Wednesday, 17 October 2012

lockeattica_author.jpg2Historical tourism delivers a personal view of the past, but Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season also shows us the ugly parts of our history. And how important it is that we don’t forget the bad, no matter how uncomfortable we feel.

The Cutting Season takes place on at Belle Vie, a beautiful antebellum plantation between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana. Belle Vie’s breathtaking vistas make it a perfect destination for weddings, parties and other festive events.

Belle Vie also started out as a slave-owning plantation. Its sugar fields, vegetable gardens and the mansion were all tended by slaves.

That history is also a part of the history of Caren Gray, who manages Belle Vie. Caren’s great-great grandfather was a slave who, along with his family and fellow slaves, worked the plantation. The irony that Caren is now in charge of Belle Vie is lost on this African-American woman.

Attica Locke’s discussion about The Cutting Season as well as her background as a scriptwriter and her affinity for crime fiction were just a few things that we discussed in the profile that runs in the current issue of Mystery Scene.

Attica Locke's the Cutting Season
Oline Cogdill
attica-lockes-the-cutting-season

lockeattica_author.jpg2Historical tourism delivers a personal view of the past, but Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season also shows us the ugly parts of our history. And how important it is that we don’t forget the bad, no matter how uncomfortable we feel.

The Cutting Season takes place on at Belle Vie, a beautiful antebellum plantation between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana. Belle Vie’s breathtaking vistas make it a perfect destination for weddings, parties and other festive events.

Belle Vie also started out as a slave-owning plantation. Its sugar fields, vegetable gardens and the mansion were all tended by slaves.

That history is also a part of the history of Caren Gray, who manages Belle Vie. Caren’s great-great grandfather was a slave who, along with his family and fellow slaves, worked the plantation. The irony that Caren is now in charge of Belle Vie is lost on this African-American woman.

Attica Locke’s discussion about The Cutting Season as well as her background as a scriptwriter and her affinity for crime fiction were just a few things that we discussed in the profile that runs in the current issue of Mystery Scene.

Friday, 12 October 2012

sevenpsychopaths_movie2.jpgA major aspect in any work by Irish playwright, screenwriter and director Martin McDonagh is great gobs of pitch black humor.

Comedy so dark and yet so rich that it is nearly impossible to stop a laugh, a giggle, a guffaw from escaping.

Wit like a bar of chocolate that is 98% cacao, which means it is indeed an acquired taste but one that can be savored.

I use that allusion to chocolate for a reason because no matter how horrible the events in one of McDonagh’s works become—and they can get pretty dreadful—there also is a bit of sweetness somewhere to temper all that dreadfulness.

sevenpsychopaths_movie1.jpgxxSometimes you have to look closely for that sweetness, but it’s there, from the dysfunctional mother and daughter in his brilliant play The Beauty Queen of Leenane to the torturous—and torturing—soldier mourning the death of his best friend, who happens to be a cat, in the equally brilliant play The Lieutenant of Inishmore. At the heart of his fascinating and bleak play The Pillowman is a heartfelt relationship between two brothers.

In his second feature film as a screenwriter and director, McDonagh allows that bit of sweetness to seep into Seven Psychopaths courtesy of Bonny, the beautiful little shih tzu who is adored in the most profanity-riddled terms of endearment that owner Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson) can muster.

Bonny is the only love of Charlie’s life and the little guy’s kidnapping pushes Charlie to brink of uncontrollable revenge and violence. Not that Charlie, clearly the main psychopath in all this, was all that clear-headed to begin with.

sevenpsychopaths_movie4.jpgBefore I go any further, I must say that while there is a lot of violence and blood in Seven Psychopaths, Bonny—who acts as the film’s moral center—is never harmed. If he were, I don’t know how I could have explained that to our little Houdini, the black and white fluff ball of love at left. Bonny is the tan and white dog.

