Stieg Larsson’s phenomenally successful Millennium trilogy bought gritty Scandinavian thrillers to the world’s attention, which has undoubtedly benefited Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbø. Famed for his pitch-black Harry Hole crime-thriller series, Nesbø is particularly skilled in crafting the flawed good-guy character (Hole, a brilliant detective, is also a heavy smoker and an alcoholic), an art that is clearly evident in Morten Tyldum’s adaptation of Nesbø’s 2008 stand-alone novel “Headhunters.”
Going up against James Cameron’s seemingly indestructible Titanic (in 3D no less) at the box office this Easter weekend is an eclectic selection of foreign fare. Jo Nesbo’s deliciously dark thriller Headhunters leads the way, ably supported by French classic and the first foreign language film to be nominated for Best Picture La Grande Illusion and fellow gallic offering Le Havre. If three dimensions or reading subtitles sounds like too much of a stretch, then fairy tale fluff Mirror Mirror offers respite (and ridiculous eyebrows).
crash/burn 