2019, Amazon Prime, Bloody scenes, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, Dog episode, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-daughter relations, Government human experiment, Grim, Jealousy, Masturbation, Murder, Nudity, Rape, Revenge, Sci-Fi, Strange Ending, Violent

High Life (2019)

Leave a comment

From Amazon Prime:

Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his baby daughter, last survivors on a spaceship, hurtle to the oblivion of a black hole.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 53 minutes sci-fi film.

There is grim, and then there is REALLY grim.  Such a well-done film and such a downer! Certainly this film will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Because it was so well made that even as I was tempted to stop watching, I stayed till the end. Their country has sent a crew of death row inmates on a space journey to a black hole as a scientific experiment. One goal is to see if under controlled circumstances a fanatically determined woman doctor (the renowned Juliette Binoche) can use these male and female resources to produce another human being.  Again I repeat – this is one grim film. Even the sex scenes are grim.

Flashbacks are an integral feature of the plot. At the beginning we learn that indeed a beautiful healthy female child Willow was produced. Then we flash back to see how that all developed.

Throughout the story Willow’s father, Monte played admirably by Robert Pattinson, is a constant sane presence. Suspend disbelief because somehow Willow grows to an intelligent, emotionally mature teenager at the end of the film.

Expect an unusual ending. And if, for the third and final warning, you do not like grim, then stop, go no further, and proceed directly to another film.

2015, Amazon Prime, Drama, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Gay theme, Nudity, Panic Attacks, Strange Ending

Steel (2015)

Leave a comment

From Amazon Prime:

Strong emotions – fear and panic, self-search and isolation, love and sex, self-denial and self-discovery – a ride on an emotional roller coaster while trying to find one’s way into life.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 47 minute film.

“Steel” is the story of a gay man Daniel who is a successful, seemingly self-confident TV interviewer but who increasingly is beset with serious panic attacks. Eventually these panic attacks become so overpowering that Daniel abandons his job (in the middle of a live TV interview with a criminal) and becomes a recluse who is even afraid to go outside and shop for food.  Along the way Daniel seems to be stalked by another very young gay man Alexander who boldly forces his way into Daniel’s troubled life.  How Alexander helps Daniel is most of the plot.

WARNING: Gay sexual activity is explicitly filmed. In addition there is much nudity.  Forget safe sex entirely.

Probably the end of this well-acted film will shock you into asking yourself “Could that be?”

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Clever Plot, Comedy, Dancing, Fist Fight, Human Cloning, Masturbation, Netflix Streaming, Romance, Sex Scenes

Living With Yourself (2019)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

A man undergoes an experimental treatment to improve his life, only to be replaced by a new and improved version of himself, and must fight for his wife, his career, and his very identity.

From Netflix you can stream all 8 half-hour episodes of this series.

Paul Rudd plays 2 roles at once, namely Miles Elliot and his clone. There are comic moments. But it was the plot that was for me quite original. How on earth would the conflict between his two selves be eventually played out? Along the way expect some foul language, some sex scenes, and a wrestling match toward the finale.

Would you want there to be a clone of yourself that was somehow an improvement of your personality? Enjoy the basically innocent fun.

2013, Abuse of Women, Acceptable Trash, Amazon Prime, B-movie, Bad Acting, Crime, Murder, Police cover-up, Rape, Revenge, Romance, Sex Scenes, Terrible acting

Time of Death (2013)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

Following the death of CEO Robert Loring at precisely 10:44 pm, the FBI sends in Jordan Price, one of their best and brightest to solve the case. As other key executives are murdered at exactly the same time, Jordan finds herself investigating the past in order to solve the case. She quickly discovers the ultimate cover up and is under the gun to solve the mystery before the next victim is killed.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this film which lasts about 2 hours.

If it were not for the (eventually predictable) plot, this piece of acceptable trash would not be worth the price of admission. Kathleen Robertson as Jordan Price is a beautiful woman but not a beautiful actress.  Her sidekick is downright ordinary.

No point in wasting a lot of words in this review. You can find better.

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Acceptable Sci-Fi, Action Film, Aliens from outer space, Bisexual theme, Bloody scenes, Cancer theme, Computer geeks, Drugs, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-daughter relations, Good digital effects, Happy Family Gatherings, Mediocre, Melodrama, Mildly Violent, Mother-daughter relations, Nasty Aliens, Netflix Streaming, Nothing special, Nudity, Romance, Sci-Fi, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Suspense, Various Romances, Vulgar, Young Adults

Another Life (2019)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

Astronaut Niko Breckenridge and her young crew face unimaginable danger as they go on a high-risk mission to explore the genesis of an alien artifact.

