Category Archives: Lesbian Theme

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!

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Alcoholism, Cross Dressing, Downs Syndrome, Father-son relations, Feel Good Not For Children, Flirting, Friendship, Gay theme, Happy Family Gatherings, Hopeless Love, Lesbian Theme, Love Triangle, Masturbation, Mother-daughter relations, Music Scenes, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Offbeat, Philosophic Discussions, Privileged Upper Class, Rich versus Poor, Sex Scenes, Single Father, Single Mother, Soap Opera, Social Class Inequality, University Politics, University Professor, University Students

Merlí Sapere Aude (2019)

From IMDB:

Pol Rubio starts to study Philosophy at the University of Barcelona while the relationship between Bruno and him begins to strengthen. Pol will meet new friends, new colleagues and new teachers apart from having to face conflicts in his new student stage, his complicated family and his new relationship with Bruno Bergeron in this way until becoming a Philosophy teacher.

From Netflix you can stream the 8 episodes of the second season of this Spanish (Barcelona) young adult soap opera. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes. Catalan is the original language of the series.

Season one was entitled  simply   “Merlí” and is not available. Merlí is the name of a favorite teacher who dies at the end of season one. Season two takes up from there with Pol grieving over the loss of his teacher Merlí.

All episodes center on a group of students studying philosophy at a university in Spain.  This group of friends quickly formed at the beginning of their studies.  Another notable character in particular is one of their teachers María Bolaño who is lonely and struggles with alcoholism. Each student has his or her own story to tell.  Relationships, sexual and otherwise, are formed and fought over.

My recommendation for this forgettable series is that it is a light-hearted young adult snapshot of the culture of 21st century Spain.

2019, Acceptable Trash, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Bloody scenes, Bullying, Controlling personality, Corny at times, Corrupt Pharmaceutical Firm, Ending demands sequel, Explicit sex, Extremely Violent, Fantasy, Father-son relations, Fist Fight, Flashbacks, Greed vs Common Good, Invincible villain, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, Martial Arts, Mayhem, Mother-son relations, Narcissist, Nudity, Outrageous Behavior, Political references, Pornographic Scenes, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Some exaggerated violence, Somewhat ridiculous plot, Super Hero, Violent, Vulgar

The Boys (2019)

From Amazon Prime:

THE BOYS is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven,” and their formidable Vought backing.

With the help of Amazon Prime you might be willing to waste your idle time streaming 3 seasons of this super romp.  Each season consists of 8 episodes. Each episode lasts about 1 hour.

Calling all “adolescents at heart.”  There is very little point in being serious about this endless 24-episode mindless fantasy,  although I am forced to admit that despite all the nonsense, the acting is at times (but only at times) in the ranges acceptable to good.  Moreover, if you are interested in pornographic nudity, you will not be disappointed in this often raunchy farce.

2018, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Arson, Bloody scenes, Chase film, Culture of India, Drugging as a weapon, Explicit sex, Fantasy, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Fight Scenes, Gangs, Gay theme, Highly acceptable trash, Human experimentation, Improbable details, Lesbian Theme, Martial Arts, Medical Theme, Monstrous Father, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Sex Scenes, Violent

Sense8 (2018)

From IMDB:

A group of people around the world are suddenly linked mentally, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world’s order.

From Netflix you can stream 2 seasons of this fantasy soap opera. Each season has 12 episodes. Each episode lasts about an hour except for episode 1 of season 2 which runs 2 hours.

Members of a sensate group are mutually mentally and visibly present to one another.

Given all the sex scenes (sensate group sex anyone?) ,  romances, violence, evil villains, and impossible rescues,  a fitting category for this watch-a-thon might be “highly acceptable trash”.

Don’t be surprised if at times you are not quite sure what is happening in the plot. Just play along for the fun of it.

 

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Addiction, Adultery, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Arson, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drugs, Father-son relations, Forensic Anthropologist, Forensic pathologist, Forensics, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Mildly Violent, Murder, Murder Investigation, Scottish, Scottish Detectives, Sexual promiscuity, Suspense

Traces (2019)

From IMDB:

While attending an online forensic course, young lab assistant discovers that the fictitious case study has a link to her past. With the help of two female professors she works on bringing a killer to justice.

From Amazon BritBox:

Emma Hedges needs to find out what happened to her mum. In a world of danger and deceit, will Emma have the nerve to follow the evidence no matter where it takes her?

From Amazon BritBox you can stream two seasons of this mystery series set in Dundee, Scotland.  Each season consists of 6 episodes. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

SEASON  1:

Emma (played by Molly Windsor) enthusiastically begins her new job in a forensics lab where she discovers a link to the still unsolved murder of her mother twelve years ago.  Coincidentally her team must investigate a suspicious fire in which 3 people died.  During this investigation she meets the father and son team of building contractors involved in the construction of that building.  Her relations with each of these two men could not be more opposing: she falls in love with son Daniel MacAfee (played by Martin Compston) and is afraid of the father Phil MacAfee (played by Vincent Regan).  And then the plot thickens.

Vincent Regan may be the most familiar actor in this series. Usually he plays a nice guy such as Ray Conlon in “The Bay“.  In “Traces”, however, he is a very effective bad guy.

Worth calling this season a DO NOT MISS.

