Category Archives: Orphans in Foster Care

2021, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Child abuse, Danish, Danish Detectives, Danish Police, Danish Politics, Danish TV series, Disturbing Image, Emotional child abuse, Failed Mother, Foster Care, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Occasional gore, Orphans in Foster Care, Police Culture, Political Campaigning, Politicians, Psychopath, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller, Torture, Violent

The Chestnut Man (2021)

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From IMDB:

A young woman is found brutally murdered in a playground and one of her hands is missing. Above her hangs a small man made of chestnuts.

From Netflix:

At a grisly murder scene sits a figurine made of chestnuts. From  this creepy clue, two detectives hunt a killer linked to a politician’s missing child.

From Netflix you can stream the 6 episodes of this Danish serial killer series. Each episode runs a bit less than one hour.

“Seen one, seen them all” is almost a truism about serial killer series. Each such story involves detectives and victim families, many of whom have their own problems. But it is these individual personal touches that distinguish one series from another.  For that reason “The Chestnut Man” is not boring and not a waste of time. Nor is the production anything special.

2017, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Boating, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Child custody, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Cynical, Dark, Drug Dealers, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, FBI, Financial malfeasance, Gambling, Gay theme, Grim, Large-scale gang activity, Lawyers, Mafia, Money Laundering, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Orphans in Foster Care, Police Corruption, Prison, Revenge, Suspense, Teenagers, Torture, Uncle-Nephew relations, Uncle-Niece relations, Violent, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

Ozark (2017)

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From IMDB:

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.

From Netflix you can stream two seasons. Each season consists of 10 one-hour episodes. You need to watch both seasons to come to a conclusion of sorts. Conceivably  there could be another season.

Before saying anything more let me warn you that this series is very VIOLENT!

In several places I have read that Donald Trump debases everything and everybody he touches. For a step-by-step detailed textbook showing how evil spreads to engulf even the originally most innocent souls, this series will more than suffice. The process of moral debasement portrays at the same time the “Wages of Sin.” Many involved characters receive harsh retribution, most especially the loss of life, love and respect.

Those of you with strong stomachs may well find these episodes captivating for their attention to detail in the plot, excellent dialog, and superb acting. No wonder the series received 9 Emmy award nominations!  Personally I was as hooked as I was horrified.  Seems I have become very jaded.

Hats off to some remarkable performances:

  •  “Arrested Development” was my first encounter with Jason Bateman who plays Marty Byrde. In both cases Bateman exudes a somewhat-repressed, matter-of-fact, nerdish comportment. Nothing seems to rattle him.  At each shock, after a thoughtful and facially inexpressive pause, during which you can almost hear his brain cells clicking, he manages to smooth talk his way through the crisis. You must wait for almost 20 episodes before you can see his despair.
  •  Laura Linney, who plays Marty’s wife Wendy Byrde constantly flashes the always beautiful smile that launches a thousand crimes.  After a while I finally realized that for the most part Wendy is one of the most evil characters.  Here I am reminded of Hannah Arendt’s phrase “the Banality of Evil”.  One rationalization leads to another.
  •  Julia Garner, who plays Ruth Langmore, turns in a bravo performance as a “white trash” daughter of a convicted criminal. Ruth’s character, while never innocent,  grows to recognize the lowness of her given state in life and does mature to rise above and take responsibility.  Her improvement owes much to the fact that she was born with a very intelligent mind.

Assuming you can get through the first stomach-churners, you may well become as addicted as was I.

2012, Abandoned child, Bloody scenes, British, Child abduction and murder, Child abuse, Complicated, Creepy, Emotional child abuse, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Ghost story, Grim, Horror, Merely acceptable, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Orphans in Foster Care, Physical child abuse, Psychic Phenomena, Psychopath, Romance, Sadism, Suspense, Unmarried mother, Violent

The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012)

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From IMDB:

A year after their son goes missing, a family moves to Crickley Hall. When supernatural events begin to take place, Eve feels the house is somehow connected to her lost son.

From Netflix you can stream this 1.5 hour complete film.

Horror films can sometimes be silly or exaggerated. At best there is always some “manifestation” that is a bit over the top. However, this particular horror film successfully glues the paranormal to the gradual uncovering of the abuses of a madman.

And guess who plays the madman! Immediately I recognized the face but it took a while to register that the sadist Augustus Cribben is played by no other than the actor that plays DI Jimmy Perez in “Shetland”, namely Douglas Henshall. Possibly I took so long to make the connection because the two characters are complete opposites.

