Category Archives: Adopted child

2018, Adopted child, Cold Cases, Corny at times, Detective, Drama, French, French Detective Series, Jealousy, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Nothing special, Police Investigation, Revenge, Suicide, Suspense, Violent

Les Secrets (2018)

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From IMDB:

Sarah and Alex are young, beautiful, they love each other, they own their lives. Until tragedy strikes. One morning, Alex’s body is found down a cliff. The investigation rules Alex’s death a suicide. Sarah’s life breaks down.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 3 episodes of this French mystery drama. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes. Subtitles in English.

Sarah and her young son Paul return to Alex’s hometown to try and understand why Alex Aguze seemingly committed suicide.  One by one Sarah interacts with Alex’s mother and his brothers, sisters, and in-laws. With each encounter she picks up pieces of the puzzle. At times she feels in conflict with a local detective whose role in the puzzle deepens as the plot develops.

Three episodes means  you don’t have to wait long for answers. Although the drama is at times corny and the plot is not perfect, still the story was compelling enough to keep us interested.

 

2016, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Adopted child, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Cancer theme, Cold Cases, Crime thriller, Dark, Disturbing Image, Dysfunctional Lives, Eccentric Detective, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Finnish, Forensics, Grim, KGB, Mixed Martial Arts, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Occasional gore, Police Investigation, Religious Theme, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Unbelievably smart detective, Violent

Bordertown (2016)

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From IMDB:

Quirky police detective, in Finland, delves into his mind palace to solve despicable crimes all the while trying to keep his family together. If Sherlock was based in Finland this would be it.

From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons of this Finnish crime series. Season 1 consists of 11 episodes while seasons 2 and 3 consist of 10 episodes. Each episode lasts about an hour. Most often one complete story requires 2 or 3 episodes.

You can always get English subtitles. In seasons 1 an 2 you can get an English sound track which to my ears always sounded somewhat unnatural as if the dubbing was too formal. Oddly enough there is no English sound track for season 3, only Finnish, Spanish, and Italian.

Kari Sorjonen is quite possibly the most eccentric detective I have seen.  His odd mannerisms of touching his face and head with outstretched fingers might just get on your nerves. Supposedly when he does this he has ingenious flashes of insight.

Never mind the idiosyncrasies, the stories are as grim as they are good.  His supporting detectives and family members fill out the cast well.  Indeed a constant theme is his somewhat clueless neglect of his family because, as is the case in so many detective series, that phone is always ringing.

Worth a watch.

 

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!

 

2011, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acceptable for teenagers, Accidental Death, Action sequences, Adopted child, Arson, Attempted Suicide, Cancer theme, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Corrupt lawyers, Detective, DIY Ending, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Gritty, Illegitimate Child, Irish, Irish Gaelic, Journalist, Lawyers, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Pedophilia, Police Corruption, Rape, Serial Killer, Suspense, TV Reporter, Unmarried mother, Upsetting ending, Violent

Corp + Anam (2011)

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From MHz Choice:

Gritty Irish-language drama chronicling the difficult professional and intense personal life of Cathal Mac Iarnáin, a tenacious TV crime reporter who is obsessed with pursuing the story behind the story. But as single-minded as he is about uncovering the truth, he is often too busy chasing stories to notice that the world of crime hits closer to home every day.

From MHz Choice you can stream two seasons of this intense Irish drama. Each season consists of 4 episodes. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.  Irish Gaelic with English subtitles.

“Gut-punching” is the most apt adjective I can apply to these eight episodes.  “Corp & Anam” is Gaelic for “Body and Soul”.

One critic labeled the reporter Cathal as unscrupulous.  Each of the 8 stories centers around some serious injustice.  No matter who gets hurt Cathal is determined to get the scoop first.  On certain occasions he is not above breaking the law to get the story.  In every case he goes out on a sometimes self-destructive limb to broadcast the story on Irish television.  Most often it is his own family which gets hurt because, as with many police detectives, his cell phone often interrupts his family life.

