The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a bit of a curious film to me; I saw the original Swedish film during 2010's summer and found it to be a completely engrossing thriller, with a mystery that got more perverted the deeper you looked into it. Audiences, whether they like to admit it or not, are obviously fascinated by anti-heroes, extreme rebels, social outcasts, which can only begin to explain why the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy (as it has been dubbed) is such a huge hit over here in the states.

Certainly this tale is tailor made for its director, David Fincher, who revels in tales of social misfits and anti-system messages. His Fight Club is one of the ultimate "stick it to the man" films, ending in the destruction of America's financial sector. And I'm sure he was drawn to the material, if only so he could bring the character of Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) to life. She is the ultimate Fincher heroine, with piercings, tattoos, and wacky hairdo, not to mention an independent streak that sets her apart from almost any other heroine in film.

Daniel Craig also stars as the film's other protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, editor of Millennium magazine (where the trilogy no doubt draws its name), who has fallen under a scandal and lost his life savings because of an unfounded allegation he made against a fellow magazine mogul. Labeled with libel, he is whisked to northern Sweden where, on a remote island populated by a wealthy but estranged family, he is asked to investigate the murder of one of their members some forty years ago.

Lisbeth and Mikael stay separated for over an hour of the film as he begins uncovering a string of possibly related women murders, and she has an unfortunate run-in with a piggish social worker who will release Lisbeth's money to her in exchange for favors. Eventually they collide and the film focuses fully on the murders, though one wonders how much this will connect with Harriet.

The original title of the book and Swedish film is Män som hatar kvinnor which translates to Men who hate women. It's an apt title, considering all the content, though a film with that heading would never get recognition in the states (or a book for that matter) and the retitling is a bit more intriguing (though we never do learn the significance of that dragon tattoo). The film has an incredibly brutal rape scene and sex scenes that would have earned an independent feature an NC-17, but such is the Hollywood system that of course this skated by. Maybe its a sign of maturity on the MPAA's half that we can handle more extreme content, but then I remember Shame has an NC-17 rating.

But here's the thing: the film is almost identical to the 2009 Swedish one. Oh sure, it has a bigger budget, a more assured director, and a fantastic cast, not to mention a dynamite opening credits scene with a cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song that was quite the hit back when the trailer first dropped. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won Oscars for their unique and haunting score for The Social Network (2010) return as composers, but it feels like more of the same. Their style of music certainly lends itself well to the unease that surrounds this film, but at the same time I couldn't help but think back to The Social Network and its score.

There is also a structural problem with the film. It opens with Mikael's problems at Millennium, then introduces with the missing girl Harriet, then introduces with the string of women murders. Then each one of these threads is resolved from the murders on back, but the film suffers in the resolution between Mikael and his foes at the rival magazine. It's a protracted denouement that drags on and on after Harriet's plot is resolved, when we have little interest in what's going on.

The film just feels pointless. The Swedish version was thrilling and engrossed me, and this version felt like the same thing but in English. It's a sign of how lazy we are that we won't see the foreign language version because we don't like reading our movies (though anyone who got through the book should have no problem with subtitles). I feel even Fincher reflects this notion: he doesn't feel like he's trying here, like he simply watched the Swedish one and said, "Well, they did a good enough job, so I'll just make the same version in English, make millions, and call it day." Which I don't fault him for.

The performances are great, especially Rooney Mara as Lisbeth, but I also feel like they aren't too different from their Swedish counterparts. If I had to pick who was better, Noomi Rapace or Rooney Mara, I would have to go with Rapace because Mara's performance is clearly modeled on hers.

Anyone who doesn't know the material will surely be entertained, but anyone coming back to see if anything new was done will be disappointed. It's as pointless as watching Let Me In, the remake of Let the Right One In. At least when Seven Samurai was remade in America, they changed the story to cowboys so it felt fresh (though American samurais are something that wouldn't work anyway). I don't mind a remake if it does something new with the material, or approaches the subject from a different angle. True Grit was hailed as superior to the John Wayne version, though that also may be because forty years means something new can be done with the material.

I'm just tired of these pointless remakes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Which reminds me of Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. He was asked to remake it, so he did. There was very little wrong with that film, and it never felt dated, so Van Sant figured it would be the easiest thing to do. He had the right idea.

The Muppets (2011)

I've never really been into the Muppets. Sure, I saw their films as a child, and I loved them for it, but I still have never seen an episode of the show (blasphemous) and as a result, they are not a huge part of my childhood, as they are for others. That being said, this movie still provides people less in love with the Muppets with plenty of reason to enjoy the flick, as we get a round-up of all the classic characters, plus a new one.

The plot revolves around Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (voice of Peter Linz), a man and Muppet who grew up together. Problem for Walter is he never really "grew" and as such feels like a bit of an outcast, until he discovers the Muppet Show and falls in love. Gary, Walter, and Gary's 10-year long girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) go from Smalltown to Tinsel town to visit the Muppet studios, which they discover is in ruins. Walter further uncovers a plot by a rich Texas oil man Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to demolish the studios to drill for oil that supposedly lies underneath. So Gary, Mary, and Walter enlist Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire filling in for the late Jim Henson) to roundup the old gang and put on a show to save the studio!

The film is very self aware, to the point that would make Mel Brooks proud, and gets a lot of mileage out of characters referencing the dance numbers they just performed, or other gags such as "travelling by map" because, well, its faster. Despite the original Mupeteers being all but absent, somehow Segel and co-writer Nicholas Stoller (who directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall) manager to make the dynamic between all the old Muppet characters work. Chris Cooper even gets some good scenes, including one random rap complete with sing-a-long text.

But where the film doesn't work is in the addition of the three "straight" characters, Gary, Mary, and Walter. Mary feels neglected by Gary, who always puts Walter first, and Walter is invited to participate in the Muppet Show and struggles with figuring out what his real talent is. The problem is, these stories are not very compelling, and I almost wish Segel and Stoller had written a script that did not include these characters. They are fine for the first 15 minutes, but once Kermit begins rounding up the gang, they are relegated to the background and you forget their stories because, well, they were boring, until it is suddenly brought back to the forefront to remind that, hey, these guys matter too.

Walter is also probably the worst Muppet...ever. He has no personality to speak of, versus every other Muppet who has something that characterizes them. And I won't give away what his "talent" is, but I felt cheated that the film didn't foreshadow this in some way. Walter just produces this ability out of his ass.

Top all that off with Animal's anger management problems, the tension between Kermit and Miss Piggy, and the pressure to put on the show and beat Tex, and you have a lot of plots spinning around. I would have much preferred the film if it had focused on the Muppets and left Gary, Mary and Walter out of it completely. But as it is, there is just too much going on, and though it produces some funny musical numbers (Man or Muppet and Me Party) it doesn't gel as easily as it should.

But I do want to reiterate that despite the plotting problems, the film is still a ton of fun. Cooper, Segel, and Adams are all clearly having a good time, and the vast menagerie of guest stars that show up is also entertaining. If a second film is made, I hope Walter is merely a secondary cast member, and that Gary and Mary stay put in Smalltown, USA.