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On Chesil Beach (2017)
Emotionally Charged Film of Love & Loss. Strong Performances but Slow.
Emily Watson's performance in this film is strong, she delivers the intensity and range of emotions that we have come to expect from her. The film itself however is lacking. The narrative is predictable and rather uneventful as sans for a few scenes at the beach it takes place entirely with the four walls of their previous home. This is 3/4 drama mixed with 1/4 romance. There is no real supernatural aspects or nods to sci-fi in this film other than the fact that the child is a ghost. He doesn't look like a ghost and is able to travel outside the home etc. This is really a film about love and loss.
Currently divorced and estranged, a couple begins to fall in love again when they are reunited while clearing out their old home when their deceased 5 year old son appears and remains in the home. After seeking the advice of a psychic the husband is told that his son has unfinished business that needs resolving and that it is his job to discover just what this is and then help him move on. This of course presents a conflict of interest for him as a father because he cannot bear to lose him again. This is the gist of the film. It is slow-moving and emotionaly-chargedl.
Intervention (2005)
Unsuspecting Addicts Duped Into Interventions
Individual participants of all ages who are addicts are paid to be in what they believe is a show documenting their unique struggle with addiction, which it is. Whey do not know is that it will end in an intervention with friends/family. At the intervention they are offered the chance to attend an upscale in-patient rehab facility in a state other than where they live followed by the option to enter a sober-living facility for further treatment. This show is raw, transparent, gritty, as these people are at rock bottom and desperately in need of help. After all, they are in a position in which they are having to be tricked into an intervention.
I've been watching this show since its inception so it's pretty clear that I'm a fan, but from the scores it would appear that I am in the minority. The show has been on for so long, using the same format ( a.k.a tricks and setup) that it's hard for me to believe at this point that there is anyone who hasn't seen the show to fool anymore. If anyone asked me if I wanted to be in a documentary about addiction I would immediately suspect it was this show. Some episodes are more interesting than others, the deeper into their addiction they are the more interesting it is In my opinion. The episodes consist of interviews with the people who have asked the show for the intervention; family, friends, etc. There's the backstory on the addict and how they grew up, information on their past traumas and contributing factors. These interviews are conducted without the knowledge or consent of the addict. The majority of the episode consists of the film crew following the addict day to day. Obtaining and consuming their drug of choice, stumbling, staggering, fighting, sometimes even overdosing. You see not only how it affects them but also those around them. Their last "interview" is actually the intervention. They show up unaware that they will face a room full of loved ones offering them the opportunity of a lifetime, but that is not always the spirit in which it is received. Sparks generally fly as the participants feel ultimately betrayed. At the intervention they are offered the opportunity to go to an insanely upscale rehab center, followed by sober living free of charge. For those who accept the help the show ends with a 90 day follow-up at their facility. An interview as to how things are going, how they are feeling and what their future plans are.
You Are Wanted (2017)
Heart-Pounding, Fast-Paced, German Cyber-Thriller.
"You are wanted" is a heart-pounding, fast-paced, German cyber thriller. There is the original German version with subtitles, which is the default, as well a link to the dubbed (in many languages) version of the film. I didn't initially notice there was a dubbed version, and had been watching the original. I re-watched episode one of the dubbed version, but the voice-overs were over-emphasized and not at all convincing. I don't mind subtitles, so I stuck with the original.
Unless you are living in a time capsule that is entirely free of cell phones, laptops, iPads and digital devices, this series is one that will most likely have you looking over your shoulder and changing your passwords. Being "plugged in," to the degree that we are in today's society, certainly gives cause for concern when it comes to our digital footprint and online security. This series capitalizes on the fears and insecurities we have surrounding our privacy. It shows us just how exposed and vulnerable we really are.
"You Are Wanted" is a fast-paced, action-packed, thriller that takes place in modern day Berlin. Lukas Franke, the main character, is a young, intelligent, hotel manager with a wife and son. He finds his life slowly unhinged, piece by piece, by unknown cyber attackers who infiltrate and twist every file on record about him, framing him for a crime he did not commit. This of course puts in jeopardy both his personal and professional relationships, threatening even the ones most dear to him, his relationships with his wife and son. But are these hacktivists simply out to ruin Lukas' life as part of some personal vendetta, or is there more to their agenda here, a bigger picture involving a greater "good," perhaps?
The first episode opens with a man who frantically sets fire to a room full of various mediums of data, and then to himself, before jumping out a high-rise window to his death. We aren't told who he is, or why he is doing this, but it is clear that this mysterious hacktivist is central to the story-line.
Immediately following this, we see Berlin experiencing a complete blackout, also caused by these "hacktivists". Lukas is at the hotel working when the blackout hits, and is tasked with calming a conference room full of frightened and irritated participants. One man there becomes particularly angry, and it is he who makes the first move that sets the game in motion. It is at this time that Lukas first, unknowingly, meets the man who will takeover his identity.
Amidst this turmoil, Lukas meets a mysterious woman who tells him that she too is being set-up by these very same hacktivists, but it is unclear to Lukas whether she is telling the truth and can be trusted. Hoping that he hasn't just made the biggest mistake of his life, he joins forces with her, in an attempt to identify these unknown hacktivists and stop them before it's too late for both of them.
Meanwhile, Lukas' wife is hard at work as an artist when she is contacted, and subsequently commissioned, to illustrate the characters in a video game for the man who created it. Her son falls in love with the game, and is unwittingly drawn in as a pawn, becoming part of something much deeper.
The series has many twists and turns, features a great cast, and the characters are all very relatable. Part of what makes this series almost entirely believable is the fact that all of this mayhem is occurring in the lives of average, everyday, people. People that could just as easily be you or I. Lukas, and those closest to him, are being pulled into this vortex of chaos, tasked with solving this mystery, while at the same fighting for their lives.
The further down the rabbit hole the story-line takes you, the better this series gets. This race-against-time, thriller, is a "think for yourself" series, there is no spoon-feeding of plots here. Which is another reason that I really enjoyed this series.