Aravind Adiga has written this novel (276 pages in paperback) in the first person of an Indian servant to a wealthy Indian. It won the Man Booker prize of 2008 (but don’t all published books these days win some prize ?). As such it is a witty or sarcastic criticism of many of the problems in India: poverty, corruption, class divisions, etc. The book pretends to be a succession of letters that “The White Tiger” (the name the protagonist assigns to himself) has written to the Premier of China to explain the unfortunate culture of India. If anything, the theme is that of an individual brain-washed into accepting his “inferiority” who fights to rid himself of that image. At times outrageous, funny, violent, call this merely an entertaining read.
Sin Nombre (2009)
From NetFlix:
Fleeing retaliation from the violent Central American street gang he has deserted, young hood Casper (Édgar Flores) boards a northbound train, where he takes refuge on top of the moving freight cars and hopes for a fresh start in a new country. Dodging authorities and other dangers, he finds a new friend in Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a Honduran girl also making a run for the American border. Cary Fukunaga directs this foreign-language thriller.
In Spanish with subtitles, this grim tale of the desperate desire to escape a hopeless life in the poor, gang-ruled parts of Mexico makes for some difficult watching. You can read about the plot in the
Wikipedia article. I had hoped that article would confirm that the film is an accurate portrayal of life in parts of Mexico. Unfortunately the only quote of note from this article was the following:
The film was shot in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Several of the extras used in the film were actual migrants. Fukunaga said of working with them, “I didn’t have to tell them anything – they know how to sit on top of a train.”
Someone once defined “morality” for me as “that which you must do to receive the approbation of those around you”. Keep this in mind while you watch the behavior of the gang members.
The Back-Up Plan (2010)
From NetFlix:
When Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) tires of looking for Mr. Right, she decides to have a baby on her own. But on the day she’s artificially inseminated, she meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin), who seems to be just who she’s been searching for all her life. Now, Zoe has to figure out how to make her two life’s dreams fit with each other. Alan Poul directs this hilarious, heartfelt tale of confusion, confession and romantic slapstick.
As “Chick Flicks” go, this film offers some funny slapstick as well a worthwhile theme. Basically the film is about trusting other people, something with which Zoe has real problems. Stan is a very sympathetic character who sincerely does the best he can with the situation at hand.
Waking The Dead (2000)
From NetFlix:
A British version of CSI, this International Emmy-winning series follows the cold case unit, a team of top police investigators who use modern techniques to solve old murder cases. Led by Det. Peter Boyd (Trevor Eve), the group includes cops and scientists. They all combine forensics, psychology and old-fashioned police work to get results, but their jobs are on the lin, as they’ve been given only one year to prove their worth.
AUGUST 2019 UPDATE:
From Amazon Prime you can now stream 9 seasons. Each season has between 8 and 12 episodes. Each self-contained story consists of 2 episodes.
Because many of the stories are quite GRIM, Kathy stopped watching. But the plots are so gripping that I could not stop watching. Finally Boyd is forced to retire and the series ends.
In contrast with most British crime series, the crime solving team of characters remained constant except for one notable staff death and her replacement.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
So far on DVD you can watch 4 seasons of this wonderful British detective series. In my opinion, this British version is better than the American CSI. You get to know and enjoy all the personalities. There are many seasons not yet available from NetFlix. If you go to Wikipedia, you can get a rundown of ALL the episodes from all the years. You will discover there that over the long series the characters change (some die, etc). The one charater that is constant is Det. Peter Boyd whose personality is one of an impetuous almost bullying man who after a while goes through psychoanalysis to improve his relations with his subordinates.
Kathy and I could not wait to see each episode. Enjoy!
George Gently (2007)
From NetFlix:
After the hit-and-run murder of his wife, London police officer George (Martin Shaw) moves to England’s North Country to find the killer. Feared by criminals and corrupt cops, George works closely with his partner, John (Lee Ingleby), to stop lawbreakers of all types. Set in 1960s Britain, this drama is based on Alan Hunter’s novels and features guest stars such as Richard Armitage, Phillip Davis and John Kavanagh.
After watching , Waking The Dead (2000) we yearned for a British detective series that offered attractive and memorable personalities. Red Riding Trilogy (2009) was grim in the extreme. The “George Gently” stories (series 1 offers 3 CDs, series 2 offers 4 CDs) are a good compromise. Martin Shaw’s character is mature, thoughtful, and great at sarcasm. His foil Lee Ingleby is perfect as a brash and impetuous young policeman who is usually nonplussed at George’s retorts. Be aware, however, that there are some ugly spots. For example, the very first CD does have instances (NOT explicit) of torture.
Red Riding Trilogy (2009)
Those of you with weak hearts or stomachs should not watch this three part British crime series. The three parts are:
- Part 1: 1974
- Part 2: 1980
- Part 3: 1983
Loosely based on the facts surrounding Britain’s notorious Yorkshire Ripper case, this grim thriller, Part 1 in the television adaptation of David Peace’s novels, uncovers rampant police and civil corruption in mid-1970s Northern England. Girls are disappearing, the Yorkshire community is abuzz with gossip and fear, and a young reporter (Andrew Garfield) is suspicious when a mentally handicapped immigrant is fingered for the heinous crimes
After six years of vicious unsolved murders, Manchester policeman Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) arrives in West Yorkshire to supervise the Yorkshire Ripper investigation, along with a copycat killer case, in this second installment of the Red Riding trilogy. Meanwhile, he must also deal with local police corruption and his struggle to remain faithful to his wife while working closely with his ex, fellow investigator Helen Marshall (Maxine Peake).
