The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [3] Leviticus

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One thread in the complex storyline of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the link between verses from the Book of Leviticus and gruesome murders of women. Leviticus is the 3rd book of the Hebrew Bible and also of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This novel and film are set in Sweden, where there is no longer an officially recognized church. While Swedes still identify as Christians, the majority of them don't believe in God. It is in this context that the storyline of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo unfolds: For 40 years, no one could solve the mystery of a young girl's disappearance, because even the most dogged detective, distraught great uncle, and curious townspeople thought one of the girl's journal entries was phone numbers - instead of references to the Leviticus. It took the investigative journalist's daughter to notice, offhandedly, that the entry pointed to Biblical verses. 

Reference: Levitical Extremism in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [2] premier

Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, David Fincher - French premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [1] enthralling

I've watched this David Fincher adaptation (2011) of the Stieg Larsson novel quite a few times now, and I remain enthralled. It's my 4th all-time favorite film - after The Matrix, Cloud Atlas, and V for Vendetta. This film is superb in so many ways: e.g. cinematography, storyline, character, soundtrack. Most of all, I remain enthralled with Rooney Mara's tour de force performance as the troubled but brilliant Lisbeth Salander. Daniel Craig is also superb as the embattled investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist.

My Top Most Recent Science Fiction: Avatar (2009)

Zoe Saldana, as Neytiri

My Top Most Recent Science Fiction: Her (2013)

Joaquin Phoenix, as Theodore Twombly

My Top Most Recent Science Fiction: Transcendence (2014)

Johnny Depp, as Dr. Will Caster

My Top Most Recent Science Fiction: Lucy (2014)

Scarlett Johansson, as Lucy

My Top Most Recent Science Fiction: Ex Machina (2015)

Alicia Vikander, as Ava

From "13 Conversations" to "Our Lives' Entropy" [5]

From "13 Conversations" to "Our Lives' Entropy" [4]

Then I wrote this poem ...

From "13 Conversations" to "Our Lives' Entropy" [3]

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So I thought about this ...
 

From "13 Conversations" to "Our Lives' Entropy" [2]

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After hearing that entropy was irreversible, from the film "13 Conversations about 1 Thing" ...
 

From "13 Conversations" to "Our Lives' Entropy" [1]

John Donne said we're all connected - "No man is an island." "13 Conversations about 1 Thing" says we collide, too.
 

The Age of Adaline

Like photographing a flower, making a romantic film quickly settles into platitudes. But "The Age of Adaline" is an uncommon love story, indeed. Moreover, I loved it because it wasn't just a love story. It advances the idea that youthful beauty, or youthfulness in general, simply isn't what it's cut out to be. Plus, I wondered whether there was any basis at all to the scientific phenomenon that is at the heart of the film. Oh, have I mentioned that Blake Lively lays out one fine acting job, and does anyone in this community sense that I'm highly recommending this film (smiles)?

what I liked was the sophistication of her character ;)

Yep, exactly.  Blake had to play a complicated character who had something quite extraordinary happen to her and who then had to navigate a very ordinary world.  I don't imagine it was an easy role to play, but to your point she did so beautifully :)
 

Reflecting on M Night Shyamalan

Haley Joel Osment, in "The Sixth Sense"

I offered the following commentary on Google+, in response to an article The Death Spiral of M Night Shyamalan's Career:

I loved "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable" and "Signs," but M Night Shyamalan's subsequent films were mostly OK, at best, and he fell off my radar. Now, he's out with "The Visit."

The following, from Walt Hickey at FiveThirtyEight, sums up my sentiments:

"Here’s hoping his time in the wilderness made M. Night Shyamalan a better director of the kind of movie that made him big in the first place: tense, tightly-written thrillers with a strong emotional core. Sure, there’s probably going to be gauzy convolutions of plot, but emotional heart can cover for that. Anyone who enjoyed his early work has to be rooting for a comeback."
My post sparked a bit of a discussion, to which I added:

In a way I was glad Shyamalan fell off my radar, because I really didn't bother to read reviews or comments about him. People slamming him is unfortunate, because the dude is quite talented.

Besides the three I mentioned above, I also liked "The Village" and "The Happening" reasonably well, more because of the actors than the stories themselves. "Lady in the Water" was underwhelming, really. But I watched "Devil," and loved it, before I found out that he had written it.

BTW: I checked Wikipedia, and every single one of his films had box office returns that exceeded the budget. Not a bad run, in the least, for a talented filmmaker!

The box office success that Shymalan enjoyed makes Hickey's characterization as film making career in a death spiral rather overstated.
 

Reflecting on "Ex Machina"

Caleb meets Ava: so begins a more complex, more disturbing version of the Turing Test.

"Do you think I might be switched off, because I don't function as well as I'm supposed to?"

"If you've created a conscious machine, it's not the history of man; that's the history of gods."

Over the past several months I've posted on "Ex Machina" several times, as I am so intrigued by the story line and its wide ranging, complex implications.  This post is an effort to collate these posts, and in time prepare me to write a lengthier, more substantive commentary.
 

"The Pretty One" is a Pretty Romance

I just ran into the tail end of this 2014 film on TV, and while romantic comedy doesn't grab me in general, The Pretty One did.  I didn't even know the title, but I Googled the director Jenée LaMarque and lead actress Zoe Kazan, and easily found it. The final scene with Kazan and Jake Johnson was tender in an unforced, non-melodramatic way.  Still, it was the soundtrack in that scene, plus during the credits that actually grabbed me:

Time, I've been passing, time watching trains go by
All of my life lying on the sand, watching seabirds fly
Wishing there would be someone waiting home for me
Something's telling me it might be you
It's telling me it might be you all of my life

Looking back as lovers go walking past all of my life
Wondering how they met and what makes it last
If I found the place, would I recognize the face?
Something's telling me it might be you
Yeah, it's telling me it might be you

So many quiet walks to take
So many dreams to wake
And we've so much love to make
Oh, I think we've gonna need some time
Maybe all we need is time

And it's telling me it might be you all of my life

I've been saving love songs and lullabies
And there're so much more no one's ever heard before
Something's telling me it might be you
Yeah, it's telling me it must be you
And I'm feeling it'll just be you all of my life

May be it's you
(It's you)
Maybe it's you
(It's you)
I've been waiting for all of my life

Tale of Two Halves for "The Recruit"

Nothing is what it seems.

The second half of this 2003 film devolves into a weak spy thriller as the characters of Colin Farrell and Bridget Moynahan play a predictable romantic, sexual cat and mouse game.  But, for me, the real drama and intrigue were in the first half.  One feels for Farrell and his longstanding desire to learn more about who his father was and how he died.  He is bright, he is a go-getter, but he plays right into that cat and mouse game that CIA lifer Al Pacino schemes.  The Recruit begins with good human drama, but slips into spy snoozer.

Enough Murder, Action and Humor in "Cellular"

I've watched this 2004 film a few times, and while it doesn't really engage my intellect, it has good doses of murder, action and humor to draw me in every time.  It's an improbable, sometimes comedic film that walks a fine line with plausible and frightening.  Chris Evans pulls off this balance terrifically, with William Macy and Rick Hoffman on the former side and of course Kim Basinger and Jason Statham on the latter side.
 

Geena Davis brings more diversity to the screen

Geena Davis

Films like The Fly (1986), Thelma & Louise (1991), A League of her Own (1992), and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) come to mind easily, when I think about Geena Davis.  The talented and beautiful actress, now 59 years old, deserves applause for something more than just her Academy Award winning acting: She deserves it for her social conscience and awesome effort in bringing more women and minorities to the screen.

To wit

Why Did Geena Davis Create the Institute [on Gender and Media] and See Jane?

While watching children’s entertainment with her young daughter, Geena Davis was astounded by the dearth of female characters. Fueled to take action, she commissioned the largest research project on gender in film and television ever undertaken, conducted by Dr. Stacy Smith at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. The research confirmed the disparity she observed: in family films, there is only one female character for every three male characters. In group scenes, only 17% of the characters are female. The repetitive viewing patterns of children ensure that these negative stereotypes are ingrained and imprinted over and over.

So then

Geena Davis is teaming with ARC Entertainment to launch the Bentonville Film Festival with the aim of highlighting diversity in film.

The festival, set for May 5-9 in the Arkansas city, is touting itself as the only film competition in the world to offer guaranteed theatrical, TV, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its winners.

The festival — hosted by ARC Entertainment, Walmart, Coca-Cola and AMC Theatres — will be chaired by Davis and screen approximately 75 films in competition. Members of the advisory board are Angela Bassett, Bruce Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Randy Jackson, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore, Paula Patton, Natalie Portman, Nina Tassler and Shailene Woodley.

Reference: Geena Davis Launching Bentonville Film Festival to Push for Diversity in Film.

Even more importantly, I think, Davis' philosophy and strategy resonate very nicely with the thrust of my philanthropy framework (rf. The Core Algorithm): In order to sustain itself over the long haul, any humanitarian, charitable or philanthropic effort must have a working business model, along with a social conscience. 

“We are looking for films that can succeed commercially,” Davis added.

This is a terrific challenge and opportunity for women and minorities in the film industry.