Category Archives: Suspense

2010, Acceptable Trash, Action Film, British, Car Chase, Conspiracy, Crude Talk, Explicit sex, International thriler, Kidnapping, Marital Infidelity, Military, Mixed Martial Arts, Nudity, Revenge, Spy Theme, Suspense, Terrorist Attack, Thriller, Torture, TV Series, Violent

Strike Back (2010)

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From Netflix:

Two members of an elite, secret branch of MI6 — a British sergeant and former U.S. Delta Force operative — track an international terrorist around the globe to thwart his plans to use weapons of mass destruction for a deadly attack.

Let’s suppose you read detective novels. Isn’t one novel similar to the next in many ways? But still you read the novels because you enjoy them.

Let’s suppose you love basketball. Isn’t one game similar to the next is many ways” But still you watch basketball.

In like manner “Strike Back” is a clone of, for example, “MI-5“. But still I continue to get an adolescent kick out of watching the good guys shoot the bad guys. However, the distinction between good guys and bad guys is ever more blurred in TV series such as “Strike Back” and others. Indeed a recurring theme is that of morally ambivalent choices directors make to achieve the “greater good”. “Collateral damage” anyone?

On a personal level this series features a competitive bromance between Philip Winchester (Sgt. Michael Stonebridge) and Sullivan Stapleton (Sgt. Damien Scott).

As an added bonus you are guaranteed in each episode to see (a usually naked) Sullivan Stapleton having sex with some (almost certainly naked) attractive and amply endowed woman. We call this bonus feature “Great Expectations”.

OK kids, have fun watching all the violence. Who do you suppose pays for all those exploded automobiles?

2009, Barely Acceptable Trash, British, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Disturbing Image, Gangs, Horror, Not Recommended, Occasional gore, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Unusual

Heartless (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Reclusive Londoner Jamie Morgan, who bears a prominent, heart-shaped birthmark on his face yet can’t seem to find love anywhere, makes a deal with a devil-like figure to get a girl — but there’s a deadly price to pay

Never did I ever think I would watch a horror film. However, in a moment of weakness (while doing something else mundane) I allowed myself to stream from Netflix this heartless horror flick. My first inclination was to stop almost immediately until I saw that the famous British actress Ruth Sheen was Jamie’s mother. Also the part of the devil (?) was played by Joseph Mawle (Benjen Stark in “Game of Thrones“. Well, if those known actors can lower themselves to play in a horror flick, who am I to not watch and cringe along?

“Cringe” is possibly a fair choice of words because there is at least one nasty scene (i.e. ripping out someone’s heart – does that count as nasty?) for which you might brace yourself.

Oddly enough this sell-your-soul (better than working for Goldman Sachs?) plot features some good acting. Jim Sturgess (Adam in “Upside Down”) presents a very well played Jamie Morgan.

However, in the final analysis, there is a lot of silliness and gore. If you don’t have a lot of spare time on your hands (or don’t have a bank book to balance) be sure to skip this barely acceptable piece of trash.

Is this a guilty pleasure or what?

2012, Action Film, British, Car Chase, Chase film, Frenetic, Good digital effects, Mayhem, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Spy Theme, Suspense, Violent, Witty dialog

Skyfall (2012)

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From Netflix:

When a serious menace threatens MI6, James Bond is on the case — putting aside his own life and personal issues to hunt and obliterate the perpetrators. Meanwhile, secrets arise from M’s past that strain Bond’s loyalty to his longtime boss.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 23 minute action film.

If nothing else, don’t miss the opening chase scene, possibly the current champion in the race to create ever more frantic and probably impossible chases. Comparing this James Bond film with past efforts shows how far film-makers have progressed in their craft. Just how do you make a London subway train crash through its track floor?

Something new has been added: Both M and James are supposedly getting older which pretends to be the main theme in the film. Of course, James appears in some sex scenes. Perhaps it is just his face, which was made to look if not old then at least really haggard (whereas his body is in very good shape, something that make-up probably cannot hide). Indeed he can stay underwater for 15 minutes and tends to leap over tall buildings (reality is just not important). During the filming he was a young 44 years of age.

