Category Archives: Brother-Sister relations

2018, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acorn TV, Action Film, Australian, Brother-Sister relations, Car Chase, Controlling personality, Convenience store robbery, Detective, Drugs, Extramarital Affair, Forensics, Illegitimate Child, Murder, Narcissistic Personality, Sociopath, Suspense

Dead Lucky (2018)

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From Acorn TV:

Oscar® nominee Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under) headlines this cinematic, fast-paced thriller. Detective Grace Gibbs is obsessed with catching the armed robber who killed her partner, while her new trainee (Yoson An, Mortal Engines) blames her for his best friend’s death. The feuding detectives must work together to hunt down a killer who is leaving a trail of broken lives across Sydney.

From Acorn TV you can stream the four episodes of this one-season thriller. Each episode is just under an hour.

Rachel Griffiths, the Australian actress who plays Detective Grace Gibbs, has a very impressive resumé. Possibly you remember her as Brenda Chenowith in “Six Feet Under” way back in  2001.  In “Dead Lucky” her character is a capable,  hard-boiled, curt, demanding woman divorced from a narcotics detective Matt O’Reilly, played by former Australian Rugby League footballer Matt Nable.  Yoson An  as the novice detective Charlie Fung gives a credible performance.

There are too many characters and sub-threads in the plot to be able to discuss them. Suffices to say that all these pieces are important to the plot and atmosphere.  Human interactions are the driving force in the story.

Sustained tension, a suspenseful and satisfying ending all add up to a worthwhile presentation.

2018, Amazon Prime, Basically Sad, British, Brother-Sister relations, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Dark, Dog episode, Emotional child abuse, Farm Life, Incest, Sheep Farmers, Tragedy, Violent

Dark River (2018)

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From Amazon Prime:

Following the death of her father, Alice (Ruth Wilson, “The Affair”) returns to her home village for the first time in 15 years to claim from her estranged brother (Mark Stanley, “Game of Thrones”) the family farm she believes is rightfully hers. From acclaimed filmmaker Clio Barnard, one of the premier new voices in British cinema, “Dark River” is a taut and powerful psychological drama.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 29 minute complete film.

In the TV series Luther the British actress Ruth Wilson played the diabolically clever villain Alice Morgan.  However, in “Dark River” as the daughter Alice Bell she takes on a diametrically opposite character which lets her show another side of her considerable acting ability.

Just as credible acting job is performed by Mark Stanley as Alice’s brother Joe Bell.  Joe and Alice are in conflict for the entire story.

However the most important and motivating theme is the reason why Alice fled the farm years ago. You learn early in the film that her father Richard Bell (played by Sean Bean of “Game of Thrones”) serially sexually molested her. Upon her return to the farm she can hardly bring herself to step into the house, let alone go upstairs where the abuse occurred.

Make no mistake, this story is a tragedy which means that you should not expect a happy ending.

But it is a really well done film.

2017, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Boating, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Child custody, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Cynical, Dark, Drug Dealers, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, FBI, Financial malfeasance, Gambling, Gay theme, Grim, Large-scale gang activity, Lawyers, Mafia, Money Laundering, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Orphans in Foster Care, Police Corruption, Prison, Revenge, Suspense, Teenagers, Torture, Uncle-Nephew relations, Uncle-Niece relations, Violent, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

Ozark (2017)

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From IMDB:

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.

From Netflix you can stream two seasons. Each season consists of 10 one-hour episodes. You need to watch both seasons to come to a conclusion of sorts. Conceivably  there could be another season.

Before saying anything more let me warn you that this series is very VIOLENT!

In several places I have read that Donald Trump debases everything and everybody he touches. For a step-by-step detailed textbook showing how evil spreads to engulf even the originally most innocent souls, this series will more than suffice. The process of moral debasement portrays at the same time the “Wages of Sin.” Many involved characters receive harsh retribution, most especially the loss of life, love and respect.

Those of you with strong stomachs may well find these episodes captivating for their attention to detail in the plot, excellent dialog, and superb acting. No wonder the series received 9 Emmy award nominations!  Personally I was as hooked as I was horrified.  Seems I have become very jaded.

Hats off to some remarkable performances:

  •  “Arrested Development” was my first encounter with Jason Bateman who plays Marty Byrde. In both cases Bateman exudes a somewhat-repressed, matter-of-fact, nerdish comportment. Nothing seems to rattle him.  At each shock, after a thoughtful and facially inexpressive pause, during which you can almost hear his brain cells clicking, he manages to smooth talk his way through the crisis. You must wait for almost 20 episodes before you can see his despair.
  •  Laura Linney, who plays Marty’s wife Wendy Byrde constantly flashes the always beautiful smile that launches a thousand crimes.  After a while I finally realized that for the most part Wendy is one of the most evil characters.  Here I am reminded of Hannah Arendt’s phrase “the Banality of Evil”.  One rationalization leads to another.
  •  Julia Garner, who plays Ruth Langmore, turns in a bravo performance as a “white trash” daughter of a convicted criminal. Ruth’s character, while never innocent,  grows to recognize the lowness of her given state in life and does mature to rise above and take responsibility.  Her improvement owes much to the fact that she was born with a very intelligent mind.

