 I recently did a post on some of favorite crime writers, and was just getting into Jo Nesbo’s books, set mainly in Oslo. Now I’ve read them all. As far as I can tell, only “Headhunters” has been made into a movie. It’s a stand-alone, not one of the ten Harry Hole stories, but it’s exactly like the book, and it’s recommended (although subtitled). Moral choices are dubious with this cast of characters! Another author (who I haven’t read) is Liza Marklund; her Swedish crime reporter Annika Bengzton is a fearless single mom. Swedish TV have done at least six of her stories, available on Netflix as “Annika Bengzton: Crime Reporter.” Each installment is 1-½ hours; two to a disc. Not as dark as Nesbo, but very good as thrillers! Finally, on the subject of crime series, I have a non-Scandinavian recommendation, especially for anyone who enjoyed the Australian series “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries,” which had a lighter touch. It’s “Murdoch Mysteries,” set in Toronto in the 1890s. At first, I found the titular police detective to be a bit dull, though very smart. He’s tres handsome, but a bit of a science nerd. Over the course of a few episodes, the show develops the same cast chemistry and almost whimsical approach that made “Miss Fisher” so much fun.  
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 I finally saw “Hell or High Water,” which has been doing excellent business as an independent film, and is now generating Oscar buzz. It’s about two brothers in rural Texas (“Star Trek”’s Chris Pine, and Ben Foster, who was so nasty in the “3:10 to Yuma” remake a few years ago). They’re small-time bank robbers, and are pursued by a grizzled old sheriff (Jeff Bridges) and his Cherokee/Mexican partner.
The story is by Taylor Sheridan (“Sicario”), and reminds me a lot of Jeff Nichols’ “Mud,” which was one of the Matthew McConaughey resurgence films a few years ago. (Nichols’ new film, “Loving.” is generating major Oscar buzz.) It shows us the American South as a poor place, with jobs gone and banks repossessing land. These brothers are desperate, not intrinsically bad, people, who have no choices left. The film gives us both their, and the sheriff’s, points of view. It’s about circumstance, not moral judgement. All the actors are superb, and the cinematography and direction (by British guys!) captures the feeling of desolation brilliantly, with road signs focused on debt and loans. It’s not a formula film, and helps us understand the feelings of the dispossessed in what have become Red states. Our establishment hasn’t paid attention to these folk. A timely movie!  Recently, I saw an article that made the case that the remake of “True Grit” by the Coen brothers was superior to the original, which starred John Wayne. This is the stuff of endless discussions about movies. When the original is very old, it probably feels that a new version, with currently popular actors and the latest technological improvements, is a commercially viable proposition. This didn’t work out too well for last summer’s “Ghostbusters.” There’s another King Kong movie coming, and I hope it’s good, but even Peter Jackson couldn’t capture the thrill of the 1933 original. I absolutely loved the ‘98 Alfonso Cuaron version of “Great Expectations.” I’d put off seeing it for years because I just wasn’t that excited about Gwyneth Paltrow, who was featured in the poster. But later, after “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Children of Men” and “Gravity” had cemented Cuaron as a master (not to mention his cinematographer, triple Oscar-winner Emmanuel Lubezki), I finally saw it. Ms. Paltrow was no less than stunning in the part of the beautiful but spoiled and cold-hearted Estella. The male protagonist, whose name is changed from Pip to Finn, was ably portrayed by Ethan Hawke. Other versions of the story have been faithful to Dickens’ book, set in 19th Century England, but Cuaron updated it to the present day, and reset it in Florida and New York. After that, I had to watch the version I remembered from childhood, David Lean’s 1946 black & white classic, available as a Criterion disc. The distinguished critic Leonard Maltin considers Cuaron’s update mediocre, because it misses much of Dickens’ narrative; I understand his point, as the modernizing of the story required a serious re-write. Maltin considers Lean’s version among the best movies ever made. Lean’s version was moody and gorgeous, and those of us who love to watch B&W classics, and appreciate that the man who would go on to make “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago” and other masterpieces, will have to agree. 17-year old Jean Simmons made her debut as the younger Estella. Valerie Hobson, as the adult Estella, can’t match the Vivien Leigh-type fire Simmons had. John Mills, a sturdy British actor, also seems a bit old for the part of the adult Pip. Alec Guinness hints at his future greatness as Pip’s friend and roommate, a relatively minor part. I have to call this a draw, overall; Cuaron truly remakes the story, and Paltrow really makes you understand Pip’s, I mean Finn’s, longing. On a less prestigious level, I enjoyed the French film “Nathalie,” about a girl of the night who’s hired by a well-off wife to seduce her husband, whom she suspects of infidelity. What does he want from his lover? This doesn’t go where you might expect; it’s a sensual mind game between the women. So, I was delighted to see it remade by multiple Cannes award winner Atom Egoyan, who resides in Canada. He renames it “Chloe,” and dials it up to what I’d call an erotic thriller. The cast is excellent, with the delectable Amanda Seyfried as the titular character, the always-effective Julianne Moore as the wife, and Liam Neeson as the husband. There is a scene where Chloe stares into the camera; Seyfried’s eyes are remarkable. “Nathalie,” which has an excellent French cast, is worth seeing for it’s fresh story, but “Chloe” does it better   Commercial directors can do very well. Ridley Scott, for example, has been very successful doing commercials and movies. Harmony Korine and Nicholas Winding Refn do so well with commercials that they can afford to make films that may or not be, uh, commercial. Korine made a big splash with “Spring Breakers,” which featured several former Disney girls in bikinis, behaving badly. James Franco has an out-there part as a Florida drug dealer with whom these bad girls get involved while on Spring Break. The film is a testament to youthful exuberance, to say the least. It also goes completely bonkers. The Spring Break scenes feature hormonal urges let loose. It’s also a curious bit of female empowerment; our heroines aren’t victims, but players. Refn (who puts a “NWR” logo on his films, much like Creed Taylor used to imprint his jazz productions “CTI”) is typically even darker. His “Bronson” (with Tom Hardy) and “Drive” (with Ryan Gosling) are pretty brutal. His latest, “The Neon Demon,” got wildly mixed reactions at Cannes. Elle Fanning (who was cast at 16) plays a naive but beautiful girl who comes to L.A. to get into modeling; she was captivating in the part. It’s a bit of a horror movie, ultimately, as her character discovers that they’re not kidding when they say it’s a “cutthroat business.” Why would you watch these? For starters, Korine and Refn are successful doing commercials because of their art direction, lighting and editing. Many young filmmakers are studying their every move. They can finance their own films, and, win or lose, keep going. It’s pretty cool.  |
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