Category Archives: Could Be Hard To Watch

2016, Addiction, African American centered, Amazon Prime, Basically Sad, Bullying, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Emotional child abuse, Gay Bashing, Gay theme, Grim, Human spirit, Love Story, Middle school students, Mother-son relations, Personal Betrayal, Sex Scenes, Teenagers, Thought provoking, Uncategorized, Violent, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

Moonlight (2016)

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From IMDB:

A chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young, African-American, gay man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.

From Amazon Prime:

A moving, transcendent, award-winning look at 3 defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to adulthood, as a shy outsider dealing with difficult circumstances, is guided by support, empathy and love from the most unexpected places.

From Amazon Prime you can stream “Moonlight”.

Gooseflesh must mean that I have just seen a perfectly made, beautifully acted, true to life, and really moving film. Here is a film all of whose actors are African American speaking their own patois. But much more important are the things left unsaid. Dialog is terse to non-existent, but each word carries a lot of weight, sometimes a world of pain. Hats off to the writer and director Barry Jenkins for getting his actors to exercise such verbal restraint.

Because each of the three parts of Chiron’s life (childhood, adolescence, adulthood) had its own set of players, there are just too many actors to mention. Nor is it fair to omit a name because each part was chiseled to perfection.  Therefore, to mention just a few:

  • Mahershala Ali (who played Juan) is instantly recognized as the character Remy Danton from “House of Cards”.
  •  Naomie Harris  played Chiron’s crack addicted mother. She presented both ugly, hurtful scenes and also a touching reunion with Chiron.
  • André Holland (who played the adult Kevin) played Dr. Algernon Edwards in the TV series “The Knick”.
  • Trevante Rhodes (who played the adult Chiron)  played Ramsey Walters in the TV series “If Loving You Is Wrong”.

Let us be grateful for our own situation in life as we watch this sad, sad portrait of Americans who have such limited opportunities.

DO NOT MISS!

 

 

2016, Bloody scenes, Comic Moments, Could Be Hard To Watch, Country Music, Depression, Disturbing Image, Drama, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Ethical struggles, Gay theme, Grisly, Homophobia, Ku Klux Klan, Lynching, Mayhem, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Occasional gore, Personal Betrayal, Psychopath, Racism, Sadism, Sex Scenes, Sociopath, Suspense, Torture, Vietnam, Violent, War Veterans, Witty dialog

Hap and Leonard (2016)

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As of February 2018 you can stream season two from Netflix. Season two is not as gruesome as season one and well worth watching. Look below for the season two addition to this review.

SEASON ONE:

From IMDB:

Down on his luck after losing his job, ’60s activist/ex-con Hap Collins can’t help but listen when his seductive former wife Trudy, for whom he still pines, resurfaces with promises of finding a sunken treasure in the Deep South. Joining the adventure is Hap’s unlikely buddy Leonard Pine, an openly gay black Vietnam War vet with a bad temper and little use for Trudy’s feminine wiles. Soon enough the simple get-rich-quick scheme snowballs into bloody mayhem.

From Netflix you can stream the six episodes of season 1. Netflix does not offer any further seasons although IMDB seems to say there is a season two (2017) and season three (2018).

WARNING: You need a very, very strong stomach because this series is very, very violent and includes scenes of sadistic torture by a man and woman pair of sociopaths.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I must confess that as a guilty pleasure this series was riveting. James Purefoy as Hap Collins and Michael Kenneth Williams as his gay, black sidekick Leonard Pine make an entertaining odd couple of down-on-their-luck southerners.  James Purefoy, who is born and bred British, played the cult leader Joe Carroll in “The Following”.  Michael Williams played Chalky White in “Boardwalk Empire”. Christine Hendricks plays Hap’s former wife (for whom he will always pine) Trudy Fawst. As the scariest, nastiest, and most literally insane couple you have probably ever encountered Jimmi Simpson (Gavin Orsay in “House of Cards”)  as Soldier and Pollyanna McIntosh as Angel were chilling to watch. In some way Jimmi Simpson was the best actor of all as he portrayed true sadistic psychosis.

