The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard

Directed by David Fincher

Rating: B

When the Millennium trilogy hit bookstores, the author Stieg Larsson became a hit, only he was not alive to see it. Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004, leaving an unfinished fourth novel incomplete. However, the trilogy has done profitably, according to his website. The series has sold over twenty million copies and Larsson was the second bestselling author in 2008.

In 2009, director Niels Arden Oplev first came out with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Sweden. Now two years later, American director David Fincher has successfully produced an “American” version with better known actors to play main characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo takes place in Sweden, where Mikael Blomkvist has been deemed “guilty” for libel against Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. The best thing for Blomkvist to do would be to go under the radar. Henrik Vanger has an interesting task for Blomkvist: to find out what exactly happened to his granddaughter Harriet and which one of his family members killed her. Seen as a waste of time in Blomkvist’s eyes as the mystery occurred forty years ago, Blomkvist takes the job as Vanger promises to give him what he wants: a secret to take Wennerstrom down.

Anyone who has read the book could only imagine how difficult a task it would be to get into character with Lisbeth Salander. White-as-a-sheet, piercings everywhere, no respect for anyone, Lisbeth is her own boss. Rooney Mara, who takes on this role, does an excellent and convincing job. Mara immerses herself in the role; actually getting the piercings Lisbeth has in eyebrows and private parts. She loses a little bit of weight to look like the skeletal Listbeth and cuts off most of her locks. Mara’s acting deserves to win an Oscar.

Daniel Craig steals most of the movie as the leading male character, Mikael Blomkvist. While Craig plays a reasonable role, the one factor that could not fully convince me of his character is his accent. While yes, viewers in English-speaking countries are watching it in the natural language, Blomkvist is supposed to be Swedish. Craig speaks with his natural English accent, not Swedish. Most of the characters convince you of their role because they make an effort to have some sort of Swedish accent.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo does have some very explicit scenes which could make some viewers uncomfortable. While the movie is quite lengthy, almost three hours, the pace is fast enough to keep viewers from checking for the time. The plot really pulls the audience in so that viewers are not yawning too many times. Like many films based off of novels, this particular film strays from the path a bit. Overall, David Fincher did include scenes not shown in the Swedish version which makes this up-to-date film more appealing.

Overall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is rated “R” for a reason but that should not keep adults from watching it. It is an exciting, fast paced thriller worth the watch.

Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck
Directed by Gus Van Sant

Rating: B

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is an exceptionally smart person. However, he spends his time as a janitor at MIT in Massachusetts. When Professor Lambeau (Skarsgard) asks his students who can solve a particularly difficult problem that could earn them an award, Will solves it on a blackboard in a hallway. The professor is impressed and when his students admit none of them solved it, he goes to find out who did. When Will is found out for his intelligence, Professor Lambeau seeks to help him see his true potential. However, Will has some issues and finds himself at court quite a few times. This is when Sean Maguire (Williams) comes in, as he has a similar background to Will's and as his psychologist can connect with him.

Will has a hard time letting people into his life. Growing up, he moved around foster homes where some of the foster fathers were abusive to him. Will meets a girl but eventually pushes her away, all because he wants to avoid being abandoned by someone he cares about. Sean can see himself in Will and helps make a bond with this unconnected young man. Will learns to trust Sean and finally see's the his own potential.

Good Will Hunting is a movie worth seeing. Matt Damon portrays a believable character and one that the audience can sympathize with. Viewers want to see Will have a happy ending because in the end he deserves it. This was an interesting film to watch because Will has two choices: live life on the high end with a job that pays very well or he can do what makes him happy. It's a hard choice to make when you can potentially earn a six-figure salary but with the help of his psychologist, Will learns to do what is right for him.