Category Archives: Everybody lies

2022, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Attempted Murder, Binge worthy, Blackmail, British Politics, Career Competition, CIA, Complicated, Corrupt Politicians, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Friendship, MI-6, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Plot twists, Political Intrigue, Revenge, Russian Spy, Suspense, Trust Nobody

Treason (2022)

From IMDB:

Adam Lawrence was trained and groomed by MI6; his career seems set. When the past catches up with him in the form of Kara, a Russian spy with whom he shares a complicated past, he is forced to question everything and everyone in his life.

From Netflix you can stream the 5 episodes of this British political intrigue series. Each episode lasts roughly 40 minutes.

Potentially complicated, this series is actually fairly easy to follow. As usual the theme is “you can’t trust anyone.”  Your task is to figure out who is the Russian spy in the British government.  Is Adam Lawrence the traitor?  Who killed the 5 men in Baku?

Be ready for unexpected twists and turns in this binge-worthy British thriller.

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chase film, CIA, Cold War, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Corrupt Politicians, Coup, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Fist Fight, GRU, Invincible Hero, Murder, Narcissistic Personality, Navy, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Political Conspiracy, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Suspense, Thriller, Traitors, Treason, Violent

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

In Season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Jack races against time and across Europe to stop a rogue faction within the Russian government from  restoring the Soviet Empire and starting World War III.

From Amazon Prime you can stream season 3 of the Jack Ryan series. Season 3 consists of 8 episodes. Each episode runs between 45 minutes and an hour.

Continuing in the view of the first two seasons, this series treats us to one action event after the other. Along the way the cast of characters and their loyalties keep changing in possibly confusing rapidity.  Flashbacks are vital in explaining the motives of the various actors in the plot.

Among the many good performance I would award a prize to James Cosmo for his portrayal of Luka Gocharov.

Expect 8 hours of constant excitement and possible confusion.

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Art Treasures, Bloody scenes, Boring occasionally, Complicated, Conspiracy, Disguises, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Fraud, Impersonation, Love Triangle, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Off-color moments, Personal Betrayal, Plagiarism, Plot Twist, Satisfying Ending, Suspense, Unbelievably smart detective, Uncategorized

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

From Netflix:

World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel
back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his
eclectic crew of friends.

From Netflix you can stream the second installment of the “Knives Out” series. “Glass Onion” runs for 2 hours and 19 minutes.

Should Daniel Craig have stuck to playing James Bond (despite the fact that Bond dies in the last of that series) ?  As the movie starts I thought “Oh, no! Has-beens on parade!”  After awhile the story picks up, so you have to persist. Even Edward Norton’s long-winded boring speeches make a bit of sense.

Be on the lookout for cameo appearances by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Grant.

After two hours the story literally comes to a smashing end. Give the production a B+.

2014, Action sequences, Argentinian Detectives, Bisexual theme, Bureaucracy, Cocaine, Corrupt policemen, Corrupt Politicians, Corruption, Cover-up, Detective, Drama, Drug Dealers, Erotic Tension, Everybody lies, Extramarital Affair, Father-son relations, Flirting, Frame someone for a crime, Gay theme, Horses, Insomnia, Kanopy streaming, Murder, Mystery Film, Personal Betrayal, Plot Twist, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Police Investigation, Psychological Drama, Sociopath, Spanish, Surprise Ending, Violent

Death in Buenos Aires (2014)

From Kanopy:

The biggest hit of the year in its native Argentina, DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES is a gripping police thriller about corruption, paranoia, and the secret gay lives of the wealthy elite of Buenos Aires during the politically tumultuous 1980s. At the scene of a murder of one of the city’s high society figures, veteran police inspector Chavez (Academy Award nominee (A Better Life, 2011) Demian Bichir, runs into Gomez (Chino Darin), a.k.a. “El Ganso” (The Goose), a handsome young rookie cop with dreams of advancement. When Chavez uncovers that the murder may be linked to a small-time hustler, and the gay nightclub La Manila, the detective sends the rookie undercover to pose as a gay newcomer on the prowl for an older benefactor. As they come close to luring out the killer, the erotic charge of their new surroundings triggers changes in both Chavez and Gomez. Director Natalia Meta’s deeply involving debut film delivers rich, multi-faceted characters that match the complexity of its riveting story.