Flashbacks scattered throughout the series explain why Hap and Leonard arrived at such a strong and mutually co-dependent relationship. Despite the violence of the series,  their friendship gives warmth to the story.

You have been warned. But I really enjoyed the season one. Now proceed to read about season two.

SEASON TWO:

Each of the 6 episodes in season two last about 45 minutes.

First Leonard and then Hap try to stay out of jail after being accused of murder. In fact that murder enlarges to a series of murders of black children.

Once again James Purefoy and Michael Kenneth Williams keep us entertained with their bickering friendship.  Purefoy the Brit still amazes me with his southern accent. In fact the season captures brilliantly the Jim Crow South of the 80’s.  In addition to the weird collection of eccentric characters, we are reminded of the horrors of the Ku Klux Klan and the racial injustice of the time personified by the corrupt sheriff played by Brian Dennehy.  Did you know that Woodrow Wilson supported the KKK and that his son-in-law was the KKK candidate in a presidential election?

Watching the good guys beat the bad guys here has the feel of a good old-time cowboy movie, without all the gore of season one.

2016, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, British, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Gambling, Greed, Grim, Illegitimate Child, International thriler, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Mercenaries, MI-6, Military, Murder, Nudity, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Sociopath, Swedish crime series, Thriller, Torture, Unmarried mother, Violent, Weapons Dealer

The Night Manager (2016)

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From IMDB:

The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer’s inner circle.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this one season, six episode British TV series based on the 1993 novel of the same name by John le Carré.

Easily one of the most suspenseful and engaging undercover TV series I have ever watched, this series grabbed my attention and pushed me into  binge-watching.  Wikipedia offers this synopsis:

Luxury hotel night manager and former British soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is recruited by Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), an intelligence operative. He is tasked to navigate Whitehall and Washington, D.C. where there is an alliance between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. He must infiltrate the inner circle of arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie), Roper’s girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki), and associate Corkoran (Tom Hollander).

Angela Burr has spent decades trying to bring down Richard Roper. Note from the synopsis above that she must simultaneously fight several corrupt members of the British intelligence community who profit from the weapons sales. Roper, played to chilling perfection by Hugh Laurie, is a very clever, ruthless and amoral weapons dealer who is permanently attached emotionally to absolutely no one. He will kill anyone who interferes with his cynical drive to enrich himself by selling illegally obtained weapons of war (napalm, sarin,  rocket launchers, heat seeking missiles, you name it) to whomever is willing to pay his price. He surrounds himself with a coterie of loyal, equally brutal henchmen.  By showing displays of weapons in action and relating past outrages (such as disfiguring children taking part in a sports outing by dropping chemical weapons) the story tries to emphasize the inhumane horror of Roper’s crimes. Roper is more than likely a sociopath.

What is equally chilling is the unemotional complacency of the corrupt intelligence officers who either don’t even attempt to rationalize their behavior or offer some bland excuse. As a result, the efforts of the other officers, i.e. those who have consciences, take on the character of a sacred mission that could easily fail.

What adds to the suspense is the complication that the night manager Jonathan Pine (played by Tom Hiddleston) falls in love with Roper’s girl friend Jed (played by Elizabeth Debicki).  However this attraction is no side piece, but an essential part of the plot.

You may recognize some of the actors from older productions. As far as I am concerned I especially noticed:

  • Alistair Petrie (Sandy Langbourne) was George Forsyte in “The Forsyte Saga”. His resume is very long.
  • Tom Hollander (Lance “Corky” Corkoran) first came to my notice as the famous British spy Guy Burgess in “Cambridge Spies”.
  • David Harewood (the American Joel Steadman) was Francis Warrender in “MI-5” and David Estes in “Homeland”.
  • Olivia  Colman (Angela Burr) was D.S. Ellie Miller in “Broadchurch”.

Make no mistake, this series is violent and suspenseful enough that you might have trouble watching it. Of course that is why I felt compelled to binge-watch. Every episode seemed to end with a nerve wracking cliff hanger.

