Netflix Friday - Volume 93

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Jackass 3 (2010)
Johnny Knoxville and company return for the third installment of their TV show wsin-off, where dangerous stunts and explicit public displays rule.
 

Drama: Reign Over Me (2007)
A man (Adam Sandler) who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate (Don Cheadle). Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.
 

Comedy: How to Be a Latin Lover (2017)
Finding himself dumped after twenty-five years of marriage, a man (Eugenio Derbez) who made a career of seducing rich older women must move in with his estranged sister (Salma Hayek), where he begins to learn the value of family.
 

Animation: Trolls (2016)
After the Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy (Anna Kendrick), the happiest Troll ever born, and the curmudgeonly Branch (Justin Timberlake) set off on a journey to rescue her friends.
 

Romance: Barefoot (2014)
The ‘black sheep’ son (Scott Speedman) of a wealthy family meets a young psychiatric patient (Evan Rachel Wood) who’s been raised in isolation her entire life. He then takes the naïve young woman home for his brother’s wedding.
 

Horror: Truth or Dare (2018)
A harmless game of truth or dare among friends turns deadly when someone begins to punish those who tell a lie or refuse the dare.
 

Science Fiction: Star Trek Beyond (2016)
The crew of the USS Enterprise explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy, who puts them, and everything the Federation stands for, to the test.
 

Crime: American Gangster (2007)
An outcast New York City cop (Russell Crowe) is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
 

Thriller: Knowing (2009)
M.I.T. professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) links a mysterious list of numbers from a time capsule to past and future disasters and sets out to prevent the ultimate catastrophe.
 

Documentary: The Tinder Swindler (2022)
Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, he wooed women online then conned them out of millions of dollars. Now some victims plan for payback.
 

Family: Peter Pan (2003)
The Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Never Land where an ongoing wat with the evil Pirate Captain Hook (Jason Isaac) is taking place.

Movie Review - The Tinder Swindler

Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjoholm, Ayleen Charlotte
 
Description: Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, he wooed women online then conned them out of millions of dollars. Now some victims plan for payback.

Review: From the makers of “Don’t F**k with Cats”, Netflix drops the must-see docu “The Tinder Swindler”. In it you see how ‘dream guy’ Simon uses the dating app to swindle women worldwide for millions. A few victims strike back. A bizarre and exciting documentary.
Watching the first thirty minutes of “The Tinder Swindler” it takes effort not to do ‘victim blaming’. With cheesy music playing in the background, Norwegian Cecilie explains why Beauty and the Beast was always her favorite fairytale: a story about a village girl who hopes for something grater and meets someone who can save them. Then you’re heat how Cecilie stumbled upon attractive Israeli Simon Leviev on Tinder: the son of a super-rich diamond trader with a life of luxury that includes travel, private jets, fast cars, designer clothes and five-star hotels. Swipe right! Their first coffee date takes place at London’s fancy Four Season hotel and luckily: the rich playboy looks exactly like his pictures. They also hit it off immediately and the conversations soon become personal. After an hour, Simon asks Cecilie if she’d like to fly with him to Bulgaria, where he has a business meeting. And she says yes.
You can hear Cecilie say “I’d be stupid if I said no”. The Norwegian is so overjoyed by this great date that she hadn’t thought of bad scenarios at all. She does find it a bit remarkable that Simon’s ex and their two-year-old daughter are also traveling to Bulgaria with them. But her answer is still: YOLO. A nice adventure. After a few more dates, bouquets of roses and a shitload of Facetime conversations they make their relationship official. And not much later, Simon asks Cecilie to movie in together. He just can’t go with her to view houses, because of his business trips. It’s admirable how vulnerable Cecilie makes herself by sharing these details, her own naivety and complete Whatsapp history with the world. Especially when things turn around and you discover how Simon, with lies about life-threatening threats, also gets her to wire money to him. A lot of money. Goodbye dream, hello nightmare.
In “The Tinder Swindler” more of Simon’s victims tell their story. And the further you get into the documentary, the more absurd it becomes. The money that Simon extorts from one person, he spends on expensive vacations with another. For a long time, he gets away with it because of the cunning way he takes in his Tinder matches. Everything about this guy seems legit, with fake photos and Google posts confirming his stories. The documentary becomes extra exciting from the moment Cecilie tells the press. This sets in motion an investigation and a series of events through which she comes into contact with fellow victims and the police. Although it turns out to be quite difficult to catch the traveling con man. The Dutch Ayleen Charlotte plays an important role in this, but I will not spoil that.
This is your typical “this will never happen to me” story. This guy knew exactly what he was doing and how to convinces gullible women to send him large amounts of money without asking questions. And he can keep his billionaire, jet-set life.
“The Tinder Swindler” is just under two hours long, but it flies by and doesn’t bore you for a second. The way the timelines and stories of the woman are interwoven, you are eagerly awaiting the denouement. The bizarre ending also makes it clear why it is so important that Simon’s victims share their stories. It’s an absolute must-see documentary.

Rating: 4/ 5