My review of Boy A

I just watched the little British Film Boy A-starring Andrew Garfield (from the Social Network) last night on DVD. I have a tendency to watch dark, sad, intense films back-to-back to get all the emotional hard stuff out of the way in a block of time. This film is about a young man whose recently gotten out of prison for killing a young girl when he was 12 years old several years earlier. The film takes place in real time and in flashbacks. Andrew Garfield is a brillant performance as Boy A. He's shy, sad and still tramatized by his past. Mr. Garfield plays it well with the emotion he feels in his eyes and body language. Its a morality tale about redemption, love and how the power of the spoken word can harm a new life trying to rebuild from their past. If you like small, independent films you like this one.

My review of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I just watched the Swedish film version of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last night on DVD. It was a little bit long in length then I expected but that was fine. What an intense dark psychological thriller the film was. If you have had read the book before hand you have a better understanding of the story but even if you haven't read the book its still a good film in its own right. The acting by Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist was outstanding as the lead character Lisbeth Salander Mikael Blomkvist. They make a great team. All the violence in the film served a purpose to the overall themes of the film and didn't feel gratuitous at all. After I had read the book and read the rape and toture scene I was expected the film version of the scenes to be way more violent**. (I did think those scenes where violent and horrible to watch no question). I have actually seen worse in other european and american films. For example, the Accused with Jodie Foster and Irreversible with Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci. I've only watched a few Swedish films by Ingmar Bergman, Billie August and Lasse Hallstorm before watch this one. I definitely feel like Sweden is another character in the book and the film. I would recommend to anyone to read the book first before watching the film because it gives a great backstory to set up the film. Things I liked about the film besides the acting were the stylize way of filming the story and I thought the DP of the film did a great job of lighting and executing the look and feel of the movie.