As M, Judy Dench fits the bill very well. And she at times in the film looks really old! But let’s give her a break because during the filming she was a young 78 years of age.

Creepy surprise: Javier Bardem knows how to make a really hammy villain. Should we ask how he managed to get a mouthful of decayed teeth? He is the kid on the block because during filming he was a mere 43 years old.

Never mind what the critics say, if you are a James Bond fan then this is just another in a long line of eye-candy adventures.

2013, Action Film, Conspiracy, FilmReview, Frenetic, Nothing special, Revenge, Suspense, Thriller, Violent, Witty dialog

White House Down (2013)

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From Netflix:

When a paramilitary group engineers a violent takeover of the White House, the president must try to hide from the attackers until he can be rescued. Caught up in the chaos, Secret Service agent John Cale ends up becoming his sole protection.

Just a short while ago we were treated to “Olympus Has Fallen“. Since then the theme hasn’t changed much. Just substitute Channing Tatum for Gerald Butler.

There is some humor injected into all the violence. Did you know that John Kennedy used the White House underground catacombs to sneak in Marilyn Monroe? History, after all, is important.

My inner adolescent had fun watching the same-old same-old. Do you think my inner adolescent will ever grow up?

2010, Based on a Book, Basically Sad, Dark, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, German, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Psychological Drama, Rape, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Suicide, Suspense, Wonderful acting, Wonderful photography

The Silence (2010)

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From Netflix:

When 13-year-old Sinikka goes missing from the same spot where another girl was murdered 23 years earlier, a retired investigator teams up with a younger colleague to unravel the parallel mysteries.

According to Wikipedia, this film is based on the German crime fiction novel The Silence (German: Das Schweigen) by Jan Costin Wagner. In fact the film is in German with subtitles.

Everything about this film is incredibly well done. Not only the story, but the photography, the pace, and above all else the acting.

Lifelong sadness over the loss of a loved-one is the pervasive theme of the film. From the very beginning we witness the initial rape and murder. (Later on we witness the second murder.) Rather than being a mystery story, the film centers on how the crimes effect each of the many characters: a retired detective whose marriage failed under the stress of his desperate efforts to solve the initial crime; a young brilliant detective trying to get over the recent death of his wife; the mother of the first victim; the parents of the second victim; the smug, officious, inept present-day chief detective; and each of the two guilty parties.

Only a bit of a mystery exists: can you recognize how one of the original killers has morphed into a present-day respectable citizen?

WARNING: be prepared for sadness and irony. However, DO NOT MISS THIS SUPERB FILM!

2013, Action Film, Father-son relations, Good digital effects, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Wonderful photography

After Earth (2013)

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From NetFlix:

A thousand years in the future, Gen. Cypher Raige and his young son, Kitai, crash-land their crippled ship on the long-abandoned, desolate Earth. With his father near death, Kitai sets out to find a beacon that will save them from certain doom.

If nothing else, the visual effects and scenery are worth watching. Although Avatar was more fantastic (in the literal sense), still this film reminds me of Avatar. Digital artistry just gets better and better. Hopefully, the other aspects of a film will keep pace: story, acting, and something in the plot that connects to the human experience.

Up to now Will Smith has had mostly comedy roles and never seemed destined for anything deeper. Here he is a much more serious actor, although it is still science fiction, after all. If anything the story revolves completely around his relation as a Ranger General with his son who aspires to also be a Ranger.

Imaginative and realistic suspense is ever present as the son fights the savage nature of a now-primitive Earth in order to save both his life and that of his injured father.

If you liked “Avatar” or if you are a sci-fi fan, then this well constructed film is for you. (Could be scary for young children).

2012, Coming-of-age, Crude Talk, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Police Corruption, Revenge, Sad small town, Suspense, Teenagers, Violent, Wonderful acting

Mud (2012)

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From Netflix:

Two Mississippi teens, Ellis and Neckbone, meet a mysterious drifter named Mud hiding on a deserted river island and get caught up in his tangled web of tall tales about bounty hunters, crimes of passion, lost love and a perfect woman named Juniper.

Good acting and an involving storyline make this somewhat violent film worth seeing.