For this series I have created a new category “DIY Ending” which I could have used earlier for many other series.  “Do It Yourself Ending” applies to an ending in which most of the groundwork has been laid to reach a satisfying conclusion in which justice reigns and the bad guys get their punishment but in which you do not get the satisfaction of seeing those final details played out. This category especially applies to the last story of season 2 which uses two episodes 3 and 4 to tell the whole story.  This particular story leaves Cathal in danger of losing his career.

DO NOT MISS!

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!

 

 

2015, 2016, Abuse of Women, Adopted child, Adultery, Ambiguous Conclusion, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, British, British Mystery Series, Cancer theme, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Cold Cases, Contract Killing, Corruption, Courtroom scenes, Depression, DNA, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Incest, Male Prostitutes, Marital Infidelity, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Pedophilia, Personal Betrayal, Police cover-up, Police Politics, Prostitutes, Racism, Rape, Revenge, Romance, Sex with underage girls, Sister-sister relations

Unforgotten (2015)

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From Netflix you can stream the first two seasons of this excellent British cold-case series.

For the 6 45-minute episodes of the first season the plot starts with:

A skeleton found in the cellar of a building prompts investigation from DCI Stuart and her colleague into the murder of a young man that could potentially span back thousands of years.

For the 6 45-minute episodes of the second season the plot starts with:

Cassie and Sunny join together to investigate when a body is found in a suitcase when the river Lea gets dredged.

Although there are 5 seasons, I don’t know where to find the last three seasons.

In each season the plot runs as follows: First and foremost the challenge is to identify the victim. That process leads to a list of names associated with the victim. Each such name carries its own story. Eventually all the personal stories become entangled as the detectives struggle to make sense of the crime.

British crime series strike me as one big repertory group. You see the same actors over and over in different roles. If you want a list of those actors that keep reappearing, “Unforgotten” provides that list. Couple the list with the “Unforgotten” discussion in IMDB just in case you know you have seen that actor before but you just can’t remember who it is.

Both seasons are binge-worthy. DO NOT MISS!

 

2018, Abortion, Abuse of Women, Adopted child, Adultery, Amazon Prime, Antique Cars, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, British, British Mystery Series, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Clever Plot, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Illegitimate Child, Jealousy, Marital Infidelity, Mental Illness, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Revenge, Romance, Sex with underage girls, Sister-sister relations, Soap Opera, Stepchild, Unmarried mother

Ordeal by Innocence (2018)

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From Amazon Prime:

When wealthy philanthropist, Rachel Argyll, is murdered at her family estate, her adopted son Jack is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his guilt and eighteen months later, the identity of the murder is thrown in doubt. Now it is up to the rest of the family to decipher a killer amongst them.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 3 episodes of this complete story. Each episode lasts about one hour.

Only at times did the drama seemed to drag a bit. But the plot and the characters are so well developed that we could not resist bingeing.  Have fun trying to spot the killer in this unhappy family in which the 5 children (all adopted) have all been mistreated by Rachel, their witch of a mother.

Several of the British actors may be familiar to you. Rachel, the murdered victim, is played by Anna Chancellor. Her husband Leo is played by  Bill Nighy.  Philip Durrant, the bitter son-in-law is played by Matthew Goode.

Included in the plot are one of the best pieces of revenge I have seen in a film.

For what it is worth, in the United States only Virginia prohibits the marriage of step-siblings.

If you are a fan of mystery soap operas, DO NOT MISS!

 

 

1996, Abduction, Adopted child, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, Assisted Suicide, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, Bullying, Child abuse, Cold Cases, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugs, Emotional child abuse, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Father-son relations, Forensic pathologist, Gay Bashing, Homophobia, Jealousy, Mental Illness, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Prison, Psychological Drama, Revenge, Romance, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Sister-sister relations, Stepchild, Suicide, Suspense, Teenagers, Theft

Silent Witness (1996)

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From Amazon Prime:

Forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Ryan has an all-embracing, passionate notion of justice that can lead to trouble in her personal and professional lives, but to Sam, each dead body deserves the truth.

Believe it or not, this detective series which takes place in Cambridge, England has twenty-two (22) seasons.  In fact from Amazon Prime you can stream seasons 1 through 21. Season 1 offers 4 complete stories, each about 1.5 hours. In seasons from number 2 onward  each of the 4 stories consists of two shorter episodes (about 45 minutes) instead of one long episode.

