Category Archives: 2017

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.

2017, Abuse of Women, Based on true facts, British Drama, Brother-Sister relations, Couture, Defies Categorization, Distant Cold Mother, DO NOT MISS, Drone warfare, Eccentric cast of characters, Emotional abuse, Haute Couture, Jealousy, Love Story, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Mushrooms, Netflix Streaming, Privileged Upper Class, Psychological Drama, Psychological Tension, Quiet, Remarkable Costumes, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Unusual, Wonderful acting

Phantom Thread (2017)

From IMDB:

Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 10 minute British drama.

From Wikipedia we learn:

The film received acclaim for its acting, screenplay, direction, musical score, costume design, and production values. It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2017,[and is considered one of the best films of the 2010s.

Sandra Cohen, a psychologist and psychoanalyst, maintains a web site called “Characters on the Couch” in which she analyzes characters in various dramas.  Her analysis of this film is worthwhile and extensive.

Cast includes:

  • Daniel Day-Lewis as the couturier Reynolds Woodcock.
  • Vicky Krieps as Alma.  Her resumé is extensive but somehow she is not especially well-known.
  • Lesley Manville is Cyril, the sister of Reynolds.

Please watch the film before reading “Characters on the Couch” because the analysis might discourage you from drawing your own conclusions.

Since the above references offer such good reviews, let me just say that if you enjoy a subtle, quiet,  psychological drama that challenges you to understand the emotions involved, then

DO NOT MISS!

2017, Art Museum, Bizarre, Brother-Brother relations, Dark family secrets, Drama, Erotic Tension, Erotic Thriller, Explicit sex, French Mystery, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Kanopy streaming, Love Triangle, Mental Illness, Mother-daughter relations, Must suspend disbelief, Nudity, Outrageous Behavior, Psychoanalysis, Psychological Thriller, Sex Scenes, Surprise Ending, Twins, Unusual

Double Lover (2017)

From Kanopy:

Crafting a deliriously cinematic web of suspense, shock, eroticism, and power dynamics, writer/director Francois Ozon returns to master the thriller genre with DOUBLE LOVER.

Chloe, who works as a guard at a museum in Paris, seeks to shore up her resiliency and enters psychoanalysis. Following the end of the treatment with psychiatrist Paul Meyer, both realize that they have fallen in love. A new chapter begins for Chloe when she and Paul move in together…yet Chloe soon comes to believe that Paul is keeping a secret. She impulsively visits another psychiatrist, Louis Delord. Spiraling emotional and sexual stakes will push all three of them to extremes, forcing Chloe to take action in order to solve a mystery and save herself.

Nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

“What gives the film its surprising coherence is not only the fluidity of Ozon’s technique but also his mastery of tone, the ease with which he applies serious craft to a resolutely un-serious endeavor.” – Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times

From Kanopy you can stream this 108 minute French film with English subtitles.

Offering some exciting, explicit sex scenes, this quasi-mystery story is based on a wildly unscientific premise.  In addition to the heavy erotic atmosphere, the film features the  beautiful Marine Vacth who pairs perfectly with the French start Jérémie Renier. Renier featured in “In Bruges”.

Visually, many scenes, especially in the museum, are quite striking and colorful.

Kanopy is available free from your local library.

2017, Acceptable for teenagers, Bisexual theme, Brother-Sister relations, Cooking, Cooking and food, Could Be Sad, DIY Ending, Drama, English, Extramarital Affair, Failed Marriage, Family Conflict, German, Hebrew, Israeli culture, Jewish Religious Observance, Keeping Kosher, Love Story, Mother-son relations, Nudity, Quiet, Sex Scenes, Slow, Unhappy Marriage

The Cakemaker (2017)

From Kanopy:

Thomas, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli married man who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking for answers regarding his death. Under a fabricated identity, Thomas infiltrates into the life of Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small Cafe in downtown Jerusalem. Thomas starts to work for her and create German cakes and cookies that bring life into her Cafe. Thomas finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a way far beyond his anticipation, and to protect the truth he will stretch his lie to a point of no return.

From Kanopy you can stream this 1 hour 50 minute complete film. Because the story takes place in Germany and Israel,  three languages are used: English, Hebrew, and German. English subtitles are provided.

Kanopy’s description is so complete that I need only say that the economy of dialog, the meaningful pauses at facial expressions, and the slow pace are essential components. Is it boring to watch Thomas slowly and painstakingly bake bread and cakes?  Instead are we not seeing his dogged, determined, accepting attitude toward life?

