Category Archives: DO NOT MISS

2000, British Mystery Series, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Grim, Gritty, Occasional gore, Police Story, Serial Killer, Suspense, TV Series, Violent, Wonderful acting

Without Motive (2000)

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From NetFlix:

Jack Mowbray is a dedicated police officer and a devoted family man. When a vicious serial killer terrorizes Bristol, England, Jack’s obsessive attitude toward the case may nab the culprit while also tearing apart his personal life.

This British TV series comes in 4 discs. Each disc contains 2 episodes. Discs 1 and 2 are one complete story. Discs 3 and 4 are another complete story.

Watching the first story is a bit harrowing. But in fact my experience in general is that British mystery, or suspense, or MI-5 adventures are all tough to watch. Characters get killed. Marriages run into difficulties because of the obsessive attention to crime solving by one of the marriage partners. Some scenes are especially gory. Some characters are really nasty.

Acting in general is almost always professional and wonderful, so much so that British TV of this nature often makes its American counterparts seem weak and tepid.

One example of cringe-worthy acting in story one is the scene in which a Welsh police official is “retired”. You see a tired, stressed, overweight, but not very capable man who has made a muddle of things and mislead the investigation. When he is in an office with two of his superiors and his boss tells him he is off the force, the stream of self-excusing babble that comes out of the poor man’s mouth would embarrass anyone.

Officers come off as crude bullies. In contrast Jack Mowbray is a decent fellow obsessed with finding the serial killer who has moved his killing operations to the very area where Jack lives. Jack’s wife is terrified. Jack’s stressed-out behavior is ugly to watch.

First rate watching if you can stand the tension.

2011, Crime, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Feel Good Not For Children, French, Love Story, Optimistic, Wonderful acting

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Not to be confused with the tale by Ernest Hemingway, this unsettling drama recounts the violent criminal assault and robbery committed against a middle-aged couple, and their discovery that a person they knew orchestrated the attack.

Ignore the NetFlix description. This French film set in Marseille is ultimately a feel-good story in which optimism and kindness triumph. You can find the full plot in the Wikipedia article. If anything the film dramatizes the difficulty of life in Marseille, but actually in any area beset with unemployment, for the younger generation.

As a short version: the husband in the older couple is a loyal unionist who loses his job during a layoff which also effect a certain young employee. Whereas for the older man this layoff is not a tragedy (he owns his house, his wife works), the younger man has an irresponsible young mother (you will be shocked) and two school age younger brothers for whom he is responsible. Out of desperation that younger man robs and assaults the older man, his wife, and another older couple. Accidentally the older man discovers who the culprit is. As the film progresses the older man comes to understand the young man’s difficulties. Finally I will tell you that the culprit is sentenced to 15 years (which will mean 2 or 3 years). Beyond that you have to discover for yourself the heartwarming developments.

French with English subtitles. DO NOT MISS!

2011, Could Be Hard To Watch, DO NOT MISS, Mental Illness, Psychological Drama, Unusual, Wonderful acting

Take Shelter (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Michael Shannon stars in this thriller as a small-town family man who, determined to protect his wife and deaf daughter from impending disaster, builds an impenetrable storm shelter in the safety of his own backyard.

Because the film is so true to life in the U.S., I found watching this film a very wrenching experience. What you experience is a devoted family man’s gradual descent into the clutches of paranoid schizophrenia. Perhaps I should not have told you this but soon enough you would guess the truth. This film is not science fiction nor a horror film. But in fact it is a horror film in the sense that you sit there powerless to prevent this good, well-meaning man from following the dictates of a mental illness even while he knows he has the disease (his mother developed the same illness when she was 30 and abandoned the family in a journey to the streets). In fact this is the first time I have seen portrayed the difficulty of realizing that a mental illness is directing your life and figuring out how to fight back (with the help of a professional over probably what will be a long period of time).

Three aspects of Americana that makes this film so hard to watch are things like: the difficulty in getting and affording a competent psychiatrist, the perilous way in which so many middle-class American families live just on the edge of bankruptcy and the damage that losing a job and its health benefits does to a family.

Only toward the end of the film do his wife and associates begin to understand that he has a mental illness. Meanwhile his actions cause all kinds of trouble for himself, his wife, his company, and his friends. Watching a climactic breakdown at a supper for parents of deaf children (his daughter is deaf and needs a cochlear implant) is a horror show in itself.

