Category Archives: Coarse manners

2014, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Boating, British Drama, Coarse manners, Controlling personality, Corrupt Clergy, Cruelty, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, False Imprisonment, Fight Scenes, Friendship, Gangs, Grungy, Horses, Love Story, Murder, Orphan, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Smuggling, Suspense, Trust Nobody, Violent

Jamaica Inn (2014)

From PBS Passport:

Based on the novel by the English writer Daphne Du Maurier, Jamaica Inn is a gripping mystery that tells the story of Mary Yellan, a woman who is forced in the 1820s to move into the ominous Jamaica Inn in Cornwall with her aunt and uncle. Mary must uncover the secrets of a local group of smugglers while also managing her growing attraction to the mysterious Jem Merlyn.

From PBS Passport you can stream the 3 hour-long episodes of this TV series that was recently (February 2023) aired on the PBS TV station.

Be prepared for a really grubby old Jamaica Inn notorious for a rough crowd of smugglers.  Josh Merlyn (played by Sean Harris) is a brutally violent and disturbed proprietor.   Mary Yellan (played by Jessica Brown) is a determinedly upright young woman who, at least initially, is overwhelmed by the evil surrounding her.  Mary finds solace from the Reverend Francis Davey (played by Ben Daniels who played Lord Snowdon in “The Crown”). Mary falls in love with Joss’ brother Jem (played by Matthew McNulty who played Steve Campbell in “Deadwater Fell”).

Framed as both a love story and a mystery adventure, where the mystery is “who is really running the smuggling”, these three hours provide  tense and suspenseful viewing.

DO NOT MISS!

2007, Acceptable for teenagers, Accidental Death, Amazon Prime, Amusing banter, Bathroom Humor, Blackmail, British Comedy, British Slapstick, Coarse manners, Comedy, Drug trip, Eccentric cast of characters, Embarrassing episodes, Exaggeration Comedy, Father-daughter relations, Gay theme, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Jealousy, Mother-son relations, Nudity, Often downright silly, Romance, Satire, Uncategorized

Death at a Funeral (2007)

From Amazon Prime:

As the mourners at a British country manor struggle valiantly to “keep a stiff upper lip,” a dignified funeral devolves into a hilarious, no-holds barred debacle of misplaced cadavers, indecent exposure, and shocking family secrets. This classic farce blows the lid off the proverbial coffin as “the film’s delicious comic flourishes are served up by an outstanding cast” 

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1.5 hour comedy film.

Although there is an American 2010 all-Black version of this film, the Amazon version is the British 2007 all-White version.

British slapstick is not for everyone. For example, there is at least one  outlandish scene (this one involving human excrement) that could seem distasteful.   Nor is it certain that the treatment of a gay theme from 15 years ago would be  completely acceptable in 2022. These days the extensive nudity will probably not raise an eyebrow.

Among the British actors that might seem familiar, there are:

  • Matthew Macfadyen (Howard’s End, MI-5) as the grieving son Daniel.
  • Peter Dinklage (the dwarf actor in Game of Thrones) as  Peter, who claims to be the lover of the deceased father.
  • Alan Tudyk (Arrested Development) as Simon, who spends most of the time in a drug-induced haze.
  • Rupert Graves (Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock ) as Robert.
  • Peter Vaughan (Maester Aemon in Game of Thrones ) as Uncle Alfie, who spends most of the time on the toilet.
  • Peter Egan ( Martin Hughes in Unforgotten) as Victor.

Possibly not as funny as Monty Python.

 

2022, Abandoned child, Acceptable for teenagers, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, America of the 1950s, Amusing banter, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Brother-Sister relations, Coarse manners, Could Be Sad, Crude Talk, Disrespect toward women, DO NOT MISS, Eccentric cast of characters, Failed Father, Father-son relations, Fatherless child, Feel Good Not For Children, Friendship, Happy ending, Husband leaves wife, Local color, Sex Scenes, Social class differences, Uncle-Nephew relations, Vulgar, Wife Beating

The Tender Bar (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

​​From director George Clooney and based on the best-selling memoir, The Tender Bar follows an aspiring writer (Tye Sheridan) pursuing his romantic and professional dreams. From a stool in his uncle’s (Ben Affleck) bar, he learns what it means to grow up from a colorful group of local characters.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this gem of a film which lasts for 1 hour 46 minutes.

Ben Affleck’s resumé has seen its ups and downs, successes and embarrassing flops.  But with this wonderful film he has nailed a really memorable role.  Even one critic who found the film “bland” still conceded that Affleck (as Uncle George) delivered an excellent, terrific performance.

Although that Long Island neighborhood, home of a lot of foul-mouthed but warm-hearted men and women, was rougher than anything I ever experienced, nevertheless I admired their tight friendships.

