Category Archives: Grim

2010, Based on true facts, Bullying, Conspiracy, Dark, Drama, Drugs, Grim, Non-physical Violence, Not Feel Good, Psychological Drama, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

All Good Things (2010)

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From NetFlix:

After restless real-estate scion David Marks (Ryan Gosling) weds middle-class beauty Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst) against the wishes of his disapproving father (Frank Langella), suspicions of murder fall on the unmoored heir when his wife mysteriously vanishes. Though he’s not indicted in her disappearance, people with ties to the case begin turning up dead when it’s reopened two decades later — and the unhinged David is the prime suspect.

Thanks to Wikipedia for leading me to the model for this film, namely Robert Durst. After seeing the film be sure to go to this article about Robert Durst. Believe me, truth is stranger than fiction. You just have to wonder why juries are so stupid. According to Wikipedia, Robert Durst really liked the film. That figures!

And is it just such manipulation of the law that makes this grim film really infuriating. If you are prepared for a non-happy ending, a leap into exasperating unfinished business, then this perfectly made film is for you. All three actors get it right. Frank Langella is a truly evil man. In fact the entire family is a real-life version of the “Adams Family”. Even Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan is portrayed as an politician who was given evidence of the family’s corruption and choose to ignore it on the grounds that such matters were really just the private affairs of the family (who contributed huge amounts of money to various politicians). Later on in the film the family gets to the district attorney who reopened the case many years later.

In a certain sense Ryan Gosling does not even need to act. He presents a lost, increasingly distant man who shows almost no emotion. As an amazing recreation of suspenseful evil, here is a film to which I was glued.

But you ARE warned!

2010, Conspiracy, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cowboy, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Grim, Plot Twist, Revenge, Suspense, Violent, Western, Wonderful acting

Red Hill (2010)

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From NetFlix:

After being shot on duty, police officer Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) moves with his pregnant wife to the quiet Outback town of Red Hill, where surly sheriff Old Bill (Steve Bisley) is downright unfriendly and Shane’s first day on the job turns into the worst day of his life. When killer Jimmy Conway (Tommy Lewis) escapes from jail and heads for Red Hill, the police try to track the skilled hunter, and Shane soon realizes something is very wrong.

Not a detail is out of place in this suspenseful and violent Australian cowboy sheriff film about an aborigine escaped from prison and intent on killing every single lawman in the dying town of Red Hill.

Ryan Kwanten is the only actor I will remember from this film and he was terrific. Those of you with vampire tastes will recall that Ryan Kwanten was the irrepressible Jason Stockhouse in the TV series True Blood (2008). His tender scenes with his very pregnant wife are touching. My only objection is that he is physically a bit too much of a superman, overcoming all obstacles while severely wounded. But don’t let that stop you from watching.

How dull: aborigine escapes and shoots a lot of people. Not at all ! First this killer’s hunting (he can smell his intended victims) and shooting skills and his amazingly clever instincts make him a formidable enemy. HOWEVER, the plot has an amazing and very emotional twist that holds you to the end.

In my book, this violent film is an Australian masterpiece. Don’t miss it!

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Grim, Horror, Occasional gore, Suspense, Violent

Carriers (2009)

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From NetFlix:

As a lethal virus spreads across the globe, brothers Brian (Chris Pine) and Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci), along with Bobby (Piper Perabo) and Kate (Emily VanCamp), seek a supposed plague-free haven. But while circumventing those infected, the travelers begin to turn against one another. Real-life brothers Alex Pastor and David Pastor write and direct this apocalyptic chiller, which co-stars Christopher Meloni.

More apocalypse than horror film, this film about the human race dying of a plague really concentrates on two brothers and the two women traveling with them and their relations with one another. These relations are challenged to the extreme by the need to follow certain rules designed to keep them plague-free. Tough choices are made throughout the film.

Among the four travelers Brian (Chris Pine of Unstoppable (2010)) is clearly the leader. Actors Pine and Pucci carry their parts well.

Christopher Meloni of “Law and Order: Special Victims” fame, has a part as the father of an infected young daughter. His role is just a bit more than a cameo, but he does it well.

Children would be frightened by the sight of the dying and dead infected blood-encrusted victims. But the film is really about choosing between survival and whatever criteria we had for good human behavior in the pre-plague past.

Never a dull moment!

2010, British Mystery Series, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Dark, Detective, Grim, Gritty, Kidnapping, Nudity, Occasional gore, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suspense, Torture, TV Series, Violent

Luther (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Idris Elba (“The Wire”) stars in this powerful television drama as Det. John Luther, whose personal demons complicate the chase as he searches for the evidence to convict mass murderer Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), who is also his closest confidante. Luther’s marriage to the long-suffering Zoe (Indira Varma) is equally complicated, and after she leaves him, he pours even more frenetic energy into the pursuit of London’s most nefarious criminals.

So grim at times that wife Kathy left the room during certain scenes, this well-done detective series will hold your attention. Each episode is self-contained although throughout the entire series the super intelligent and equally psychotic Alice meddles with every plot. We almost did not get past the initial episode because Luther is seemingly so out of control it was messy to watch. However, we did continue and it did pay off.