If you can stand the tension, DO NOT MISS!

2012, Abuse of Women, Anti-Semitism, Bloody scenes, British, Child abuse, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Crude Talk, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drag Queen, Drama, Explicit sexual discussion, Gambling, Gangs, Greed, Grim, Grisly, London History, Mayhem, Mild Torture, Murder, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Newpaper work, Nudity, Orphans in Foster Care, Outrageous Behavior, Physical child abuse, Police Politics, Prison, Prostitutes, Revenge, Sadism, Suspense, Theft, Torture, Violent, Vulgar

Ripper Street (2012)

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From IMDB:

The streets of Whitechapel are the haunt of Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team of officers, who aim to maintain law and order in a place once terrorized by Jack the Ripper.

A new drama set in the East End of London in 1889 during the aftermath of Jack The Ripper murders. The infamous H Division – the police precinct charged with keeping order in the district of Whitechapel- is in a chaotic state trying to keep order after a tumultuous time for London and reported infamously worldwide.

From Netflix you can stream 4 seasons consisting of 37 episodes  as follow:

  • Season 1 – 8 episodes
  • Season 2 – 8 episodes
  • Season 3 – 8 episodes
  • Season 4 – 7 episodes
  • Season 5 – 6 episodes       As of April 21,2017 not yet released

WARNING: Season 4 ends with a real cliff-hanger that needs Season 5 to resolve the issues. But at this point you cannot stream Season 5.

Matthew MacFadyen superbly plays Detective Inspector Edmund Reid.  Jerome Flynn (who was Bronn in “Game of Thrones”) plays Det. Sgt. Bennet Drake. Adam Rothenberg (who played Danny in “The Divide”) plays Dr. Homer Jackson.

Strong stomachs and tolerance for blatant vulgarity are required for watching this series. Otherwise these intense episodes are captivating. Trying to be authentic for 1889, the speech is formal, possibly pedantic, even when describing sexual activity.  Here we have an escape from the usual formulaic police procedurals. Do not be misled by the very first episode which deals with a murder that tries to mimic the work of Jack the Ripper because subject matter for the episodes is incredibly varied (thievery, pestilence, and other delights).

London in that period was a horrible, dirty, smelly, hellhole in which the place of women was especially dire. In the eighteenth century, one in every five women were sex workers. If a woman was not wealthy or married, she very often ended up in the streets.  In this series the plight of women is often the motivating theme.

Workers had no rights, no workplace safety precautions.  Future readers of this review should be reminded that under our current President Trump, the Republican party places itself in opposition to such protective organizations as the EPA.  One episode features (and shocks with a view of a match girl [woman who worked in a match factory] inflicted with) phossy jaw. You may never forget the sight.

One episode features as a character the famous Elephant Man whose real name was Joseph Merrick.  Merrick the actor is made to look exactly like the photograph in the mentioned Wikipedia article. You may never forget the sight.

One episode centers about the laws against sodomy which enabled blackmailers and often destroyed lives.

One episode makes vividly alarming the horrors created by the law making abortion illegal. Note that even now in the USA the Republicans would return to that terrible past.

London was an ugly, ugly place. Brace yourself!

After viewing more and more episodes I have upgraded to DO NOT MISS!

 

2016, Abduction, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Detective, Disturbing Image, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Grisly, Murder, Netflix DVD, Nudity, Psychopath, Revenge, Sadism, Sociopath, Suspense, Violent

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

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From IMDB:

A wealthy art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a symbolic revenge tale.

Should I feel guilty being completely absorbed (as in “who needs dinner?”) in one of the nastiest films I have ever seen?

First Warning: Please ignore the opening and possibly offensive scene.  Susan Morrow, the art gallery owner, admits later on that the fashionable art she show is “junk”.  As an example this first scene shows obese, older women with sagging giant breasts and body fat writhing for the camera,  all as part of Susan’s  latest art exhibit.

Susan’s marriage is falling apart. She is asked by her former husband and first love, Edward Sheffield,  to be initial reader for his first novel. As she reads the novel, it is presented to us in film and portrays a horrific crime perpetrated by a psychopath and his two brutal followers. Just watching the crime is harrowing in the extreme.

