THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stephen Berkoff, Skellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright.
Screenplay: Steven Zaillian.
Director: David Pincher.
‘The Girl With The Dragoon Tattoo’ almost mirrors Swedish novelist Steig Larsson’s book of the same name which runs to over 640 pages. Any plot details I give you here are necessarily a tad bald: indeed, the book is a rattling good read and if you haven’t yet done so, I suggest you read it to appreciate the movie even more.
Financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, (Daniel Craig), convicted of libel a few days earlier, is asked by lawyer Dirch Frode, (Stephen Berkoff), to meet with Henrik Vanger, (Christopher Plummer), retired former head of Vanger Industries to ‘discuss a private matter.’ This private matter concerns the disappearance, and probable murder, of Henrink’s favourite niece, Harriet, 40 years ago. Having nothing better to do, Blomkvist reluctantly agrees to look into the case while both of them accept that, even with his keen investigative skills, Blomkvist is unlikely to discover anything new. For the next 12 months he will live and work on the island of Hedeby, owned by the Vanger family, from where Harriet disappeared.
On the day Harriet vanished, 24 September 1966, the appalling Vanger family was at Henrik’s house on the island for a board meeting and family conclave. On the same day the nearby town of Hedestad held it’s annual Yacht Club Parade. A further incident occurred that day: a petrol tanker overturned on the narrow bridge connecting Hedestad with the island blocking the bridge and stranding people on either side. The accident made it impossible for Harriet to leave Hedeby on the 24th and she’s not been seen since. Nor has her body been found despite a thorough search of the island and the waters surrounding it.
Although no-one expects Blomkvist to solve the mystery, Henrik is an old man and before dying he wants a to make a final concerted effort to learn the fate of his niece: it has been a millstone around his neck for the last 40 years. The rest of his family believe Henrik is delusional, enthralled by Harriet and want nothing to do with Blomkvist. Only Martin Vanger, (Skellan Skarsgard), Harriet’s brother, who replaced Henrik as Managing Director of Vanger Industries offers any encouragement.
We encounter Lisbeth Salander, (Rooney Mara), the girl with the dragon tattoo, early in the film when she presents the background check she carried out on Blomkvist to Dirch Frode, which led to the offer from Henrik Vanger. Salander is a scrawny, surly, troubled, a-social, introvert who is a computer hacker of rare ability, blessed with a tantalisingly inventive mind and who sees mathematical patterns and systems where others find chaos.
Salander was controversially declared mentally incompetent some years back and Holger Palmgren has for many years been her court-appointed guardian, responsible for her welfare and one of the few people she actually likes. He has, however, recently had a stroke and a replacement has been appointed to care for Salander. She meets her new guardian, lawyer Nils Bjurman, a thug and a bully who exploits Lisbeth sexually in return for giving Salander access to her own money. On her second visit to him, Salander expects more of the same and hides a small camera in her backpack, but Bjurman surprises and overpowers her before brutally raping and sodomising her in a piece of frighteningly realistic cinema noir. Bjurman sees Salander as a victim, severely underestimating her strength of character, intelligence and determination to avenge herself. On her next visit Lisbeth tasers him, binds him and shoves a large metal object into his anus. She then shows him the film she took of the rape, and tattoos the words ‘I AM A PIG AND A RAPIST’ in large letters on his chest, stomach and genital area. From then on Bjurman is the victim and Lisbeth blackmails him into giving her the freedom to control her life.
Blomkvist finds in Harriet’s diary a list of five christian names or initials, each one followed by five digits, and tapes a copy to the wall beside his desk at Hedeby. Since early in the investigation these numbers have defied explanation by the police, the family and anyone else who’s looked into the case. A chance remark by Blomkvist’s teenage daughter reveals they are biblical quotes. These quotes and a closer, more analytical approach to the photographs taken of the Yacht Club Parade and family gathering begin to yield the hope that Harriet’s fate may yet be solved. Blomkvist needs a skilled researcher to help him find and review the meaning and context of the quotes and their relevance to Harriet: Frode appoints Lisbeth Salander. The initially strained working relationship between Blomkvist and Salander soon becomes one of mutual respect and a friendship that ultimately leads them to become unlikely lovers.
