The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-An excellent adaptation.

Today was a good day for me in the movie realm. Why? Because after last night's laughably bad experience with Clash of the Titans I had the pleasure of finally getting to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This is a movie I've been waiting on for a couple of months and I'm thrilled to report that, not only did it wash the taste of last night's debacle out of my head, it was every bit as good as I was expecting it to be. The film has been getting really positive reviews coming out of a number of film festivals (including one right here in Miami a month ago) and they're all well deserved. Between this and The Ghost Writer you've got two great options for thrillers at the theater right now (that is, if you can find them as they're still in somewhat limited release.)

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a complex, dense, thriller/murder-mystery centering around Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative reporter who is tasked with attempting to solve a 40 year old cold murder case, and Lisbeth Salander (the titular Girl) a resourceful, mysterious, and troubled young computer savant who ultimately becomes Mikael's valued assistant as he struggles to find answers for Henrik Vanger, one of Sweden's most powerful businessmen, uncle of the murdered girl.

I'm not going to touch more on the plot, as it's a pleasure to watch unfold on screen, so no spoilers here. You've got the basics, and you know I'm really pleased with it, you'd do well to seek it out if you can.

One of the best things I can say about this movie (among many) is what a faithful adaptation of the source material it is. We all know that books are always better than movies, and that's still the case here. The book is a terrific read without question, but the movie is a really strong interpretation that manages to maintain all of the major plot points, the atmosphere, and juggles a large cast of characters and suspects admirably. It's probably one of the best book-to-movie adaptations I've seen in quite a while, so if you've read the book and are skeptical, fear not, it's well realized.

Larsson has crafted a fantastically complex character in Lisbeth Salander and she's just as intriguing on screen as she is in the book. All of her most compelling scenes from the novel make the translation, and it's something to watch her operated in the real world and not just in one's imagination. Noomi Rapace plays Salander extremely well, and the visual transformation that she underwent for the character is pretty remarkable. She's a pleasure to watch on screen, she seems really comfortable with the character and really brings her to life.

Be forewarned, there is some rather extreme violence and a couple scenes of nudity/sexuality in the film, so if you're not comfortable with those two ideas you probably want to give this one a pass. Also, it's a foreign film with subtitles so if you can't be bothered to read then it might not be for you either, however the titles are brief and simple to read so it shouldn't prove too problematic for anyone.

I can't recommend this one enough, seriously. It's tense, deliberate, well acted, and superbly scripted given how intricate the novel is. It won't disappoint. I hope that the inevitable sequel is put together with the same care. The final book hits store shelves next month, I can't wait!

Clash of the Titans - AKA "Clash of the Suck"

This is going to be a short review because, honestly? There isn't much to talk about. This is battling it out with The Wolfman for lamest movie of the year so far. It's wrong on so many levels that I don't even know where to start. The good thing about this review? I don't have to give a spoiler warning...because there is no plot to spoil. Apparently the director and screenwriters felt that a coherent narrative was a completely optional element of the movie and so, left it out.

Having such a glorious canvas like greek mythology to work with you'd think that putting together a compelling story would be relatively simple. Instead what they opted to do was create the Transformers 2 of myth movies. They went for bigger creatures, faster editing, needless slow-mo action shots (a gold coin skipping on water is interesting why???), and relentlessly paced action scenes where you can't tell who's doing what to who. Half the time I couldn't tell what was happening on screen because they don't really allow you to get your bearings. Complete disregard for the first film is kind of a slap in the face to those of us who look back on the original with fond memories. Yes, it was cheesy, but it was good fun with some really memorable moments and characters, and throwing all of that away while replacing it with nothing positive whatsoever is just insulting. (Those of you who've seen the first and remember the little mechanical owl will be sorely disappointed.)

So now you're saying to yourself, "Well if they didn't have a plot, I bet the special effects were at least awesome, right?" And I'm here to tell you that you'd be wrong. The effects seen on screen are something you'd see in a Sci-Fi Original Movie on a lazy Sunday afternoon and I actually think that the Sci-Fi channel takes more pride in itself and could probably do better. The creature designs aren't terribly compelling, and the CGI work is just plain bad. I don't know if they were trying to pay homage to the stop motion animation of the original flick or what but, in an age when CGI has come so far and become so seamless, to have it look so obviously computer generated is shameful. And the green screen work? What the hell???