It seems to me that TV series such as “Law and Order: Special Victims”, “Criminal Minds”, and the other wannabees are competing to be every more gory and explicit. In this respect “Luther” is no exception. In one episode the sadist kidnaps a mother, stores her alive in a freezer, drains her blood, and freezes her to death (which is where Kathy fled from the TV screen). Is this entertainment? At least NOT FOR CHILDREN !

And to think I enjoyed the series !

2010, Could be boring, Could Be Sad, Drama, Grim, Love Story, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Quiet, Sex Scenes, Slow, Unusual

Never Let Me Go (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel, this sci-fi drama from director Mark Romanek is centered on thirtysomething Kathy (Carey Mulligan), who reflects on her time spent at Hailsham, an English boarding school, alongside classmates Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield). Born for an unusual reason, the three struggle with their destiny and their love triangle. Charlotte Rampling plays headmistress Miss Emily.

Until I reached approximately page 72 of Ishiguro’s novel I could only suspect what was happening. Since I don’t do spoilers, you will have to wait (if you haven’t already guessed) until one of the characters gives us the insidious answer. If you can’t stand the suspense then you can find the answer in the Wikipedia article.

In order for the story to work you must suspend much disbelief. Quiet, understated, beautiful scenery, beautiful children, handsome young adults are the hallmark of the film. But there could be no rebellion for the story to succeed. You have to believe that what is happening is now completely accepted by the rest of the world. You have to believe that the progress of the story is inevitable.

It is quite possible that many of you will be bored to death. Slow and politely quiet as a whisper, expect no action whatsoever. “Sci-fi” is a just plain incorrect description. Quite possibly you will find the entire film grim.

Personally I loved the film and thought the ending achingly sad.

1986, Dark, Drama, Explicit sex, Gloomy, Grim, Mystery Film, Nudity, Religious Theme, Suspense, Torture, Violent

The Name of the Rose (1986)

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From NetFlix:

In this adaptation of Umberto Eco’s best-selling novel, 14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and his young novice (Christian Slater) arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church’s authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence — which is considerable

Umberto Eco wrote his first novel The Name of the Rose in 1980. Eco is a well-known modern scholar.

Jean-Jaques Annaud, the director, has assembled a cast of the most unusual, distorted, exaggerated, cretinous faces I have ever seen. These faces are perfectly in tune with the dark, forbidding atmosphere of the Benedictine monastery in northern Italy. To keep all the characters straight, try reading the Wikipedia article on the film. Besides Sean Connery and Christian Slater, Ron Perlman as Salvatore is particularly memorable. Salvatore is the retarded hunchback whose garbled speech is a mixture of several languages. Whoever restructured and tonsured all those heads was a genius in the art of actor makeup.

Thanks to my Italian teacher ,Vincenzo Santone, for recommending this film. Of course, Vincenzo would like me to read the original Italian version, which is a challenge. Because I have not read the book, I do not know if it is so condemning of the Catholic church of the early 14th century as is the film. Certainly the film makes the church hierarchy into a pack of sadistic, ignorant, self-indulgent, greedy, superstitious cretins. Naturally, the Inquisition is cast as the fundamentalist, intolerant Taliban of the 14th century.

Here is one film that I could not stop watching.

2010, Australian, Car Chase, Crime, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugs, Grim, Lawyers, Police Story, Revenge, Slow, Suspense, Violent

Animal Kingdom (2010)

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From NetFlix:

When his mother dies suddenly, a 17-year-old boy (James Frecheville) finds himself drawn into the clutches of a diabolical criminal family, until a good-hearted detective (Guy Pearce) makes a concerted effort to change the boy’s fate. Australian writer-director David Michôd’s first feature-length drama won the World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival

How lucky I was to stumble on this gem of a film! Confirming my excited impressions are all the rave reviews in the Wikipedia article.

Instead of Joshua, the boy is called simply ‘J’. For this entire Australian film, the character J is practically mute. We can only assume that some awful battle is taking place inside. When he speaks it is usually some terse (i.e. one word) answer such as ‘yeah’, spoken with a strong Australian accent. Not all the characters are terse, especially if they are hopped up on cocaine.

Suspense is palpable, especially because J is trapped in a herd of unbalanced and unrestrained uncles who are guided, encouraged, and protected by a menacingly evil grandmother Smurf. Understand: this is a very controlled film atmosphere. There are violence, drug use, and insanity in a film that is mostly quiet, SLOW, and threatening.

Expect two surprising plot twists. Do NOT read the Wikipedia summary first because it will spoil these surprises.

Most memorable moment for me: Catch the interchange between Guy Pearce and the grandmother in the supermarket toward the end of the film.

Toward the end be sure to catch Guy Pierce asking J if J has “found his place in the world” and then ask yourself what that really meant when the film reaches its startling conclusion.

I highly recommend this film!

