Category Archives: Ethical struggles

2014, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Boating, British Drama, Coarse manners, Controlling personality, Corrupt Clergy, Cruelty, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, False Imprisonment, Fight Scenes, Friendship, Gangs, Grungy, Horses, Love Story, Murder, Orphan, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Smuggling, Suspense, Trust Nobody, Violent

Jamaica Inn (2014)

From PBS Passport:

Based on the novel by the English writer Daphne Du Maurier, Jamaica Inn is a gripping mystery that tells the story of Mary Yellan, a woman who is forced in the 1820s to move into the ominous Jamaica Inn in Cornwall with her aunt and uncle. Mary must uncover the secrets of a local group of smugglers while also managing her growing attraction to the mysterious Jem Merlyn.

From PBS Passport you can stream the 3 hour-long episodes of this TV series that was recently (February 2023) aired on the PBS TV station.

Be prepared for a really grubby old Jamaica Inn notorious for a rough crowd of smugglers.  Josh Merlyn (played by Sean Harris) is a brutally violent and disturbed proprietor.   Mary Yellan (played by Jessica Brown) is a determinedly upright young woman who, at least initially, is overwhelmed by the evil surrounding her.  Mary finds solace from the Reverend Francis Davey (played by Ben Daniels who played Lord Snowdon in “The Crown”). Mary falls in love with Joss’ brother Jem (played by Matthew McNulty who played Steve Campbell in “Deadwater Fell”).

Framed as both a love story and a mystery adventure, where the mystery is “who is really running the smuggling”, these three hours provide  tense and suspenseful viewing.

DO NOT MISS!

2002, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Ageing Couple, America of the 1930s, Bank Robbery, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Career Criminal, Catholic Church Corruption, Catholic culture, Contract Killing, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime Family, DO NOT MISS, Dog episode, Drama, Ethical struggles, Father-son relations, Fatherless child, Gangs, Grim, Invincible villain, Irish Mob, Kanopy streaming, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Psychopath, Redemption, Revenge, Ruthless Killer, Suspense, Uncategorized, Wonderful acting

Road to Perdition (2022)

From IMDB:

A mob enforcer’s son in 1930s Illinois witnesses a murder, forcing him and his father to take to the road, and his father down a path of redemption and revenge.

From Netflix (and Kanopy) you can stream this 1 hour 57 minute Irish mob classic film which  earned five Academy Awards  nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Paul Newman. Originally the story was a graphic novel.

Tom Hanks bemoans the seeming obscurity of the film. He is quoted as saying  “For one reason or another, no one references Road to Perdition, and that was an incredibly important movie for me to go through.”  In fact, it was just his comment that motivated me to watch the film.

Consider the outstanding actors involved:

  • Tom Hanks plays the enforcer and father Michael Sullivan. At the time of filming he was 46.
  • Tyler Hoechlin plays the endangered son Michael Sullivan Jr. At the time of filming he was 15.  Later he played superheroes.
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the mother Annie Sullivan.
  • Paul Newman plays the mob family head John Rooney. This was his  final live-action theatrical film acting role at which time he was 77. Newman died in 2008,
  • Daniel Craig plays the out-of-control son Connor Rooney. At the time of filming he was 34. Craig began filming at age 24.
  • Ciarán Hinds plays the witnessed murdered man Finn McGovern.
  • Stanley Tucci plays the Chicago mobster Frank Nitti.
  • Jude Law plays the psychopath Maguire who photographs his victims’ corpses. At time of filming he was 30. He began filming as a child actor of age 16.
  • Anthony LaPaglia was cast as Al Capone and filmed a single scene, which was omitted from the final cut  and can be found in the DVD’s deleted scenes.

Of course, it is a violent gangster film, but a tasteful one (if that is possible).  At the center of the film is the son Michael who is an essentially good kid that worships his father and whose salvation is at stake.

DO NOT MISS!

2021, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acceptable for teenagers, Addiction, Amputee, Angola, Attempted Murder, Based on true facts, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Bureaucracy, CIA, Cold War, Communists, Complicated, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Corrupt Politicians, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cover-up, Cruelty, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, FADO songs, False Accusations, False Imprisonment, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Frame someone for a crime, Government cover-up, Historical Fiction, Hostage Taking, International thriler, Invincible villain, Jealousy, Lesbian Theme, Local color, Longsuffering wife, Love Story, Male Chauvinism, Marital Infidelity, Military, Missing Person, Monstrous Father, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Mysterious Disappearance, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Pianist, Plot twists, Police Corruption, Police cover-up, Political Intrigue, Portuguese, Portuguese History, Portuguese-Angola War, Promiscuity, Puzzling Ending, Radio Free Europe, Rape, Revenge, Russian Anti-USA Scheme, Russian Spy, Ruthless Killer, Sex Scenes, Sexual promiscuity, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, Surprise Ending, Suspense, Tennis, Thriller, Torture, Traitors, Trust Nobody, Unhappy Marriage, Unwanted Pregnancy, Violent, War, Wife Beating, Womanizing, Wrongful Arrest

Glória (2021)

From IMDB:

In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, in the small village of Glória do Ribatejo, João Vidal will take on several high-risk espionage missions that could change the course of Portuguese and world history.

