The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Not the kind of dragon art style I imagined as her tat.

I think most, if not all, "Americanized" films—remakes of foreign films, translated into English (with or without accents from the country the story originally hailed from) and with big-time actors—are a waste of money and time, most especially when the original film was brilliantly done. Now you know where by biases lie. But then again, there are some good points to this version.

Just a taste of a big plus reason to watch this film

Title card/opening credits. To post a snapshot would not give justice to this sort of music video that clearly sets the mood of the entire film: dark and disturbing. The music added more bang for your buck there. One thing that was consistent in both film versions is the treatment and gravity of the subject.

Needless to say; it's graphic.

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander is great and she deserves the noms, but I can't help comparing her to Noomi Rapace, who really awesomely rocked the part before her. Touch-move, Rapace was first. But it's all good—even with Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, and their Swedish-accented English.

"I am insane(-ly great)!" Nod!

Style. The overall look of the film is a welcome improvement: more sophisticated outfits, a really nice newspaper office, and comfy home interiors. Black, white, and subdued colors and lights work. It's noticeable maybe because of the two-year age gap. Swedish style circa 2009 wasn't bad, but I guess Hollywood owns this aspect.

A big contrast to the film's theme and tone—and it looks comfy, too.

A different take. Basically, this version made research into the past more engaging as opposed to the original Swedish version that made the whodunit search a real thrill to watch. It's probably a good thing since I already knew who did it; no more suspense there. The film also focused more on the characters and relationships.

Are you going to stare or are you going to fuck—or cuddle?!

I don't want to rant about the liberal changes this version had taken, but there are a few I feel strongly about: an easy clue to solve the number mystery of the past, their version of Lisbeth and her relationship with Mikhael, and the ending. It also seemed that this film opted to spoon-feed interpretations of character relationships when I didn't have a problem discovering them on my own while watching the original version. See now why I'm biased to the Swedish film?

In the end, it's a good watch—more so, if you haven't seen the original (or read the book)—and we have David Fincher primarily to thank for that.

I've already seen the next two films of the Swedish trilogy. (Yes, I should read the books.) If there are Hollywood remakes of those in the works, let's see then if they can even the score.

Round 1: Swedish Original, 1. Hollywood version, 0.5.


The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo gets a seven out of ten, for being a rather tasteful remake of an already brilliant Swedish film adaptation of the Stieg Larsson bestselling novel.



*GIF by me; screencaps courtesy of VLC




You may also want to read the review for original Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and other book/movie reviews of The Millenium Trilogy.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Before even entering the cinema, you must first accept that it's a Terry Gilliam film. Because if you have no idea how a Terry Gilliam film would play, you might get lost.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, from the title alone, will already tell you more or less what the movie is about. I can only describe it as the cinematic equivalent of a Pink Floyd album, or a Salvador Dalí painting. Well, you can also compare it to the animated classic Yellow Submarine, only a little loonier. And like I said, it's Terry Gilliam. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest watching the old Monty Python shows. The animated segments there were all done by Gilliam. And this movie has a lot of those (quoting my friend Myka) where-did-that-come-from? moments. So it's basically Gilliam's Python sketches in live-action and CGI. That'll give you an idea how much of a head trip this is.

This film also plays on the level of mythology. An old man, doomed to immortality, and a brash young newcomer -- that's just some of the archetypes the story uses. It has that timelessness to it, sort of like a legend, and if Verne Troyer hadn't mentioned the word "telephone", you wouldn't even be able to date the film.

Anyway, I shall force myself to say something about the actors.

Heath Ledger, you were so good, that ten minutes after you first appeared, I already forgot you were Heath Ledger.

Christopher Plummer, you were great, but the last time I saw you onscreen was in The Sound of Music.

Johnny Depp, do I even have to say anything?

Jude Law, I appreciated your acting after Sherlock Holmes, so you're safe now.

Colin Farrell, okay, you didn't talk much, so I wasn't able to hear if you used your indecipherable Irish accent.

And Verne Troyer, I'm sorry. You will always play roles like that. Such is the curse of Hollywood midgets.


*some info from IMDb
pic from sceneunseenpodcast.com


The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. UK. 2009.


Rating: Eight out of ten.

Up

Okay, so Pixar has once again proven that it is the best in the computer animation factory of feature films (alliteration is still my favorite figure of speech).

What makes Pixar cooler than its competitors:

1. Pixar never compromises the story. If the story sucked in the first place, it wouldn't get the green light for production.
2. Pixar cares not about celebrity voices. Except of course for the Toy Story series, but I can defend that. It just so happens that Tom Hanks's whiny voice is perfect for Woody, and Tim Allen is perfect for Buzz Lightyear. Simple as that. Here in Up, Christopher Plummer and Delroy Lindo are the biggest names in the voice list. Delroy Lindo is okay, since he's not too mainstream anyway, but I don't know about Christopher Plummer, who seems to be making a comeback, what with The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus coming up this year. I think he's jealous that the-other-Dracula-also-named-Christopher Lee is still raking up film credits.
3. Pixar cares not for pop music in their soundtracks. Better to have classical music than Britney Spears.
4. Pixar directors are good. Hooray for Pete Docter and Bob Peterson.
   

So that's it. Basically, Pixar does not believe in selling out. Except again for Toy Story, which I just realized used more than two famous actors for voice talents. Well, we can justify it as being Pixar's first feature release, which entitles them to all the mistakes they want to make.

But this is supposed to be a review of Up, not Toy Story. And yet I mentioned Toy Story more. What is wrong with me?

Describe Up in two words: Eye. Candy. The colors, the shapes, and the cuteness of the boy Russell and the talking dog which I'll bet is a Labrador. Russell is so cute that I want to have a kid like him and hope he gets forever stuck at that age, so he will remain that cute forever. But of course, that is impossible. But so is a flying house.

But still, the most beautiful part of the movie was from the very beginning, right up to the part where the old man's wife died. Nothing makes me say "Awww..." more than a montage of childhood sweethearts all the way to old age.

P.S. I really love films with Star Wars references. The Force is strong in Up's animation department.


*some info from IMDb
pic from weblogs.wgntv.com


Up. USA. 2009.


Rating: Eight out of ten.
Russell's cuteness: Nine out of ten.