Category Archives: Suspense

2022, Abduction, Action Film, Action Hero, Action sequences, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chase film, Child Hostage, CIA, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corrupt Politicians, Cover-up, Cynical, Father-son relations, Fist Fight, Government cover-up, Government-hired assassin, Hostage Taking, Improbable details, International thriler, Invincible Hero, Martial Arts, Mayhem, Monstrous Father, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Narcissistic Personality, Netflix Streaming, Physical fighting, Political Conspiracy, Political Intrigue, Ruthless Killer, Sniper, Sociopath, Suspense, Torture, Uncle-Niece relations, Unscrupulous drive to power, Violent

The Gray Man (2022)

From IMDB:

Six, a highly-skilled assassin in the deep-cover Sierra program of the CIA, is the agency’s best merchant of death. However, a mission goes bad and now Six is on the run from the CIA with sociopathic former agent Lloyd Hansen hot on his trail. Aided by agent Dani Miranda and handler Donald Fitzroy, Six must be his most ruthless to avoid Hansen, who will stop at nothing to bring Six down.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 9 minute complete film.

Car chases, martial arts fights, guns, dead bodies everywhere, explosions, expensive destruction, official corruption. Could this perhaps be an action film? In fact that is pretty much all that this film is: one amazingly filmed, completely unbelievable, but really fun to watch action sequence after another. Do you suppose Ryan Gosling actually performed any of these stunts?

Four lead actors are:

  • Ryan Gosling plays Six.
  • Chris Evans plays Lloyd Hansen.
  • Ana de Armas plays Dani Miranda.
  • Billy Bob Thorton plays Donald Fitzroy.

Netflix supposedly spent $200 million producing this mass execution. You might as well watch the violent fun.

Abduction, Abortion, Abuse of Elders, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Amputation as revenge, British Legal Series, Career Competition, Contract Maiming, Contract Torture, Corrupt lawyers, Corrupt policemen, Could Be Hard To Watch, Courtroom scenes, Crime, Crime Family, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Flirting, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Gay Prostitution, Gay theme, Homophobia, Lawyer Politics, Lawyers, Male Prostitutes, Mentally impaired person, Murder, Occasionaly violent, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Rape, Sadism, Suspense, Theft, Torture

Silk (2011)

From BritBox:

Martha Costello is a brilliant barrister who is about to embark on the next step of her career and apply for ‘Silk’. 

From BritBox you can stream 3 seasons of this superb British legal series.  Each season consists of 6 episodes. Each episode lasts about one hour.

If you wish to subscribe to BritBox (entertainment from only members of the British Commonwealth) , then subscribe through Amazon Prime. In that way all the BritBox offerings will appear under the Amazon Prime collection. Accessing BritBox shows becomes that much easier.

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QUEEN’S COUNSEL (SILK)  (quoted from Wikipedia)

Queen’s Counsels are appointed by letters patent to be one of “Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law”. They are not a separate type of lawyer. They are more than long serving lawyers, because their status is given by the Crown and recognised by the courts.

Queen’s Counsel have the privilege of sitting within the Bar of court, and wear silk gowns of a special design (hence the informal title Silks). The special robes are the reason why becoming a QC is often called “taking silk”.

In order to “take silk” a lawyer usually has to serve as a barrister or a Scottish advocate for at least 10 years. Recently solicitors have also been appointed Queen’s Counsel.

A QC’s status means they generally charge higher fees than ordinary barristers, and always have another barrister as an assistant. This assistant is called a “junior” even if the junior has been a lawyer longer than the “silk”.

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In a certain sense the plot format resembles the American “Law and Order”.  Personal drama and office maneuvers lead to one or several trials. Although the trials do not span episodes,  the drama and intrigue is an ongoing soap opera.  No trial issue is trivial and often brutally engaging.  Be prepared for some difficult viewing.

After you have watched British TV drama for awhile,  you will see the same excellent actors over and over.  Since there are too many to mention, just a few are listed as follows:

  • Maxine Peake plays the series lead Martha Costello. Her courtroom skill is astonishing. Think of Martha as “the good guy” versus the “bad guys”.
  • Rupert Penry-Jones plays Martha’s rival Clive Reader, a handsome cad of a ladies man.  Recall him as DI Joseph Chandler in Whitechapel or Adam Carter in MI-5.
  • Neil Stuke is the ever conniving office boss Billy Lamb. Recall him as Chief Inspector Cooke in Silent Witness.
  • Alex Jennings plays Alan Cowdrey QC. Recall him as Andrew Aldridge in Four Weddings and a Funeral or as Dr. Tim Finch in Unforgotten.
  • Phil Davis plays Mick Joy. Recall him from just about everywhere, for example as DS Ray Miles also in Whitechapel.
  • Nina Sosanya plays Kate Brockman. Recall her as Kate in Last Tango in Halifax.
  • Indira Varma plays George Duggan. (Yes, the female character’s first name is George.) Recall her as Ellaria Sand in Game of Thrones.

