Category Archives: Family Conflict

2020, Alcoholism, Anti-Gay Laws, Anti-Semitism, B-movie, Bad Acting, Barely Acceptable Trash, Black struggles, Career Competition, Corny, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Feel Good Not For Children, Gay Bashing, Gay Prostitution, Gay theme, Happy ending, Hollywood Culture, Homophobia, Imperfect, Longsuffering wife, Love Story, Male Chauvinism, Male Prostitute for Women, Male Prostitutes, Marital Infidelity, Maudlin, Mediocre, Mostly About Sex, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Oscar Awards, Preachy, Promiscuity, Romance, Satire, Sex Scenes, Sexual promiscuity, Soap Opera, Unhappy Marriage, Vulgar, Women's Equality

Hollywood (2020)

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From Netflix:

While waiting for his big break, aspiring movie star Jack Castello accepts a job at a local service station that pumps more than just gas.

From Netflix you can stream the 7 episodes of this soap opera. Each episode runs between 45 and 58 minutes.

Maudlin. Salacious. Corny. Subtle as a brick. Clichéd. Barely acceptable trash. Maudlin. Raunchy. Preachy. Woke. Terrible acting. Production errors.  And the list could go on.

My college freshman rhetoric teacher suggested that in order to better appreciate good examples of a given art discipline such as literature, music, and film, it helps to experience the bad examples. Well, with this film we now have a golden opportunity to experience one of the lesser achievements of the movie industry.

“Golden Tip Gasoline” is a gas pumping station that doubles as a gas pimping station for the young male gas attendants who will “fill your tank” if the customer uses the code word “dreamland”, no matter if that customer is male or female.   Not only all these attendants but also their boss and some customers have Hollywood aspirations. One way for such a gas pumper to get his start is to service those customers who are part of the Hollywood management nobility. Instead of casting couches it seems there were casting nozzles.

Rather than merely prurient attractions, this story offers a noble sub-theme: No longer would the film industry suppress black,  gay, and women actors.

Indeed from the goings-on we might suspect that half of Hollywood consisted of closeted gays .  As an example: One client, say Jake, is so stupid that when he drives up to engage Archie Coleman he can’t remember the word “Dreamland”. But they hook up and eventually fall in love.  Jake is told he cannot act. Nonetheless he forges ahead.  Because he could not remember two lines, his first screen text required 67 takes. Because Jake is as handsome as he is stupid, some producer accepts him but says “Jake” is not an acceptable screen name and must be changed to ROCK HUDSON (get it?). His boyfriend Archie is a black man (horrors!) who wants to become a screen writer. Camille Washington is a black woman (even worse!) who wants to have some screen role other than playing a maid (uppity!). And so it goes on and on for 7 episodes.

Is this a satire? Have I missed something here?

If you can last till episode 7, which is aptly named “A Hollywood Ending”,  you will be rewarded with a happy, sappy ending. Amen!

But just remember I LOVE TRASH!

2017, Acceptable for teenagers, Agatha Christie, B-movie, Bad Acting, Car Chase, Controlling personality, Could be boring, Detective, Emotional abuse, Family Conflict, Mediocre, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Revenge

Agatha Christie’s Crooked House (2017)

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From IMDB:

In Agatha Christie’s most twisted tale, a spy-turned-private-detective is lured by his former lover to catch her grandfather’s murderer before Scotland Yard exposes dark family secrets.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour complete film.

Both aging actors and young players unite to produce a classic  but somewhat dull and badly acted Agatha Christie mystery story. Among the aged are Glenn Close (elegant and beautiful),  Gillian Anderson (tired in a really ugly black wig), Terence Stamp (what an immense resumé) , and Julian Sands.  Gillian Anderson has done herself no favor with her exaggerated (embarrassing?) performance.

Except for finally learning which of these awful people is the killer, there is not much to gain is watching this sad, mediocre work.

 

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Anti-Semitism, Attempted Rape, Attempted Suicide, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Career Competition, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Detective, Drama, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Forensics, Jewish Culture, Mental Illness, Mild Torture, Military, Military Corruption, Military School, Mother-son relations, Murder by poison, Old-Fashioned, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Police Politics, Portraiture, Possibly upsetting ending, Psychopath, Psychotic Attacks, Sadism, Self-harm, Spiritualist, Suspense, Vienna of 1900, Violent

Vienna Blood (2019)

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From PBS Streaming:

A student of Sigmund Freud and an Austrian detective team up to solve some of the most mysterious and deadly cases in early 1900s Vienna.