Normally I don’t review until I have finished all the seasons but 21 seasons could take a long time to get through.  Unfortunately every story we have seen so far has been so good that we are tempted to binge watch. When wife Kathy wants to continue watching “NOW!”, that is a sign we have latched onto something worthwhile. “Law and Order” was another example of years of watchable entertainment.

Amanda Burton, born and raised in Northern Ireland, plays the stunning and determined forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Ryan (yes, HER name is Sam). Many other actors survive from season to season but Burton is the shining star.

Running through the seasons are her relations with her sister and working colleagues and her love affairs. As is often the case in detective stories (she is not a member of the police department) there is the usual conflict of her personal life with her professional life. An added complication is that she gets emotionally involved not only with her cases but also with various colleagues with whom she has serious differences of opinion regarding her cases.

FIRST AMENDED REVIEW: Sam last appears in Season 8 episodes 1 and 2 entitled “A Time To Heal”. She leaves the job eventually a young woman takes her place.  From then on the series goes somewhat downhill: first the plots start to look like any old American gangster story, and secondly the episode descriptions found on the Amazon web site and the descriptions that you download with the episodes are misplaced. We stopped watching at that point.

SECOND AMENDED REVIEW: My advice is now to continue with Season 8. When a story seems boring or mediocre, just skip to the next story. Remember each story consists of 2 episodes. It won’t be long before the stories become better. As of this amendment I am on Season 11 and it is dynamite.

THIRD AMENDED REVIEW: In Season 8 Episode 5 we first meet Dr. Nikki Alexander as a young woman just starting her career as a forensic pathologist.  From then on through all of Season 22 she remains in the series whereas almost all the other actors are replaced.  For the 15 seasons you actually see the actress Emilia Fox age as do the other actors. This character is wonderful to the very end of the series.

Sometimes grim but always engaging drama! DO NOT MISS!

2012, Abduction, Abortion, Abuse of Women, Adopted child, Adultery, Arson, Asperger's Syndrome, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Complicated, Crime, Dark, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Emotional child abuse, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Forensics, MHz Choice, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Police Culture, Police Politics, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Spousal Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swedish Detective

Camilla Läckberg (2012)

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From MHz Choice:

Camilla Läckberg’s beloved characters return in a TV series based on three of her bestselling mystery novels. Set in Fjällbacka on the west coast of Sweden, Detective Patrik Hedström and his fiancée, the novelist Erica Falck, become enmeshed in complex crimes affecting all the residents of the tiny coastal community.

Jean Edith Camilla Läckberg  is a Swedish crime writer. As of the early-2010’s, her work has been translated into at least 40 languages in 60 countries.

Our last review was for “The Hidden Child” which was a stand-alone presentation streamed from MHz Choice of one of Camilla Läckberg’s stories.

This review of a series streamed from MHz Choice contains 3 more stories from Camilla Läckberg:

“The Preacher”: presented in one 1.5 hour episode.

“The Stonecutter”: presented in two 1 hour episodes.

“The Stranger”: presented in two 1 hour episodes.

Amazon sells all 8 books of the author’s “Fjällbacka ” series.

As with “The Hidden Child” the stories are grim, and the inter-personal relationships important. Another DO NOT MISS!

 

 

 

2013, Adopted child, Bloody scenes, Complicated, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Holocaust Survivor, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Military, Murder Investigation, Nazis, Personal Betrayal, Spy Theme, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish Detective, Torture, Treason, Unmarried mother, Violent, WWII, Young Adults

The Hidden Child (2013)

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From MHz Choice:

Erica’s parents are killed in a traffic accident. She moves to Fjällbacka and discovers she has a brother.

From MHz Choice you can stream this excellent 1.5 hour TV drama from Sweden that does not seem to be part of any series.

Erica is married to a policeman. After they and their baby move to Fjällbacka, her husband joins the force. She is a stay-at-home mother but when there is a murder she cannot resist investigating, much to her husband’s chagrin.

Pay close attention at the beginning to all the many characters. Especially note the group of young Swedes who become involved in World War II and are elderly characters in the present-day story. Once you get used to the complicated story, watching is a suspenseful pleasure.

Finding such a good TV film was just plain good luck! DO NOT MISS!