Category Archives: Personal Betrayal

2017, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acceptable Trash, Action Hero, Action sequences, B-movie, Binge worthy, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Bromance, Brother-Brother relations, Chase film, Complicated, Contract Killing, Corruption, Cover-up, Death penalty debate, Detective, Extramarital Affair, Father-daughter relations, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Happy ending, Improbable details, Invincible Hero, Marital Infidelity, Mediocre, Mental Illness, Mother-son relations, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Psychiatrists, Psychopath, Torture, Violent

Somewhere Between (2017)

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From IMDB:

A local news producer is given one chance to relive a deadly week and stop a serial killer. If she fails, she’ll lose her daughter forever.

From Netflix:

While investigating a serial killer, strange coincidences begin to pile up around news producer Laura. Suddenly, her daughter disappears.

From Netflix you can stream 8 episodes of this TV thriller. Each episode lasts about 43 minutes.

Give this production B or, if you are feeling generous, B+.  Why the negativity on my part?  Don’t misunderstand me, I binged from one suspenseful episode to the next. But in order to let the good guys win and the bad guys lose, this plot will supply as many implausible or impossible details as it takes to succeed.  As an example,  in one comical device that is used several times, our heroes are submerged in water and can hold their breath for practically an entire episode. Perhaps I exaggerate, but you get the idea.

If any of the actors managed to steal the show, it was the 8 year old Serena (played to smart aleck perfection by Aria Birch) who plays the daughter of the news producer Laura Price.

At least a whole raft of unknown actors got a chance to perform.

Rest assured, after watching all the bad guys come to their well earned demise,  you can enjoy a happy sappy ending.

2020, Acceptable for teenagers, Antique Cars, Assisted Suicide, Blackmail, Boating, Bullying, Classic, Controlling personality, Corny at times, Dancing, Detective, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Film Remake, Fist Fight, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Haute Couture, Interest in automobiles, Jealousy, Lawyers, Marital Infidelity, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Police Investigation, Promiscuity, Psychopath, Remarkable Costumes, Revenge, Romance, Suspense, Terminal Disease, Unhappy Marriage, Upstairs - Downstairs

Rebecca (2020)

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From IMDB:

A young newlywed arrives at her husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 3 minute complete remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic rendition of Daphne du Maurier’s famous 1938 bestseller.

If the link works for you, you can read the review in the edition today (October 22, 2020) of the Boston Globe.  Let us say that the critic, Ty Burr, damns with faint praise. As Mr. Burr reminds us, Alfred Hitchcock make the film in 1940, which makes the first film version 80 years old. He also sadly informs us that currently (Oct 22, 2020) there is no genuine streaming source for the original.

Of course we old-timers will tell you that Lily James (playing the second Mrs.  de Winter is no Joan Fontaine. Nor is Kristin Scott Thomas (playing Mrs. Danvers) any Dame Judith Anderson.  For my taste Kristin Scott Thomas is scary enough.

Ignore the critics and enjoy this remake!

2015, Abduction, Amazon Prime, Based on a Book, Bisexual theme, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Bullying, Car Chase, Drama, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Gangs, Gay theme, Gritty, Jealousy, Love Story, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Personal Betrayal, Revenge, Scottish, Soap Opera, Suicide, Suspense, Unhappy Marriage, Violent, Wife leaves husband

Stonemouth (2015)

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From IMDB:

Mystery drama based on a novel by Iain Banks. Stewart Gilmour returns to his hometown after been driven out two years before by a local gangster. He returns for the funeral of his friend who recently committed suicide. He sets out to try and get the bottom of his friends death who also happens to be the son of the local gangster and the brother of Stewart’s ex girlfriend.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the two episodes of this complete story. Each episode lasts an hour.

Granted this drama set in Scotland is a soap opera, but it was really nice to see a complete story played out in only two episodes.  Granted also that the tensions, violence, and betrayals could have been stretched out a lot longer but instead were possibly resolved too easily. But what is wrong with a short, easy watch filled with good guys, bad guys, real friendships, and a nice love story?

