Category Archives: Revenge

2009, Car Chase, Conspiracy, Dark, Detective, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Grim, Nudity, Rape, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Tech expert Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) becomes the prime suspect when two journalists, including Dag Svensson (Hans Christian Thulin), die after Millennium magazine publisher Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) launches an exposé of the Swedish sex trade. In Part 2 of the trilogy based on the action novels of Stieg Larsson, the vampiric Salander vanishes as Blomkvist digs deep into a possible conspiracy.

Here we discuss the Swedish version.

You should first (read and) see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009) which is the first book of the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Actors from the first film continue into the second film which follows faithfully the book such that its ending will flow into the third book.

Fortunately the DVD from Netflix allowed me to have both English dubbing as well as SDH subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. The dubbing does not match exactly the subtitles, but that does not matter. Moreover, the dubbing is spoken with very clear diction. If your hearing ever suffers you may discover that American actors often mumble because diction lessons are not part of the American acting tradition.

This time around I appreciated the actor Michael Nyqvist better and found that he fit the part. He is somewhat inert, but perhaps that is the intent. In general it is revealing to first read the novel and then compare your mental pictures of the characters with the actors chosen.

There is an explicit Lesbian sex scene. There is a rape scene.

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Gangs, Grim, Latino Culture, Rape, Revenge, Spanish, Violent

Sin Nombre (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Fleeing retaliation from the violent Central American street gang he has deserted, young hood Casper (Édgar Flores) boards a northbound train, where he takes refuge on top of the moving freight cars and hopes for a fresh start in a new country. Dodging authorities and other dangers, he finds a new friend in Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a Honduran girl also making a run for the American border. Cary Fukunaga directs this foreign-language thriller.

In Spanish with subtitles, this grim tale of the desperate desire to escape a hopeless life in the poor, gang-ruled parts of Mexico makes for some difficult watching. You can read about the plot in the
Wikipedia article. I had hoped that article would confirm that the film is an accurate portrayal of life in parts of Mexico. Unfortunately the only quote of note from this article was the following:

The film was shot in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Several of the extras used in the film were actual migrants. Fukunaga said of working with them, “I didn’t have to tell them anything – they know how to sit on top of a train.”

Someone once defined “morality” for me as “that which you must do to receive the approbation of those around you”. Keep this in mind while you watch the behavior of the gang members.

2009, Child Molestation, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Detective, Explicit sex, Nudity, Occasional gore, Rape, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Swedish, Violent

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and rebellious computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) team up to investigate the unsolved disappearance of wealthy Henrik Vanger’s (Sven-Bertil Taube) teen niece (Ewa Fröling), only to uncover dark secrets about Vanger’s powerful family. Niels Arden Oplev directs this Swedish thriller based on the first novel from Stieg Larsson’s best-selling trilogy.

Note: This 2009 version is the Swedish version.

Currently (2010) Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy is very popular. After having read the first of the trilogy, namely The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2005), I preferred the book to the film. Although there were many moments of good acting, in general there was also an awful lot of thoughtful staring (which in today’s films seems often like a substitute for more active acting). To control length the film omits many details from the novel. While not necessary, these details connect the books of the trilogy to one another.

Lisbeth Salander is striking. What was a surprise for me that the actor playing Mikael Blomkvist is a somewhat paunchy, not at all handsome, and often hesitant man. To his credit he shows fear when he should. To say it another way, he is NOT a macho character.

Needless to say, the film does preserve in explicit detail the famous scene in which Lisbeth’s lawyer guardian rapes her, together with her ingenious revenge.

2005, Drama, Explicit sex, Historical Fiction, Made For TV, Military, Nudity, Revenge, Violent, War

Rome HBO BBC (2005)

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From NetFlix:

Follow the saga of two ordinary Roman soldiers — Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo (Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson) — and their families amid the rise and fall of the Roman republic and the creation of an empire. The fates of Pullo and Vorenus become entwined with those of Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and the young Octavian, a strange and awkward child who, by political guile and force, is destined to become the first emperor of Rome

There is a pay-TV series “Spartacus: Sand and Blood” which is mostly sex and violence pornography. However, the HBO and BBC production of “Rome”, in addition to sex and violence pornography, offers an engrossing history lesson. You will find in the Wikipedia article a good summary (at the very end of the article) of the historical inaccuracies and omissions in the series. It did not take long before I was hooked. The writing is good and the “conceit” that we can view a sweep of history through the eyes of Pullo and Vorenus actually works.

2008, Bullying, Crime, Drama, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Director Neil LaBute’s taut thriller follows the Mattsons — Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) — as they settle into their Los Angeles dream house, only to be hassled by their off-kilter neighbor, police officer Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). It seems Turner disapproves of the couple’s interracial marriage and is determined to drive them away, but as the harassment turns violent, the newlyweds are forced fight back.