When the current case of a missing 10-year-old becomes linked to the abduction and murder of Clare Kemplay in 1974, investigators torture the man who found Clare’s body in an effort to learn more in this final installment of the Red Riding trilogy. Meanwhile, solicitor John Piggott’s (Mark Addy) conversations with the man found guilty of the old abduction points to a wrongful conviction and a search for the real murderer.
Each part is self-contained. Cynical in the extreme, these hopeless portraits deal with insurmountable official corruption at every level: police, journalists, politicians, businessmen, etc. At times the violence is difficult to watch.
Two items of interest: One reader has supplied an interesting bit of Yorkshire history that may explain the title. Also, because the plots are somewhat complicated, there is a Wikipedia article.
So why would you ever watch such a difficult theme ? Because these three gems are just about perfect in every way, provided you can stand to watch.
Triage (2009)
From NetFlix:
Colin Farrell stars in this psychological drama about a photojournalist who returns home from a harrowing news assignment without the colleague who’d accompanied him. Now, his girlfriend (Paz Vega) will not rest until she finds out what took place. Bosnian helmer Danis Tanovic, whose No Man’s Land won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, directed this taut, dark drama shot on location in Ireland
Colin Farrell does an acceptable job portraying a grief-striken man in a state of denial. The war scenes in Kurdistan are grim. The title is perfect and refers in part to the beginning of the film in which a Kurdish battlefield doctor with almost no equipment routinely shoots all wounded men in horrible pain for whom he can do nothing. You must wait until the end of the film to learn why Colin Farrell is in such psychological pain.
Important topic but a somewhat mediocre film.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)
From NetFlix:
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and rebellious computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) team up to investigate the unsolved disappearance of wealthy Henrik Vanger’s (Sven-Bertil Taube) teen niece (Ewa Fröling), only to uncover dark secrets about Vanger’s powerful family. Niels Arden Oplev directs this Swedish thriller based on the first novel from Stieg Larsson’s best-selling trilogy.
Note: This 2009 version is the Swedish version.
Currently (2010) Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy is very popular. After having read the first of the trilogy, namely The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2005), I preferred the book to the film. Although there were many moments of good acting, in general there was also an awful lot of thoughtful staring (which in today’s films seems often like a substitute for more active acting). To control length the film omits many details from the novel. While not necessary, these details connect the books of the trilogy to one another.
Lisbeth Salander is striking. What was a surprise for me that the actor playing Mikael Blomkvist is a somewhat paunchy, not at all handsome, and often hesitant man. To his credit he shows fear when he should. To say it another way, he is NOT a macho character.
Needless to say, the film does preserve in explicit detail the famous scene in which Lisbeth’s lawyer guardian rapes her, together with her ingenious revenge.
La Mission (2009)
From NetFlix:
Ultra-macho ex-con Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) learns the true meaning of being a father when he discovers his son (Jeremy Ray Valdez) is gay. Rivera turns violent at first, but when a beautiful neighbor (Erika Alexander) helps him see through his anger, he begins to reconcile his long-held beliefs. Peter Bratt (Benjamin’s brother) writes and directs this compelling drama, while Max Rosenak and Talisa Soto co-star.
Being gay in the macho latino culture is especially difficult. Peter Bratt’s story brings to life a part of that latino culture in Los Angeles which was for me a revelation. For example, a weekend ritual of Che and his friends is a slow parade of restored and exuberantely decorated automobiles which ends with a large outdoor gathering of friends for dancing and talking. Che is especially adept at restoring cars and has been working on a special auto for years as a way of encouraging his bright son to work hard in school. This son is the most important thing in the life of his widowed dad. To suddenly discover that this boy is gay (especially in a macho culture) might well destroy the father’s world.
Actually the real theme of the film is the prevalence of violence in this culture: husbands commonly beat their wives, men fight alot, teenagers are drawn to gang violence and guns, etc.
Benjamin Bratt is perhaps better known to us in 95 episodes of “Law and Order” as Detective Rey Curtis. He does an excellent job in this film.
Passengers (2008)
From NetFlix:
When therapist Claire Summers (Anne Hathaway) starts working with the surviving passengers of a plane crash, she discovers that their individual accounts of the tragedy differ significantly from the airline’s official version. As Claire digs deeper for the truth, beyond the airline’s sanitized statements, the survivors suddenly begin to vanish, leaving her swimming in a dark abyss of intrigue and conspiracy.
Give this somewhat mediocre mystery suspense film a “B”. Patrick Wilson (best seen in Little Children (2006)) has fun flirting with Anne Hathaway while she expends a fair amount of energy resisting.
Basically the entire film drives to an ending that had a big enough surprise to catch me unawares (although I had some suspicions).