Michael Shannon is agent Nelson Van Alden in the TV series “Boardwalk Empire”. His acting here is phenomenal: understated, sadly driven, and possibly violent.

Be prepared for a tough but worthwhile trip.

2011, DO NOT MISS, Grim, Plot Twist, Suspense, Violent, Wonderful acting

Retreat (2011)

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From NetFlix:

While visiting a remote island, a couple (Cillian Murphy & Thandie Newton) encounters a man (Jamie Bell)– who apparently washed up there — claiming a lethal virus has spread through Europe. The couple must decide whether to trust the stranger and figure out how to survive.

If you can stand the harsh and raw suspense, this film is dynamite. Not only is the acting superb but the plot keeps twisting. Cillian Murphy was the Timekeeper in In Time (2011). Thandie Newton was Makemba ‘Kem’ Likasu in the TV series “ER”.

Today I read an article in the New York Times bemoaning the fact that none of our new lineup of male film stars seem to last. Jamie Bell (who was “Billy Elliot”) did an excellent job in this film. Let’s hope that his career lasts.

Expect a really rough journey and if you can stand it, DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!

1992, British Mystery Series, Clever Plot, DO NOT MISS, Gritty, Lawyers, Made For TV, Rape, Revenge, TV Series

The Guilty (1992)

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From NetFlix:

Wildly disparate lives converge in this two-part television thriller about a respected London barrister facing a career-ending rape charge and a punk ex-con caught up in a dangerous conspiracy while searching for his biological father.

Michael Kitchen is probably best know to you as Foyle of the British TV series “Foyle’s War” which is a must-see in its own right. Foyle is the good guy. However, in “The Guilty” Michael Kitchen plays the London barrister-rapist Steven Vey who is definitely the bad guy. He portrays perfectly a cynical cad caught up in his own evil past.

His victims come together by twists of fate in this clever plot. Stay tuned to see what happens to the lawyer-as-monster.

Two DVD disks from NetFlix offer English subtitles.

DO NOT MISS !

2011, Based on true facts, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Political Suspense, Sex Scenes, Wonderful acting

The Ides of March (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman’s (Ryan Gosling) idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where “victory” is relative. The film, directed by George Clooney, is inspired by the real-life experiences of an aide who worked on Howard Dean’s failed 2004 run.

Sometimes a film with many “stars” can be a disaster. But this time the combination of Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Giamatti has produced a superb political film.

“Loss of Innocence” is the sad theme of the story. Idealistic Ryan Gosling makes some personal mistakes and also discovers the dark side of handsome, well-spoken (“smooth” is the better word), and inspiring George Clooney. Hoffman and Giamatti contribute the elements of cynical compromise. Acting could not be better. Both Gosling and Clooney have mastered the art of having their eyes mirror their emotions.

Marisa Tomei plays a newspaper reporter who is not to be trusted.

For a better understanding of the title you could read the Wikipedia article. Even there I could find no reference to the Howard Dean compaign.

You have a treat in store. DO NOT MISS!

2011, Acceptable for children, DO NOT MISS, Sports, True Story

Moneyball (2011)

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From NetFlix:

An all-star cast brings to life the true story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a former jock turned general manager who uses unconventional methods to bring the best players to the Oakland A’s, a major league baseball team struggling against financial hardship.

You need not be a baseball fan or even understand all the complexities of the game to enjoy this wonderful film. After all, it is really as much about personal relations, life’s goals and disappointments, as it is about baseball history.

Brad Pitt (age 45) fits the manager’s role perfectly. But for me the real marvel was Jonah Hill (age 25) as the number crunching geek from Yale. Jonah was friends with the children of Dustin Hoffman and through Hoffman got a role in the 2004 film “I Heart Huckabees”.

Be sure to read the very final on-screen textual followup about Billy Beane.

Not much more to say except DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!!

2011, Based on true facts, Conspiracy, DO NOT MISS, Drugs, Lawyers, Medical Theme, Nudity, True Story

Puncture (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Drug-addicted attorney Mike and his business partner Paul take on a case involving an emergency room nurse who has been pricked by an infected needle. Uncovering a web of corporate conspiracies, Mike and Paul quickly find themselves outmatched.