Talk about a difficult neighbor! Because the sequence of events is so realistic and possible, the constant sense of “what bad thing is about to happen” is especially palpable. While hoping that the next door policeman will see the error of his ways, I was glued to my seat. Have fun!

Autobiographical, Book Review, Bullying, Clever Use Of Words, Revenge, Sexual Episodes, Violent, Vulgar

Black Swan Green (2006)

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We already reviewed David Mitchell’s first novel Ghostwritten (1999) in which we list his novels in order of date written.

After reading “Black Swan Green” I should probably re-read “Catcher in the Rye”. In Mitchell’s version, Jason Taylor is a 13 year old student living in Worcestershire, England. For a well-written review see the Wikipedia review. If there is a theme that stands out, it is Jason’s struggle to fit in with the crowd, made very difficult by the fact that he stutters and that he is bullied mercilessly. It doesn’t help that his parents don’t get along.

2005, Book Review, Child Molestation, Complicated, Dark, Detective, Explicit sex, Kidnapping, Occasional gore, Plot Twist, Rape, Revenge, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2005)

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From the book jacket:

Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Stieg Larsson has written a trilogy entitled “Millennium” whose three books in order are:

  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • The Girl Who Played With Fire
  • The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest

My Vintage Books paperback edition is 644 pages long. Because the book is such a page-turner I devoured the book in a weekend. I was intent on reading the book before I watched the Danish film version.

Much of the narrative alternates often between the activities of Blomkvist and Salander, somewhat like ships in the night. Eventually they work closely together. Take “closely” to have two meanings because Blomkvist in the course of the novel sleeps with three different women.

Expect some graphic rape scenes, sadistic serial killings, and really nasty members of the Vanger clan. Also expect to have a lot of fun.

Initially I tried to maintain a written list of the many characters. Finally the novel itself provides a table of Vanger family members to which I often referred.

2007, Complicated, Detective, Mediocre, Occasional gore, Revenge, Serial Killer, Suspense, Violent

88 Minutes (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) — a college professor and occasional forensic psychologist for the FBI — finds himself in a race against time when he receives a mysterious phone call telling him he has exactly 88 minutes left to live. Can he track down his would-be killer before the clock runs out? Amy Brenneman, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Unger and William Forsythe co-star in this real-time thriller from director Jon Avnet.

As usual Al Pacino plays Al Pacino in this somewhat mediocre serial-killer drama. There are probably too many complicated details. A better plot would have made Al Pacino look guilty and would have made it more difficult for him to convince others of his innocence. He was too all-knowing and always knew what to look for next. I have seen much better “Law and Order” episodes.

2009, Crime, Detective, Drugs, Explicit sex, Gangs, Nudity, Police Story, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Violent

Brooklyn’s Finest (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Antoine Fuqua directs this tense drama about three wildly different New York cops whose paths collide in a Brooklyn housing project, where each must make a decision that will change the course of their lives forever. Cynical, washed-up Eddie (Richard Gere) no longer cares about the job or the rules; cash-strapped Sal (Ethan Hawke) sees a shortcut to solvency; and Tango (Don Cheadle) is torn between conflicting loyalties. Ellen Barkin co-stars.

Grim is the word that comes to mind, in addition to violent, bloody, despairing, cynical, etc. The scenes switch rapidly and constantly among the three separate stories. Only one officer reaches anything resembling positive closure and I’m not telling. Instead of watching this film, why not go and hug someone you love ?

2001, Corny, Melodrama, Military, Prison, Redemption, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

The Last Castle (2001)

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From NetFlix:

When General Irwin (Robert Redford) — a POW in Vietnam and a revered hero in the Persian Gulf and Bosnian campaigns — is court-martialed for disobeying orders, he’s sentenced to serve time at a maximum-security military prison run by a hard-nosed disciplinarian (James Gandolfini). But a battle of wills emerges between the two men as the prisoners and guards of “The Castle” find themselves drawn to Irwin’s natural leadership abilities

Because I was looking for films with Mark Ruffalo, I stumbled upon this forgettable production. Assumedly you know what “corny” means: mawkishly sentimental, sermons that tell you what you should be feeling, clichéd emotional tugs at the heart, etc. Or am I being cynical about this film which seems to be an effusive memorial service for Robert Redford. (Do you suppose he really doesn’t get it ?)

OK, forget the above snobbish attitude. To tell the truth, once I started watching I could not stop. James Gandolfini is the most wonderfully smarmy and sadistic prison commander you could imagine (but very different from the prison commander in the unforgettable “Shawshank Redemption”).

Granted that the final action scenes would be completely impossible, so outrageous that this movie deserves to be a cult film. Nevertheless it was a real blast seeing how General Redford’s ragtag army defeats all Gandolfini’s offensive moves.

Does Mark Ruffalo experience personal conversion ? Is the dastardly Gandolfini exposed ? Does General Redford go on to greater glory? Does that really mean and nasty tower guard get his comeuppance ? Stay tuned for more thrills and chills!