For once Matthew McConaughey is neither romantic stud, tough cowboy, nor clever lawyer. His role here as a fugitive from a revenge killing seems to me to be his best effort at acting that I have seen to date (2013).

Similarly Reese Witherspoon is not a bouncy blonde but plays well the part of an imperfect, sad, basically good-hearted young woman. At first I almost did not recognize her (because at the time one of the villains was giving her a beating – did I mention “violent”?).

Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland, the two kids, are good but do not steal the show. Their tough, down-to-earth, terse, somewhat abrupt manner of speaking seemed to me at times to be too mature for their age.

During the entire film I kept wondering how people can stand living where and in the manner that these somewhat down-trodden characters lived. Beasts of the Southern Wild took place in the same ambience.

Essentially not a violent film, but at least a suspenseful film, this one is worth catching.

2013, Adventure, Airline pilot, Amputee, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Frenetic, Grim, Mayhem, Medical Theme, Military, Occasional gore, Optimistic, Suicide, Suspense, Violent, Zombies

World War Z (2013)

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From Netflix:

A U.N. employee races against time and fate as he travels the world trying to stop the spread of a deadly zombie pandemic. As the undead hordes gain strength across the globe, governments topple and Earth stands on the brink of total social collapse.

If you are not eager to see virus-crazed “zombies” infecting other humans by biting, crowds of panicky people running to nowhere, bodies flying through the air, exploding airplanes, and very tense escape sequences, then DO NOT SEE THIS FILM!

On the other hand I love suspense and the various episodes in this fright-fare are indeed some of the scariest I have seen in a long while. In fact the tension mounts throughout the film. Probably the most nerve-wracking sequence has Brad Pitt at the W.H.O headquarters in Wales trying to get to some needed stored virus while avoiding the already infected “zombies” at W.H.O. Of course you understand (we learn this early in the film) that noise is what sets these critters in motion.

As far as endings go, the authors found an excellent way to finish the story.

You have been duly warned. However, in the category of well-plotted, not silly, visually and emotionally explosive scare-mares, DO NOT MISS!

2013, Action Film, Conspiracy, Crude Talk, Frenetic, Mayhem, Military, North Korea, Suspense, Terrorist Attack, Thriller, Violent

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

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From Netflix:

Director Antoine Fuqua’s action thriller stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent who must come to the rescue when Korean terrorists descend on the White House and take the president hostage.

Are we seeing a competition among movie makers to create more and more violent mayhem on screen? But so what! This particular film kills just about every U.S. employee possible, destroys the White House, lots of automobiles, and at least 5 helicopters. Despite what seems like the usual number of explosions this is a well-made, exciting, could-it-ever-happen action film just made for an alpha-male actor such as Gerard Butler.

If we ever look back to this film review, let’s note that it is the year 2013 and since every such film needs a villain, this year’s choice seems to be North Korea. Do you think the starving people in North Korea will ever be offended by this film?

From Google I found references to Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards hell. Who knows if we could really detonate all our underground missiles at once while they are still in the ground?

Perhaps I am an action-film junkie, but I could not stop watching.

2013, Clever Plot, Creepy, Dark, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Erotic Thriller, Flirting, Mental Illness, Mystery Film, Plot Twist, Psychological Thriller, Rape, Suspense, Unusual, Violent

Stoker (2013)

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From Netflix:

An impressionable teenager grieving for her late father lives with her unstable mother and is bewitched by her enigmatic uncle, who has mysterious motives for his sudden appearance in her life.

“Creepy” is the first adjective that comes to mind. “Stoker” is not a horror film. Rather it is a psychological, suspense-filled, well-written story with unexpected plot and character twists. In addition it is somewhat of a mystery story that asks “Just who is this suddenly appearing uncle?” At each step you think you know what will happen, but you are probably wrong.

Does Nicole Kidman get more beautiful each day? Matthew Goode, the British actor who played Charles Ryder in the 2008 production of “Brideshead Revisited”, is the perfectly cunning psychopath. Mia Wasikowska, the Australian actress who played Jane Eyre in the 2011 production of “Jane Eyre”, steals the show as an enigmatic and unpredictably strange teenager.

You will stay glued to your seat during this frighteningly possible sequence of events.