Category Archives: Nuclear weapons

Abduction, Acceptable Science, Acorn TV, Asperger's Syndrome, Australian, Australian Aborigine, Brother-Brother relations, Clever Plot, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Corruption, Drama, International thriler, Iran, Journalist, Kidnapping, Love Story, Medical Theme, Mental Illness, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Politicians, Spy Theme, Suspense, Terminal Disease, Thriller, Torture, TV news industry, Violent, Wonderful acting

The Code (2014)

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From IMDB:

Two Canberra based brothers become entangled in a cover up that involves a remote outback community and key members of the Australian Government.

Acorn TV offers this Season One 6-episode conspiracy thriller.

How am I ever going to find another governmental intrigue series as exciting, well-crafted, dramatic, and spellbinding as “The Code”?

Give a rousing cheer to the Australian actor Dan Spielman who plays Ned Banks  and to the California-born actor Ashley Zukerman who plays Ned’s brother Jesse. They are the center of attention around whom the plot revolves. Ned’s constant caring for his severely Asberger’s disabled but computer gifted bother Jesse supplies most of the drama.  In addition Adele Perovic’s role as Hani Parande, who brings love into Jesse’s life, is stunning. For me the only recognizable actor was the New Zealand icon Lucy Lawless who plays Alex Wisham.

Another twenty well-cast characters provide complexity and quite of bit of drama on their own.

Needless to say, there is an enormous amount of digital displays, computer shenanigans, and other hocus-pocus.  Just believe that the geeks know what they are doing.

Once again it was the evil in the “bad guys” that kept me on edge waiting to see if they received their just deserts.  Not all “good versus evil” plots end with justice prevailing. But then a little ambiguity spices any plot.

Recently I read a comparison of American versus British thriller series. One point made was that the Americans drag their stories on for too long. This Australian series backs up that idea. There was not a wasted piece of writing in all six episodes.

DO NOT MISS!!!!!!!

Based on a Book, International thriler, Military, Nuclear weapons, Suspense, Violent

The Sum of all Fears (2002)

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From NetFlix:

Why are three missing Russian nuclear scientists holed up in the Ukraine, communicating with neo-Nazis? CIA agent Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) digs up more information than the U.S. government is willing to accept. As bombs kill thousands in Chechnya and the U.S., Ryan races against time to prevent all-out nuclear war. Based on the novel by Tom Clancy, this high-intensity technothriller co-stars Morgan Freeman.

Apologies to Tom Clancy, but “ho hum, yawn yawn” – we have seen such a film many times before. Still, a plot to deceive the U.S. and Russia to engage each other in nuclear war has possibilities. What is amazing is that Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) walks on water: he speaks Russian and Ukrainian; he is a Soviet expert; he is personal friends with the current head of Russia; and to top it all he is young and handsome. Darn!

And what fun planting a nuclear bomb in a full football stadium! Seeing a photo enactment of a nuclear bomb explosion and the resulting shock wave is impressive. Needless to say our superhero survives what the shock wave does to the helicopter he is flying (Oh, did I forget to mention he knows how to fly a helicopter?)

Except for the exciting fact that the wonderful city of Baltimore is mentioned often, I will say no more. Either watch this film or take a healthy walk outside.