One of the Scottish actors, Gary Lewis (who plays Mike MacAvett), seems to show up in many productions. You may remember him as Colum MacKenzie in the very popular Scottish series Outlander (which you should not miss).

Do Stewart and Ellie work out their difficult situation?  You too can find out in a mere 2 hours.

 

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Acceptable Trash, Adopted child, Alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease, Amazon Prime, Comedy, Corny, Dancing, Father-daughter relations, Feel Good Not For Children, Gay theme, Happy Family Gatherings, Love Story, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Personal Betrayal, Romance, Sign language for the deaf

The Perfect Wedding (2012)

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From IMDB:

Home for the Christmas holiday, a gay man starts falling for his ex-boyfriend’s lover, not knowing that the relationship is a mere pretense.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 22 minute comedy romance film.

When society is having a tough time, entertainment at that time can be grim. For example, in France after WWII the outlook was bleak which may explain why for a time La Grand Guignol was a popular live performance that featured torture. When times improved, that entertainment closed down.

So here we are in July 2020 suffering from the COVID-19 caronavirus.  At the same time there are quite a few streaming offerings that are real downers. Don’t despair – “The Perfect Wedding”  is an unabashed piece of acceptable trash that is a corny feel-good soap opera. And I guarantee you a happy ending for all four couples:  Mom and Dad must confront Dad’s incipient Alzheimer’s disease;  Daughter wants to marry her boyfriend in a simple wedding; Daughter introduces her girl friend to Son’s workmate; reformed alcoholic Son will find his male soul mate.

James Rebhorn, who plays Dad, is instantly recognizable. From his sizable resumé we see that he was Frank Mathison in Homeland.

What’s not to love?  Especially when I LOVE TRASH!

 

2015, Acorn TV, Binge worthy, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Boating, British Mystery Series, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Gangs, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Police cover-up, Police Culture, Police Investigation, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Undercover police work, Weapons Dealer, Yorkshire Accents

Black Work (2015)

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From Acorn TV:

This powerful crime thriller written by Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies) dives into the murky depths of undercover police work and tells the story of a woman willing to risk everything to protect her family. Sheridan Smith (Jonathan Creek, Accused) delivers a powerhouse performance as Jo Gillespie, a police constable who embarks on a dangerous investigation of her husband’s death.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 3 episodes of this series. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Because this engrossing procedural, which takes place in Leeds, involves so many facets, for a while I could not imagine the story ending in a mere 3 episodes. Have no fear, the conclusion is quite satisfying.

You can hear various accents include the Scottish accent of Douglas Henshall and the Yorkshire accent of others, especially the character Zoe Nash.

Familiar faces abound:

  •     Matthew McNulty, who plays Jack, was Steve Campbell in the wonderful Deadwater Fell,  which is also found on Acorn TV.
  •    Geraldine James, who plays CC Carolyn Jarecki,  was 65 years old in the filming. Her resumé is enormous.
  •   Douglas Henshall, who plays DCS Hepburn,  was DI Jimmy Pere in Shetland.  He appears in many familiar series.
  •   Was there ever a more familiar veteran than Phil Davis ( who plays Tom Piper) ? He has played in everything (slight exaggeration but just take a glance at his IMDB entry).

For most of the 3 episodes I spent much time trying to figure out who is corrupt. There are a lot of name to remember, but names are used a lot. And some of those names are bad guys, so stay alert.

So well done that I feel obliged to say DO NOT MISS!

2019, Abuse of Women, Acceptable for teenagers, Acorn TV, British, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Bullying, Dancing, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Jealousy, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Narcissist, Personal Betrayal, Sex Scenes, Spousal Abuse, Wife Beating, Wonderful acting

Gold Digger (2019)

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From Acorn TV:

On her 60th birthday, Julia (Emmy® winner Julia Ormond, Mad Men, Legends of the Fall) hits it off with handsome young Benjamin (Ben Barnes, The Chronicles of Narnia films, Westworld). But their whirlwind romance is marred by the disapproval of Julia’s adult children. Does Benjamin truly love her, or is he the gold digger her family believes him to be? “Bold and hugely entertaining” –The Guardian.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 6 episodes of this British thriller. Each episode lasts about an hour. There is a 7th episode that interviews the actors.

