“Two Ladies: Are You Team Bella, or Team Lisbeth?” NPR’s Fresh Air’s John Powers has written a very insightful essay on this year’s two most popular – and contrasting – female role models – Bella of the Twilight series and Lisbeth of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy. An excellent read.
Note to Patricia: The only reason that I haven’t yet seen The Girl Who Played With Fire, is that I’m waiting for my wife to finish the book before we go; she assures me that we’ll make it to the theater this weekend. I’m glad that you found Played With Fire gripping.
The “must see” films in theaters remain Winter’s Bone and Toy Story 3. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is good, too. For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.
My DVDs of the week are Eight Men Out (for the MLB All-Star Game) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (because its sequel The Girl Who Played With Fire has been released. For the trailers and other DVD choices, see DVDs of the Week.
Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise
Movies on TV include The Firemen’s Ball, The Crying Game and Before Sunrise and on IFC this month. Freaks, Soylent Green and 12 Angry Men are coming up on TCM.
At the All-Star break, it’s time for a baseball movie, so I recommend John Sayles’ 1988 Eight Men Out, which tells the true story of the Black Sox Scandal – the Chicago White Sox players who fixed the 1919 World Series. Sayles used actors, not baseball players, but the baseball scenes are totally authentic. The characters of star players Eddie Cicotte, Buck Weaver and Shoeless Joe Jackson and owner Charles Comiskey vividly come alive.
Also, because its sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire is opening in theaters, there’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, one of my Best Films of 2010. It’s a rock-em, sock-em feminist suspense thriller built around the very original character of damaged, angry, master hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace). Lisbeth makes Dirty Harry look like Bishop Tutu. The Swedish title was Men Who Hate Woman, and there’s lots of violence against women in this film, satisfyingly avenged. This is a whodunit with layers of romance, suspense, and sex, with even some Nazis thrown in.
Noomi Rapace reprises her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second part of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy. It follows one of my personal favorite films of the year, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Lisbeth Salander is the best new crime drama character since Helen Mirren’s Inspector Jane Tennyson. And Noomi Rapace creates a Lisbeth Salander who is a lethal mix of damage and drive. Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth, as a tiny fury of a Goth hacker, is only 90 pounds, so she will lose a fistfight with a man; but she prevails with her smarts, resourcefulness and machine-like relentlessness. Lisbeth is always mad AND always gets even.
When Hollywood remakes the film, it will not cast Noomi Rapace in the lead, so you’ll miss the film’s essential performance if you wait for the American version.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo only has about one more week to go in theaters, so you should see it now.
Scandanavian poster for the first film in the Stieg Larsson trilogy
I’ve updated my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page (also known as The Paula Page). I’ve included the movie Get Low and trailers or clips from/about Get Low, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Cane Toads: The Conquest, Welcome to the Rileys, Animal Kingdom, Uncle Boonmee and Carlos.
I’m still the most eager to see Mike Leigh’s Another Year, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Kids Are Alright, Poetry, Certified Copy, Inside Job and Cane Toads.
I had already posted the trailers for The Kids Are Alright and Homewrecker/The Locksmith, plus the teaser for Certified Copy (Copie Conforme).
Other movies featured include The Square, Biutiful, Howl, The American, Blue Valentine, Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des Dieu), One Too Many Mornings and Aurora.
Robert Duvall, Lucas Black and Bill Murray in Get Low
This is the third straight week that I’ve been recommending The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve gotten some initial resistance, primarily from women who have read the Stieg Larsson novel; one of those women went to the movie anyway and loved it. Here’s why you should see it before it leaves the theaters.
First, the movie is centered on Lisbeth Salander, the best new crime drama character since Helen Mirren’s Inspector Jane Tennyson. And Noomi Rapace creates a Lisbeth Salander who is a lethal mix of damage and drive. Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth, as a tiny fury of a Goth hacker, is only 90 pounds, so she will lose a fistfight with a man; but she prevails with her smarts, resourcefulness and machine-like relentlessness. Lisbeth is always mad AND always gets even.
Second, the Scandinavians have already made all three movies for the Stieg Larsson trilogy. They’re all in the can with the same stars. Movie #2 is TheGirl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, which has already been released in Scandinavia and is in wider European release now. Movie #3 is The Girl Who Played With Fire, tobe released in Scandinavia in September. American Stieg Larsson fans will be will be able to see all three movies soon, in theaters or on Netflix.
Third, Hollywood is going to remake this movie. I doubt that Hollywood is going to remake the whole trilogy, so this may be your only chance to see the trilogy. There are rumors about casting George Clooney or Brad Pitt, so male lead will likely be enhanced at the expense of the story. The movie will likely be dumbed down to make Lisbeth more of a stylized action hero . And, of course, Hollywood is not going to cast Noomi Rapace in the lead, so you would miss the film’s essential performance.
