Category Archives: Greed

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Arson, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Complicated, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Eccentric Detective, Embezzlement, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Fist Fight, Flashbacks, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Greed, Illegal immigrant, Lawyers, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Social Class Inequality, Suicide, Unbelievably smart detective, Uncategorized

Knives Out (2019)

From Netflix:

A detective unravels the tangled web of secrets and lies
surrounding the death of a successful crime novelist and his
unsettling, eccentric family.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 10 minute mystery film.

Of the two “Knives Out” films currently available on Netflix, this first installment is in ways superior to the second installment “Glass Onion: Knives Out”.  Probably the more established cast of “Knives Out” accounts for the better acting.  Dialog in “Glass Onion” is often crudely vulgar which sometimes is a clue to compensating for lower quality writing.

That established cast includes:

  • Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc the detective in both “Knives Out” flims.
  • Chris Evans as the wayward son Ransom Drysdale.
  • Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale.
  • Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey.
  • Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale.
  • Toni Collette as Toni Thrombey née Drysdale.
  • Christopher Plummer as Harlan Drysdale, the patriarch.

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera is a relative newcomer and is in someway the star of the show.

One of many examples of a household assembly of suspects in a murder in the gathering, this complexly plotted who-done-it is well worth watching. In fact

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.

2022, Blackmail, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Complicated, Controlling personality, Corny at times, Corrupt Pharmaceutical Firm, Corruption, Dark family secrets, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Flashbacks, Greed, Illegitimate Child, Maudlin, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Pianist, Political Terrorists, Revenge, Suspense, Terrorists, Too Long, Witness Protection

Pieces of Her (2022)

From IMDB

When a Saturday afternoon trip to the mall with her mother suddenly explodes into violence, an adrift young woman’s conception of her mother is forever changed. As figures from her mother’s past start to resurface, she is forced to go on the run and on that journey, begins to piece together the truth of her mother’s previous identity and uncovers secrets of her childhood.

From Netflix you can stream 8 episodes of this crime saga. Each episode lasts between 42 minutes and 62 minutes.

Mainly this sequence of flashbacks explains why Laura Oliver (played by Toni Collette) has been in witness protection for many years.   Probably the story could have been told in a fewer number of episodes, but just hang in there while keeping track of the many characters.  Just remove several maudlin scenes and the series might shorten.

Not a complete waste of time.

2021, Abduction, Abuse of Elders, Attempted Murder, Clever Plot, Conspiracy, Corrupt Care Givers, Disguises, DO NOT MISS, Drugging as a weapon, Greed, Identity Theft, Infuriating, Lesbian Theme, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Plot Twist, Revenge, Russian Gangster, Suspense, Torture, Unscrupulous drive to power, Valium appropriate, Violent

I Care a Lot (2021)

From Netflix:

A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 58 minute complete film.

Easily one of the most clever, disturbing and infuriating films I have watched recently. In order to maintain your mental composure:

  • Do NOT watch this film before bedtime.
  • Do NOT watch this film on a full stomach,
  • Keep some medicinal relaxant nearby in case of emergency.
  • Remember, this is not the reality of Putin murdering innocent Ukrainians,  but rather a possible but unlikely fictional scenario.

Peter Dinklage, as far as I know, avoids appearing in mediocre or just plain bad films. Once again he fits his role, this time as a Russian gangster, well.

Rosamund Pike, as the evil Marla Grayson, inspires such visceral hate that you cannot help but admire her talent.

Dianne Wiest, as Jennifer Peterson, nails the role of a helpless victim to a tee. In early “Law and Order” episodes, she was Interim D.A. Nora Lewin.

Could this really happen?  Better review your last will and testament and your power of attorney. DO NOT MISS (if you can stand the emotions).

 

 

2022, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action Film, Action Hero, Amazon Prime, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Cancer theme, Car Chase, Contract Killing, Corny at times, Corrupt Corporation, Corrupt policemen, Corrupt Politicians, Corrupt Prison Guards, Could Be Hard To Watch, Counterfeiting, Country Music, Cover-up, Crime thriller, Detective, Disturbing Image, Dog episode, Extremely Violent, False Imprisonment, FBI, Fist Fight, Forensics, Gory, Greed, Gritty, Hostage Taking, Invincible Hero, Lee Child, Martial Arts, Maudlin, Mayhem, Military, Mother-son relations, Murder, Nudity, Physical fighting, Police Corruption, Police Investigation, Prison, Psychopath, Romance, Ruthless Killer, Sadism, Suspense, Thriller, Torture, Violent, War Veterans, Wrongful Arrest

Reacher (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

When retired Military Police Officer Jack Reacher is arrested for murder he did not commit, he finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy full of dirty cops, shady businessmen and scheming politicians. With nothing but his wits, he must figure out what is happening in Margrave, Georgia. The first season of Reacher is based on the international bestseller, Killing Floor by Lee Child.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 8 episodes of season 1. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.

