Category Archives: Conspiracy

2010, Based on true facts, Conspiracy, Feel Good Not For Children, Lawyers, Nudity, Police Story, Prison, Underdogs win, Violent

Conviction (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Convinced that her brother, Kenneth (Sam Rockwell), has been unjustly convicted of murder and incompetently defended by court-ordered attorneys, high school dropout Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) puts herself through law school in order to represent him in his appeal. Inspired by a true story, director Tony Goldwyn’s stirring drama also stars Melissa Leo, Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher and Clea DuVall.

Miscarriages of justice, at least for me, are always compelling stories. Of course, you know that the film would not have been made if events had not turned out well for Kenneth Waters.

Read about about the history in the Wikipedia article. There you will also find mention of Martha Coakley, Attorney General of Massachusetts. In the film she comes off very badly. Hearing her name so often during the film was almost a shock. Read about her reaction to the film in the same Wikipedia article. Politicians always know the right thing to say.

Warning: Although the film is eventually a feel-good, getting to the end is a real roller-coaster of setbacks. At the very least, I can only admire the incredible and inspiring fortitude of Betty Anne Waters.

Do NOT miss the final frames which explain in text how things turned out after Kenneth got out of prison. Also the Wikipedia article has some follow through.

My biggest disappointment was that the corrupt woman Ayer police officer, Nancy Taylor, who framed Kenneth could not be prosecuted due to the Massachusetts statute of limitations.

2002, Biographical, Conspiracy, Crime, Documentary, Military, Violent, War

The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)

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From NetFlix:

This riveting documentary depicts former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a warmonger responsible for military cover-ups in Vietnam, Cambodia and East Timor, as well as the assassination of a Chilean leader in 1970. Based on a book by journalist Christopher Hitchens, the film includes interviews with historians, political analysts and such journalists as New York Times writer William Safire, a former Nixon speechwriter.

What did Lincoln say? “You can fool some of the people some of the time …”.

So many details appear in this well-crafted documentary that I fear to cite any facts for fear of being inaccurate. Please therefore view the film critically. Granted the makers hated our clever war monger, but judge for yourself whether or not the accusations are well founded.

Kissinger is accused of at least the following:

  • He hijacked a Paris peace accord that could have ended the Vietnam war so that by prolonging the war he could get Tricky Dick Nixon re-elected.
  • He promoted the bombing of Cambodia.
  • As a result of this bombing, the almost total destruction of Cambodia paved the way for the Khmer Rouge.
  • He is responsible for the overthrow of Allende in Chile and the installation of Pinochet.

Ironically our Henry was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the Vietnam war. But he received this award two years before the war ended. Vietnamese officials boycotted the award because the members of the Nobel committee were such fools.

One facet of history that has always bothered me is that evil men often go to their graves convinced that they “did the right thing”. For example consider: Pinochet (Chile) or Emilio Massara (Argentina’s “dirty war”) both of whom claimed to their dying day that they had acted for the good of their country. Several Nazi war criminals never understood what all the fuss was about. (Note that the documentary calls Kissinger a war criminal.) What will be the deathbed experience of such notables as Cardinal Law (“The Church of the Holy Pedophile”) or Henry the Swinger ?

Not a pretty picture!

2009, Child Molestation, Conspiracy, Crime, Detective, Drama, Rape, Revenge, Suspense, Swedish, Violent

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Third in a trio of films inspired by Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy,” this thriller follows feisty computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) as she finds herself hospitalized, suspected of murder and targeted for death by thugs. Meanwhile, Lisbeth’s journalist pal, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), crusades to prove her innocence. Daniel Alfredson directs this film that also stars Lena Endre and Jacob Ericksson

My NetFlix version offered not only English subtitles but also English dubbing.

Although the third book in Larsson’s trilogy seemed procedural and not as exciting as the first two books, the third film was not boring. Probably for me what kept the tension going was the need to see Salander vindicated. In a certain sense it all seemed to work out too easily. At the very least, seeing Dr. Teleborian get his comeuppance was very satisfying.

