Filmburgers: Bullet Burgers: Netflix Canada, Part 1

Have Netflix and live in Canada? I'm sorry. Here are some shows you might enjoy. There are bullets.

LIFE

2 Seasons

Charlie (Lewis) serves 12 years for murder, gets all zen in prison, then is exonerated and joins a procedural cop show. It's a great premise, but the story ark moves way too slowly.
His partner Reese is one of the most interesting characters but since I haven't seen Shahi in anything else, it's hard to tell if she's going for enigmatic or is just plain wooden.
His boss (Logue), who enters later on in the season, is very likable but doesn't have much to do.
Cool gimmick: Bodies are almost always found in unusual places or positions, and not decomposed.
The writing is often sloppy. Adam Arkin is miscast as an idiot.
Tried it after Homeland gave me a man-crush on Damian Lewis. Blew my mind when I found out he was actually British.

LUTHER

2 Seasons

Idris Elba is one of the best actors in both movies and TV. As Stringer Bell I never guessed he was British.
Elba is channelling Bruce Willis as a middle-aged alcoholic cop and people around him die a lot.
Very gritty, well-written procedural cop show where things actually happen in the story ark.
Luther's Relationship with Alice (Ruth Wilson) is the most interesting plot point and something I haven't seen before, but then again I haven't seen everything.

KIDNAPPED

1 Season

Its ratings took a meteoric fall after the pilot, it was unceremoniously cancelled before the season even finished airing.
Very well written, directed and acted, and thus probably too smart for NBC.
Jeremy Sisto's Mr. Knapp is a total Bourne-ish badass, but his name is a bad gimmick that really stands out among all the smart things here. May have helped kill the show.
The Affleck Brothers' Gone Baby Gone was released the year after, and clearly took some notes from this.
Saw it in the bargain bin at a convenience store and bought it as a Christmas present. If you see it, do the same.

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