SEASON 2:

Although this season begins with the trial of Phil MacAfee for murdering Emma’s mother,  this season suddenly ignores that plot and launches into the search for a serial bomber.  At least three bombs go off before the forensic scientists uncover the bomber’s identity.  Along the way there are many personality clashes and other issues.  To repeat: season 2 seems strangely disjoint from season 1, is more into scientific details, and is not as exciting as season 1.  Not exactly a “do not miss”, but still worth the watch.

2015, Autism, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Conspiracy, Controlling personality, Disguises, Divorced Mother, DO NOT MISS, Failed Marriage, Family Conflict, Family Secrets, Father-daughter relations, Gay Bashing, Gay theme, Lesbian Theme, Mother-daughter relations, Muddled biblical references, Murder, Occasionaly violent, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Personality or religious cult, Physical fighting, Police Investigation, Profiler, Religious fanatic, Romance, Suspense, Swedish crime series, Swedish Detective

Modus (2015)

From IMDB;

During a snowy Christmas season in Sweden, psychologist and profiler Inger Johanne Vik and her autistic daughter both get drawn into the investigation of a number of disturbing deaths.

From PBS Masterpiece Streaming you can stream  the 8 episodes of this Swedish mystery series. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Just because the villain intends to kill multiple victims does not, as I understand the term, make the villain a serial killer. Rather in this well-done series his motive has a homicidal rationality.  But I will leave it up to you to guess for yourself that motive before the profiler Inger Vik realizes what is happening.

Many well-presented characters interact.  Throw a romance into the pot and the result is successful suspense.

DO NOT MISS!

 

 

2021, Abduction, Abuse of Elders, Attempted Murder, Clever Plot, Conspiracy, Corrupt Care Givers, Disguises, DO NOT MISS, Drugging as a weapon, Greed, Identity Theft, Infuriating, Lesbian Theme, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Plot Twist, Revenge, Russian Gangster, Suspense, Torture, Unscrupulous drive to power, Valium appropriate, Violent

I Care a Lot (2021)

From Netflix:

A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 58 minute complete film.

Easily one of the most clever, disturbing and infuriating films I have watched recently. In order to maintain your mental composure:

  • Do NOT watch this film before bedtime.
  • Do NOT watch this film on a full stomach,
  • Keep some medicinal relaxant nearby in case of emergency.
  • Remember, this is not the reality of Putin murdering innocent Ukrainians,  but rather a possible but unlikely fictional scenario.

Peter Dinklage, as far as I know, avoids appearing in mediocre or just plain bad films. Once again he fits his role, this time as a Russian gangster, well.

Rosamund Pike, as the evil Marla Grayson, inspires such visceral hate that you cannot help but admire her talent.

Dianne Wiest, as Jennifer Peterson, nails the role of a helpless victim to a tee. In early “Law and Order” episodes, she was Interim D.A. Nora Lewin.

Could this really happen?  Better review your last will and testament and your power of attorney. DO NOT MISS (if you can stand the emotions).

 

 

2020, Abduction, Action sequences, Amnesia, Bad Acting, Barely Acceptable Trash, Brother-Sister relations, Conspiracy, Corny, Detective, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Government cover-up, Government human experiment, Government mind-control, Human experimentation, Kidnapping, Lesbian Theme, Love Triangle, Marital Infidelity, Maudlin, Mother-son relations, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Often downright silly, Paranormal theme, Plane Disappearance, Religious Nonsense, Short-lived suspenseful episodes, Sometimes seems silly, Suspense

Manifest (2020)

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From Netflix:

When a plane mysteriously lands years after takeoff, the people onboard return to a world that has moved on without them and face strange, new realities.

From Netflix you can stream two seasons of this fairly awful series. Season 1 has 16 episodes and season 2 has 13 episodes.  Every single episode lasts exactly 42 minutes, which may have been the only technical achievement of the series.

Holy Maudlin!  There were enough tears shed during this slop opera to irrigate California.

Holy Unbelievable! Find yourself in a tight spot?  Just invent some miraculous paranormal intervention.

Holy Gullible! How on earth could I watch all 29 episodes expecting to be satisfied with the ending.  Perhaps it is because I LOVE TRASH.

MISS!

2018, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime, Dark, Depressing, Dystopia, Father-son relations, Good Production Values, Government mind-control, Human spirit, Lesbian Theme, Longsuffering wife, Love Story, Nasty Aliens, Pessimistic, Possibly upsetting ending, Pseudo Utopia, Psychological Drama, Sci-Fi, Suspense

Electric Dreams (2018)

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From IMDB:

A sci-fi anthology series with stand-alone episodes based on the works of Philip K. Dick.

From Amazon Prime:

Based on the short stories from one of science fiction’s most prolific authors, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams explores humanity in 10 standalone episodes. From 5 to 5000 years in the future, each story in the anthology will question what it means to be human in uniquely ambitious, grounded, yet fantastical worlds.

From Amazon Prime you can stream 10 episodes, each lasting about 50 minutes.

Highly original, sci-fi fantastical, expensive production details, but for the most part DEPRESSING.

Do most futurists promote dim prospects for the future?  If there is one recurring theme in these episodes it is that of mankind surrendering its self-determined responsibility.  Do we allow some domineering authority to think for us?  Has earth become uninhabitable?  Do we prefer dream life to reality?  Shall we program robots to take over?  Will aliens inhabit our bodies?

At least episode 8 has an impossible but happy ending.

Great sci-fi but somewhat dire prospects for humans.

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.