The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard

Based on the popular book series by Stieg Larson, this of course being book one.  Of course i have to point out that all three of Larson’s books have been made into movie already in Sweden and you can find all three movies at your local rental place that you can read because its in swedish with english subtitles.  With all that said, David Fincher, one of my favorite directors, decided it was best to “americanize” this film.  Craig plays Blomkvist, a reporter who is being sued for writing a false story about a major company in sweden.  He gets approached by a lawyer to the Vangar family, a very well off family in sweden, to write a story regarding the eldest member of the family Henrik Vangar, played by Plummer.  When Blomkvist visits Henrik he finds out that he is actually there to find out what happened to Henrik’s niece Harriet who has been missing for over 40 years.  During the investigation that Blomkvist starts he gets help from a girl who investigated him by the family that hired him, her name is Lisabeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara.  I dont want to ruin to much for everyone but thats the general idea.  Fincher bring this closer to the line of NC-17 than the original.  So that you know this film is a very hard R rating.  Mara hands down the star of this movie.  I think she did better than Noomi Rapace, who you can see in the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  Daniel Craig did a great job as Blomkvist as well.  It did feel that things were just thrown together at the end like they were trying to tie up all the lose ends in 15 minutes.  Of course i cant say i’ve read the books so i cant tell you how close to the novel that it is but if i know Fincher, it should be pretty close.  This might not be everyone’s cup of tea due to the nature of some of the scenes of it but i loved it and will recommend this movie every day of the week and twice on sunday.

9 outta 10 wahoo’s

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law and Jared Harris

Not gonna lie but knowing that Guy Ritchie doesnt make sequeles to his movie’s, I was a little hesitant to see this.  Everyone that was in the first that survived is back in this.  Downey is Holmes and Law is Watson with the new addition of Professor James Moriarty played by Jared Harris.  If you remember from the first one, Moriarty was in it but you never saw his face.  It has been some time since the last movie and Watson is finally marrying Mary.  Watson finds that Holmes has been using all his time to put together recent events around Europe and trying to connect them to Moriarty.  After the wedding Watson and Mary go on their honeymoon.  Before they get on the train to Brighton, Holmes goes and visits Moriarty who tells Holmes that anyone he is close to will die.  Holmes manages to get on the train with Watson and Mary to try and save them both before Moriarty’s plan can happen.  I dont really want to ruin to much of this for everyone who wants to see this so i’m stopping there.  I was a big fan of the first film and thought Guy Ritchie did an amazing job and telling Holmes story.  This film follows the same dynamic between characters as the first with the addition of Jared Harris who, i might add, is brilliant!  I loved him on Fringe and think having him as Moriarty was fantastic.  Every scene he’s in with Downey…watching them match wits is great to watch.  Seeing Moriarty work in his mind how things will turn out like Holmes was pretty sweet.  My only complaint about the movie is the overdone slow motion sequences.  Showing Holmes and his crew running through the woods in slow motion then speeding it up then slowing it down then speeding it up again didnt need to happen.  For the most part you can see a lot of the things coming, but watching Holmes and Watson work it out is pretty good.  If your needing to escape the family during the holidays and see a movie, check this out!

8.5 outta 10 wahoo’s

The Sitter

The Sitter – Jonah Hill

Jonah plays Noah Griffith, a guy who just got kicked out of college and doesnt have a job, living at his moms house.  His mom asks Noah to babysit three kids so that she can go out on a date with this guy she was set up with.  Noah says yes and makes it over to the house to find out that the three kids are not gonna be a walk in the park.  The eldest is a boy who goes to a psychiatrist and takes meds to keep him “normal” when he’s really just dealing with everything that kids go through.  The middle kid is a girl who watches entirely to much reality tv and wants to be a celebrity when she grows up.  The third and final kid is an adopted boy from Mexico and loves blowing things up with firecrackers.  Noah’s alledged girlfriend calls him up while he’s babysitting and wants to meet up with him to hook up but she also wants him to pick up blow for her.  The rest of the evening is Noah trying to not lose the kids, get arrested, beat up, score blow and get money.  Even though Jonah’s cartoon Allen Gregory doesnt get good reviews i’m a big fan of the guy.  I like his cartoon and love his humor.  This movie isnt anything different than that.  The movie is hilarious, laugh out loud funny.  The little girl and the adopted kid are great.  If you want to check a movie full of laughs, this is your movie over the holiday season!

7.5 outta 10 wahoo’s

50/50

50/50 – Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anna Kendrick

Loosely based on events from Will Reiser’s life.  JGL plays Adam and his friend Kyle played by Seth Rogen are two ordinary guys who work in the radio industry.  Kyle starts having pain in his back and goes to the doctor to find out about it and is told he has a very rare form of cancer.  He tells Kyle, his mom and his girlfriend that he has cancer and starts into chemo.  The rest of the movie is Adam’s life with cancer.  Anna Kendrick, who you might recognize from the Twilight movies or Up in the Air, plays Adam’s psychiatrist in the movie to help him with the whole process.  The movie is very well put together and i’m glad i finally got to check it out.  It would have been worth the “big money” at the big theater.  I’m still convinced anything JGL touches is gold.  Seth Rogen does his same humor he does in all his movies and is still smoking pot.  Anna seemed pretty believable as a just starting out psychiatrist.  If you havent seen this, you NEED TO!

8.5 outta 10 wahoo’s