Warning: You will have to interpret the ending for yourself. Please let me know how you think things turned out.

Patience required for watching this worthwhile film that is not for everyone.

2017, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Amazon Prime MHz Choice, Amnesia, Athletes, Bloody scenes, Corrupt policemen, Corrupt Politicians, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Failed Romance, Forensics, Game hunting for humans, Gay theme, German, German Air Force, German Detectives, Homophobia, Journalist, Kidnapping, MHz Choice, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Personal Betrayal, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Sex trafficking, Single Mother, Soccer, Suicide, Undercover police work, Upsetting ending, Violent

Tatort: Lindholm (2017)

From MHz Choice:

Lone wolf detective Charlotte Lindholm has an uncanny talent for solving crimes and fumbling all personal relationships.

MHz Choice ($7.99 per month in 2021) can be purchased directly or through Amazon Prime. From MHz Choice you can stream the 12 episodes of the only season available. Each episode lasts about 1.5 hours. German with English subtitles.

From Wikipedia:

Tatort (“Crime scene”) is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public service broadcasting organisation ARD for their channel Das Erste, it is unique in its approach, in that it is jointly produced by all of the organisation’s regional members as well as its partnering Austrian and Swiss national public-service broadcasters, whereby every regional station contributes a number of episodes to a common pool.

Charlotte Lindholm is a smart, determined, and courageous detective, as well as a single mother raising her young son. Throughout the episodes she will have many romantic relationships, none of which succeed.

Of the 12 episodes, number 10  “The Smooth Death”  is unsettling because the “bad guy” wins.  Sometimes in a series, one episode will have the evildoer win only to be followed by an episode in which justice prevails. Sadly, not so with this difficult episode.

Each episode is very tense and can be unnerving to watch. If that appeals to you, then

DO NOT MISS!

 

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.

 

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.

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.

2017, Abandoned child, Adopted child, Adultery, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Character Driven, Clever Plot, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, French, Grisly, Marital Infidelity, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Prison, Serial Killer, Suspense

La Mante (2017)

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From Netflix:

Faced with a series of grisly unsolved murders, a police commissioner turns to imprisoned serial killer Jeanne Deber and her estranged son for help.

From Netflix you can stream the only season of this French serial killer story.  Each of the 6 episodes lasts about an hour. French audio with English subtitles.

Jeanne Deber is an imprisoned serial killer.  Now someone who has studied her crimes is a copy cat who reproduces her murders in exact detail.  Damien Deber, her estranged son, has been enlisted to work with his mother to find the copy cat.  Possibly Jeanne’s intuitions will help the authorities.

Damien is a tortured soul (who always looks tortured)  whose personal relations are equally tortured.  More than just another serial killer series,  this highly inventive story centers around family, friends, and a past filled with secrets.  Jeanne Deber is a beautiful but stone-faced mystery woman.

Warning; the murders are very, very, very grisly. If you can get past those sights, then

DO NOT MISS!

2017, Abandoned child, Alcoholism, Bisexual theme, Boxing, Brother-Sister relations, Bullying, Cancer theme, Cross Dressing, Dancing, Drag Queen, Gay Bashing, Gay theme, Homophobia, Jealousy, Mother Abandons Family, Netflix Streaming, Offbeat, Quirky, Unusual, Violent

Alaska Is A Drag (2017)

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From Netflix:

Tormented by bullies, an aspiring drag star working at an Alaskan cannery becomes a skilled fighter and is tapped for competition by a boxing coach.

From Netflix you can stream this really offbeat complete film that lasts 1 hour 23 minutes.

From IMDB:

Tough, but diva fabulous, Leo, an aspiring drag superstar, is stuck working in a fish cannery in Alaska. He and his twin sister are trapped in the monotony of fist fights and fish guts. Out of necessity, Leo learned to fight back, which catches the attention of the local boxing coach. When a new boy moves to town and wants to be his sparring partner, Leo has to face the real reason he’s stuck in Alaska.

Black brother and sister Leo and Tristen are in real life also brother and sister.  Tristen is battling cancer. White Declan, the newcomer, is straight where as Leo is clearly gay. Ignore, if you will, the drag theme.  More to the point is a friendship forged by loneliness.  Most of the violence stems from the fact that  Leo’s previous boyfriend Kyle, although married to a pregnant wife, is intensely jealous of Declan.

Offbeat is putting it mildly: a talented boxer and drag queen ?!? But actually it is a well-done heartfelt drama.