The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a riveting, edge of your seat thriller with memorable characters that leave you wanting more. It is based on a series of three books by Stieg Larsson, who sadly, died before he could see the success of his work come to its fruition. http://www.amazon.com/Stieg-Larsson/e/B001J95ACO/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1275718364&sr=1-2-ent

Lisbeth Salander, computer hacker extraodinaire, and Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist become embroiled in a decades old missing persons investigation which puts them on the trail of serial killer. Lisbeth Salander has anger issues dating back to when she was a child and at twenty-four is under guardianship of the state. When her current guardian has a stroke, she is assigned a new guardian who sees it as an opportunity to brutalize her unmercifully. While I knew she would get the upper hand, before she does, there are two very graphic scenes, that are extremely difficult to watch. She does indeed finally have her revenge and puts her anger issues to good use.

Lisbeth works for a security company and is assigned to investigate journalist Mikael Blomkvist, specifically his prosecution for libel, at the request of Henrik Vanger, an old school titan of Swedish industry. Vanger wants to hire Mikael to search for his niece, Harriett who disappeared almost forty years ago. As Mikael begins his investigation, Lisbeth hacks his computer and begins offering her expertise to help with his search. Before long they are collaborating, working in a cabin on a remote island where almost all the Vangers live. (Remote, creepy islands have certainly been a popular setting in films this year) Under no illusions about his family, Henrik tells Mikael that is his family is a nasty bunch and any one of them could be responsible for Harriet's disappearance. as Lisbeth and Mikael come closer to answers, they don't realize that danger is lurking, even after forty years.

Please don't avoid seeing this film because of the subtitles, trust me, you will not notice them after the first few minutes. You will be on the edge of your seat until the end.

Law and Order Loves Animals

I am a long time fan of the Law and Order franchise. The original, from which all the others have sprung, has undergone many changes since its debut. Of the new characters added over the last few years I very much like ADA Cutter (Linus Roach) and Detective Lupo (Jeremy Sisto). Detective Lupo has a soft spot for pets left homeless by murder and mayhem. He adopted a dog that belonged to a murder victim on a previous episode. On last week's episode he took the murder victim's cat to a no kill shelter. Good thing too, because they needed the cat's DNA to solve the case. Kudos to whoever is responsible for making homeless pets a part of the story line.

(Photo credit Wireimage.com)

Dr. Snooze?

I hate to stay it, but I was a little bored with last Saturday's episode of Dr. Who. I know the Daleks have to survive annihilation so they can continue to be the Doctor's nemesis, but it all was a bit ho hum. The actor they chose to play Winston Churchill seemed to be a caricature of himself. A friend pointed out that she liked the authenticity of the war room scenes. They did a good job portraying the fear of imminent invasion that the British were facing. I hope the next episode with the stone angels recaptures the energy of the first episode.

KYLE SCHMID ~ One man - many faces

This video, Kyle Schmid: One Man Many Faces, by Rasit3 was posted on the Face Book page promoting Kyle to play d'Artagnan in one of the upcoming remakes of The Three Musketeers. It's a great video, which show cases him very well. Enjoy!
If you are on Face Book, please be sure to join our group "Kyle Schmid should star as d'Artagman in the new Three Musketeers Movie."

Pet Tales: Gnatalie aka The Viper

The following story is from my friend Sissy about one of her precious doggie rescues, Gnatalie. Found on the side of the road, they at first thought she was a he and called him Gnat because he was so little. Later when they realized their mistake, they changed her name to Gnatalie.

Sissy writes:

Gnatalie aka The Viper continues to be more than a handful- more like a carload!

I bought the precious little munchkin a new doggie coat from the CARE (Central Arkansas Rescue Effort) store. Leopard trimmed in red- I would have worn it- Well, when I tried to put it on her, she bit the hell out of me. Her tooth was actually caught in my fingernail. I was yelling and bleeding and she was growling at me. LITTLE INGRATE!

Yesterday, I had to take her to the vet because when she was trying to kill one of the other guys, she snagged her dewclaw. I dare not touch her feet, so to the vet we went. I dropped her off in her crate and FLED!!!

When I got back three hours later, the gal at the front desk whispered to me, "Dr Sonya wants to talk to you." Sonya came out laughing to tell me that she usually tells people their little darlings were sooo good while getting treated. She then told me that Gnatalie wasn't bad…she was AWFUL! "No," she said, "she was HORRIBLE!!!!!!"

