From Netflix:
A pianist returning to the stage five years after a public meltdown learns that a sniper will shoot him and his wife if he plays just one wrong note. But the gunman’s twisted motives go far deeper than anyone suspects.
Although the idea behind the story is novel (some say ridiculous), the film itself was nothing special. Critics panned the film.
After the film was over I still did not know the motives of the killer. Even Wikipedia offered no clues.
Try some other film.
2014-2015 REVISION:
November 2015: Netflix offers season 3 but only on DVD, no streaming.
The release date for season 4 is not yet settled. Season 3 was at least as good as the previous two seasons with some very clever surprises at the very end of season 3 which makes the audience ever more eager to see season 4.
For more information about the Viking raid on Paris in 845 see the Wikipedia article. On that occasion the French king was Charles the Bald, one of Charlemagne’s grandsons. By the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Charles became king of what was for the most part modern day France.
Now from Amazon Prime you can stream both season 1 and season 2. Season 2 is at least as good as Season 1. Wonderful but violent!
FORMER REVIEW:
Netflix offers Season 1 on DVD. However, I streamed from Amazon for free because we bought Amazon Prime. Jan 2015 – Now you can stream Season 2 from Amazon. Somehow the story just gets better and better. DO NOT MISS all the VIOLENCE!
From Netflix:
Set in medieval Scandinavia, this gritty drama charts the adventures of renowned Viking hero Ragnar Lothbrok as he extends the Norse reach by challenging the rule of an unfit leader who lacks vision.
Merely appreciating the finesse and details that went into making this remarkable TV series just gives me chills.
His ambiguous smile is mostly that of the fox waiting for its opportunity. Eventually you come to accept and even identify that constant smile with the character Ragnar Lothbrok played to dazzling perfection by the Australian-born Travis Fimmel.
Gabriel Byrne as Earl Haraldson is the only actor I recognized. You may remember him as Dr. Paul Weston in the TV series “In Treatment”. Here he is a brooding, vicious bully.
In order to enter Valhalla a Viking must die in battle. Similar to the ancient Greek culture, violence and personal bravery are everything. Whatever riches a Viking can bury will be his in the next life. Hence the need for plunder. In other words, by its nature this film had to be very VIOLENT!
Perhaps some history will set the scene. Roughly speaking as Rome abandoned England in the 400s, she invited in German mercenaries among which were the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They liked what they saw and oppressed the original inhabitants, the Celts. After centuries their many dialects would eventually congeal into Anglo Saxon. In the 600s Christianity appeared and the Anglo Saxons converted. In the 800s the Danes, i.e. the Vikings, reached England and were trouble for the Anglo Saxons until that famous year 1066 in which no sooner had Edward Confessor defeated the Danes then the Normans conquered the Anglo Saxons.
In regard to the previous mini-history, in the scenes in which the Vikings speak to the Anglo Saxons, the Vikings speak old Norse and supposedly the “English” speak Anglo Saxon.
Also in regard to that mini-history, probably the most important theme of the series is religion. Ragnar Lothbrok, in attacking his first monastery, brings back as a slave a young Christian monk Athelstan (thoughtfully played by George Blagden). No episode goes by without some discussion, confrontation, or comparison (call it what you like) between the “pagan” religion and the Christian. Odd how violent, vicious, and untrustworthy the Christians are. There are aspects of the Viking religion that may disturb your sleep.
Fighting is really a small part of the story. Interpersonal relations and conflicts are equally important. There is true character development.
And of course you cannot help to notice how these Viking men wore their hair. Let’s hope the costume department got it historically accurate. Needless to say there are many tattoos.
If you can stand the violence, DO NOT MISS !
From Netflix:
This Australian outback thriller brings together the classic film noir ingredients when a man’s cross-country drive is diverted by car trouble. Soon after, he witnesses a spectacular car crash that includes one survivor and a money-stuffed suitcase.
By accident I found this Australian gem that just never lets go.
None of the actors are familiar to me, but all are excellent, especially the trio:
We are NOT talking about a love triangle. Colin honestly returns the suitcase of money to the sheriff which is when Colin’s troubles really begin. Proceed from there through drug dealers, fighting, murder, bodies dumped in a mine, deception, and a satisfying final set of clever plot twists.
