Tag: Central Intelligence Agency

Sneak Peek: Hanna Behind the Scenes

Hi all…

Hanna has been one of the films I’d read about and seen bits and pieces on over the last few months, but hadn’t made up my mind about. The premise is interesting. An intelligence asset (Eric Bana) raises his daughter (Saoirse Ronan) on the run and in harsh conditions above the Arctic Circle so that they can presumably get revenge on the CIA agent (Cate Blanchett) who made them run in the first place… I’m sure I’m oversimplifying that, but it wasn’t the backstory that made it interesting for me. The concept of raising a child in isolation to be a survivor, but also a killer almost has a twister fairy tale aspect to it.

Here’s the synopsis:

Award-winning director Joe Wright creates a boldly original suspense thriller with HANNA, starring Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones, Atonement) in the title role.

Raised by her father (Eric Bana of Star Trek), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Finland, Hanna’s upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own (Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett). As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity.

And here’s the behind the scenes clip, which features some interviews with director Joe Wright and stars Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett.

Question: What do you think? Is this one you’ll go and see when it hits theaters on April 8, 2011?

–Fitz

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New Show on USA Network in July – Covert Affairs

Hi all…

Just got news that there’s a new spy-based series coming to the USA Network in July. I’m already a huge fan of Burn Notice, so hopefully this series will be good too…

It’s called Covert Affairs, starring Piper Perabo as new CIA agent Annie Walker and Christopher Gorham as blind tech-ops expert Auggie Anderson.

Here’s the preview:

And here’s the summary:

New jobs are tough- especially when your new employer is the CIA. Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) is fluent in six languages, has traveled all over the world and is besting her fellow CIA trainees in every test, but that doesn’t explain why she’s suddenly summoned by CIA headquarters to report for active duty as a field operative a month before her training is over. What she doesn’t know is there may be something-or someone-from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. With the help of Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham), a tech ops expert who was blinded while on assignment and is Annie’s unofficial guide to this inscrutable world filled with intrigue, danger, and bureaucratic red tape, this quick study won’t be kept in the dark for long.

Looks interesting! I’m sure we’ll be checking it out come summertime!

–Fitz

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Book Review: The Chameleon Conspiracy by Haggai Carmon

Hey there…

Even James Bond would probably have a hard time chasing down The Chameleon. Haggai Carmon’s agent Dan Gordon chases The Chameleon around the world by following money and clues, eventually uncovering a terror plot that is much larger than any single person.

Do you think of international finance or fraud investigation as being interesting? Neither did I. How about a fraud investigator for the US Department of Justice with ties to Mossad? Ok, now we’re getting warmer. Now what happens if we add in a terror plot with sleeper cells in the United States? Now I’m hooked.

For the last 20 years, author Haggai Carmon has held a number of intriguing jobs: international attorney, undercover intelligence operative for a number of U.S. federal agencies, husband, father, and author of the Triple Identity and The Red Syndrome, the first two Dan Gordon novels. Now with The Chameleon Conspiracy, he’s done an amazing job weaving the complex areas of money laundering and fraud investigation with international intrigue to make a compelling, page-turning story.

Agent Dan Gordon, over the course of a number of months, travels from the United States to Australia, Europe, and the Middle East to try and track down a mysterious Albert C. Ward III who bilked money from a number of investors throughout the US. His investigation eventually finds him working with the FBI, CIA and Mossad as they attempt to discover just how deep the conspiracy goes…

I’m a huge spy novel fan, but have to admit I haven’t read any for a while. The last one I read was Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, a James Bond novel set during the 1960s at the height of the Cold War. The Chameleon Conspiracy takes place in the present political climate, using our post 9/11 world to take us to dangerous hubs of terrorism and anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, Iran, and elsewhere.

It’s nearly impossible to review this book without giving too much away. Suffice it to say that if you’re looking for an entertaining, but intricate spy novel, I can’t recommend The Chameleon Conspiracy enough. Now I have to go find the other Dan Gordon books by Carmon to catch up! Find it at your favorite local bookseller or online retailer.

–Fitz

p.s. Click below to check out this and other Haggai Carmon books at Amazon!

    

 

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