From Kanopy you can stream this 1 hour 32 minute Spanish language thriller. Subtitles in English.

Murder, corruption, gay characters, sociopathic personality, personal betrayal, drug dealing, marital infidelity : you name it, it’s in the plot.  In addition the film is also a mystery which hopefully by the end you will solve.

Damián Bechir who plays the detective  Chavez also stars as the father in the Showtime series “Let The Right One In.”

Confusing, but certainly not dull with a surprise ending.

 

2021, Binge worthy, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Cocaine, DO NOT MISS, Everybody lies, Explicit sex, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Farm Life, Gay theme, Homophobia, Marital Infidelity, Melodrama, Milk Farming, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Rape Victim, Sex Scenes, Soap Opera, Suicide, Swiss German, Swiss Soap Opera

New Heights [Neumatt] (2021)

From IMDB:

Michi is a successful consultant in Zurich. But a phone call changes everything. His father took his own life. Together with his mother and two siblings, Michi must now decide between his own career or saving the family farm.

From Netflix you can stream the 8 episodes of season 1 of this award-winning Swiss soap opera centering around milk farming in Switzerland. Each episode lasts about 48 minutes. “Neumatt” is the Swiss title for this series which is notable for the fact that the original language is Swiss German.  Season 2 is supposed to be released in spring 2023.

According to Wikipedia :  “Netflix will offer the series in 30 languages and in 190 countries worldwide.” Now is your change to hear Swiss German. Choose from a slew of languages for subtitles.

“Neumatt” is the name of the family milk farm of the Wyss family.  Farming is an arduous, difficult life for which not everyone is suited.  In one of the companies for which I worked there was a fellow employee who grew up on a North Dakota farm. He loathed the life and fled. Similarly in the Wyss family the son Michi and daughter Sarah also fled to other careers while the mother Trudi, son Lorenz (LoLo), grandmother, and father remain on the struggling, almost bankrupt farm.  Is it any wonder the father commits suicide?

Julian Koechlin (Michi) and Marlise Fischer (Trudi) received the Prix Swissperform as “Best Leading Actor” as “Best Supporting Actress” in the first season of Neumatt as part of the 57th Solothurn Film Festival.

Make no mistake, this series is a SOAP OPERA.  But I could not stop watching, no matter how harrowing the lives of the characters became.  And if season two ever comes along, you can be sure I will be there rooting for Michi and Lorenzo.

If you are willing to endure a series that sometimes seems to go on forever, then

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Accidental Death, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Based on true facts, Basically Sad, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, British Drama, British History, British Police, British Politics, Detective, Drama, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Family Secrets, Father-son relations, Fight Scenes, Government cover-up, Historical Fiction, Manslaughter, Marital Infidelity, Miners, Miners versus Scabs, Murder, Occasionaly violent, Panic Attacks, Personal Betrayal, Police cover-up, Police Culture, Police Investigation, Redemption, Revenge, Sister-sister relations, Small British village, Suicide, Suspense, Undercover police spy, Undercover police work, Violent, Wonderful acting, Yorkshire Accents

Sherwood (2022)

From IMDB:

Two shocking and unexpected murders shatter an already fractured community leading to one of the largest manhunts in British history.

From Amazon Prime Brit Box you can stream the 6 episodes of this north England series. Each episode is just under an hour.

In 1984 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher crushed a coal miner’s strike, thereby earning her title of “Iron Lady.”  Hard feelings between the striking miner’s and those who continued to work, so-called “scabs”,  have persisted from then on.  Sherwood is a small town historically associated with Robin Hood.  Of all the town’s inhabitants only one family is a “scab” family.  Striker versus scab is the paramount theme of this series which continually bounces back and forth between 1984 and the present.

Past tragedies involved the  young policemen and miners who now are middle age going on retirement.  One challenge in watching this series is to match the young characters with their present-day versions.

There are three vital subplots:

  • Someone is murdering people with a crossbow. We soon learn who and the police hunt is intense.
  • Andy Fisher inadvertently kills his daughter-in-law and the hunt is on.
  • In 1984 there was an undercover police spy, dubbed the “spy cop”, who incorporated his-or-herself into the community.  Again there is this third hunt to find the “spy cop.”

