Category Archives: DO NOT MISS

2016, Acceptable for children, Based on true facts, Black History, Car Chase, Civil Rights, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All, Human spirit, Interest in automobiles, Lawyers, Netflix DVD, Race Relations, Racism, Slow, Supreme Court, Thought provoking, True Story

Loving (2016)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court’s historic 1967 decision.

Netflix sent me a DVD for this film.

Not only was the topic of historic importance, but the film was done beautifully. Jeff Nichols wrote and directed and, I assume, chose the perfect actors. Wikipedia gives much information, especially a discussion of the characters of Richard Loving, Mildred Loving, and a very understanding description by Nichols of the sheriff. And yes, my own family and friends also included many racists.

Ruth Negga was fine as Mildred Loving, but to it was Joel Edgerton’s presentation of Richard Loving that was so perfectly matched to a description in the Wikipedia article:

“Richard Loving was indeed as stoic as Nichols and Edgerton portray him; the small rural Virginia community in which they lived was (and is) highly racially integrated; Mildred Loving really did write directly to Robert Kennedy, and her letter is still in the Kennedy collection; and the Lovings lawyer really did, per Richard’s request, relay his words before the Supreme Court that “I love my wife.””[

Sad to tell, I was especially tense watching the film, although there is no violence. At any moment I was sure some KKK thug was going to somehow attack the family. When the film came to such a happy conclusion, I breathed a sigh of relief. Be sure to read the concluding screen postscript.

DO NOT MISS!

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)

Leave a comment

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!

2016, Acceptable for children, Could Be Sad, Dancing, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Jazz, Magic Realism, Musical, Plot Twist, Unusual, Wonderful photography

La La Land (2016)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.

From the moment all the drivers in an LA car jam leave their autos and start singing and dancing I was hooked.  Probably this means you will either love or hate this film which is in some way a throwback to such Gene Kelly films as “Singin’ In The Rain” or “An American In Paris”. In fact the last time I can remember the actors in a scene breaking into song was the unexpected moment in “My Best Friend’s Wedding” in the restaurant when the cast joined in singing “I Say a Little Prayer For You”. Of course the characters sing in musicals, but I am not sure you can call this film a musical. Give the film an A for originality because it is almost sui generis.

Adding to the enjoyment was the clever and swift changes from scene to scene, the unexpected time sequence changes, to say nothing of the clever but surprising ending.

Hats off to Ryan Gosling as Sebastian and Emma stone as Mia.  As a pair they have appeared together in several films. Ryan had to learn tap dancing and piano for his role because no piano hand models were used.  On the Internet you will find many articles about how much they rehearsed.

Ryan Gosling (age 36 during filming) is one of my favorite chameleons. For example he has played the following: Hercules; a young prosecutor matching wits with Anthony Hopkins in “Fracture”;   a delusional man in “Lars and the Real Girl”;  a sociopathic killer in “All Good Things”;  and a motorcycle stunt driver in “The Place Beyond the Pines”.

For helpful details see the Wikipedia article.

Possibly destined to be a classic. 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)

Leave a comment

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!

 

1995, 1997, 1998, Acceptable Science, Acorn TV, AIDS, Alcoholism, British Mystery Series, Brother-Brother relations, Detective, DNA, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Forensics, Medical Theme, Murder Investigation, Prostitutes, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, TV Series, Uncategorized, Various Romances, Well developed plot

McCallum (1995)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

From deep within the morgue at St. Patrick’s Hospital in London’s East End, Dr. Iain McCallum and Dr. Angela Moloney along with a team of brilliant pathologists and detectives help the dead tell their stories.

Previously I reviewed the Scottish TV series “Rebus” which in its first season starred John Hannah. Subsequently I discovered the TV series “McCallum” also starring John Hannah. Both can be streamed from Acorn TV (currently $4.99 per month).

