Category Archives: Netflix Streaming

2017, Grisly, Jo Nesbo, Netflix Streaming, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Violent

The Snowman (2017)

From IMDB:

Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour film adaptation of one of Jo Nesbo’s serial killer thrillers featuring the damaged detective Harry Hole.

Jo Nesbo has written 13  novels whose main character is the Norwegian Detective Harry Hole.  Harry is a very smart alcoholic with a damaged love life and failed family structure.  Personally I am hooked on his stories.

You know what to expect from an exceptional cast of actors.

2002, Grisly, Horror, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Serial Killer, Violent

Red Dragon (2002)

From IMDB:

A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down “The Tooth Fairy”, a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour complete Hannibal Lecter movie.

Same old, same old, but still fun if you like that sort of horror show.  Somehow at least 7 known actors joined in the fray.

2023, Adultery, Explicit sex, Netflix Streaming

Obsession (2023)

From IMDB:

William falls in love with his soon-to-be daughter in law, Anna who’s trying to keep both relationships but the truth always comes to light and someone is going to be hurt.

From Netflix you can stream the 4 episodes of this very sexually explicit soap tragedy. One episode lasts between 33 and 43 minutes.

Jay Farrow’s fiancé Anna Barton gives Jay’s father William the come-on. William falls for her and the rest of the story alternates between explicit sex scenes and the couple’s attempts to deceive not only Jay but also his mother Ingrid.

Expect a soap opera tragedy.

2023, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Polish, Sex Scenes

A Girl and an Astronaut (2023)

From Netflix:

An astronaut’s return after a 30-year disappearance rekindles a lost love and sparks interest from a corporation determined to learn why he hasn’t aged.

From Netflix you can stream the 8 episodes of this sci-fi romance, complete with young pilots competing for a woman and the chance to fly a space mission.  In Polish with English subtitles.  Each episode lasts less than 50 minutes.

Interesting plot and lots of human interest and interaction.

2007, Afghanistan, Drugs, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Politicians

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

From IMDB:

A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

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

Based on true history, not only is this about helping the fight against the Soviets, but it ends with criticizing the U.S. for its habit of entering a country to fight an enemy but then abandoning that same country afterwards.

Charlie Wilson was a bit of a libertine, so expect some nudity, sexual content, and drug use.  But all told, it is an inspiring story of a capable politician.

DO NOT MISS!

 

2023, Conspiracy, DO NOT MISS, Exciting, Netflix Streaming

The Night Agent (2023)

From IMDB

Low-level FBI agent Peter Sutherland works in the basement of the White House manning a phone that never rings – until the night it does, propelling him into a conspiracy that leads all the way to the Oval Office.

From Netflix you can stream the 10 episodes of this amazing political conspiracy thriller.  Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) becomes more and more enmeshed in a plot to assassinate the president of the U.S.  As the plot progresses,  it is increasingly unclear whom he can trust. Eventually he and Rose (Luciane Buchanan) have to go in hiding.  Finally the concluding climactic scene is incredibly exciting and full of surprises.

DO NOT MISS!

2023, Netflix Streaming, Sadism, Serial Killer, Violent

Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)

From Netflix:

Haunted by an unsolved murder, brilliant but disgraced London police detective John Luther breaks out of prison to hunt down a
sadistic serial killer.

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

Idris Elba has made several Luther films, all of which are watchable, tense crime films. This particular story is disturbingly violent with some ugly scenes. At the end Luther and the serial killer battle to the end in a mansion in the snowy wilderness. Amidst the snow there are clear patches of ice underneath which we see the dead bodies of the killer’s victims.  You are warned.

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!