The English language film adaptation of the Swedish novel written by Stieg Larsson, follows a journalist who has just recently been disgraced due to a story that he published in a magazine that he co-owns about a business man (who is corrupt) Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) follows his gut and writes a story about the detailed finances about Wennerstrom based on information that he received from a source (that at the time Mikael believed was to be reliable). In the end the information was not sound and it resulted in Wennerstrom being able to prove in court that the information and documentation that Mikael had and published in his magazine Millennium was in fact fakes. This resulted in Wennerstrom suing Mikael for libel and nearly costing Mikael his entire life savings. Blomkvist's partner, close friend and lover Erika was there for him during the trial and supported him all the way and continued to stand by Blomkvist even after the verdict was handed down.
During the holidays and when the story starts to die down (at least a little), Blomkvist receives a call from the close friend and lawyer of Henrik Vanger who sets up a meeting between the two men. Henrik tells Blomkvist the story of his family and advises Blomkvist that he would like him to write his memories. Then Henrik goes on to tell Blomvist that what he really would like him to do is solve the mystrey of the death of his beloved Harriet. Blomvist listens as Henrik tells him about the day Harriet disappeared and is now presumed dead, and how he believes that someone within the family has killed her all those years ago. Blomvist tells Henrik that he may not be able to solve the mystery that he has been trying to solve in the last 40 plus years. However, Henrik will not take no for an answer. He then tells Blomvist that he will double his fee if he does this for him solve the mystery and Henrik also tells Blomvist that he will provide him with proof to take Wennerstrom down if he does this for him. Blomvist agrees to Erika's dismay and protest he then moves onto the property at Hedestad and starts to go through the documents, notes, police reports that Henrik has and collected over the years. Blomvist starts to collect information from Henrik and he also begins to speak with the detective on the case and he starts to track down people that know Harriet.
Blomvist then realizes that the Vanger family are not going to be a big help and he tries his best to ensure that the family doesn't realize that that is the real reason he is on the island, investigating the disappearance and/or death of Harriet. As Blomvist starts to unravel the mystery and begins to get closer to solving the mystery, he provides an up date to Henrik's lawyer telling him that he found something but he cannot go any further unless he has a research assistant because he wants to ensure his information is sound. Blomvist explains all this to Frode and Frode advises Blomvist that he knows a perfect research assistant she is the person that did the back ground check on him. Blomvist is not impressed with this and he demands that Frode provide him with the report because he would like to read it. Frode provides him with the report and also provides him the name of the person who did the report Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). With the information in hand Blomvist goes to Armansky the man who owns the company that Henrik and Frode went to to have research done on Blomvist to ensure he was the right person for the job.
When Blomvist arrives he explains to Armansky that he would like to speak with Lisbeth and he needs her assistance on a project he is working on for Henrik Vanger. Armansky protests at first, then Blomvist advises him that some for the information that Lisbeth has in her report there is no way she could of gotten the information. When Armansky still protest Blomvist provides him with his sister name who is a lawyer. Armansky then provides Blomvist with the information he needs to get an address on Lisbeth. Lisbeth has just gone through a traumatic event being raped twice by her new garden of the state. She used all her strength to enact her own form of justice on her garden and let her voice of redemption be heard. Thus her first encounter with Blomvist is tense, but Blomvist (is not there to hurt her in anyway) lays the cards on the table and explains to Lisbeth that he knows that she is a hacker and he also explains that he is not going to turn her into the police, but he would like her help in solving the murder of a 16 year old girl. The two work together and on gathering information and going through clues to try and find out who in fact killed Harriet all those years ago. As the two are getting closer to solving the mystery, someone on Hedestad doesn't want him (or Lisbeth there), and they kill a stray cat that Blomvist had taken a liken to. Henrik, Blomvist, Erika, Martin and Frode all meet and Henrik suggests to Blomvist and Erika that they take on a partner in order to ensure that Millennium doesn't go under. After the meeting Blomvist tells Erika that he doesn't like the plan and he feels that they shouldn't go along with the deal. Erika explains to Blomvist that he left her to run the magazine and she just wanted to consider it.
