Four to buy or at least queue up: “the girl who played with fire”, “the Oxford murders”, “Inception” and “Micmacs”

Four movies you have to at least watch…

“The girl who played with fire”: darkness visible

“The girl who played with fire” – (2009, Sweden, 129 minutes – rated R)

The second installment of Stieg Larssen’s “Millenium” trilogy manages to be superior to the first, no small feat and a very welcome one.

Watch the trailer here:

A key element of the tension running throughout the film is that Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is the one who is framed this time, for the murder of her counselor/monitor/parole agent Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), a nasty piece of work who raped Lisbeth twice before she turned the tables on him in the first installment.
Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is coming to her help, trying to clear her while she does the same on the run from police. More is revealed about Lisbeth, especially through the way she manages her relationships. Lisbeth disappears then reappears in friends and lovers’ lives the way a feral cat shows up on your porch, vanishes for weeks then returns, making you oddly glad when it shows up again and long for it when it’s gone.
And it makes perfect sense. It is quite likely that Lisbeth has trouble sensing why anyone would care about her, and miss her, given the traumatic experiences she lived through. While she isn’t completely walled in, she has neither ability nor desire to partake in meaningless socialization. She was born, as we see in this film, from a monster and encountered more as she grew up, fighting them all the way.
And this is part of the beauty of “the girl who played with fire”, the economy with which she does fight. She is a true fighter, not fearless, but focused, and in control of herself. The kind of control which only comes from having sensed and survived the “nearness of ultimate things”, an expression coined I think by Peter Straub.
One of the odd notes has to do with Lisbeth threatening Bjurman with his own gun, and leaving it behind with her prints on it: she knows better.
But the human monsters in “the girl who played with fire” are believable, somehow as believable as the monster of “Pan’s labyrinth” captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez, a versatile actor we first saw in “Harry is here to help”).
But Lisbeth is growing up, and her sense of justice, I wouldn’t say right and wrong, remains highly tuned. Again, Rapace is portraying Lisbeth with great skill, actually with the same economy her character displays in dealing with the filth that would try to corrupt her existence.
I am getting to really like Lisbeth Salander and her cat-like psyche. She also reminds me of the bat-flower we saw at the conservatory of flowers, dark beauty surviving in harsh environments.

“The girl who played with fire” gets five jellybeans.

“The Oxford murders”: the beautiful numbers

… As opposed to the beautiful people.

“The Oxford murders” – (2008, Spain, 108 minutes – rated R)

This was a bit of a revelation, as I wasn’t even sure what genre this fell into. Director Alex de la Iglesia has so far made comedies for the most part, and very funny ones at that of which we are huge fans here. But “the Oxford murders” is adapted from a mystery written by Argentine mathematician and writer Guillermo Martinez. The adaptation was skillfully done by screenwriter Jorge Guerricaechevarria.

Watch the trailer here:

I will not attempt to describe the storyline beyond this: Martin (Elijah Wood), an American student, arrives at Oxford hoping to not only meet his idol, the legendary Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), but have him read his thesis, and mentor him.
After an initial ‘introduction’ which disappointed Martin, the two come together as they try to solve a murder which seems to point to a serial killer as the body count grows.
This is a terrific thriller, with outstanding actors and writing which will keep you guessing until the very end.
For fun, watch for director Alex Cox (“Sid and Nancy”, “Repo man”) in an extended cameo as Kalman.
Although both men are separated by generations, Elijah Wood and John Hurt rival each other in wits and in vying for the same woman, the gorgeous Leonor Watling (woof!).
Elijah Wood, as described by de la Iglesia, is a screen monster: magnetic, humble (no entourage around this guy), skilled in every aspect of filmmaking, and you know, it shows. Watching him sparring with John Hurt throughout the movie is a thrill.
This is a superior mystery, one to get you thinking, just as “time crimes” (“cronocrimenes”) another offering from Spain did.

“The Oxford murders” gets five jellybeans.

“Inception”: how to be blown away

“Inception” – (2010, USA, 148 minutes – rated PG 13)

This is the kind of movie I have waited for, and for a long time. “Inception” explores themes which drew me to sci-fi authors like Philip K. Dick, William Gibson and others, and were always difficult to express cinematically until now…
One more gushing comment: of all the siblings’ teams in movies, from the Coen brothers to the Polish brothers, Wachowski brother and sister and the Hugues brothers, the Nolan brothers rule.

Watch the trailer here:

Let me put it this way: if the Devil is in the details, the Nolan brothers are the landlords. Their films are exquisitely layered, each layer not only has complexity but a logic and texture with no equal I know of. And their films require multiple viewings.
Christopher Nolan’s screenplay of “inception” began 10 years prior, and explores the nature of dreams, alternate realities and human relationships within altered states and realities in the same way people resolved to explore the North Pole a century ago. Dark and dangerous territory.
Cobb (Leonardo di Caprio) is a corporate merc, with the technology, know-how and connections to invade the mind of high-prized targets and retrieve deeply buried secrets and information. Like a home invasion but even more personal.
He also pioneered the notion of going from one target’s dream to another’s, layer after layer explored to find whatever he is after. A technique he developed at tremendous personal cost to himself and his partner-wife Mal (Marion Cotillard). This time, Cobb will assemble a team for a job which promises to allow him back stateside and reunite him with his children.
Cobb is the main protagonist of “inception” but in typical Nolan fashion, he is not exactly a good guy. None of the Nolan brothers’ movies have knights in shining armor, rather, their protagonists are fascinating and flawed characters, human in other words.
The cast of “inception” is fascinating itself: from the “Batman” movies, we have Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, and other familiar talents.
“Inception” is an experience. “The prestige” was an absolute thrill and mainly about ideas and perceptions. “Inception” uses CGI to great effect, in support of a terrific and intelligent script, vastly superior to the “avatar” juggernaut.
I have a very strong affinity for this type of film, in which I would include “Dark City” and even “Gattaca”.
The absolute best career move di Caprio made was when he began a working relationship with Martin Scorsese and developed grown, layered characters which stretched his acting muscles. In “inception” he is surrounded by some of the best talents of either side of the pond.

“Inception” gets five jellybeans, and deserves more.

“Micmacs”: return to fertile territory

“Micmacs” – (2009, France, 105 minutes – rated R)

Yet another example of the MPAA’s conspiracy to keep outstanding foreign content to be seen in America. Rated R? Who are they kidding? Or perhaps Hollywood will remake this one as well..?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet is an acquired taste, but once acquired, you just can’t get enough of his films. “City of lost children” and “Delicatessen” are my wife’s favorites, while I prefer “Amelie” and “a very long engagement”, with a terrific Jodie Foster in a supporting role.
Regardless: “micmacs” is a return to classic Jeunet. Very French, especially of the Parisian flavor, with vulnerable characters facing odds much greater than they.
Bazil (Danny Boon) is a video store cashier who one fateful evening gets hit in the head by a stray bullet. Bazil’s father years ago was himself killed by a landmine in Morocco.
Down on his luck, he is adopted by a ‘family’ of misfits running a junkyard, and resolves with them to go after the French weapons manufacturers responsible for all innocents’ deaths and wounds.

Watch the trailer:

“Micmacs” is quintessential Jeunet: colorful, tender almost to the point of heartbreak, droll, funny and so engaging. Not Oscar material like “a very long engagement” but just as endearing as his early movies, it tweaks your heart strings, especially with the musical score by Raphael Beau.

“Micmacs” gets five jellybeans.