So why did I put myself through this horror show? Mostly I was attracted to actors such as:

  • Amy Adams plays Susan Morrow. Amy was already amazing as the lead in “Arrival“.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal plays Tony Hastings (the novel protagonist) and Edward Sheffield (Susan’s first love). Gyllenhaal takes chances and expands his abilities with challenging and unusual roles.
  • Michael Shannon plays Bobby Andes who is the police detective in the novel.

Watch the cringe-fest if you must, but you won’t be happy afterwards.

2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Car Chase, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Crude Talk, Detective, Drug Dealers, Forensics, French Detective Series, Gangs, Gay theme, Grisly, Homophobia, Lawyers, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Occasional gore, Police Culture, Police Politics, Pornographic Scenes, Prison, Prostitutes, Psychiatrists, Rape, Revenge, Sadism, Sociopath, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Torture, Unscrupulous drive to power, Various Romances, Violent, Vulgar, Wife Beating

Spiral (2005)

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From IMDB:

Follows criminal investigations in Paris from all the different points of view of a criminal investigation.

Netflix streaming brings you 4 seasons of this French TV series:

  • Season 1: 2005    8 episodes
  • Season 2: 2008    8 episodes
  • Season 3: 2010 12 episodes
  • Season 4: 2012  12 episodes
  • Season 5: 2015  12 episodes
  • Season 6: 2016  12 episodes

Season 7 is currently being produced in France. Spoken French with optional English subtitles.

“Engrenages” is the French title which means “gears”, the theme being how intertwined are the lives of criminals, police personnel, lawyers (honorable or prostituted by greed), ambitious (and seemingly entirely corrupt) politicians and innocent civilians. Various crimes (murder, spousal abuse, drugs, prostitution, gun running) are investigated.  Actors are matched flawlessly to their characters.

Such a long-running series will, of course, require many actors. But several stand out:

  • Grégory Fitoussi is the honest lawyer Pierre Clément.
  • Audrey Fleurot  is the greedy, amoral, beautiful lawyer Joséphine Karlsson who specializes in defending the scum of the earth for large sums of money.
  • Caroline Proust is the extremely competent, tough, but constantly embattled police detective Laure Berthaud.
  • Philippe Duclos is Juge Roban, an honest judge who has to constantly fight to stay honest.

Because of its variety of characters and their interactions, the many tense situations, the constant battle between corruption and honesty, this series has been immensely popular. Sometimes the many car chases border on boring. But this is NOT your average detective show. Call it a soap opera if you wish, nonetheless it remains compelling.

FIRST WARNING: Each season will end with a cliff hanger enticing you to watch the next season.

SECOND WARNING: You must have a strong stomach to watch these often brutal, violent, sadistic, and bloody episodes.  Tension runs as constantly high in this series as in any I have seen.

2016, Abduction, Anti-Arab, Arab Culture, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Child Molestation, Could Be Hard To Watch, Danish, Danish Detectives, Dark, Disturbing Image, Explicit sex, Grim, Netflix Streaming, Orphans in Foster Care, Philosophic Discussions, Police Politics, Religious Theme, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Sociopath, Suspense, Uncategorized, Violent

Department Q (2016)

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From Denmark comes this TV detective series in which each episode lasts most of 2 hours. In other words, each episode is a feature-length film. From Netflix you can stream each episode.  Each episode has its own title. You should watch them in order. One of the reviewers called the series a “top box-office film in Denmark.”   Spoken Danish with English subtitles.

From Decider we learn that there are six books in the series, but that only three have been made into films.

WARNING: Generally speaking, these episodes are grim, violent, and peopled with vindictive, cruel, sadistic, psychopathic villains.  Strong stomachs are advised.

Episode 1: The Keeper of Lost Causes

From Decider:

Precisely. Nikolaj Lie Kaas stars as Carl Morck, a brilliant homicide detective who gets demoted to Department Q. His partner in solving crime? Another detective named Assad (played by actor Fares Fares). Together they delve into the crimes no one wants solved.

