Arkansas (2020)
Arkansas
Streaming Tuesday, May 5, on VUDU and Fandango
A pair of Southern drug dealers, provides a vantage point for John Brandon's fictional 2009 comedy-crime novel. Appearing as one of two naive dealers is Clark Duke’s Swin (Duke co-wrote and directs this adaptation). Liam Hemsworth portrays Swin's confederate, Kyle. Both men are pawns controlled by Bright (John Malkovich), who gives them cover jobs as junior park rangers. Swin immediately disobeys Bright, persuading pretty Johnna (Josh’s daughter, Eden Brolin) to hop into bed. Further up the chain, Vivica Fox plays Bright’s boss, a rung beneath Vince Vaughn as Frog, the syndicate's ruthless crime lord. The story unfolds in five, non-chronological chapters that heighten the tension and create several cliffhangers. Aiming for a Tarantino-meets-Coen-Brothers vibe, Duke acquits himself well enough on all counts.
Intrigo: Samaria
Streaming Tuesday, May 5 on AppleTV+
Writer/director Daniel Alfredson adapts the second story in a trilogy from bestselling author Hakan Nesser. This is not Alfredson’s first bite at the apple, having previously adapted and directed 2018’s Intrigo: Death of an Author, which, despite starring Ben Kingsley, received an abysmal 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps equally damning, Birgitta Bongenhielm once again stars, and co-authors as before. She portrays Paula, who decides to make a documentary about the murder of her friend Vera, a decade after it happened in college. Paula asks her former professor Henry (Andrew Buchan) to help. Tension mounts as Paula and the professor draw ever-closer, only to discover that each harbors dark secrets that may be linked to Vera's death.