Is the acting good? Nope. You can actually see Ralph Fiennes (as Hades) thinking, "God just get me to the Harry Potter set so I can get back to being a real bad guy working with a decent script." And I think that Liam Neeson spends most of the movie phoning it in or looking pissed that he was called off his upcoming "The A-Team" movie for re-shoots. He'd obviously rather be somewhere else.

Lastly is the implied sequel that comes at the end of the movie. The original Clash didn't have a sequel, why does this one need one? Apparently the director has already stated he plans to make at least a trilogy out of this current iteration and you can only ask, "Why??" I mean, if you're not going to bother with plot, coherence, attention to detail, or utilizing your actors, then what's the point???

iPad - Impressions and thoughts

I love Apple's products. It's not a secret. I don't think I'm quite the raving fanatic fanboy that some people I know of are, but I'm most certainly an avid fan, and don't feel that there is any shame in it. I've successfully switched probably a dozen or more people from PC to Mac in the past 10 years and not one of them has ever had a word of complaint after making the jump. I find their products to be reliable, stable, virtually virus free, intuitive, fun and, most importantly, user friendly. There really is a lot of truth to that old slogan "It just works" when it comes to Apple's products. Once you get your head out of the tangled and messy world that PCs operate in, and come to terms with how simple Macs are to operate, they are simply a pleasure to use and returning to a PC is a questionable idea at best.

Having said all of that, I'll be the first to admit that I was pretty underwhelmed when the iPad made its world debut this past January. The man behind the magic, Steve Jobs, hailed it as being magical, and rumor has it that the company spent somewhere on the order of one billion dollars in the development of the product. To me it just looked like a bigger iPod Touch, and I didn't really understand the need for a product like this. It can't do everything that my laptop can do, and it also can't make phone calls, so......what's the big deal, right?

The device isn't magical. But it certainly does have the potential to be revolutionary for a number of key reasons.

1. User Interface - The iPad is incredibly user friendly and intuitive to use. It's a snap to set up, and I don't think in any way intimidating to users who aren't terribly computer savvy. My mom has had one for 3 days and has already paid her bills online with the new gadget. She's now beginning to delve into the wealth of applications that already exist for it due to the iPhone's huge library, and will probably be reading a book on it in the next few days.

2. Portability - Yes laptops are easy to tote around, but they can still be a drag, and their batteries are notoriously short lived. The iPad is basically the size and thickness of a Time magazine, seems to be incredibly rugged, has a battery life of 10+ hours and, if you get the 3G model, can be online anywhere you want to take it. Freeing it from the leash of power cords in a lot of ways, and the necessity to be on your home network. Drop it in your purse or backpack and off you go for a full day of light-duty computing with nary a cord in sight.

3. Web Browsing - It's just better in this venue honestly. Whipping around pages with your fingertips, tapping on whatever link you want to view, zooming in and out with ease, it's just so much more pleasurable and fun than the mouse or trackpad interface.

4. Applications - This is where the iPad is really, I think, going to sink or swim. iPhone has excelled in the manner it has not because of AT&T's phone service (which is questionable at best) but because of what independent developers have been able to create in the way of applications. There are now something like 200,000 applications to be found in the iTunes app store and the sheer variety of them and what they allow you to carry around in your pocket from productivity and games to interactive yellow pages, fitness regimens, and personal budgeting tools is utterly mind-blowing (and can often be overwhelming.) If developers race to and embrace the iPad with just as much enthusiasm then the platform will definitely change the way computers are viewed in the home. Even just the first inkling of iPad specific applications are already pretty stellar....and it's only the first week of public consumption. Programs like Sketchbook, Starwalk, and The Elements: A Visual Exploration are shining examples of how this new platform can be used.

5. Accessibility - This basically echoes my first point, but is worth stating again. The iPad is a perfect platform and vehicle for those individuals who may not be terribly comfortable with computers, or for those people, like my mom, who don't need their computers to do a lot of heavy lifting. Can I run my drafting program on it, can I build a website on it? No (at least not yet.) But I wouldn't want to draft or build a website on the iPad, that's a task better left to my laptop or desktop. But can I email, surf the web, listen to music, look at pictures of my vacation, put together a Keynote presentation for work, watch a movie, play some video games, do a crossword puzzle, play a game of Scrabble with a friend on Facebook, figure out a new recipe for dinner, watch some videos on YouTube, and read the newest Stephen King book?

