Trailer Talk: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

It's an abundance of posts!

I thought about waiting on this, but it's so timely that I just CAN'T. The first teaser for David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has been released, and I have so many ~feelings~ about that I need to share them with you before it becomes old news.

(See the teaser here)

Why I'm excited: Yes, I saw the Swedish version with Noomi Rapace.  My blasphemetic reveal for the day is that I didn't like it. 

I have reasons, I promise!  And I enjoyed some things about it: the mood was pretty excellent, it was very dark and it was faithful to the book's story.  BUT.  It suffered from two pretty huge faults for me, and first and foremost was the casting of Rapace.  Rapace is no doubt a talented actress, but in that role with the severe haircut and whatever makeup effects they used on her face made her look WAY too old.  In fact, I think the whole cast suffered from that; I didn't find Blomkvist or Erica to be particularly charismatic or interesting.  I know that admitting I don't like Rapace in that role is tantamount to movie-fan-death-sentence, and her attitude was right, but the visual was distracting.

The second issue I had was that through the majority of the film I was incredibly bored.  One of the things I loved about the book was how exciting parts of it were, especially the climactic action sequences; but the film was SO dark and SO moody and SO slow-paced that I struggled not to sleep through it.  I was watching events unfold, and I wanted to be excited, but it felt so flat and lifeless that I couldn't get there.

Which is why I'm so stoked for Fincher's film, and why I love the adrenaline-infused teaser.  Using so many jump cuts that you only get impressions of what you're looking at, the teaser leaps frenetically from hostile winter scenes to eerie faces to what I assume is a glimpse of a horribly graphic scene that I wasn't sure would make it into the film.  Rooney Mara, inlike Rapace, looks young enough to capture Salander's childlike stature, and I appreciated the call-back to the Swedish film with the shots of Mara on her motorcycle.  It feels like Fincher is acknowledging the first film without feeling obligated to stick too closely to it.

I also think that Daniel Craig is perfect for the Blomkvist role; he's attractive in a very world-worn way, and can handle the quiet nature of Blomkvist's reporter attitude but will definitely be able to bring it for the action.  And that heart-pounding music overlaying the teaser simply reinforces it: this is not your moody arthouse film.  This is a huge tale of intrigue, murder, investigation, politicking, and danger.

I can't wait.

Photo from Rope of Silicone - click the pic to go to the site

Tumblr'd Posters: Part 1

If you follow my tumblr (which you totally should - sometimes I post neat stuff there), you'll have noticed that a couple weeks ago I ran movie posters for two days.  The ones that showed up are some of my favorites, and now I'm going to tell you why!

Pulp Fiction

What's so great about this is how thoroughly it exemplifies the feel of this movie.  I'm not a Tarantino fan and I really didn't care for Pulp Fiction, but this poster is brilliant - it looks like the cover of a pulp novel from the 50's or 60's, which, let's face it, is the tone the film is working in as well.  It's a perfect example of the sort of poster I like to see: something which gives you a taste of what the movie will be like without spilling any of its secrets.  The poster should make you want to watch the trailer, which should make you want to watch the film, and (no matter how I feel about Pulp Fiction specifically) I think this poster does that.

American Beauty

This tells you nothing about the film but is intensely memorable.  Even though none of the skin shown is exactly obscene, it's a lot of skin, and broken up by that red rose makes it feel a little bit scandalous without being overtly dirty.  Splashing the rose on there is also really lovely after you've seen the film and know how the rose imagery keeps coming into play, but here it's just enough to make sure you know this isn't a porn flick.  It's also interesting because that stomach clearly does not reside on either Kevin Spacey or Annette Benning - but it's important enough to make it on the poster.  I would want to see it just to find out who all that skin belongs to.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I've had many issues with Tim Burton recently, but I confess to loving this one of his - the candy colors and Burton's macabre sensibilities and Depp's manic performance all gelled in a way that was pretty irresistible like chocolate. This poster lets you know it's really Depp's show - the kids are great, but no one really stands up to Depp's childlike, over-excited and overly fragile flamboyantly likeable candyman.  He's not Gene Wilder and he's not meant to be, and that's fine.  The poster, with his whimsical pose, top hat and velvet tails against that wonderful sunset background and frilly text, let you know this is a whole different story.

