Category Archives: Ambitious Dirty Tricks

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chase film, CIA, Cold War, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Corrupt Politicians, Coup, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Fist Fight, GRU, Invincible Hero, Murder, Narcissistic Personality, Navy, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Political Conspiracy, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Suspense, Thriller, Traitors, Treason, Violent

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

In Season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Jack races against time and across Europe to stop a rogue faction within the Russian government from  restoring the Soviet Empire and starting World War III.

From Amazon Prime you can stream season 3 of the Jack Ryan series. Season 3 consists of 8 episodes. Each episode runs between 45 minutes and an hour.

Continuing in the view of the first two seasons, this series treats us to one action event after the other. Along the way the cast of characters and their loyalties keep changing in possibly confusing rapidity.  Flashbacks are vital in explaining the motives of the various actors in the plot.

Among the many good performance I would award a prize to James Cosmo for his portrayal of Luka Gocharov.

Expect 8 hours of constant excitement and possible confusion.

2021, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Film, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Amusing banter, Art theft, B-movie, Bromance, Buried Treasure, Career Criminal, Chase film, Comic Moments, Complicated Scams, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Martial Arts, Mayhem, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Plot twists, Suspense, Torture, Witty dialog

Red Notice (2021)

From Netflix:

An FBI profiler pursuing the world’s most wanted art thief
becomes his reluctant partner in crime to catch an elusive
crook who’s always one step ahead.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour complete film.

Brainless but fun, what else would you expect from a combination like Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds?   Both of them have found their cinematic niche – stupid action films.

Funny bromance banter,  great action (the body doubles are capable athletes),  some surprising plot twists, explosive digital effects, and the usual requirement to suspend disbelief all provide the entertainment.

Popcorn and a cessation of cerebral activity make for a fun watch.

2019, Abandoned child, Adopted child, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, American Indian culture, Attempted Murder, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Corrupt judge, Corrupt lawyers, Corruption, Courtroom scenes, Cover-up, DO NOT MISS, Drug trip, Drugging as a weapon, Drugs, Environmental concerns, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Lawyers, Murder, Murder by poison, Suspense, Uncategorized, Violent, Water theft

Goliath Season 3 (2019)

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From Amazon Prime:

The unexpected death of an old friend leads Billy McBride to take a case in the drought-stricken Central Valley where he comes face-to-face with a new Goliath: a billionaire farmer and his sister and their scheme to steal California’s most valuable resource – water. As Billy and his team pursue the truth, old enemies and personal demons resurface forcing him to confront his own mortality.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 8 episodes of season 3. Episode lengths vary but are always less than one hour.

Now (2021) and in the future, water will be a major issue for the entire planet.  Recall that Los Angeles was built using stolen water. In a quote from Google:

Is LA built on stolen water?
Los Angeles finally is giving back some of the water local residents say the city stole from them many years ago. A valve was opened at mid-morning Thursday and water flowed from the Los Angeles Aqueduct into Black Rock Channel, and then into the Owens River, which has been generally dry since 1913.Jun 6, 1986

 

Goliath’s themes are motivated by current abuses. Season one is about the arms industry.  Season two concerned political corruption. Season three is about stealing water. Season four is about opioids.

 

Although season two was cautiously recommended because of the intrinsic ugliness of the characters and their hideous modus operandi,  in order to appreciate season three you need only know that the corrupt character Marisol Silva became mayor of Los Angeles through the efforts of her Mexican brother who amputated the limbs of anyone standing in the way of Marisol ‘s election. Marisol reappears in season three.

 

Season one ended in a jury trial in which Billy’s nemesis Donald Cooperman was maneuvered into committing perjury.  At that moment Cooperman suffered a fairly complete stroke. As that season ended, Cooperman was supposedly bedridden for the rest of his life.  Miraculously in season three Cooperman reappears as one of the evil forces behind the conspiracy.

 

In season three the villains are methodically and cruelly stealing water by tunneling under federal land.  At times that causes the ground to sink. Because the wife of one of Billy’s old friends is swallowed up in such a sinkhole, Billy tries for a class action suit.

 

If you hardened yourself and actually watched season two, then you were probably upset that Marisol’s evil schemes make her mayor. Never fear, in what is almost a Shakespearean tragedy, many bad guys get their comeuppance.

 

Along the way there are all the well-written side issues.

 

Satisfyingly violent. DO NOT MISS!
2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Alcoholism, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Anxiety Attacks, Brother-Sister relations, Career Competition, Character Driven, Corruption, Could Be Sad, Cover-up, Danish, Danish Politics, Danish TV series, Depression, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Embezzlement, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Husband leaves wife, Love Story, Love Triangle, Marital Infidelity, Mental Illness, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Newspaper Culture, NOT violent, Personal Betrayal, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Psychiatrists, Revenge, Romance, Thought provoking, TV Culture, TV news industry, TV Reporter, Well developed plot, Womanizing

Borgen (2012)

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From IMDB:

A political drama about a prime minister’s rise to power, and how power changes a prime minister.

