Category Archives: Ageing Couple

2002, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Ageing Couple, America of the 1930s, Bank Robbery, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Career Criminal, Catholic Church Corruption, Catholic culture, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime Family, DO NOT MISS, Dog episode, Drama, Ethical struggles, Father-son relations, Fatherless child, Gangs, Grim, Invincible villain, Irish Mob, Kanopy streaming, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Psychopath, Redemption, Revenge, Ruthless Killer, Suspense, Uncategorized, Wonderful acting

Road to Perdition (2022)

From IMDB:

A mob enforcer’s son in 1930s Illinois witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.

From Netflix (and Kanopy) you can stream this 1 hour 57 minute Irish mob classic film which  earned five Academy Awards  nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Paul Newman. Originally the story was a graphic novel.

Tom Hanks bemoans the seeming obscurity of the film. He is quoted as saying  “For one reason or another, no one references Road to Perdition, and that was an incredibly important movie for me to go through.”  In fact, it was just his comment that motivated me to watch the film.

Consider the outstanding actors involved:

  • Tom Hanks plays the enforcer and father Michael Sullivan. At the time of filming he was 46.
  • Tyler Hoechlin plays the endangered son Michael Sullivan Jr. At the time of filming he was 15.  Later he played superheroes.
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the mother Annie Sullivan.
  • Paul Newman plays the mob family head John Rooney. This was his  final live-action theatrical film acting role at which time he was 77. Newman died in 2008,
  • Daniel Craig plays the out-of-control son Connor Rooney. At the time of filming he was 34. Craig began filming at age 24.
  • Ciarán Hinds plays the witnessed murdered man Finn McGovern.
  • Stanley Tucci plays the Chicago mobster Frank Nitti.
  • Jude Law plays the psychopath Maguire who photographs his victims’ corpses. At time of filming he was 30. He began filming as a child actor of age 16.
  • Anthony LaPaglia was cast as Al Capone and filmed a single scene, which was omitted from the final cut  and can be found in the DVD’s deleted scenes.

Of course, it is a violent gangster film, but a tasteful one (if that is possible).  At the center of the film is the son Michael who is an essentially good kid that worships his father and whose salvation is at stake.

DO NOT MISS!

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Ageing Couple, Drama, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Fight Scenes, Inevitable Ending, Kanopy streaming, Love Story, Mother-son relations, Murder, Redemption, Suspense, Torture, Unhappy Ending, Violent

Deadfall (2012)

From Kanopy:

Two siblings (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist, only to reunite during another family’s Thanksgiving celebration in this thriller.

From Kanopy you can stream this 1 hour 34 minute complete film.

During this violent thriller there is never a dull moment.

  • Eric Bana, as the brother Addison, is a killer through and through who also happens to lust after his sister Liza.
  • Olivia Wilde is the sister Liza.
  • Charlie Hunnam, as Jay Mills, is the prodigal son of the Mills family. He leaves prison as the film starts
  • Sissy Spacek, as June Mills, is Jay’s mother.
  • Kris Kristofferson, as Chet Mills, is Jay’s father. Chet has more or less disowned Jay.

As Addison flees the law while killing one person after another, he arrives just in time for the Mills’ family Thanksgiving. So also do Liza and Jay arrive for the dinner. By this time they are in love due to Liza’s manipulations.

Expect and ending which is violent, exhausting, and not especially happy.  Worth watching!

2022, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Ageing Couple, Amazon Prime, Cult, Ending demands sequel, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Ethical struggles, Flashbacks, Mildly Violent, Murder, Mysterious, Plot Twist, Religious Cult, Religious fanatic, Ruthless Killer, Suspense, Teleportation, Unexpected Ending

Night Sky (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

Irene and Franklin York, a retired couple, have a secret: a Chamber buried in their backyard that miraculously leads to a strange, deserted planet. When an enigmatic young man arrives, the Yorks’ quiet existence is upended and the mysterious Chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could have ever imagined. Starring Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 8 episodes of season 1 of this Amazon Original series. Each episode lasts a bit less than one hour.

Never mind the escape portal to another planet. Do not think of this story as science fiction. That other planet is not important to the plot. Central to the plot are two themes: The enduring love between the elderly couple  Irene (Sissy Spacek) and Franklin York (JK Simmons); The efforts of a religious cult to discover all the portals and eliminate, i.e. kill,  all “apostates” from the cult.

Acting, especially the interaction between Irene and Franklin, is worth watching.

Among the actors we find:

  • Sissy Spacek was 73 years old during filming. Perhaps you recall her as the telekinetic prom queen in the horror film “Carrie”.
  • Although the name J.K. Simmons might not ring a bell, he played, among zillions of roles, the psychiatrist Dr. Emil Skoda in the original “Law and Order”. During filming he was a young 67 years old.
  • Adam Bartley plays the bearded troublesome neighbor Byron. Previously I have strongly recommended the long-running series “Longmire” in which Bartley plays the clean-shaven “The Ferg”. During filming he was a mere child of 43 years age.

Rest assured that the startling ending of episode 8 obviously demands another season. Season 1 certainly had me hooked.