Relentlessly engaging. DO NOT MISS!

 

2022, Abduction, Anxiety Attacks, Arson, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Boating, Cocaine, Contract Killing, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark family secrets, Detective, Dishonest father, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Dog episode, Drama, Drug Dealers, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Frame someone for a crime, Hopeless Love, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Motorcycles, Murder, Murder Investigation, Prison, Psychiatrists, Revenge, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish Crime Thriller, Violent

Gasmaman (2022)

From MHz Choice:

Alexandra Rapaport stars as a suburban mom pulled into the criminal underworld to pay off her murdered husband’s debts.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 8 episodes of Season 1. Each episode lasts about 44 minutes.

Sonja Ek and her husband Fredrik have three children Nina, Gustav and Linus.  Sonja’s brother is Niklas.  Fredrik, Niklas, and their associate Stein have stolen cocaine from a crime boss. Because Fredrik has hidden the cocaine and then been shot dead, the  other two cronies cannot return the cocaine to the crime boss. Sonja is now burdened with appeasing the crime boss. Sonja’s father is also corrupt, which only makes her life more difficult.

There is not a single relaxing moment in this tense Swedish crime drama.  Expect lots of violence. DO NOT MISS!

 

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.

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!

 

1998, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Art Auction, Art forgery, Art Marketing, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Complicated Scams, DO NOT MISS, Father-son relations, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Fraud, Greed, Happy ending, Love Story, Murder, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Ruthless Killer, Scam Artists, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Trains, Trial Scenes

Incognito (1998)

From IMDB:

Harry Donovan is an art forger who paints a fake Rembrandt picture for $500,000. Marieke, the woman he meets in Paris and gets into bed with, turns out to be the art expert whom Harry’s clients are using to check the counterfeit picture he painted.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 24 year old complete film that lasts 1 hour and 47 minutes.

About a year after he appeared in “Sleepers” the then 32-year -old Jason Patric starred as Harry Donovan in this cleverly plotted story of financial skullduggery.

If nothing else, just watching the painting details involved in forging a Rembrandt portrait are fascinating.

Moreover the romantic battle between the forger and the art expert Marieke Van Den Broeck (played by Irène Jacobs of “Au revoir, les enfants”), who seems to be the only art expert who knows a forgery when she sees one, is a lot of fun.

Plenty of action sequences only add to the enjoyment. DO NOT MISS.

2021, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime Brit Box, British Drama, British Mystery Series, Bullying, Controlling personality, Cult, Cult Brainwashing, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Emotional abuse, Ethical struggles, Gay theme, Homophobia, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Narcissistic Personality, Personality or religious cult, Psychological Tension, Reconciliation, Religious Cult, Suspense, Uncategorized

The Long Call (2021)

From IMDB:

Follows detective Matthew Venn as he returns to an evangelical community in which he grew up to attend his father’s funeral.

From Amazon BritBox:

Following the discovery of a dead body, DI Matthew Venn is led back into the community he left behind – and the deadly secrets that lurk there.

From Amazon BritBox you can stream the 4 episodes of this single season production. Each episode lasts exactly 46 minutes.

DI Matthew Venn’s investigation of the death of a Simon Walden leads him back to the religious cult in which he was raised, and to which he also returns for his father’s funeral.  Years before Matthew left the cult because he is gay and therefore was considered by the cult to be a sinner.  Matthew lives with his partner Jonathan Roberts who works hard to bring comfort and self-acceptance to Matthew who battles the guilt inculcated into him by the cult.  Eventually we learn how involved the cult is in the death of Simon Walden. Along the way Matthew tries to make peace with his mother Dorothy Venn.

Two notable actors are:

  • Martin Shaw plays Dennis Stephenson the leader of the cult. Martin Shaw may be familiar to you as Inspector George Gently. In this production he was 76 years old.
  • Juliet Stevenson plays Dorothy Venn, Matthew’s conflicted mother. Juliet Stevenson has a huge resumé.  My earliest recollection is her role as “The Politician’s Wife”.  In “The Long Call”  she is a aged, somewhat haggard woman. During production she was 65 years old.  In “The Politician’s Wife” she was a mere 26 years old. How time flies!

Well-done and worth a DO NOT MISS!

 

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Addiction, Adultery, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Arson, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drugs, Father-son relations, Forensic Anthropologist, Forensic pathologist, Forensics, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Mildly Violent, Murder, Murder Investigation, Scottish, Scottish Detectives, Sexual promiscuity, Suspense

Traces (2019)

From IMDB:

While attending an online forensic course, young lab assistant discovers that the fictitious case study has a link to her past. With the help of two female professors she works on bringing a killer to justice.

From Amazon BritBox:

Emma Hedges needs to find out what happened to her mum. In a world of danger and deceit, will Emma have the nerve to follow the evidence no matter where it takes her?

