Better or worse?

By this time tomorrow, I'll know. I can hardly wait. I'm finally going to go see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tomorrow night. The remake. I know, 'finally' ... it's only been out for like two and a half weeks. :-) But I wanted to see it on opening night, I've just had to put it off again and again ... it's been a very busy couple of weeks. Which of course is good in a way, but still. I've been dying to see this. I'm skeptical about it, because, well, it's a remake. Which is all Hollywood dares to do these days, and it's soo infinitely boring. The critics are raving about this one, and saying that the filmmakers have understood the novel so well ... OK, that may be so, but in all honesty, I'm not convinced. Have you seen the poster? Well, right there they're veering off from the novel. Rooney Mara is supposed to be the perfect Lisbeth, but look, she has boobs. Which Lisbeth doesn't. Of course any Hollywood heroine has to be shapely. But that means they by definition won't be able to stay true to the book ... or at least not to this character. So. I am not convinced. :-) But we'll see, we'll see ...

Pointless flashback

I'm not a fan of remakes, and I am so seriously an anti-fan of this particular remake, but of course I will have to see it. Partly because it is what it is (and partly because I won't be able to bitch about it properly if I haven't seen it) and partly, of course, because of who's in it. Christopher Plummer is in it. I LOVE Christopher Plummer. I cannot miss Christopher Plummer.

And I'm sure he'll be wonderful, he's always wonderful, but generally speaking I'm pretty sure The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will be a pointless flashback. The team behind it are saying that they haven't tried to create an English-language remake of the original movie, they've tried to stick to the book. Like the original movie did. o_O Which of course to a large extent explains why, as far as the trailer goes, the only difference worth mentioning seems to be the actors. Who in any case can hardly be seen since the entire trailer consists of extremely brief images spliced together to create the impression of an extremely fast paced action thriller.

However, if the movie really is anything like the book, it'll be a slightly overlong and rather slow moving psychological thriller where you really need to pay attention to every spoken line, of which there will be a great many. Some moviegoers may find themselves disappointed. >:-)

The trailer is relatively intriguing, but I really wonder how I would perceive it if I knew nothing of the Millennium trilogy. It doesn't really indicate that there's much of a plot to this. There's an extreme amount of action, but what the hell is going on? I sure can't tell you based on this trailer.

I also really don't like the ending with the GIANT BLOCK LETTERS telling us all HOW TOTALLY AWESOME this is going to be. So typically Hollywood ... forcefeeding us what we're supposed to think, and just making it so glaringly obvious what they're trying to get at. How about letting the audience make up its own mind? Nope, that's not the American way.

But hey, I'm not like that, I'm going to let you guys make up your own minds. ;-) This is the first official trailer for the first American Millennium movie. What's the point?

Widescreen here.

The problem with prequels ...

... is that you already know that the bad guy will win in the end. :-)

I wasn't sure that I was going to see Cold Prey III, I actually thought I wouldn't, but, well, things happen. KAS and I went to see it tonight and it was ... good entertainment. Quality craftsmanship for its genre, and nowhere near as speculative as it could have been. Plus of course that any movie is good at Colosseum 1. :-) But the tag line still annoys me. The end has been told. The beginning approaches. WTF? Yes, I know what they're saying, but it still sounds like nonsense.

In other movie news, I am now pretty psyched about two movies I wasn't that interested in before, after hearing that a couple of names have been confirmed. First, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. OMG that is perfect!!1 Whee!! I haven't been very excited about this movie because, well, I'm not a Tolkien fan and I didn't like the LotR movies much ... they were pretty good up to the ending of The Return of the King, which literally ruined the entire trilogy. Now they're shit. Fuck 'em. But Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins!! Now that I just have to see. He is soo adorable, especially in The Office, and I think he'll be a fantastic Bilbo. Psyched to see The Hobbit now ... ! :-D

But even more psyched - ten times more!! - to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The remake, I mean. Sure, it's probably going to suck. Remakes are pointless and stupid and almost always suck. Plus I won't get to see the leads I would have wanted, and who I'm sure would have been much better than what they'll be giving us. Seriously, picture this. Katherine Moennig and David Duchovny. Seriously, they would have been perfect! Now we're getting Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig. Sheesh. But of course it could have been worse. Don't get me started. ;-) And in one case it couldn't have been better! Because, get this, they have got Christopher Plummer for Henrik Vanger!! Christopher Plummer!! I LOVE Christopher Plummer! He was almost the best thing in The Lake House. ;-) I was going to see this movie anyway just because I am such a fangirl and I have to see it even though it's probably going to suck ass and it's definitely going to be utterly pointless, but now I'm actually excited to see it. Who'da thunk it. :-D

