Escape to the Movies: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
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Personally, I loved this movie. It's easily in my top 10 favorite movies of all time, no doubt about it. I also loved the American version of Let the Right One In (Let Me In). I've been meaning to catch the Swedish versions of each, and the books, because if they're anything like the American ones (in terms of story, etc), they're gonna be very enjoyable.
*Edit* I edited the crap out of my original post, this ought to be my final edit.
*Edit* I edited the crap out of my original post, this ought to be my final edit.
I love the joke about Ellen Page and Michael Cera, it's so awful it becomes good. The rimshot is what makes it work.
I enjoyed following the story of the movie but the rape scene was a bit more than I could handle. It made me feel sick. It's funny though, we put warnings on movies with naughty words and labels on James Bond films for their "explicit depictions of violence" but movies like these get the same warnings. Somehow I feel the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan or the rape scene from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo seem to be in different categories than the violence shown in typical action flicks or the occasional tame sex scene that makes it into a rated R flick.
I get the impression you haven't really read the books. Is that the case?
Maybe it's just the fact you're a movie critic, not a book critic, so you wouldn't really get into the book. But you did that with the Ayn Rand movie so I'm not so sure if thats the case.
Maybe it's just the fact you're a movie critic, not a book critic, so you wouldn't really get into the book. But you did that with the Ayn Rand movie so I'm not so sure if thats the case.
The violence in this movie is not the usual movie violence people are comfortable with. It's ugly and disturbing. It hurts so watch the rape scene, there's no question that it was anything but a violent and brutal assault. The Salander in this version (and the book) is not someone who can turn to the system for help. The only justice she can look for is what she dishes out herself. (She's not a healthy person.) Her revenges are just as scary and brutal as the acts that she's responding to. The only thing that makes them watchable is knowing that her victims deserved it. You can look at this movie as David Fincher punching below his weight. But on the other hand, he's one of the few directors who can pull off something like this without softening the effect.
I can sympathize with Swedish speakers who cringe at what's supposed to pass for Swedish accents even though I'm American and can't hear the flaws. I just know how painful it is to watch most British productions made for British audiences with British actors trying to sound American. Just accept that if you speak Swedish you were not the intended audience for the atrocious Swedish accents.
I can sympathize with Swedish speakers who cringe at what's supposed to pass for Swedish accents even though I'm American and can't hear the flaws. I just know how painful it is to watch most British productions made for British audiences with British actors trying to sound American. Just accept that if you speak Swedish you were not the intended audience for the atrocious Swedish accents.
The aristocrats are the villains, oh noes!
Ha ha ha, well, movie bob has brought out a lot of tropes and points that have annoyed me greatly about films this year.
For one, I am getting quite tired of the main characters being brilliant at so many things. Martial arts, being a detective, computer hacker. It just starts to get ridiculous for me. The skills could be filled by other characters, which could add more to the film, but no, the Mary Sue can do all, she never fails at anything. I like warrior-women characters, monks, assassins etc, but to mix that with other really different skills sets makes me think, hmm, would she really be good at any of them? She is too busy trying to look good.
The second thing is style, I just can't take a character seriously as an intelligent, highly capable woman, whom looks like some trend-obsessed teen sporting a style mixing goth with punk with emo (never smiling). Shallow thugs used to look like this! Now the heroine? The main character is meant to be some sort of near idiot savant (with computers and mysteries), well since when did that get changed to idiot (fashion sense) savant? Are we just meant to go with this?
I fell like it is the type of film/novel etc, that mixes just enough things together, in the right amount to be insanely successful, and I had heard how good it was from young women. Taken together, as Bob says, it just seems ridiculous.
Ha ha ha, well, movie bob has brought out a lot of tropes and points that have annoyed me greatly about films this year.
For one, I am getting quite tired of the main characters being brilliant at so many things. Martial arts, being a detective, computer hacker. It just starts to get ridiculous for me. The skills could be filled by other characters, which could add more to the film, but no, the Mary Sue can do all, she never fails at anything. I like warrior-women characters, monks, assassins etc, but to mix that with other really different skills sets makes me think, hmm, would she really be good at any of them? She is too busy trying to look good.
The second thing is style, I just can't take a character seriously as an intelligent, highly capable woman, whom looks like some trend-obsessed teen sporting a style mixing goth with punk with emo (never smiling). Shallow thugs used to look like this! Now the heroine? The main character is meant to be some sort of near idiot savant (with computers and mysteries), well since when did that get changed to idiot (fashion sense) savant? Are we just meant to go with this?
I fell like it is the type of film/novel etc, that mixes just enough things together, in the right amount to be insanely successful, and I had heard how good it was from young women. Taken together, as Bob says, it just seems ridiculous.
This gets a recommendation? I watched the Swedish movie and I though it sucked massive ass. Yes, it raised some issues. Yeah, I suppose the rape scene could be confronting for some people. But the plot was one of the most cliche piles of crap I have ever seen, and the characters were horribly two dimensional. Unless the book and this new movie hugely differ from the original film adaptation, I don't see how this is worth watching. I know Bob is a movie critic and therefore gives the cinematography consideration as well as the plot, but please Bob, raise your standards. It seems like you're grateful whenever you come across anything that isn't painfully bad, and that qualifies it for a recommendation. If I'm going to watch something at the cinema, I don't want it to be "not terrible", I expect it to be "good".
Okay, this is coming from someone who hasn't read the books or looked up any spoilers, so my guess is the main baddy is
Whoever the old guy is that asks him to find out who the murderer is
Liked the book, liked the sweedish version, will probably see and like this version.
However, after listening to the review, the one thing that sticks out as most memorable: Pewpatwators (aka Elmer Fudd's "perpetrators") Right at the 2:50 mark. Seriously, go give it a listen.
However, after listening to the review, the one thing that sticks out as most memorable: Pewpatwators (aka Elmer Fudd's "perpetrators") Right at the 2:50 mark. Seriously, go give it a listen.
I'll watch this at some point because:
1) It's Fincher.
2) Let Me In pleasantly surprised me.
I do however find that the source material is too dependant and relevant to Swedish society, which is probably why Fincher decided to not even attempt to move it to America, which makes it unnecessary as a project. He should have based his movie much more loosely on the novel in my opinion and made something of his own that is more relevant to his main audience.
1) It's Fincher.
2) Let Me In pleasantly surprised me.
I do however find that the source material is too dependant and relevant to Swedish society, which is probably why Fincher decided to not even attempt to move it to America, which makes it unnecessary as a project. He should have based his movie much more loosely on the novel in my opinion and made something of his own that is more relevant to his main audience.
Oh please, the golf club was tame after some of the stuff the movie does up until then. Though admittedly, it WAS definitely one of the more visceral-looking scenes I've seen, and this is from a guy who loves his action flicks. So kudos on that, at least. It's rare that a scene almost makes ME feel the blow.fix-the-spade said: