And now for your viewing pleasure...

I have seen two movies in the last few weeks. The first was Inception, which has been on my list since I first saw the previews for it. As you may have noted from previous posts I find dreams fascinating and the premise for this movie immediately hooked me. Imagine how cool it would be to enter other people's dreams and shape them - or steal a valuable idea. Of course, this is no easy task and the movie does a great job of showing the audience why. And while there were no outstanding performances, the plot was enough to keep me interested. In fact, it was the sort of plot one has to pay close attention or else miss something - my favorite kind. Interestingly, one of the reviews of this movie maligned it because if a person could get into someone's dream to steal an idea then why should it be very difficult to insert one? But if you actually think about it for a moment, planting an idea in someone else's head - an idea that did not originate with them but rather with someone else - would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible. Just think how hard it is to sway someone to your way of thinking when their thoughts fall on the opposite side of the fence. Definitely not easy. And this is what made the movie so much fun.

The second movie I saw was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which I rented from Netflix. I had already read the first two books by Stieg Larsson and loved them (working on number three now) so I was eager to see the movie. It is a Swedish film, subtitled, and there are no pretty Hollywood actors to dazzle your eyes, no CGI enhanced car chases or explosions. Just some very good actors playing some very interesting characters, including my favorite, Lisbeth Sanders. Yes, of course the book is better. It almost always is. But I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and Noomi Rapace, who plays Lisbeth, did a fabulous job portaying someone who has been screwed over by the system in more ways than one. I have heard there is talk about making an American version of the book but I really don't think it could be done any better and I'm afraid it might be made worse, as in the case of The Vanishing, originally a Dutch film with a...no I won't tell you how it ends. Better you rent it yourself :)