The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
I’m always a little apprehensive about remakes, but when I heard that David Fincher was going to be at the helm, I was immediately intrigued by this movie. Considering how much I enjoyed the original Swedish film, this American version had some pretty big shoes to fill. And for the most part, it succeeds.
The story and how it plays out is nearly identical to the Swedish movie. We follow Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) as he gets hired to solve a decades’ old murder. He hires Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) as his assistant, though she was ironically the one who did the background check on him for the murder mystery case. She’s also different “in every way.”
The plot does get unnecessarily convoluted at several points and there are scenes that just feel like they’re dragging, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Drive (2011)
Here I was, thinking that the basic premise behind Drive was the same as the Transporter movies: there’s a guy who is the hired driver for some sort of criminal activity. That’s partly true, but this film couldn’t be more different from the Jason Statham action flicks.
Instead of cheesy one-liners and car chase scenes, you get a methodical character piece. Ryan Gosling plays a man with an unknown past and he happens to be a very good driver. He eventually gets mixed up in a deal gone wrong and the dominoes start to fall. Drive
You Don’t Know Jack (2010)
Originally a made for TV movie (HBO), You Don’t Know Jack
Yes, it’s very sad. This movie is deeply depressing to watch, but it’s also richly beautiful in its presentation. You may not agree with his perspective or some of the very questionable things that he did, but thanks to this movie and Al Pacino’s brilliant performance, you can understand why Jack did what he did.
In Time (2011)
Time is money. Literally. That’s the idea behind this near-future thriller where the population is divided into different “time zones” based on their relative wealth. What’s more, everyone stops aging at 25, initiating a glowing clock in your arm that counts down to your death. When you earn money, you gain time. And the poorest people quite literally live day-to-day.
It all sounded promising, but the execution is incredibly weak, not giving the time to explain certain what needed to be explained and developed. You get your usual rich girl with poor guy dynamic, a healthy dose of Stockholm Syndrome, and some high speed chases that really mean nothing. In Time
Wow, I definitely could not recognize Al Pacino there until I read it was him. I never knew about Jack Kevorkian but I’m going to watch this one.
Drive is a good one too.. watched it at end of last year. It is definitely underrated and slipped under the radar somewhat.
In Time sounds a bit like Logan’s Run as far as the plot goes.
-Jean
You might hear one comparing this to a Tarantino film, but take a second and leave all worries at the door, this is an absorbing and tremendously unique piece of cinema from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. The reason it works so exquisitely well is because the film grabs hold of you and takes you inside this often dark and dream-like LA setting. So, when the end of the film hits, you feel apart of this film, and it’s there to stay.
This film also offers a Ryan Gosling like you’ve never seen him, speaking only when necessary, with tension and fury in his eyes. He’s silent, caring, and ridiculously tough. Every line is delivered perfectly and every gesture is natural.
I saw this at the LA Film Festival on a mammoth screen with booming speakers. The music only makes this film more unique. It is catchy and synchronized perfectly with the TRULY beautiful cinematography.
This film is the BEST of its genre, but really. I honestly cannot compare it to any other film, for it is truly that different. “Drive” is already the best of the year, because I’m POSITIVE no other film will haunt and invade me quite like this film has. This is not just a classic for its genre, but a beautiful and bold classic in general.
Have a lovely day
Alexa