And that is as far as I’m prepared to go with the plot but, like all good mysteries, what’s hidden in plain sight often cannot be ignored. For the denouement you’re gonna have to watch the movie.
Rooney Mara delivers the edginess of the anorexic, fast food, coca-cola and cigarette addicted Lisbeth Salander, although to really understand this conflicted and often confused woman, with the body of a barely pubescent girl, reading the book is almost essential.
Daniel Craig is perfunctory as Mikael Blomkvist but is playing a role and a person for whom it’s hard to find much sympathy. Perhaps his plodding, persistent doggedness is the perfect foil for Mara’s brilliant and eccentric portrayal of Salander
It’s hard to fault the casting. Christopher Plummer, Steven Berkoff, Skellan Skarsdard and Robin Wright, (who plays the Managing Editor of Millenium Magazine, Blomkvist’s boss and long term lover), are more than credible and their talent enhances the creative and technical excellence of the film; screenplay, music, lighting, cinematography etc all of which make this a film you’ll regret not seeing.
Running time: 152 minutes.
FILM REVIEW: J. EDGAR
Starring: Leonardo di Caprio, Armie Hammer, Judy Dench and Naomi Watts.
Writer: Dustin Lance Black.
Director: Clint Eastwood.
John Edgar Hoover was a complex man who led a remarkable life. But he was not a very likable man and this film doesn’t do him any favours as it wends its way to an end that can’t come soon enough.
Appointed the first Director of F.B.I. on its formation in 1935, he remained its leader and public face until his death in 1972. His legacy was the efficiency, professionalism and forensic skills, (notably the introduction of fingerprinting), he fought for, introduced and which remain an integral part of law enforcement today. The arrogance, holier-than-thou attitude and impression that the ‘fibbies’ are the best and brightest in the fight against crime is the one of the bureau’s less attractive traits.
Hoover was a deeply flawed character. Perhaps his greatest flaw was his need for respect, power and authority which he wielded through his ‘secret files’ – page after page of gossip, rumor, facts and peccadillos. In Hoover’s hands they fueled his ambition, were tools for blackmail, to threaten those who wanted to remove him but were unwilling to force him into retirement because of what he might reveal. He was manipulative, duplicitous and vindictive, trampling over the civil and legal rights of those he disdained.
As a young man he was socially inept and withdrawn, unduly influenced by his mother and the need for her approval, she, however, was a religious zealot and bigot whose pernicious attitudes stayed with him throughout his life, and once told him, when she suspected he was a closet homosexual, “I’d rather have a dead son, than a daffodil for a son.” Well, she had a daffodil for a son. His lifelong partner and deputy at the F.B.I., Clyde Tolson, was more open about his predilections and more outwardly romantic. When approached by Hoover to join the Bureau, Tolson agreed, providing they could have lunch and dinner together every day; a demand Hoover enthusiastically acceded to.
When organising the F.B.I. Hoover dismissed or transferred agents who failed to meet his exacting standards of how an F.B.I. agent should look and how one should conduct himself in public. Dark suits, white shirts, subdued ties, and highly polished shoes were de rigueur.
Eastwood’s film is almost as complicated as Hoover’s life, tortuous and conflicted, but this may be the fault of the screenplay. The film opens with Hoover dictating his reminiscences to a young agent, who is dismissed whenever Hoover has a meeting, and this tactic, together with too many flashbacks to the past interspersed with the ‘present’, lacks cohesion and continuity.
One scene with Hoover and his then political superior, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, is particularly nasty: his smugness when informing Bobby Kennedy of his brother’s assassination is an example of how powerful men can easily slip into childhood pettiness.
During his life Hoover was both revered and reviled. ‘J. Edgar’ is an ambitious film that seeks to breathe life into the ‘real’ Hoover, however, that ambition is yet to be achieved.
Running Time: 137 minutes
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Gary Oldham, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, David Dencik, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy.
This film is about a mole hunt: the search for a traitor in the upper echelons of Britain’s secret intelligence service, MI6, at the height of the Cold War.
