Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

 

Movie Monday

 

I have a short time before I have to leave for a very short visit to the DDS to be sure the sutures all dissolved. What do I have for Movie Monday? Well, on a frivolous note, we had at least 5 mini power dips last night when the lights went out for a matter of seconds. However, in the new TV technology, your set does not just return to the program you had been watching. Oh, no. It has to go through all sorts of machinations before you get that screen which says: Hi dummy, click Menu if you don't want to spend the night staring at a black screen. Needless to say, I was at the end of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. You know, that part where they say: And the murderer is. As a result, I have no idea who's the real culprit. Bummer.

 

I got to watch a good bit of I've Loved You So Long again yesterday and I'm still crying at the scene where Kristen Scott Thomas' character reveals to her sister why she killed her son.(No spoiler here; we learn this early in the film.) It's not a mystery but a tragedy in the true sense of the word; a mother who faces an ultimate horror and makes a heartbreaking decision. Watching Scott-Thomas, I was reminded of the importance of good acting, for such actors can take you to places and experiences where you would never want to go but, in order to be truly human, you need to learn about. Today, we get so lost in senseless CGI,  cartoon character plots, and red carpet celebrity that we can forget that acting does have an important purpose: to present the mirror of the world to us.

 

But my review movie is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I liked the irony of Daniel Craig (of James Bond fame) almost playing the feminine role to  Rooney Mara's ass kicking turn as the titled tattooed girl in this film. Like the book, the movie kept my attention for a while but I have to admit my patience is getting a little thin with plots re: serial killers. Especially in tiny Sweden. OK, it's 1/10th larger than California. With this trilogy (more movies are coming) and the Swedish cop Wallander series, I can't believe that Sweden hasn't taken a serious population dip.I'm like the mom watching the enormous elephants in TLOTR:TROTK who asked: How do they get the food to feed them? How do they handle all the poop?, I'm looking at TGWTDT and thinking: Am I supposed to believe any of this?

 

And I'm not just talking about the series of killings which go unsolved for decades. I'm talking about our tattooed girl, Lisabeth Salander, who is so superhero talented. A ward of the state since 12, by 23 she has amassed unbelievable skills. Physically, she can kick ass with the best of them but technologically, I don't think she has an equal. Is there a computer system she can't hack? This girl is the ultimate punk Super Woman. As a sop to reality, she is brutally raped (also in the book but did we really need this extended scene in the movie?) but then, in a sop to fantasy, her revenge is brutal, complete and long lasting. (also from the book, which may be one of the reasons my interest waned the more I read.)

 

In the end, it's only a typical mystery loaded with bells and whistles. More dead bodies, more tech stuff, more drawn out investigation. There's a back story thrown in to give it some flesh but if you have read or watched conventional mystery stories, you don't need a road map to figure out the villain early on. For all the elaborate developments and the bizarre presentation of our heroine, I just watched it, I never connected. However, this movie grossed double its production budget (don't forget, Hollywood movies never make a profit), so who cares about my opinion? But do be sure if you watch this movie at home, the kids aren't present.