From Netflix you can stream the only season made so far of this series. Each of the 10 episodes lasts about 45 minutes except for the first episode which lasts an hour.

What makes this mediocre (and possible waste of time) series  different is that it is mostly about the inter-relations of the VERY young crew. Along the way you hear a lot of technical space babble. Who knows if any of that jargon approaches reality?  One crisis after another plagues the crew. Fortunately with each crisis there is some far-fetched solution. In a way it makes for easy watching when every seemingly insurmountable problem has a quick and often hokey fix. Eventually there must be another season because the story is just taking off when the season comes to a halt.

When I was a kid I went every Saturday morning to a movie theatre and spent the outrageous entry fee of 20 cents  to see one cartoon, one comedy short, an episode of a series starring such wonders as Superman, and a full-length feature film.  Every episode of that series ended with our hero in some jam. Next episode gets the hero out of that jam only to trap him in another jam. Needless to say, I could hardly wait for the next week’s exciting episode. Similarly I was compelled to binge watch “Another Life” to see how the kids (as I said, a VERY young crew) solved the current problem.

At least it was a welcome break from all the crime stories.

 

2017, Alcoholism, British, Dark, Depression, Disturbing Image, Drama, Explicit sex, Farm Life, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Grim, Grungy, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Possibly depressing, Romance, Sex Scenes, Small British village, Yorkshire setting

God’s Own Country (2017)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

Spring. Yorkshire. Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path.

From Netflix you can stream this one hour 44 minute complete film.

Francis Lee won a Directing Award (World Cinema — Dramatic) at the Sundance Film Festival for this BAFTA-nominated film.

Yorkshire farming as vividly and unsparingly portrayed in this film shows what a grubby occupation such work really is.  No one it would seem gets to remain free of mucky mud for very long.

Meet the Saxby farming family: Johnny is the gay, lonely, desperate, dutiful son. Martin is the father now crippled by a stroke. Deirdre (played by the famous British actress Gemma Jones, who was 75 years old during the filming) is the mother.  What a cold, barely speaking trio they make! All the father does is bark out orders, despite his stroke impaired speech.  Affection does not fit into this unrelentingly grim world.

Lambing season arrives and so does the temporary Rumanian farm worker Gheorghe.  Watching Gheorghe do farm work is a pleasure. He seems to care about the “beasts” (as the family calls the animals). In one scene a lamb is born dead, which happens a lot. At the same time another newborn lamb needs a mother. So we watch (in unsparing detail) Gheorghe skin the dead lamb and wrap that skin around the orphan lamb so that the mother of the dead lamb will accept the orphan and allow it to feed.

As far as the gay theme goes,  the growing love between the two men is developed in remarkable subtlety.  Never in the film is it easy (or initially even possible) for Johnny to express himself openly. Johnny is probably one of the most repressed and inarticulate men you may ever encounter. Be prepared for full nudity and their initial somewhat violent sexual encounter.

To encourage you to enjoy this remarkable film I will reveal that the story, for all the intermittent setbacks, has a happy ending. So sue me for the mild spoiler!

 

2015, Acceptable for teenagers, Action Film, Action Hero, Cancer theme, Contract Killing, Father-daughter relations, Improbable details, Mad scientist, Mediocre, Merely acceptable, Mother-daughter relations, Netflix Streaming, Nothing special, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

Self/Less (2015)

Leave a comment

From IMDB:

An extremely wealthy man, dying from cancer, undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man. But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause

From Netflix you can stream this full-length film which lasts almost two hours.

Ryan Reynolds  plays the transformed real estate mogul (Ben Kingsley ) who now has a new body which he discovers to his horror belonged to a young father. This previous owner of the body sold his body in order to get money to treat his daughter’s illness. Now Reynolds must confront the grieving widow and her now healthy daughter in order to save all their lives from the ruthless transformation organization.

As you might expect from this typical, not very special story, you must suspend a fair amount of disbelief. Reynolds quickly discovers that he has the fighting fitness of the dead father. Moreover he never misses a shot when in gun battles with the bad guys. Without spoiling the plot, I will hint that the use of certain medical pills leads to a happy ending.

Not a complete waste of two hours.

