

  The kids in Stranger Things, who are actually the main characters, are just fantastic in every single role. Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin aka "Toothless" will most likely become everyone's instant favourite with his harmless look, his geeky personality and his constant swearing. But all the kids are very capable in their roles and bring their own dynamic to their fellowship.

  When I was watching it, it brought to my mind the TV series Wayward Pines, which I have seen a few years before, because there are some similarities to the story. But this one is far better in my opinion.

 If I had to rate Stranger things, I would give a number between 8.0 and 8.5 out of 10.0

                                IMDB’s rating is 9.1 out of 10.0

By clicking on the following YT link you will be able to watch a trailer in order to have a small idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWxyRG_tckY 

TV Series: NARCOS (1st Season)

   Are there any people around that the name Pablo Escobar doesn’t mean anything to them? The younger ones maybe… But for those who are over 35 years old, it is impossible not to know the name of one of the most notorious and legendary criminals of the 20^th century. Speaking for myself, I knew some things about Pablo Escobar and his “business”, but I never understood why especially this guy was so famous. Well, now I know! 

  For those that haven’t guessed it already, ‘Narcos’ is a documentary-like (on many occasions) series, about the rise and fall of the legendary Colombian “King of Cocaine” Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria. The 1^st season consists of 10 episodes (each episode varies from 45 – 55 minutes) and I watched them all in just 3 days! Yes, it is THAT good! 

  But let’s take it from the start:

Narcos is a very good show where bad men do bad things and good people get hurt. There have been plenty of movies or shows that cover this familiar ground, but Narcos in maybe one of the best ones. The first episode of the series opens with the quote: “Magical realism is defined as what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe. There is a reason magical realism was born in Colombia“, and they are right. I mean, many people, including myself, have heard the story of Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, the man that came from nothing, built an empire on drug money and was even featured in Forbes magazine, worth more money than General Motors.

  Narcos does a great job of introducing us to the figure of Pablo Escobar, the family man who was also a kingpin, the man with so much money he could buy anything and anyone. Not only do we get to know him as a character so driven by his ambition, we also get to know the events that led to the mass production and trafficking of cocaine, and most importantly; the meaning behind the politics at the time which are vital in order to fully understand Escobar’s story. Indeed, magical realism was born in Colombia; there is no other way to tell this story without having people wondering what’s real and what isn’t. Personally, after each episode, I found myself doing a research on the internet, because every time I was saying: “No, that is impossible! It probably never happened”. But guess what? EVERYTHING that is described in this show happened, and to be honest, many more actually happened, that are not included.

  In the role of Escobar we see the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, in the role of his life! Moura, moved to Escobar’s hometown of Medellin in order to understand the real-life man and the culture behind his character. Furthermore, he learned Spanish and gained about 10 kilos (maybe more) especially for the role. After all these, the only thing we can do is to congratulate him for his efforts and his fantastic performance. (He received a Golden Globe award for his acting in Narcos).  

 [At this point I should mention that I read many complaints from Spanish speaking viewers, that his accent is really bad and that influenced their opinion on the show. (I forgot to mention that in a big part of the show, the actors speak Spanish, which I think it was a brilliant idea. And since I don’t speak any Spanish, I had no problem with that).]

  Now, if you are planning to watch Narcos, have in mind that this is not a show to have on in the background while you pay your bills, or doing something else (particularly if you don’t speak Spanish). It requires your full attention, but it’s totally worth it! Narcos rewards its viewers with a fast pace and something new and surprising that is happening all the time. Most importantly, the events are so strange that unless you’re extremely familiar with Colombian news from the late ’80s and early ’90s, you’re not going to be able to guess what’s coming next.

  I could go on and write more details on the subject, but I will not do so. You’ll have to see it and form your own opinion.

Just have in mind that Narcos is a very violent series, therefore it should be not watched by kids or people who are not fond of violent scenes.

By clicking on the YT link below, you will be able to see a trailer and have an idea. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7elNhHwgBU

           As for my rating, I will give a solid 9.0 out of 10.0