Film Review: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011)

Director: David Fincher
Writers: Steven Zaillian (Screenplay) & Stieg Larsson (Novel)
Running time: 158 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
UK Release date: 26^th December 2011

Watched at the cinema Saturday 7^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Having seen the 2009 Swedish version of this film I thought it might be interesting to see how Hollywood treated it. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The location and key elements of the story were kept the same, but obviously a bigger budget allowed for a more cinematic experience. I will give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

When journalist and Editor Mikael Blomkvist is sued by a businessman he had written a story about, he finds himself with no savings and a reputation in tatters. Fortunately, an industrialist, Henrik Vanger, wants him to investigate the disappearance of his niece, Harriet, over forty years ago. Before engaging him, Vanger had Blomkvist investigated by a security firm who had used the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker Lisbeth Salander as the investigator. We follow Blomkvist’s investigation along with events in Lisbeth’s life (which are sometimes quite hard to watch). Eventually Blomkvist reaches a point where he needs an assistant and Lisbeth is recommended to him. This is where things start to get really interesting… and also the point I will stop my little summary. I don’t want the Spoiler Police on my doorstep as 3AM (again).

Beautifully shot and very well produced; David Fincher has a well deserved reputation as a filmmaker and it shows. Great performances all round; Daniel Craig did a great job as Mikael Blomkvist, as did Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, she had a very tough act to follow in Noomi Rapace but I thought she acquitted herself well. Also worth of note were; Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger, Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger, Steven Berkoff as Frode, Robin Wright as Erika Berger and Yorick van Wageningen as Bjurman.

Having seen the original I cannot but fail to make comparisons and I must say this version is just as good. I say that because I found this one a lot easier to follow, the storyline has been streamlined somewhat. Also, the production is far more elaborate; it obviously had a much bigger budget. As far as performances go though I think the original has the edge; to me Noomi Rapace played the part of Lisbeth Salander so well that anyone else playing that part was going to struggle to top it. Don’t get me wrong, Rooney Mara did a fine job and if I hadn’t seen Noomi Rapace in the role I may well have been singing her praises. I have given this version the same score as the original and I’m very happy to give it my seal of approval: Recommended.

My score: 8.2/10.

IMDb Score: 8.2/10 (based on 20,621 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1568346/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 86/100 (based on 190 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 90/100 (based on 45,575 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Henrik Vanger: Soon you'll know us all too well, with my apologies.

Mikael Blomkvist: Who knows about this?
Henrik Vanger: Just me, the police, the killer, and now you.

Lisbeth Salander: He's had a long standing sexual relationship with his co-editor of the magazine. Sometimes he performs cunnilingus on her. Not often enough in my opinion.

Mikael Blomkvist: I can't find any record of her and I'm pretty good at that kind of thing.
Armansky: She's had a rough life. Can we please not make it any rougher?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.dragontattoo.net/
Trailer:

Film Review: THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

Director: David Fincher
Screenplay by: Aaron Sorkin
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Biography/Drama
UK Release date: 15^th October 2010

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 11^th September 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember when this came out there was an awful lot of debate, praise and general talking about it. Unfortunately it never made it to my local cinema (surprisingly), but it finally made it to a pay TV channel this week. I was quite keen to see it given the amount of attention it got, and also because it was written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, both of which I admire greatly. Here’s a little about the plot before I give you my thoughts.

After a disagreement with a girl, Erica Albright, computer genius Mark Zuckerberg goes online and writes a program called “Facemash”. It was available only to students at Harvard University, where he was studying. It caused quite a stir when the University servers crashed. He had the help of his friend, Eduardo Saverin, who would eventually be credited as a co-founder of Facebook. Moving on from this, Mark is approached by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and their associate Divya Narendra, to write a web site for them that had elements common with what Facebook would become. Instead of working on their site, Mark works on his own idea, with backing from Eduardo. Eventually ‘The Facebook’ goes live at Harvard University and is an instant hit. They expand to other Universities in the United States and eventually across the world. Mark is contacted by Sean Parker, the inventor of Napster, and he eventually moves out to California to use his expertise. All this time, Eduardo is being squeezed out of the business. It all comes to a head when Mark is sued by Eduardo, the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra. It is this action that forms the central part of the movie and it is from here the various parts of the story are told in flashback. I’ve probably said too much, but the film is about so much more so I’ll stop before the Spoiler Police (Universities branch) escort me off campus.

As you’d expect from Aaron Sorkin, an excellent script with some really great dialogue! The film is beautifully made, expertly paced and I found it very easy to get into. Great performances all round, particularly from Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, a real departure for him and he pulled it off brilliantly. I must also give praise to Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, for me, he put in the best performance, maybe because his character was more likeable, but still a great performance. Honourable mentions go to; Armie Hammer as Cameron Winklevoss / Tyler Winklevoss and Max Minghella as Divya Narendra.

I really enjoyed this film, the subject matter is one that’s close to many people’s hearts and so I guess it was bound to be a hit. I did find the picture very dark though; so much so that curtains had to be drawn (it was a daytime viewing). I think it’s one of those films that will eventually become a classic, but it is one you have to watch… It’s very easy to get lost in the twists and turns of a piece of dialogue written by Aaron Sorkin (and I mean that in a nice way). Over all, beautifully made, a great script, an enthralling story and some great performances… Recommended.

My Score: 8.5/10.

IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (based on 149,604 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96/100 (based on 272 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-social-network/

 

Since it’s all about Social Networking… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

Erica Albright: You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole.

Sean Parker: Drop the “The.” Just “Facebook.” It’s cleaner.

Mark Zuckerberg: I went to my friend for the money because that's who I wanted to be partners with. Eduardo was the president of the Harvard Investors Association, and he was also my best friend.
Gage: Your best friend is suing you for six hundred million dollars.
Mark Zuckerberg: [Sarcastically] I didn't know that, tell me more.

Marylin Delpy: [Last Lines] You're not an asshole, Mark. You're just trying so hard to be.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thesocialnetwork/
Trailer: