The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Movie: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: This is the American movie version of the first of the three Stieg Larsson books.  Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is an investigative journalist who has just been convicted of libel.  A wealthy industrialist (Christopher Plummer) approaches Mikael with a job proposition.  He wants Mikael to investigate the disappearance of his grand-niece 40 years ago.  Mikael takes the job and hires Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) as an assistant.  Lisbeth is almost totally lacking in social skills (for good reason) but is an amazing investigator – especially when computers are involved.  Together they try to solve the 40-year old mystery.

My two cents: As much as I liked the original Swedish movie version of the book – I think I liked this American version even better.  I think Robin Wright was better as Mikael’s partner and sometimes-lover.  The only thing that really disappointed me was the ending.  It was significantly different than the book and whte Swedish film version – and I cannot figure out what was gained by changing it, other than saving a few minutes of movie time.  In any case – sign me up for the next two movies in this series.

[6]

The Devil Inside

Movie: The Devil Inside

Genre: horror

Synopsis: When Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) was a young child, her mother, Maria (Suzan Crowley) was believed to be possessed. During an exorcism performed on her, Maria killed three people.  The Catholic church steps in and spirits Maria away to an asylum in Italy.  Fast forward to the present.  Isabella is now an adult.  She decides to go to Italy in a quest to find her mother and find out for herself what is wrong with her mother.  She brings along a friend to film the whole thing.  Isabella befriends two renegade priests who perform unsanctioned exorcisms.  They decide to help her understand more about exorcisms and, ultimately, to help her with her mother.

My two cents: It does not take much for me to enjoy a movie.  This movie missed even my low bar.  There was pretty much nothing original.  Some of the scenes of possession had some fairly good special effects showing the bodies doing some cringe-inducing contortions.  Outside of that, I just kept waiting for something interesting to happen.  I thought the ending was especially bad – it was as if the writers just arbitrarily decided that the movie had gone on long enough and ended it.  I would not even waste time watching this on TV.

[5]

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

Movie: El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

Genre: documentary

Synopsis: Ferran Adrià is a world-renowned chef who runs the equally world-renowned El Bulli restaurant outside Barcelona, Spain.  The restaurant is only open six months of the year – from July through December.  The other six months are used by the chef and his staff to develop new dishes for the upcoming season.  This documentary follows them in the painstaking process of developing some of the exotic dishes that make up the 30+ course meals served at the restaurant. 

My two cents: For many parts of this documentary, I would like to have had a narrator explaining what exactly was going on.  Many of the cooking techniques were one I had never heard of – indeed, some were invented on the spot.  A voice-over would have been useful in understanding what was being done and why.  That said, this was a pretty interesting glimpse into what goes into the “menu” of world-class restaurants.

[4]

War Horse

Movie: War Horse

Genre: war

Synopsis: The movie starts out shortly before World War I in England.  Albert (Jeremy Irvine) forms an unbreakable friendship with a thoroughbred horse (Joey) his father bought. When World War I breaks out, the horse is sold to the army.  As soon as he is old enough to enlist, Jeremy goes off to try and find his beloved horse.  The movie follows the ups and (mostly) downs of Joey’s army career.  Joey has unimaginable courage and drive.  We also follow Albert in his quest to re-unite with Joey.

My two cents: A pretty good movie.  The horse really has unbelievable courage and drive.  What will keep some people from really embracing this film is the violence.  There are a lot of scenes showing the horrors of trench warfare.  What I found hardest to take was the punishing life Joey had in the army.  Horses were considered totally expendable, They were basically worked until the dropped and then executed and replaced.  The worst scene, for me, is when Joey broke free and went charging through the battlefield.  I won’t give any more away – but be prepared to cringe by the time Joey’s charge is done.  If you can deal with the animal suffering, you should enjoy this movie.

[2]

The Artist

Movie: The Artist

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: The movie is set in 1927.  George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the biggest silent film star of his time.  When his studio switches to motion pictures with sound and dialog (“talkies”),  George.refuses to make the transition.  This begins his lifes’s downward spiral.  On the other side of the coin is Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo).  Peppy started out as an extra in George’s last movie.  She is a natural, especially for talkies.  Her meteoric rise as an actress sis a steady and quick as George’s descent.

My two cents: I absolutely loved this film.  With the exception of two scenes, it is a silent film.  I really enjoyed the rare experience of watching a silent film.  Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo were both great in their roles.  I The only actor in the movie that I recognized was John Goodman as the studio head.  This movie was so different than any movie I have seen, that it is difficult to explain exactly why I liked it so much.  I was sorry to see it end.

[1]

A Dangerous Treatment

Movie: A Dangerous Treatment

Genre: biographical drama

Synopsis: Based on fact, this movie exams the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortenson) and the relationship between Carl Jung and his sometime patient, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley).  While initially a protégé of Freud, Jung eventually sought to divert from Frieds path – something that Freud fought bitterly.

My two cents: This was a fascinating movie. A solid performance by Viggo Mortenson, a good performance by Michael Fassbender, and an outstanding performance by Keira Knightley.  The verbal exchanges between Freud and Jung were very well-written.  Viggo Mortenson did a great job of capturing the inner turmoil that tortured Jung.  But Keira Knightley stole the movie.  I thought this was the best I have seen her.  Her character was so tortured by her mental problems that at times it seemed that she suffered from a physically deforming disease. The scenes when her character was suffering seizure-like attacks must have been exhausting to perform.  I read a lot of viewer comments criticizing her performance as over-acting and over-doing the portrayal of the physical quirks of a mental patient.  I saw an interview with the director where he describes how her portrayal followed the detailed notes Jung took describing Sabina Spielrein’s symptoms.  He said that, if anything, she underplayed the way Sabina really behaved.  This movie is well-worth seeing.

[207]

The Sitter

Movie: The Sitter

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: This is loosely based on “Adventures in Babysitting”. Noah (Jonah Hill) is in his early 20’s, unemployed and lives with his mother.  As favor for to his mother, he agrees to babysit for a couple.  Their three messed-up children embark on a night long adventure with Noah when he decides to take them along on a trip to the city to meet up with his “girlfriend”.

My two cents: This was much better than I expected.  It definitely earns its “R” rating.  Jonah is basically a good person and as inappropriate as most of the humor is . . . Jonah manages to touch the each of the kids and help them each to make an improvement in their lives.  I really enjoyed it.

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