A new trailer for The Avengers, spoilerish news for The Dark Knight Rises, a TV spot for The Grey, and I write a short but accurate review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Avengers

The Avengers has a new trailer and it’s all dubbed in a strange language (commie) so I don’t know exactly what they’re saying, but there are a few new clips that look pretty cool, plus it has Scarlett Johansson, and I want to see her jugs.

That might be unrelated to some of you, but it is related to ME.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises‘ Anne Hathaway (Catwoman) gave an interview where she gave a bit of info on her suit and performance in the upcoming Batman flick. She mentions breathing in a way similar to Hedy Lamarr, which means really slow and all sexy, and the Los Angeles Times (who did the interview) also described a scene with:

Gotham City is a war zone. A ruthless madman named Bane has ripped away any sense of security and the citizens, haggard and clutching suitcases with refugee anxiety, sit behind barbed wire waiting to see what will blow up next. A hooded prisoner is dragged in – it’s Bruce Wayne, one of Gotham’s most famous faces – but the eyes of the crowd go instead to the woman in black standing at the top of the staircase.

“Sorry to spoil things, boys, but Bane needs these guys himself,” says sultry Selina Kyle, played here by actress Anne Hathaway, navigating the steps with stiletto heels that, on closer inspection, turn out to have serrated edges capable of leaving nasty claw marks in a fight. She also wears high-tech goggles that, when not in use, flip up and resemble feline ears.

Sounds pretty cool. I have high heels with knives on the ends too. I call them… ball cutters.

Cause I kick dudes in the balls with them.

The Grey

The Grey has a new TV Spot, and while it doesn’t show much more than in the trailers, it does further emphasize Liam Neeson’s badassness, and for that, I’m grateful.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

You’re probably all wondering why I’m doing a review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Normally I just do previews. Well, it’s a really slow news day, and I wanted to air my thoughts.

So.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by David Fincher, is both amazing and kinda poorly done. I read the books last spring, and I’ve seen the Swedish version of the story, so I’m pretty familiar with it. First, I think Rooney Mara did a better job as Lisbeth Salander than Noomie Rapace. Rapace was good, but Mara was physically a better fit, as she’s tiny, and she had a more detached expression than the anger of Rapace.

The movie made Lisbeth a better feminist hero as well. In the book, Lisbeth is essentially deranged. At one point it’s even suggested, most likely correctly, that she has Asperger’s Syndrome, and that doesn’t come across as much in the film. I never liked that to create a strong female Steig Larsson had to make his main character mentally handicapped.

The biggest problem with the film is that I think people who haven’t read the book are going to have trouble with the plot, especially the ending, with the bad guy revealed. It’s explained and built up a bit better in the book, and the bad guy just comes out of nowhere in the film. It’s a bit that way in the book too, but I didn’t feel it was quite as jarring. I’m a smart guy, and I figured it out in the book a bit ahead of time. I don’t know that I would have in the movie.

The violence, which is extreme, is well done and necessary to the story, and while I think it’ll be a bit too rough for a lot of people, it was done well, and it showcases Fincher’s skills set very well.

I’ve written more than I wanted to. To sum up, I enjoyed the film, although I was looking forward to it and expected more. If you haven’t read the books you might not enjoy it as much. I’m not terribly interested in the second and third books becoming movies, although I suspect they may. I just doubt Fincher will be directing.

Oh, and screw Canada.