Go Christopher Plummer ... !!!! :-D

Millennium, oh yeah

So, the first episode last night was just as good as I'd hoped. Everything from the movie is still there, plus something like 20 minutes of new scenes which give new depth to several things in the story, especially the relationship between Mikael and Erika. Now I don't want to wait a whole week to see the next episode ... !! :-D

In the meantime, Hollywood, like the leeches that they are, have of course latched on to the Millennium series as well and several so-called talents are reportedly hard at work on an American version. Yes, because god forbid that American audiences should have to actually read subtitles. Sheesh. Anne Ida and I (I went to her house to see the show because her TV is bigger than mine ;-) found a couple of articles online, one of them mentioned several big names that supposedly are interested in the project. Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp are the two that I remember. Sheesh, not Pitt!! That'll mean that the whole thing will become completely American. So it probably won't be very good, because a huge part of its appeal is that it isn't American, as far as I'm concerned. Anyway.

I've been hearing a lot of rumors about Kristen Stewart taking on the Lisbeth Salander role. That's gonna suck hard. I mean, she does have the right body type for it, but, you know, she can't act for shit. So that's definitely not a choice I'd be happy with. The article I read last night mentioned Carey Mulligan, though - that might actually work. At least she's a really good actress, that's at least a place to start.

I don't know who'd be really good as Salander anyway ... but I had a brainstorm last night and realized who I'd prefer as Blomkvist. David Duchovny. Seriously, he'd be great. I think he'd be just right. Now why won't everyone just listen to me ... !! :-)

Anne Ida: They're actually almost exactly the same age, they'll both be 50 this year, Duchovny's three months older. :-) So if Nyqvist can do it, Duchovny can too. ;-)

Update March 22nd:
Here's a thought: Duchovny as Blomkvist, and Robin Tunney as Salander??

Quote of the Week

What she had realised was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst.
Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Don't forget - Millennium, the TV series, starts at 9pm tonight at SVT1 ... !! :-)

Congratulations on ... ooh!!

Today is the International Women's Day - congratulations to all my female readers! - and I had a bunch of deep thoughts to share on the subject. How the situation is so terrible for women in Afghanistan and how lucky I am to be Scandinavian, and some mean-spirited remarks about the Oscars ... I suppose these last can best be summed up like so:

Best movie my shiny metal ass. But anyway. I had some real serious thoughts too. I did! I was going to write a v. serious blog post today, or at least mostly. But then all these deep & profound thoughts were driven out of my head when I stopped by SVT1, the main state-owned TV channel in Sweden ... I was going to record the rerun of the semifinal of their ESC selections. ;-) Just before the show started, they had one of their little non-commercials. Just informing us of what they've got in store for us. And boy, have they got something in store ... !! :-o

Everything you didn't get to see at the movies ... !! :-o Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, now on TV!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!1! Starting March 20th. I tremble in anticipation!! Although I'm not sure I should be doing that, because right now it looks like it's going to be six 90-minute episodes, and that doesn't mean a whole lot of extra material, does it ... ? But who cares?? MUST SEE ... !!!1 I just reread The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and I just have to say, it's a hell of a story. If you haven't already read it, get hold of a copy. It really is as good as everyone says.

Speaking of which, the Americans are working on a remake of the first movie even as we speak. Oh, how I loathe Hollywood sometimes. OK, a lot of the time. Like right now. Stupid Americans who are too lazy to read subtitles so perfectly good movies have to be ruined for the rest of us! Growl. Rumor has it that Kristen Stewart is going to be cast as Lisbeth Salander. Or whatever dumbass name they're going to think up for her. Oh, the pain, the pain of it all!! But of course, one does wonder - on a day like today and so forth - what Keanu would be like as Mikael Blomkvist ... ;-)

Lisbeth Salander FTW!!

Tonight's the night ... ! The third and last Millennium movie, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, opens in theaters here tonight. Ooh ... !! But I'm not going! Bwaah! There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that - James' two Japanese friends K&K, who have been mentioned in the comments here, are in Oslo even as I write these words, and I am not only nice enough to let them stay at my place and make them my delicious fish soup and show them around Oslo tomorrow (gasp) I am also nice enough to not force them to pay money to see a movie in a language they don't understand a word of. The milk of human kindness, it runneth over ...

