Category Archives: Jealousy

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!

2004, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, Bullying, Detective, Eccentric Detective, Jealousy, Lawyers, Missing Person, Murder, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Prison, Revenge, Sex Offender, Vigilante justice, Violent

Murder City (2004)

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From IMDB:

British police drama that revolves around two mismatched detectives who scour London solving complex cases.

From Amazon Prime:

Despite their polar opposite personalities, methodical DI Susan Alembic (Amanda Donohoe) and unorthodox DS Luke Stone (Kris Marshall) work as an effective team solving complex crimes.

From Amazon Prime you can stream two seasons of this series. Season 1 consists of 6 episodes while season 2 has only 4 episodes. Each episode lasts about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

DI Alembic is procedure oriented while DS Stone is intuitive, somewhat eccentric, and really smart. They both appreciate each other even though they constantly tease each other. Eventually Stone comes off as a loner who feels intensely the harm done by peoples’ evil actions.  He is often insulted by DCI Turner (Tim Woodward) but holds his tongue because Turner is his arrogant and nasty boss.

Clever plots and the interplay of characters make this series an acceptable watch.

 

 

2020, Abduction, Action sequences, Anti-Immigration, Athletes, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Cancer theme, Conspiracy, Contract Killing, Corruption, Crime thriller, Detective, Drama, Fascists, Father-son relations, Forensics, Gangs, Henning Mankell, Immigrants, Jealousy, Lawyers, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Police Culture, Police Politics, Race Relations, Racism, Revenge, Romance, Sex Scenes, Soccer, Sociopath, Suspense, Swedish Detective, Upsetting ending, Violent, White Supremecy

Young Wallender (2020)

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From Netflix:

Rookie cop Kurt Wallander stumbles into a hate crime in his own neighborhood. As he hunts the killer, the incident fuels anti-immigration anger.

From Netflix you can stream the 6 episodes of this drama involving crime, gangs, romance, and white supremacists. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.

Henning Mankell’s “Wallender” novels have been dramatized several times. Swedish and English versions can be streamed from many different sources. His novels take place in the Sweden of the 1970s. “Young Wallender” attempts to portray Kurt Wallender in his first job as a policeman. Instead of the 1970s, the setting is present-day (2020) Sweden. English is the original soundtrack although you can choose from many languages for sound and subtitles, none strangely enough in Swedish.

Appropriate to our era is the fact that the predominant theme of this series is the crusade of white supremacists against immigration. Throw in illegal weapons smuggling, sibling rivalry, disadvantaged blacks forming gangs, and a convincing romance to produce an exciting 6 episodes.

If you Google for “Young Wallander” you will find not only reviews but also debates over the conclusion. Beware of “spoilers.”

Even though the story seems to drag at times, I do not hesitate to strongly recommend this series.

2020, Abandoned child, Abuse of Women, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime Acorn, Athletes, Baby snatching, Beautiful Seaside Town, Boating, Child custody, Danish, Danish Police, Danish TV series, Divorce, Failing Marriage, Father-daughter relations, Jealousy, Lottery Winners, Love Triangle, Mother-daughter relations, Sex trafficking, Swindlers, Unhappy Marriage, Unmarried mother, Violent, Wife leaves husband

The Sommerdahl Murders (2020)

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From Amazon Prime Acorn:

DCI Dan Sommerdahl investigates murders in a lovely Danish coastal town with his best friend, Detective Flemming Torp, and his wife, Marianne, a criminal technician. But Dan’s years of devotion to
the job have hurt his marriage, and with Marianne wanting a divorce, Dan discovers his rival for her affections is none other than his best friend. And they all must still work together to solve crimes.

Amazon Prime offers some subscriptions to special sets of shows, one of which is Acorn TV.  You can, of course, subscribe independently to Acorn TV. But Acorn TV gave me such headaches when I tried to login on my TV set that I switched to the cheaper Amazon version of Acorn.

From Amazon Acorn (and probably Acorn TV) you can stream the 8 episodes of this Danish crime series. Each episode last about 45 minutes. Some stories require 2 episodes.

As explained in the  summary above,  the important theme that runs through all the episodes is the continuing tension between Dan and Marianne.  Somehow the crimes are interesting but secondary in importance to their marriage problems.

Crimes are varied: Sex trafficking, baby theft,  serial swindlers, financial fraud, murder in an athletic setting.

Nothing special but watchable.

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.

 

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.

 

2018, Abandoned child, Abduction, Abortion, Adultery, Algerian-French relations, Binge worthy, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Career Competition, Conspiracy, Controlling personality, Corny at times, Corruption, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Frame someone for a crime, French, French Culture, French Detective Series, Illegitimate Child, Jealousy, Journalist, Lesbian Theme, Made For TV, Male Chauvinism, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Occasionaly violent, Orphanage, Paris in the 1960s, Police Corruption, Police Politics, Political Intrigue, Romance, Suspense, Torture, TV Culture, Unhappy Marriage, Womanizing, Women's Equality

Speakerine (2018)

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From MHz Choice:

In 1960s Paris, TV announcer Christine Beauval crashes the glass ceiling and brings criminals to justice in a drama that’s part ‘Mad Men,’ part Agatha Christie.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of this French TV dramatic series.  Each episode lasts roughly 50 minutes.