Actually, only two people believe there is a mole: ‘Control’, (John Hurt), who runs the Circus, and his deputy George Smiley, (Gary Oldham). Control’s behaviour is increasingly irascible and erratic as he struggles to identify the traitor from five suspects, each of whom is assigned a code name: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Poor Man and Beggar Man.
To get something tangible he can use to unmask the traitor Control sends agent Jim Pridaux, (Mark Strong), to Hungary to meet a general with vital information to sell. Control’s final words to him are “Trust no-one, Jim.”
The mission is blown. Pridaux is shot and captured and this fiasco sees both Control and George Smiley forced into early retirement by those who believe the Hungarian operation failed because of incompetence and not betrayal. Percy Alleline, (Toby Jones), is put in charge of the service with Bill Haydon, (Colin Firth), his deputy. Both were on Control’s list of suspects: Alleline was Tinker and Haydon was dubbed Tailor.
The British are especially keen to return to the CIAs good books after years of being seen as not altogether reliable, (mainly as a result of the Burgess, Maclean and Philby defections), and they achieve this by providing the Americans with prime Soviet intelligence, code named Operation Witchcraft. Control and Smiley both believed the Witchcraft information to be largely dross, with the odd nugget of gold, provided by the Russians to draw out top US intelligence material, but could not prove it. Once the secrets were given to the British the mole would then pass it quickly on to the Russians, or so Control and Smiley believed.
Ricky Tarr, (Tom Hardy), regarded as a rogue agent by Percy Alleline, Bill Haydon and others at the Circus, reveals to the Minister evidence of a long term traitor at or near the top of the organisation. Tarr’s information is too damaging to be ignored and the Minister consults Smiley who is convinced the Witchcraft material will eventually prove worthless and ruin any intelligence cooperation between the US and the UK for decades. Smiley is secretly brought back to MI6, with Peter Guillam, (Bernard Cumberbatch) acting as his eyes, ears and legs, and the great mole hunt begins in earnest.
If you prefer your spies and spymasters all bluster and bravado in the manner of James Bond and Jason Bourne, George Smiley may not be to your liking. He’s moody, cerebral, distant, often sitting, waiting for something he’s either planned or anticipated, to happen. Author John le Carre described Smiley as “small, podgy and at best, middle aged; he was, by appearance, one of London’s meek who did not inherit the earth.” Smiley’s only physical activity seems to be swimming in a cold, bleak river Thames and a spot of pacing.
This is a busy movie based on the 1974 novel of the same name. Twists, sub-plots, a few clandestine gatherings, a dash of infiltration, a little arm twisting, and not-so-idle threats are thrown into the mix as the traitor’s identity is uncovered clue by tantalising clue.
London in the 1970s was run down and faded and this feeling is captured wonderfully by director Tom Alfredson: bars and clubs wreathed in cigarette smoke, clothes worn but tidy, twin sets on well bred young ladies, even a pair of brown suede desert boots are seen and filmed on the drab streets of the time. The Circus is hidden away in a dreary, dirty red brick building amid a tangle of alleys and lanes somewhere near one of the city’s lesser railway stations, suggesting that nice people don’t come anywhere near the place.
Running time: around 100 minutes.
TTSS is due for release in Hong Kong in mid-March; being a combined English and French production it’s uncertain whether it will reach the Philippines.
DEBT CRISIS
The most honest comment I’ve heard on solving the global debt crisis came from the prime minister of Luxembourg, a tiny European country wedged between Belgium, France and Germany.
He said “We know how to solve the debt crisis. We just don’t know how to do it and get re-elected.”
That view probably sums up the thoughts of politicians worldwide. Until the politicians begin to put their country before themselves this problem is unlikely to be solved. Sigh.
An interesting approach to the same problem was made by an Australian economist. His solution was to give money to everyone: those people with debt had to use the money to pay off or reduce their debt; those without debt could spend their money freely, although it could not be used for speculative investments.
He reasoned that providing money to the banks, as in the past, would not generate jobs or stimulate growth, but by getting people to spend, the world’s economies would begin once more to grow.
I like his thinking. I’d love to get a decent handout from the government. Who wouldn’t? To turn JFK’s immortal words on end, “ask what your country can do for you.”
NO BARS ON FIELDS?
A friend who knows people who matter in Angeles City, recently reported an interesting conversation. In the next three to five years there will be no bars along Fields Avenue.