Lee Child’s hero Jack Reacher is supposed to be a big, powerful, imposing man that can intimidate his opponents. Alan Ritchson amply fills that bill (as opposed to Tom Cruise who is much smaller). Ritchson played the superhero Hank Hall in the TV series “Titans”.

Violence is the dominant theme. Part of that violence involves gruesome scenes of torture such as nailing a naked man to a wall followed by much worse. Children should NOT watch this series.

Sad to say, violence in the form of watching Reacher beating and killing villains was for me a satisfying vicarious pleasure.  Making the criminals truly repellent is an effective way to rationalize enjoying such a slaughter.

Reacher never misses a shot, wins every hand-to-hand combat, is always the smartest person in the room, and is a multi-decorated war hero. Have I missed anything? Oh, yes – Reacher speaks Farsi.

In to make this epic a bona fide adolescent entertainment,  Reacher must fall in love with Roscoe the female cop but, of course,  is ever the loner who must eventually move on (so that the series can have another season). Expect many maudlin scenes.

Against my better instincts, WATCHING WAS A LOT OF FUN!

2021, Acceptable for teenagers, Addiction, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, Big Pharma, Bullying, Career Competition, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Cover-up, DO NOT MISS, Eccentric Detective, Failed Father, Father-daughter relations, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Greed, Lawyers, Mental Illness, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Opioids, Reconciliation, Schizophrenia, Suspense, Trial Scenes, Wonderful acting

Goliath Season 4 (2021)

From Amazon Prime:

In the final season, after Patty takes a job at a prestigious white-shoe law firm in San Francisco, Billy returns to his Big Law roots. Together, they try to take down one of America’s most insidious Goliaths: the opioid industry.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 8 episodes of this last available season. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.

As I have mentioned before,  you do best watching this series beginning with season 1, remembering that season 2 offers some ugly scenes.  Many characters have remained throughout the four seasons, notably  Billy’s sidekicks as well as some old enemies. Surprisingly Donald Cooperman (played by William Hurt) plays a positive role in resolving the lawsuit.  Wonderful performances are provided by:

  • Bruce Dern plays the good brother Frank Zax.
  • J.K. Simmons plays the evil brother George Zax.
  • Jena Malone plays the lawyer Samantha Margolis who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Part of the fun, as usual, is watching all the “Lawyer Trickery Bullshit” (which is the title of episode 7) as Billy and friends battle the opioid industry.

DO NOT MISS!

2019, Acceptable Trash, Art Critic, Art Marketing, Art theft, Artsy Fartsy, B-movie, Bisexual theme, Bloody scenes, Eccentric cast of characters, Greed, Horror, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Sex Scenes

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

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From Netflix:

A feared critic, an icy gallery owner and an ambitious assistant snap up a recently deceased artist’s stash of paintings — with dire consequences.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 52 minute horror of a film.

Perhaps the first horror is that  an accomplished actor such as Jake Gyllenhaal allowed himself to appear in this schlock festival.  Perhaps the second horror is that I allowed myself to watch the entire mess.

Imagine Gyllenhaal appearing as an effete, almost effeminate bisexual art critic. At first I did not recognize him.  As a first guess maybe he needed the money. Or maybe he just wanted to add a horror film to his remarkable resumé.

If there is an underlying theme in the film, it is that the collective of art critics here are a rare species that speak an inscrutable art language consisting of meaningless gibberish while all the time they are really only interested in fooling their clients into spending vast sums of money.

Alas, their greed is their undoing!

If you can afford to waste two hours of your life, then have at it!

 

2021, Abuse of Women, Action Film, Action Hero, Bloody scenes, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corrupt Military, Cover-up, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, Government cover-up, Greed, Military Corruption, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Romance, Sociopath, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

SAS: Rise of the Black Swan (2021)

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From IMDB:

A small army of well trained criminals led by Grace Lewis have hijacked a train deep beneath the English Channel.