From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons of this Danish political drama series. Each season consists of 10 one-hour episodes.  Recent news hints that there might someday be a fourth season. Danish with English subtitles.

In Danish, Borgen, lit. ’The Castle’, is the informal name of Christiansborg Palace where all three branches of Danish government reside: the Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Supreme Court, and is often used as a figure of speech for the Danish government.

In the very first episode we see  Birgitte Nyborg become Prime Minister of Denmark.  This first episode is OK but does not begin to compare with the gut-punching episodes that follow.  Can a woman “have it all” is one of the issues.  Birgitte comes off as a morally upright and  sincere woman steering her way through the compromising pressures of political life.   She will pay a personal price for her success.

Surrounding Birgitte are a multitude of characters meaningful to the plot,  some praiseworthy and quite a few sneaky , malicious,  ambitious “villains.”  Quite a few of those characters are members of the news media.  All these many characters are involved throughout the series and often have their own personal stories to tell.

Each episode usually centers around a theme:  health care, peace negotiations,  and many others.  Don’t expect each episode to have a happy ending.  After most episodes Kathy and I exclaim “WOW, how do the writers maintain such consistent excellence?”

DO NOT MISS!

2011, Acceptable Trash, Acorn TV, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Assisted Suicide, British, Bullying, Career Competition, Courtroom scenes, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Lawyers, Mediocre, Melodrama, Private Versus Professional Life, Revenge, Romance, Soap Opera, Suspense, Wrongful Arrest

The Case (2011)

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From Acorn TV:

In this suspenseful British legal drama, a husband is put on trial for his wife’s death-but was it murder, or an act of love? Tony Powell (Dean Andrews, Life on Mars) claims he helped his terminally ill wife (Caroline Langrishe, Judge John Deed) commit suicide, but when he appears to be hiding something, his lawyers fight for the truth behind the controversial case.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 5 episodes of this complete story. Each episode lasts about 43 minutes.

Basically this series is a slightly better than  mediocre soap opera. Dean Andrews  ( Robbie in “Last Tango in Halifax”) as Tony Powell spends most of the time looking mournfully guilty. His two lawyers, Julie and  Sol, cannot decide whether to have an affair.  Julie devotes a fair amount of time cat-fighting with the office witch,  Valerie. Meanwhile Valerie prowls desperately looking for love (or just sex). You get the idea, right?

As background noise while doing something worthwhile this soap opera will suffice.

 

2018, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acorn TV, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Based on true facts, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Child abuse, Cold Cases, Depression, Detective, Emotional child abuse, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Father-daughter relations, Forensics, Government cover-up, Mental Illness, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Physical child abuse, Police Politics, Psychiatrists, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish Detective, Underdogs win

The Truth Will Out (2018)

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From IMDB:

After a long sick leave and recovery police detective Peter Wendel is back on duty. He is commissioned to form a new team to reopen unresolved murder cases, however he soon finds himself with a rather third rank and conflicting staff. Soon they are in the center of a new case. An unknown murderer claims that Sweden’s most infamous murderer is a fraud – that he never committed the murders he’s jailed for. High reaching implications are to be exposed, involving even the Swedish government.

From Acorn TV:

Detective Peter Wendel wants to create an elite team of investigators to crack cold cases. When the police receive a tip that Sweden’s most notorious serial killer is a fraud, and therefore eight killers might have gone free, Wendel gets his chance–but only the dregs of the force are available to work the case. Can his lowly group solve these high-profile crimes? Swedish with English subtitles.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 8 episodes of this complete story. Each episode lasts about 43 minutes. Swedish with English subtitles. Formerly Acorn TV advertised itself as “All Things British” but evidently their intent has changed.

Plaguing Peter Wendel throughout the episodes is the sorrow over his brother’s suicide. Because he refuses to accept the verdict of suicide he becomes so mentally ill and a bit violent and must be hospitalized. Now that he is released from care he faces the prejudice that he cannot do his job properly which only makes his job proving that the Minister of Justice erred in pronouncing a man guilty of serial killings.

His ragtag trio of helpers turn out to be diamonds in the rough, especially the older woman “administrator” who shows herself to be clever, very observant, and even capable of head butting.

What compelled me to binge watch was the injustice of the cover-up by the upper echelons and the efforts of a detected named Temo to discredit and remove Peter Wendel.

Because the pace is quite S L O W,  you might easily be tempted to stop watching after the first episode. Stick with the well crafted plot to see clever vindications.

