I Think We're Done Here, 2011

[redbrunja]

Okay, so you know how I wanted to see the US Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with my friends, my sort-of boyfriend, and his friends in lieu of going to a party? That didn't work out.

First of all, my friends weren't able to make it. (These things happen.) Then, before I even left the the house, I was like, 'wow, I would really rather stay home and play with my internet friends than go out.' Because I was stressed about getting to the theater in time, plus getting gas, I left as soon as I could, planning on having a nice chunk of time before the movie started to finish reading a book I was really enjoying. Well, thank god I left early, because I absolutely needed that time to spend a half an hour circling around the general proximity of the theater before I could actually find it.

Then it turns out that the majority of sort-of-boyfriend's friends couldn't make it, leaving this one guy who I don't know very well, but all signs point towards asshole.

And then I actually watched the movie. To be honest, I don't know how good the movie is on its own merits - my overwhelming impression was that everything this movie did well, the original Swedish version did better, and without being OH MY FUCKING GOD SO RIDICULOUSLY LONG (I may have seriously considered take a 'bathroom break' and reading in the lobby).>Rooney Mara just looks HIDEOUSLY unattractive (and she is a gorgeous woman, normally) as Lisbeth Salander, as apposed to Noomi Rapace, who looked fierce and fey and sexy). And so much of what I loved about the Swedish version - Lisbeth's past, the glorious warm flashbacks of Henrietta and Henrietta killing her father, the actual growth of the relationship between Mikael and Salander – is just gone. Plus, Mikael seemed hapless to such a level that I couldn't buy him as an actual badass journalist. PLUS, they completely wrecked the tone of the Berger/Bloomvist relationship. And added in a deadbeat dad thread with Mikael that KILLED MY SOUL. Seriously, it made me want to cry. The only thing that was an improvement over the original was when Lisbeth asks Mikael's permission to kill Martin.Seriously, I need to watch Casino Royal now to get the taste of his character out of my mouth. Flist, if you desire a Daniel Craig fix (and you know you do), just rewatch the Bond movies - you'll be happier in the long run. I'm bemoaning the fact that neither Casino Royale nor Quantum of Solace is available via netflix streaming.

THEN it turns out that my sort-of-boyfriend got a ride with his probably-an-asshole friend, who's like, 'are you coming to C's party?' (C is a mutal friend of me, my sort-of-boyfriend, and probably-an-asshole.)

And I go, '...yes?' because even though my plans for dragging my sort-of-boyfriend off to my flat for adult pursuits has been completely blown (without going into details - we live far enough apart that not having individual transpo is a bit of a big deal), I still wanted to make out with his face before the evening was over.

So I get to C's party and she isn't even there. It's just me, sort-of-boyfriend, and a bunch of C's other friends who I don't know at all. Since I hadn't had a chance to give sort-of-boyfriend his Christmas present yet, I asked him out to my car, we made out for a while, and then I came home.

Way to end with a whimper, 2011.

Comments

[bitterbird.livejournal.com]

I am sorry to hear your night and the movie was so disappointing!

[qualapec.livejournal.com]

That's certainly less on the bang side of things and more on the whimper end. *hugs* Sorry to hear it was so meh. It's always better when you can end a year on a high note.

[sharkflip.livejournal.com]

I work yesterday and today, so I closed, did meet and greet with the folks renting the facility, bused home, drove to Shoreline for Chinese takeout from my favorite childhood restaurant, and was in bed by nine.

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

well, crud, I was planning to watch that tonight. Guess I'm better off picking something else.

[spirited-lizard.livejournal.com]

Oh, bummer. :-\ Doesn't sound so awesome to end a year. Except maybe the making out part. ;)

I've seen some of the original Swedish movies, and I liked it a lot. Due to work I couldn't watch all, yet, but plan on doing that sometime, soon.

[plural-entity.livejournal.com]

Soo.. Considering I've not read the books yet, and enjoyed the movie on just a standard "that was an okay movie" basis when I saw the US version..

I need to watch the Swedish one.

[stainofmylove.livejournal.com]

I didn't think Rooney Mara looked that awful, but I did spend a lot of time sort of really wishing that Kristen Bell could have been up for the role ...

my overwhelming impression was that everything this movie did well, the original Swedish version did better, and without being OH MY FUCKING GOD SO RIDICULOUSLY LONG

Agreed, lol. Overall, even though the movie wasn't awful, it was such a huge disappointment to me. Like I think I told you before, I left sorta disturbed at the filmmaking, lol. Changes the English version made (off the top of my head, but I don't think I'm mixing anything up):

- Mikael got more stuff (more gf, daughter, etc) -- and when Lisbeth got a tiny bit more stuff she was shown mostly making out with another woman (club) and/or in her underwear (the end portion)
- Lisbeth wasn't shown to be as interested in the truth/justice RE: Mikael like was she was in the Sweedish film, where even after the initial paid research she stalked his comp and tried to figure out what was really up with Mikael's scandal to the point where he caught her snooping and that's why he sought her out (right?)
- a lot the the discoveries/smart shit that Lisbeth figured out were this time figured out by Mikael or with random help of Mikael's random daughter (Bible codes)
- Lisbeth goes alone to check out the murders, instead of that whole trip being the foundation of her relationship with Mikael and basically a lot of how we get to know her more
- "Can I kill him?"
- in the end, Lisbeth seems really into Mikael while he is not into her in the English, while it feels very much vice versa in the Sweedish

So I take in this stuff all together ... and I'm like. So they wanted her to have a diminished and more sorta traditionally "female" role in the plot of the film? AKA the opposite of what I hoped for from David Fincher? Thanks, USA. ANYWAY. Sorry to spew all over your LJ. You're the first person on my flist to talk about it so you have become my victim, lol.

[whisperingwasp.livejournal.com]

Sorry your new years eve sucked. At least you got to go out and get some tail in the process. I stayed at home and read Wicked. As much as I'm liking this book, I'd have preferred to go out.

Noomi Rapace shall always be Lisbeth Salandar to me. I agree that make up and costume could have done a better job with Rooney Mara.