Episode 1 introduces us to the two detectives mentioned above. In episode 2 a third member is added to Department Q, which we would call the “Collection of Unsolved Crimes or Cold Cases”.

In this episode a young woman politician in on a ferry with her emotionally disturbed brother when she is abducted and held captive in a barometric chamber. You were warned it could get ugly!

Episode 2: The Absent One

In this episode the detectives uncover a series of brutal crimes planned and perpetrated by students at a posh private high school that caters to the ruling class. Their outrageous behavior continues throughout their wealthy lives as they are protected by a former classmate who is now an extremely powerful lawyer. More Ugly!

Episode 3: A Conspiracy of Faith

Yet another psychopath, this time kidnapping children of fundamentalist Christians and using a type of religious blackmail against the parents.  As we often seen in such films, the sociopath does his damage calmly and with a bland or smiling countenance. But still ugly!

One characteristic of all three stories is the suspenseful and action filled final scene in which our heroes confront the villain. You might even hold your breath in all the (did I mention “ugly”?) excitement. Take a tranquilizer and enjoy.

 

 

2015, Action Film, American Indian culture, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crude Talk, Disturbing Image, Father-son relations, Frontier Life, Grim, Grisly, Gritty, Horses, Hunting, Mother-son relations, Murder, Not Feel Good, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Rape, Revenge, Suspense, Violent, Wonderful acting

The Revenant (2015)

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From NetFlix:

Set in the 1820s American frontier, this snowy thriller follows fur trapper Hugh Glass as he relentlessly seeks retribution against the companions who left him for dead in the Missouri River’s icy waters after he was mauled by a bear.

Talk about bloody, violent, gruesome, and sometimes just plain disgusting! Are you in the mood to watch Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass survive in a blizzard by hollowing out a dead horse and crawling naked inside to keep warm?

So, why would you watch this two and one-half hour slog through the frontier?  Answer: the story, the action, the ugly realism of frontier life, and the gorgeous photography are worth the trip. Depiction of the native Americans is marvelous. There is not a single handsome or beautiful movie star to be seen, although to be fair, the actors were so superbly made up for their roles as weather beaten survivors that I could only recognize DiCaprio. See if you can spot Tom Hardy without knowing beforehand which role he plays.

Besides, I am always drawn to good guys getting revenge on bad guys.

Michael Punke wrote the original novel.

You have been sufficiently warned about this masterful piece of acting by Leonard DiCaprio who immersed himself to an awe-inspiring degree in his difficult role as a man who just would not give up.

 

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.

 

2010, 2013, Alcoholism, Arson, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Catholic culture, Child abduction and murder, Child Molestation, Complicated, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Detective, Flirting, Grim, Irish Detective Series, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Pedophilia, Police Story, Religious Theme, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, TV Series, Unmarried mother, Use of Irish Brogue, Violent

Jack Taylor (2010)

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From Netflix:

As he faces his own struggles with the bottle, boozy but big-hearted ex-cop Jack Taylor earns a reputation for being a tough-as-nails private investigator who’s not afraid to take on ruthless vigilantes or track down merciless killers.

From Netflix I streamed:

Season 1
The Guards
The Pikemen
The Magdalen Martyrs

Season 2
The Dramatist
Priest
Shot Down

  • Season 3
  • Cross
  • Headstone
  • Purgatory

Kathy and I watched “The Guards” together and decided against watching any more episodes. However, on my own I tried one more episode and was hooked. Not all the episodes are equal in value. “The Guards” introduces us to Jack Taylor as a sloppy drunken former Guard (which means a member of the Irish Guarda, that is to say, the police force). Although episodes refer back to earlier episodes you could conceivably watch selected episodes.

All the episodes are violent, grim, and harsh. Ian Glen does a convincing job as Jack Taylor. You may remember Ian Glen as Jorah Mormont in “Game of Thrones” or Sir Richard Carlisle from “Downton Abbey”.

Riveting but definitely not relaxing. Proceed at your own caution.