Category Archives: Drug Dealers

2019, Acorn TV, British, British Mystery Series, Detective, Drug Dealers, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Father-daughter relations, Lesbian Theme, Mental Illness, Mildly Violent, Missing Person, Murder, Murder Investigation, Police Culture, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Suspense, Uncategorized

London Kills (2019)

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From IMDB:

With the world’s most recognizable city as its backdrop, LONDON KILLS will dramatize the experiences of a team of top murder detectives. Slick, modern and fast moving, the series will be shot like a cutting-edge documentary. Each episode of LONDON KILLS will focus on a different murder following the detectives as they uncover the truth behind the killing but will also have a serial story involving the lead detective’s missing wife.

From Acorn TV:

London’s best detectives take on its worst crimes in this sleek mystery series from the creator of Suspects. DI David Bradford (Hugo Speer, Father Brown) heads an elite murder squad, but the one case he can’t crack is the one closest to him – the disappearance of his wife. Also starring Sharon Small (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries), Bailey Patrick (Bodyguard), and Tori Allen-Martin (Unforgotten).

JULY 2019 ADDENDUM:

From Acorn TV you can now stream both season one and season two.  Season two also consists of 5 episodes. Finally in season two we learn what happened to Bradford’s wife and what he has been hiding from his team. Nonetheless, season two leaves enough unsolved threads so that there could be a season three.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

From Acorn TV you can stream the first season on this detective series. Each of the 5 episodes last about 45 minutes.  Although the 5 episodes of the first season bring an investigation to a close, throughout all the seasons there is the continuing mystery of what happened to DI Bradford’s wife. In addition the investigation in the first season is closely related to that disappearance.

As far as detective series go, this one is on a par with most and offers some genuine suspense and character portrayal. Season one’s villain is effectively creepy.

Not bad!

 

2010, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Boating, Cold Cases, Corruption, Detective, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Flirting, Forensics, Interest in cats, Jealousy, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, MHz Choice, Military, Murder, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Romance, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swedish Detective

The Sandhamn Murders (2010)

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From IMDB:

Viveca Sten’s popular novels come to life in “The Sandhamn Murders”, a perfect mix of Nordic crime and the beautiful surroundings of the outer Stockholm archipelago.

Addendum: There are now 8 seasons on MHz Choice. Whereas the first 5 seasons were not too harsh,  the remaining 3 seasons could be tense and wrenching to watch.   Nora’s marriage choices are surprisingly bad while her true love interests change from season to season.

From MHz Choice you can stream this Swedish mystery and romance series. Each of the 5 available seasons consists of 3 episodes, each lasting approximately 45 minutes. There was a season 6 produced in 2018.

Recall that MHz Choice offers only foreign language programs with English subtitles.

Of all the many characters, only the two main characters appear consistently in all the episodes. Thomas the detective is played by Jakob Cedergren whom we mentioned in the review for “Those Who Kill”.  Nora is played by Alexandra Rapaport.  Thomas and Nora are strongly attracted to each other.  Thomas starts out as a divorced and grieving father. Nora starts out in an unhappy and picture-perfect marriage.  Throughout the series the theme is “will they get together or not?” which adds to the soap-opera-as-mystery-series.

Stories are good. Acting is just fine. Scenery is appealing because the filming takes place always in the summer holiday islands.

Here is a human series without a lot of gore. Not a serial killer in sight. Suitable for teens.

 

2013, Acorn TV, Australian, Australian Aborigine, Corruption, Detective, DNA, Drug Dealers, Failing Marriage, Father-daughter relations, Illegitimate Child, Lawyers, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Racial Prejudice, Rape, Small Town Atmosphere, Suspense, Unmarried mother

Mystery Road (2013)

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From Acorn TV:

Two-time Oscar nominee Judy Davis (Feud, Life with Judy Garland) and award-winning actor Aaron Pedersen (Jack Irish) star in this Acorn TV Original drama set in the Australian outback. When two boys go missing from a cattle station, Detective Jay Swan (Pedersen) teams up with local cop Emma James (Davis) to investigate. But solving the mystery could expose other crimes that haunt the remote town.

From Acorn TV (all British empire) you can download this Australian series of 6 episodes (each roughly 50 minutes).

