I want to preface my review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by saying I’ve never read the popular series - but I have seen the original film (and loved it).

I had some hesitations about an unnecessary remake of an already great film. The original was incredible; I was sucked into it. Working at Blockbuster, I got to see how many people turned the original away the second I said “foreign” or “subtitled” (to which many customers would say “what does THAT mean?”). It was a shame because the film was engrossing and the subject matter was fascinating. It’s no surprise that someone would step in and try to make money on a popular series like this. I love Fincher and respect his work, and was really eager to see what he was going to bring audiences. Surprisingly enough, he was able to cut out his own version of a story I had already seen.

There’s not much room for commenting on the acting in this film. I thought it was good, but subconsciously kept comparing it to the original. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara did a great job in their roles and helped convince the audience of their parts, but there was something overly “Hollywood” about their presence in the film. 

The only thing the film lacked for me was a sense of authenticity. The story was set in Sweden, and the original film starred Swedish actors - all playing the role perfectly. The actors were so naturally Nordic already; this just helped the film along and made it believable. Fincher’s remake unfortunately lacked this authenticity. Many of the actors either played up a muddled Swedish accent, or played it naturally in a British accent. I almost felt like it was forced, like we were forced into hearing a dubbing of a film made specifically for North American audiences.

On the upside, Fincher’s film moved along at a faster pace than its Swedish counterpart, it felt like it was a much more concise film. Even though the films are similar in length, Fincher’s film felt less expansive and deserted.

I feel like I could talk about this film for a long time, so I’ll spare you my little criticisms either way. I highly recommend checking this film out. I recommend checking BOTH out and making your own decisions! They’re both great films and tell one fantastic story.

If you haven’t seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this would be a great introduction to a compelling “whodunit”. If you’re interested in the story and subject matter afterwards, I would recommend watching the original version.

Sidenote: The introduction credits to this film were outstanding. Honestly they were mind-blowing how good they were. I wish they were online in HD so I could watch them on loop.

I re-watched The Social Network again this past weekend and my opinion still stands that it is a fantastic film - regardless of factual inaccuracies or embellishments. 

It just feels like a really great film. The cinematography and music add perfectly to the story. It may not have turned into the “movie of our generation” like many people would have like it to, but I still think Fincher did an amazing job.

My review of the film

My review of the Blu-ray

Buy on Amazon.ca:
The Social Network Blu-ray
The Social Network DVD

(Source: anatomyofmelancholy)

Despite what others may have thought about it being over-hyped or “not the film of our generation”, I knew that after watching The Social Network for the first time in theatres I wanted to buy it. After I saw it the second time, I knew that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the special features. I have to tell you though: I didn’t expect the film to come out so quickly, and I didn’t expect so many special features to be included.

I picked this up at Best Buy on Tuesday for 19.99 on Blu-ray brand new. I knew I had to include the special features in this review so you know what you’re getting:

Disc One

• Audio Commentary: Director David Fincher
• Audio Commentary: Writer Aaron Sorkin and the Cast — including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, and Josh Pence
• BD-Live.

Disc Two

• How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook? (1080p, 1:32:43)
• Jeff Cronenweth and David Fincher on the Visuals (1080p, 7:48)
• Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter, and Ren Klyce on Post (1080p, 17:24)
• Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and David Fincher on the Score (1080p, 18:55)
• In the Hall of the Mountain King: Music Exploration (1080p)
• Swarmatron (1080p, 4:28)
• Ruby Skye VIP Room: Multi-Angle Scene Breakdown (1080p)

I already watched the hour and a half making-of feature and it is quite intricate. It follows every detail of production and post, showcasing the attention to detail David Fincher has and includes commentary throughout by the actors and crew. It was awesome. Very rarely do I come across a special feature this length and this intricate. I’ll definitely be watching it again.

Slightly less compelling (for me at least, as I’m not a Nine Inch Nails fan) was the detailed documentary on the score of the film. It was really interesting to see how musicians that are so used to prominently being featured have to back down and provide a score that isn’t too harsh on the audience’s ears and create an appropriate atmosphere for the film. I think that they did an excellent job.

I need to get into the commentary for the feature film because I’m sure I’ll really enjoy it. I think all of these special features have a great replay value to them, as does the film.

I should also note in this ridiculously long review that the packaging was absolutely incredible. The Blu-ray world is somewhat split on it, but I think they nailed it. Check out an unboxing of video!

Buy it on Amazon.ca:
Social Network [Blu-ray]
The Social Network

When the trailer for “The Social Network” came out I was dumbfounded. I had no idea what to make of it. It was confusing and I had no idea how a film centered around the creation of Facebook could possible ever keep me entertained or even intrigued longer than a news report on the subject matter.

I had always been interested in the creation and origin story of Facebook and didn’t go into the film hoping that this would be more clear to me, but rather just hoped that I’d be able to see a decent film that starred Jesse Eisenberg in a role other than the bumbling comedic and neurotic Jew he always plays. It turns out that he can actually act in a serious role as well though.

I was a little wary of seeing the film after Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, which although was critically acclaimed and took home many Oscars and other awards, fell extremely flat with me. It was slow, boring and dark (literally, not in subject matter) and I found my interest drifting and fading throughout the entire film until the credits hit. It wasn’t that I didn’t respect the idea or special effects (which were really interesting), it was just a boring film for me which was such a shame after my love for Se7en, Fight Club and even Zodiac (which was slow but the acting and pacing was well done). But I ended up being surprised that even after Button, I could enjoy his work again.

It’s really important to categorize this as a “film based on the story of _____” rather than look at it as all knowing and factual. I looked up a lot of the discrepancies online and found out that it was largely over emphasized and very different than what many consider the ‘true story’. As a film though - it was brilliant. It kept me entertained, and although I wasn’t aware I’d be sitting down to a two hour film based on two separate course cases peppered with background story as to how they got in the situation they found themselves, I was pleasantly surprised.

I think what I found the most interesting was that not a single person was depicted in a positive light. Everyone had their faults and there wasn’t a single “hero” among them that achieved what they did without squashing someone underneath their boot. I think I admire that though, especially in a business sense that these people (Zuckerbeg in particular) were able to do what they needed to do to achieve a particular goal like creating one of the most popular websites on the Internet.

It’s worth checking out not for the history but rather for the acting, cinematography and especially the film as a whole. It was a great film and everyone should really see it.