Eve Cleigh, the mother, is played by Suranne Jones (detective Rachel Bailey of “Scott and Bailey”).  Gabe Caleigh, the father, is played by Tom Ellis (who unfortunately plays the devil in “Lucifer”).

Because the scenes constantly shift between present and past, you have to equate the young character with the older counterpart. Moreover there are many characters.  So pay close attention to the good guys and the bad guys.

Give this film a “merely acceptable.”

2007, Abandoned child, Acorn TV, British, Brother-Sister relations, Child custody, Could Be Sad, Drama, Family Conflict, Orphans in Foster Care, Police Story

Five Days: The Train (2007)

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From Acorn TV:

Five days can change a life forever in this acclaimed BBC serial. Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey) and BAFTA nominee David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) are police officers investigating an apparent suicide that may be connected to a baby found in a hospital lavatory. Also starring Matthew McNulty (The Terror) and Bernard Hill (The Lord of the Rings films), this is “drama at its best” (TV Times, UK).

From Acorn TV you can stream the five episodes of Series 1. Each episode lasts about an hour.

Out of 120 days, this series selects 5 notable days in the continuing story of a train bridge suicide, finding an abandoned baby’s father, the emotional strain on the baby’s immediate caretaker who wishes to adopt the baby, and a young Muslim possibly connected to terrorism.  In such circumstances not everyone can have their wishes fulfilled.

Worthwhile break from violent TV series.

2017, Acceptable for teenagers, Acorn TV, Addiction, Child custody, Drugs, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Irish, Lawyers, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Orphans in Foster Care, Personal Betrayal, Sex Scenes

Striking Out (2017)

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From Acorn TV:

Tara Rafferty (Amy Huberman, The Clinic) is living the good life: she’s a successful Dublin lawyer engaged to a fellow solicitor. But Tara’s life is turned upside down after she discovers her betrothed in bed with a colleague. Abandoning her wedding plans (and her job), Tara strikes out on her own, starting an unconventional private practice. Hailed as “a roaring success” (Irish Independent), this legal drama charmed audiences across the pond, quickly becoming Ireland’s #1 new drama. Neil Morrissey (Line of Duty, Grantchester, The Night Manager) and Rory Keenan (War & Peace, Peaky Blinders) co-star.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 4 episodes of Season One. Season Two is now in production over the summer of 2017.

Kathy and I could not wait to see each new episode. Along side of the continuing saga of her fiancée  Erik’s betrayal (and the accompanying pressures of both their socially ambitious families), each episode presents a different law Client for Tara. There is absolutely no violence.  Tara gathers around her a really quirky and nice set of characters.

Expect a cliff-hanger ending of episode 4, which clearly means to suggest an oncoming new season.

If you are a “Doc Martin” kind of person, you will enjoy “Striking Out”.

 

2012, Abuse of Women, Anti-Semitism, Bloody scenes, British, Child abuse, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Crude Talk, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drag Queen, Drama, Explicit sexual discussion, Gambling, Gangs, Greed, Grim, Grisly, London History, Mayhem, Mild Torture, Murder, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Newpaper work, Nudity, Orphans in Foster Care, Outrageous Behavior, Physical child abuse, Police Politics, Prison, Prostitutes, Revenge, Sadism, Suspense, Theft, Torture, Violent, Vulgar

Ripper Street (2012)

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From IMDB:

The streets of Whitechapel are the haunt of Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team of officers, who aim to maintain law and order in a place once terrorized by Jack the Ripper.

A new drama set in the East End of London in 1889 during the aftermath of Jack The Ripper murders. The infamous H Division – the police precinct charged with keeping order in the district of Whitechapel- is in a chaotic state trying to keep order after a tumultuous time for London and reported infamously worldwide.

From Netflix you can stream 4 seasons consisting of 37 episodes  as follow:

  • Season 1 – 8 episodes
  • Season 2 – 8 episodes
  • Season 3 – 8 episodes
  • Season 4 – 7 episodes
  • Season 5 – 6 episodes       As of April 21,2017 not yet released

WARNING: Season 4 ends with a real cliff-hanger that needs Season 5 to resolve the issues. But at this point you cannot stream Season 5.

Matthew MacFadyen superbly plays Detective Inspector Edmund Reid.  Jerome Flynn (who was Bronn in “Game of Thrones”) plays Det. Sgt. Bennet Drake. Adam Rothenberg (who played Danny in “The Divide”) plays Dr. Homer Jackson.