All the acting is splendid as is this riveting series.

  • Julia Ormond  is perfectly cast as the wealthy, beautiful, lonely Julia Day whose 60 years stand in stark contrast to the young Benjamin Greene.  Her acting resumé is most impressive. During filming Ms. Ormond was actually 54 years old.
  •  In the story no mention is made of the character Benjamin Green’s numerical age. Ben Barnes the actor was 38 years old during the filming.  His own acting resumé is noteworthy.
  •  One good villain is sometimes all it takes to make a story captivating.  In this respect Alex Jennings as Julia’s former husband Ted fits the bill to perfection. His portrayal of an aging narcissist is all too human.  From his resumé you will note that Alex Jennings has appeared in just about everything (slight exaggeration, but wow!)
  •  You might recognize Nikki Amuka-Bird as DCI Erin Gray from the series “Luther.”  In her role as Julia’s  friend Marsha I could only feel sorry for her despite her having betrayed Julia.

Is Benjamin a gold digger or is he genuinely in love with Julia?

DO NOT MISS!

2018, Abduction, Addiction, Ambiguous Conclusion, Bicycles, Bloody scenes, Conspiracy, Corruption, Crime thriller, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dog episode, Drugs, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Flashbacks, Forensics, Greed, Hunting, Kidnapping, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Police cover-up, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish Detective, Thriller, Uncle-Nephew relations, Violent, Wrongful Arrest

The Hunters (2018)

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From IMDB:

Erik returns to the northernmost of Sweden after a lifetime with Stockholm police [seeThe Hunters (1996) and False Trail (2011)]. Retirement doesn’t become him so he helps his nephew Peter, a rookie at the local police.

From MHz Choice:

Rolf Lassgard stars as a retired Stockholm cop drawn into a mystery in Sweden’s far north.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of this Swedish detective thriller. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.  Swedish sound track with English subtitles.

Evidently (from IMDB) “The Hunters” was a Swedish TV series that began in 1996.  Rolf Lassgard has played the same Stockholm cop in other installments.  His role as Erik Bäckström is played superbly.

THRILLER is an understatement. You have the privilege of being able to stream all the episodes as fast as you wish, where I had to wait not so patiently for each Tuesday’s new episode to be available.

But then I am always a sucker for plots in which the villain (or in this case villains) is so smoothly corrupt and knows how to seduce others into his corruption while framing others for the crimes. By the time I watched the last episode I was literally shaking with anticipation. Up to the very last moment the bad guys seemed to be winning.

DO NOT MISS!

 

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Bad Acting, Barely Acceptable Trash, Beautiful Seaside Town, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chick Flick, Child Molestation, Contract Killing, Contract Maiming, Corny, Corruption, Dancing, Detective, Drama, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Eccentric cast of characters, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Ethical struggles, False Imprisonment, Family Conflict, Fist Fight, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Gangs, Gay Bashing, Gay theme, Improbable details, Latino Culture, Love Story, Male Prostitutes, Mediocre, Melodrama, Mental Illness, Mother-son relations, Motorcycles, Murder, Murder Investigation, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Plot twists, Police Corruption, Police cover-up, Police Politics, Rape, Revenge, Ridiculous plot, Soap Opera, Sometimes seems silly, Somewhat trashy, Spanish, Telenovela, Uncle-Nephew relations, Unjust crime conviction, Various Romances, Violent

Toy Boy (2019)

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From Netflix:

A stripper sets out to prove his innocence for a crime he didn’t commit and was unjustly incarcerated for seven years earlier.

From Netflix you can stream the 13 episodes (each episode about 70 minutes) of this Spanish telenovela.  Many spoken languages and caption languages are available.

Spanish telenovelas inhabit a world of their own.  Chief among their attributes are “corny”, “amateurish”,  and “sometimes really stupid.” So why on earth did I watch this unintentionally laughable marathon? Netflix seemed to promote this series, so I started. Injustice and villains always get me going.  Because I have to see justice done I just keep plodding along to the end.