They're leaving on the 7:20 bus tomorrow night, and Anne Ida and I have tickets to see the movie at Colosseum at 8:45. ;-) I'm expecting the movie to be ... not all that, the least good of the three, but a total must-see anyway. And who cares in any case - any & all movie is entertaining on the big screen at Colosseum. :-)

She's back ... !!!

OK, after all that seriousness and political analysis and so on, it's time for something a bit lighter. Something else that I'm psyched about, besides the election results. :-) Check this out (and click to enlarge!!):

Yes, Lisbeth Salander is back! Or she will be in two days, anyway. Oh, I can't hardly wait!! The first movie was so cool, I loved it, even though it of course wasn't perfect and the book is better. I mean, obviously. That pretty much goes without saying. And I'm sure it's true for this second part of the trilogy too, but I still strongly doubt whether I'm going to be as displeased with The Girl Who Played With Fire as this reviewer was. A reviewer whose opinions I can't possibly take seriously, when she actually doesn't understand why a great many women everywhere would be eager to jump in the sack with almost any character played by Michael Nyqvist. (I mean, come on, look at the guy. ;-)

I am all over the place excited about seeing this movie; it opens on Friday (this time we're getting the same premiere date as the Swedes, so yay :-) but, alas, I won't get to see it then ... Friday is the annual 'Culture Night' here in Oslo and there's way too much cool stuff going on for me to waste any time in a movie theater. I mean, sorry, but there it is. The movie's going to be the same the next day. And if I'm lucky I'll get to see the movie on the Opera roof on Saturday - this weekend sees the second annual Bookfest in the Opera, and this will be their Saturday night screening. Absolutely free of charge. Anne Ida and I plan to be there in plenty of time. :-)

In the meantime, here's the trailer. Lookin' pretty damn good IMO. My translation is below.



THE BIGGEST NORDIC MOVIE SUCCESS CONTINUES
-If you ever touch me again, I’m going to kill you. Is that understood?
-There are some patients who ought to be in care facilities, instead of moving freely in our society.
LISBETH, 28, WANTED FOR THREE MURDERS
LISBETH, AGED 28, SUSPECTED OF TRIPLE HOMICIDE
-You think she’s guilty too, don’t you?
-I’m not saying anything.
-She’s in a lot of trouble, isn’t she?
-She’s in a hell of a lot of trouble.
-I’m going to come up with evidence. I’m going to come up with an alternative killer, and I’m also going to write an article that you and your colleagues are going to find pretty hard to swallow.
A FILM BY DANIEL ALFREDSON
NOOMI RAPACE
MICHAEL NYQVIST
STIEG LARSSON’S THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
-I’m going to find her before the police do, I’m going to stand by her side till the end. I owe her that.
IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 18TH.

And here's another trailer type thing ... it doesn't look entirely official but it has more footage, anyway.

Some movie reviews

Some hopefully rather short ones, of movies that I've seen and been meaning to blog about. I am slow.

Majid Majidi: Avaze gonjeshk-ha
English title: The Song of Sparrows
IMDb listing here.
Iranian movie by a director of more than 25 years' experience. A story both moving and funny about a man who tries to do the best for his family, especially his almost deaf daughter. When she loses her hearing aid while playing and he loses his job on the local ostrich farm, he has to get creative to support his wife and children. Nothing offers in the village, so he tries getting some cab fares on his motorbike in Tehran. At first things are pretty good, but then, well ... let's just say that there's something about the lure of the big city that's hard for even the most upright man to resist. Not to mention the dumps of the big city ...
Very charming and sweet, sad too, but a lot of funny moments. Great performances and an interesting setting.

Bryan Bertino: The Strangers
IMDb listing here.
American horror movie by a debuting director. I wanted to see it because I liked the poster so much. :-) The plot: a young couple have travelled out into the boondocks for a friend's wedding and are staying at his parents' holiday house nearby. After the party some weird strangers show up asking a pretty odd question. At first they don't think anything of it. But then the strangers come back. And they won't go away. What the hell do they want??
A creepy movie with lots of OMG moments. A pretty good story, good performances, a convincing setting.