From Netflix you can stream the 10 episodes of this Portuguese spy thriller.  Each episode lasts about 45 minutes. In Portuguese and English with subtitles.

RARET is short for portuguese RAdio de RETransmissão (Retransmission Radio).  Think of RARET as Radio Free Europe.  An article in the New York Times suggested this film to me. That article, which is worth reading, begins as follows:

————————————————————————-

Anyone who didn’t live through the Cold War might find the Portuguese Netflix spy thriller series “Glória” improbable.

Deep in the Portuguese countryside, in the tiny village of Glória, a complex radio transmission operation run by Portuguese and American engineers springs up in the 1950s, a branch of a Munich-based news organization called Radio Free Europe.

It broadcasts news and anti-communist messages in languages of various Soviet republics, but, in the show and in real life, that’s only part of its early mission: It’s also a C.I.A. front.

Until 1971, Radio Free Europe was a covert U.S. intelligence operation seeking to penetrate the Iron Curtain and foment anti-communist dissent in what was then Czechoslovakia, in Poland and elsewhere.

João (Portuguese for John) is a Russian spy seeking to undermine the activities of RARET.  Through 10 episodes we watch his masterful deceits while many around him get hurt as a result. To really appreciate the story you might brush up on some Portuguese history such as its imperialism (especially in Angola), the dictator Salazar, and PIDE (the Portuguese secret police).

Because the very ending comes as a complete and puzzling surprise, after finishing the series you can read an explanation.

Do not expect much happiness. But – DO NOT MISS!

2022, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Attempted Murder, Binge worthy, Blackmail, British Politics, Career Competition, CIA, Complicated, Corrupt Politicians, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Friendship, MI-6, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Plot twists, Political Intrigue, Revenge, Russian Spy, Suspense, Trust Nobody

Treason (2022)

From IMDB:

Adam Lawrence was trained and groomed by MI6; his career seems set. When the past catches up with him in the form of Kara, a Russian spy with whom he shares a complicated past, he is forced to question everything and everyone in his life.

From Netflix you can stream the 5 episodes of this British political intrigue series. Each episode lasts roughly 40 minutes.

Potentially complicated, this series is actually fairly easy to follow. As usual the theme is “you can’t trust anyone.”  Your task is to figure out who is the Russian spy in the British government.  Is Adam Lawrence the traitor?  Who killed the 5 men in Baku?

Be ready for unexpected twists and turns in this binge-worthy British thriller.

DO NOT MISS!

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Arson, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Complicated, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Eccentric Detective, Embezzlement, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Fist Fight, Flashbacks, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Greed, Illegal immigrant, Lawyers, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Social Class Inequality, Suicide, Unbelievably smart detective, Uncategorized

Knives Out (2019)

From Netflix:

A detective unravels the tangled web of secrets and lies
surrounding the death of a successful crime novelist and his
unsettling, eccentric family.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 10 minute mystery film.

Of the two “Knives Out” films currently available on Netflix, this first installment is in ways superior to the second installment “Glass Onion: Knives Out”.  Probably the more established cast of “Knives Out” accounts for the better acting.  Dialog in “Glass Onion” is often crudely vulgar which sometimes is a clue to compensating for lower quality writing.

That established cast includes:

  • Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc the detective in both “Knives Out” flims.
  • Chris Evans as the wayward son Ransom Drysdale.
  • Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale.
  • Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey.
  • Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale.
  • Toni Collette as Toni Thrombey née Drysdale.
  • Christopher Plummer as Harlan Drysdale, the patriarch.

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera is a relative newcomer and is in someway the star of the show.

One of many examples of a household assembly of suspects in a murder in the gathering, this complexly plotted who-done-it is well worth watching. In fact

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chase film, CIA, Cold War, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Corrupt Politicians, Coup, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Fist Fight, GRU, Invincible Hero, Murder, Narcissistic Personality, Navy, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Political Conspiracy, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Suspense, Thriller, Traitors, Treason, Violent

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

In Season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Jack races against time and across Europe to stop a rogue faction within the Russian government from  restoring the Soviet Empire and starting World War III.

From Amazon Prime you can stream season 3 of the Jack Ryan series. Season 3 consists of 8 episodes. Each episode runs between 45 minutes and an hour.

Continuing in the view of the first two seasons, this series treats us to one action event after the other. Along the way the cast of characters and their loyalties keep changing in possibly confusing rapidity.  Flashbacks are vital in explaining the motives of the various actors in the plot.

Among the many good performance I would award a prize to James Cosmo for his portrayal of Luka Gocharov.

Expect 8 hours of constant excitement and possible confusion.

