Category Archives: Bloody scenes

2013, Acceptable for teenagers, Accidental Death, Alcoholism, Antique Cars, Bloody scenes, Boxing, Brother-Brother relations, Bullying, Circus, Dancing, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Illegitimate Child, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Mother-son relations, Norwegian, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Plot Twist, Rape, Sex Scenes, Slow, Teenagers, Unmarried mother, Violent

The Half Brother (2013)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

The life of a family spanning five generations in the 20th century Europe split in half by WW2, centering around the half brothers Barnum and Fred growing up together in Oslo; Barnum with his father, Fred searching for his.

From MHz Choice:

Based on the internationally acclaimed and best-selling novel by Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen, The Half Brother is an evocative family saga revolving around the life of un-produced screenwriter Barnum Nilsen. His family is laden with oddities and secrets, the darkest of which happened on the same day all of Europe rejoiced over the end of WW II.

From MHz Choice you can stream the only season of this complete family saga. Each of the 8 episodes is about 45 minutes.

Past and present flashbacks weave through Barnum’s writing the story of his troubled family. There are not too many characters: Barnum and his half-brother Fred, their mother Vera, Vera’s mother Boletta, Boletta’s mother, Vera’s husband Arnold,  and Barnum’s two best friends Peder and Vivian (who marries Barnum).  Although the plot is easy to follow, there are many plot twists and turns all of which end with a genuine surprise.

Kathy found the film slow at times, but I found the relaxed pace was perfectly suited to the story of two boys trying to understand their lives.  Now days it is hard to find unusual but truly human family stories. Note however that there are rape, violence, bullying, heavy drinking and at least temporary surrender to real difficulties.

For me this series rates a DO NOT MISS!

2007, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action Film, Bloody scenes, Crime thriller, DNA, Extramarital Affair, Forensics, Large-scale gang activity, Lesbian Theme, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Mixed Martial Arts, Murder, Norwegian, Norwegian Crime Story, Nudity, Prison, Prostitutes, Suspense, Theft, Thriller, Violent

Codename Hunter (2007)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

An intense hijacking of a prisoner transfer van which leads to a formation of a secret police unit called HUNTER. The officers in this specialized group don’t always go by the book but they often get solid results. The leader is Dan W. who says he is just an analyst…but he is very smart and has a nickname of ‘sniper’. Also in the group is an undercover cop who is good with details and a good kick boxer. Six episodes cover one complete story through lots of action and complicated political characters and criminal elements.

From MHz Choice you can stream 2 seasons of this Norwegian crime thriller.  Each season contains 6 one-hour episodes.

So far the Norwegian offerings from MHz Choice have been excellent, including this exciting story.

Probably the lead male character is Bjorn Ronningen (played by Mads Ousdal). Throughout season 1 his wife is about to give birth while Bjorn is sent to many countries tracking down the gang.

Undoubtedly the lead female character is the undercover agent Kikki (played by Ane Dahl Torp) who spends the entire season 1 in great danger as she infiltrates the gang and falls in love with one of the criminals.

Enough excitement and complications to keep us interested.

2015, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Belgian, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Contract Killing, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Danish, Danish Detectives, Dark, Dutch, Emotional child abuse, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Forensics, French, German, Greed, Grim, Grisly, Incest, International thriler, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Murder, Nudity, Pedophilia, Physical child abuse, Polish, Pornographic Scenes, Prostitutes, Rape, Revenge, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Sex trafficking, Slave trafficking, Sociopath, Spousal Abuse, Suspense, Terminal Disease, Torture, Valium appropriate, Violent, Wife Beating

The Team (2015)

Leave a comment

From MHz Choice:

Lars Mikkelsen (‘Borgen’, ‘1864’) stars as the leader of a joint Danish-German-Belgian investigative team tasked with solving a series of murders in this gripping crime thriller from the writers of ‘The Eagle’.

What makes this one season of 8 episodes streamed from MHz Choice so gripping for me is that the villain Marius Loukauskis  is so vile and so cynically amoral that I could not wait to get to the conclusion. Unfortunately MHz Choice doled out the episodes week after week. Finally you can see now all the episodes at once, which is why I waited to recommend and review this excellent series.

Because the “Team” is assembled from several countries (even though the production is from Denmark), you will hear many languages: French, English, German, and others. As usual they are accompanied by subtitles.

Each member of the team has their own personal story to tell. Often that story is quite unhappy.

WARNING: If you are squeamish, DO NOT WATCH this series (which is not acceptable for young people, let alone lots of adults).

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Adultery, Amusing banter, Bad Acting, Based on a Book, Bicycles, Bloody scenes, Comic Moments, Cooking, Corny at times, Crime, Detective, Eccentric Detective, Extramarital Affair, Flirting, Italian, Italian detective, Journalist, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Revenge, TV Series

Nero Wolfe (2012)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

Interesting modern actualization made by italian broadcasting service (RAI) of immortal, well-known characters created by the genial american novelist Rex Stout. It’s second time RAI produce a Nero Wolfe’s Mystery series: first one – with famous, talented stage actor Tino Buazzelli as Wolfe and Paolo Ferrari (known as Humphrey Bogart movie’s dubber) as Archie Goodwin – was aired between 1969 and 1971.