V for Vendetta

This image clearly calls back to the comic book roots of the story, and also recalls propaganda posters from World War II.  Both ideas give you a pretty good sense of what you're in for while still leaving you utterly unprepared - I enjoyed reading the comic, but mostly as an educational experience.  In my opinion the film leaves it utterly in the dust, re-validating a dated story and slotting a talented actress into an almost unbearable roll (Evie in the book is completely vile and I couldn't stand her).  The text in the upper corner almost disappears into the sun ray artwork, but putting part of it on V's black hat gives you the more important message.  I also love how V's hat is partially covering his face, which is already covered by his mask; it reinforces V's message in the film about ideas while also giving the viewer a taste of what Evie feels when she questions his identity - who is this guy?  In the end we know it doesn't really matter, but here it works to instill a curiosity about the film and the character.

Stay tuned for Tumblr'd Posters: Part 2!

Animated movies, and why I'm a child at heart

I bought Tangled yesterday and watched it for the second time.  It’s a beautiful movie, and much, MUCH better than I was expecting it to be.  While I was watching it, it occurred to me that there has been a lot of exciting things happening in animation recently, including several films that have been making not only my personal favorite lists, but the top ten lists of reviewers all over the place.  

I love animated film.  If I had to pick a genre of movie to watch forever to the exclusion of all others, it would be animated – and I would be cheating, because calling “animation” a genre ignores the fact that these films can be dramas, they can be comedies, they can be kid’s films, they can be mature and engrossing.  One of the great things Pixar has done, I believe, is show this to the world: among their collection, they boast a superhero film that is also a spy movie, heist films, science fiction, romance, workplace drama, identity crises, and everything I love about the Food Network with ten times the emotional impact.

The list below was compiled using a very complicated system of criteria, which included my evaluation of the films’ artistry, strength of story, and re-watchability (which is always a factor when I make lists like this.  Whether or not I want to see a movie again is a huge part of my personal appraisal when it comes to movies.).  I also tried to cover a wide ground, which is why the whole list isn’t divided evenly between Disney, Pixar, and Miyazaki, even though I kind of wanted to do that.  

So here’s my list of my ten favorite animated films of all time.  When I was researching a little to make sure I wasn’t leaving anything out, I discovered that I’m actually painfully ignorant of many films – so if you feel that I’ve made a glaring omission here, there’s a good chance I just haven’t seen it.  Unless it’s The Triplets of Belleville, Akira, or Paprika.  Those movies I straight up did not enjoy.

10. (Most of) The Animatrix (2003)

I almost did not include this one, because there are a couple of the segments I did not enjoy, and because I wasn’t really sure how to judge it against cohesive narratives and consistent animation.  I finally did, though, because one thing The Animatrix does almost better than anything else is take risks.  It could have been awful – there was a very real chance that the segments wouldn’t flow, that it would be too confusing, that it would be a pile of incomprehensible avant-garde bullshit.  But it’s not.  Most of its chapters are truly, truly beautiful (ex. "The Second Renaissance," both parts; "Program;" "World Record"), and all of them taken together provide a much more interesting and informative picture of the world of The Matrix than either of its heinous sequels.

9. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)

Cowboy Bebop has become one of the universal animes - if you're a fan of the medium there's a good chance you've seen this series and you probably have ~feelings~ about it.  That's ok, I do too.  And the film does what a lot of series-generated films do not: it stands pretty effectively on its own merits.  That is, you do not have to have seen the show to appreciate the movie, although I don't think you could watch it and not WANT to see the Further Adventures of Spike & Co. What I love about it is how philosophical it gets without losing the apathetic nature of its main character.  Spike never stops being the nihilistic space cowboy that we expect him to be, but he also gets the chance to be quietly reflective (while being chased, shot at, and drugged, natch).  This movie brings the best things from the series, all the quirky characters and space western atmosphere, and ups the mental ante.  It asks a lot from the viewer, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

8. The Last Unicorn (1982)

Oh, be still, my heart.  Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn is unquestionably my favorite book, and when I learned there was a film adaptation, I couldn't decide whether to be afraid or excited (at the tender age of, like, 12.  I was a cynical child).  It's a good thing I took a chance because The Last Unicorn is a feat of a translation.  Beagle wrote the script, and it has an unparalleled voice cast, including giants such as Christopher Lee, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, and Angela Lansbury.  The animation is definitely a product of the 80's, calling to mind Ralph Bakshi's work, but achieves a delicate nightmare feel that stays with you long after the credits have played out.  This film glows.

7.  The Lion King (1994)

Hamlet told with African safari creatures.  No kidding.  But what The Lion King may lack in originality it makes up for in sheer force of personality, helped along by brilliant music and memorable characters.  It plays out across a range of distinct landscapes, and I love that even the backgrounds have character: the sweeping savannah that echoes Mustafa's nobility, the golden brown desert with its carrion birds, the oasis full of vine-hammocks and lovely waterfalls that hosts Simba's "frat boy" phase.  Like I mention later on, I've never been a lion, but watching The Lion King makes me feel like there's something to this idea of interconnectedness.  It's a masterpiece, one of the jewels in Disney's animated crown.

(Side note: I got to see The Lion King once on an IMAX, and the force of my heartstrings almost killed me.  It was like distilling all the joy from my childhood into a 90-minute moment, and then blowing that moment up on that GIGANTIC ASS screen.  I cried through the whole thing.)

6. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Unggh, this MOVIE.  If you know me, you know that dragons are my very favorite fantastical creature (I have one tattooed on my right shoulder, and dozens of chotchkes on my bookshelves and walls), so seeing the trailer for this movie was like early Christmas.  And then it exceeded my expectations by being one of the best films to be made last year.  It's the first movie DreamWorks has made that really felt like it was competing with Pixar - the animation was a step up, the story was rich and complex, and it had animals that didn't talk to people.  Toothless is amazing: one part my bird, two parts cat, and 100% attitude, and in no way anthropomorphized.  Hiccup is our hero here, which we never forget, but Toothless is his perfect focus.  Their developing relationship is sweet without being toothachey and silly without losing value.  Helped along by beautiful sky vistas and appropriate levels of Viking-provided comic relief, this film not only makes this list of mine but also my top movies of all time.

5. Ratatouille (2007)

I have spent many, many hours in contemplation of my favorite Pixar movies.  For a long time, I said my very favorite was Wall-E, as it is a science fiction romance and those are two of my favorite things; I also thought the first half hour or so (before that amazing little robot is launched into orbit) is incredibly brilliant.  The things the sound mixers did without dialogue, and the emotion the animators conveyed in that bleak, brown wasteland was incredible.  But I chose Ratatouille because at the end of the day, it has far more emotional resonance for me – the whole story is driven by the emotional power of food, and I get that a little better than I get robot-space-love.  Ratatouille brings Paris and its culinary passion to life through the most unlikely of subjects (a rat, of all things, who eats fine cuisine instead of trash.  This is my kind of rat.), and that final scene never fails to clench my heart just a little bit.

4. The Thief and the Cobbler (1993)

The first time I watched The Thief and the Cobbler was on VHS at my grandmother’s house, and I remember being wildly entertained by the goofier elements – the Grand Vizier who always rhymed when he spoke, his weird loopy vulture that was kind of like a low-rent version of Iago from Aladdin, the fabulous Thief who lurks around the edges of the whole film making wildly historically inaccurate observations and trying to steal everything not nailed down.  Now, however many years later, those things still make me laugh, but I can also appreciate the fluid and Escher-like animation (especially during a brilliant chase scene through a palace, when the tiled floor patterns become doorways and tunnels), the sweetly simple but effective story, and the really excellent voice work (several versions of this exist, on my copy Matthew Broderick voices Tack the Cobbler, Jennifer Beals plays Princess Yum Yum, and the titular Thief is Jonathan Winters).