From PBS Masterpiece Streaming you can watch 6 episodes, each lasting about 45 minutes.  Each of the three stories encompasses 2 episodes.

Changes were happening in 1900s Vienna.   Oskar Reinhardt is an Austrian detective who, when the series begins, is used to old-school methods that can involve using violence against suspects.  Little by little he adapts to using the newer methods of Max Liebermann. Max is a doctor working in a hospital run by a bully that is fond of using electrotherapy.  Max, as a student of Sigmund Freud, is more attuned to using psychological methods for understanding and curing his patients.

One important theme is Vienna’s virulent  antisemitism.  Max is the eldest son of an observant Jewish family.  As a subplot, Max is engaged to one woman (a Jewess) but falls in love with one of his patients (a gentile) whom he cured using Freudian methods.

Oskar is in constant mourning over the death of his young daughter. As a result his wife has at least temporarily left him.

In each of the 3 murder cases, Oskar stands fast against the prejudices and rush to judgement of his superiors.  Similarly Max stands fast against the malpractice of his own superiors.

Be at least warned that the third story leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Old-fashioned and well-done drama.

2021, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Bloody scenes, Confusing Plot, Could be boring, Detective, Drug Dealers, Failed Father, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, French, French Detectives, Friendship, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Harlan Coben, Imperfect, Mediocre, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Nothing special, Plot twists, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Gone For Good (2021)

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From Netflix:

Ten years after losing two loved ones, a man is plunged into another dizzying mystery when his girlfriend vanishes. Based on a Harlan Coben novel.

From Netflix you can stream the 6 episodes, each episode less than one hour, of the serialized adaptation of Coben’s 2001 novel of the same name. French with English subtitles.

Even the reviews of Coben’s novel complain that this is not one of his better novels.  Confusing plot twists, hard to accept events, and other defects, despite the many action sequences, make the story sadly forgettable.

In fact, I was tempted to stop watching the series.  Either read a different Coben novel or find a film adaptation of some other Coben story.

Forget it!

2021, Arson, Attempted Murder, Bullying, Conspiracy, Controlling personality, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Eccentric Detective, Failed Father, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Fist Fight, Forensics, High school students, Israeli culture, Israeli Detective, Jealousy, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Police Investigation, School Shooting, Teenagers, Torture, Violent, Wrongful Arrest

Black Space (2021)

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From Netflix:

A rogue detective with unorthodox means leads an investigation into a massacre committed by unicorn mask-wearing assassins at an Israeli high school.

From Netflix you can stream 8 episodes of this Israeli high school gun massacre series. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Rami Davidi is the detective. He is losing his left eye because he was attacked in his high school days by fellow students at the same high school when the assassinations take place. As such, he carries a grudge against the school whose principle never helped him when he was attacked.

For awhile a Palestinian school maintenance man is accused. But Rami figures out that the shootings were carried out by some of the students.  When everyone finally believes Rami,  then little by little the students turn on one another.

Unless Israeli high school students are really a vicious, depraved set of people, I would prefer to assume that their portrayal in this series is an ugly exaggeration for the sake of a crime story.  Perhaps I was just plain lucky to attend an all-boys Catholic high school in Baltimore.

Overly long, almost to the point of boring, watching the fairly large set of students with unfamiliar names devour each other is a bit of a blood sport.

Yikes!

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime, Brain Invasion, Brother-Brother relations, Complicated, Computer hacking, Controlling personality, Drama, Failed Father, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Identity Theft, Jealousy, Mother-son relations, Narcissist, Nothing special, Revenge, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

The Feed (2019)

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From IMDB:

A man’s invention of a brain implant that allows people to share thoughts and emotions gets into the wrong hands.

From Amazon Prime:

In the near future, people’s minds are connected to The Feed, giving them instant connectivity. When something or someone invades it, everyone is at risk

From Amazon Prime you can stream 10 episodes, each  lasting about 55 minutes, of this one season sci-fi series.