This doesn't stop the two and they continue with their research and also trying to figure out what Harriet was meaning in her diary. As Blomvist and Salander continue their search, Blomvist is shot at by someone in the family with an attempt to stop him from continue to solve the mystrey of Harriet's death. Again this doesn't deter Blomvist in the bit, Lisbeth and Blomvist are getting closer with one another as the two work closely together to solve the mystery of what happened to Harriet. Blomvist soon discovers clues that start to lead to Martin Vanger Harriet's brother, due to photo's that were taken the day that Harriet had disappeared and he tracks down a few pepople and also gets photo's he needs from Henrik's brother as well. Martin to starts to realize that Blomvist is close to discovery and that is when he traps Blomvist in his house. Martin then recites to Blomvist all the woman he has killed and explains that it was his father that taught him the way. Blomvist his helpless to help himself, due to Martin having him strapped up on a noose about to rape and murder him. Martin taunts Blomvist, and Blomvist tries to distract him by asking about Harriet. Martin explains that he didn't kill Harriet though he would have likes to, it is then that he strings Blomvist up and begins to cut away his clothes. Martin then tells Blomvist that he never had a man in his room, the only man he has touched was his father and that was his duty.
As Martin is about to cut Blomvist with a knife, we see Lisbeth and hear her voice as she swings a golf club and hits Martin square in the face. She cuts Blomvist down and she goes after Martin. Durning the chase Marting looses control and he crashes, his car then explodes due to the crash. Blomvist and Lisbeth are back in his quarters on Hedestad, where they continue their search on trying to find out what really happened to Harriet. They soon discover that Harriet assumed the last name of her cousin Anita and she was hiding, every since Anita has been helping her and helped her escape that day of the accident on the bridge. Harriet explains to Blomvist that she had to run after she had killed her father due to him raping her and then her brother as well. She explains she told her other about the abuse, but nothing was very done. Blomvist looks and tells Harriet that he understands the reason why she made the decisions that she made. Harriet returns to Hedestad and she see Henrik after so many years apart. Frode and Henrik thank Blomvist for all his hard work, however; Blomvist is not happy with Henrik due to the information Henrik provided him on Werrnestrom. The information is so old that it is not viable or creditable and Blomvist explains that he is not able to publish a story with that material.
Lisbeth then tells Blomvist that she did a search on her own of Blomvist and she provides him with the necessary information that he needs in order to get back his creditability and take Wennerstrom down for good. Blomvist is back in the spot light and all the heat is on Wennerstrom after the article that Blomvist has published. Lisbeth then asks Blomvist for a favor and she borrows money from him and tells him it is an investment (not telling him that she plans to steal all the money that Wennerstrom has in his separate accounts). Blomvist loans her the money and Lisbeth steals all of Wennerstrom's money and deposits in her own accounts that she set up. She pays Blomvist back the money and the two part ways. As the story is coming to an end we see Lisbeth buying a present for Blomvist, but when she see him with Erika she toss the present in the trash and dies off.
I was very impressed with this version of the series. I truly and honestly felt that David Fincher was able to capture the flow of the story to the very last, he made a few changes but all for the better. The cast was well cast Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara were able to capture the essence of the characters as well, I highly recommend this movie and I hope that Daniel and Rooney's schedule are not to crazy and they can be able to continue with the remaining to movies that coincide with the remaining two books in the Millennium series (The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest).