The reason behind this view is that the bars are a blight on our fair city: and once Clark becomes fully operational, government does does not want them, and certainly not in so prominent a location. This may be a reason the bar raids are ongoing, resulting in bar closures and sales as owners and investors figure the risks outweigh any rewards. Especially if a spell in jail is involved.
I can see the logic behind the argument, although it’s quite possible the bars will simply move to Malabanas Road and/or other back streets. The proposed timing of three to five years may be a little ambitious but I understand wanting to move the ‘entertainment precinct’ to a less obvious location.
The city government is likely to raise more revenue from airport-related development and increased tourism than it ever could from the bars, meaning owners and operators will not succeed in resisting a move by playing the ‘money’ card. Oh dear.
ENGLISH FROM AROUND THE WORLD
When travelling we periodically come across versions of mangled English. These signs and notices appeared in various places, as you will see, proving that a lack of proficiency in English is not limited to one country or region.
Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
Temple, Bangkok:
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A MAN.
Cocktail Lounge, Norway:
LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.
Dry Cleaning Shop, Bangkok :
DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS.
Restaurant, Nairobi:
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.
Main road to Mombassa, Kenya :
TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.
Poster, Kencom Inc:
ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO WE CAN HELP.
Restaurant, City:
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS.
Cemetery:
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.
Hotel, Tokyo :
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.
Restaurant, Switzerland:
OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.
Bar, Tokyo:
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.
Hotel, Yugoslavia:
THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.
Hotel, Japan:
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.
Hotel, Moscow:
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.
Black Forest, Germany:
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.
Hotel, Zurich:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.
Donkey Ride, Thailand:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?
Laundry, Rome:
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.
MASSAGE WORLD RECORD FOR ANGELES?
I can think of a number of reasons why our fair city may be notorious, but an attempt by 447 masseurs and masseuses, from the Philippine Association of Licensed Massage Therapists (PALMT), on a world record isn’t one of them. PALMT is awaiting verification by representatives from the Guinness Book of Records.
This is tied in with the Department of Tourism, (DoT), attempts to promote medical tourism via the wellness industry. Director, DoT Region III, Ronaldo Tiotuico, was confident the world record would propel the wellness industry to greater heights as the DoT capitalizes on “fitness fever by positioning the country as the most likely destination for treatment, healing, and recovery.” He also revealed there are over 100 spas and resorts offering ‘wellness solutions’ spread throughout Pampanga. »» MASSAGE WORLD RECORD FOR ANGELES?
HOME ALONE
Finally got home around midnight Saturday, almost 24 hours after we rolled out of bed. It took so long as we’d planned to stop in Singapore for a few days, which we subsequently cancelled, and flew both legs (SYD-SIN and SIN-MNL) on the same day.
Singapore Airlines did everything well and everything worked as it should: entertainment systems, food, service, courtesy and, in a first for us, checking in and selecting our seats on-line. The airline formalities at Sydney Airport were limited to checking our bags through to Manila and collecting boarding passes for both flights.
The organised chaos of arriving in Manila, such as people jostling for position in the lines facing the Immigration desks, was almost welcome as we were simply pleased to be home. There was no trouble finding the car and driver we’d booked from Margarita Station online and this is a better and less expensive option than grabbing a ‘coupon’ taxi from the arrivals section of NAIA.
Our visit to Sydney was marred by the mysterious death, in Angeles, of our beloved dog Rocky, an eight year old German Shepherd. In time we’ll get over it, but hell his absence is torture, especially as we were not here when his need for us was greatest and we feel guilty about that. ‘Lady L’ is devastated.
If we harboured any doubts as to just where in the world we are, these were put to rest by the brownouts last night: a series of rolling two-three hour outages between 7:00pm and 6:00am. Only in the Philippines.
QANTAS
Poor industrial relations used to be a millstone around the neck of business in Australia. Then as successive governments weakened the power of trade unions which led to a decline in union membership, work-days lost to industrial disputes plummeted.
QANTAS, Australia’s leading international and domestic airline, has been involved in a year long fracas with three main unions – the pilots, engineers and baggage handlers. This led to the grounding of the airline’s entire fleet at 5:00pm AESST last Saturday damaging the country’s reputation as a tourist destination, damaging the QANTAS brand and stranding 78,000 passengers worldwide.
