Category Archives: Detective

2009, Car Chase, Crime, Detective, Lawyers, Suspense, Violent

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Michael Douglas stars as corrupt district attorney Mark Hunter in this remake of Fritz Lang’s noir classic about a reporter, C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe), who sets himself up as the prime suspect in a murder he didn’t commit in order to expose Hunter’s misdeeds. Nicholas’s plans go awry, however, when Hunter discovers the trap and destroys the evidence that would exonerate the cub reporter. Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Jones co-star.

In this film the suspense is so overwhelming that I stayed glued to my seat the entire time. If at one point the story seems to have too easy a solution, stay with the film to the very last second. More I will not say, but there are plot twists.

Although I marked the film as violent, you do not see any personal attacks, just some threatening scenes and one amazing scene in an underground parking lot.

Jesse Metcalf is John Rowland in “Desperate Hosewives”. Amber Tamblyn is Tibby in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”.

If you like suspense, this is a must see!.

2001, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Drama, Religious Theme, Suspense, Violent

Frailty (2001)

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From NetFlix:

Director Bill Paxton’s gripping thriller has evil at its core — and a family in the crossfire. FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) is trying to track down “God’s Hand,” a notorious murderer who’s resurfaced years after terrorizing a Texas town. The Meeks family — Fenton, Adam and their dad — gets involved when past and present converge and a long-tormented conscience is assuaged. Levi Kreis and Matthew McConaughey co-star.

Because I couldn’t stop watching, I knew I had stumbled on an excellent, suspenseful, psychological thriller and mystery with wonderful plot turns. More I will not say. But if you get confused, you can always read the Wikipedia article. The marvel in the film is that most of the film action takes place at a natural easily explained level of understanding. That, in part, is what makes watching this film so difficult. Indeed there is violence and killing. But the film is too intelligent to engage in explicit gore.

Matthew McConaughey, for once, is not a glamour boy. He, and all the actors, play their parts to perfection.

Toward the end of the film the film offers a new perspective. If anyone watches this film, please let me know how you reacted to this change.

2001, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Drama, Drugs, Horror, Imperfect, Medical Theme, Mystery Film, Occasional gore, Suspense, Violent

From Hell (2001)

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From NetFlix:

Johnny Depp stars as an opium-huffing inspector from Scotland Yard who falls for one of Jack the Ripper’s prostitute targets (Heather Graham) in this Hughes brothers adaption of a graphic novel that posits the Ripper’s true identity. Ian Holm and Robbie Coltrane co-star in this genre-bending drama that marked Albert and Allen Hughes’s laudable attempt to break out of their pigeonhole as “black directors.”

Dark, gory, not Depp’s best. In a sense this is a mystery story: who is Jack the Ripper ? It’s almost as this film goes out of its way to discredit the Victorian power structure and especially the royal family. Give this film a shaky B and find something else.

2003, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Drama, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Mostly About Sex, Suspense, Vulgar

In the Cut (2003)

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From NetFlix:

Frannie (Meg Ryan) is a New York writing professor entwined in an erotic affair with a police detective (Mark Ruffalo) who’s investigating the murder of a young woman in Frannie’s neighborhood. But soon Frannie begins to suspect her lover’s involvement in the crime. Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Jason Leigh also star in this highly charged film directed by Jane Campion (The Piano) and based on Susanna Moore’s best-selling novel.

Sex – that’s mostly what this film is about. That and a lot of gory murders by a serial killer. You need a strong stomach for this film. Visually there is explicit sex. Verbally there is a lot of very frank sex talk and cursing.

So why would anyone in their right mind watch this gore-sex fest ? Well – Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Jason Leigh (as Pauline, Frannie’s sister) do a fair job of putting together a tense “who done it”. The core of the problem is that Meg Ryan is surrounded by a lot of characters, any one of whom could be the serial killer. This list of suspects includes Mark Ruffalo with whom she is having an affair. As much as you might guess the ending it is still scary.

But you have been warned that this film might offend you.

2008, British Mystery Series, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Gritty, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Mystery Film, Occasional gore, Suspense

Wallander (2008)

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June 2020 Update:

Wallander has moved to MHz Choice. There are two Wallander series in MHz Choice.

————————– NEW REVIEW ————————————-

From Netflix:

By now (August 2016) you can stream from Netflix 3 seasons of the British Wallander with Kenneth Branagh.  Each episode lasts about an hour and a half.  Each of the 3 seasons offers 3 independent stories. However, you should start from the beginning and watch in sequence because running through the entire 9 stories is the theme of Wallander’s personal life: loneliness, struggles with his eccentric father, relation with his daughter, etc.

One advantage of streaming is that there are captions.

More than ever, I consider these somewhat “noir” stories a DO NOT MISS!

————— OLD REVIEW ———————————————

From NetFlix:

Kenneth Branagh delivers a bravura performance as Swedish sleuth Kurt Wallender in three stories drawn from Henning Mankell’s best-sellers. With violence on the rise in once-peaceful Ystad, the dour detective battles crime as well as personal demons. This trio of TV mysteries finds Wallander connecting a woman’s suicide with government corruption, pursuing a cabbie’s killer and coping with the murder of a colleague during a tough investigation.