According to the Wikipedia review of this film:

——————— START OF QUOTE ———————————-

The story is based on two young lawyers and a syringe manufacturer who had invented a safety syringe that he was unable to sell. The safety syringe manufacturer filed an antitrust lawsuit against the two largest hospital group purchasing organizations and a large syringe manufacturer claiming he was being shut out of the market.[3] The case was settled before trial for $150 million dollars.[4]

In addition the film brings to light several issues affecting American health care:
1. Accidental needle sticks cause thousands of US nurses to be infected by HIV, Hepatitis C and other infectious diseases every year. [5]
2. Needle reuse in Africa and Asia directly cause 1.3 million deaths annually, 23 million hepatitis infections annually and 260,000 HIV/AIDS infections annually. [6]

A passing reference in the movie also touches on whether AIDS in Africa is spread by sex or needle reuse. Research has found needle reuse, rather than sex, may have been the main cause of the rapid spread of AIDS in Africa. [7] Fearing that if this comes to light Africans will refuse needle immunization and other important treatments, some health care professionals allege that the UN and WHO have moved to suppress this information. [8].

———————– END OF QUOTE ———————————-

Footnote 3 leads to an article in the New York Times that identifies the guilty medical supply companies as Premier and Novation.

Mark Weiss was indeed a young lawyer fairly out of control. Possibly for titillation purposes we see him engaging in drug use often, at times nude next to a nude woman also using the drugs. But do not let that dissuade you from continuing with this worthwhile and engaging film. In fact Mark Weiss dies of a drug overdose at the age of 32. His partner continued the good fight.

Be sure to watch the final credits because they tell us a bit of what follows the end of the film.

Four of the actors are principal:

  • Chris Evans (age 30) who plays Mark Weiss was Captain America.
  • Mark Kassen is a very young looking 40 year old who does not have many screen credits to his name. He plays Mark’s lawyer partner.
  • Marshall Bell (age 69) plays the inventor. He has taken many supporting roles, for example in the “Rum Diary”.
  • Brett Cullen (age 55) plays the opposing lawyer who has sold out for money. He plays Captain Perkins in the TV series “Body of Proof”

Better than the usual big bad guys versus honest lawyers. DO NOT MISS!

2011, Based on true facts, Bullying, Conspiracy, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Finance, Scam Artists

Margin Call (2011)

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From NetFlix:

An all-star cast shines in this engrossing drama about a critical 24-hour period at a high-profile investment bank in the early days of the 2008 financial crisis, when young analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) uncovers information that could destroy the firm. When he alerts upper management to the precarious position of their risky investments, an emergency meeting is held to decide if they should alert clients or abscond with the profits.

Infuriatingly excellent, this financial “thriller” is a sad expose of America’s greatest enemy, her own financial industry. You need not understand the financial details to appreciate the plot.

Sometimes a large cast of well-known actors can be a disaster. But this time cast choices probably could not have been better. Old-timers include:

  • Kevin Spacey (age 52) is officially middle-aged. His role is thoughtful and sad.
  • Jeremy Irons (age 63) is his usual wonderfully creepy self playing the head honcho who makes 83 million dollars a year even if his clients lose all their investments.
  • Stanley Tucci (age 51) is another sad pawn in Jeremy Iron’s claws.
  • Demi Moore (age 49) is a pawn in a different way.

And then there are some relative new-comers:

  • Paul Bettany (age 40) was the albino Silas in “The Da Vinci Code”.
  • This is the first time I have seen Simon Baker (age 42) in something other than “The Mentalist”.
  • Zachary Quinto (age 34) was Spock in the 2009 “Star Trek”.
  • Zachary Quinto’s sidekick in the film is Penn Badgley (age 25) who plays the son in “The Stepfather”.

At times the script can be a bit preachy, especially when the characters rationalize their basically dishonest dealings.

Is our financial industry really completely corrupt? DO NOT MISS!

2010, DO NOT MISS, Suspense, Violent

The Debt (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) is a former Mossad intelligence agent forced to relive her 1965 pursuit of a notorious Nazi war criminal when the bold and dangerous fugitive is thought to have reemerged 30 years later in the Ukraine. Director John Madden’s redo of Assaf Bernstein’s 2007 Israeli suspense piece also features Jessica Chastain as the young Rachel Singer, along with Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds.

For this well-made thriller I have the highest praise. All the acting is wonderful.

At first the beginning scenes may not make sense. But later on in the film those same scenes are replayed (at one point with a huge surprise) and make perfect sense.

Sam Worthington was the lead character Jake Sully in Avatar (2009). He is also Perseus in “Clash of the Titans”.

Both Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington star together in the 2011 “Texas Killing Fields”.

DO NOT MISS “THE DEBT”!