Bonny is the latest target of a rag-tag gang of dognappers that include Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Hans (Christopher Walken). The pair kidnaps dogs and then returns them for the reward money. That’s all well and good until they take the wrong dog, the beloved Bonny. Somehow the hard-drinking screenwriter Marty (Colin Farrell) is drawn into the scheme.

The movie is called Seven Psychopaths for a reason and there are indeed seven. Some are real; others are figments of Marty’s imagination and part of the screenplay he can’t quite get off the second line of his legal pad.

A Buddhist psychopath who then becomes an Amish psychopath and finally a Quaker psychopath is a running gag throughout the movie.

McDonagh seems to be having a lot of fun with his many allusions to genre standbys of action films and crime dramas. His deranged wit mixes the sensibilities of Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino with his own approach.

Those who appreciate Pulp Fiction, 2 Days in the Valley and Dexter may find much to like in Seven Psychopaths. A movie with the name Psychopath in its title and starring Walken and Harrelson almost seems redundant and both actors make the most of their roles. Harrelson—who is psychopath No. 3—is clearly the worst of the lot and his performance often borders on the clichéd, but that seems to be the point. Walken almost tamps down his usual crazy persona as he plays a loving husband whose wife is dying of cancer.

Grungy handsome Farrell again shows that he’s not just a pretty face but an insightful actor who can toss off witty one liners as well as show that there is a writer hiding behind Marty’s alcoholic haze.

houdinijuly20125xI am beginning to think that Rockwell never plays a normal character, but that is fine. His out of control Billy, who has a lot of secrets, is one of his best psychopaths. And the bunny-cradling Tom Waits, as another psychopath, is searching the world for his true love who dumped him, breaking his heart but leaving him surrounded by rabbits.

Seven Psychopaths is not all dark humor. It also is a violent, bloody movie. Still, only one death—and, no, it is not an animal—is gratuitous and chilling and seems so unnecessary. At the same time, this scene reinforces that Seven Psychopaths is about some very dangerous people from whom no one is safe.

But Seven Psychopaths also is about the unconditional love of little Bonny...well, that, and McDonagh’s dark humor.

Seven Psychopaths rated R for strong violence, bloody images, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and some drug use.. Running time: 110 minutes.

Photos: Top: Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken in Seven Psychopaths; second photo: Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, and Sam Rockwell; third photo: Bonny; fourth photo: Houdini Cogdill-Hirschman. Photos of Seven Psychopaths courtsey CBS Films.

Seven Psychopaths Review: Three Stars
Oline Cogdill
seven-psychopaths-review-three-stars

sevenpsychopaths_movie2.jpgA major aspect in any work by Irish playwright, screenwriter and director Martin McDonagh is great gobs of pitch black humor.

Comedy so dark and yet so rich that it is nearly impossible to stop a laugh, a giggle, a guffaw from escaping.

Wit like a bar of chocolate that is 98% cacao, which means it is indeed an acquired taste but one that can be savored.

I use that allusion to chocolate for a reason because no matter how horrible the events in one of McDonagh’s works become—and they can get pretty dreadful—there also is a bit of sweetness somewhere to temper all that dreadfulness.

sevenpsychopaths_movie1.jpgxxSometimes you have to look closely for that sweetness, but it’s there, from the dysfunctional mother and daughter in his brilliant play The Beauty Queen of Leenane to the torturous—and torturing—soldier mourning the death of his best friend, who happens to be a cat, in the equally brilliant play The Lieutenant of Inishmore. At the heart of his fascinating and bleak play The Pillowman is a heartfelt relationship between two brothers.

In his second feature film as a screenwriter and director, McDonagh allows that bit of sweetness to seep into Seven Psychopaths courtesy of Bonny, the beautiful little shih tzu who is adored in the most profanity-riddled terms of endearment that owner Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson) can muster.