Expect notable acting from:

  • Tye Sheridan as the young JR.  Naïve, plain looking, and hopelessly attracted to
  • Briana Middleton as Sidney. Did she ever love JR or was she looking for “experience” (as in “sex”)?
  • Quincy Tyler Bernstine as Sidney’s mother, whose sneering, smug, cruel treatment of JR left me boiling.
  • Daniel Ranieri as young JR.
  • Christopher Lloyd as Grandpa. “Don’t tell anybody I’m a good grandfather, everybody will want one.”
  • Lily Rabe as the  Mom whose life is centered on her son JR.
  • Max Martini as JR’s cringe-worthy drunk of a father.

In the IMDB entry for this movie, there is a sizeable user review that is much harder on the film than I have been. Still —

DO NOT MISS!

 

1999, Action Film, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Bumbling Detective, Coarse manners, Cross Dressing, Detective, Eccentric Detective, Ethical struggles, Exaggeration Comedy, Extreme Violence as Comedy, Fist Fight, Gangs, Gay theme, Kanopy streaming, Mayhem, Murder, Physical fighting, Police Culture, Religious Nonsense, Russian Gang, Some exaggerated violence, Suspense, Uncategorized, Violent

The Boondock Saints (1999)

From IMDB:

Fraternal twins Murphy (Norman Reedus, THE WALKING DEAD) and Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery, POWDER) become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. After both experience an epiphany, the brothers set out to rid Boston of evil while being tracked down by FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe, SPIDERMAN, PLATOON, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE) in this stylish and violent crowd-pleaser. “Willem Dafoe’s portrayal of the conflicted homosexual FBI agent is overacted to such an extent that it is hilarious, amazing and entertaining. His is an unforgettable character.” – Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope.

From Kanopy you can stream this 1 hour 48 minute complete film.

As irreverent and violent as this film is, it is Willem Dafoe’s eccentric  performance that makes the story “a real hoot (i.e. funny)”.  He is described as a “conflicted homosexual” detective.  “Conflicted” means he has to choose between arresting both Connor and Murphy MacManus or allowing them to continue murdering untouchable gang members and their gang leaders.  But I’ll never tell, just watch the farce.

“Violent” here means that kind of exaggerated, murderous violence that is so extreme that it is a comically orchestrated dance. Other such films include “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”.

More guilty, violent pleasure.

2018, Acceptable Trash, Action Film, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amusing banter, Car Chase, Chase film, Coarse manners, Comedy, Conspiracy, Corruption, Crude Talk, Exaggeration Comedy, Explicit sexual discussion, Fist Fight, Frenetic, IMDB streaming, Improbable details, International thriler, Invincible Hero, Mayhem, Mercenaries, Mixed Martial Arts, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Nudity, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Psychopath, Romance, Ruthless Killer, Satirical ultra-violence, Spy Versu Spy, Suspense, Violent, Vulgar, Vulgar Action Comedy, Witty dialog

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

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From IMDB:

Audrey and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.

From IMDB you can stream this 2 hour thriller comedy.

If you register with IMDB, then for FREE you can stream using IMDB some of the films you find on that site.  Locate a film and then on that page you will see a list of just which sites stream that film.  Now and then one of those streaming sites will be IMDB.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching acceptable trash films for which I need a new category.   As time goes by such films are in competition to provide the most vulgar conversations, the most explicit nudity,  the most explicit sexual activity, and the most violent scenes possible. Often such films are touted as “comedies”.  So from now on, if I call a film a “vulgar action comedy,” then you know what I mean.

This film under review fits all those criteria except that there is just kissing instead of sexual activity.

Until the end of the film you really do not know who the good guys are.  But as is so often the case,  each of the candidates can shoot guns so well that they never miss a shot.  In addition these candidates are superb athletes that have mastered gymnastics and martial arts and can leap over tall buildings.  Here the two leading competitors are Justin Theroux (from American Psycho) as Drew and Sam Heughan (from Outlander) as Sebastian.

Another requirement for such films are the wild, out-of-control car chases. Usually the car must travel the wrong way on a one-way street or highway.  There must be several collisions in which some cars are turned upside down.

Why do I love this type of film?

2016, Action sequences, Coarse manners, Defies Categorization, Eccentric cast of characters, Exaggeration Comedy, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Friendship, Improbable details, Kanopy streaming, Masturbation, Must suspend disbelief, Offbeat, Philosophic Discussions, Vulgar

Swiss Army Man (2016)

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From Kanopy:

Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded on a deserted island and given up all hope. Everything changes when a corpse named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) washes ashore. The two become fast friends, and go on an epic adventure to bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.

From Kanopy you can stream this 98 minute complete film.

Easily one of the strangest films I have ever seen.  No holds are barred in the outrageous conversations,  more than frank sexual discussions, and visual effects.

Just one example should convince you that this adventure is not your average film experience.  As Hank prepares to commit suicide on a deserted island, he spots a corpse that has just come in from the sea and landed on the beach.  This corpse noisily farts repeatedly. Eventually Hank uses Manny as a flotation device and the two sail off into the sea using Manny’s fart power as an outboard motor.