Before you waste your time let me list some of the “features” of this charmer:

  •  You might enjoy listening to the original Spanish (as in Spain, not Latin America) sound track. You might want Spanish captions. At the very least it could possibly be a learning experience although there are better options.
  •  Each tension point is almost immediately resolved so you don’t have to get all worked up.  Sometimes those immediate solutions seem far fetched or just too convenient.
  • Recall that telenovelas for all their involvement with sex are really very chaste.   Certainly the endless number of male stripper dance sequences are as innocent as they are boring.
  •  Warning: From the very last scene, it is obvious that there will probably be another season or even 100 more seasons. Possibilities are endless.

You can do much better, but in a certain sense the whole production is a hoot!

2017, Adopted child, Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Bloody scenes, Boarding school, British Mystery Series, Brother-Sister relations, Child abuse, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Dark, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Family Conflict, Forensics, Grim, Incest, Medical Theme, Murder, Murder Investigation, Personal Betrayal, Physical child abuse, Plot Twist, Police Corruption, Prison, Psychological Thriller, Psychopath, Revenge, Sadism, Sociopath, Surprise Ending, Suspense, Thriller, Unjust crime conviction, Valium appropriate, Violent, Wrongful Arrest

Bancroft (2017)

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From IMDB:

A dark thriller centering on Detective Superintendent Elizabeth Bancroft, a female detective with an explosive secret.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the four 45 minute episodes of season 1 of this nail biter.  If you subscribe to Amazon’s Brit Box you can stream season 2 which we have not done yet.

Season 1 was so cleverly tense that I labeled this story “valium appropriate.”  Soon you discover how damaged Elizabeth Bancroft (played by Sarah Parish) really is. She will stop at nothing to clear her son Joe (played by Adam Long) of a false murder charge. One of her  nemeses is the super intelligent sociopath Annabel Connors (played to perfection by Charlotte Hope) who has bewitched Joe.  Her other nemesis is the detective Cliff Walker (played by Adrian Edmondson ) who knows how broken Elizabeth is, but so far cannot prove anything.

Stayed tuned for a battle of corrupt wits whose season 1 ending is a satisfyingly twisted turn of events.

DO NOT MISS!

 

 

2011, Acorn TV, Action Film, Bloody scenes, British Politics, Brother-Brother relations, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corrupt Prison Guards, Corruption, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Ethical struggles, False Imprisonment, Father-son relations, Lawyers, Murder, Newspaper Culture, Personal Betrayal, Plot Twist, Plot twists, Political Conspiracy, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Prison, Surprise Ending, Suspense, Unscrupulous drive to power, Violent

Hidden (2011)

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From Acorn TV:

When a mysterious lawyer (Thekla Reuten, In Bruges) asks solicitor Harry Venn (Philip Glenister, Life on Mars, The Level) to find a missing alibi witness for her client, he’s forced to delve back into his murky past and uncover a far-reaching conspiracy in this “intelligent, pacy TV thriller” (The Telegraph) that also stars David Suchet (Poirot) and Richard Dormer (Fortitude, Game of Thrones).

From Acorn TV (all British, $7.99 per month) you can stream the 4 episodes of this British political conspiracy thriller. Each episode lasts a bit less than an hour.

Most political thrillers (as well as detective series) have the same list of categories such as family conflict, personal betrayal, action film, intrigue, conspiracy, corruption, assassination, and so forth. Of course the difference from one series to the next depends on writing, acting, details, the story itself. For this series I might add “nail biter”.  Each episode offers a suspenseful sub-story with its own conclusion all leading up to a riveting and surprising conclusion. Underlying the entire story is Harry Venn wondering who killed his older brother which ties together all the episodes.

You may see the actors in IMDB. When it comes to villains Anna Chancellor as Elspeth and Matthew Marsh as Morpeth are chillingly perfect. And what a surprise to see David Suchet as someone other than Poirot.

Are there flaws?  Yes, most notably that some of the narrow escapes are a bit too convenient.  But the plot turn at each such mini-conclusion is an intriguing surprise.  Even the very ending, which is not suspenseful,  is somewhat unexpected.

Riveting,  suspenseful, good guys and bad guys: what’s not to like? Give this one a DO NOT MISS!