MHz Choice streams just one season of 8 episodes. Each episode lasts a bit more than 1.5 hours. Italian with English subtitles.

Although sometimes corny, sometimes amateurish acting, at least you can relax watching these friendly murder mysteries. Just about all the women are beautiful. Every home is more or less a palace.

Nero Wolfe is a somewhat overweight gourmand (i.e. he is fussy about food and eats ALOT).  In fact, there is just as much emphasis on food and Wolfe’s orchids as there is on the rest of the plot. He has a full time professional cook with whom he spars a lot. He is often condescending or even insulting to his dashing sidekick Archie Goodwin, who flirts (at the very least)  with many of the female characters.

Thus we do not take these stories seriously or expect too much. But at least they do not feature any grim gore.

2012, Abduction, Abortion, Abuse of Women, Adopted child, Adultery, Arson, Asperger's Syndrome, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Complicated, Crime, Dark, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Forensics, MHz Choice, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Police Culture, Police Politics, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swedish Detective

Camilla Läckberg (2012)

Leave a comment

From MHz Choice:

Camilla Läckberg’s beloved characters return in a TV series based on three of her bestselling mystery novels. Set in Fjällbacka on the west coast of Sweden, Detective Patrik Hedström and his fiancée, the novelist Erica Falck, become enmeshed in complex crimes affecting all the residents of the tiny coastal community.

Jean Edith Camilla Läckberg  is a Swedish crime writer. As of the early-2010’s, her work has been translated into at least 40 languages in 60 countries.

Our last review was for “The Hidden Child” which was a stand-alone presentation streamed from MHz Choice of one of Camilla Läckberg’s stories.

This review of a series streamed from MHz Choice contains 3 more stories from Camilla Läckberg:

“The Preacher”: presented in one 1.5 hour episode.

“The Stonecutter”: presented in two 1 hour episodes.

“The Stranger”: presented in two 1 hour episodes.

Amazon sells all 8 books of the author’s “Fjällbacka ” series.

As with “The Hidden Child” the stories are grim, and the inter-personal relationships important. Another DO NOT MISS!

 

 

 

2013, Adopted child, Bloody scenes, Complicated, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Holocaust Survivor, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Military, Murder Investigation, Nazis, Personal Betrayal, Spy Theme, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish Detective, Torture, Treason, Unmarried mother, Violent, WWII, Young Adults

The Hidden Child (2013)

Leave a comment

From MHz Choice:

Erica’s parents are killed in a traffic accident. She moves to Fjällbacka and discovers she has a brother.

From MHz Choice you can stream this excellent 1.5 hour TV drama from Sweden that does not seem to be part of any series.

Erica is married to a policeman. After they and their baby move to Fjällbacka, her husband joins the force. She is a stay-at-home mother but when there is a murder she cannot resist investigating, much to her husband’s chagrin.

Pay close attention at the beginning to all the many characters. Especially note the group of young Swedes who become involved in World War II and are elderly characters in the present-day story. Once you get used to the complicated story, watching is a suspenseful pleasure.

Finding such a good TV film was just plain good luck! DO NOT MISS!

2011, Abduction, Action Film, Adultery, Bank Robbery, Bloody scenes, Boating, Cancer theme, Car Chase, Chase film, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, FBI, Forensics, Gangs, Grim, International thriler, Iraq War, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Murder, Nudity, Plot Twist, Psychopath, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Spy Theme, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swiss detective, Terrorists, Thriller, Torture, TV Series, Various Romances, Violent, Well developed plot

Arne Dahl (2011)

Leave a comment

From MHz Choice:

Rough. Raw. Real. This is the world of Arne Dahl, whose crime novels have been transposed to the screen in adaptations that follow the dramatic tradition of all best-selling Scandinavian thrillers. The series revolves around cases taken on by the ‘A Unit’, an elite force of officers recruited after a series of assassinations rocks Stockholm’s high society.

MHz Choice streams several seasons (from many years beginning with 2011) of this Swedish thriller.  There are 5 complete stories, one per different year. Each story consists of 2 episodes. Each Episode is about 1.5 hours long. Swedish script with English subtitles.

REVISION 1 (Feb 2021):

There are now 2 seasons available from MHz Choice.  In the second season several of the excellent first season actors are missing or have been replaced.  Season 2 is acceptable, but not (in my opinion) a good as season 1.  Season 2 is a bit more of a soap opera. Still worth watching.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Throughout the 5 stories the same team of detectives are together. As is usual in such productions, the personal lives of the detectives are easily as important as the mystery plots.