It took three people to get a muzzle on her and then they had to wrap her up like a mummy in a large towel and take one foot out at a time!!
Sonya then told one of the girls to go bring Gnat out to me. The girl came out with large elbow length leather gloves holding Gnat in front of her. Sonya and I simultaneously said, "Get her crate and do not put her down until she is in it!!"

Everyone in the waiting room was hysterically laughing and one lady asked if she was good with kids. To that, Sonya replied, "yes, she eats them for dinner."

Sonya told me to put some antibiotic ointment on her foot and then said, "oh never mind, we'll just hope for the best."
My precious little doggie!!!!

She is presently lying happily on the couch watching an Animal Planet show about grizzly bears! YIKES!

If you want to know more about CARE, visit their website at careforanimals.org.

The New Doctor Who

Since I am a huge fan of both David Tennant and Russell Davies, I was prepared to be skeptical of Matt Smith and David Moffat in the new Doctor Who. After Saturday night's season five opener on BBC America, I am won over...well mostly. I thought Matt Smith very charming and funny, delivering a fast talking frenetic Doctor, much like his predecessor. I look forward to him turning the Doctor into a character that is uniquely his own. Based on the previews for the upcoming episodes, Moffat has taken some of the best of Doctor Who lore and is expanding it. Funniest moment? When the Doctor, who has saved the world in just twenty minutes, explains how he did it all in one breath, and jubilantly finishes with "Who da man??" Everyone stares at him, in stunned silence, and he says, "Ok, I'm never saying that again!" New episode next week, Saturday night on BBC America at 8:00 CST. Check it out. (Photo credit to the BBC)

Ghost Writer Delivers Psychological Suspense

If you want to see a psychologically suspenseful film, set on a gray windswept island, you can choose from either Ghost Writer or Shutter Island. The similarities are pronounced, both are based on novels, and are told solely from the point of view of the central character. Both maintain a relentless level of suspense throughout, with a twist at the end that makes you go "ah ha!"

Ghost Writer is based on a book by Robert Harris, who also wrote Red Dragon. For those of you who might not know, Hannibal Lector first appears in Red Dragon as a secondary character.

The film begins with an abandoned vehicle on a ferry. The next scene is of a body washed up on the beach in a pounding surf. As the viewer is pondering this turn of events, we cut to London where a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor), oddly known only as "ghost" throughout the film, is meeting with nervous editors about taking over a project with a thirty day deadline. Seems that the original ghost is the body that washed up on that island shore. Ghost is being paid a boat load of money to finish the memoirs of Adam Lang, a former British Prime Minister played in Tony Blair-like style by Pierce Brosnan.

Things immediately go awry when after accepting the job, Ghost is mugged by a mysterious duo on a motorcycle, taking from him an unread manuscript. It was given to him by Lang's attorney (Timothy Hutton) and was allegedly written by one of his friends. While he is in route to the island, a story is leaked to the press about the former PM's involvement in handing terror suspects over to the CIA for torture. Both Ghost and I began to wonder if the stolen manuscript was actually THE manuscript. Upon his arrival to the island Ghost finds security surrounding the manuscript very tight and unleakable. He is introduced to a mysterious cast of characters, Lang's wife, personal assistant and various other staff who all treat him like an interloper. Struggling with jet lag and fatigue and thrown off balance by the stifling and cryptic atmosphere, Ghost begins to investigate not only the death of his predecessor, but also his subject, who may not be what he seems.

McGregor is dead on with his portrayal of Ghost as a regular guy, caught up in extraordinary circumstances. In fact a great deal of the suspense derives from Ghost grappling with the notion that something is amiss and he really is in danger. Brosnan seems to have hit his post Bond stride with roles like this one. He portrays Lang as mostly affable with a volatile streak that leaves the viewer wondering just exactly who he is.

The film is directed by Roman Polanski, so even though the island is supposed to be in the US, it was actually filmed in Germany. There was a moment of derisive laughter in the theater when Lang, due to his role in the torture of the terror suspects, is indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. He is advised by his attorney that he is safe as long as he is in the United States because our government doesn't recognize the court's jurisdiction along with countries like China, India and Russia. Kim Cattrall has a nice turn as Lang's assistant where she gets to speak in her British voice for a change. It was fun to see her play something besides Samantha Jones, although Amelia is a much more subdued character.

Ghost Writer will keep you guessing until the end, and even then you find out something you probably did not suspect at all. (Photo Credit to Summit Entertainment)

Next post: Shutter Island