Category Archives: Murder

Corp + Anam (2011)

From MHz Choice:

Gritty Irish-language drama chronicling the difficult professional and intense personal life of Cathal Mac Iarnáin, a tenacious TV crime reporter who is obsessed with pursuing the story behind the story. But as single-minded as he is about uncovering the truth, he is often too busy chasing stories to notice that the world of crime hits closer to home every day.

From MHz Choice you can stream two seasons of this intense Irish drama. Each season consists of 4 episodes. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.  Irish Gaelic with English subtitles.

“Gut-punching” is the most apt adjective I can apply to these eight episodes.  “Corp & Anam” is Gaelic for “Body and Soul”.

One critic labeled the reporter Cathal as unscrupulous.  Each of the 8 stories centers around some serious injustice.  No matter who gets hurt Cathal is determined to get the scoop first.  On certain occasions he is not above breaking the law to get the story.  In every case he goes out on a sometimes self-destructive limb to broadcast the story on Irish television.  Most often it is his own family which gets hurt because, as with many police detectives, his cell phone often interrupts his family life.

For this series I have created a new category “DIY Ending” which I could have used earlier for many other series.  “Do It Yourself Ending” applies to an ending in which most of the groundwork has been laid to reach a satisfying conclusion in which justice reigns and the bad guys get their punishment but in which you do not get the satisfaction of seeing those final details played out. This category especially applies to the last story of season 2 which uses two episodes 3 and 4 to tell the whole story.  This particular story leaves Cathal in danger of losing his career.

DO NOT MISS!

Upload (2020)

From Amazon Prime:

From the Emmy-winning Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks & Rec) comes a hilarious new sci-fi comedy. In the future people can upload their consciousness to a luxurious digital afterlife. When party boy Nathan gets uploaded to a virtual resort he meets the down-to-earth Nora who starts as his customer service “angel”, but becomes so much more as she helps him find friendship, love and purpose.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 10 episodes of season 1. Each episode is roughly 30 minutes.

Digital effects are a large part of the attraction in this series although basically the story is a romance between Nathan and Nora.

However, in the very last episode ten Nathan is interrupted mid-sentence and that is the end of the season. Moreover, there remains the unsolved question of whether Nathan was murdered. For these reasons there MUST be another season in the future.

You can label it trash or just sit back and enjoy the nonsense.

Murder by the Lake (2014)

From MHz Choice:

With Germany, Switzerland and Austria sharing its shores, Lake Constance has stories to tell. German homicide inspector Micha Oberländer and his Austrian partner Hannah Zeiler try to discover its secrets and have a few of their own.

From MHz Choice you can stream two seasons of this  German-Austrian TV crime series which is shot at  Lake Constance.  Season one consists of 7 episodes. Season two consists of 3 episodes. All episodes last about an hour and a half.  German with English subtitles.

Germany and Austria decide to create a small detective unit with dual authority in both countries. Initially the German Micha and the Austrian Hanna don’t get along together.

Each episode is a self-contained crime and solution. Running throughout all 10 episodes are two themes:

  •     Micha’s marriage is unraveling, mostly due to the usual   detective cliché that he is always on the job.
  •     Hannah is a stone-faced cold young woman whose life was tormented by the disappearance of her father.  Eventually her father appears.

Probably Hannah will never succeed in a relationship. However as the series progresses a genuine friendship develops between Micha and Hannah.

If you can sit still for an hour and a half, then this series is worth the time spent watching.

Banking District (2017)

From IMDB:

A private banker goes into a coma. His sister becomes the director and finds out his coma might not be accidental as she finds obscure transactions her brother was involved in.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of season 1 of this French-speaking Swiss intrigue film with English subtitles.  Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.  IMDB seems to indicate that there is or will be a season 2 which, in my opinion, would be a shame.

REVISION for Season 2 which also consists of 6 episodes, each lasting about 50 minutes.