MGM
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Steven Zaillian (screen play), Stieg Larsson (novel)
Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer
Running time: 158 minutes
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Ghost Protocol is by far the best out to the MI franchise series, Tom Cruise is at the top of his game and he showed that with every deliver of each line to the crazy ass stunts (delivered with precision). The question is where to begin... We open with an assignment in Budapest where a courier working for a person of interest code name "Cobalt" is to be intercepted by IMF again Trevor Hanaway. Agent Hanaway is killed by an assassin name Moreau who has taken the information that agent Hanaway was sent to intercept and take control of. Hanaway's team leader Jane Carter, and newly promoted field agent Benji Dunn then extract Ethan Hunt (and his source Bogdan) from a prison in Moscow. Ethan is then recruited to lead his new team that consists of Carter and Dunn to infiltrate the secret Moscow Kremlin to locate files that will identify who Cobalt is. However; halfway through the mission Ethan discovers that they are being set up, and someone broadcasts over the IMF frequency, alerting the Russians to Hunt's team. Hunt, Carter and Dunn are able to escape, but a bomb goes off and destroys the Kremlin and now Russian agent Sidirov accuses Hunt and his team of putting together the attack and destroying the Kremlin.
The IMF extracts Hunt from Moscow, and the Russians have now called the attack an undeclared act of war. this leaves the US President no choice but to active "Ghost Protocol", this is an operation contingency plan that disavows the entire IMF. The blame will fall upon Hunt and his team and they are to be branded terrorist and inciting nuclear war. The IMF secretary is telling this to Ethan and explains the mission to Ethan, but before he can escape the secretary is killed by Russian security forces led by Sidirov leaving Hunt and William Brandt to find their own way out. The team then identifies "Cobalt" as Kurt Hendricks who is a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist which believe that the weak must die in order for the strong to survive. It was in fact Hendricks who bomb the Kremlin and he has acquired the Russian nuclear launch code device and he now needs the codes from the Budapest courier in order to a nuclear missile at San Francisco.
Ethan and his team have to ensure that the exchange between Moreau and Hendricks side-kick at the Wistrom does not take place. This is all going down that at the Burji Khalifa in Dubai. While Hunt is following Wistrom he quickly discovers that Wistrom is actually Hendricks in disguise and Hendricks now has the Russian Launch codes that was needed to active the device. Once Ethan and the team get their ground footing after loosing Hendreicks and Carter killing Moreau (after she attacked Dunn). Ethan accuses Brandt for keeping secrets due to his fighting skills that Ethan witness back at the hotel. Hunt leaves and advises the team that he is changing the plan, and Brandt tells Carter and Dunn what happened to Hunt and his wife and explains the real reason as to why Hunt ended up in a Russian prison. He explains that Julia was killed by a Serbian hit squad and this lead Ethan to kill the men responsible and that is how he was in the Russian prison.
Ethan is able to get assistance from Bogdan the man he helped in prison and he was able to track Hendricks in Mumbai. Ethan and the team work together to stop Hendricks and his plan of firing a missile in San Francisco. With Dunn manage the computer side, Brandt getting access inside the server room to take the satellite offline. Carter gets Brij Nath (Anil Kapoor) to give him the codes that is needed to override the satellite and to stop Hendricks from using the launch codes to active the device to then fire the missile and start nuclear war. Hunt is able to catch up to Hendricks and the two men fight over the launch code device then Hendricks jumps to his death when he attempted to out wit Hunt and take the device case. As this is going on Dunn kills Wistrom which allows Brandt to restore power and this provides Hunt with the ability to deactivated the launch code device.
Hunt is then confronted by Russian agent Sidirov He sees that Hunt has stop the device and the missile proving the IMF is indeed innocent of the Kremlin bombing. Sidirov then asks Hunt if he would like to go to the hospital which Ethan replays yes. The team then reconvene with one another and Ethan gives them all their missions, Brandt decides not to take the mission because he feels responsible for the death of Ethan's wife Julia. Ethan tells Brandt that Julia's death was staged and that he did this to protect her because while he is doing this he knows that she will not be safe any other way. And he explains that it was pretext to part of the mission to infiltrate the Russian prison and get close to Bogdan (who in turn is an IMF source). Brandt accepts his mission and the two men part, we see Ethan looking at Julia from afar and then we see Julia and Ethan's eyes meet just before he walks off on his next mission.
