The Girl Who Played With Fire...

Was fortunate to be one of the early birds who got a chance to attend a free screening of The Girl Who Played With Fire downtown yesterday and was very pleased with the result. Compelling as ever, Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist are back in the second installment of this Swedish trilogy based on the thrilling novels of the same name.

Almost intentionally in opposition to the way that the last film was quiet and thoughtful, taking its time to unravel the mystery at the perfect pace, this film is loud and action packed with much stalking about of characters who in the last film, spent most of their time doing desk work. It is a necessity of these types of trilogies to "up the ante" as it were and certainly this film does in an interesting and, if not unique, certainly compelling way. And while I wasn't as engrossed in the film as with the first (sorry Matt), I certainly remained entertained and interested throughout.

Noomi Rapace's Lisbeth Salander continues to fascinate and excite me and certainly although I do find that Larsson's main characters all have interesting layers, I do believe that Lisbeth is his crowning achievement and the reason that the books have sold so universally well. What's more, while he is continually making a point of the violence that is directed towards women in modern Swedish society and the perspective on women in general, Larsson insists on trolling out a slew of strong and capable female characters. Michael Bloomkvist himself becomes involved with several and certainly seems (as the trilogy's resident hero) to gravitate towards and thus validate the strength of these female role models.

All in all the film was enjoyable and (for those who saw the first film) certainly not as upsetting. Though there are graphic depictions the action is much more james bond than snuff film this time around. Rest assured, you will not be disappointed by this offering and if you haven't yet seen the first movie...please....just do it.

Oh and check out the New York Times review: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/movies/09girl.html

This Swedish thriller left me stunned...

This film is an incredible example of why remakes of amazing foreign properties should not be allowed. This film is paced beautifully, developed expertly and comes to a head in a satisfying and thought provoking way.

This film made me happy I hadn't read the book yet.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a Swedish thriller/mystery based on the best-selling novels by the late Steig Larsson (author and journalist much like his protagonist). The story picks up as Michael Bloomkvist, celebrated journalist, is convicted for defaming the character of a wealthy businessman about whom he wrote a tell-all exposé and takes place over the 6 months prior to his serving his jail sentence. Bloomkvist is approached by another wealthy tycoon whose favourite niece disappeared nearly 40 years prior and who is desperate to find out what happened. He is charged with uncovering the secret of her disappearance and the identity of her killer and, having nothing else to lose and no paying gig to speak of he accepts the assignment.

Though all of this is incredibly compelling and serves as the main storyline, keeping the momentum going it is the subplot and introduction of the titular character Lisbeth Salander which keeps the audience pinned to their seats. To give anything away about Lisbeth would be to take away from the impact of her story so I will simply say that actress Noomi Rapace's performance will be etched in my brain for quite some time.

You owe it to yourself to see the original before Hollywood makes a travesty of this incredible film (they're in talks with the production company for a remake). Do you remember My Sassy Girl (with Elisha Cuthbert and Jesse Bradford)? Brothers (you may remember this offering featuring Nathalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey MacGuire)?

There's a reason the remakes weren't huge hits...respect the original. And while you're at it check out these two films as well. They may not have done well as remakes but there's a reason they were purchased...




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