My above opinion about season 2 being a shame, is WRONG. Season two was just as good as season 1.  At least we know from the beginning of season 2 who the bad guys are. But now Elizabeth has the difficult task of removing the bad buys and cleaning up the bank ethics. However, the line between good and evil becomes increasingly blurred as the plot develops. Elizabeth has her troubles in spades. Expect cynical plot turns. And once again DO NOT MISS!

ORIGINAL review for season 1.

From the very beginning up to the very end there is a palpable atmosphere of intrigue, suspense, and danger (for the good guys at least).

Elizabeth Grangier is the black sheep of the Swiss Grangier banking family. In fact she is the black sheep because of her disdain for the crooked dealings of the Swiss bank.  More to the point, the whole series is an indictment of the shady Swiss banking system. We quickly learn that her beloved brother Paul, who lies in a coma for the entire season, was quite corrupt.  Besides Elizabeth, the only other honest adult seems to be her newspaper journalist former husband.   Impetus for most of the action comes from the United States hunt for American tax evaders.  Add murders to the mix.

Some details are left hanging.  Elizabeth cries a lot. We never meet the owner of the female phone voice that orders killings.  But the story grabbed me.  At last I have gotten used to and in fact admire the plotting technique in which the conclusion leaves many details hanging. Just use your imagination.

Despite some negative criticisms,  I rate this series a DO NOT MISS!

 

 

Cucumber (2015)

From IMDB:

After causing a man to commit suicide over a misunderstanding and his long term boyfriend proposes, sexually repressed Henry has a breakdown and leaves home to move in with work colleague Dean and love interest Freddie both half his own age; meanwhile his ex, Lance finds a new love with Daniel. Modern life for gay men in the city of Manchester by the mind behind Queer As Folk, writer Russell T. Davies.

From Amazon Prime you can stream 8 episodes of this gay soap opera. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

If there is a predominant theme in this story, it is the sadly common often lonely life of older gay men.  After their youthful attractiveness vanishes, most of the characters in the film spend their time desperately searching for a sexual encounter with some “hot” young stud.

So why watch this soap opera?  For one thing, the acting is superb. Vincent Franklin as Henry Best presents futile searching, regret and guilt perfectly.  You may not sympathize with his faulty choices in life, but you can watch a tragically sincere performance. For another thing,  you will witness what is supposedly the typical Manchester gay life and, at least for me, ask the question “Is that even close to the truth and, if so, YIKES!”  Be prepared for no holds barred explicit and vulgar shenanigans.  Also be prepared for some nasty violence.

Certainly not to everyone’s tastes but still a fascinating sad freak show.

Reckoning (2019)

From IMDB:

Explores the darkest corners of the male psyche through the eyes of two fathers, one of whom is a serial-killer.

From Netflix you can stream the 10 episodes of this serial-killer soap opera. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Far from being a predictable serial-killer police procedural, this series is a study in psychology that involves a large cast of well presented characters.

From almost the earliest episodes, your hunch as to which character is the RRK serial killer will be vindicated.  But having the police catch the killer is not the only important focus.  Additionally we watch the interaction of that killer with all the others involved.

Sean Barker, the Australian actor that plays Edgar Harris, steals the show.   Aden Young, the Canadian actor that plays detective Mike Serrato,  plays as tortured a personality as does Sean Barker.

There is a conclusion, but it will not be what you might expect. Be prepared possibly for a final moment in which you ask “Is that really the end of the story?”

BINGE WORTHY!

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

From IMDB:

Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.

From Netflix you can stream this two hour complete film.

When I saw that the surgeon Steven Murphy was played by Colin Farrell and his wife Anna Murphy was played by Nicole Kidman, I was eager to see the film. Yikes!

“Weird” is the closest one word that seems to apply here. Other words might be “strange”, “creepy”, “outrageous” or “unnerving.”  Hopefully not everyone will even want to start watching after reading this review.  However, I was both hooked and horrified from the very beginning.