There is already a review for “Before the Frost (2002)” which was an excellent Wallander story. The present review is for a two-disk series (two separate NetFlix disks) from 2008. Kenneth Branagh again does an outstanding job portraying a dedicated detective whose personal life is in shambles. As such, the three stories (the second disk contains two stories) are dark. Kenneth Branagh is shabby and haggard throughout.

One caveat: there are NO subtitles available for those of us who are hard of hearing.

Also remember that everything takes place in Sweden despite the actors being British.

2008, Detective, Drama, Explicit sex, Love Story, Nudity, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Deception (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Unassuming accountant Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) thinks he’s hit the big time when a lawyer friend (Hugh Jackman) introduces him to an exclusive sex club. But McQuarry’s life begins to unravel when he falls for a woman at the club and is later linked to her disappearance. Michelle Williams, Natasha Henstridge and Charlotte Rampling also star in this atmospheric thriller from director Marcel Langenegger (in his big-screen debut).

Hugh Jackman redeems himself despite his appearance in the adolescent film “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”. In this film Jackman makes a great villain. You might also want to see him in “Australia”. He and Ewan McGregor make perfect foils for each other’s character. I will not say a word about the really clever plot because plot is everything. Of course there is the sex club and lots of sex scenes, but do not avoid the film because you think the film is just about sex. The nice thing about the plot is that while tricky it is not too complicated.

Could be boring, Detective, Drama, Feel Good Not For Children, Kidnapping, Mystery Film, Scam Artists, Suspense, Unusual

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

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From NetFlix:

After her beloved father dies, the sassy Precious Ramotswe (Jill Scott) sells an inheritance of 180 cows to start a detective agency and becomes the first female sleuth in the history of Botswana. Co-starring Anika Noni Rose as Ramotswe’s assistant and secretary, Mma Makutsi, this quirky whodunit was adapted from Alexander McCall Smith’s hit mystery novels. The film also marks the last directing credit for Anthony Minghella (English Patient).

Season One contains 3 discs. Because of a theme of kidnapping children to sell their body parts (e.g. fingers) as magic amulets, this series might not be for children. More than that, an American audience might find the slow childlike speech patterns in the Botswana English a bit hard to take. I almost stopped watching even the first episode until the plot became somewhat sinister and my curiosity kept me watching. But after that first episode I returned the disc to NetFlix. The books are better than the TV adaptations, in my opinion.

1999, Complicated, Detective, Drama, Made For TV, Not Feel Good, Suspense

Split Second (1999)

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From NetFlix:

A split-second decision made in a fit of rage eventually drives attorney and family man Michael Anderson (Clive Owen) to desperate measures in this gripping psychological drama. The stressed-out corporate lawyer hits his melting point one fateful day, and things only get worse for Anderson when he runs away from the horrible consequences of his rage-induced actions. Helen McCrory, John Bowe and James Cosmo co-star.

In this made-for-TV film, Clive Owen is leading a very stressful life of a corporate lawyer. At one point while driving home he hits a kills a bicyclist and then runs. The rest of the somewhat complicated story involves his inner torment, external reactions, and eventual decision.

Helen McCrory does a good job as his wife. You may recognize her as Marcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. All in all the plot easily could occur. I hope I never hit-and-run but I was rooting for Clive Owen to find some solution.

Not relaxing.

1990, British Mystery Series, Detective, Mystery Film, Old-Fashioned

Inspector Alleyn Mysteries: Set 1 (1990)

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From NetFlix:

Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn (Patrick Malahide) is a sophisticated detective who’s comfortable among society types in 1940s Britain but equally able to navigate the trenches when duty calls. His skills come in handy when he’s handed cases that mystify his colleagues — such as the murder of an artist’s model, the mysterious death of high-powered politicians and barristers and the blackmailing of an upper-crust debutante.

We were a bit disappointed in set 1 of Inspector Alleyn. Kathy and I found discs 1 and 3 boring. Discs 2 and 4 were better but not great. These period pieces are a bit slow and antiquated. However, subtitles are available which is a plus for many viewers.

2006, Detective, Drama, Imperfect, Not Feel Good

Hollywoodland (2006)

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From NetFlix:

When George Reeves (Ben Affleck), the actor who famously played the Man of Steel in TV’s “Adventures of Superman,” turns up dead, a dogged private eye (Adrien Brody) investigates and unearths a string of strange secrets. Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins also star in this gritty noir-style drama based on the true story of one of Hollywood’s most infamous mysteries, a film that marks television director Allen Coulter’s feature film debut.

For all the name stars in this film, it could have been better. Adrien Brody carries the story as a private detective trying to solve a possible murder. Ben Affleck gets a chance to act in a serious role. Give the film a B, but it is still watchable.

So, what really happened ?