What a mess!  This complicated story and set of characters seems to go on forever.  As a concept, the idea that we could all be part of some mental “Facebook” is scary and also a good theme for a sci-fi story.  But “Takers” keep stealing people’s bodies and often you might not be sure just what person you are seeing.

Besides the sci-fi mumbo jumbo, a background issue is the narcissist scientist who created this mess and how he treats his adult children as well as the rest of poor inferior mankind.  Maybe that counts as drama.

Not a complete waste of time.

2016, Based on a Book, Basically Sad, Brother-Brother relations, Cancer theme, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Extramarital Affair, Failed Father, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, French, French Culture, Good Acting, Kanopy streaming, Medical Theme, Plot Twist, Quiet, Slow, Suicide, Things Left Unsaid

Le Fils de Jean [A Kid] (2016)

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From IMDB:

Mathieu has never known his father. His mother has always told him he was the fruit of a one-night-stand. One morning, in his Parisian flat, he receives a call from Quebec telling him his father just died. Mathieu decides to go to the funeral and meet the two Canadian brothers he just found out he had. In Montreal, nobody is aware of his existence, and Mathieu realizes he is in a hostile territory.

From Kanopy you can stream this quiet, understated, moving French film which lasts 1 hour and 38 minutes.

Let me again remind you that Kanopy is offered free by your local public library. Just google for “Kanopy”.  If you like older films, you will find them in Kanopy.

Hopefully you have streamed “Wonderland” from MHz Choice.  In that marvelous series Jérémy was played by the French actor Pierre Deladonchamps.  Confusingly enough, if you want to find Wonderland  in IMDB, you have to look for a film named “Romance” because looking for “Wonderland” will get you nowhere.

Deladonchamps plays Mathieu in “Le Fils de Jean”.   He and his supporting actors produce a sad and effective portrait of family confusion.  With very little violence (some minor scuffles) the story slowly moves toward probably the only conclusion it could reach.

Perhaps Deladonchamps is an actor to watch. Good film!

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Alcoholism, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Anxiety Attacks, Brother-Sister relations, Career Competition, Character Driven, Corruption, Could Be Sad, Cover-up, Danish, Danish Politics, Danish TV series, Depression, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Embezzlement, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Husband leaves wife, Love Story, Love Triangle, Marital Infidelity, Mental Illness, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Newspaper Culture, NOT violent, Personal Betrayal, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Psychiatrists, Revenge, Romance, Thought provoking, TV Culture, TV news industry, TV Reporter, Well developed plot, Womanizing

Borgen (2012)

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From IMDB:

A political drama about a prime minister’s rise to power, and how power changes a prime minister.

From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons of this Danish political drama series. Each season consists of 10 one-hour episodes.  Recent news hints that there might someday be a fourth season. Danish with English subtitles.

In Danish, Borgen, lit. ’The Castle’, is the informal name of Christiansborg Palace where all three branches of Danish government reside: the Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Supreme Court, and is often used as a figure of speech for the Danish government.

In the very first episode we see  Birgitte Nyborg become Prime Minister of Denmark.  This first episode is OK but does not begin to compare with the gut-punching episodes that follow.  Can a woman “have it all” is one of the issues.  Birgitte comes off as a morally upright and  sincere woman steering her way through the compromising pressures of political life.   She will pay a personal price for her success.

Surrounding Birgitte are a multitude of characters meaningful to the plot,  some praiseworthy and quite a few sneaky , malicious,  ambitious “villains.”  Quite a few of those characters are members of the news media.  All these many characters are involved throughout the series and often have their own personal stories to tell.

Each episode usually centers around a theme:  health care, peace negotiations,  and many others.  Don’t expect each episode to have a happy ending.  After most episodes Kathy and I exclaim “WOW, how do the writers maintain such consistent excellence?”

DO NOT MISS!

