The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009/2011)
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Directors: Män Som Hatar Kvinnor/David Fincher
Description: Violent, Mind-Bending, Suspenseful

I never knew anything about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy of books nor the movies, until I saw the American remake of the 1st in the series in 2011. The American version was very difficult to understand, given that I never heard of the books, or knew anything about the storyline. After seeing the American version in theaters, I was anxious to see the foreign films of the trilogy on Netflix (all three of the films are available on Instant Streaming). I wonder if the other two films following will make it into American theaters. The storyline of these films is amazing, as I’m sure it is in the original books, however I will not be reading those (I’m not an avid reader).  If you pay close attention and really notice small details, these movies will be very intriguing and fun to watch. On average these films are very long, all are more than ~2 hours in length. I am not going to do a full film plot analysis because I feel the mystery is better off if watched rather than given away. The first movie in the series follows a journalist who is hired to solve a very old missing girls case. He then hires Lisbeth Salander, an excellent computer hacker, to help him solve the mystery. The second film (which is available on Netflix), The Girl Who Played With Fire, involves Lisbeth Salander going into hiding and digging up more dirt with journalists. Following the first film, the others in comparison do not give much excitement, they are more of a conclusion than anything. They all tie together though, which makes it a little more interesting. The third and final in the series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, follows the story of Lisbeth as she is hospitalized due to sustaining injuries, facing a trial suspected of murder, all while having many death plots against her. All four of the films, both the American version, and the three foreign films with subtitles, are amazing because of the relationship built around the characters and the storyline developed all throughout. I loved each film and would definitely recommend viewing them.

Jersey Shore premiered last Thursday night January 5th on MTV. This season looks like it’s going to be another fun filled drama fest, with problems between Snooki and Mike. Actually, between everybody and Mike. In this episode, the cast returned to Seaside Heights in New Jersey. They were all reunited with their family, and Snooki was reunited with a little too much–with Mike’s friend The Unit. Tension ensued as Snooki became upset that Mike and his friend would cause trouble for her and Jionni. While this episode was short and sweet, I think this season has a lot in store. I’ll be staying tuned in every Thursday night.