“McCallum” is at least as good if not better than similar series. Much like “Vera“,  each episode is approximately one and a half hours. Series 1 offers four episodes whereas Series 2 offers five episodes.

Rather than a simple who-done-it, this series similar to the other high quality series has a running theme which features other story threads. Almost without exception, each such series deals with the home life (or home non-life) of the main sleuth.  Of course, you can expect a few romances along the way.

One possibly unique characteristic, is that John Hannah as Dr. Iain McCallum the forensic pathologist must constantly prevent the detective DI Bracken from rushing to false conclusions.

“McCallum” does not seem to be as bloody as other series, nor as violent Still, however, not for children.

If this is your genre, you cannot go wrong. In fact, if this is your genre, DO NOT MISS!

2015, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, British, British History, Cambridge University, Culture of India, DO NOT MISS, Docudrama, Drama, Mathematician, Racism, Religious Theme, Wasp Snobs

The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

The story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.

Dev Patel (who played Sonny Kapoor in “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) as Ramanujan and Jeremy Irons as Hardy team up to present a wonderful screen telling of the emergence of one brilliant mathematician with the help of another.

For a definitive discussion of Ramanujan see the Wikepedia article. For information on G.H.Harding Wikepedia again offers an article. From this last article on Harding I found the important quote:

Hardy was extremely shy as a child, and was socially awkward, cold and eccentric throughout his life. During his school years he was top of his class in most subjects, and won many prizes and awards but hated having to receive them in front of the entire school. He was uncomfortable being introduced to new people, and could not bear to look at his own reflection in a mirror. It is said that, when staying in hotels, he would cover all the mirrors with towels.[

This quote captures the tone of the film. Harding did not relate to people. For Ramanujan this was another difficulty on top of his unhappy social position at Cambridge where the British racist snobs sneered at the “wog”.

As regards Ramanujan, one essential point is that he was very intuitive and had brilliant insights but was unable or reluctant to provide proofs. It took years to verify his results. Hardings task was to persistently demand proofs for the Indian’s assertions.

For you adults out there, this film is a MUST SEE!

2013, British Mystery Series, Child abduction and murder, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Netflix Streaming, Pedophilia, Police Culture, Serial rapist, Small British village, Trailer Life, TV Series

Broadchurch (2013)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.

REVISED REVIEW 2020:

From Netflix you can now stream 3 seasons of this British crime series.  Each season consists of 8 episodes where each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Yet another wonderfully constructed British detective procedural set in Dorset, England. Details may be found in Wikipedia. As the summary above explains, the major emphasis in the Season One 8-episode story is the conflict between families due to the murder. It takes 8 more episodes in Season Two to close the Sandbrook murder case.

Season 3 consists of two plot threads:

  • Mark Latimer (played by Andrew Buchan) has never gotten over the murder of his son. His obsessional desire for revenge is hurting his marriage to Beth Latimer (played by Jodie Whittaker).
  • Broadchurch is now threatened by a serial rapist. Trish Winterman is the first rape victim we meet. She is played by Julie Hesmondhalgh who also played Jill Weadon in the British TV series The Trouble with Maggie Cole.  Her physical appearance in Broadchurch is so different from her physical appearance in The Trouble with Maggie Cole that it took me a while to even recognize her.

David Tenant as Inspector Alec Hardy and Olivia Colman as Detective Ellie Miller carry the story.  Secondary themes are their personal problems.

In the entertainment area of British detective TV shows, this series is a DO NOT MISS!

 

2007, Abduction, Acorn TV, Adultery, Alcoholism, Corruption, Crime, Cynical, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Forensics, Irish Detective Series, Mildly Violent, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Physical child abuse, Police Corruption, Prostitutes, Rape, Revenge, Self-Deception, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Small Town Atmosphere, Suspense, Teenagers

Single-Handed (2007)

Leave a comment

From Acorn TV:

Transferred from Dublin to his hometown on Ireland’s windswept coast, Sergeant Jack Driscoll faces challenges he never expected.

Acorn TV offers Set 1 (with 3 episodes, each an hour and a half) and Set 2 (with 6 episodes, each about 50 minutes). IMDB, on the other hand, breaks down the exact same collection into 4 seasons.

For the most part, we humans seem to have a lot of traits in common the world over. But if you are influenced by this series, you will come away with a vivid impression that the Irish are a somewhat dishonest, clandestine group of people that maintain silence over nasty past events. In other words Jack Driscoll must fight an uphill battle to get to the truth in every case.

Jack Driscoll himself is no saint. Even he must be on guard not to adopt some of the rough tactics of his forebears. Somehow during the episodes he manages to sleep with a lot of women. Considering what pieces of work he has for parents, it is a wonder he turned out to be an honest cop.

For me a sneaky, plotting villain motivates me to keep watching and hoping that the evildoer eventually loses.

When my wife Kathy approves of something we watched, then you know we are on to something worthwhile.

DO NOT MISS!

2015, Acceptable for children, Based on a Book, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Feel Good For All, Irish, Italian culture, Mother-daughter relations, Optimistic, Sex Scenes, Use of Irish Brogue, Wonderful acting

Brooklyn (2015)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

After emigrating from Ireland, Eilis Lacey readily adapts to the vastly different New York City, where she falls for a young Italian. But when tragedy pulls her back to her hometown, she finds her loyalties divided between two nations — and two men.

Probably I have become so jaded from the usual film fare of sex and violence that when I watch a film I expect at any moment that something really awful is about to happen. As a real contrast “Brooklyn” is a sweet, gentle film based on the very popular book of the same name by Colm Tóibin. Imagine: no rapes, no untoward sexual advances, the priests are warm and helpful instead of pedophiles, Eilis (sounds like “eye lish”) is helped by friendly strangers and her boarding housemates. What is this world coming to? How can you have a film without a cringe factor?

All the acting was pitch-perfect. Emory Cohen as Tony (Eilis’ Italian love interest) is just right as a sincere, lovable, honorable member of an Italian family.

Saoirse Ronan presents an Eilis that matures as the film progresses. “Saoirse” is Irish for “freedom” and is pronounced “seer-sha”. “Ronan” means “little seal”.

In such a civilized ambience, the homesickness, difficult choices, and genuine love are felt all the more strongly.

Isn’t it nice to end a film feeling really happy? DO NOT MISS!

 

2015, Acceptable for children, Airline pilot, Based on true facts, CIA, Cold War, Communists, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All, German History, International thriler, KGB, Lawyers, Military, Prison, Spy Theme, Steven Spielberg, Suspense, Thought provoking, True Story

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

At the height of the Cold War in 1960, the downing of an American spy plane and the pilot’s subsequent capture by the Soviets draws Brooklyn attorney James Donovan into the middle of an intense effort to secure the aviator’s release.

Steven Spielberg’s films tell stories in a straight forward manner often including quite a bit of schmalz (the German word for “lard”). In this excellent and true Cold War portrayal, Spielberg’s style is unmistakable with a minimum of schmalz.

After watching the 142 minutes continue to stay for the credits because the follow-up explanations are as meaningful as the story itself. Probably because you have accompanied these characters through a very difficult spy exchange negotiation,  you will want to know what happened to them after the film story ended.

Not all young film stars mature into fine older actors. Clearly Tom Hanks is a standout.

Throughout the film there are many subtle facial expressions and gestures. As one example, at the very end the East German high official concludes a swap and extends his hand for a handshake because above all else the East Germans wanted recognition as something other than Russian lackeys. But the American agent refuses the handshake and whisks the swapped prisoner away to American safety.

James Donovan’s insistence on due process as part of what defines the United States, even for a foreign spy, was a thought-provoking and essential point of the story.

Bravo Steven Spielberg! DO NOT MISS!