Rasmus A Sivertsen: Kurt blir grusom
English title: Kurt Turns Evil
IMDb listing here.
Wheee!! Norwegian computer animated craziness, and it's Kurt!! Wheee!!! :-D This adaptation of Erlend Loe's celebrated children's book is even crazier than the novel, and that's kinda saying something. Kurt is a forklift operator, married to an architect and father of three. He's a pretty nice guy ... at least until an obnoxious rich guy moves in next door and immediately makes nice with both wifey and kiddies. Kurt tries his best, but there isn't much he can do to compete. Not until he accidentally comes into a hell of a lot of money. And I do mean a hell of a lot. Now he's rich too, so now he ought to become just as popular as that other guy! Right? Right?!! Maybe things aren't quite that simple. A fact which the old Kurt would have accepted and learned to live with, but this is a new Kurt - a rich Kurt - an evil Kurt ... !! :-D
I totally dug this movie. The animation's great, it works really well with the characters and story. I love Kurt's hair and mustache and the way they express his mood. :-) The voices are great, fantastic. Not for serious people who think that films should be art, but otherwise very entertaining for children of all ages who like fun movies. ;-)

Sandberg/Rønning: Max Manus
English title: Max Manus. Man of War
IMDb listing here.
Best Norwegian movie ever made. Fantastic, stellar, a masterpiece. I loved it ... I was on the edge of my seat a lot of the time, even though I knew pretty much the entire story beforehand. Fantastic performances, a brilliant screenplay (and what a tragedy that the screenwriter and mastermind behind this movie has died now, so young) and a deeply gripping story ... all the more so for being true. There are so many wonderful scenes in this movie - so much drama! :-D - and so many great performances (did I say that already?) ... an extremely convincing recreation of wartime Oslo ... amazing sets and costumes. The one thing about this movie that I didn't quite like, or get, or whatever, was one bit of casting that was really weird. The movie doesn't have a star-studded cast - of course there is one major star, Aksel Hennie in the title role, but it goes without saying that they needed at least one big name to carry this thing. The second biggest name is Nicolai Cleve Broch. :-) Except ... at one point a young man is arrested for sabotage and his mother goes to the Gestapo to beg Siegfried Fehmer to release her son. Just an ordinary middle-aged woman, a nondescript person of no particular distinction, featured briefly in this one scene. And she is played by Kjersti Holmen. I mean ... what? All I can think of is that she must have wanted so desperately to be in this movie that she would just do anything ... and this was what they had. But it's still totally weird. I mean, it's Kjersti Holmen. o_O
Other than that, though, a total masterpiece. A must-see. I loved it. And I loved seeing it - the version we saw had subtitles in Norwegian, so that oldtimers would be able to follow the dialogue, and we saw whole families who were there to see it. Like a teenage boy who had his parents with him and was pushing an ancient man, his grandfather probably, in a wheelchair ... the old guy must have so many memories from the war, and there they were, the whole family, to share that, in a way. Imagine the conversation they could have afterwards ... :-)
And come August, I predict the following from Haugesund: This year's Amanda for the best performance by an actor in a feature presentation goes to ... Aksel Hennie for Max Manus. ;-)

Niels Arden Oplev: Män som hatar kvinnor
English title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
IMDb listing here.
Another fantastic movie. I had pretty high expectations ... or one might say insanely high expectations ... of this one, and they were all met, totally. I disagree with the criticism that was brought against this movie, about the storyline and the character focus and all that. IMO the director has understood the series, not just the novel, and has done his job based on that. I think it totally worked and I can't wait to see the other two movies. The cast of this one is absolutely stellar, Noomi Rapace especially does an amazing job as the unlikely Lisbeth Salander. I just loved the way she played this very memorable character ... she got it just right. Michael Nyqvist of course is a joy to watch. A tight and intriguing plot that pulls the audience in, lots of twists and turns, the effects are great and the settings very convincing. Nothing but the best. I'm so going to be seeing this again. :-)

Zack Snyder: Watchmen
IMDb listing here.
American SFX extravaganza with lots of impressive stunts and a naked blue man. What's not to like? The story: there used to be superheroes, but now there aren't many left, because most of them have retired. But then things start happening and they need to come out of retirement to take care of the mess. That's pretty much it.
Bearing in mind that I have not read the graphic novel that this is based on, I thought the movie version was pretty good. Too long, but entertaining most of the time. The story was ... relatively interesting, but at times seemed almost extraneous to the whole thing. The director seemed to be quite enamored of the whole effects and crazy stunts thing. It was fun to watch then and there, mostly (although as I said it was overlong) but I wouldn't have seen it twice, I don't think. Mostly for fans of the genre. Of whom I kinda am one, yeah, I guess. But not enough to have ever actually read the book ... ;-)

A brief absence

This will be my last post for about a week ... I'm jetting off at an ungodly hour tomorrow morning (I have to leave my house at 5am ... !! on a Saturday ... !!) to spend a ... long weekend, I guess, in Warsaw with my mother. A kind of belated birthday celebration-present kind of thing. :-) I've never been there before, and it's supposed to be beautiful. I'm really looking forward to it.

