Friday, December 30, 2011

The Girl With The Gosling Tattoo

First of all, I love film club too, even though I've been a less-than-active participant lately. Ben thanks for inviting me in, and guys, thanks for taking down the No-Girls-Allowed sign. :)

Now that the Dragon Tattoo debate has died down, I'm ready to throw in my two cents' worth. I really liked it. I haven't seen the Swedish version, and I haven't read the books. I'm not sure why everyone's saying the story is trash. Is it just because it was an airport novel? Or because it was super popular? Or because it's a thriller/mystery? I didn't read the book, so I'm not really understanding that. I haven't seen Breaking Bad, so those comparisons are lost on me. ;)

Anyway, regardless, I thought Fincher was totally the person for this job, and I thought his style was perfect to convey the story - you guys have pretty much covered it all. I am a Fincher fan (although not blindly... to be honest I haven't been able to sit through all of Benjamin Button yet), and while this wasn't my favorite of his, I thought he was back in his element a bit with this one. I loved all the detail and precision and - as you guys have said - obsession. I think it made this the best version of the movie it could be. Although I should say, the thing I liked best about the movie was Mara's performance. She made the movie for me. I think that's a tough role to play, but she had me totally convinced.

I've been getting into a lot of arguments this week with people about the "big" scenes in this movie. People keep saying the scene where she takes her revenge on the social worker is way worse than the one where she gets raped by him. That infuriates me. I pushed the people I talked to on the issue and the consensus has been that it's probably because people are used to seeing women get raped or some semblance of that because of porn and stuff, but when it's a guy getting something shoved up his ass it's shocking. Other people I talked to have said there shouldn't be any of these kinds of scenes in a movie ever because nobody wants to see or think about stuff like that. I understand why they say that, but I think it's good that this is making people so uncomfortable, because sexual assault is like a huge serious issue that's kind of taboo, and I think it's good when movies make us confront those kinds of things that we don't want to think about. (Although I think if someone has been a victim of sexual assault this is one they should skip, because like one of you said, I don't know how you could sit through watching that.) I know there's debate about the motives of Larsson, but since I haven't read it and don't really know anything about him, I can't really say anything. But regardless I thought it was handled well by Fincher. I thought it was as long as it needed to be, and I thought the details like the floor cleaner made the situations that much more real and that much more horrifying. This stuff IS horrifying.

I think because of the nature of the characters in this it might be hard for people to connect with them, and the nature of some of the subject material might also put a damper on things for people. And this following the Swedish version I'm sure does not help things. But I did connect with the characters, and the subject material didn't bother me, and I didn't see the Swedish version. And I love a thriller/mystery, as you guys know. So yeah, I really liked it. I really have loved reading all of your opinions on it too, it kind of makes me want to watch the Swedish version now.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Her?

Hey guys! I really want to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so I'm excited to read your posts. (I didn't read the books.) Based on Brandon's post, it sounds right up my alley. As you know, I love Fincher, so I'm really excited he's the director of this one. Hopefully I can see it over break.

In the meantime, I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I don't remember your posts about it, although I do remember that at least someone posted about it. Anyway I liked that it was super stylistic. I haven't read the graphic novel, but I thought the execution of the idea itself was creative and clever and funny. It was totally silly, but for what it was, I was entertained and liked it more than I thought I would. But let's be honest, most of all, I just love seeing George Michael and Ann "Her?" Veal acting together again.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Lisa On Demand Rises

Yay blog post! I've been reading all of your posts. Apologies for the lack of participation... finals. I also haven't seen really anything you guys have been talking about, so I don't have much to say anyway. But I am now on winter break, so I should be able to post again, at least for a while. Here's what I've seen lately:

-Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Unlike John, I thought the Dark Knight Rises trailer was great. I'm excited to see it. The movie itself was decent -- it was pretty similar to the first Sherlock Holmes movie but not as good. But it was a fun exciting adventure type movie, and it starred Robert Downey Jr., so I liked it. Also, he rode a miniature horse in the movie - that was full of win. (And no, fellow Parks & Rec fans, the horse was not as cute as Li'l Sebastian.)

-The Conspirator. This one was about the trial of Mary Surratt, who was accused of conspiring to kill Abraham Lincoln. It was really good I thought. James McAvoy gave a great performance, as usual. Robert Redford directed it, and his style made me feel like I was watching a play, which I really like -- but I could also see some people not liking that. But anyway I would recommend this one if you are into the whole Lincoln assassination story like I am. Also, is it just me or can Kevin Kline play pretty much any character ever?

-The Adjustment Bureau. This one was not exactly what I was expecting. Did anyone else see it? I guess because of the previews and the fact that it starred Matt Damon, I was expecting something a little closer to the Bourne movies, because I think it was advertised that way. But it was actually like a romance/sci-fi movie, based on a story by Phillip K. Dick. I was pretty entertained by it, although it was kind of silly. Every time the adjustment bureau members showed up wearing their hats I was trying not to giggle. (I don't think the movie took itself that seriously though, which I kind of liked.) There was also a big religious theme that I just wasn't expecting. But regardless, it was fun to watch and somehow despite the silliness I found myself getting sucked into the world of the film. (Surprise surprise, right?)

-Deck the Halls. A made-for-TV movie on TNT which was a combination mystery and holiday movie, based on a book written by Mary Higgins Clark and starring the illustrious Kathy Najimy. Absolutely horrible. Even worse than it sounds.

Miss you guys - glad to be back! I'm sure I'll be watching tons of movies over break, woohoooo!