Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) Film 47/50

As mentioned in prior posts, I will see any movie starring Gary Oldman. Add an ensemble cast that features the likes of John Hurt, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy, and one would think it the recipe for the greatest movie of all time. Unfortunately, this one was a bit slow.

And I liked the book better.

Ah, well. They can't all be "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" meets the Silver Screen (the only instance I can think of where the film is equal to, if not surpasses, the quality of the text).

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Film 30/50

@MBlomkvist can u lend me ur copy of "the notebook"? #imissmydad

They took some liberties translating the third book into a movie. Not that they didn't do that with the other two films. But this one resembled the book not unlike how Demi Moore's version of The Scarlet Letter (1995) "captured" the spirit of the Hawthorne classic. By that, I mean, not at all.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009) Film 27/50

Varför så allvarlig?

(Yes, that's Swedish for "Why so serious?")

At least, it is according to Google Translate.

While this make-up job was in actuality mentioned in Stieg Larsson's book (published in 2006), I still maintain it's an homage to Heath Ledger's Joker. And nothing will ever change my mind about that. Nothing.

So the movie...

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Film 26/50

Before I can begin discussing this film, I need to explain a few things. First, I loved the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. LOVED IT. Jonathan Safran Foer did a phenomenal job writing his novel, and I felt unbelievably conflicted when I heard that they were making a movie out it.

Then I saw the trailer. And I found myself even more conflicted. Tom Hanks? Sandra Bullock? For real? At least the unknown they had cast as Oskar looked like the boy I'd imagined while reading the book.

So it took me a while to get around to seeing this one. I'd heard mixed reviews. But I'm glad I eventually got around to seeing it. While I didn't love it as much as the book, it had its moments.

The Hunger Games (2012) Film 22/50

At first I found it strange that Stanley Tucci received top billing for his role as Caesar Flickerman, considering Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is truly the heart of this story. But although Lawrence did a nice job representing The Hunger Games' heroine, Tucci's performance truly stole the show.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) Film 21/50

If Daniel Craig showed up on my doorstep uninvited, I'd let him in, too.

Back in January, I promised that I'd eventually get around to seeing this film (having read the book and seen the Swedish version). Now to compare and contrast them all.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) Film 17/50

In order to get Kristen Stewart to make this face, the director made her watch the previous three films back to back A Clockwork Orange-style.

I was fortunate enough to watch this film with my sister; Mystery Science Theater 3000 has nothing on Lauren once she's had sugar. Unfortunately, I can barely remember a single gem from our screening now with the exception of Lauren calling dibs on referring to Taylor Lautner as "Jac-abs" in her film review (coming soon, I'm sure...which translates to sometime around next Thursday). My father was also present for this event (although he was smart enough to check out and take a nap about 20 minutes into the film).

I should probably warn all the 13 year old girls out there reading this that I will be throwing out spoilers left and right from this point on. So with that warning, here's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) Film 5/50

"But I just had to look/Having read the book."

-Lennon/McCartney

So here comes my review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film version #1 (aka the version that doesn't star Daniel Craig). Fortunately, a good deal of what I disliked about the book (mainly the exhausting introduction of every character and three major plot points) was revised for this film adaptation. That being said, there were certainly alterations that made for a considerable difference in the portrayal of the lead characters. Take Mikael Blomkvist, for instance. In the book, his character slept with every female who threw herself at him. In the movie, his character was far more chaste, almost to the point of infantile at times. Not to mention being a bit of a dimwit in comparison to his literary depiction. I'm looking forward to seeing how Daniel Craig compares.