Don’t miss this lucky find!
From Netflix:
Set during the Reagan presidency, this Cold War drama follows two married Soviet sleeper agents living discreetly near Washington, D.C. But tensions begin to mount for the couple when a spy-hunting FBI man moves in nearby.
Because we use Amazon Prime I was able to stream season 1 of “The Americans” for free.
In Cambridge Massachusetts a Russian husband and wife team of spies were disguised as a normal American family. This real-life incident motivated this TV series which offers the same kind of milieu as the British TV series “MI-5”. Possibly “MI-5” is a bit better, but the quality and human interest in “The Americans” is excellent. Needless to say, both series are violent.
By “human interest” I refer to the pseudo marriage between the spies who by this time have two children, thoroughly American boy and girl who have no idea of their parents’ spying activity. In addition a new neighbor moves in who just happens to be an FBI agent whose specialty is counter-intelligence but whose family life always takes the familiar backseat to his career.
Be sure to appreciate the effective personality disguises these two spies use as they play many deceptive roles in society. For one example, the disguised husband actually goes so far as to marry an unsuspecting American woman in order to get her to bring him information.
Season One ends abruptly and inconclusively. Season Two seems to not yet be available. If you like spy stories, then DO NOT MISS!
From Netflix:
The autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was abducted from New York state and sold into slavery in the mid-1800s, serves as the basis for this historical drama. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Northup, and Brad Pitt plays an abolitionist.
“12 Years a Slave” is a LONG film (2 hours 15 minutes). At least it certainly seems long due to all the sadistic cruelty portrayed. You will see enough whippings to last you a lifetime. Children should NOT see this torture-fest. If you last through the whole film, be sure to read the final follow-up text.
Just how realistic a portrayal of the slave owners this film is would take a bit of research to determine. You can read an account of Jefferson’s treatment of his slaves.
Many reviews exists of this film. One such review says that Brad Pitt’s role was too good to be true, but since he was one of the producers, he could do as he pleased.
So many fine actors played such diabolical roles, that I was embarrassed for them. Michael Fassbender will probably remain in my mind as a psychotic pervert.
WARNING: This is NOT an easy film to watch. If you can stand the sadism, DO NOT MISS!
From Netflix:
Loosely based on true events, this drama follows Ron Woodroof, who refuses to accept he’ll die in 30 days when he’s diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He extends his life and eventually helps many other AIDS patients by smuggling medications from abroad.
Repulsive! At least that was my first impression of Ron Woodroof who throughout the film is always “in your face”. His unbridled lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes leads to full-blown AIDS. He then spent the rest of his life (which was much longer than the doctors foresaw) smuggling medications from wherever he could. Along the way he eventually accepts as a friend a cross-dressing male prostitute despite the fact that Woodroof is portrayed as virulently homophobic. Also he eventually finds a helper and friend in a woman doctor from the local Dallas hospital.
My criterion for a good actor is one that is a true cameleon, that is to say, can adapt to many different parts. In my opinion, Matthew McConaughey has achieved cameleon-hood. Let’s hope he did not injure his health losing so much weight in order to look like a scrawny AIDS patient.
Be sure to consult the Wikipedia article which at the end contrasts the film plot with the true story.
If you don’t mind a view of America’s low life culture, in view of McConaughey’s performance, I call this a DO NOT MISS!
From Netflix:
When ex-DEA agent Phil Broker is widowed, he moves with his 10-year-old daughter to a small town in pursuit of a quiet life, but he finds his dream destroyed by a murderous drug trafficker, Gator, and his gang of meth-making thugs.
Once again you have already seen this film with many other names. Jason Statham films are all more or less the same: really nasty bad people trying to kill really good (albeit a bit violent) people like our hero Jason and his 10-year old daughter.
Laugh all you want: I was once again glued to my seat. Does Jason Statham use a double? He sure can fist fight and shoot guns and do kick boxing and do somersaults and withstand water boarding (which according to President Cheney is NOT torture). What a hero!
