The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Anderson

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

The book opens with the protagonist, Mikail Blumquist (Don't qoute me on the spellings. They are coming from Sweden) being found guilty of libel and on his way to jail. Before he goes to jail, he is asked by a wealthy industrialist, Vanger, to write about Vanger's family and the disappearance of Vanger's neice forty years ago. And that's what our protagonist does.

It's odd when a financial thriller becomes a very strange murder mystery. But it works. The best character in the book is Lisbeth. She's the girl with the tatoo but not the subject of the mystery. She's the researcher who helps Blumbquist solve the mystery. I wish we had more of her story and less of Mikail, because she is the more interesting character.

The problem with liking this book by Stieg Anderson is that he died in 2004. He did finish a trilogy of novels of which this is the first before his death, but it's sad to think the stories will end there.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

The whole gang is back, Mickail, Lisbeth, Wierd German Giants, Pablo the boxer, Berg the editor. And in answer to my prayers this book is about Lisbeth and her back story. And what a nice back story it is, too. She starts digging into her past or rather her past starts catching up to her. Bad things happen. This story was much more focused than Dragon, but it did take about a hundred pages to start.

Some really interesting characters and Lisbeth just keeps getting better. I'll just sit here by the door waiting for the final novel.

[Drunk Monk]

I was contacted by the filmmakers for tFwpwF. There's some sort of film version that's been done in Sweden and there's a shot of our mag. Apparently one of the protags is looking through the mail which has several martial arts mags including ours. It's some sort of character defining scene, and of course, I hope it makes the final cut. There was supposed to be a similar seen in SWAT and after suffering through that travesty of a flick, I could totally see where that scene was supposed to be, but it was cut. Anyway, I'm not sure the Swedish film version will ever make it here to the U.S.

It was funny. In swapping emails with this film rep, she had no idea if the book was even available here in the U.S. She was delighted to hear that it was on the front shelves and top of the national bestsellers.

[Drunk Monk]

I really want to see this to see if the mag scene made it.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Guild Theatre
March 19-March 26, 2010

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvis) and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is based on the trilogy of books by Stieg Larsson and has sold over 7 million copies worldwide. Directed by Niels Arden Oplev (Worlds Apart).

Ticket Info
Tickets: $7-$9.75
Info Phone: 650-323-6583 or 650-266-9260
Dates:
March 19-March 26, 2010
Times:
TBA

Guild Theatre
949 El Camino Real Menlo Park, CA 94025

[youtube]JlF-hk3IJQE[/youtube]

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Ha! Look for my parents in the audience. They liked the book and have tickets tot he festival where they are showing the film.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, I didn't see our mag anywhere in the film, nor did I see Greg's folks. In retrospect, I can think of a few scenes where the mag might have appeared - cluttered tables and such - but I might have missed it because I was reading subtitles. The rep assured me that the scene made the final cut, so I'll have to follow up with her. If I had seen the mag, this would have been a rave review.

This is a very intense film - sort of SVU in Sweden. I'm not that into police procedural tales (seems that and reality game shows are all that's on prime time nowadays) which is what this turns out to be, even though it's a reporter and a hacker. It's an engrossing film, emphasis on the 'gross'. There's some brutal rape scenes, incestuous nazis preying on teen girls and torture. Given that T is away on a Girl Scout field trip right now, it wasn't something I really wanted to watch. Nevertheless, it's tightly woven film and the 2.5 hour film flies by, even with long brooding scenes of snowy Sweden and a nerve-wracking soundtrack of strings. I kept forgetting to look for the mag because I was getting so involved in the plot. Lizbeth steals the show.

I heard some Swedish guy as we exited. He said he read the book in Swedish and thought the film was very loyal - scene for scene he said - except for a few omissions due to length. I don't know if I'd recommend it.

[Drunk Monk]

I loved SWAT the TV show. I imagine all DOOM loved that. I hated SWAT the film. It was lame, lame, lame. Not every TV show made into a movie can be as Borgasmic as Star Trek. Adding insult to injury was that I signed off on the mag appearance and it didn't get off the cutting room floor.