Assuming you can get through the first stomach-churners, you may well become as addicted as was I.

2018, Barely Acceptable Trash, Bisexual theme, Brother-Sister relations, Comedy, Eccentric cast of characters, Exaggeration Comedy, Fashion, Gay theme, Improbable details, Lot's of Fun, Love Story, Netflix Streaming, Often downright silly, Outrageous Behavior, Quirky, Remarkable Costumes, Romance, Witty dialog

Schitts Creek (2018)

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From IMDB:

When rich video-store magnate Johnny Rose and his family suddenly find themselves broke, they are forced to leave their pampered lives to regroup in Schitt’s Creek.

From Netflix:

After their business manager loots their family fortune, the Rose family relocates to the town of Schitt’s Creek, which they once bought as a joke.

From Netflix you can stream 4 seasons of this nutty series. Each season has 13 episodes. Every episode lasts for 21 minutes except that in season 4 episodes 7 through 12 last 22 minutes and episodes 13 (the finale of the 4 seasons) lasts 25 minutes.

Only for special streaming offerings do I apply the category “Barely Acceptable Trash”.  If ever there was a series that deserved such an accolade, this series hits the target. Of course, the title probably is a bit of a hint.

In addition I have invented the category “Exaggeration Comedy” to prepare you for utter and fun nonsense. Guarantee: you will either love or hate (i.e. probably be offended by) this offering.

All the actors are well chosen. Consider a few of the regretfully  unforgettable characters:

  •   Father Johnny Rose is a suited, never wrong, oblivious bungler.
  •  Mother Moira Rose never wears the same outfit twice (just as does the villain in “What/If”). Each outfit she wears is purposely an exaggerated, outrageous spectacle. Also in each appearance she wears a different wig from her wig wall. Ignore the fact that the family has supposedly lost all their money, are living in two rooms, and yet Moira has some 52 different outfits (in addition to her wig wall)!
  •  Daughter  Alexis Rose minces her way through all the series. There is hardly a moment that she doesn’t speak and move in an affected, cutesy way.  Probably at first you may find her constant mannerisms annoying.
  •  Son David Rose, as far as his mannerisms go, is a carbon copy of his sister. David is bisexual although he spends most of the series being gay.
  •  Patrick Brewer and David open a store selling pampered people personal products. Eventually they are gay lovers. Patrick is the perfect sensible, open, sincere, normal foil to David’s personal style.
  •  Roland Schitt is the mayor of Schitt’s Creek. He is played by Chris Elliott. Just in case you can’t place his face, recall that in “Everybody Loves Raymond” Raymond’s brother marries a girl whose parents are religious fundamentalists and whose brother Peter MacDougall is a total annoying loser. Chris Elliott played that brother in “Raymond”. Is that paunch which Chris sports in “Schitt’s Creek” for real?

Why on earth would I waste my time watching this dysfunctional family at work?  Well, at the end of day, lying in bed, and not wanting to think a single rational thought, these episodes are a hoot. And you must remember:

I LOVE TRASH!

2015, Acceptable for children, Acorn TV, Autobiographical, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, British, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Coming-of-age, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All, Husband leaves wife, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Nostalgia, Quiet, Romance, Senior citizens, Small British village, Small gem of a film, Teenagers, War Deserter, Wonderful photography, WWI

Cider With Rose (2015)

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From IMDB:

In 1918, with her husband working in the War office – and subsequently leaving the family – devoted mother Annie Lee takes her step-daughters and her own children to live in the idyllic Gloucestershire countryside, the youngest being the sickly Laurie, known as Loll. Here they witness two feuding matrons, Granny Trill and Granny Wallon and shelter a young army deserter hiding in the woods until his capture. At school Loll and his classmates are terrorized by the formidable teacher Crabby until hulking Spadge Hopkins literally puts her in her place. Far more important to Loll’s schooldays are the captivating Burdock sisters, Jo and Rosie, and, as he grows into adolescence and beyond, eventually leaving home to seek his fortune, he samples the delights of cider with Rosie.

From Acorn TV:

This beautifully shot, elegiac drama is a coming-of-age story set in a remote English valley post-WWI. Raised by his kindly mother (Samantha Morton, In America) among a pack of siblings, Laurie Lee experiences the wonders of love and friendship but also the brutality of loss and death. “Brilliant performances underpin a lyrical, languid, and poetic adaptation [of Lee’s memoir]” -The Telegraph.

From Wikipedia:

Cider with Rosie is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee (published in the US as Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England, 1960). It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969) and A Moment of War (1991). It has sold over six million copies worldwide.

From Acorn TV you can stream this heart-warming 89 minute film.

Annie Lee, the mother, is played by Samantha Morton (Alpha in the 2019 The Walking Dead).  Granny Trill is played by Annette Crosbie (Clarice Millgrove in  Call the Midwife) whose face was immediately familiar to me even though at the time of filming she was 81 years old.

If you want a beautiful yet sad-at-times reproduction of WWI life in rural England from a century ago, DO NOT MISS!

