Category Archives: Suspense

2003, Could Be Hard To Watch, Not Feel Good, Suspense, Violent, War

Beyond Borders (2003)

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From NetFlix:

Nick (Clive Owen), a medical student turned international disaster relief worker, and Sarah (Angelina Jolie), a philanthropist socialite, gradually fall in love after meeting time and again against the backdrops of disasters and wars throughout the world. Teri Polo plays Sarah’s sister Charlotte, a globetrotting journalist.

It’s a Hollywood movie!

It’s also violent. Clive Owen is his usual f_____g forceful self (he certainly like to curse). Angelina Jolie is her usual beautiful self (but sometimes it seems to me that every now and then she delivers her lines like a high school sophomore).

One by one the story visits various disaster spots: Ethiopia, Cambodia, Chechnya in which our heroes for the most part overcome adversity. For this reason the film could be hard to watch: vultures wait for starving Ethiopian children to die, The Khmer Rouge arbitrarily shoot people and place a hand grenade in the hands of an infant, the Chechens shoot just about everybody.
But through it all our Angelina manages to be the well-manicured and well-dressed Hollywood startlet she deserves to be.

It’s a Hollywood movie!

2003, Drama, Not Feel Good, Suspense, Unusual, Violent

It’s All About Love (2003)

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From NetFlix:

In this futuristic thriller about love and fate, professional ice skater Elena (Claire Danes) and her estranged husband, John (Joaquin Phoenix), live in different cities. When John heads to New York seeking a divorce from Elena, he finds her life has gone askew: Her friends and family appear to have their own plans regarding her future as a skater, and those plans depend on John’s cooperation. Can he and Elena escape their clutches … alive?

Joaquin Phoenix has never played in a bad film in my experience, and this is no exception. However, he is willing to take chances in unusual films. Consider this film an art film of sorts. It claims to take place in the future but for a while those aspects seem to have nothing to do with the suspenseful plot. Ignore the slow start and stay with the story for awhile. Eventually the extreme weather changes (it seems like just the opposite of global warming) enter into the plot. There is some violence. Since I watch many films, I have the time to spend on such unusual films, but perhaps you might choose another film to watch.

2003, British Mystery Series, Conspiracy, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Gritty, Suspense, TV Series

State of Play (2003)

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From NetFlix:

Powerful politico Stephen Collins (David Morrissey) is embroiled in a scandal when his
research assistant dies in a freak accident and his former campaign manager Cal McAffrey
(John Simm), now a reporter, realizes the incident may be linked to the death of a drug
dealer. As McAffrey digs deeper, he uncovers a dangerous connection between government
and big business in this exciting conspiracy thriller from the BBC.

This version is a 2-disc, 6-episode British TV series that predates the Hollywood film. Reviews for the film have been lukewarm, but they recommended this TV series that I got from NetFlix. Kathy and I could not wait to see each exciting installment. Acting is excellent. Details are well worked out. But pay attention in this conspiracy thriller. From time to time we would pause the DVD player and confer on whether we really understood what was happening. Even toward the end when things seem to be settling down you should hang on for more surprise.

I cannot recommend this British TV series highly enough.

1998, Acceptable Trash, Car Chase, Suspense, Violent

Desperate Measures (1998)

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From Net

San Francisco police officer Frank Connor (Andy Garcia) desperately searches for a compatible bone-marrow donor for his cancer-stricken son. The only potential donor is convicted homicidal sociopath Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton), who seizes the opportunity of a hospital transfer to donate marrow and escapes custody. Connor must capture McCabe alive, so the hospital becomes the setting for a cat-and-mouse game between the two men.

Do not expect to philosophize, meditate, or even think during this film. Just sit back, relax, and watch the fun: super-smart villain, car chases, violence, and a really clever last few seconds. Still, it is a B film. The action sequences probably are downright impossible. In the real germ-filled world, the boy would have died at many places in the film. Never mind, just suspend disbelief and enjoy what should be termed acceptable trash.

2008, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Explicit sex, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Redemption, Suspense

The Reader (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) reflects on the formative sexual relationship he had with older woman Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet, in a Golden Globe- and Oscar-winning role) as a young teenager in this poignant drama set in post-World War II Germany. The passionate affair ended when Hanna disappeared. But years later, Michael learns she’s on trial for horrific Nazi war crimes. David Kross plays the teenage Michael in this film based on Bernhard Schlink’s best-seller.

I am still shaking after watching this powerful, superb, maddening film. I was and am still so angry at the male protagonist. Without giving anything away, he was such a “Hamlet” that he allows his female counterpart to suffer more than she need have. I refuse to accept that he was sparing her feelings. Hopefully one of you will have a different point of view and share it with us. Why on earth did he behave as he did ?

The acting is perfect. David Kross does so fine a job I could have strangled him.

Lots of sex, not for children.

2006, Car Chase, English Dubbing, French, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Suspense, Violent

Tell No One (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Eight years ago, pediatrician Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) was the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. He’s put all that behind him, but now, two dead bodies have been found near his home — and once again, he’s the suspect. The case takes an unexpected turn when he receives an anonymous email showing his wife alive — and eight years older — instructing him to “tell no one.” Kristin Scott Thomas co-stars in Guillaume Canet’s powerhouse thriller.