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

I don’t remember what movie I saw it in front of, but I saw the trailer for Nightmare in the theater and I will never forget the image of Jack pulling the Christmas lights down into his eye sockets.  When I was little, it was strange, kind of scary, but infinitely memorable, and now as an adult I find the same image hauntingly beautiful.  Jack’s first discovery of Christmas Town is an encapsulation of everything this movie excels at: brilliant soundtrack, evocative backdrops, and an odd combination of the grisly macabre and shining fairy tale.  The characters are singular and the animation is groundbreaking.  We would not have Coraline without Nightmare, and I don’t believe studios would have thought about 3D without the stop-motion media.  Or at least, it would have taken them a lot longer without movies like Nightmare where a 3D palate actually matters.  It certainly changed the way we think about how we celebrate holidays.

2. The Little Mermaid (1989)

I could not limit myself to only one Disney movie no matter how hard I tried, and even cutting it off at two was hard.  A lot of the things I love about The Little Mermaid are similar to why I love The Lion King – they are both stories set against incredibly lush, beautiful backdrops, full of color and exotic detail.  The Little Mermaid has the edge over Lion King for a few reasons: first, I have never been a lion, but I was a 16-year-old girl once and I, too, thought that my love was the be-all and end-all of my life.  Not that I am comparing Ariel’s journey to me in high school (well, I kind of am, but her love for Eric is obviously more Epic and True than any of my teenage crushes) but for a story set under the ocean and enacted by people that are half fish, Mermaid is incredibly relatable.  Second, Ariel is a badass princess – she knows what she wants and she sets out to get it, and she SACRIFICES.  She WORKS for her happy ending, and ultimately is the one who ends up saving the Prince, rather than the other way around (this is why Sleeping Beauty is not here – there are many reasons to love that one as well, but Aurora is pretty boring).  And then there’s the music, which I could wax rhapsodic about for pages; I posit that there’s not a person on the planet that doesn’t know the lyrics to either "Under the Sea" or Part of Your World, and a good many that know both.  It’s a beautiful score and a beautiful movie, and one of Disney’s finest.

1. Princess Mononoke (1997)

Miyazaki has been called the "Disney of Japan," and that's not an exaggeration.  His films bring a similar level of beauty and richness to the table, but I would argue that the one area in which Miyazaki surpasses the Western giant is that he crafts impeccable animated movies "for grownups."  Princess Mononoke is not a film for children, with its grotesque demons and themes of war and banishment.  But it doesn't lose anything by being animated: it is just as serious, and purposeful, and meaningful as any live-action movie that deals with similar themes (*cough*AVATAR*cough*).  It is detailed and subtle and universal; it carries Miyazaki's common message of environmentalism but never loses sight of its human characters, who also have their place in this world.  It delves into Japanese mythology without alienating a Western audience.  The English dubbing is perfection.  This movie is literally flawless.

Movie Posters!

I've queued up some of my favorite movie posters over on my tumblr that will post today and tomorrow.  Afterwards I'll talk in-depth about why I like some of them in particular.

Check is out here!

(Note: my tumblr is not dedicated to movies, so if you go through my backlog you'll get mostly pictures that amused me, many of which are owls.)

The Deal With Wonder Woman

This property is not curse, no matter what some people might tell you.  Developers are simply going about it the wrong way.

I will be the first person to tell you that I don't know a whole lot about Wonder Woman.  But I do know a couple of things about movies: first, this is the peak time to make a superhero movie.  People may tell you that they're getting burnt out of the spandex features, but they're lying; the box office numbers for Thor tell you a much different story, and he's not even a corner stone character.