There has to be a reason what these films are so popular. Putting snobbery aside, they are CONSISTENT. Story line manages to insert human interest, acting is reasonably good, car chases well filmed. Plant a radish, get a radish. You know what you are getting when you invest precious time in a Jason Statham film.
One of my many guilty pleasures.
From Netflix:
In the near future, when a technology corporation has created a method for traveling into the past, a history professor gets trapped in 1357 France, prompting his students and son to travel back in time and face untold perils to rescue him.
In yet another B-movie 30-year-old Paul Walker and 34-year-old Gerard Butler get to travel back to France during the Hundred Years’ War. (Old films certainly show us how quickly we age.) Who knows how historically accurate the life of that era is portrayed? At any rate this is NOT a film to be taken seriously. Just in case you don’t remember intimately the details of the Hundred Years’ War, you can always read the Wikipedia account from which the following quote is taken:
The Hundred Years’ War, a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453, pitted the Kingdom of England against the Valois Capetians for control of the French throne. Each side drew many allies into the fighting.
The war had its roots in a dynastic disagreement dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, who became King of England in 1066 while retaining possession of the Duchy of Normandy in France. As the rulers of Normandy and other lands on the continent, the English kings owed feudal homage to the King of France. In 1337, Edward III of England refused to pay homage to Philip VI of France, leading the French King to claim confiscation of Edward’s lands in Aquitaine.
Edward responded by declaring himself to be the rightful King of France rather than Philip, a claim dating to 1328 when Edward’s uncle, Charles IV of France, died without a direct male heir. Edward was the closest male relative of the dead king, as son of Isabella of France who was a daughter of Philip IV of France and a sister of Charles IV. But instead, the dead king’s cousin, Philip VI, the son of Philip IV’s younger brother, Charles, Count of Valois, had become King of France in accordance with Salic law, which disqualified the succession of males descended through female lines. The question of legal succession to the French crown was central to the war over generations of English and French claimants.
As far as this B-film none of that matters. Just grab some popcorn and chill out with the on-screen corn.
From Netflix:
In this exciting adventure based on true events that made international headlines, Tom Hanks portrays Capt. Richard Phillips, who is taken hostage by Somali pirates after they hijack his cargo ship, and the U.S. Navy’s efforts to rescue him.
After watching “Gravity” I knew I never wanted to be an astronaut. After watching “Captain Phillips” I am not sure I will ever get on a boat again. Do pirates seize ferries?
If you can’t stand unrelenting tension, danger, suspense, and excitement, then do not watch this film. It never lets up. Every second is somehow a new development without there being any repetition.
Acting is superb on all parts. All the pirates are played by Somali actors who present their parts to perfection: naïve greed, bravado, fear, panic, desperation, anger, and the list goes on. Tom Hanks comes across as truly human, crafty at first but finally after almost being shot a man in shock.
While portrayed as villains, the Somali men are also presented as not only greedy, but also as desperately poor and underfed men forced by warlords into piracy.
Historical accuracy has been questioned and you should read that discussion in the Wikipedia article on the subject.
You cannot help but feel pride as you watch our US Navy come to the rescue. But no, I don’t think I want to be a Navy seal.
“Captain Phillips” is a page-turner of a film. If you can stand the suspense then DO NOT MISS and hold onto your seats!
From Netflix;
Michael Fassbender stars in this thriller penned by iconic novelist Cormac McCarthy as an attorney who mistakenly believes he can dabble in the drug business without any consequences — only to find himself drowning in a nightmarish downward spiral.
With a few exceptions (“In Her Shoes”, “My Best Friend’s Wedding”) Cameron Diaz has been typecast as a slut. This film is not one of those exceptions. In fact she plays a well-dressed completely amoral woman that engineers sadistic deaths for several men and women. “Sadistic” here is not an exaggeration:
Does this sound like a sadistic gore contest?
Of course there are always the required sex scenes which in our current sex scene contest offers Cameron Diaz having sexual intercourse with an automobile. For kicks she then tries to confess to a Catholic priest who leaves the confessional in disgust.
You are hereby encouraged to SKIP THIS FILM!