But before that, there's something I look forward to almost more than that, even. Tonight's the night ... !! when a certain movie that I've been waiting intensely for finally opens here in Norway. Yellow Bird Films' production of Stieg Larsson's Män som hatar kvinnor - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which really ought to be called Men Who Hate Women - opens in umpteen theaters across the country tonight. One hundred copies. o_O We're two weeks behind Sweden and Denmark, and I am so insanely psyched about seeing this movie that if I were to think rationally about it, I'd realize that I may well be setting myself up for a huge disappointment. But who's thinking rationally?? Tra la la la ... !!

Anyway, although I of course should not be going to the movies tonight - I should just be going straight home to pack the last of my things and feed the turtles and go to bed - Anne Ida and I have our tickets ready, and at 5:45pm this afternoon we'll be seated expectantly with our eyes turned toward the big screen at Klingenberg. I'm atwitter, atremble with excitement. I just know, see, that this movie's going to be fantastic. I just know it. Michael Nyqvist is always wonderful ... and Noomi Rapace is being heaped with praises from every corner. It'll be so exciting to see what they've done to adapt the story. Oh, I can't wait ... !! And pretty soon I won't have to anymore. Oh, the excitement ... !!

The picture is from Tveita subway station. Get this: I just heard that my father saw the movie yesterday. WTF!! That is well out of order!! He loves the books, and he loved the movie. So ... wheee!!! :-D

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

Heeere's Lisbeth ... !!

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009). The first portrait photos of the character were released today.

I strongly recommend that you click to enlarge ... !!

She looks so cool, and so right - happy happy!! :-D I mean, I'm happy happy. ;-) She looks just right, almost exactly like I've pictured the character in my mind. Now I really cannot wait to see the movie. Six weeks, bwaaah ... !! I don't wanna wait six weeks!! :-(

Article with more pictures here. Trailers here and here.

Two fantastic movies

Wow.

I just got back from seeing Max Manus. I'm going to write a real review later, but I just have to say, while it's still fresh in my memory, that it was a fantastic experience. I loved it, it was wonderful, it completely lived up to my expectations in pretty much every way. The best Norwegian movie ever made. Best movie I've seen all year, hands down, no contest. Fantastic, a masterpiece. Me so happy!!! :-D Anne Ida loved it too, so it wasn't just me. ;-)

Before the movie started - and although I could hardly wait, I was still very happy to catch this - we got to see something else which was exciting for me, but not for Anne Ida since she hasn't read the books (you must! you must!! they really are as good as everybody says). Yet another trailer for Män som hatar kvinnor. Ooh ... ! I found it on youtube, it looks pretty damn good - more of Lisbeth this time, and I for one am pretty happy with what I'm seeing. :-)



My translation:
NORDIC FILM PRESENTS
-I should probably warn you that Lisbeth is rather a ... special girl. But don't get the wrong idea about her, she's our very best researcher.
NOOMI RAPACE
-What can you tell me about Blomkvist?
-Mikael Blomkvist, also known as Kalle Blomkvist, a nickname he got after figuring out some bank robberies in the eighties; since then he's been a public figure with few secrets.
MICHAEL NYQVIST
-Well, you don't know my family. You don't know what they're capable of. One of those people ... killed Harriet.
A FILM BY NIELS ARDEN OPLEV
-So you're going to work for big business now?
-Who are you?
-I need your help. You're working as a professional hacker. How much do you know about what I'm working on now?
-A forty year old murder of a sixteen year old girl.
-If there is even the slightest problem with you, Lisbeth, I'll make sure you're locked up for the rest of your life. Because I know everything about your mental problems and your violent background.
BASED ON THE BIGGEST BEST SELLER IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES
-But there's nothing to find here, there are no answers!
-Everyone's got secrets.
-You're only making matters worse by coming here with your little strumpet!
-Who do you suspect?
-No one. Everyone.
STIEG LARSSON'S
MEN WHO HATE WOMEN [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo]
-You know everything about me ... and I don't know squat about you.
-Yeah ... that's how it is.
IN THEATERS FEBRUARY 27TH, 2009

In closing, I would like to make a prediction. We'll have to wait till ... I think it's August ... ? to find out if I'm right. But here it is.

