Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 15, 2014

11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 15, 2014

Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown

SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS: 

NIGHTCRAWLER


By Sean Kayden

The House on Mango Street 
by Sandra Cisneros

Acclaimed by critics, beloved 
by readers of all ages, taught 
everywhere from inner-city grade 
schools to universities across the 
country, and translated all over the 
world, The House on Mango Street 
is the remarkable story of Esperanza 
Cordero. Told in a series of vignettes 
– sometimes heartbreaking, 
sometimes deeply joyous - it is 
the story of a young Latina girl 
growing up in Chicago, inventing 
for herself who and what she will 
become. Few other books in our 
time have touched so many readers.


Napoleon: A Life by Andrew 
Roberts

The definitive biography of the 
great soldier-statesman by the 
New York Times bestselling author 
of The Storm of War. Austerlitz, 
Borodino, Waterloo: his battles 
are among the greatest in history, 
but Napoleon Bonaparte was far 
more than a military genius and 
astute leader of men. Like George 
Washington and his own hero 
Julius Caesar, he was one of the 
greatest soldier-statesmen of all 
times .Roberts’s Napoleon is the 
first one-volume biography to take 
advantage of the recent publication 
of Napoleon’s thirty-three 
thousand letters, which radically 
transform our understanding of 
his character and motivation. At 
last we see him as he was: protean 
multitasker, decisive, surprisingly 
willing to forgive his enemies and 
his errant wife Josephine. Like 
Churchill, he understood the 
strategic importance of telling 
his own story, and his memoirs, 
dictated from exile on St. Helena, 
became the single bestselling 
book of the nineteenth century.
An award-winning historian, 
Roberts traveled to fifty-three 
of Napoleon’s sixty battle sites, 
discovered crucial new documents 
in archives, and even made the 
long trip by boat to St. Helena. He 
is as acute in his understanding 
of politics as he is of military 
history. Here at last is a biography 
worthy of its subject: magisterial, 
insightful, beautifully written, by 
one of our foremost historians.
Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists 
and the Seductive Lure of 
Human Rubble by Marilyn 
Johnson

 The author turns her eye and wit 
to the real life avatars of Indiana 
Jones—the archaeologists who 
sort through the muck and mire 
of swamps, ancient landfills, 
volcanic islands, and other dirty 
places to reclaim history for us all. 
Pompeii, Machu Picchu, the Valley 
of the Kings, the Parthenon—
the names of these legendary 
archaeological sites conjure up 
romance and mystery. The news 
is full of archaeology: treasures 
found (British king under parking 
lot) and treasures lost (looters, 
bulldozers, natural disaster, and 
war). Archaeological research 
tantalizes us with possibilities 
(are modern humans really 
part Neandertal?). Where are 
the archaeologists behind these 
stories? What kind of work do they 
actually do, and why does it matter? 
Marilyn Johnson’s Lives in Ruins 
is an absorbing and entertaining 
look at the lives of contemporary 
archaeologists as they sweat under 
the sun for clues to the puzzle of 
our past. Johnson digs and drinks 
alongside archaeologists, chases 
them through the Mediterranean, 
the Caribbean, and even Machu 
Picchu, and excavates their 
lives. Her subjects share stories 
we rarely read in history books, 
about slaves and Ice Age hunters, 
ordinary soldiers of the American 
Revolution, children of the first 
century, Chinese woman warriors, 
sunken fleets, mummies. What 
drives these archaeologists is not 
the money (meager) or the jobs 
(scarce) or the working conditions 
(dangerous), but their passion for 
the stories that would otherwise be 
buried and lost.

In “Nightcrawler,” 
writer/director Dan 
Gilroy examines the 
seedy world of freelance 
crime journalism in Los 
Angeles through the 
eyes of our peculiar protagonist. Gilroy makes 
his directorial debut here, but has penned several 
scripts over the years such as the most recent 
‘Bourne’ film. What really pushes Nightcrawler 
over the edge is an unhinged performance by 
Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s never been better as the 
creepy, morally questionable lead character, Lou 
Bloom. With a solid supporting cast consisting 
of Rene Russo (welcome back) and Bill Paxton, 
“Nightcrawler” is a sleek, dark, and persistently 
lively motion picture. Gyllenhaal channels De Niro 
a la Taxi Driver era. He’s relentless, eerie but also 
charismatic. Bloom is a desperate man looking for 
work who is deeply driven by making a name for 
himself. “Nightcrawler” might have a small and 
narrow story, but the electrifying performance of 
Gyllenhaal, who lost over 20 pounds for the role, is 
well worth checking out. 

 Lou Bloom is an odd man. He steals from 
construction sites to make money. However, when 
trying to get a job from the man buying off him, 
he replied with I don’t hire thieves. Unsure what to 
do to make money, Bloom pulls over at the scene 
of a car crash. He notices a two-man crew filming 
the CHP rescuing a woman out of her burning 
car. Inspired by the man (Bill Paxton), who tells 
him he’s a nightcrawler, Bloom seeks out a camera 
and police scanner. On his first outing, he gets 
great footage of someone bleeding profusely from 
an accident. He heads over to a news station and 
meets Nina (Rene Russo). Her station is in last 
place in the ratings, but Bloom piques her interest. 
His footage is graphic, but low picture quality. 
She pays him in the minimum, however tells him 
he’s a got a great eye. With additional suggestions, 
Bloom sets out to do such tasks including hire a 
driver/protégé. In no time flat, car crashes and 
murders become Bloom’s bread and butter. He goes 
from amateur (mickey mouse camera operator) to 
a top gun with professional chops. Things build up 
and Bloom’s never before scene footage becomes 
even more graphic and intense. He’s sneaking into 
homes and capturing video of crime scenes that no 
one has ever done before. 

 With everything transpiring, Bloom is a heavy 
communicator about business and the art of 
negotiating. He has some insightful dialogue 
with both Nina and his protégé. Bloom’s strong, 
forward, and overbearing demeanor has both 
characters cautious of his reckless quests. He’s 
restless in the pursuit of being number one in 
his newfound realm. Nightcrawler isn’t a dreary 
film. In fact, it boosts terrific cinematography 
that reminded me of the 2011 film, “Drive.” 
Perhaps, a “Drive” and “Nightcrawler” double 
feature will one day be played. In the end, 
“Nightcrawler” delivers the goods in a mostly 
dark and twisted sort of way. It’s a film that just 
begins where our lead is at in life. There’s no 
backstory. It keeps pushing forward. There may 
be no end game goal for Bloom. He wants to be 
#1 and continue to expand his new venture. Some 
might not like the rather brief and subtle ending. 
However, at the same token, it’s rather refreshing. 
“Nightcrawler” feels like a few chapters of a much 
larger story, but those few chapters take you for a 
spin unlike anything you could have imagined. 
Grade: 4.5 out of 5


On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra Madre Playhouse