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Art Treasures, Bloody scenes, Boring occasionally, Complicated, Conspiracy, Disguises, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Fraud, Impersonation, Love Triangle, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Off-color moments, Personal Betrayal, Plagiarism, Plot Twist, Satisfying Ending, Suspense, Unbelievably smart detective, Uncategorized

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

From Netflix:

World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel
back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his
eclectic crew of friends.

From Netflix you can stream the second installment of the “Knives Out” series. “Glass Onion” runs for 2 hours and 19 minutes.

Should Daniel Craig have stuck to playing James Bond (despite the fact that Bond dies in the last of that series) ?  As the movie starts I thought “Oh, no! Has-beens on parade!”  After awhile the story picks up, so you have to persist. Even Edward Norton’s long-winded boring speeches make a bit of sense.

Be on the lookout for cameo appearances by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Grant.

After two hours the story literally comes to a smashing end. Give the production a B+.

2015, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, AIDS, Assisted Suicide, Brain Tumor, Cancer theme, Clairvoyant, Death of a child, Detective, Ethical struggles, Father-son relations, FBI, Friendship, Gay theme, Medical Theme, Mercy Killing, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Occasionaly violent, Off-color moments, Psychic, Psychopathologist, Serial Killer, Suspense, Vulgar Jokes

Solace (2015)

From IMDB:

Psychic John Clancy (Sir Anthony Hopkins) works with the F.B.I. in order to hunt down a serial killer.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 41 minute complete film.

FBI Agent Joe Merriwether (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) works with FBI Agent Katherine Cowels (played by Abbie Cornish) who has her doctorate in psychopathology.  At a complete loss in learning anything about the serial killer, Joe turns to his old friend and clairvoyant Dr. John Clancy (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) who, owing to ugly past experiences,  is very reluctant to join the search.

Learning the motive for the killings is a priority.  If I reveal that motive here, I would consider that revelation a spoiler.

Where in all this is the actor Colin Farrell? He plays Charles Ambrose who just happens to be the serial killer. Charles shares a significant feature of Dr. Clancy’s personality.

After watching the film, you will understand why I say the film is a disguised ethical debate with no easy answer.

All the clairvoyance is just too convenient (should I say “contrived” or downright “hokey” ?).  In addition the quick decision action sequences might be hard to follow.   I give the film a B+.

 

 

2013, Abduction, Action sequences, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugging as a weapon, Ethical struggles, Forensics, Grim, Ironic Ending, Mentally impaired person, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Plot Twist, Police Culture, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wrongful Arrest

Prisoners (2013)

From Netflix:

After his young daughter and her friend go missing, a desperate
father clashes with the detective on the case and takes matters
into his own hands.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 33 minute tense thriller.

Jake Gyllenhaal movies are usually not an easy watch and this search for missing children and a  serial killer is no exception. What attracted me was the exceptional cast:

  • Hugh Jackman is Keller Dover, father of the missing Anna Dover.
  • Terrence Howard is Franklin Birch, father of the missing Joy Birch.
  • Viola Davis is Joy’s mother Nancy.
  • Paul Dano is the suspect Alex Jones.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal is Detective Loki.

Be prepared for Keller’s desperation-driven torture of Alex which is quite ugly to watch, a plot twist, and an ironic ending.

If you can stand to watch, DO NOT MISS!

2011, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Ageing parent, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Based on a Book, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, British Police, Car Chase, Career Criminal, Clever Plot, Complicated, Contract Killing, Corrupt policemen, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Crime thriller, Death of a child, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Eccentric Detective, Emotional abuse, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Fight Scenes, Flirting, Forensics, Gambling, Grim, Grisly, Gritty, Hopeless Love, Human trafficking, Infuriating, Lawyers, Love Story, Mourning, Murder, Murder Trial, Pedophilia, Plot twists, Poker, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Possibly upsetting ending, Psychiatrists, Romance, Sad ending, Single Mother, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Trial Scenes, Upsetting ending, Violent

DCI Banks (2011)

From IMDB:

The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.

From Amazon Prime Brit Box (or just independently Brit Box) you can stream 5 seasons of this outstandingly tense British crime series. Almost all complete stories require two consecutive episodes.  All seasons contain 6 episodes (i.e 3 stories) where each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Season 1 contains 7 episodes because the first episode is the pilot called “Aftermath”. PLEASE DO NOT WATCH this episode because it is so ugly that you might not want to watch the rest of the series. Indeed the crimes in all the stories are disturbing but season 1 episode 1 is especially nasty.

Detectives Alan Banks, Annie Cabbot, and Helen Morton are  present throughout.  Alan falls in love with Annie and a constant theme is whether they will ever get together. Alan’s father is always an annoyance. Shaun Dooley plays a wonderfully infuriating evil criminal Steve Richards.

Kathy and I eagerly ploughed through all 30 episodes, exclaiming after each story “Wow!”  In fact in one sitting we always watched two episodes making one complete story.

DO NOT MISS!