'This year's Amanda award for best performance by an actor in a leading role goes to ... Aksel Hennie for Max Manus.'

Now let's just wait and see. In the meantime, do not miss this movie!! :-)

'Män som hatar kvinnor'

I went to the movies with Anne Ida tonight (review coming up, sooner or later), and before the movie started, after a gadzillion commercials (yawn) they showed not one, not two, but three trailers. Yay. :-) One of them was the one I'd mainly been hoping for ;-), the other was the new Guy Ritchie movie (will most likely not be seeing this ...) but the third ... !!! OMFG!! The third was this:



ZOMFG!!

Here, I'll translate:
February 27th, 2009
The movie that millions are waiting for
Based on the bestselling novel in the Nordic countries*
Stieg Larsson's
Men Who Hate Women
[oh, OK: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo]
The journalist
The billionaire
The lawyer
The hacker
A movie by Niels Arden Oplev
In theatres February 27th, 2009
Men Who Hate Women [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo]

But the one we saw said something like 'coming this March' or something. AUUGH!! How am I supposed to wait till March??! I am soo psyched about this movie ... ! I loved the book, all three books in fact, I could hardly put them down, and I think the movie, while of course there's always a chance that it may suck, may quite possibly be absolutely fantastic. Certainly the casting of Michael Nyquist as the male lead Mikael Blomkvist :-D is ... perfect. He is perfect for that part. He's also a wonderfully talented actor. I cannot wait to see him as Micke Blomkvist. I know nothing about Noomi Rapace who has been given the staggering task of bringing that supremely unlikely heroine Lisbeth Salander to life. She was in Labyrint, which is on TV here now, but to be honest, I started watching that, but after a couple of episodes it just couldn't hold my interest. So in fact I don't even know which character she played. :-) But that's all to the good IMO. I'll have a completely open mind. :-) Lena Endre as Erika Berger I really cannot picture. She seems wrong for that part. Too ... motherly. But ... open mind, open mind. And I am quite distracted from her by the fact that they have cast Sven-Bertil Taube as Henrik Vanger ... !! :-D

I posted back in August about the first teaser trailer for this movie, which I thought completely sucked. Basically. But this full trailer I think is great. It works ... and not just for those who are already familiar with the story from the books. This one I like. And I love the fact that they never show Lisbeth's face. V. good move. I like. :-)

The book has been published in a number of languages. The trilogy altogether has sold something like five million copies. And these are Swedish books set in Sweden. It's actually pretty amazing. The books are fantastic and you, dear reader, if you enjoy a good thriller, an exciting mystery with unusual characters, an extremely convincing setting, a book that will pull you in and keep you turning pages till you just find out this next bit ... ! You guys just have got to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Read it, you'll love it. :-)

And to end with some griping and cursing: I don't know who makes the commercials for Oslo City (huge mall in downtown Oslo) but they should be fired and then tarred & feathered. All Oslo City commercials and ads are completely stupid and meaningless. Growl. >:-(

*the bestselling novel in any & all the Nordic countries; 'the North', as we call it, collectively.

'Men Who Hate Women' ...

... is what it should be called, but instead they're going with the dumbass title the UK publisher gave the book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Completely insipid. And they'll regret it later, because there is actually a good reason why the first book has the title that it has. Oh well, too late now. Anyway:

I am of course talking about Niels Arden Oplev's movie version of Stieg Larsson's brilliant thriller Män som hatar kvinnor. I am SO psyched about that movie. The casting of the male lead is perfect and the book has the potential to become a truly great movie. However ... now I'm a little worried.

The first teaser trailer for the movie was released a couple of days ago. And it completely and totally SUCKS ASS. It's completely stupid and vapid and says NOTHING about the movie, about the story or the characters or the plot or anything. Seriously a very very extremely bad trailer and obviously not a good sign. See for yourselves:



YAWN. Is it me? Seriously, is it me? I DO NOT SEE how someone who knows nothing about the book is going to be able to make any sense whatsoever of this trailer.

Ever heard the phrase, 'too clever for their own good' ... ?