Category Archives: Magic

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, America of the 1830s, Attempted Murder, Bizarre, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Creepy, Dark family secrets, Detective, Devil Worship, Drama, Eccentric cast of characters, Fatal Disease, Grisly, Human Sacrifice, Jealousy, Magic, Military Academy, Military School, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Period Piece, Personal Betrayal, Plot Twist, Rape, Rape Victim, Revenge, Suicide, Suspense, Unexpected Ending, Unusual, Violent, Witchcraft

The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

From IMDB:

A world-weary detective is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet. Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case – a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 10 minute complete film.

If only for the 1830 period clothing , surroundings and speech patterns, watching this film can be worthwhile.  But the story is clever, the acting is fine, and the plot twist toward the very end is quite unexpected.

Several of the actors are familiar to me:

  • Christian Bale plays the laconic detective Augustus Landor. In the past he played Batman in many Batman films.
  • Toby Jones, who plays Dr. Daniel Marquis, has an unusual physical appearance. Most recently he played Sebold Cusk in “The English”.
  • You might not recognize Robert Duvall who appears briefly as Jean Pepe. His resumé is enormous.
  • Gillian Anderson, who plays Mrs. Julia Marquis, will always be Scully from the “X-Files”.

Harry Melling is a very unusual looking but up-and-coming actor who plays Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).  His physical appearance, especially his face, is so striking that I could only stare. He played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movies.  Will he always be cast in eccentric roles?

Well worth the watch!

2020, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Film, Action Hero, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Dyslexia, Environmental concerns, Fantasy, Father-son relations, Good Production Values, Magic, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Norwegian, Norwegian action film, Norwegian myths, Super Hero, Thriller, Various Romances, Violent

Ragnarok (2020)

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From IMDB:

A small Norwegian town experiencing warm winters and violent downpours seems to be headed for another Ragnarok — unless someone intervenes in time.

From Netflix you can stream the 6 episodes of the only season available for this Norwegian fantasy story, namely season 1.  Each episode is about 45 minutes. Spoken in Norwegian with English subtitles.

June 8, 2021 – Update:

Now there are two seasons available. Season 2 also has 6 episodes. Unfortunately season 2 also ends with an implied “to be continued.”

According to Wikipedia, Ragnarok is

a series of events, including a great battle, foretold to lead to the death of a number of great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters and the submersion of the world in water. After these events, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in Norse mythology and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory in the history of Germanic studies.

Call it kid stuff if you like, but enough was invested in the production values to make this story watchable. Warning: this season 1 is obviously an introduction to more seasons.

Consider the plot: High school student Magne arrives in a sleepy town together with his mother and brother.  Controlling the town is a giant factory run by a “perfect” family of four who seem to be human but in reality are immortal Norwegian gods. Upon arrival in the town, a mysterious elderly couple bestow powers on Magne without his knowing. Little by little Magne discovers his powers. Meanwhile the factory is knowingly polluting the environment, which to the 4 gods is unimportant and to be covered up. Gradually Magne realizes what is happening.  Let the truth come out.

Does it sound like something for the adolescents to watch?  In a completely unsubtle manner, the underlying theme is global warming and world pollution of the environment.  Conversational fragments refer to today’s environmental concerns. Perhaps someday the presentation will seem outdated. But for now (February 2020)  the topic is spot on (as the British would say).

Bear with Magne’s (lack of) acting.  He is basically a stone faced, stoic, initially bewildered, and dyslexic high school kid.

In summary:  Season 1 will have a “happy ending” if the truth comes out. But then we will need more seasons in which the battle of the gods takes place.  Stay tuned.

2014, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action Film, Action Hero, Assisted Suicide, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, British History, Chick Flick, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Coarse manners, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Flirting, French Culture, Frontier Life, Gaelic, Gay theme, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Historical Fiction, Husband leaves wife, Illegitimate Child, Improbable details, Magic, Marital Infidelity, Medical Theme, Melodrama, Military, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Prison, Rape, Revenge, Romance, Sadism, Scottish, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Smallpox, Sociopath, Suspense, Torture, Various Romances, Violent, Vulgar

Outlander (2014)

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From Wikipedia:

Outlander is a drama television series based upon author Diana Gabaldon‘s historical time travel book series of the same name.  It stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a married former World War II nurse who in 1946 finds herself transported back to Scotland in 1743. There she encounters the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and becomes embroiled in the Jacobite risings.

There exist or will exist at this writing 5 seasons of this very successful series. From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons. Starz is offering  at least 4 seasons. Season 1 has 15 episodes. Seasons 2,3,and 4 have 13 episodes. Season 5 is promised by Starz but not yet available today (Jan11,2020).

Summarizing a plot that goes on forever is pointless. If this type of adventure soap opera appeals to you, then you just emerse yourself and plow through.  Personally I could not stop watching probably because like all good potboilers our hero and heroine repeatedly get caught in some dilemma only to eventually extricate themselves.

Some of the subplots are a bit over the top. When the couple escape to Paris from somewhat bleak and primitive Scotland, they suddenly are dressing to the hilt and acting like socialites.  In fact you have to suspend disbelief in the details. Just enjoy the superstitions and magic.

Expect to see much violence, wounds, blood, and lashings. Some of the scenes are cringe-worthy.  Especially BEWARE season 1 episode 15 “Wentworth Prison” in which the evil Black Jack (played to sadistic perfection by Tobias Menzies ) tortures and rapes Jamie.

As a further reward, this series has some of the best sex scenes I have ever seen.  These scenes are successful because they hinge on real emotions and are truly not pornographic.

Bets are on that once you start watching, you will not be able to stop.

DO NOT MISS

 

 

2013, Action Film, Bank Robbery, FBI, Magic, Mayhem, Mediocre, Revenge, Uncategorized

Now You See Me (2013)

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From IMDB:

An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Because there is “Now You See Me 2”, I got this DVD from NetFlix to see what part one had to offer.

Intriguing magic tricks and eye-catching glitter are the highlight of this “action” film. Here “action” means flashing lights, car chases, foot chases, helicopters, and clever fast-moving sequences.

Acting is minimal and maudlin. Ignore the parts and enjoy the whole.

 

Love Story, Magic, Mediocre, Scam Artists

Death Defying Acts (2006)

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From NetFlix:

When legendary escape artist Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) offers a handsome reward to anyone who can contact his dead mother beyond the grave, a sultry Scottish psychic and con artist (Catherine Zeta-Jones) takes up the challenge. But when the two fall in love, the boundaries between truth and deception become blurred. Directed by Gillian Armstrong, this entertaining period costume drama co-stars Saoirse Ronan and Timothy Spall.

As a typical Guy Pearce film, you get a story with beginning, middle, and end. Subtlety need not apply. Both Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones are well matched as acceptable but unexceptional actors. In addition both their film characters are well matched as “con” artists who admit as much to each other.

Nothing special but watchable.