2018, Abduction, Action Film, Action sequences, America of the 2020s, Anonymous network, Binge worthy, Black Ops, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Car Chase, Character Driven, Computer geeks, Computer hacking, Contract Killing, Crime, Cryptocurrency, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Ethical struggles, Failed Father, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Financial malfeasance, Fist Fight, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Gangs, Germ Warfare, Haitian Gang, Love Story, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Panic Attacks, Personal Betrayal, Police Investigation, Psychopath, Redemption, Revenge, Russian Gang, Ruthless Killer, Sociopath, Suspense, Terrorist Attack, Torture, Violent

Startup (2018)

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From IMDB:

A desperate banker, a Haitian-American gang lord and a Cuban-American hacker are forced to work together to unwittingly create their version of the American dream – organized crime 2.0.

From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons of this series.  Each season consists of 10 episodes. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

If there is any current prototype of the 21st century technical world, this series is certainly in the running.  Topics include anonymous networks, cryptocurrency, NSA, security, CIA, black ops, offshore accounts, gang violence, crime ridden neighborhoods, criminal activity, Russian mobsters, rogue FBI agents, personal betrayal, and romance to name a few.

But above all for me the most important theme was redemption in the sense that people can change for the better.  First consider the character Ronald Dacey played by Edi Cathegi (born in Kenya).  Herein is a warning:  In the beginning of the series Ronald is the brutal leader of a Haitian gang in Los Angeles.  Don’t let the scenes of torture turn you away from the series.  Indeed the “redeeming” feature here is that Ronald in addition to being a brutal killer is also a loving husband and father.  As the story progresses, Ronald grows increasingly aware that the violence is self-defeating.  His basic and thinking humanity more and more shines through. He fights especially to keep his son on a straight path, not an easy task in their environment.  Ronald is never a saint, but his heart is more or less in the right place.

Next consider the rogue FBI agent Phil Rask played by the British actor Martin Freeman, who played Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes.  Freeman’s consistently idiosyncratic portrayal of Agent Rask is a pleasure to watch. More to the point of “redemption”, despite his many misdeeds he does have a conscience which begins to nag at him, which becomes fortunate for other characters later on in the plot.

Eventually you may become intimately concerned with the other players:  Adam Brody as Nick Talman, Otmara Marrero as Izzy Morales, Ron Perlman as Wes Chandler, and Addison Timlin as Mara Chandler.

And if you want some really nasty villains, there are two remarkable sociopaths Vera Cherny as the Russian mobstress (if there is such a word) and Mira Sorvino as the ruthless NSA-CIA black operator Rebecca Stroud.

DO NOT MISS!

2017, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime Acorn, Basically Sad, Blackmail, Character Driven, Clever Plot, Complicated, Crime, Detective, Divorce, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, False Imprisonment, Family Conflict, Farm Life, Father-son relations, Financial malfeasance, Forensics, Gangs, Human trafficking, Lawyers, Lesbian Theme, Longsuffering wife, Love Triangle, Money Laundering, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Occasionaly violent, Office Love Affairs, Personal Betrayal, Police Culture, Possibly depressing, Prison, Ruthless Killer, Suspense, Trial Scenes, Unhappy Marriage, Welsh detectives

Keeping Faith (2017)

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From Amazon Prime Acorn,

Season 1: 8 one hour episodes.

Award-winning actress Eve Myles (Torchwood) stars in this BBC thriller as Faith Howells, a lawyer with a happy marriage until her husband suddenly disappears. As Faith becomes the police’s prime suspect, her search for the truth leads her to the criminal underbelly of her quiet town.

Season 2: 6 one hour episodes.

A year after her husband’s disappearance, Faith (BAFTA Award winner Eve Myles) is drawn into a new mystery in this BBC thriller set along the stunning Welsh coast.

Season 3: 6 one hour episodes.

In the final season, Faith deals with her divorce, one of the most complex legal cases of her career, and her mother returning, threatening to expose long-buried secrets.

So far Kathy and I have seen the first two seasons and watching is a bit exhausting. Faith repeatedly has to face the challenges of her career and well as many personal problems, especially the betrayals of people near her.  Poor Faith never gets a moment’s rest. Season two does not end well for any of the characters. After abandoning Faith for awhile we will return to season 3. which promises to present Faith with even more wrenching difficulties.

Despite her trials and tribulations, the complicated plots  are well done.  Some of the bad guys are especially villainous.  Although each season brings its plot to conclusion, there is a continuity of themes and characters throughout all the seasons.

Well worth the watch. Just don’t expect to come away happy.