Strong stomachs and tolerance for blatant vulgarity are required for watching this series. Otherwise these intense episodes are captivating. Trying to be authentic for 1889, the speech is formal, possibly pedantic, even when describing sexual activity.  Here we have an escape from the usual formulaic police procedurals. Do not be misled by the very first episode which deals with a murder that tries to mimic the work of Jack the Ripper because subject matter for the episodes is incredibly varied (thievery, pestilence, and other delights).

London in that period was a horrible, dirty, smelly, hellhole in which the place of women was especially dire. In the eighteenth century, one in every five women were sex workers. If a woman was not wealthy or married, she very often ended up in the streets.  In this series the plight of women is often the motivating theme.

Workers had no rights, no workplace safety precautions.  Future readers of this review should be reminded that under our current President Trump, the Republican party places itself in opposition to such protective organizations as the EPA.  One episode features (and shocks with a view of a match girl [woman who worked in a match factory] inflicted with) phossy jaw. You may never forget the sight.

One episode features as a character the famous Elephant Man whose real name was Joseph Merrick.  Merrick the actor is made to look exactly like the photograph in the mentioned Wikipedia article. You may never forget the sight.

One episode centers about the laws against sodomy which enabled blackmailers and often destroyed lives.

One episode makes vividly alarming the horrors created by the law making abortion illegal. Note that even now in the USA the Republicans would return to that terrible past.

London was an ugly, ugly place. Brace yourself!

After viewing more and more episodes I have upgraded to DO NOT MISS!

 

2016, Abduction, Anti-Arab, Arab Culture, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Child Molestation, Could Be Hard To Watch, Danish, Danish Detectives, Dark, Disturbing Image, Explicit sex, Grim, Netflix Streaming, Orphans in Foster Care, Philosophic Discussions, Police Politics, Religious Theme, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Sociopath, Suspense, Uncategorized, Violent

Department Q (2016)

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From Denmark comes this TV detective series in which each episode lasts most of 2 hours. In other words, each episode is a feature-length film. From Netflix you can stream each episode.  Each episode has its own title. You should watch them in order. One of the reviewers called the series a “top box-office film in Denmark.”   Spoken Danish with English subtitles.

From Decider we learn that there are six books in the series, but that only three have been made into films.

WARNING: Generally speaking, these episodes are grim, violent, and peopled with vindictive, cruel, sadistic, psychopathic villains.  Strong stomachs are advised.

Episode 1: The Keeper of Lost Causes

From Decider:

Precisely. Nikolaj Lie Kaas stars as Carl Morck, a brilliant homicide detective who gets demoted to Department Q. His partner in solving crime? Another detective named Assad (played by actor Fares Fares). Together they delve into the crimes no one wants solved.

Episode 1 introduces us to the two detectives mentioned above. In episode 2 a third member is added to Department Q, which we would call the “Collection of Unsolved Crimes or Cold Cases”.

In this episode a young woman politician in on a ferry with her emotionally disturbed brother when she is abducted and held captive in a barometric chamber. You were warned it could get ugly!

Episode 2: The Absent One

In this episode the detectives uncover a series of brutal crimes planned and perpetrated by students at a posh private high school that caters to the ruling class. Their outrageous behavior continues throughout their wealthy lives as they are protected by a former classmate who is now an extremely powerful lawyer. More Ugly!

Episode 3: A Conspiracy of Faith

Yet another psychopath, this time kidnapping children of fundamentalist Christians and using a type of religious blackmail against the parents.  As we often seen in such films, the sociopath does his damage calmly and with a bland or smiling countenance. But still ugly!

One characteristic of all three stories is the suspenseful and action filled final scene in which our heroes confront the villain. You might even hold your breath in all the (did I mention “ugly”?) excitement. Take a tranquilizer and enjoy.

 

 

2016, Abduction, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), Ambiguous Conclusion, Bullying, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Kidnapping, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Orphans in Foster Care, Philosophic Discussions, Plot Twist, Possible a put-on, Psychic Phenomena, Religious Theme, School Shooting, School Teacher, Sci-Fi, Sex Scenes, Sociopath, Sometimes seems silly, Strange Ending, Supernatural, Suspense, Teenagers, Unusual

The OA (2016)

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From IMDB:

Having gone missing seven years ago, the previously blind Prairie returns home, now in her 20s with her sight restored. While many believe she is a miracle, others worry that she could be dangerous.