So I was bummed after tGwtDT. But never fear. I contacted Yellow Bird and they informed me that there was a misunderstanding and our mag actually appears in the sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire. I'm told that in the second film the police visits Lisbeth Salander's apartment, which Miriam Wu has rented. Miriam Wu is very much into kung fu (and similar sports) and on her kitchen table is our magazine, which one of the police officers looks through. So I'm waiting on the sequel. Does this jive with the book, G?

I've been haunted by the rape and rape revenge scenes in this film. I hear David Fincher is planning to do an American remake and is thinking about casting Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart or Keira Knightley. That is so lame. Portman might be able to tackle Lisbeth, but no way in hell could Stewart or Knightley do it. There's just no way. Rapace was perfect in that role. Her performance really made the film.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

It's funny, in the books, Lisbeth is the fighter. I don't recall Miriam being that much of a fighter, but it's possible. The first book isn't really about Lisbeth, but the second one is. As a matter of fact, no one wants to fight Lisbeth, because she never stops fighting. She is even befriended by a professional boxer or better yet, it's part of her back story. I'm sure I'll go to see these films to make sure I get that nanosecond of KFM coverage.

[Drunk Monk]

Lisbeth does get into a few fights, but there's no attempt to show any martial prowess. They are more like street fights.

I'm eager for you to see this and compare it to the books.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Miriam shows up in the second book. It's more about the reporter than Lisbeth. Lisbeth is book two. That's where we get more of her backstory.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

And we saw it. Kudos to tQ for sitting through 2 1/2 hours of Swedish. It was just like the book. The scenes they did cut mostly had to do with the running of the mag and certain intrigues that occurred there in relation to Kalle Blomquist's trial. I actually felt they could have ended it a bit sooner, but they went ahead and tied up all the story lines. And there were a lot of them It did feel a bit hurried at the end especially after the deliberate build up, but that is a minor quibble.
There were quite a few scenes in the film I didn't need to see, especially the ones with Lisbeth and her Court appointed ward. (That is dealt with more fully in the book about why she ends up in that situation). But the go towards character and her character is indeed messed up.
It was brooding and moody and the actor who played Mikhail Blomquist could never have been the lead in an American Film with that puss. But he does it well. It will be weird to see the american version and see how much they cut out for our more delicate tastes. Rapace did creep me out, but she looks to be in great shape.
If you have a lot of time, go see it. If not, read the book.

I did peek for the alleged KFM tie in, but did not see it. Maybe in book two.

[The Queen]

I'm glad I read the book first; it enabled me to look away from the subtitles occasionally and just watch without missing too much. The rape scenes were a bit much for my delicate sensibilities, but, as in the book, I appreciated her very practical vengeance.

[Drunk Monk]

I've seen an inordinate amount of movie rape scenes (thanks ED, thanks a lot ) but some really get under your skin. This one is going to stick out in my head. It's up there in the top three most upsetting rape scenes - this, Leaving Las Vegas and Dead Man Walking.

[Drunk Monk]

Our mag appears prominently. It's our 2008 Sep/Oct issue.

What's more is it appears right after a hot lesbian kickboxer scene. We couldn't ask for more. So I love this movie.

That being said, I have Hornet's Nest too, but I'm going to wait a while until watching it as Fire was equally intense as Dragon Tattoo. Fire clocks in at over 2 hours, and it's another gritty, gripping ride. There are homages to Ong Bak (exactly copying the lighting and composition of the scene), Kill Bill and Luke & Leia. I'm also really getting into Bloomquist as he's in the mag biz and I can totally relate to what he experiences. My real work is exactly like that - hot lesbian kickboxers with tattoos, Aryan villains who don't feel pain, lots of tasering, just not as many guns. Our mag appears fairly early in the film, but I was again riveted to the rest of the movie. Naomi delivers again, albeit a bit more caricature than the first film, but when she gets all made up, how can you resist that? I find myself genuinely fearing for Lisbeth, as I know already that this story line won't shy from going to some very dark places with her.

I have no desire to read the books. The films are intense enough and I think reading about it in detail would only give me nightmares.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I have the last book on my shelf. It's probably going with me on the plane. You have the movies? You should share them.