I really enjoyed this movie it was action, had emotion when the required and also a little comedy as well. Tom is at the top of his game and it is evident in MI4. He is a power house for a reason, because he can deliver. What a way to end 2011 with a block buster like MI4 it is a must see and will be a must by when it hit dvd's (which is a few months away).
Paramount
Driector: Brad Bird
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton
Running time: 133 minutes
The IMF extracts Hunt from Moscow, and the Russians have now called the attack an undeclared act of war. this leaves the US President no choice but to active "Ghost Protocol", this is an operation contingency plan that disavows the entire IMF. The blame will fall upon Hunt and his team and they are to be branded terrorist and inciting nuclear war. The IMF secretary is telling this to Ethan and explains the mission to Ethan, but before he can escape the secretary is killed by Russian security forces led by Sidirov leaving Hunt and William Brandt to find their own way out. The team then identifies "Cobalt" as Kurt Hendricks who is a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist which believe that the weak must die in order for the strong to survive. It was in fact Hendricks who bomb the Kremlin and he has acquired the Russian nuclear launch code device and he now needs the codes from the Budapest courier in order to a nuclear missile at San Francisco.
Ethan and his team have to ensure that the exchange between Moreau and Hendricks side-kick at the Wistrom does not take place. This is all going down that at the Burji Khalifa in Dubai. While Hunt is following Wistrom he quickly discovers that Wistrom is actually Hendricks in disguise and Hendricks now has the Russian Launch codes that was needed to active the device. Once Ethan and the team get their ground footing after loosing Hendreicks and Carter killing Moreau (after she attacked Dunn). Ethan accuses Brandt for keeping secrets due to his fighting skills that Ethan witness back at the hotel. Hunt leaves and advises the team that he is changing the plan, and Brandt tells Carter and Dunn what happened to Hunt and his wife and explains the real reason as to why Hunt ended up in a Russian prison. He explains that Julia was killed by a Serbian hit squad and this lead Ethan to kill the men responsible and that is how he was in the Russian prison.
Ethan is able to get assistance from Bogdan the man he helped in prison and he was able to track Hendricks in Mumbai. Ethan and the team work together to stop Hendricks and his plan of firing a missile in San Francisco. With Dunn manage the computer side, Brandt getting access inside the server room to take the satellite offline. Carter gets Brij Nath (Anil Kapoor) to give him the codes that is needed to override the satellite and to stop Hendricks from using the launch codes to active the device to then fire the missile and start nuclear war. Hunt is able to catch up to Hendricks and the two men fight over the launch code device then Hendricks jumps to his death when he attempted to out wit Hunt and take the device case. As this is going on Dunn kills Wistrom which allows Brandt to restore power and this provides Hunt with the ability to deactivated the launch code device.
Hunt is then confronted by Russian agent Sidirov He sees that Hunt has stop the device and the missile proving the IMF is indeed innocent of the Kremlin bombing. Sidirov then asks Hunt if he would like to go to the hospital which Ethan replays yes. The team then reconvene with one another and Ethan gives them all their missions, Brandt decides not to take the mission because he feels responsible for the death of Ethan's wife Julia. Ethan tells Brandt that Julia's death was staged and that he did this to protect her because while he is doing this he knows that she will not be safe any other way. And he explains that it was pretext to part of the mission to infiltrate the Russian prison and get close to Bogdan (who in turn is an IMF source). Brandt accepts his mission and the two men part, we see Ethan looking at Julia from afar and then we see Julia and Ethan's eyes meet just before he walks off on his next mission.
I really enjoyed this movie it was action, had emotion when the required and also a little comedy as well. Tom is at the top of his game and it is evident in MI4. He is a power house for a reason, because he can deliver. What a way to end 2011 with a block buster like MI4 it is a must see and will be a must by when it hit dvd's (which is a few months away).
Paramount
Driector: Brad Bird
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton
Running time: 133 minutes
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