Have you ever started on a box of chocolates and found you could not stop eating them? In other words you “binged”. Similarly once I started streaming this 8-episode series from Netflix, I was hooked. No sooner did one episode end, but I started the next episode. This went on for days until I had watched all eight episodes.

Characterizing this story is difficult. Partly it suggests science fiction although the style is closer to a fantasy which borders on the supernatural. Such flights of fancy are certainly not to everyone’s tastes. At times I asked myself why I was watching this goofy show. But the originality, the constant suspense, and the interplay of personalities was just too intense. In other words, the story for me was so compelling that after every “happening”  I had to see what came next.

Notable for me was how so many scenes seemed just plain ordinary if not dull or slow moving.  BUT — behind the seeming banality there was real tension because you just knew that something out of the ordinary was just about to happen.

Most of the actors portray high school students, which might also be another turnoff. But this is NOT a teen flic.  Admittedly there were some nakedness and sex scenes which suggests a bit of pandering to the audience.

Both the young, middle age, and older actors turn in excellent performances. You will recognize many faces from other shows. Prairie Johnson’s father is played by Scott Wilson who was  Hershel Green in “The Walking Dead”.

Jason Isaacs, who plays Hap, has a long resumé including the Inquisitor in “Star Wars Rebels”.  His portrayal of an obsessed scientist who can feel no empathy for his experiment subjects is chilling. Watch as his character morphs.

Brad Pitt was one of the producers.

However, you are warned that the ending is problematic. My first reaction was “What! Give me a break! This can’t be happening!” But stop and console yourself with the realization that Prairie was blind as a child, only to return after seven years absence able to see. That could not be faked! I would be eager to hear your opinions about the ending, including howls of outrage.

If anything, this sometimes wacky story is not boring.

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, Abduction, Acorn TV, Ambiguous Conclusion, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, Child custody, Confusing Plot, Could Be Sad, Detective, Divorce, Eccentric Detective, Emotional abuse, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Forensics, Gritty, Lawyers, Made For TV, Murder Investigation, Orphans in Foster Care, Revenge, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, TV Series, Violent

Vera (2011)

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From AcornTV:

Two-time Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn stars as DCI Vera Stanhope a solitary, obsessed, caustic, brilliant investigator, and a bit disheveled; think female Columbo.

From AcornTV you can stream 6 years of this British TV series which first started in 2011 and went on for 7 years through 2017. AcornTV does not offer 2017. Each year, or “set”, consists of 4 episodes. Surely 24 episodes will keep you busy for awhile (binge – anyone ?). Each episode is approximately 1.5 hours.

DCI Vera is as personally distant as her sidekick DS Joe Ashworth (played by David Leon) is personable. An important thread in the series is their relationship. For example, Vera’s refusal in one episode to even consider being the Godmother to Joe’s latest newborn child is really hurtful. But Joe seems to understand her aloofness and accepts it begrudgingly. In one episode Joe insists on taking Vera for a doctor’s visit because of her sudden stress-related faintness.

Just remember that British police procedurals are not for the faint of heart. Could that be why I enjoy them so much?

2012, Abduction, Bank Robbery, Car Chase, Child abuse, Clever Plot, Complicated, Conspiracy, Corruption, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dutch, Dutch politics, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Horses, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Orphans in Foster Care, Pedophilia, Police Corruption, Political Suspense, Revenge, Sociopath, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Violent, Well developed plot, Wonderful acting, WWII

Salamander (2012)

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From NetFlix:

As he investigates a bank robbery, a Brussels police inspector uncovers a complx conspiracy with the potential to bring down the nation.

On a par with Wallendar, House of Cards, etc. Tense, complicated but understandable, well-acted, you cannot go wrong watching this series as long as you can stand the suspense. We streamed all 12-episodes of this 1-season Dutch series from Netflix. There does not seem to be a DVD version.

Bank robbers steal the contents of exactly 66 safe deposit boxes from a prominent bank in Brussels. These 66 boxes contain the secrets of 66 well-placed individuals who achieved their status by being part of a powerful cartel called Salamander. In fact the bank robbers are masterminded by a rich former factory owner who is seeking vengeance on the members of Salamander because they were responsible for unjustly portraying his father as a World War II traitor. When an honest and determined policeman gets an inkling that something is amiss (the bank robbery was immediately hidden from the public), he doggedly continues to investigate despite dangers to himself, his family, and to lots of other people.

Read along with the English subtitles and have a wonderful, action-packed adventure. DO NOT MISS!