In 2013 Judy Davis was 58 and her character Emma James looks really weather beaten, which is probably appropriate for the Australian outback. After 6 episodes I finally accepted that Ms. Davis was right for the part: terse, tough, and determinedly honest.

In 2013 Aaron Pedersen (born in Alice Springs, Australia) was 43. He played Cam Delray in the 2018 Jack Irish series. His role shares many characteristics with the role of Emma James, especially his manner of talking as little as possible.

Injustice and its hopeful righting are often enough to keep me interested. Besides a wrongful conviction and jail sentence, the theme of racial prejudice against the indigenous aborigines is part of the injustice. Stay tuned to see if the bad guys get their comeuppance.

While enjoying this series very much, I also came to appreciate that I would NEVER live in such a remote area.

2018, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Accidental Death, Addiction, African American centered, Basically Sad, Bloody scenes, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cynical, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Forensics, Gay theme, Gritty, Mildly Violent, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Trial, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Pessimistic, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Racism, Religious Theme, Spousal Abuse, Suspense, Trial Scenes, Upsetting ending

Seven Seconds (2018)

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From IMDB:

Tensions run high between African American citizens and Caucasian cops in Jersey City when a teenage African American boy is critically injured by a cop.

From Netflix you can stream this 10 episode series. Each episode is about an hour except the final episode is 80 minutes.

In the very beginning we see Officer Peter Jablonski accidentally run down a black boy Brenton who was riding his bicycle through the park on a snowy day. Immediately his corrupt white police buddies convince him to hide the crime as they drag the living boy to a ditch and leave him to bleed out over 12 hours. All ten very tense episodes relate the effort by a black female Assistant DA named KJ Harper and a white policeman  Joe ‘Fish’ Rinaldi to seek justice. Along the way we spend time with each member of Brenton’s family and the police families as their lives are sadly changed by the killing.  If there is a theme here, it is “Black Lives Should Matter” even if, sadly, black lives do not matter.

Acting is superb. None of the actors were familiar to me. Even the villains stand out as especially heinous, especially the unscrupulous white woman who defends the police.

For me much of the tension was getting to the end to see how the trial turns out.  Enjoy the gripping ride while you predict what a realistic ending would be.

DO NOT MISS!

 

 

 

2017, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Acorn TV, Ambiguous Conclusion, Brother-Sister relations, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Corruption, Courtroom scenes, Detective, Drug Dealers, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Financial malfeasance, Illegitimate Child, Lawyers, Marital Infidelity, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Revenge, Romance, Small Town, Violent, Wales, Welsh detectives

Keeping Faith (2017)

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From Acorn TV:

Fun-loving Faith Howells is drawn into a mystery when her husband and business partner Evan (Bradley Freegard, EastEnders) disappears. He leaves for work, but never arrives. His sudden absence strikes deep into the heart of this tiny Welsh community and forces Faith to come back from extended maternity leave to defend a hopeless vagrant on shoplifting charges. As increasingly-desperate Faith searches for clues, she discovers new revelations about Evan’s private life and questions how well she really knows the man she loves. Also starring Hannah Daniel (Hinterland), Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch), Mark Lewis Jones (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), and Aneirin Hughes (Hinterland).

From Acorn TV you can stream the 8 one-hour episodes of the only season offered.

“Mounting Frustration” best describes the progress of the series. Just when you think things could not get any worse for poor besieged Faith, they get much worse. Finally Kathy and I arrived at the eighth and last episode only to be rewarded with an ambiguous somewhat happy ending, which seems to beg for another season.

Too much time is spent in long-held motionless poses where we watch Faith suffer. Could the villainess be any nastier?  As plots go, this one is fairly complicated.

Just don’t expect justice to be served perfectly, and for all the heroes to live happily ever after.

2018, Acceptable for teenagers, Based on a Book, British, British Mystery Series, Cancer theme, Complicated, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Gay theme, Harlan Coben, Missing Person, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Revenge, School Teacher, Sister-sister relations, Teenagers, Terminal Disease

Safe (2018)

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From IMDB:

After his daughter goes missing, a widower begins uncovering the dark secrets of the people closest to him.

