Category Archives: Plot twists

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!

2022, Abandoned child, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Arson, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Child Social Services, Clever Plot, Complicated, Dark family secrets, Detective, Discussions about Emotions, DO NOT MISS, Failed Mother, Frame someone for a crime, Hopeless Love, Incompetent or unfit mother, Lawyers, Marital Infidelity, Monstrous Mother, Mother-son relations, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Parkinson's disease, Personal Betrayal, Plot twists, Prostitute, Psychological Thriller, Psychologist, Revenge, Ruthless Killer, Self-cutting, Self-harm, Shocking Ending, Sundance Now Streaming, Troubled Personality, Wrongful Arrest

The Suspect (2022)

From Sundance Now:

Joseph O’Loughlin has the perfect life: a beautiful wife, a loving daughter, and a successful career as a clinical psychologist. But it all begins to unravel when the police seek his professional opinion about the murder of a young woman. Caught in an increasingly complex web of deceit, Joseph risks everything as he embarks upon a search for a killer.

From Sundance Now (through Amazon Prime) you can stream the 5 episodes of this clever suspense series. Each episode lasts about 47 minutes.

Thanks to my neighbor Terry for introducing me to Sundance Now which currently through Amazon Prime is $6.99 per month after a short free trial.

Someone is killing a series of people.  Although DI Vince Ruiz almost obsessively zeroes in on the psychologist Joe O’Loughlin, you will probably spend all 5 episodes bouncing your suspicions from one character to the next. After many character twists the conclusion is a knock out.

Joining Sundance Now just to watch “The Suspect” is worth the price. Besides, you can cancel at any time.

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Attempted Murder, Binge worthy, Blackmail, British Politics, Career Competition, CIA, Complicated, Corrupt Politicians, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Friendship, MI-6, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Plot twists, Political Intrigue, Revenge, Russian Spy, Suspense, Trust Nobody

Treason (2022)

From IMDB:

Adam Lawrence was trained and groomed by MI6; his career seems set. When the past catches up with him in the form of Kara, a Russian spy with whom he shares a complicated past, he is forced to question everything and everyone in his life.

From Netflix you can stream the 5 episodes of this British political intrigue series. Each episode lasts roughly 40 minutes.

Potentially complicated, this series is actually fairly easy to follow. As usual the theme is “you can’t trust anyone.”  Your task is to figure out who is the Russian spy in the British government.  Is Adam Lawrence the traitor?  Who killed the 5 men in Baku?

Be ready for unexpected twists and turns in this binge-worthy British thriller.

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Hero, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Based on a Book, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chase film, CIA, Cold War, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Corrupt Military, Corrupt Politicians, Coup, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Father-daughter relations, Fist Fight, GRU, Invincible Hero, Murder, Narcissistic Personality, Navy, Personal Betrayal, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Political Conspiracy, Political Intrigue, Politicians, Suspense, Thriller, Traitors, Treason, Violent

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2022)

From Amazon Prime:

In Season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Jack races against time and across Europe to stop a rogue faction within the Russian government from  restoring the Soviet Empire and starting World War III.

From Amazon Prime you can stream season 3 of the Jack Ryan series. Season 3 consists of 8 episodes. Each episode runs between 45 minutes and an hour.

Continuing in the view of the first two seasons, this series treats us to one action event after the other. Along the way the cast of characters and their loyalties keep changing in possibly confusing rapidity.  Flashbacks are vital in explaining the motives of the various actors in the plot.

Among the many good performance I would award a prize to James Cosmo for his portrayal of Luka Gocharov.

Expect 8 hours of constant excitement and possible confusion.

2011, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Ageing parent, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Based on a Book, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, British Police, Car Chase, Career Criminal, Clever Plot, Complicated, Contract Killing, Corrupt policemen, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Crime thriller, Death of a child, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Eccentric Detective, Emotional abuse, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Fight Scenes, Flirting, Forensics, Gambling, Grim, Grisly, Gritty, Hopeless Love, Human trafficking, Infuriating, Lawyers, Love Story, Mourning, Murder, Murder Trial, Pedophilia, Plot twists, Poker, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Possibly upsetting ending, Psychiatrists, Romance, Sad ending, Single Mother, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Trial Scenes, Upsetting ending, Violent

DCI Banks (2011)

From IMDB:

The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.

From Amazon Prime Brit Box (or just independently Brit Box) you can stream 5 seasons of this outstandingly tense British crime series. Almost all complete stories require two consecutive episodes.  All seasons contain 6 episodes (i.e 3 stories) where each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Season 1 contains 7 episodes because the first episode is the pilot called “Aftermath”. PLEASE DO NOT WATCH this episode because it is so ugly that you might not want to watch the rest of the series. Indeed the crimes in all the stories are disturbing but season 1 episode 1 is especially nasty.

Detectives Alan Banks, Annie Cabbot, and Helen Morton are  present throughout.  Alan falls in love with Annie and a constant theme is whether they will ever get together. Alan’s father is always an annoyance. Shaun Dooley plays a wonderfully infuriating evil criminal Steve Richards.