The three unions involved want job security. QANTAS is not in a position to offer job security and remain viable; indeed, QANTAS’ premium international network as is reportedly losing $200million annually. I suspect there’s not a privately owned company in any industry anywhere in the world that can guarantee job security. If employees want job security they should work for the government.
In an effort to reduce overheads controversial CEO, Alan Joyce, wants to move the airline’s cost centre to Asia over the next five years. The unions demand that pilots and crew employed by Qantas’s offshore subsidiaries receive the same pay and conditions as their Australian counterparts which, to my mind, defeats the purpose of relocating an operations centre or two to Asia.
”I am absolutely confident that nothing that comes through the negotiations [with unions before Fair Work Australia] will restrict us in setting up an Asian carrier.” Under the Fair Work Australia ruling the airline and the unions have 21 days to reach agreement or the whole sordid issue will be sent to arbitration.
”The future of us turning around the international business is for us to participate in Asia,” Mr. .Joyce said.
Mr. Joyce wants to compete in Asia by slashing Qantas’ labour bill on international routes, making it more in line with Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates etc. I don’t think it’s quite that simple as QANTAS has an aging fleet of aircraft compared to Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific and, in my experience, poorer customer service relations.
Under his five-year blueprint, Qantas will launch an ultra-premium airline – likely to be called RedQ or OneAsia – in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. He wants to get RedQ into service by next year, building a fleet of 24 aircraft within a few years. [There are also plans for additional joint-venture budget airlines in Japan and possibly China along with the ill fated joint venture between Jetstar and Vietnam.]
Part of Mr. Joyce’s blueprint is to restore the international operations of QANTAS to profitability within three years and to be able to meet its cost of capital in five years. I suspect that if Alan Joyce fails to meet those targets he’ll be looking for another job.
QANTAS flights returned to normal by mid afternoon on Tuesday November 1.
WHAT YOUR BEER SAYS ABOUT YOU
Clothes maketh the man. You are what you eat. These shibboleths are largely discounted, but now there’s a new one. It’s what your favourite brand of beer says about you.
Readers of Sydney’s ‘The Daily Telegraph’, one of Rupert’s Rags, may have tripped over a small article on research into beer brands conducted by Melbourne’s Deakin University. The research, in part, describes drinkers of Victoria’s main beer brands in these terms:
VB (Victoria Bitter) Popular with the working class, budget shoppers, pizza lovers and those who watch ‘Dancing With The Stars.
Carlton Draught. Drinkers of this beer prefer fish and chips and V8 Supercars.
James Boag. More your high-income, department store shoppers who enjoy live theatre.
Coopers Pale Ale/Stella Artois. Book worms who are addicted to ABC and SBS news programmes.
Popular beers in N.S.W., Queensland, W.A., S.A., N.T., Tassie have not been ranked, presumably, as Deakin University is based in Melbourne.
Source: The Daily Telegraph, 22/10/2011.
A biased and unscientific overview of beer drinkers in the Philippines, would look something like this.
San Miguel Pale Pilsen. Older, more traditional beer drinkers. Many retirees and others think a day without an ‘SMB’ is a day wasted. SMB drinkers are often pot-bellied and dressed in shorts, flip-flops and singlets, dragging Angeles City’s image further down market if that’s possible. Shop at Johnnies or JJs
San Miguel Light. Popular with the image conscious, more affluent younger set who love the long neck bottle. Phallic symbol or wishful thinking? Self perception is that of a future high flier with aspirations to politics, an industry where self aggrandisement is legendary and no qualifications are needed. Shop at Marquee Mall and up-market brand name boutiques.
Red Horse. Common among the poor and those who want to get pissed quickly and cheaply before fighting, knifing or shooting fellow drinkers. A favourite Ladies Drink in low end bars and clubs. Shop at Nepo Mart for items they’re not clever enough to steal.
I know. It’s narrow minded, uncultured and stupid, but it’s also fun to imagine who people are, what they think, how they behave and where they shop by observing their favourite tipple. Indulge me while imbibing a glass or two.