2010, Conspiracy, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Grim, Kidnapping, Political statement, Suspense

Buried (2010)

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From NetFlix:

While on a job in Iraq, civilian contractor Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is attacked and kidnapped, then awakens to find himself buried alive in the middle of the desert with nothing but a lighter, a candle, a cell phone and a knife. Does Paul have the instincts he’ll need to save himself? Director Rodrigo Cortés crafts a tense psychological thriller with sociopolitical undertones that doubles as an exercise in claustrophobic terror.

If you are claustrophobic, DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM !

If you read the Wikipedia article you will find rave reviews such as “Wringing a seemingly impossible amount of gripping drama out of its claustrophobic premise, Buried is a nerve-wracking showcase for Ryan Reynolds’ talent.” Here is a film in which Ryan Reynolds is anything but a handsome Hollywood star.

Incredibly spell-binding , I could not take my eyes off the screen. But this is a film with a nasty message. We are asked to believe that Paul Conroy was purposely setup by his American contractor. At the very least his company CRT weasels out of its responsibilities by concocting a reason for claiming that he was discharged from the company JUST BEFORE being kidnapped. How on earth could we know that such things have ever occurred ?

From a technical standpoint: would not Paul have exhausted the air in the buried crate a lot sooner than the film shows ?

In no way can I spoil this film for you. You will just have to suffer through the torture to see what happens.

2010, Drama, Drugs, Gloomy, Grim, Occasional gore, Violent

Winter’s Bone (2010)

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From NetFlix:

In director Debra Granik’s unflinching noir drama set deep in the Ozarks, resilient teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) goes on the trail of her missing, drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the family’s safety. Her deadbeat dad has a key court date pending, and Ree is determined that he show up — despite the objections of the insular Dolly clan. The film earned an Independent Spirit Award nod and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Jennifer Lawrence superbly lets a light shine in a grim Ozark setting in which the standard livelihood is cooking crystal meth. Compared with all the other characters she is just too healthy looking, too normal size, too responsible, really too attractive. But she is not Hollywood, she fits right in.

In one sense you might describe most of the film as Ree’s searching and visiting one strange character after another looking for her dad Jessup. Even so, the journey is never boring, probably because every second feels so authentic (but then, I’ve never been in the Ozarks and, from what the film shows me, I will NEVER visit the Ozarks).

One odd fact: there is absolutely no reference to sex in the film.

Without giving anything away, please stay with the story and I promise you a happy ending.

2000, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Drugs, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Grim, Horror, Nudity, Occasional gore, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suspense, Violent, Vulgar

American Psycho (2000)

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From NetFlix:

With a chiseled chin and an iron physique, Patrick Bateman’s looks make him the ideal yuppie — and the ideal serial killer. That’s the joke behind American Psycho, which follows a killer at large during the 1980s junk-bond boom. Bateman (Christian Bale) takes pathological pride in everything from his business card to his Huey Lewis CD collection, all the while plotting his next victim’s vivisection.

Opinions vary wildly on this controversial film. Despite the horror, I found myself laughing at the satirical approach to nonchalant mayhem. Moreover, in this vein I saw the obvious connection between this story and the TV series Dexter (2006) featuring a serial killer who kills serial killers.

Certain more objectionable parts were left in the uncut version that I got from NetFlix. Should I have felt guilty watching this film ? At any rate, let me just jot down some “notes” and let you decide. To help you form an opinion you might also read the Wikipedia article.

  • Christian Bale is a study in perfect acting. He put himself through intense physical training to look the part.
  • Much of the satire centers on the complete vapidity of the financial traders. They constantly try to outdo each other by creating fancy calling cards. At one point Patrick is so incensed that someone else’s card is nicer than his card that he goes out and vents his anger by murdering someone.
  • Another point of satire is the obsession about eating at the best restaurant, one-upping each other on begin able to get a prized reservation.
  • Reese Witherspoon does a great job as Patrick’s clueless fiancee. In one restaurant scene she babbles on about the personalities she spies while Patrick is drawing sadomasochistic pictures on the tablecloth.
  • Willem Dafoe is a totally different actor from his usual self. He successfully portrays a private detective affecting an exaggerated smile and cloying society manners.
  • Little by little I began to suspect that Patrick’s intimate circle of financial goons (who explicitly hated women) were all homosexual. Patrick calls this phenomenon the “Yale thing”.
  • As he prepares yet another victim for slaughter, he banters on and on to that unsuspecting victim about the marvels of some piece of popular music.
  • You never see damage being done to a human body. You may be there while it is happening, but you do not really see it. Just the very bloody aftermath. At one point you see a completely naked and blood covered Patrick running down a hall with a chain saw.
  • At one point Patrick really loses his grip and the film also seems to lose control.

My biggest disappointment was that I did not understand how the story ended. If anyone has the stomach to watch this blood bath, please tell me how Patrick gets away with his crimes. Did he kill someone who was pretending to be Paul Allen ? What happened when at the end he steals into an apartment being shown for rent only to discover that all his bodies stashed in the closet have disappeared ?

Not really a gore fest, but close!