Category Archives: FilmReview

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, Based on true facts, Brainwashing, Career Criminal, Conman, Courtroom scenes, DO NOT MISS, FBI, Fraud, Impersonation, Kidnapping, Lawyers, MI5, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Prison, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Trial Scenes

Rogue Agent (2022)

From IMDB:

The extraordinary and chilling story of career conman Robert Freegard who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled people into going into hiding, and the woman who fell for him, and then brought him down.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 55 minute complete film based on the true story of Robert Freegard starring James Norton as the conman.

George Santos (Republican 2022 representative from New York) has nothing on Robert Freegard, alias Robert Hanson.  There is, as far as I can tell, a big difference.  Santos, I would guess, is probably completely delusional and may even believe his lies. Robert Freegard, on the other hand, was a clever, willful, devious, lying bastard from the start whose lies hurt many people.

If you are following the acting career of James Norton, then begin with his portrayal of the truly malicious Tommy Lee Royce in “Happy Valley”. Follow that with his role as the imperfectly saintly Rev. Sidney Chambers in “Grantchester”.  End here with his pitch-perfect personification of Robert Freegard.

Granted that James Norton is the center of the movie, but Gemma Arterton deserves credit as the deceived and then grimly determined woman who hunted Freegard down.

Do not miss the ending explanation of what happened to Robert Freegard.

DO NOT MISS!

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!

Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amputation as revenge, Arrogant boss, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Disturbing Image, Drama, Father-daughter relations, Flashbacks, Forensic pathologist, Forensics, French Detectives, Grim, Jealousy, Love Story, MHz Choice, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Occasional gore, Pharmaceutical Experiments, Police Culture, Prison, Psychopath, Rape, Rape Victim, Revenge, Romance, Serbian genocide of Bosnians, Serial Killer, Serial rapist, Single Father, Suicide, Suspense

Inspector La Brea (2009)

From Global Screen:

Based on the successful detective novels by Alexandra von Grothe. Mourning his wife’s death, Inspector Maurice LaBréa leaves Marseilles for Paris with his daughter Jenny. But Paris is no respite, for a ghastly copycat killer is imitating a killing spree around the Bastille that went on ten years ago.

From MHz Choice you can stream 3 episodes of this German language detective series set in Paris with English subtitles. Each episode lasts about an hour and a half.

All the crimes are ugly and brutal. Mutilated bodies are par for the course.

However, the central theme running through all the episodes is LaBrea’s loving concern for his daughter Jenny who encourages him to romance his beautiful painter neighbor who often takes care of Jenny when duty so often calls.

  • Episode 1: The Beast of the Bastille.
  • Episode 2: Murder in the Rue St. Lazare
  • Episode 3: Deadly Dreams in Montparnasse.

Somewhat old fashioned, nothing special, but plots consist of a nice contrast between the grim crimes and LaBrea’s personal life.

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Arson, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Complicated, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Eccentric Detective, Embezzlement, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Fist Fight, Flashbacks, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Greed, Illegal immigrant, Lawyers, Murder, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Social Class Inequality, Suicide, Unbelievably smart detective, Uncategorized

Knives Out (2019)

From Netflix:

A detective unravels the tangled web of secrets and lies
surrounding the death of a successful crime novelist and his
unsettling, eccentric family.

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

Of the two “Knives Out” films currently available on Netflix, this first installment is in ways superior to the second installment “Glass Onion: Knives Out”.  Probably the more established cast of “Knives Out” accounts for the better acting.  Dialog in “Glass Onion” is often crudely vulgar which sometimes is a clue to compensating for lower quality writing.

That established cast includes:

  • Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc the detective in both “Knives Out” flims.
  • Chris Evans as the wayward son Ransom Drysdale.
  • Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale.
  • Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey.
  • Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale.
  • Toni Collette as Toni Thrombey née Drysdale.
  • Christopher Plummer as Harlan Drysdale, the patriarch.

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera is a relative newcomer and is in someway the star of the show.

One of many examples of a household assembly of suspects in a murder in the gathering, this complexly plotted who-done-it is well worth watching. In fact

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.

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, Art Treasures, Bloody scenes, Boring occasionally, Complicated, Conspiracy, Disguises, Ethical struggles, Everybody lies, Fraud, Impersonation, Love Triangle, Murder, Murder by poison, Netflix Streaming, Off-color moments, Personal Betrayal, Plagiarism, Plot Twist, Satisfying Ending, Suspense, Unbelievably smart detective, Uncategorized

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

From Netflix:

World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel
back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his
eclectic crew of friends.

From Netflix you can stream the second installment of the “Knives Out” series. “Glass Onion” runs for 2 hours and 19 minutes.

Should Daniel Craig have stuck to playing James Bond (despite the fact that Bond dies in the last of that series) ?  As the movie starts I thought “Oh, no! Has-beens on parade!”  After awhile the story picks up, so you have to persist. Even Edward Norton’s long-winded boring speeches make a bit of sense.

Be on the lookout for cameo appearances by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Grant.

After two hours the story literally comes to a smashing end. Give the production a B+.

2015, Acceptable for teenagers, Action sequences, AIDS, Assisted Suicide, Brain Tumor, Cancer theme, Clairvoyant, Death of a child, Detective, Ethical struggles, Father-son relations, FBI, Friendship, Gay theme, Medical Theme, Mercy Killing, Murder, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Occasionaly violent, Off-color moments, Psychic, Psychopathologist, Serial Killer, Suspense, Vulgar Jokes

Solace (2015)

From IMDB:

Psychic John Clancy (Sir Anthony Hopkins) works with the F.B.I. in order to hunt down a serial killer.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 41 minute complete film.

FBI Agent Joe Merriwether (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) works with FBI Agent Katherine Cowels (played by Abbie Cornish) who has her doctorate in psychopathology.  At a complete loss in learning anything about the serial killer, Joe turns to his old friend and clairvoyant Dr. John Clancy (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) who, owing to ugly past experiences,  is very reluctant to join the search.

Learning the motive for the killings is a priority.  If I reveal that motive here, I would consider that revelation a spoiler.

Where in all this is the actor Colin Farrell? He plays Charles Ambrose who just happens to be the serial killer. Charles shares a significant feature of Dr. Clancy’s personality.

After watching the film, you will understand why I say the film is a disguised ethical debate with no easy answer.

All the clairvoyance is just too convenient (should I say “contrived” or downright “hokey” ?).  In addition the quick decision action sequences might be hard to follow.   I give the film a B+.

 

 

2013, Abduction, Action sequences, Bloody scenes, Child abduction and murder, Could Be Hard To Watch, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugging as a weapon, Ethical struggles, Forensics, Grim, Ironic Ending, Mentally impaired person, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Plot Twist, Police Culture, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wrongful Arrest

Prisoners (2013)

From Netflix:

After his young daughter and her friend go missing, a desperate
father clashes with the detective on the case and takes matters
into his own hands.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 33 minute tense thriller.

Jake Gyllenhaal movies are usually not an easy watch and this search for missing children and a  serial killer is no exception. What attracted me was the exceptional cast:

  • Hugh Jackman is Keller Dover, father of the missing Anna Dover.
  • Terrence Howard is Franklin Birch, father of the missing Joy Birch.
  • Viola Davis is Joy’s mother Nancy.
  • Paul Dano is the suspect Alex Jones.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal is Detective Loki.

Be prepared for Keller’s desperation-driven torture of Alex which is quite ugly to watch, a plot twist, and an ironic ending.

If you can stand to watch, DO NOT MISS!

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!