Second, the hero landscape is crying out for a strong, identifiable female lead.  Catwoman was an unmitigated disaster, and so was Elektra - even though I thought the latter was fun and a HUGE improvement on its parent film Daredevil.  The truth is, there aren't a whole lot of powerful lady superheroes that have standalone stories.  Many of the ones I can think of (Black Canary, Super Girl, Batgirl, Wasp) are dependent on other heroes for context, and of the few that are not (Zatanna, and even she was retconned to be associated with Batman) Wonder Woman is the most recognizable.  She also stands for a lot of great things that I think we need in the media: strong women who can save themselves.

But she has problems.  A lot of what made her a feminist icon in the 1940's is outdated today.  Her origin is more like Thor than Batman, and at this point in time I think her patriotic iconography is problematic (but then I would have said that about Captain America, and his movie is slated for release this summer.  So what do I know?).  The whole...bondage thing...is not good.  The invisible jet is goofy rather than awesome.

For Wonder Woman to be successful now, in this day and age, Hollywood is going to have to do what they do best: ignore the fans.  No matter what happens or what writers do with the character, fans and the internet will be a riot of hate-mongering.  And I’m going to go on the record and say that’s ok, because here’s the thing about Wonder Woman:

Her origin blows.

.

It’s true.  You can yell at me all you want to about how she’s rooted in Greek mythology, or that her history as an Amazon princess is necessary to her character, but her whole background is ridiculous.  I do not believe there is a way to successfully adapt her canon back-story to a modern setting and make it believable or something to relate to.  It’s just too awful.

What writers need to do is preserve the spirit of the character and re-imagine where she comes from.  There are ways to turn her into a relevant female icon, but I think Wonder Woman needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.  And maybe that means she’s not the same character that she was in the 1940’s, but you know what?  We’re not in the 40’s anymore.  What was revolutionary and feminist then, is now staid and old (and probably offensive).  Wonder Woman needs to be brought into the modern age.  She needs a good villain, and she needs a new costume.  I would love to see a gritty reboot a la Batman Begins, maybe putting Diana in some sort of foster-kid situation in New York City or Chicago.  She’s a tough girl, she could handle it.  The point is: I think there’s a way to preserve the character while scrapping the origin.  

She can keep the whip, though.  Indiana Jones had a whip and no one accuses him of being into bondage. 

Really, Hollywood? REALLY?

(As per Ashley's request, I'm posting this now instead of tomorrow.  You lucky dogs, you.)

To make up for the fact that I didn't post for a while, here's a list of real things that, while I SERIOUSLY QUESTION their necessity or validity, are actually happening in Hollywood.  Where I am able I have linked to a news article or IMDB page to prove that there is, in fact, some shit even I can't make up.

Hobo With A Shot Gun (I know, this is old news, but WHY)
Men in Black III (Will Smith, you are a quality actor with a dynasty-esque family.  Do you really feel the need to inflict this on us?  Because even though I WANT it to be an apology for MIB2, you know it will just hurt my feelings more.)
Piranha 3DD (Was one D not enough?  Also, David Hasselhoff is in it.  That was a gift for you guys.)
Dominion: Dinosaurs vs. Aliens (Don't lie, you think this sounds kind of awesome.  But it still gets a REALLY? stamp because this whole "versus" crap is now squarely in "self-parody" territory.)
Final Destination 5 (Apparently they're spelling the title with a 5 replacing every "a." I...I can't, you guys. And I LIKED the first one.)
Human Centipede volumes 2 and 3 (Here I'll just take the opportunity to refer you back to my previous entry, Human Centi-WHUT)
Tomb Raider reboot (This is so ridiculous I can't even be witty about it.)
Django Unchained (Just watch the movies referenced in this article that Tarantino lists as his "inspirations," and you'll have seen this film.  Dear Tarantino: I am over you.)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (The most hilarious thing about this is that James Franco is in it.  I thought he was too much of a ~special snowflake~ to do a cheesy reboot of a cheesy remake of a terrible sci-fi movie.)

