So I will be reviewing movies that are all about strong independent women who know how to take control of their lives and don’t need no man. Although, ironically, all of them eventually do need a man…
This Week's Watches
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Starring: Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyquist
Directed by: Daniel Alfredson
Rating: ★★
Having already watched and read the first in the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I thought that I would watch the two movies that follow it.
This time around, instead of solving a decades old murder mystery, Lisbeth (Rapace) and Mikael (Nyquist) chase a psychotic blonde giant around Sweden who keeps attacking and murdering people. In a plot that is so boring and forgettable that I have actually forgotten it, we watch for hours as nothing really happens except for Lisbeth getting horrifically beaten up at the end and left for dead.
The first half, which is an interesting crime thriller, is completely disconnected from the second, as the film unravels into a boring, flaccid and predictable watch. The solution to whatever mystery they are meant to be solving is never fully explained, and the ending cliffhanger leads directly into…
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest
Starring: Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyquist
Directed by: Daniel Alfredson
Rating: ★★★
The third and final film in the Millennium Trilogy, this one is much more interesting and involving than its predecessor. Another long, harrowing and slow paced thriller, Mikael must do everything he can to prevent Lisbeth’s assassin and prove that she is not in fact a murderer.
The ending, a climatic court case, is thrilling and rewarding, as the tension built up cleverly towards this moment makes you desperate to see Lisbeth vindicated. The edge of your seat conclusion to the trilogy almost makes sitting through six hours of unnecessary brutal violence and torture worth it, and once again, the most memorable scene in this movie is the one that contains main characters receiving horrific injuries.
Even though the film is good, it still needed to be reined in and shortened, but at least we get some sort of ending to the trilogy, even if it is abrupt.
Whiteout
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short, Gabriel Macht and Alex O’Loughlin
Directed by: Dominic Sena
Rating: ★★½
A film that was both panned by critics and a box office failure, Whiteout is about a U.S. Marshall (Beckinsale) who works on a research station on the South Pole, and soon finds herself in danger when she tries to solve the mystery behind a series of murders.
The setting is stretched to its limit, but the mystery itself, which begins very well, soon falls apart. The first half is very tense, and contains some incredibly brutal death scenes and horrific injuries inflicted upon the lead which makes the movie fairly dark and gritty. Beckinsale is good in the central role, but unfortunately the entire film is let down by a very silly plot and easy solution. There are only four suspects, and it isn’t hard to figure out who the killer is.
The moments of ‘whiteout’- when a blinding blizzard strikes- are strange, but they keep up the momentum established in the first half. The ending is very weak, which ruins the interesting parts of the contrived thriller.
I was quite annoyed by the solution and the finale, as the film begins so strong, only to fizzle out. They could have had something really good here.
But on the plus side, Kate Beckinsale’s character is a strong independent woman who don’t need know man. Even though she does actually end up with a man by the movie’s conclusion…
My Pick of the Week
Monte Carlo (2011)
Starring: Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester & Katie Cassidy
Directed by: Thomas Bezucha
Rating: ★★★½
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| The three women go to France and have the trip of their dreams... |
High school girl Grace (Gomez) has always wanted to go to France with her best friend Emma (Cassidy) but Grace’s stepfather interferes in their plans by paying for her stepsister Meg (Meester) to accompany them. While in Paris, Grace is mistaken for a spoilt British heiress and so they all find themselves in Monte Carlo.
Whilst there they are invited to posh balls, go to the beach, sail of yachts, wear designer dresses and of course, fall in love with some ‘cute’ guys they meet along the way.
Monte Carlo is an incredibly girly chick flick which is essentially every teenage girly-girl’s fantasy- being treated like royalty in an exotic and romantic foreign country.
Even though am I usually completely averse to chick flick such as this, having only watched it to ogle Katie Cassidy, Monte Carlo is funny, engrossing and heart-warming. The characters are all strong, likeable and interesting, and you genuinely care about what happens to them.
The film has a nice rhythm, being fairly slow paced, which allows events and situations to develop gradually and organically. It’s essentially a road trip movie for women who wish they could be a princess for the day.
Monte Carlo is light hearted family fare for people who love chick flicks, as well as people who don’t. It is what it is, and that is why I enjoyed it, because it is pure escapist cinema.
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