Tuesday Movie Reviews

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Haber
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev

The reviews for this movie were great when it was released in the theatres some months ago, but my favourite was something to the effect of "see this movie before the Americanized version screws with it!". Well, I have to agree with that! Based on the best selling novel (the first of three in a series), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is exciting, fun, brutal and very well made. The story revolves around two unlikely souls coming together to solve a crime that happened almost 40 years prior. If you've read the book (one of the few times I did before I saw the movie) you know how explicit some of the descriptions were, especially revolving around rape and torture. Well the Swedes put it all in the movie for you to experience all over again. Nothing is held back, and at times I had to look the other way. But the scenes aren't at all gratuitous. These images were put in the film to delve deeper into the characters. I have to say I was just a bit disappointed at the exclusion of some plot lines that were in the book, and that's only because I loved the book so much. This movie is not for everyone...but if a little violence doesn't disturb you, you must see it. The two leads are perfect, exactly how I'd pictured them in my head. Noomi Rapace, a complete unknown to North American audiences, is Lisbeth Salander...there's no "acting" there. She became the character and is totally believable in every minuscule movement. I think the movie can stand on it's own as a great thriller and, in a rare occurrence, is just as good as the book it was adapted from.

GRADE: A


A Single Man
Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Good, Nicholas Hoult
Directed by Tom Ford

This was director/writer Tom Ford's first movie, and he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Every scene of this film is beautifully set up and executed. From the great colours (notice how images get brighter as the mood lightens) to the authentic set up of a 1960's lifestyle. Fabulous! Colin Firth plays the man of the title who is dealing with the accidental death of his young, gay lover many months ago. The story takes place over a 24 hour period and we see all the incredible lows and giddy highs that Firth's character goes through, including some very well placed flashbacks. Firth is, in a word, phenomenal! I though Jeff Bridges deserved his Oscar for Crazy Heart...until I watched this movie. Julianne Moore is just as good, but this is Firth's film. (Try saying that five times fast!). I have one problem with the movie, and it turns out to be a rather large problem...I hated the ending! Without giving anything away I felt the ending was a total cop-out, predictable and disappointing. I far rather would have liked to see the ending go the opposite way. After saying that, I still think this is a movie everyone needs to see.

GRADE: A-