 

2018, Abuse of Women, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, British History, Coarse manners, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Dancing, Drama, Fashion, Grungy, Horses, Jealousy, Lesbian Theme, Masturbation, Nudity, Outrageous Behavior, Personal Betrayal, Rape, Remarkable Costumes, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Sexual Harassment, Strange Ending, Vulgar

The Favourite (2018)

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From IMDB:

In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.

Based on historical facts,  this two hour film set in England in the early 18th century presents a battle between Lady Sarah and Abigail for the affections of Queen Anne.

Olivia Coleman, who played D.S. Ellie Miller in Broadchurch, portrays the sickly Queen Anne as a somewhat repellant and incompetent Queen.  Rachel Weisz plays Lady Sarah Churchill who was the Duchess of Malborough. Lady Sarah is portrayed as Queen Anne’s lesbian lover and the real power behind the throne. At one point her impoverished cousin Abigail appears on the scene looking for employment. Through clever personal competition and intrigue Abigail, played by Emma Stone,  rises to eventually replace Sarah. Since this is history I am not spoiling the plot here. In fact the entire point of the story is how Abigail tricks her way to the top.

WARNING: Although I started by disliking the film and then found it disgustingly fascinating, Kathy did not enjoy watching.  If there is any historical accuracy in the film then the English nobility were debauched and imperious lechers.  Brace yourself for nudity, sexual assaults on servants, and continuous use of the C  _ _ T word.

In its favor, the photography, the costumes, and the palace rooms are feasts for the eyes. Never mind the vomit.

 

2014, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Ambiguous Conclusion, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Anti-Semitism, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Conspiracy, Corruption, Cult Brainwashing, MHz Choice, Murder, Personal Betrayal, Political Suspense, Politicians, Racism, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Thriller, Violent, White Supremecy

Blue Eyes (2014)

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From MHz Choice:

A taut, contemporary Swedish thriller set in the run-up to a general election as a series of terror attacks sends shock waves throughout the nation.

From MHz Choice (foreign films only) you can stream this Swedish TV series consisting of 10 1-hour episodes.

Essentially the film centers on the rise of white supremacy in Sweden, its political repercussions, associated terrorism, and its effects on different characters.

Secondarily the mystery in the series involves several murders which are a result of a conspiracy by some politicians to hide their greed-inspired push to allow uranium mining.

Most tragically we watch a young sister and brother being groomed to become white supremacist terrorists. Here the sister is motivated by the false belief that her mother was murdered by immigrants.

It seems only fair to warn you that the ending, much like life and the political process, is somewhat ambivalent. Expect no black and white conclusion.

Tension that drew me in like a magnet!

 

1154, Abduction, Acorn TV, Adultery, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Bloody scenes, British, British History, Bullying, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Father-son relations, Grisly, Mayhem, Military, Mother-son relations, Murder, Prison, Religious Theme, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, True Story, Unscrupulous drive to power, Violent, War

Plantagenets (1154-1399)

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From Acorn TV:

Out of the chaos, darkness, and violence of the Middle Ages, one family seizes control of England, holding onto power and ruthlessly crushing all competition for more than 300 years. They are the Plantagenets.

If you subscribe to Acorn TV and are a fan of British history, you may well love this 4 episode series streamable from Acorn TV.  The title of the series is really “Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty”. Each episode lasts 45 minutes.  Contents are as follows:

  • Henry II who kills Becket.
  • Henry III battles Simon de Montfort.
  • Edward II lets his obsessions lead him to ruin.
  • Richard II puts down the Peasant Revolt and launches a reign of terror until his cousin Henry Bolinbroke defeats him to become Henry IV the first of the Lancaster dynasty in 1399.

So think of the Plantagenets as running from 1150 to 1400. They spoke French (except when the vicious Richard II lied to the Peasant Revolt in English). Henry IV was the first king in 300 years (that is to say, after the Norman conquest of 1066) to use English.

These episodes are more than mere lectures. Because they are dramatized they become more memorable. Nothing presented is fictional. Children should probably not watch these episodes because the Plantagents were ruthless savages that used torture and murder to achieve their ambitious ends.

Stories as chilling as they are fascinating.

 

2015, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Complicated, Corruption, Finance, Financial malfeasance, Thought provoking

The Big Short (2015)

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From IMDB:

Four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight.

Although this scary (because it is a true story) film tries to explain the financial concepts involved, it may help to read the Wikipedia summary which contains a link to Credit Default Swaps (CDS).

Plot moves quickly, acting is good, and the lineup of stars is promising.

If you or your financial adviser rely on the rating agencies (who knowingly lied about the worthiness of the mortgage backed instruments), how safe do you feel?

Not only is there not a happy ending, but the same corrupt practices are continuing even as you read this review.