As powerful and as grim as the stories are, they are so well done that they are really worth watching. But you should expect blood, torture as well as some explicit sex. Many scenes involve foot or car chases.

Not only are the stories complicated, but there are many surprise turns including some endings you might not expect.

This series is so compelling that I will rate it a DO NOT MISS!

 

 

 

2012, Action Film, Bloody scenes, Boxing, Car Chase, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corruption, Detective, Extramarital Affair, Forensics, French, French Detective Series, Gypsies, Journalist, MHz Choice, Murder Investigation, Police Corruption, Police Psychologist, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

Antigone 34 (2012)

Leave a comment

From MHz Choice:

Under the pressure of an invisible and powerful enemy, Lea Hippolyte, a police captain and martial arts specialist, joins forces with Victor, a marginal doctor wrongly disbarred, and with Helene, a non-conformist psycho-criminologist. Their investigations on “ ordinary” crimes cross paths with much higher stakes and address universal topics. Filmed in Montpellier in the south of France, this series follows three characters with little in common joining forces to overcome common threats.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of season 1.  Each episode lasts roughly 50 minutes. French with subtitles.

Inside the police headquarters, named Antigone34 for some reason, the atmosphere is always tense.  Principally that tension is due to two detectives who are not only hostile to many of their fellow officers, but also in fact bent. It is no secret in the plot that they are paid by the chief villain to do his bidding.  Adding to the general feeling of suspense are many chase scenes, most of which involve running on foot to catch someone. Although I found the plot somewhat complicated, nonetheless the plot excitement kept me interested.

That there is only one season disappoints me.  Season one finishes  the plot surrounding one police case, but finishes with a major surprise that seems designed to demand another season. Moreover, those two bent detectives are still in the picture, although Lea is sure she knows who they are. But at the end of the season we the audience discover a bad actor that even Lea could not yet suspect.

2014, Abduction, Action Film, Action Hero, Arson, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Car Chase, Complicated, Computer geeks, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corruption, Emotional child abuse, Father-son relations, Financial malfeasance, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Greed, Grim, Grisly, MHz Choice, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Newspaper Culture, Norwegian, Norwegian Journalists, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Uncle-Nephew relations, Violent

Mammon (2014)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

A newspaper journalist revealing fraud in a large multinational company, finds his family involved, ruining his career, family relations, and entangles him in a following mystery.

From MHz Choice you can stream season 1 (2014) of this thriller. Each of the 6 episodes lasts about an hour. Season 1 is a complete story. Norwegian with English subtitles.  In the Spring of 2018 MHz Choice will offer Season 2 (2016).

For me the plot was complicated and a bit confusing, possibly because there were so many characters. Nevertheless the episodes were tense and exciting.  Peter Veras (played by Jon Oigarden) is placed in one difficult situation after another. Just watching him escape fatal traps set by all sorts of really evil people is exhausting.

Exciting enough to binge watch.  Thankfully, the story ends in episode 6.  Otherwise a cliff-hanger would have killed me.

2017, Acorn TV, Arson, Bloody scenes, Child custody, Contract Killing, Crude Talk, Dark, Depression, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Fishing, Forensics, Gloomy, Lawyers, Murder Investigation, Nazis, Nudity, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Small Town Atmosphere, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, TV Series, Violent

Rebecka Martinsson (2017)

Leave a comment

From Acorn TV:

Swedish with English subtitles. Based on Asa Larsson’s celebrated and popular crime novels, the series takes place in the bleak Northern Environment and revolves around Rebecka Martinsson (Ida Engvoll) a Stockholm lawyer. When a childhood friend suddenly dies Rebecka reluctantly returns to her hometown. But not everything is what it seems and she’s drawn into the gripping pursuit of a killer.

Although MHz Choice offers only foreign language TV with English subtitles, in this case it is exceptionally Acorn TV that streams this particular TV series. Recall that Acorn TV claims to offer only shows from countries associated with the British empire.

Season 1 offers 8 episodes. Each two episodes comprise one complete story.  Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Watching from the beginning is important because, in addition to the detectives solving murders,  all 8 episodes show continuous developments in Rebecka’s life  as a young adult.

This series was a lucky find. Not only are the stories original and out of the ordinary, but the writing and acting are excellent.

Daily life in Sweden is presented in all its frigidity,  gloom, and hardship. But one of Rebecka’s conflicts is whether to continue her successful career as a Stockholm corporate lawyer (and marry one of her fellow employees) or to remain in the cold north where she grew up. Rebecka is played by a Swedish actress named Ida Engvoll. Despite her golden-haired beauty, the story line puts her through much anguish, including a stint in a mental hospital for clinical depression. For much of the series her eyes are made up to be sunken and red making her look downright miserable.  Her relationship with a one-armed police dog handler is an important part of the series, and in fact seems to lead to an as yet unavailable new season.

For a detective series I vote DO NOT MISS!