To watch this French film I used the excellent English dubbing (and the subtitles). From the very beginning I was glued to my seat. All the acting is good, but François Cluzet is the center of attention throughout. Suprisingly the film turned out to contain alot of action sequences (running, car chases) and Cluzet is either in very good physical condition or there is some digital trickery involved. But this is French action, so no Hollywood fireworks (except for some car crashes). The plot was clever, involved, with many twists. Even if you get confused by the end of the film all will be made clear and easy to understand.

There is violence, nudity, and abused bodies. Not for children.

If you want a solid 2 hours and 5 minutes of suspensful escape, this film is a good choice.

2001, Could Be Sad, Feel Good Not For Children, Revenge, Stephen King, Suspense

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

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From NetFlix:

This coming-of-age drama set in the 1960s is another one of Stephen King’s short stories adapted for the big screen. Anthony Hopkins plays an elderly man with bad eyesight and a second sight who’s a boarder in a widower’s home. He befriends the woman’s young son, who reads to him and learns of his mysterious power and the danger he’s trying to escape. On the heels of the success of King’s The Green Mile, this film’s tepid reviews surprised many.

Anthony Hopkins has not been a consistently good actor. In fact, as I see it, he has been in some really second-rate movies and his acting at times has been horrible (examples: Dracula or The Mask of Zorro). In “Hearts in Atlantis” he is acceptable. It is the story that held my attention. You do have to suspend some disbelief because the supposedly 11 year old boy has some lines that are just too mature and observant for a kid that age. And did J. Edgar Hoover, for all his cross-dressing faults, really employ psychics to fight communism ? Maybe I should read the original Stephen King short story. I would still call this a feel-good, but not for children (who might not understand the mother’s rape scene). There is one bashing scene, but this is not a violent film.

2002, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Redemption, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

The Salton Sea (2002)

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From NetFlix:

Punk-rocking speed freak Danny Parker (Val Kilmer) freelances as an informant for brutal narcotics cops Al Garcetti (Anthony LaPaglia) and Gus Morgan (Doug Hutchison). But when he’s not assisting the cops on drug busts, Danny gets high and leads a double life as a talented, mild-mannered trumpeter named Tom Van Allen. One personality is in search of his wife’s killer, but reality is evasive in director D.J. Caruso’s neo-noir crime thriller.

Welcome to the first of a two-film festival featuring Vincent D’Onofrio who has been called an “actor’s actor”. In this violentissimo!!!!! film, D’Onofrio steals the show as the incredibly psychotic Pooh-Bear. Tell me, did this character lose his nose due to sniffing entertaining substances ?

In theory this is Val Kilmer’s film and he broods well throughout. But low and behold there are small parts for the young Anthony LaPaglia and even younger B.D. Wong. For me, however, the best and most moving supporting actor was Peter Saarsgard as a slow-witted but faithful friend.

We cannot fail to note that “Law and Order” counts D’Onofrio, B.D. Wong, and Saarsgard among its cast. LaPaglia instead appears in “CSI” and of course “Without a Trace”.

Warning: This is an especially brutal film with some disturbing sequences.

1997, British Mystery Series, Detective, Explicit sex, Gritty, Revenge, Suspense

Painted Lady (1997)

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From NetFlix:

Just when everyone thought she was down for the count, lost to drugs and unable to afford anything, Irish folk singer Maggie Sheridan (Helen Mirren) avenges the death of her landlord, who was killed for her vast art collection. Unable to let the criminals literally get away with murder, Sheridan pretends she’s an art dealer and hunts them down. Along the way, she pulls her wrecked life together and even falls in love with a dashing count.

Masterpiece Theater offered this Helen Mirren drama in two parts. Kathy and I needed at least 3 sittings to get through the more than three hours. But it was worth the effort. All the actors, including Helen Mirren, do a wonderful job. At one critical point you think the story is over, but it continues on in a significant way. There are a few murders but the gore (including blood) is minimal. As usual Kathy hid her eyes in the really suspensful parts. See if you can recognize which actor plays the dashing count.

2002, Could Be Hard To Watch, Horror, Suspense, Violent

28 Days Later (2002)

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From NetFlix:

A killer virus (it turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs) is accidentally released from a British research facility. Carried by animals and humans, the virus is impossible to contain and spreads across the entire planet. Twenty-eight days later, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected.

Thanks to Brian St. Pierre (my personal trainer at Cressey Performance) for suggesting this film directed by Danny Boyle. Since this film got an R rating for violence, nudity, language, and gore , it sounds like a winner.

You’ve seen this theme before in several guises: Charlton Heston in “The Omega Man” and Will Smith in “I Am Legend”. The prototypical plot is that most of the world population has disappeared or is fatally inflicted with some dread malady except for one or several protagonists who must reach some safe refuge where there is still hope. And so far this describes “28 Days Later”. But wait … there’s more! Usually reaching that safe refuge is the end of movie. But in this case that safe refuge is only the half-way point. Plot is important and I will say no more.

On the down side there is an awful lot of running and fighting in dark passages with enraged mutants. These scuffles are part of the plot but could be tiresome.

So tell me, if your loved one suddenly becomes infected with this rage and will therefore bite you so that you too beome infected, would you immediately kill that loved one ? Now are you interested ?