If you watch much British drama you will recognize many familiar faces. As usual in British drama the acting is superb.  With such an engaging and suspenseful plot you cannot go wrong.

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Attempted Murder, Based on a Book, Contract Killing, Corrupt judge, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drones, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Extramarital Affair, Failed Marriage, False Imprisonment, Father-daughter relations, Fight Scenes, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Jealousy, Lawyers, Michael Connelly, Murder, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Narcissistic Personality, Netflix Streaming, Occasionaly violent, Plot twists, Police Corruption, Prison, Surfing, Suspense, Trial Scenes

The Lincoln Lawyer (2022)

From IMDB:

An iconoclastic idealist runs his law practice out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car in this series based on Michael Connelly’s bestselling novels.

From Netflix you can stream 10 episodes of this series. Each episode lasts between 46 and 55 minutes.

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, who plays the lawyer Mickey Haller, is Mexican. In an interview  he explained that he was very nervous acting this part because he had to work so hard to eliminate his Mexican accent. He played Gabriel Ortega in “Goliath” (which you should not miss).

Mickey Haller is an honest man who works hard to defend seemingly guilty clients.   He also comes off as a loving father trying to come back after some bad times in his life. Neve Campbell does a great job as a prosecution lawyer who is also Mickey’s former wife.

Trust no one (as in “everybody lies”) and expect some clever plot twists. DO NOT MISS!

 

2010, Acceptable Trash, Amazon Prime, B-movie, Car Chase, Chase film, Comedy, Contract Killing, Everybody lies, Exaggeration Comedy, Extreme Violence as Comedy, Father-daughter relations, Frenetic, Government-hired assassin, Happy ending, Martial Arts, Mayhem, Mother-daughter relations, Physical fighting, Ridiculous plot, Romantic comedy, Ruthless Killer, Surprise Ending, Violent

Killers (2010)

From Amazon Prime:

Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) is just your average, undercover, government-hired super-assassin. When he meets Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl), he finds true love… Enjoying a picture-perfect marriage, Spencer becomes the target of a multi-million dollar hit. Now Spencer and Jen are on the run for their lives.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 40 minute complete film.

Why brood over Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine when you could waste some quality time watching this B+ rom-com violent piece of cinematic fluff?

Did I mention that this film is violent from start to finish?  However, as bizarre as it sounds, the constant shooting, car chases, and martial arts fighting are not to be taken seriously and are really part of the fun.

Tom Selleck plays Tom Selleck, which actually works well in this plot.

Moreover, everyone except the scores of dead people live happily ever after.

2021, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Amnesia, Attempted Murder, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Bizarre Episodes, Bromance, Cancer theme, Complicated, Contract Killing, Contract Torture, Corrupt policemen, Dancing, Detective, Disturbing Image, Everybody lies, Flashbacks, Forensics, Friendship, Harlan Coben, Maudlin, Mediocre Acting, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Occasional gore, Occasionaly violent, Plot mismanagement, Psychopath, Reconciliation, Ruthless Killer, Serial Killer, Surprise Ending, Torture, Unexpected Ending

Stay Close (2021)

From Netflix:

As her wedding approaches, Megan Pierce is troubled by a visitor from her past. Det. Mike Broome finds a new disappearance reminiscent of a cold case.

From Netflix you can stream 8 episodes of this Harlan Coben mystery thriller. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.

Harlan Coben is a very successful writer whose stories are always clever and gripping.  Sadly this particular adaptation, while still worth a binge watch, has a few flaws. For example, at the end of episode 6 Megan and her daughter are trapped in a locked room in the police station while the assassins have gained entrance to the building and killed an officer. But at the start of episode 7 Megan and her daughter are somehow perfectly safe and being interviewed by police officers.  Such “miracle resolutions” seem to occur often in streaming thrillers, possibly because the writers could not find a way out of a messy situation.

Acting is not first-rate.  Scenes between detective Michael Broome and bar owner Lorraine are often mawkish.

Among the villains there is a man and woman couple who as hired assassins, while on route to torture and kill someone, suddenly break out into a Broadway dance routine. Talk about strangely inappropriate!  However, the couple portray perfect psychopaths.

But never mind these objections. For me and for other reviewers the final conclusion is a shocking revelation.  Give this show a B+ and enjoy the gore.