For the most part the film was faithful to the book while omitting certain unimportant details. For example, her wounded father, Zalachenko, does not roam the hospital hall trying to get at Salander. Nor could the treatment of her clandestine use of technology in her hospital room be so elaborate.

Only in one instance do I object: without giving anything away, in the last part of the film Niedermann is given a different solution from that planned by Larsson in order to continue the series.

If you’ve seen the first two installments, how can you not watch the conclusion ?

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, Conspiracy, Crime, Detective, Drama, Love Story, Rape, Revenge, Spanish, Suspense, Violent

The Secret in Their Eyes (2010)

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From NetFlix:

A startling discovery comes to light for retired Argentine criminal investigator Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darín) as he pens a biographical novel about the unsolved case of a young newlywed’s brutal rape and murder years ago. Past and present intertwine for Espósito and colleague Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil) in director Juan José Campanella’s Oscar-winning character study in which justice, pain and love collide.

Compare this film with The Official Story (1985). Both deal with the corruption that is Argentina. “The Secret” occurs during the time of Eva Perón and therefore in the 1940’s and 50′. “The Official Story” takes place a few years after the “Dirty War” and there in the 1980’s.

Obsession with justice and an inability to forget the past is the prevailing theme. Corruption during the era of Perón accounts for the difficulty Espósito finds in obtaining justice.

Some dialog is wonderful witty banter. Some dialog shows the ugliness inherent in the Argentinian culture. The acting is wonderful.

On one level this is a story of frustrated love. On another level it is about obsession with justice. On another level it is about official corruption.

At many points I assumed the film had ended. But wait … there’s more! Finally there is a surprise ending that you may or may not expect. Sorry, no spoilers !

2008, Conspiracy, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Occasional gore, Plot Twist, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

Tell Tale (2008)

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From NetFlix:

In this thriller inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Josh Lucas stars as Terry, a single dad who’s kept alive by another man’s heart — a scenario that suits him fine until he discovers that the ticker’s original owner was murdered. Worried that he might come to a similar end, Terry embarks on a desperate search for the donor’s killer in this Michael Cuesta-helmed film produced by Ridley and Tony Scott.

At first I thought this would be a B-grade forgettable film and perhaps it is. However, it was compelling enough that I stayed glued to the screen. Your opinion would be appreciated if you ever watch this film. There are just too many other better films to watch.

While not offering any spoiler to this mystery plus vengeance film, it does seem that lately I have watched many films with a theme of organ transplant (“Repo Men”, “Never Let Me Go”, “Dirty Pretty Things”). I was a bit put off by the vigilante aspects of the film, but it is just a story.

There is one very gory scene toward the end which I cannot discuss without spoiling.

With my poor hearing and because there were no subtitles available, I had trouble understanding how the detective was complicit in the plot. Help would be appreciated.

1985, Conspiracy, Could Be Sad, Docudrama, Drama, Latino Culture, Not Feel Good, Spanish, Torture, Violent

The Official Story (1985)

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From NetFlix:

Argentinean schoolteacher Alicia (Norma Aleandro) is forced to question her government’s official story of the “Dirty War” of the 1970s when she suspects that her adopted daughter, Gaby, may be the child of a murdered political prisoner. But her quest for truth takes a heavy toll on her relationship with her conservative husband (Héctor Alterio). This wrenching historical drama won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986.

To appreciate this film it might help to read the Economist’s obituary of Emilio Massera.

Nothing brings history to life more than a film that puts us in contact with that period of history. Spain and consequently Latin America have a long history of bloody conflicts between liberals and conservatives. As a horrific example we have the “Dirty War” of the 1970s in Argentina. Massera was convicted of murder and torture in 1985, the same year in which this film was made. So making this film in 1985 must have taken some courage. In part of the film you see the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo marching. They started to march in 1977. The founder of the Mothers was put in a concentration camp. She and two others were “disappeared”.

