Film: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

GENRE: Drama/Mystery
RATING: R for violence, language, sexuality/language
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 7 minutes
STARRING: Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Book of Eli)
Colin Firth (King’s Speech) Tom Hardy (Inception, Dark Knight Rises)
DIRECTOR: Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In – 2008 version)
WRITERS: Bridget O’Connor (newcomer), Peter Straughan (The Debt)
PLOT: An espionage veteran is tasked with uncovering a Soviet agent within Britain’s MI6.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Maybe my brain just wasn’t in the mood to work but I was kind of confused for the first third of the film. I eventually caught on but found the ending unsatisfying. It doesn’t help that a character’s name is Control. I thought it was a group of people instead of an individual.
2 Oldman may have gotten the Oscar nomination, but it was Hardy that impressed me. Oldman does a great British accent and is quite stoic and all but I found he barely moved his mouth. Hardy was entertaining and a treat to watch.
3 Apparently spying during the Cold War involved a lot of looking out windows. A quarter of the movie is spent with people looking out windows either to remember a flashback or spy from above.
4 The pace of this film is deathly slow. Definitely not a late night recommendation.
5 I did enjoy the vibrant wallpaper used in this film. I haven’t seen such interesting wall decoration since Lucky Number Slevin.

RECOMMENDATION: DVD
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Artist

Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

GENRE: Drama/Mystery
RATING: 18A for brutal violence of rape & torture, graphic nudity
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 38 minutes
STARRING: Rooney Mara (The Social Network)
Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Munich, Cowboys & Aliens)
DIRECTOR: David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club)
WRITER: Steven Zaillian (Mission: Impossible, Schindler’s List)
PLOT: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander team up to find a woman who has been missing for 40 years.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 There are some brutal rape scenes in this film. This is not for the weak of heart. It’s around the end of the first hour and it’s hard to watch. You’ve been warned.
2 Rooney Mara gives a powerhouse performance as Lisbeth. She plays vulnerable and strong and runs the full gamut of emotions. She was good in The Social Network but she rocks in this film.
3 The mystery of the missing girl is interesting but goes a little too slow. About half way through I pretty much figured it out.
4 Some great cinematography, especially with all the snow. I love the way Fincher smoothly pushes in on a character. No tricky shots though like the ones in Panic Room and Fight Club.
5 I enjoyed seeing Lisbeth eating Happy Meals. Thought it would be funny if McDonald’s put rub-on dragon tattoos as their meal prize for a twisted cross-promotion.

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for the DVD
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Carnage, The Descendants