From Amazon BritBox you can stream two seasons of this mystery series set in Dundee, Scotland.  Each season consists of 6 episodes. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

SEASON  1:

Emma (played by Molly Windsor) enthusiastically begins her new job in a forensics lab where she discovers a link to the still unsolved murder of her mother twelve years ago.  Coincidentally her team must investigate a suspicious fire in which 3 people died.  During this investigation she meets the father and son team of building contractors involved in the construction of that building.  Her relations with each of these two men could not be more opposing: she falls in love with son Daniel MacAfee (played by Martin Compston) and is afraid of the father Phil MacAfee (played by Vincent Regan).  And then the plot thickens.

Vincent Regan may be the most familiar actor in this series. Usually he plays a nice guy such as Ray Conlon in “The Bay“.  In “Traces”, however, he is a very effective bad guy.

Worth calling this season a DO NOT MISS.

SEASON 2:

Although this season begins with the trial of Phil MacAfee for murdering Emma’s mother,  this season suddenly ignores that plot and launches into the search for a serial bomber.  At least three bombs go off before the forensic scientists uncover the bomber’s identity.  Along the way there are many personality clashes and other issues.  To repeat: season 2 seems strangely disjoint from season 1, is more into scientific details, and is not as exciting as season 1.  Not exactly a “do not miss”, but still worth the watch.

1997, Acceptable for teenagers, Acceptable Sci-Fi, Action sequences, Astronauts, Classic, Happy ending, Human spirit, Identity Theft, Impersonation, Love Story, Mistreatment of under class, Netflix Streaming, Remarkable Body Transformation, Suspense, Vintage Film

Gattaca (1997)

From IMDB:

A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.

From Netflix:

In a dystopian future where genetics determines your fate, a man born into limited prospects plots to escape his second class citizen status.

From Netflix you can stream this 25 year old classic film which lasts 1 hour and 46 minutes.

Again from IMDB:

In the not-too-distant future, a less-than-perfect man wants to travel to the stars. Society has categorized Vincent Freeman as less than suitable given his genetic make-up and he has become one of the underclass of humans that are only useful for menial jobs. To move ahead, he assumes the identity of Jerome Morrow, a perfect genetic specimen who is a paraplegic as a result of a car accident. With professional advice, Vincent learns to deceive DNA and urine sample testing. Just when he is finally scheduled for a space mission, his program director is killed and the police begin an investigation, jeopardizing his secret

Jude Law plays the paraplegic Valid Jerome. Ethan Hawke plays the ambitious In-Valid Vincent. UmaThurman plays Irene who cannot be Valid because she has a heart condition.  Irene and Vincent become lovers.

Most of the plot centers around the extreme means that Vincent must take to become Jerome, all done with Jerome’s unselfish help. For one example, Vincent must change the length of his legs (ouch!) in order to match Jerome’s height. All these maneuvers are necessary because there are watchful cameras and security entrances just about everywhere.

At the time this film was made, do you suppose the filmmakers could imagine how close the film details come to the 2022 social controls in, say, China or North Korea?

Good flick!

2021, Abduction, Action Film, Anxiety Attacks, Binge worthy, British Mystery Series, Car Chase, Cocaine, Conspiracy, Corrupt policemen, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cover-up, Crime Family, Crime thriller, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Gay theme, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Panic Attacks, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Plot Twist, Police Corruption, Rape, Romance, Ruthless Killer, Suspense, Thriller, Torture, Undercover police work, Violent

Before We Die: Season One (2021)

From PBS Masterpiece Streaming,

Determined to solve her lover’s murder, Detective Hannah Laing persuades one of his confidential contacts to help her. But when Hannah discovers the informant’s identity, she realizes there is far more at stake than bringing the killers to justice.

From PBS Masterpiece Streaming you can stream the 6 episodes of this tense British thriller. Each episode last about 45 minutes.

Lesley Sharp played DC Janet Scott for 33 episodes of “Scott and Bailey” from 2011 to 2016. In 2011 she was 51 year old  In the 10 year span from 2011 to the filming year 2021 she has aged  considerably and to her credit sits for many thoughtful and still screen shots despite the wrinkles.  Brits seem to value the acting skill above any appearance.

In this series Lesley plays  detective Helen Laing and the mother of Christian Radic (played by Patrick Gibson). Her sidekick in an off-the-books investigation of a unscrupulous and violent family of Croatian criminals is Billy Murdoch (played by Vincent Regan). Vincent played DCS Dave Murray in the same “Scott and Bailey) series.

From the very beginning Christian volunteers to be part of the murder investigation by inserting himself into the crime family. In doing so he invites great risk to himself and causes great anxiety for his detective mother.

Season one ends in such a way as to lead into season two. However season one is complete in itself with an almost satisfying ending.  But conspiratorial villains remain undetected.

WARNING:  In the beginning of the story there are scenes of torture (another family  specialty) that are hard to watch.  In the reminder of the episodes there is much tension but no torture.

Tension plus a really clever plot twist at the end make this series a

DO NOT MISS!