Yes. I can. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

To be completely honest, and Steve Jobs has admitted this himself, you can't get a full understanding of how this will change the way you want to use a computer, until you spend some time getting your hands on it. That's the truth of things. It's easy to dismiss as being "a big iPod Touch" if you just look at a commercial or read about it in a magazine, I get that. But once you actually get your hands on it, the attraction of all it can do, and the potential for all it might do, becomes evident pretty quickly.

After all this you're wondering if I've got anything bad to say about it right? I'll admit that the lack of Flash support is kind of a drag. Apple has stated that they've got no interest in supporting Flash, as such, the iPad will only show you a little box with a question mark sitting in it if you try to go to websites that are solely driven by Flash (my own site included, yes, I will be re-tooling it this summer.) But the device is completely HTML 5 compliant, and the future of the web is HTML 5. It's capable of doing much of what Flash already does, so if you just give it time, you're not even going to notice the Flash issues. And many websites are already being altered to rely less heavily on Flash.

I'll also say that the 2 separate models is kind of a downer. One model of the iPad is Wi-Fi only meaning that you need to be near some manner of wireless internet connection to get online, while the model coming out later this month is both Wi-Fi and 3G enabled. The 3G enabled model works on a pay as you go basis with AT&T where you can pay $14.99 per month for up to 250mb, or $29.99 per month for unlimited, internet usage. While I'm thoroughly enjoying this new piece of gadgetry and see it replacing many of the base uses of my laptop in every day usage, the Wi-Fi model I've got does leave me longing a little bit for the 3G model that I could take to the beach, or the local park, or on a road trip where the internet might not be as easily accessed.

Guess my next upgrade will be iPad 2.0 with Wi-Fi and 4G internet, and who knows what that future will look like. I can't wait.

The Ghost Writer

Roman Polanski puts together a densely plotted, tightly woven thriller with his most recent film The Ghost Writer. Polanski, who's probably best known for Chinatown and Romsemary's Baby seems to excel at storytelling like this and this recent effort is no exception. Full of twists and turns, supported by a strong cast, excellent pacing, and delightfully atmospheric music that serves to elevate the tension, Ghost Writer is compelling from the opening frame to the closing credits. It isn't the fastest paced movie you're going to see this year, so if you're attention wanders easily this one may not be for you. But if you like a movie that takes its time, has a clear focus, is crammed full of intrigue and betrayal, and is topical to the world around us today, then you couldn't do better at the cineplex right now than Ghost Writer.

As per usual, if you want to go in with a blank slate then go ahead and stop reading here. I'm just going to do a brief discussion of the plot real quick before wrapping this up. No spoilers this time around.

Ewan McGregor stars as the film's titular "ghost writer" who's been hired to clean up the rough draft of a memoir for ex-British Prime Minister Andrew Lang's life. Lang, played well by Pierce Brosnan, begins the film under investigation for war crimes committed while in office, specifically dealing with the unlawful holding and interrogation of terror suspects. McGregor is asked to come on last minute because his predecessor committed suicide before finishing revisions on the final copy of the book. An apparently talented writer who is known for working quickly under deadline, McGregor feels well suited for the job as he knows little about politics which, in turn, should allow him to get to the heart of what Lang is about. McGregor is quickly whisked away to meet lang and begin work, his publisher wants the final draft in hand within the next fours weeks so there isn't a moment to lose. This is the set up for the film which quickly becomes a sprawling labyrinth with new suspicions and revelations around every turn.

It's an immensely satisfying movie to watch, in a time when we seem to be getting louder, bigger, brighter, flashier, and more explosive in our movie story-telling, it's nice to see a movie that really builds tension by letting the actors do what they do best, act. No cheap smoke and mirrors here, just a really strong plot that we can all relate to a little bit if we've watched news in the last few years. Get to a theatre and check it out if you've got the time. It's not a big release so you might want to look at your local art-house theatre instead of the AMC 24 at the mall, but if you can find it it's well worth it.