Category Archives: Father-son relations

2018, Acceptable Sci-Fi, Basically Sad, Bloody scenes, Drama, Dystopia, Father-son relations, Government human experiment, Military, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Remarkable Body Transformation, Violent

The Titan (2018)

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From Netflix:

On a bleak future Earth, a soldier endures a radical genetic transformation to save humanity. But his wife fears he’s  becoming more creature than man.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 37 minute sci-fi drama.

Because Earth is doomed,  the U.S. government has decided to try to populate Titan, one of Jupiter’s moons.  Titan’s environment (air, temperature, water) is harsher than that of Earth. Consequently a (mad?) scientist (played by Tom Wilkinson) has devised a radical restructuring of a body’s genome so that the resulting person can thrive on Titan.  Among the group of volunteers is Rick Janssen (played by Sam Worthington) whose wife Abi (played by Taylor Schilling) loves him dearly and is terrified by the treatments, suffering, and changes taking place in her husband.

Rather than full-fledged sci-fi, this is more a minor drama about how impending planet disaster affects a marriage.

Ignore the improbable details (how many people does populating a new planet require?), enjoy the yarn and the personalities.

2021, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Bullying, Clever Plot, Computer hacking, Corny at times, Detective, Extramarital Affair, False Accusations, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Identity Theft, Impersonation, Kidnapping, Marital Infidelity, Mildly Violent, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Plot twists, Suspense, TV news industry, TV Reporter, Unscrupulous reporter

Click Bait (2021)

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From Netflix:

Pia Brewer races to find Nick when he appears in an online video, bloodied and holding a sign that reads: “At 5 million views I die.”

From Netflix you can stream the 8 episodes of this mystery thriller. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Who kidnapped and killed Nick?  At first he is shown in an online video, bloodied and holding a sign that reads: “At 5 million views I die.”  As the 5 million viewers constantly view the video he holds other signs saying he abused women or that he killed a woman.

Each episode is from the viewpoint of one of the people involved in the plot such a family members, a detective, and an unscrupulous reporter.  There are several plot twists. Just when you think you know what is going on,  some new game changing fact comes to light. Along the way many people suffer loss and betrayal.

Some editing would have removed a bit of unnecessary footage.  At times the plot veers toward the maudlin.  Still,  it is a clever shape-shifting plot.

2016, Action sequences, Coarse manners, Defies Categorization, Eccentric cast of characters, Exaggeration Comedy, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Friendship, Improbable details, Kanopy streaming, Masturbation, Must suspend disbelief, Offbeat, Philosophic Discussions, Vulgar

Swiss Army Man (2016)

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From Kanopy:

Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded on a deserted island and given up all hope. Everything changes when a corpse named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) washes ashore. The two become fast friends, and go on an epic adventure to bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.

From Kanopy you can stream this 98 minute complete film.

Easily one of the strangest films I have ever seen.  No holds are barred in the outrageous conversations,  more than frank sexual discussions, and visual effects.

Just one example should convince you that this adventure is not your average film experience.  As Hank prepares to commit suicide on a deserted island, he spots a corpse that has just come in from the sea and landed on the beach.  This corpse noisily farts repeatedly. Eventually Hank uses Manny as a flotation device and the two sail off into the sea using Manny’s fart power as an outboard motor.

Heard enough?   Keep an open mind and I’ll bet you can’t stop watching.

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.

2009, Abandoned child, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amazon Prime, Bad Acting, Bloody scenes, British, British Mystery Series, Bullying, Child abuse, Could Be Hard To Watch, Emotional child abuse, Father-son relations, Grim, Grisly, Narcissistic Personality, Occasional gore, Pedophilia, Psychopath, Rape, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suspense, Unloved Child, Violent

Above Suspicion (2009)

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From Amazon Prime:

Does rookie detective Anna Travis have what it takes to succeed in what is still mostly a man’s world? Based on the bestselling novels by Lynda La Plante, this hit British police drama is a “younger, sassier successor to Prime Suspect” (The Telegraph, U.K.)

From Amazon Prime you can stream seasons 1 and 2 of the 4 existing seasons. Season 1 consists of 2 episodes lasting roughly an hour each. Season 2 consists of 3 episodes each lasting about 45 minutes.

