The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- 2.5/5

there are spoilers in this review

I'm going to say it right now, but I watched this movie not thinking about the Swedish version I saw a year ago at all. I wanted to see it with new eyes, and in all honesty I wasn't crazy for it.

I was excited to see Daniel Craig as Mikael, because he is a very handsome and rugged guy, and from what I read of the book he was described as such. He looks the part for sure. However, he did not act it quite the same. His character seemed timid and also just seemed to go with the flow. He wasn't very assertive at all, but instead a boring and bland guy that just does what he's told without question. Didn't seem too interesting to me. And Rooney Mara was alright as Lisbeth, but she appeared not as strong to me as she should be. For a girl that rapes a guy and tattoos his life sentence across his chest, I would expect her head to be held high a little bit more than it is. I feel like her head's always down, always submissive-like, always shy and weak. It's almost odd to see her so assertively crazy when she is. And the ending made her look far too soft in my opinion. The girl needed to be stronger to the audience, and stronger was not what we saw. This dynamic duo seemed weak, sloppy, and aside from the fact that they were sleeping with another, they did not seem to communicate very well as far as the mystery is concerned.

The location wasn't very intriguing either. The houses were pretty, but it just seemed very fake to me. It did not look like the location from the book, but almost as if it was just a set. It didn't have that awe that I remembered. It just was flat for me.

I also really disliked finding Hariett in London. It seemed all too easy.

Furthermore, there were some things I thought about this movie as good. The choice to cast Stellan Skarsgard was a great one. He was super creepy and a fantastic actor. Although, I felt they gave him away too soon. It was pretty obvious that in the scene where Mikael is drinking wine with Martin and his girlfriend, that a girl is screaming elsewhere in his house. And it seemed brilliant at first when he put on "Come Sail Away" as he was trying to kill Mikael, but as the scene progressed I liked the song playing in the background less and less. It was silly.

Something that I found the most intriguing was the flashback sequences. I enjoyed watching them get played out in front of my eyes, rather than just a back and forth conversation that can tend to get a little winded to watch. The movie was also shot very beautifully.

Other than that, in all honesty I enjoyed watching the Swedish version a lot more. It wasn't nearly as long, and it wasn't quite as jumbled. That film is edited down pretty well, while this one I feel was not given the same care. I suppose that is what happens when you sign on for a movie and have to make it within the year. I would maybe catch it when it airs on TV, but other than that I think I am good without.

Dream House

Dream House -- 2/5

This movie could have been a mediocre horror/thriller that would probably have fair amount of people watching it on syndication around the Halloween time...if the ending didn't dive into the deep end of "WTF is going on in this movie?"
The plot in the beginning in simple -- from the trailers we all know it's about a guy who supposedly killed his family in this pseudo-magnificent house a few years back. Sounds simplistic enough, and could lead to some very interesting, but possibly predictable twists in the end. But just because a horror movie has the Naomi Watts and Daniel Craig approval apparently does not mean it's going to be pretty okay, but far more terrible than you could even imagine.

I should have known -- September is where movies go to die. It's always been that simple.

The really big problem with this movie is that it did not know its ending. Or rather, it did know it, but it was poorly set up and poorly executed. Once the third act arrived, I honestly didn't care for anyone anymore. They could have all burned up in the house and died for all I cared, at least the world would be a little more at ease without these psychos running around. The bad guy's motive wasn't discovered til a flashback at the very end, nor was the villain even a threat the whole movie. I'll give the flick credit for not having me guess the ending, but it didn't even give me a chance to. The ending sort of surprised you, which is probably why it needed so much exposition and explaining at the end. I felt like I had watched two separate movies by the time the credits rolled -- one a mystery about a man whose family was supposedly killed by him, and another about a psycho jealous ex who yearned for custody over his daughter (both of whom have minimal screen time).
By the end of the film, I had a way better ending thought up in my head that would have made the movie flow a lot better, and have most fun-twist action:
After Daniel Craig discovers his true identity, he runs over the the beautiful blonde neighbor Naomi Watts, who seems to know more than she lets on and genuinely cares for Mr. Craig. Every time Craig leaves the house to visit Naomi, we see his ghosty wife (played by Rachel Weisz) look stony and somewhat angered (possible jealousy alert!!). Well, all this plays out and in the end we discover that Craig was having an affair with Naomi, which made Weisz go insane, and she kills her children, attempts to kill her husband, and then he kills her in self defense.
This all would explain:
- Why Naomi was always worried about Craig and why she visits him in the insane home
- Why Naomi's husband wants a divorce, and custody over the child (because as he sees it: she slept with the crazy neighbor who killed his family AND still looks after him)
- Why Craig was shot in the head and why he shot his wife
- and Why Weisz always looks so angry when he speaks to Naomi

In conclusion, I have come to realize that after this month of crazy-dumb horror movies (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Apollo 18, and Dream House), I should just run off and create my own production company called "Awesome American Horror Movies." Maybe Lionsgate will fund me!