Heard enough?   Keep an open mind and I’ll bet you can’t stop watching.

2014, America of the 1960s, America of the 1970s, Based on a Book, Coarse manners, Cocaine, Crime, Crude Talk, Detective, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Eccentric cast of characters, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Kanopy streaming, Nudity, Offbeat, Old-Fashioned, Period Piece, Politicians, Quirky

Inherent Vice (2014)

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From Kanopy you can stream this 149 minute feature film.  Kanopy’s own summary is:

Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Boogie Nights) reteams with The Master star Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Her, Walk the Line) for this darkly comic adaptation of the 2009 Thomas Pynchon novel, set in late-sixties Los Angeles. When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin…well, easy for her to say. It’s the tail end of the psychedelic ’60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused—except this one usually leads to trouble.

If you enjoy period pieces you will enjoy watching  bearded Joaquin Phoenix cleverly disguised as a hippy private investigator.  Consider the impressive list of actors:

Benicio Del Toro, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Martin Short, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon.

Slow, complicated, and historic.  Many references to the Vietnam period politics (Nixon, etc). Very frank sexual discussions and situations  accompanied by full nudity.

Probably not for everyone.

2016, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amazon Prime, Amusing banter, Barely Acceptable Trash, Coarse manners, Comedy, Contract Killing, Crude Talk, Eccentric cast of characters, Exaggeration Comedy, Explicit sex, Father-daughter relations, Friendship, Gay theme, Often downright silly, Outrageous Behavior, Quirky, Sex Scenes, Violent, Vulgar

Nice Package (2016)

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From IMDB:

A wannabe professional thief, his gay best friend, a sexy hostage, some thugs and a mystery package everyone wants.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 38 minute complete film.

If vulgarity, goofy characters, tongue-in-cheek violence, satiric sex scenes, and absurd conversations are your thing, this barely acceptable trash will hopefully provide you with some laughs.

Motto: I LOVE TRASH!

2016, Abduction, Coarse manners, Divorce, Eccentric Detective, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, German, German Detectives, Jewelry theft, Mental Illness, MHz Choice, Missing Person, Murder, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Police Culture, Religious fanatic, Religious Theme, Revenge, Serial Killer, Stalker, Suspense, Teenagers

Wolfsland (2016)

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From MHz Choice:

Criminalist Viola Delbrück and Detective Burkhard “Butch” Schulz are mismatched investigators in this atmospheric German crime drama set in the mountains of Upper Lusatia.

From MHz Choice you can stream one season consisting of 6 episodes. Each episode lasts about 1.5 hours and is a complete story. German with subtitles.

Running through the 6 episodes are several themes, the most important being the fact that Viola’s former husband is stalking her and determined to win her back.  Viola is an intelligent and sincere detective who tries to follow the rules.  Detective “Butch” on the other hand is a real pain-in-the neck who is most often rude but underneath  the coarse surface is, in his own way, a caring person.

Well done set of engrossing stories.

2014, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action Film, Action Hero, Assisted Suicide, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, British History, Chick Flick, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Coarse manners, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Flirting, French Culture, Frontier Life, Gaelic, Gay theme, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Historical Fiction, Husband leaves wife, Illegitimate Child, Improbable details, Magic, Marital Infidelity, Medical Theme, Melodrama, Military, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Prison, Rape, Revenge, Romance, Sadism, Scottish, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Smallpox, Sociopath, Suspense, Torture, Various Romances, Violent, Vulgar

Outlander (2014)

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From Wikipedia:

Outlander is a drama television series based upon author Diana Gabaldon‘s historical time travel book series of the same name.  It stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a married former World War II nurse who in 1946 finds herself transported back to Scotland in 1743. There she encounters the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and becomes embroiled in the Jacobite risings.

There exist or will exist at this writing 5 seasons of this very successful series. From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons. Starz is offering  at least 4 seasons. Season 1 has 15 episodes. Seasons 2,3,and 4 have 13 episodes. Season 5 is promised by Starz but not yet available today (Jan11,2020).

Summarizing a plot that goes on forever is pointless. If this type of adventure soap opera appeals to you, then you just emerse yourself and plow through.  Personally I could not stop watching probably because like all good potboilers our hero and heroine repeatedly get caught in some dilemma only to eventually extricate themselves.

Some of the subplots are a bit over the top. When the couple escape to Paris from somewhat bleak and primitive Scotland, they suddenly are dressing to the hilt and acting like socialites.  In fact you have to suspend disbelief in the details. Just enjoy the superstitions and magic.

Expect to see much violence, wounds, blood, and lashings. Some of the scenes are cringe-worthy.  Especially BEWARE season 1 episode 15 “Wentworth Prison” in which the evil Black Jack (played to sadistic perfection by Tobias Menzies ) tortures and rapes Jamie.

As a further reward, this series has some of the best sex scenes I have ever seen.  These scenes are successful because they hinge on real emotions and are truly not pornographic.

Bets are on that once you start watching, you will not be able to stop.

DO NOT MISS