Oh, HOLLYWOOD.

The Monster Mash-Up Literary Fad

I want to weigh in today on a slightly-off-topic-but-increasingly-on-topic subject: monster mash-up classics.  Mostly these still reside in the realm of literature, but Hollywood is always looking for a good idea to cop, which is why we're all looking forward to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which is slated for theaters next summer.

I have already expressed my enthusiasm for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, even while commenting on the dubious nature of casting (I have recently learned that Mary Elizabeth Winstead is playing Abe's wife Mary Todd, to which I say: I'm glad she's working again and I hope she can bring the crazy).  In addition, the rumor mill has been turning around Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (by the same author as AL: VH, Seth Grahame-Smith) for ages; first it was attached to Natalie Portman, then it wasn't, it had a director, then it didn't, then it did again, and now it's in that wonderful little blank space that projects occupy after they get a director but before they get actors.  I have no doubt that we'll be hearing more from it, and soon (that last article regarding director Craig Gillespie is dated April 19, 2011) but until then, Abe Lincoln is filming and the literary world is buzzing around these unconventional retreads of classic literature.

When P&P&Z was released in May of 2009, it garnered a whole lot of attention and spawned a mess of "sequels" (Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Jane Slayre, Android Karenina, etc.).  Some of them are really good and some of them...not so much.  I read P&P&Z and enjoyed it immensely - I could not even finish S&S&S.  I'm embroiled right now in Alice in Zombieland, which, once again, I'm enjoying immensely.  And I adored Abe Lincoln.  In my personal view, I found P&P&Z to be so much fun because it was deliciously subversive: about 85% of it is Jane Austen's original prose, with key words and phrases interjected at the right time to transform the English countryside into a zombie apocalypse.  S&S&S, on the other hand, is almost entirely fabricated monster-story, and it didn't retain enough of the original text for me to find it clever or entertaining.  Alice in Zombieland is composed mostly of wording changes (instead of a White Rabbit, Alice follows a Black Rat down an empty grave), but I'm finding it retains Carroll's tone of the original work.  I think these stories work best when they stick harder to the original source material, which makes the horror-film changes that much more entertaining.  It's not all that witty or original to read about sea monsters assailing an island; zombies in an otherwise pleasant English countryside, on the other hand?  While everyone is speaking in charming Austenian dialect?  Fabulous.

But that's just my take - why have these taken off so well in the populace at large?  I may have read many of the canon works these monster manuals are based off of, but many people haven't (this is not a comment on the literacy of the US, by the way.  This isn't meant to be a chastisement.).  So why have people been devouring them off the shelves of bookstores and libraries alike?  My theory is two parts: the current mad popularity of anything supernatural, and the desire for people to cheat.

The spat of supernatural in the media can't really be denied, because it's everywhere.  My second point takes a little explaining: I think that many people read these books because they're easier to digest then the classics they're based off of.  This is my hypothesis and it's largely unfounded in statistical fact, but c'mon, how many people have read Anna Karenina?  I wouldn't go near it with a 20 foot pole.  Android Karenina, frankly, sounds both far easier to chew on and much more interesting (please don't kill me if you're a Russian lit fan). 

So anyway, that's my weigh-in.  In regards to the impending Lincoln movie: the first set pic has been released, and it's a suitably boring one of Walker in costume giving some sort of presidential speech.  (NOTE: I JUST learned that Rufus Sewell is in this movie, and he is NOT playing John Wilkes Booth.  WTF BEKMAMBETOV)  What I appreciate about this photo is what I appreciated about the book: in as many ways as possible, Grahame-Smith kept it historically accurate.  I mean, yeah, there are vampires, but the skeleton the story is hung on is historical fact that we know about Lincoln's life.  I think the movie will be more effective if it keeps that accurate feel, and from this (single, I know) photo, it looks like the filmmakers are trying to do just that.