Kathy and I eagerly ploughed through all 30 episodes, exclaiming after each story “Wow!”  In fact in one sitting we always watched two episodes making one complete story.

DO NOT MISS!

2006, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Film, Action Hero, MI-6, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Plot twists, Poker, Ruthless Killer, Sex Scenes, Torture, Violent

Casino Royale (2006)

From IMDB:

After earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 24 minute old favorite.

No need to critique such a familiar and famous film.  Instead I just remind you that the film is currently (Nov 2022) available on Netflix.

Probably what is most memorable for me is the plot twist at the end. Just when you relax and think “Ah, happy ending” , then WHAMMO!

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Attempted Murder, Based on a Book, Contract Killing, Corrupt judge, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drones, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Extramarital Affair, Failed Marriage, False Imprisonment, Father-daughter relations, Fight Scenes, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Jealousy, Lawyers, Michael Connelly, Murder, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Narcissistic Personality, Netflix Streaming, Occasionaly violent, Plot twists, Police Corruption, Prison, Surfing, Suspense, Trial Scenes

The Lincoln Lawyer (2022)

From IMDB:

An iconoclastic idealist runs his law practice out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car in this series based on Michael Connelly’s bestselling novels.

From Netflix you can stream 10 episodes of this series. Each episode lasts between 46 and 55 minutes.

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, who plays the lawyer Mickey Haller, is Mexican. In an interview  he explained that he was very nervous acting this part because he had to work so hard to eliminate his Mexican accent. He played Gabriel Ortega in “Goliath” (which you should not miss).

Mickey Haller is an honest man who works hard to defend seemingly guilty clients.   He also comes off as a loving father trying to come back after some bad times in his life. Neve Campbell does a great job as a prosecution lawyer who is also Mickey’s former wife.

Trust no one (as in “everybody lies”) and expect some clever plot twists. DO NOT MISS!

 

1998, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Amazon Prime, Art Auction, Art forgery, Art Marketing, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Complicated Scams, DO NOT MISS, Father-son relations, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Fraud, Greed, Happy ending, Love Story, Murder, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Ruthless Killer, Scam Artists, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Trains, Trial Scenes

Incognito (1998)

From IMDB:

Harry Donovan is an art forger who paints a fake Rembrandt picture for $500,000. Marieke, the woman he meets in Paris and gets into bed with, turns out to be the art expert whom Harry’s clients are using to check the counterfeit picture he painted.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 24 year old complete film that lasts 1 hour and 47 minutes.

About a year after he appeared in “Sleepers” the then 32-year -old Jason Patric starred as Harry Donovan in this cleverly plotted story of financial skullduggery.

If nothing else, just watching the painting details involved in forging a Rembrandt portrait are fascinating.

Moreover the romantic battle between the forger and the art expert Marieke Van Den Broeck (played by Irène Jacobs of “Au revoir, les enfants”), who seems to be the only art expert who knows a forgery when she sees one, is a lot of fun.

Plenty of action sequences only add to the enjoyment. DO NOT MISS.

2020, Abduction, Action Film, Addiction, Arson, Attempted Rape, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Boxing, British, Car Chase, Career Criminal, Complicated, Contract Killing, Crime thriller, Drugs, Exaggeration Comedy, Extreme Violence as Comedy, Failed Father, Father-daughter relations, Fight Scenes, Fist Fight, Gangs, Lot's of Fun, Marijuana, Mayhem, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Physical fighting, Plot twists, Theft, Violent

The Gentlemen (2020)

From IMDB:

An American expat tries to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London, triggering plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 53 minute complete British action crime film.

Most apt category that describes this film is “Extreme Violence as Comedy” which we saw in other films such as “The Boondock Saints”, “Killers”, and “Fargo”.  Did I mention that this film is  VIOLENT?

But it really is entertaining and fun (what does that say about us?) What really sells the film for me is the well choreographed ensemble work.  And what an ensemble of actors! To name only a few:

  • Matthew McConaughey
  • Charlie Hunnam
  • Michelle Dockery  (who has really escaped from Downton Abbey)
  • Colin Farrell
  • Hugh Grant
  • Eddie Marsan (Familiar or not, you see him in many films)
  • Samuel West  (Another “seen everywhere” British actor)

Another great guilty pleasure.  Not for children.

2021, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Film, Ambitious Dirty Tricks, Amusing banter, Art theft, B-movie, Bromance, Buried Treasure, Career Criminal, Chase film, Comic Moments, Complicated Scams, Confusing Plot, Conspiracy, Martial Arts, Mayhem, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Plot twists, Suspense, Torture, Witty dialog

Red Notice (2021)

From Netflix:

An FBI profiler pursuing the world’s most wanted art thief
becomes his reluctant partner in crime to catch an elusive
crook who’s always one step ahead.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour complete film.

Brainless but fun, what else would you expect from a combination like Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds?   Both of them have found their cinematic niche – stupid action films.

Funny bromance banter,  great action (the body doubles are capable athletes),  some surprising plot twists, explosive digital effects, and the usual requirement to suspend disbelief all provide the entertainment.

Popcorn and a cessation of cerebral activity make for a fun watch.