Originally this thriller was offered on Acorn TV.  In 2020 Netflix started streaming the  8 episodes of this real pot-boiler. All the characters live in a gated community. All have guilty secrets to hide. In fact, many if not most of the inhabitants are not very nice people.

You will recognize  Michael C. Hall  (the gay undertaker from “Six Feet Under” and also the lead character in “Dexter”).  Hall is an American born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but his British accent in this series is flawless (to my ears at least).

Some pot-boilers are done well and this is one of them, very binge-worthy. One attraction, if that is what it is, is the fact that things just worse and worse. Additionally the film is based on a book by Harlan Coben, one of my favorite leisure thriller authors.

DO NOT MISS!

2017, Action Film, Addiction, Amazon Prime, Bank Robbery, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, Crime, Detective, Drama, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Extramarital Affair, Forensics, Grim, Police Culture, Prison, Prostitutes, Romance, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Violent

Prime Suspect: Tennison (2017)

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From Amazon Prime:

This is the much-anticipated prequel to award-winning global hit Prime Suspect. Rewind to 1970s London to portray the early career of the formidable DCI Jane Tennison (Stefanie Martini), the role that established Dame Helen Mirren as a household name. We meet Jane as an ambitious 22-year-old probationary officer, starting out as a WPC in a world where chauvinism and rule-bending are the norm.

From Amazon Prime you can download Season 1 of this Prime Suspect prequel. Each of the 6 episodes last about 45 minutes.

Every episode offers tense action and interpersonal interactions. All 6 episodes form one complete story. Along the way there are romances, deaths, male chauvinism, crimes, drugs all of which lead to a suspenseful conclusion.

Well worth the watch.

2017, Acceptable for teenagers, Alcoholism, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Car Chase, Child abuse, Complicated, Conspiracy, Corruption, Detective, DNA, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Homophobia, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Norwegian, Norwegian Crime Story, Norwegian Detective, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Suicide, Uncle-Nephew relations, Uncle-Niece relations

Borderliner (2017)

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From IMDB:

To protect his family, police detective Nikolai covers up a murder case. But when his co-investigator Anniken suspects foul play, he is trapped in a dangerous game on duty, blurring the line between right and wrong.

From Netflix you can stream Season 1 of this Norwegian production which consists of 8 episodes each lasting about 45 minutes.

As Sir Walter Scott wrote in his play Marmion: “Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”  Nikolai, a police detective on leave, visits his widower policeman brother Lars and Lars’ two children just when a suicide victim is found hanging in a nearby woods.  Special Agent Anniken arrives on scene because the suicide is really a murder and Nikolai is ordered to join in the case.

Not until the eighth episode will you learn the truths of the story But lies begin when Lars confesses to Nikolai that he, Lars, killed the man (who was a drunk and child abuser). Nikolai decides to cover up the murder and from that point that lie leads to an entire stream of lies.

Complication one is that Lars and many others (especially the police themselves) are involved in the drug trade.

Complication two is that Nikolai is a closeted gay policeman, which seems to be frowned upon in Norway.

Things just get messier and messier until the final somewhat satisfying conclusion.

Throughout the focus is on Nikolai’s relentless pursuit of the truth combined with his guilty complicity (and the brooding looks to go with his regrets.)

Somehow the Norwegians just get it right! DO NOT MISS!

2009, Acceptable for teenagers, Addiction, Amateur lawbreakers, Based on a Book, Blackmail, Comic Moments, Crime, Detective, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Forensics, Jealousy, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Murder, Murder Investigation, Norwegian, Norwegian Crime Story, Nudity, Quirky, Sex Scenes

Good Night Darling (2009)

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From  MHz Choice:

A struggling musician tries his hand at blackmail after inadvertently filming a murder in this dark and quirky three-part miniseries based on the novel by Norwegian author Fredrik Skagen.

MHz Choice streams the three episodes of this Norwegian  TV miniseries. Each episode is one hour. English subtitles.

“Quirky” is the right description for this oddball cat-and-mouse story of murder and blackmail. Terje Lyngmo, the blackmailer, is an amateur at his new craft of blackmail and as such makes mistakes which his more clever target, the murderer, takes advantage of. Until the end it is not at all clear what to expect the conclusion to bring.

If it is possible to have a relaxing and fun story of murder and blackmail, then this easy story fits the bill.

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!