2017, Acorn TV, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Bicycles, Biographical, British, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Mental Illness, Mother-son relations, Psychiatrists, Punjab Culture, Race Relations, Romance, Schizophrenia, Small gem of a film

The Boy With The Topknot (2017)

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From IMDB:

One-off drama based on the critically acclaimed memoirs of British journalist Sathnam Sanghera. A touching, humorous and emotional rites-of-passage story.

From  Acorn TV:

Based on a critically acclaimed memoir, this BBC drama is the touching and humorous story of Sathnam (Sacha Dhawan, Iron Fist), a second-generation Indian raised in Britain, who struggles to reconcile his traditional upbringing with his multicultural modern life. “Soul-searching and impeccably acted” (The Telegraph), it also stars Joanna Vanderham (The Paradise) and Deepti Naval (Lion).

From Acorn TV you can stream this 87 minute complete film.

Without giving anything away, the underlying motivation for the story is that Sathnam wants to marry a white girl outside his Punjabi culture and is afraid to tell his mother. Years ago he left his family to work in the white world of London journalism. When he returns to his family (in another part of London) he makes many discoveries about his family of which he was blithely unaware starting with the fact that his father is schizophrenic.

Call this film a “rare find” or small “gem of a film”. In any case,

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!

 

 

2018, Acorn TV, Basically Sad, Brother-Sister relations, Drama, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Fatal Neurological Disease, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Forensics, Gay theme, Irish, Masturbation, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Mystery Film, Suspense, Terminal Disease

Blood (2018)

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From Acorn TV:

Likened to Broadchurch and The Killing by critics, this psychological mystery is “must-see TV…taut, stylish, and suspenseful” (The Irish Times). BAFTA nominee Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty) stars as a respected doctor in a small Irish town. When his wife dies, everyone believes it was an accident—except his daughter (Carolina Main, Unforgotten), who mistrusts her father because of a childhood trauma.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 6 episodes of the one season Irish drama Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Talk about family problems!  Better than your average soap opera, this superbly acted drama maintains the suspenseful atmosphere for all six episodes.  From the very beginning I sided with the daughter Cat and increasingly viewed the father Jim as some kind of narcissistic monster. But wait until you have seen  all six episodes before making a final judgment. Because I did not want to introduce a spoiler, there were categories that I did not add to the review header.

And don’t the Irish as portrayed seem to drink a lot of alcohol?

All the actors are perfectly cast. Probably you might recognize Adrian Dunbar who played Ted Hastings in “Line of Duty.”

If you hanker after family tension then do not miss!

2007, Abandoned child, Acorn TV, British, Brother-Sister relations, Child custody, Could Be Sad, Drama, Family Conflict, Orphans in Foster Care, Police Story

Five Days: The Train (2007)

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From Acorn TV:

Five days can change a life forever in this acclaimed BBC serial. Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey) and BAFTA nominee David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) are police officers investigating an apparent suicide that may be connected to a baby found in a hospital lavatory. Also starring Matthew McNulty (The Terror) and Bernard Hill (The Lord of the Rings films), this is “drama at its best” (TV Times, UK).

From Acorn TV you can stream the five episodes of Series 1. Each episode lasts about an hour.

Out of 120 days, this series selects 5 notable days in the continuing story of a train bridge suicide, finding an abandoned baby’s father, the emotional strain on the baby’s immediate caretaker who wishes to adopt the baby, and a young Muslim possibly connected to terrorism.  In such circumstances not everyone can have their wishes fulfilled.

Worthwhile break from violent TV series.

2017, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Acorn TV, Ambiguous Conclusion, Brother-Sister relations, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Corruption, Courtroom scenes, Detective, Drug Dealers, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Financial malfeasance, Illegitimate Child, Lawyers, Marital Infidelity, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Revenge, Romance, Small Town, Violent, Wales, Welsh detectives

Keeping Faith (2017)

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From Acorn TV:

Fun-loving Faith Howells is drawn into a mystery when her husband and business partner Evan (Bradley Freegard, EastEnders) disappears. He leaves for work, but never arrives. His sudden absence strikes deep into the heart of this tiny Welsh community and forces Faith to come back from extended maternity leave to defend a hopeless vagrant on shoplifting charges. As increasingly-desperate Faith searches for clues, she discovers new revelations about Evan’s private life and questions how well she really knows the man she loves. Also starring Hannah Daniel (Hinterland), Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch), Mark Lewis Jones (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), and Aneirin Hughes (Hinterland).

From Acorn TV you can stream the 8 one-hour episodes of the only season offered.

“Mounting Frustration” best describes the progress of the series. Just when you think things could not get any worse for poor besieged Faith, they get much worse. Finally Kathy and I arrived at the eighth and last episode only to be rewarded with an ambiguous somewhat happy ending, which seems to beg for another season.

Too much time is spent in long-held motionless poses where we watch Faith suffer. Could the villainess be any nastier?  As plots go, this one is fairly complicated.

Just don’t expect justice to be served perfectly, and for all the heroes to live happily ever after.