Author: Jeff Mitchell

‘Lamb’: Challenging circumstances flock to this intriguing Icelandic character study

Jeff Mitchell

“Lamb” – Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) are committed.  They are committed to each other and their chosen vocation.  This husband and wife are sheep farmers with a barn full of the said fuzzy, adorable animals, and Maria and Ingvar nestled themselves in an Icelandic valley.  This place might be 5,000 km from the North Pole, but it seems closer to heaven.  Their homestead sits by itself with zero neighbors in sight, and if you sent out scouts to run marathons in every direction, they wouldn’t stumble…

Movie of the Week: ‘Let the Right One In’

Jeff Mitchell

“Let the Right One In” (2008) – Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) doesn’t have a friend.  Bullies emotionally and physically push around this 12-year-old loner (who sports a blonde-haired 1960s George Harrison haircut) during the day and his mom leaves him to his own devices afterwards.  She works nights, so he has plenty of free time.  However, his world changes after a brief encounter with Eli (Lina Leandersson).  She just moved in next door, and one evening, she meets him at their apartment complex playground and asks him questions and vice-versa.  Are…

Celebrate Clive Owen’s birthday with ‘Croupier’

Jeff Mitchell

Clive Owen turns 57 years young on Oct. 3, and this suave and reliable actor has been starring on the big screen for 33 years.  Let’s celebrate the man’s birthday, by looking back at his breakout film, “Croupier”. Happy Birthday, Clive, and thank you for your cinematic work!  “Croupier” (1998) – Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is a writer, a struggling one.  Yes, that’s a seemingly eternal and cliché story for writers, but there’s a long thread of truth and history with such claims.  While Jack grapples with putting pen to…