Bonny is the only love of Charlie’s life and the little guy’s kidnapping pushes Charlie to brink of uncontrollable revenge and violence. Not that Charlie, clearly the main psychopath in all this, was all that clear-headed to begin with.

sevenpsychopaths_movie4.jpgBefore I go any further, I must say that while there is a lot of violence and blood in Seven Psychopaths, Bonny—who acts as the film’s moral center—is never harmed. If he were, I don’t know how I could have explained that to our little Houdini, the black and white fluff ball of love at left. Bonny is the tan and white dog.

Bonny is the latest target of a rag-tag gang of dognappers that include Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Hans (Christopher Walken). The pair kidnaps dogs and then returns them for the reward money. That’s all well and good until they take the wrong dog, the beloved Bonny. Somehow the hard-drinking screenwriter Marty (Colin Farrell) is drawn into the scheme.

The movie is called Seven Psychopaths for a reason and there are indeed seven. Some are real; others are figments of Marty’s imagination and part of the screenplay he can’t quite get off the second line of his legal pad.

A Buddhist psychopath who then becomes an Amish psychopath and finally a Quaker psychopath is a running gag throughout the movie.

McDonagh seems to be having a lot of fun with his many allusions to genre standbys of action films and crime dramas. His deranged wit mixes the sensibilities of Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino with his own approach.

Those who appreciate Pulp Fiction, 2 Days in the Valley and Dexter may find much to like in Seven Psychopaths. A movie with the name Psychopath in its title and starring Walken and Harrelson almost seems redundant and both actors make the most of their roles. Harrelson—who is psychopath No. 3—is clearly the worst of the lot and his performance often borders on the clichéd, but that seems to be the point. Walken almost tamps down his usual crazy persona as he plays a loving husband whose wife is dying of cancer.

Grungy handsome Farrell again shows that he’s not just a pretty face but an insightful actor who can toss off witty one liners as well as show that there is a writer hiding behind Marty’s alcoholic haze.

houdinijuly20125xI am beginning to think that Rockwell never plays a normal character, but that is fine. His out of control Billy, who has a lot of secrets, is one of his best psychopaths. And the bunny-cradling Tom Waits, as another psychopath, is searching the world for his true love who dumped him, breaking his heart but leaving him surrounded by rabbits.

Seven Psychopaths is not all dark humor. It also is a violent, bloody movie. Still, only one death—and, no, it is not an animal—is gratuitous and chilling and seems so unnecessary. At the same time, this scene reinforces that Seven Psychopaths is about some very dangerous people from whom no one is safe.

But Seven Psychopaths also is about the unconditional love of little Bonny...well, that, and McDonagh’s dark humor.

Seven Psychopaths rated R for strong violence, bloody images, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and some drug use.. Running time: 110 minutes.

Photos: Top: Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken in Seven Psychopaths; second photo: Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, and Sam Rockwell; third photo: Bonny; fourth photo: Houdini Cogdill-Hirschman. Photos of Seven Psychopaths courtsey CBS Films.

Wednesday, 10 October 2012


georgegently_britishseriesGeorge Gently: Series 4. Acorn Media. 2 episodes on two CD. 178 minutes. $39.99.

The British culture of the 1960s fascinated me when I was growing up.

I so embraced the music, the hairstyles, the clothes and everything else about England.

The Beatles were my favorite (I was a Paul Girl and still am.) But I also loved Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and all of them. I wanted to be a girl drummer like Honey Lantree of The Honeycombs. I wore my hair like Jane Asher, straight and with long bangs. I devoured the Mary Quant fashions. And I bought Yardley’s Oh! de London cologne (I wonder what I would think of that today). And yet, I was just a kid from a small town in Southeast Missouri.

The England of the 1960s seemed like such an exotic land to this farm girl.

But it really wasn’t.

England gave us the best music of the time and the edgy fashion but it had the same concerns as any you’d find in small-town America.

The British series George Gently, now on DVD, isn’t just a highly entertaining police procedural. It also is a glimpse of the 1960s, examining our recent history and how we dealt with the situations.