 

2016, Acceptable Trash, Amazon Prime, Amusing banter, British Comedy, Coarse manners, Comedy, Crude Talk, Eccentric cast of characters, Explicit sexual discussion, Extramarital Affair, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Flirting, Love Story, Mostly About Sex, Outrageous Behavior, Personal Betrayal, Religious Theme, Romance, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Vulgar

Fleabag (2016)

Leave a comment

From Amazon Prime:

Fleabag is a hilarious and poignant window into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, grief-riddled woman, as she hurls herself at modern living in London. Award-winning playwright Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes and stars as Fleabag, an unfiltered woman trying to heal, while rejecting anyone who tries to help her and keeping up her bravado all along.

From Amazon Prime you can stream 2 seasons of this comedy series. Each season consists of 6 episodes. Each episode lasts about a half hour.

Indeed this is a genuine laugh-out-loud series. At the same time it is easily one of the most vulgar shows I have ever seen. Sex is ostensibly the only theme of the entire series. However, you have to watch both seasons to get to the real hidden sad emotions of the lead female character who is labeled simply as Fleabag. Along the way the plot breaks some taboos such as her attempt to seduce a Roman Catholic priest (played by the talented and adaptable  actor Andrew Scott ).

Without the facial expressions of Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) this show would be nothing. Throughout the series she speaks in theatrical asides to us, the audience. One clever final gimmick is that when she is talking to the priest and does an aside to us, the priest keeps asking her “where did you just go?” You might think her constant facial tricks get tiresome, but somehow for me they always worked.

If you are not offended, this story is contagiously hilarious.

2007, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Accidental Death, Action Film, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Cold Cases, Contract Killing, Cooking, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, DNA, Drug Dealers, Extramarital Affair, Father-daughter relations, Financial malfeasance, Forensics, Gangs, Gay theme, Happy Family Gatherings, Jealousy, jiu-jitsu, Kidnapping, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Pedophilia, Physical child abuse, Police Corruption, Prostitutes, Rape, Revenge, Sadism, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Swedish Detective, Thriller, Torture, Violent, Weapons Dealer, Wife Beating

Irene Huss (2007)

Leave a comment

From MHz Choice:

From the best-selling crime fiction of Helene Tursten, Irene Huss is a ju-jitsu champion, a mother, and a detective inspector. Her husband, Krister, is a successful chef and luckily for Irene, he gladly shoulders a fair share of the household tasks. In her work with the Violent Crimes Unit in Gothenburg, Irene encounters criminal minds of all stripes: from drug dealers to serial killers to psychotic young girls. Each new case challenges her assumptions about herself and others.

From MHz Choice (only foreign films with subtitles) you can stream 2 seasons of this Swedish crime series. Each season offers 6 episodes where each episode lasts approximately 1.5 hours.

As is common in so many detective series, the main police investigator is constantly interrupted when she is with her family of devoted husband Krister  and two daughters.  Running through all the episodes is the theme of her family life and her husband’s career as a chef. Often, in sometimes threatening ways, the husband and daughters become involved in Irene’s investigations. At times the lives of all four family members are in danger.

Repeatedly throughout the series we see Irene engaged in jiu-jitsu training which goes hand-in-hand with her many physical combats with criminals.  Irene is portrayed as somewhat of a superwoman who is always ready to chase on foot after a villain even if she should be suffering from some injury. Just suspend disbelief and enjoy the action sequences.

Expect a lot of nasty crime and violence. Expect ugly and explicit details of brutality, including rape and torture. This is not a series for the faint of heart.

On the positive side it is a pleasure to watch Irene’s happy family together. Also each story is so compelling and suspenseful that I could not stop watching each episode.

2015, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Beautiful Seaside Town, British Mystery Series, Detective, Eccentric cast of characters, Flirting, Forensics, Gay theme, Mediocre, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Small British village, Surfing, Suspense

The Coroner (2015)

Leave a comment

From Amazon Prime (Brit Box):

A high-flying lawyer returns, after a messy divorce, to the small town she escaped as a teenager to take up the post of Coroner. She finds herself thrown together with her old flame who broke her heart twenty years ago – now the local policeman – and they are forced to work together.

If you want to see the offerings from Amazon Prime’s Brit Box then you have to subscribe separately to Brit Box which is very inexpensive.

Brit Box offers 2 seasons of “The Coroner”.  Each season offers 10 episodes. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes and is a complete story.

Jane Kennedy is the coroner and Davey Higgins is the local policeman and her old love. He is married and faithful although he only mentions his wife whom we never see.  All 20 episodes show this pair flirting and discussing their old life in this small,  beautiful English seaside town named Lighthaven.  Her mother has a lover. They are a bawdy couple who together run a seaside pub.

As crime series go, this one is somewhat mediocre, easy on the emotions and never very violent. Think “Doc Martin” plus a few murders.