From Netflix:

A special forces operative traveling from London to Paris with his girlfriend takes action when armed, ruthless mercenaries seize control of their train

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 3 minute complete action film.  According to IMDB another name for this film is “SAS: Red Notice”.

Good sociopath versus bad sociopath.  Our hero is Tom Buckingham (played by Sam Heughan who played Jamie Fraser in Outlander ).  Our villain is Grace Lewis (played by Ruby Rose who played Batwoman in Batwoman ).

There are lots of good and bad guys.  Unfortunately it can be difficult to  figure out just who is good and who is bad.  Turncoat traitors abound.  You just never can tell.  Needless to say the evil doers are all part of a giant conspiracy.

Most of the action takes place in the Eurotrain underchannel tunnel. To be sure, most of the action is very violent and definitely not for children.  As usual our hero can perform superhuman (violent) feats while seriously wounded.

Sociopaths are unable to feel empathy or understand the sufferings of others. Little by little Tom’s girl friend Dr. Sophie Hart (played by Hannah John-Kamen) comes to understand that Tom feels relatively few emotions and can kill humans with effortless ease.  In that aspect Tom is well matched against Grace Lewis whose cruelty is startling even though we may think we are inured to such films.

How shocking to think that if you can stand the violence I will still recommend that you DO NOT MISS!

2020, Anti-women Victorian attitudes, British Mystery Series, Corrupt policemen, Detective, False Imprisonment, Father-daughter relations, Flirting, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Gay theme, Greed, Happy ending, Male Chauvinism, Mildly Violent, Murder, Murder Investigation, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Police Investigation, Police Politics, Romance, Suspense, Unjust crime conviction, Upstairs - Downstairs, Women's Equality

Miss Scarlet and the Duke (2020)

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From IMDB:

Eliza Scarlet joins forces with a Scotland Yard Inspector to solve crime in 19th century London.

PBS Masterpiece is showing each episode one week at a time. From PBS Passport all 6 episodes can already be streamed. Each episode is about 1.5 hours.

Eliza Scarlet is the daughter of deceased detective Henry. She needs to earn a living and wants to be a detective herself.  She meets resistance to this goal from Scotland Yard Detective William ‘The Duke’ Wellington who was also a friend to Henry.  In each episode she fights to be included in the current investigation and also in each episode she gains a bit more respect from the anti-feminist William. Of course, a romance is in the making. Overriding the 6 episodes is the question: How did Eliza’s father Henry really die?

Involving period piece.  Worth the watch.

2018, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Alcoholism, Binge worthy, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Conspiracy, Controlling personality, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Greed, Grim, High school students, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Norwegian, Norwegian Crime Story, Norwegian Detective, Police Culture, Police Investigation, Police Politics, Possibly upsetting ending, Psychopath, School Teacher, Small Town, Sociopath, Suicide, Suspense, Troubled Personality, Violent

Kieler Street (2018)

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From MHz Choice:

Kieler Street is a fresh and uniquely characterful drama-thriller that deconstructs what it really means to be a “normal” person. Criminal or not, most of us are capable of doing extreme things in our pursuit of a peaceful existence – but just how far are we willing to go? In this acclaimed Norwegian drama, former criminal Jonas has started a new life in Slusvik, Scandinavia’s most peaceful little town. He has it all: a happy family, a great job and the quiet life he always wanted. But when Geir, Jonas’ AA sponsor, cracks his cover, the facade starts falling apart and Jonas realizes he’s not the only one in Slusvik with a secret. And they’re all prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the illusion they have created…

From MHz Choice you can stream the 10 episodes of this Norwegian crime drama. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Be prepared for a very disquieting story.  Should we root for Jonas who, although he supposedly is repentant and wants to reform and have a peaceful life,  is essentially a violent personality?  In addition he is easily led toward his worst impulses by a spectacularly evil psychopath William, who is also leading a second life in Slusvik. It seems that a mysterious company can be paid to give its criminal clients a second life in Slusvik. So you never know which inhabitants of the town are “second lifers.”

Driving the story towards its surprising climax is the question “Will any of these villains get caught?”  Moreover, “Will the wily and smart outside detective Marius learn the truth despite the jealous competition of the amateur and naive  local police officers?”

Would you send me your reaction to the final conclusion?

Enjoy the suspense. DO NOT MISS!