George Gently is based on the Inspector Gently novels by Alan Hunter that debuted in 1961 with Gently Go Man.

GeorgeGently4_DVDproductDebuting on BBC in 2007, the series stars Martin Shaw as Gently, and Lee Ingleby as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus, his younger partner with the Paul McCartney haircut. Simon Hubbard mans the police station front desk as PC Taylor.

In the novels, Gently and his squad operated out of Norfolk, England, while the TV series has moved the action to Northumberland and County Durham. The series’ fifth season is set to continue later in 2012.

The episodes deliciously portray the yin and yang of the detectives’ approaches: the world-weary experience of George Gently and the novice, know-it-all approach of John Bacchus. John is often ready to wrap up a case on the surface evidence while George often sees there is more to the case than they have uncovered.

While both men have compassion for the victim, John sees that some cases have shades of grey while George is strictly black and white.

The Series 4 that I screened has two very distinct and very involving episodes.

“Goodbye China” is a heartbreaking story that involves the death of a former informant, two young hoodlums and a mentally handicapped school. The story has so many layers that are well explored.

“Gently Upside Down” is about the murder of a student who was poised for a bright future. The story also shows the call of fame that arose from local teenage music shows, men who prey on the naivete and trust of teenage girls, pop music and the youth moment.

I can’t wait to see more of George Gently and John Bacchus.

PHOTO: Lee Ingleby as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus,left, and Martin Shaw as George Gently. Acorn Media photo

Review: George Gently
Oline Cogdill
review-george-gently


georgegently_britishseriesGeorge Gently: Series 4. Acorn Media. 2 episodes on two CD. 178 minutes. $39.99.

The British culture of the 1960s fascinated me when I was growing up.

I so embraced the music, the hairstyles, the clothes and everything else about England.

The Beatles were my favorite (I was a Paul Girl and still am.) But I also loved Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and all of them. I wanted to be a girl drummer like Honey Lantree of The Honeycombs. I wore my hair like Jane Asher, straight and with long bangs. I devoured the Mary Quant fashions. And I bought Yardley’s Oh! de London cologne (I wonder what I would think of that today). And yet, I was just a kid from a small town in Southeast Missouri.

The England of the 1960s seemed like such an exotic land to this farm girl.

But it really wasn’t.

England gave us the best music of the time and the edgy fashion but it had the same concerns as any you’d find in small-town America.

The British series George Gently, now on DVD, isn’t just a highly entertaining police procedural. It also is a glimpse of the 1960s, examining our recent history and how we dealt with the situations.

George Gently is based on the Inspector Gently novels by Alan Hunter that debuted in 1961 with Gently Go Man.

GeorgeGently4_DVDproductDebuting on BBC in 2007, the series stars Martin Shaw as Gently, and Lee Ingleby as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus, his younger partner with the Paul McCartney haircut. Simon Hubbard mans the police station front desk as PC Taylor.

In the novels, Gently and his squad operated out of Norfolk, England, while the TV series has moved the action to Northumberland and County Durham. The series’ fifth season is set to continue later in 2012.

The episodes deliciously portray the yin and yang of the detectives’ approaches: the world-weary experience of George Gently and the novice, know-it-all approach of John Bacchus. John is often ready to wrap up a case on the surface evidence while George often sees there is more to the case than they have uncovered.

While both men have compassion for the victim, John sees that some cases have shades of grey while George is strictly black and white.

The Series 4 that I screened has two very distinct and very involving episodes.

“Goodbye China” is a heartbreaking story that involves the death of a former informant, two young hoodlums and a mentally handicapped school. The story has so many layers that are well explored.

“Gently Upside Down” is about the murder of a student who was poised for a bright future. The story also shows the call of fame that arose from local teenage music shows, men who prey on the naivete and trust of teenage girls, pop music and the youth moment.

I can’t wait to see more of George Gently and John Bacchus.

PHOTO: Lee Ingleby as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus,left, and Martin Shaw as George Gently. Acorn Media photo