TV Show Review - The Killing (Season 4)

Season: 4
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller/ Mystery
Number of episodes: 6
Year: 2014
Starring: Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, Gregg Henry, Tyler Ross, Joan Allen

Description: While covering up a secret, Linden (Mireille Enos) and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) are assigned a new case: a brutal case of a family with ties to a military academy.

Review: Season four begins after the terrible events of the final episode of season three. From then on, Holder and Linden must pull out at all stops to keep their lives as normal as possible. Above all, no suspicion must fall on them, and a small mistake lurks.

WARING! THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS I YOU HAVEN”T WATCHED THE PREVIOUS SEASON

Linden is struggling with the betrayal and loss of her lover. Consequently, her feelings are double in the face of his death. This very well portrayed by Mireille Enos. Her relationship with Holder is severely strained and a new gruesome case helps for a while.

Holder takes over the lead for a while and it works. He tells Linden what she should and should not so and emphasizes their position. Holder would, in this case, do everything for Linden. But he is also processing events, and as a former addict, that does not come easily to him. Both deal with a hard time at work, but also in their private lives. The new case weighs heavily on their shoulders.

The case they are dealing with is the family Stansbury, who is brutally murdered. Only the son, Kyle, manages to survive. He is a student at a military academy, and this is now his safe haven. The ice-cold head of this military school, Colonel Margaret Rayne, is one Holder and Linden have to deal with. Rayne does everything to keep Kyle safe.

This season only has six episodes, so not a lot of time to develop the same atmosphere and mystery as in the previous seasons. But still the case was interesting enough. It sadly never reaches the same level as the other seasons, but it has a very satisfying ending for Holder and Linden.

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 29: Room

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 118 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, Matt Gordon

Description: After five-year-old Jack(Jacob Tremblay) and his mother (Brie Larson) escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery.

Review: “Room” is based on the book by Emma Donoghue, who was inspired by the real life story of Austrian Josef Fritzl. He locked his own daughter up in a basement, for 24 years. Director Lenny Abrahamson turned it into a movie and Donoghue was asked to write the script.

Room is a shed where young Jack and his mother Joy live. For Joy it’s a prison, but for her five year old son it’s the only world he knows. Joy tries to make their life as normal as possible. She teaches him to read, they cook together, she tells him stories. At night Jack sleeps in a closet, while Joy has to please her abductor who they call Old Nick. Now that Jack is five, Joy thinks it’s the right time to tell him about the world outside Room, but Jack doesn’t believe her.

Although “Room” is inspired by true stories about abducted women who were kept captive, the abduction and captivity is not the main focus. More than a thriller, “Room” is a heartbreaking drama about the power of motherly love and the possibility to find light in the most darkest situations. The fantastic element about “Room” is that we see it through the eyes of Jack, how he sees Room and how he sees the world.

The strong acting is also the movie’s strength. Brie Larson won an Academy Award for her role and she very well deserved it. But also young Jacob Tremblay, what a promising talent. Their interaction is so convincing.

Although there is not as much time to tell the story as you get while reading the book, “Room” managed to do this very well. A movie that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Already a favorite of this year!

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Tip # 54: Hachi

Director: Lasse Hallström

Starring: Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Description: In Bedridge, Professor Parker Wilson (Gere) finds an abandoned dog at the train station and takes it home with the intention of returning the animal to its owner. He finds that the dog is an Akita and names it Hachi. However, nobody claims the dog so his family decides to keep Hachi.

Review: Parker finds a puppy and wants to return it to its owner. When no one claims the dog, he named Hachi, Parker and his wife Cate decide to keep him themselves. One day, Hachi follows Parker to the train station and ever since that day Hachi will wait for him when he returns at five o'clock. Everyone who comes to the train station knows Hachi. One day, when Parker collapses while working and dies from it, he doesn't return and Hachi is waiting for him at the train station. And he will return to that train station every day at five, for nine years long.
This story is so extraoridinay it's almost hard to believe it actually happened. Because it did. In real life it was in Japan, but Hachi really waited for his deceased owner for nine years long. When you own or owned a dog at one point in you life, you know what a bond you can develope with a dog. They are faithful, comforting and always there when you get home. The love a dog gives you is priceless. The bond between Parker and Hachi was so real and honest, so it broke my heart everytime Hachi walked to the train station and waited for him there. You have to be made of stone to not feel anything while watching "Hachi". Beautiful movie, amazing story.