“Grim” is the word that immediately comes to mind.  An effort was made to present some really gory scenes.  Fortunately the two stories offer plots that are good enough to warrant watching. Fortunately, I say, because the lead detective DCS James Langton is played by Ciarán Hinds who as a loud ham of an actor is a bit hard to take.  His sidekick opponent Anna Travis learns to stand up to Langton’s offish bullying.

Gory but watchable.

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!

2017, Abandoned child, Acceptable for teenagers, Drama, Drug Dealers, Drug trip, Drugs, Father-son relations, Kanopy streaming, Quiet, Slow, Small gem of a film, Small Town Atmosphere, Southern U.S. wilderness, Wonderful photography

Moss (2017)

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From Kanopy:

In this coming-of-age tale set in the American South, Moss is an isolated and troubled young man who embarks, on his eighteenth birthday, on an unexpected adventure never to be forgotten.

For Moss, whose mother died while delivering him, the day means freedom, especially from his father, whom Moss believes resents him for his very existence. However, it will take more than this milestone day to set him free. During a chance encounter with a woman fleeing her own heartache, the two escape into a psychedelic journey that teaches Moss lessons of life and loss.

From Kanopy you can stream this 1 hour 21 minute complete film.

Perhaps you should be smoking a joint while watching this photographic essay go dreamily on its way.  Sometimes the camera work seems clumsy,  but the film captures a piece of the South notable for raw, beautiful nature and the poverty of its inhabitants.  In this rush-rush age it is amazing to watch folk who are in no hurry, have no ambitions, and are content to smoke pot and just enjoy watching the day go by.

1987, Anti-Gay Laws, Anxiety Attacks, Based on a Book, Blackmail, Boxing, British Drama, Cambridge University, Church of England, Classic, Drama, Ethical struggles, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Friendship, Gay theme, Good Acting, Good Production Values, Government Prosecutions, Happy ending, Homophobia, Kanopy streaming, Love Story, Mostly About Sex, Mother-son relations, Nudity, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sex Scenes, Uncategorized, Upstairs - Downstairs, Wasp Snobs

Maurice (1987)

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From IMDB:

After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.

From Kanopy you can stream this 2 hour 20 minute vintage British film made by Merchant Ivory and  based on the 1971 novel Maurice by E. M. Forster

34 years ago some very young but now well-known British actors made what  has been called Ivory’s best film. In 1987 it got rave reviews and awards everywhere except England.  In the Wikipedia article about the film, the director James Ivory is quoted as saying:

… in England, where almost every important film critic was gay, they came out against the film. Their reactions to it were extraordinary! You’d think that they would have been supportive, but they were afraid to be supportive.

Despite those actors being so young, it is easy to recognize Hugh Grant, James Wilby, Rupert Graves,  Judy Parfitt, Ben Kingsley and others.

If there is a secondary theme, it is the strict division between the upper and  servant classes.

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!

2021, Abduction, Amazon Prime, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Controlling personality, Danish, Danish Detectives, Danish Police, Danish TV series, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Failed Father, Failing Marriage, Father-son relations, Gory, Mother-son relations, Profiler, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suicide, Suspense, Torture, Unhappy Marriage, Violent, Wife leaves husband

Blinded: Those Who Kill (2021)

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From Amazon Prime:

Five years ago, a serial killer murdered three young men but was never found. Now, criminal profiler Louise Bergstein is asked by the terminally ill mother of a victim to help solve the case. Teaming up with the police, Louise discovers a distinct pattern to the killings-and the hunt only intensifies as the murderer strikes again in this Danish thriller. CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND GRAPHIC SCENES.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 8 episodes of this well-done Danish serial-killer series.  Each episode lasts about 45 minutes. English subtitles.

From the very beginning you know who the killer is: Peter is a father with son Johannes . Peter’s marriage has failed and his wife has moved to Singapore.  Louise and Karina are two of the detectives working to solve the case. Louise is a profiler who, in an original plot twist , completely fails to recognize as killer the handsome man whom she meets quite by accident, after which the plot thickens a bit.

Poor Johannes is baffled by the strange behavior of his father. Johannes sorely misses his mother but is prevented by his father Peter from seeing her.

Because Peter kidnaps and tortures his victims,  the crime photographs can be quite gory.  But because the series is done so well, if you can get past the ugliness, DO NOT MISS!