Both husband and wife characters are excellent actors. She represents the comfortable upper class women who prefer to understand nothing of politics. He represents the conservatives who hated liberals and thought nothing of murdering supposedly liberal mothers (many were innocent bystanders) and then adopting their orphans. Their marriage and the sadness that ensues is a metaphor for the division in Argentina.

There is no actual rape or torture shown. Rather the wife’s lifelong girl friend relates how she was tortured and raped by the conservative Argentinian Naval officers.

The scene in which Alicia goes to (Catholic) confession shows the hypocritical complicity of the Catholic hierarchy who were for the most part conservative supporters of the “Dirty War”. You can read about the role of the Argentinian Catholic hierarchy in the “Dirty War”.

Spanish with subtitles. Note the absence of “s” in the Argentinian accent.

2007, Book Review, Conspiracy, Detective, FilmReview, Suspense, Violent

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (2007)

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Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Triology was published after his untimely death at the age of 50 from a heart attack. Wikipedia has a discussion of his death and whether it was related to the fact that he lived under death threats for his work against right-wing extremism. His biography in Wikipedia shows him to be a man of action.

“The Girl Who Kicked” is number three in the trilogy and seems to me to be the least interesting of the three. It is largely procedural. It ties up some but not all of the details from the second book “The Girl Who Played With Fire”, thus leaving room for more installments which Larsson had planned and partially written. I read number three in a paperback purchased in England.

So far the Swedish filming of the first two books was well worth watching. Needless to say, if Sweden films the third novel, yours truly will be eager to watch it.

2009, Conspiracy, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

V (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Who are they, and what are they up to? These are the questions Earth inhabitants pose in their first encounter with an alien race called the Visitors in this ABC sci-fi drama based on the 1980s miniseries V. When Homeland Security agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) begins to find the answers, she joins a resistance movement to thwart the Visitors — even as they recruit her teenage son as their spy.

In 1983 I was enthralled with the original “V” series. It took many episodes before we got to see their female leader open her mouth to reveal a serpent’s tongue and fangs and to swallow whole a mouse. This latest version from 2009 is just as tense and has been greatly updated to the current sad state of our planet (which sad state has been created by the visitors). Much to my surprise we get to see the reptile skin under the human cloned covering in the first episode. And it doesn’t matter because the fun is just beginning.

Here is a film in which we can really appreciate the marvelous digital effects. The interior of the mother ship is not to be believed.

As of this writing (Nov 2010) only season 1 is available on DVD.

These damned reptiles even have sex with humans! Are you sure your partner isn’t one of the visitors ?

2009, Car Chase, Conspiracy, Dark, Detective, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Grim, Nudity, Rape, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Tech expert Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) becomes the prime suspect when two journalists, including Dag Svensson (Hans Christian Thulin), die after Millennium magazine publisher Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) launches an exposé of the Swedish sex trade. In Part 2 of the trilogy based on the action novels of Stieg Larsson, the vampiric Salander vanishes as Blomkvist digs deep into a possible conspiracy.

Here we discuss the Swedish version.

You should first (read and) see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009) which is the first book of the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Actors from the first film continue into the second film which follows faithfully the book such that its ending will flow into the third book.

Fortunately the DVD from Netflix allowed me to have both English dubbing as well as SDH subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. The dubbing does not match exactly the subtitles, but that does not matter. Moreover, the dubbing is spoken with very clear diction. If your hearing ever suffers you may discover that American actors often mumble because diction lessons are not part of the American acting tradition.

This time around I appreciated the actor Michael Nyqvist better and found that he fit the part. He is somewhat inert, but perhaps that is the intent. In general it is revealing to first read the novel and then compare your mental pictures of the characters with the actors chosen.

There is an explicit Lesbian sex scene. There is a rape scene.