In Wikipedia you can find a discussion of the film but I have inserted below a summary from IMDB:

After the untimely death of 16-year-old Martin’s father on the operating table, little by little, a deep and empathetic bond begins to form between him and the respected cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Steven Murphy. At first, expensive gifts and then an invitation for dinner will soon earn the orphaned teenager the approval of Dr Steven’s perfect family, even though right from the start, a vague, yet unnerving feeling overshadows Martin’s honest intent. And then, unexpectedly, the idyllic family is smitten by a fierce and pitiless punishment, while at the same time, everything will start falling apart as the innocents have to suffer. In the end, as the sins of one burden the entire family, only an unimaginable and unendurable decision that demands a pure sacrifice can purge the soul. But to find catharsis, one must first admit the sin.

In the film there are at times oddly explicit sexual discussions and situations.  Martin is played by Barry Keoghan whose physical appearance presents anything but a Hollywood type. Speech throughout the film is so stilted that it seemed I was watching a stage play.  Spoken lines, especially from Martin, seem at times inappropriate.

From the very stylistically rigid beginning and onward there was a sense of anxious foreboding that tempted me to stop watching this tragedy.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Deadly Seasons (2017)

From Amazon Prime:

A mysterious Superintendent with a troubled past teams up with a young, reckless female inspector to solve a series of troubling murders.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 4 episodes of this French detective series. Each episode lasts a bit more than an hour and a half.  Spoken French with English subtitles.

No visual punches are pulled in these episodes: nudity, beheadings, headless naked bodies entwined and other delights.

What is even more of a novelty is that Mariella de Luca, the “young reckless female inspector,”  at night dons a disguise, including a silver wig, and has sex with male strangers she finds online.

Each episode features a separate crime,  while underlying all four episodes are two themes:

  • What happened to the missing adult son of Commissaire Rousseau,  Marielle’s boss?
  • Can Marielle ever find true love instead of being sexually promiscuous?

By the end of the last episode both questions are resolved.  And while getting to that end we can all enjoy a few visual shocks.

 

The Hunters (2018)

From IMDB:

Erik returns to the northernmost of Sweden after a lifetime with Stockholm police [seeThe Hunters (1996) and False Trail (2011)]. Retirement doesn’t become him so he helps his nephew Peter, a rookie at the local police.

From MHz Choice:

Rolf Lassgard stars as a retired Stockholm cop drawn into a mystery in Sweden’s far north.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of this Swedish detective thriller. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.  Swedish sound track with English subtitles.

Evidently (from IMDB) “The Hunters” was a Swedish TV series that began in 1996.  Rolf Lassgard has played the same Stockholm cop in other installments.  His role as Erik Bäckström is played superbly.

THRILLER is an understatement. You have the privilege of being able to stream all the episodes as fast as you wish, where I had to wait not so patiently for each Tuesday’s new episode to be available.

But then I am always a sucker for plots in which the villain (or in this case villains) is so smoothly corrupt and knows how to seduce others into his corruption while framing others for the crimes. By the time I watched the last episode I was literally shaking with anticipation. Up to the very last moment the bad guys seemed to be winning.

DO NOT MISS!

 

Deadwater Fell (2020)

From IMDB:

When a seemingly perfect and happy family is murdered by someone they knew and trusted, cracks appear on the surface of a supposedly idyllic community.

CORRECTED REVIEW: Now there are all 4 episodes.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 4 episodes of this Scottish detective series. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Rather than classify this series as a detective series, instead be aware that this story is a real tragedy in the classic sense that everyone in the story suffers.  In other words expect a bitter tasting ending.

David Tennant plays the lead tragic figure Tom Kendrick.  Tennant has an impressively long acting resumé including playing D.I. Alex Hardy in Broadchurch (which is a “must see”).  His character Tom is a remarkable contrast to that of D.I. Alex Hardy.

As the story progresses, you will see that first impressions are deceiving.  Little by little we discover the real nature of several inhabitants of this small town.

Superbly well done, but brace yourself.