Monday, March 30, 2015

The Snowman

The Snowman (Harry Hole, #7) tags: mystery-crime, Norwegian, serial killer

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Book description from Goodreads
Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf.
Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother—and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised—and constantly revised—by the killer.
Fiercely suspenseful, its characters brilliantly realized, its atmosphere permeated with evil, The Snowman is the electrifying work of one of the best crime writers of our time.
A movie apparently will be made based on this chilling novel and fans started an online discussion as to who will be best to play Harry. Their number one choice is the Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård. The movie is originally to be directed by IMHO the most overrated director, Martin Scorsese. I didn't like the idea because he might cast his favorite actor, Leonardo diCaprio as Harry *I shudder at the thought*. Thankfully Scorsese is replaced by Norwegian director, Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) and I hope the producers and director will resist the urge to cast a bankable but "short-in-stature" American actor as Harry Hole.

Let's take a look at Harry's statistics and the only 2 actors that are almost perfect to play him:

Harry Hole
Norwegian
age in The Snowman: almost 40 (born in 1963)
height: 6 feet 2 inches
eye color: blue
hair color: blonde

Trond Espen Seim
Norwegian
43 years old
height: 6 feet 2 inches
eye color: blue
hair color: blonde

I vote yes yes yes to Trond. He may be a few years older but he has the correct height, eyes, and hair. He also has acting credentials as a police detective playing the Norwegian P.I. Varg Veum.  

Seim_956103a 

Alexander Skarsgård
Swede
38 years old
height: 6 feet 4 inches
eye color: blue green
hair color: light brown

My second choice. Although Alexander is nearer Harry's age, he's much too pretty and too tall.

Alexander Skarsgard

Monday, March 23, 2015

Two Korean Movies - The Pirates AND Kundo: The Age Of The Rampant

Korean movies currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon.

The Pirates


tags: period action and comedy
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Brief description from Amazon.com
On the eve of the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, an unprecedented robbery shocks the nation-in-waiting: a whale has swallowed the Emperor's Royal Seal, and a bounty placed on its retrieval. Now, every infamous gang of thieves, thugs, pirates, and government agents take to the seas, battling the elements, creatures of the deep, and each other to possess the mother of all rewards.
Kundo: Age Of The Rampant


tags, period action, comedy, and drama
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from wikipedia
The year is 1862. The late Joseon dynasty was a period of social and economic unrest in Korea, and it was also a time of great tyranny. Due to continuous natural disasters and poor harvests, poverty, hunger and death are rampant. The aristocracy rule the country and, concerned only with their own wealth, they exploit and persecute the poor.In these turbulent times, a band of fighters named Kundo rise against the authorities. They raid corrupt officials, then share their booty with the vulnerable and impoverished. While the king stands powerless against them, Kundo becomes a figure of fear to undeserving nobles, and a ray of hope in the lives of long-suffering citizens. The members of Kundo believe that their cause is more important than their own lives.
Highlight: final battle between the butcher [wielding two large meat cleavers] and a master swordsman.