Looking for a binge-worthy TV series with all the right elements: corruption, male chauvinism, OAS terrorists associated with the Algerian drive for independence, powerful Frenchmen taking sexual advantage of women ?   Look no further because this French TV soap opera has it all. Consider the cast of characters:

  • Christine Beauval must prevail against French male chauvinism in her fight to be accepted as a woman TV personality.
  • Pierre Beauval, her husband and boss, is a TV careerist executive opposing her all the way, as in “the women belong in the home and kitchen.”
  • Colette Beauval, her daughter, is being taken advantage of by Eric Jauffret, another bureaucratic wannabe.
  • Jean-Claude Beauval, her son, who becomes involved with the OAS terrorist group who tried to assassinate General Charles de  Gaulle.
  • Isabelle Auclair, a young woman using her charms to induce men to help her replace Christine.
  • And many. many corrupt politicians and executives loosely connected through sometimes fatal sex parties. (Are you interested now?)

Among these French actors, the only one I recognized was Grégory Fitoussi who plays Eric Jauffret.   He played a lead in Spiral, another French TV series.  If you haven’t already seen Spiral, run do not walk to Netflix.  You can find my review  in this web site.

Granted that “Speakerine” is an unabashed soap opera which at the very end is a bit over the top, but

DO NOT MISS!

 

1995, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acceptable Science, Acorn TV, Action sequences, Alcoholism, Assisted Suicide, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, Cold Cases, Courtroom scenes, Crime thriller, Detective, DNA, DO NOT MISS, Explicit sex, Extramarital Affair, Forensic pathologist, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Gory, Gritty, Illegitimate Child, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Marital Infidelity, Medical Theme, Motorcycles, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Police Investigation, Prostitutes, Psychiatrists, Psychopath, Sadism, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Violent, Womanizing

McCallum (1995)

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From IMDB:

From deep within the morgue at St. Patrick’s Hospital in London’s East End, Dr. Iain McCallum and Dr. Angela Moloney along with a team of brilliant pathologists and detectives help the dead tell their stories.

From Acorn TV you can stream two seasons of this pathologist crime series.  Season 1 has 4 episodes and Season 2 has 5 episodes. Each episode lasts about 1.5 hours.

Gory, riveting, and clever are a few apt adjectives for this engrossing series. Personal relations among the constant set of characters are as important as the plots themselves. Most episodes are complete crime and solution stories.

John Hannah, who plays Dr. Iain McCallum, was 33 years old at the time of filming.  Now (2020) he is still going strong at the age of 58.

Unfortunately season 2 episode 5 is a disappointing episode. At that time in the series, Iain and Angela have emigrated to Canada and are no longer in the episode.  For some strange reason this fifth episode introduces new characters and offers a bizarre almost silly plot. You might want to skip this last blunder of a story.

Otherwise — 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!

2017, Binge worthy, Brother-Sister relations, Conspiracy, Corny at times, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Drugs, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Financial malfeasance, Government cover-up, Government Prosecutions, Illegitimate Child, Jealousy, Lawyers, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Money Laundering, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Promiscuity, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Swiss banking, Tax Evasion, Transvestite theme, Unscrupulous drive to power

Banking District (2017)

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From IMDB:

A private banker goes into a coma. His sister becomes the director and finds out his coma might not be accidental as she finds obscure transactions her brother was involved in.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of season 1 of this French-speaking Swiss intrigue film with English subtitles.  Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.  IMDB seems to indicate that there is or will be a season 2 which, in my opinion, would be a shame.

REVISION for Season 2 which also consists of 6 episodes, each lasting about 50 minutes.

My above opinion about season 2 being a shame, is WRONG. Season two was just as good as season 1.  At least we know from the beginning of season 2 who the bad guys are. But now Elizabeth has the difficult task of removing the bad buys and cleaning up the bank ethics. However, the line between good and evil becomes increasingly blurred as the plot develops. Elizabeth has her troubles in spades. Expect cynical plot turns. And once again DO NOT MISS!

ORIGINAL review for season 1.

From the very beginning up to the very end there is a palpable atmosphere of intrigue, suspense, and danger (for the good guys at least).

Elizabeth Grangier is the black sheep of the Swiss Grangier banking family. In fact she is the black sheep because of her disdain for the crooked dealings of the Swiss bank.  More to the point, the whole series is an indictment of the shady Swiss banking system. We quickly learn that her beloved brother Paul, who lies in a coma for the entire season, was quite corrupt.  Besides Elizabeth, the only other honest adult seems to be her newspaper journalist former husband.   Impetus for most of the action comes from the United States hunt for American tax evaders.  Add murders to the mix.

Some details are left hanging.  Elizabeth cries a lot. We never meet the owner of the female phone voice that orders killings.  But the story grabbed me.  At last I have gotten used to and in fact admire the plotting technique in which the conclusion leaves many details hanging. Just use your imagination.

Despite some negative criticisms,  I rate this series a DO NOT MISS!