OT: "The Gentlemen" (Now) and "Spenser"(In March)

I continue a tradition going back at least to the 70's of going to "crime movies" for an evening's or afternoon's entertainment.

This habit brought me some of my favorite movies of all time, sometimes -- Bullitt, Dirty Harry, Charley Varrick. And other times, it just sort of passes the time. Schwarzenegger in the mob undercover man film "Raw Deal" comes to mind. And Clint Eastwood in the minor and silly action of "The Gauntlet"(with a shoot out finale on the streets of a Phoenix Arizona that in 1977 already didn't look a bit like the Phoenix of Psycho in 1960.) And Charles Bronson in "Mr. Majestyk." And Stallone/Kurt Russell in "Tango and Cash." 48 HRS and Lethal Weapon feel like they were bigger deals, and Die Hard from the same makers holds on as a blockbuster AND a classic (rather the North by Northwest of the 80's, with Alan Rickman wonderfully in for James Mason.)

Last week, I picked "The Gentlemen" for the pedigree(Guy Ritchie, back from blockbuster duty to re-visit his London gangster movie past) and the cast (Matthew McConaghey, sporting his arch "Wolf of Wall Street" line readings as an American among Brits -- and Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell as "names.") But mainly I picked it for being a crime movie with action.

Ritchie shares with Scorsese a sort of skill with the handling of film - all sorts of fast motion/slow motion, wild motion tricks that I have no idea how he pulls off, but the movie feels special because of them. And he shares with QT(modernly) and the great original Get Carter a sense of everyday gangster tough talk. I enjoyed The Gentlemen for what it was -- plotty, non-PC, violent when necessary -- but: its not much above the crime actioners of my youth in impact. But this: A middle-aged Hugh Grant has lost almost all of his irritating eye flutters and tics - and now has Michael Caine's middle-aged career ahead of him if he wants it(Mr. Caine is pushing 90 alas.)

Meanwhile: I've read that there's a "Spenser for Hire" movie coming out in a few weeks. Legitimate star Mark Wahlberg has the part and -- "close, but no cigar."

The Spenser novels were a guilty pleasure of mine for about two decades. As quick to read as a screenplay, more spare and direct than Elmore Leonard, yet pithy and funny and punchy, these books were GREAT pick-ups at airports for a quick read on a flight or in a hotel room. The big problem, I found, was finding the right actor to play Spenser on screen. They never came close enough . He "read" as a mix of Richard Boone and Burt Reynolds, but Boone was too rough(and soon, too dead) and Reynolds was too cute(for awhile, more on that in a moment.)

They hired cutie pie Robert Urich to play him on TV the first time. All wrong. Then they tried Joe Mantegna on cable. WORSE.

I rented a "book on tape" were an aged Burt Reynolds READ the Spenser role, and that came as close as ever.

But Wahlberg is too slight and youngish. Even if he's pushing 50, I suppose.

Still, I'll probably go. It will be yet another "quickie crime movie" to while away a couple of movie hours and -- ya never know. Maybe Wahlberg will be the right Spenser, after all. (With his erudite black partner in crime-solving and self-defense killing, Hawk, played by...?)

Memories of funny "self narration writing" by Spenser:

"I left my hotel room and walked around a four block radius searching for clues. I found no clues. I had a sandwich(great detail about the contents here), walked around a different area looking for clues and found none. I went back to my hotel room and took a nap."

OR:

"We're here to warn you to stay off the case, Spenser. Or we will hurt you."
"Eeek."

OR:

(Laying down the facts for a kid of about 16.) Sorry, kid, but its time for you to realize that both of your parents are no good, they will never help you, and you should never contact them. From here on out in your life, you are on your own. But I can help you, and I can put you in contact with others who can help you, too."

Etc.

Spare. Funny. Erudite. Tough. Spenser.