tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post4214343111005887914..comments2024-01-21T11:18:54.087-05:00Comments on Lost in the Movies: Now Playing: The Girl with the Dragon TattooJoel Bockohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-79842009402286886842010-03-21T17:18:48.191-04:002010-03-21T17:18:48.191-04:00Hey Joel. I think that I put this a bit more baldl...Hey Joel. I think that I put this a bit more baldly when I reviewed it, but "...does nothing to challenge, betray or even exemplify the conventions of the thriller" was the key drawback for me. Simply put, it offered nothing that British police procedural television dramas (in particular) have not been coming up with for years... nay... decades.<br><br>For me, there was a fantastic opportunity here to take the source material and do something far more interesting with it from a cinematic point of view. For example, what if Salander and Blomkvist never meet in person, but form this intense and anonymous relationship through her fascination with him and his desire to solve the case? Such an approach, with a bit more thought, could well open the door to some interesting modern explorations as to how we interact with each other.<br><br>I also think that your comparison to "Silence of the Lambs" is quite apt. However, I can look elsewhere for morality, so please give me Lector & Clarice over Goth & Journo any day! :-)<br><br>Anyway, I understand that this is the first in a trilogy that were all shot around the same time. I think that this approach shows in the film in a variety of ways - not least the emphasis on the two main protagonists at the expense of anything close to a worthwhile plot.<br><br>Honestly? I was pretty bored.Longman Ozhttp://noordinaryfool.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-86918355704913862562010-03-21T18:57:12.158-04:002010-03-21T18:57:12.158-04:00I found elements of the film intriguing enough to ...I found elements of the film intriguing enough to sustain my interest, but I kept continually wondering why this story has had such widespread appeal. Several years on the bestseller list, rave reviews, a major adaptation and a Hollywood remake in the works. It's solid but it's entirely un-exceptional. In that sense, I was a bit mystified. I wonder what my response to the film would have been without having heard of the book. I think I still would have felt a little let-down because the somberness of the movie, and the ways in which it entices the viewer to wonder what twists lie beyond the horizon, set up expectations of weight which are never quite fulfilled.<br><br>Nonetheless, as I said, it was well-made. In the end, my #1 objection would be those two rape scenes, which felt entirely gratuituous, even as I can see what the filmmakers were going for.<br><br>As for morality, most of my favorite characters are downright evil and I would count truly objectionable films - to say the least - like Triumph of the Will and Birth of a Nation among the greatest ever made. What bugs me about Silence of the Lambs is its hypocrisy, the way it flatters its audience by making the sophisticated killer tailor to their expectations: he's a snob, but not a misogynist; a cold-blooded killer but indulges in sentimental chivalry; is willing to get his hands - and teeth dirty - but has impeccable cultural tastes. So viewers get to have their cake and eat it too, and that sort of thing always irritates me. Doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad movie or even not a great one, but I think its integrity is somewhat compromised by the extent to which it plays it safe.MovieMan0283http://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-52547206495531019702010-03-21T23:16:08.799-04:002010-03-21T23:16:08.799-04:00I'm engaged now in frantically putting togethe...I'm engaged now in frantically putting together the Monday Morning Diary and another post, but I just wanted to say that I saw this film on Friday night, and for the most part was fascinated and unerved, but it was definitely a bit too long for this kind of thing and the plot turns were so onrushing that there was little chance here for character development. Still the three leads were magnetic, and there were a number of striking individual scenes. I hear what you are saying Joel about playing it safe, and understand why Longman may havge been bored after a while as it was a very long film.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-38692413648352954312010-03-22T03:42:22.633-04:002010-03-22T03:42:22.633-04:00Joel, two words - Dan. Brown. Unfortunately, the w...Joel, two words - Dan. Brown. Unfortunately, the wisdom of crowds is typically more myth than substance when it comes to literature! I know, I am a frightful snob at times, but...<br><br>I entirely agree that the sexual assault scenes are deeply discomfiting to sit through - especially because they are so bluntly inserted into the plot. The guy involved has to be one of the most crudely drawn characters that I have come across in a while. A sort of Uncle Monty-type character as imagined by Ralph Steadman...<br><br>I fully appreciate that Lector was a(nother) cartoon figure. However, I still think that it is one of the best and daring Hollywood adaptations of a novel since the heyday of the seventies... Maybe that is a backhanded compliment and maybe I remember it favourably because of the impression that it made on me first time around. However, I think that it was/is a startlingly good yarn, even if it is flawed when you dig deeper into it.<br><br>Finally, Sam, the length did not help, but I started losing interest as early as Blomkvist's first encounter with Old Man Vanger. Felt like the sort of mystery that they stick on afternoon TV!Longman Ozhttp://noordinaryfool.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-62206074797519942362010-03-22T07:08:11.584-04:002010-03-22T07:08:11.584-04:00Longman, I should have stressed the acclaim rather...Longman, I should have stressed the acclaim rather than the popularity. Dan Brown, however many books he sells, does not have much critical legitimacy, but Girl with a Dragon Tattoo comes highly recommended. And as I said, flipping through it looked like a good book. And the movie was a good movie. Just, it seemed to me, rather unexceptional.<br><br>Sam, I'll be interested in your further thoughts on the matter. Heading over right now to check out the Monday Morning Diary.MovieMan0283http://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-31091074672375059302010-03-22T09:14:21.900-04:002010-03-22T09:14:21.900-04:00Also, I should point out that whatever Dan Brown&#...Also, I should point out that whatever Dan Brown's flaws, he does not lack hooks!MovieMan0283http://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-58246660189856006512010-03-22T11:33:25.299-04:002010-03-22T11:33:25.299-04:00"Don't get me wrong; it's absorbing, ..."Don't get me wrong; it's absorbing, very well-made, thoughtful - but it also does nothing to challenge, betray or even exemplify the conventions of the thriller."<br><br>That's a Bingo, and it looks like Longman Oz, above, has the same opinion (hearkening to British crime procedurals seems dead-on, as this had a very PRIME SUSPECT feel to it). It's never a bad movie, it's just a perfectly average, normal, thriller-mystery with above-average filmmaking.<br><br>Needless to say, it it likely better than whatever American version is sure to come out. There's a generic sameness to pretty much all of these types of films that get made here in the States, pretty much all trying to use the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS template and add more "shocking" bits. We need another film to break from the stock template, like LAMBS did.<br><br>I did not read the book, but my wife did and to my surprise, she enjoyed it (she sticks with more "literary" books and stays away from the Dan Brown type tripe). She also didn't like the movie as much as she liked the book, mostly because the movie failed to flesh the characters out as much, which I guess is typically the case.Troy Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843741571724231174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-13334042184562579882010-03-23T10:16:32.399-04:002010-03-23T10:16:32.399-04:00Welcome to LAMB!Welcome to LAMB!Castorhttp://www.anomalousmaterial.com/moviesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-67356496717904599622010-03-23T13:29:13.357-04:002010-03-23T13:29:13.357-04:00Yeah, Troy, everyone seems to dig the book, for wh...Yeah, Troy, everyone seems to dig the book, for whatever reason. Must be the writing style/storytelling.<br><br>Carson, thanks - I'd forgotten about that! (Check out, LAMB, readers if you've not yet - a great resource for movie blogs. It's linked up in my "About Me" section above.MovieMan0283http://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.com