The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo & My Own Cookies

It's about time I get off my tail and write a bit on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I went to see this movie, which I'd waited for over a year for, for several reasons.  First, I'd zipped through the trilogy and second, I can't get enough of Daniel Craig.

Now, I'm not saying that in a Oh-He's-Hot kind of way; he brings a sense of emotional awareness to a lot of his characters, and okay, sure, he really does a great job of filling out his pants.  Anyway ...

We went to the big corporate movie theater to see this movie.  And since I had just enough money--yeah, I'm self-employed, so sue me--I sneaked snacks into it.  Hey, even the people with me, who weren't financially doomed, brought in goodies.

So, armed with a bottle of Jones Soda, Pringles Original chips, and my very own chocolate hemp seed macaroon cookies--wait, what?  Yes, my cookies, made with cane sugar, unsweetened organic coconut and cocoa.   No popcorn.  Sigh.

What?  Oh, the movie, right ...  I haven't seen the original movies, so I can't compare, but I can offer my thoughts on this one.  Right from the start, it was clear that the creators put a lot of effort into pulling it off; it was like they knew they were in competition with the first movie and that audiences would be using it as a marker.

For the first time ever, I actually enjoyed a cover of Led Zeppelin, with Trent Reznor's version of "Immigrant Song," used in the intro.  That's just me, though.  Although they were quite visually stunning, the graphics for it seemed to fit the style of a James Bond movie rather than the presentation of Lisbeth's story.

Onto the actors, with Daniel Craig playing a quiet Mikael Blomkvist, Rooney Mara as frustrated Lisbeth Salander, Stellan Skarsgard as the charmingly slippery Martin Vanger and Christopher Plummer appearing here and there as likable Henrik Vanger.

First off, I'd never seen Skarsgard play the villain, but his creep was spot on, especially when he toyed with Craig in the basement scene.  Mara pulled off Salander's look and reached a wide range of her emotions.  She pulled all the right strings, especially in the cringe-worthy scenes and in the end, when she ditched the jacket and road off on her bike.  Yes, me and my fellow movie pals ducked and stared at the floor during the grim rape scenes.  Could they have left those out?  No.

Craig downplayed his charismatic energy, which worked, since the audience needed to connect with Lisbeth's suffering, not his.  Although I have to note, as Vanger worked him over in the basement, it reminded me of his Bond in Casino Royale.  Ooops.

I agreed with the overall cinematography, which solidified the tone of a gritty, modern Sweden in winter against the backdrop of post-WWII Vanger family history.  And even though I already knew the outcome, which was unbelievable in the book too (Salander hacks her way into a mountain of money), I wanted to see how this film would play out.

It brought contenment.  In fact, I think I'll go see it again, on cheap night, and bring more cookies.  But we'll do popcorn this time.

Rating:

The Girl w t Dragon Tattoo:  8 / 10 - Well put together, with the right amount of action and grit.  Avert eyes for disturbing rape scenes.

Pringles Original:  8 / 10 - You can't go wrong with these chips. Salty goodness, but they just ain't movie popcorn.

My Own Chocolate Cookies:  9 / 10  - Filled with coconut, hemp seed, and chocolate yum, everybody thought they tasted good.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Goodbyes, & Sad Chocolate

A few days ago, we headed out to our local downtown movie theater, the Palace for the last time.  Choosing Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows for the last movie to see in a theater that has been rebuilt since its creation 91 years ago, we settled in for the show.

Of course, we came prepared, with Jones Soda for me and Turin's Baileys Irish Cream chocolate for everybody, which we bought at the local drugstore.  Popcorn with fountain pop rounded out the gorge-fest.

I looked forward to seeing Robert Downey Jr's Holmes and Rachel McAdam's Irene Adler interact on the big screen again.  They didn't disappoint, but Adler's time on screen turned out to be minimal, as Noomi Rapace's character, Madam Simza Heron, took over for most of the movie.

I think I felt more grief at the lack of Adler's presence than Holmes.  Don't get me wrong, Rapace did great in her portrayal of Heron, but I missed the Holmes-Adler connection.  I haven't read the actual stories since childhood --and I'm very old, so ... maybe that's the way it goes in the story, but ...

Okay, even with that reality, Holmes could have been given more than a few looks and a handkerchief to show his own sadness.  Okay, the hanky blew out to see, time to move on ...

While Jared Harris did solid work of portraying Prof. James Moriarty, I didn't feel the same suspense between his character and Holmes as there was in the first Sherlock Holmes.  Mark Strong's Lord Blackwood actually scared Holmes, who needed to figure out the villain's plan.  With Moriarty, it's simply a chess battle of moves, not a puzzle.  Sure, there is investigative work to be done, but there are no question marks.

The movie, despite those disappointments, is a fun ride, full of visual candy and more of the same style of the first.  The story takes us beyond the streets of London onto a train, out into the woods, and to places such as Sweden's Reichenbach Falls, but, complete with a fictional castle, is computer generated. The CGI is done in good taste.

Along with action, we got humorous bits.  All I have to say is, the poor pony.  Hopefully he or she had a stunt double for the scenes with Holmes. The segment where Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes showed us his all--and I do mean his all--proved to be less dangerous but no less funny.

Of course, the last scene --or what I think should have been the last--must be discussed.  The final chess/physical battle between Holmes and Moriarty.  Yes, Richie did an artful job of it, but he didn't end it there; he let Jude Law's Watson take over, leaving of course, a question mark on whether there will be a 3rd movie.

I say sure, but only if Adler is brought back. Hey, it's Hollywood, why not!  In the end, the movie did provide decent entertainment; we ended up going downtown one last time to see it again and say a final goodbye to the theater.

Rating:

A Game of Shadows:  8 / 10 - We got our money's worth in eye candy and action.  Plus, we saw it twice, so that says something too!

Turin Baileys Irish Cream chocolates:  4 / 10  These chocolates get a fail, even though we bought them on sale.  They did not taste like other liqueurs, being way too mild, and the chocolate itself was bland.  Never again.  Ah well... at least we had Jones Soda and popcorn!