Any "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" fans here?

[Lee]

I read this series of books last year, and really enjoyed them.  Amazingly enough, Netflix has all three of the Swedish (English subtitled) movies in their catalog (so I'm guessing no one watches them).  I've watched the first two and plan on watching the third this week. They are semi- X rated in some parts, so I have to wait for the kids to go somewhere.  Naturally, the movies lack much of the plot and character detail, but still, they are still a good watch.  I think I'm in love with Noomi Rapace (Salander).   
 

[MillCreek]

We are giving Netflix another whirl because they said they have added closed captioning to more titles in the Instant Video series.  We watched the first movie on Christmas Eve and the second movie last night.  We will watch the third tonight.  We both liked the books and thought that the Swedish movies were reasonably true to the books, although some stuff was left out.  That woman can sure take a licking and keep on ticking. 

[Lee]

That woman can sure take a licking and keep on ticking. 

Can give one too (I'll leave it at that ha ha).  The movie didn't include much of here time with Teleborian, which was too bad, since he was the arch villain IMHO.

[coppertales]

I only have seen the first movie.  The girl with the tattoo was a real hottie......I have the books but have not read them yet....chris3

[wmenorr67]

Haven't read the books.  How is these versions of the movies going to differ from the ones starring Daniel Craig?

[Lee]

Not sure. I'm guessing that some parts of the US version were pretty heavily edited though.  I heard that they were struggling with maintaining the story line vs. getting an X rating - which is pretty much the kiss of death in the US....at mainstream theaters anyway. There is a lot of sex intermingled with violence -but that's generally the point of the stories.

[BryanP]

I just finished the first book earlier this afternoon.  I have the next two sitting on the shelf ready to go.  I haven't watched any of the movies, but I'm sure I will at some point.

[Jamisjockey]

Violent sex?  I just assumed these were chick books....no?

[wmenorr67]

Violent sex?  I just assumed these were chick books....no?

Now JJ has a peaked interest.

And every pun you can think of was intended.

[Jamie B]

Now JJ has a peaked interest.

And every pun you can think of was intended.

No *expletive deleted*it - I wonder if that was his antenna that popped up? 

[Stand_watie]

Violent sex?  I just assumed these were chick books....no?

No. Murder/mystery/action/adventure.

[Lee]

Short wave?  

These aren't "chick books"....not in my opinion anyway.    

[Jamisjockey]

No. Murder/mystery/action/adventure.

With violent sex? Win.

[wmenorr67]

With violent sex? Win.

And a little more peaked.

[Perd Hapley]

Not sure. I'm guessing that some parts of the US version were pretty heavily edited though.  I heard that they were struggling with maintaining the story line vs. getting an X rating - which is pretty much the kiss of death in the US....at mainstream theaters anyway. There is a lot of sex intermingled with violence -but that's generally the point of the stories.

 What kind of sex is going on the books, that couldn't be depicted in an R rated film?

[Jamisjockey]

What kind of sex is going on the books, that couldn't be depicted in an R rated film?

Sex-positive sex?

[Lee]

"What kind of sex is going on the books, that couldn't be depicted in an R rated film?"

Probably shouldn't go into detail here.  S&M, Incest, rape, torture, mutilation, murder, lesbianism, etc.  

Here's a good teaser clip....kinda gives you the gist of the series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9G4GiUxJek

[brimic]

I've resisted these books so far, but I've heard family members this weekend talk about them, and they have close to the same reading tastes as I do...

[Perd Hapley]

"What kind of sex is going on the books, that couldn't be depicted in an R rated film?"

Probably shouldn't go into detail here.  S&M, Incest, rape, torture, mutilation, murder, lesbianism, etc.  

Here's a good teaser clip....kinda gives you the gist of the series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9G4GiUxJek

I'm pretty sure we could think of R-rated movies containing all of those things. Is there really anything an R-rated movie hasn't already done, other than showing us the, ahem, moving parts? 

[Lee]

True...not much left.  I guess it's a matter of degree.

[Perd Hapley]

So I actually read up on the plot of this book, on Wikipedia, and Cacher was kind enough to PM me some more sordid details. (Thanks, I guess.    )  It's still hard to see what taboos a film adaptation might break that aren't routinely broken by R-rated films. Male frontal nudity has gone mainstream (Observe and Report, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and The Watchers, from what I'm told), and rape (or attempted rape) has been shown from The Outlaw Josey Wales to Pulp Fiction to the Shawshank Redemption. Directors and actors know how to get the plot across without making a full-fledged porn film. They leave things off-screen and use facial expressions, sound effects, screams, etc.

I don't really have a dog in this fight; I'm just incredulous at the suggestion that film-makers might be struggling to pull this thing back from an X rating (though I guess that would be NC 17 rating now). It seems more like the choice is between an R and what people sometimes call "hard R."

[Monkeyleg]

Now JJ has a peaked interest.

The word is "piqued", unless you're talking about peaking in an orgasm. Well, maybe you are.

[wmenorr67]

The word is "piqued", unless you're talking about peaking in an orgasm. Well, maybe you are.

If you take not of the line below.

[freakazoid]

Just walked out of the theater. Man that movie was awesome. I really wasn't sure what to expect but this movie just blew me away. It surprisingly had some humor. Before seeing the movie I too was wondering how they could be struggling with the rating, after seeing it I can see how.

[red headed stranger]

So I actually read up on the plot of this book, on Wikipedia, and Cacher was kind enough to PM me some more sordid details. (Thanks, I guess.    )  It's still hard to see what taboos a film adaptation might break that aren't routinely broken by R-rated films. Male frontal nudity has gone mainstream (Observe and Report, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and The Watchers, from what I'm told), and rape (or attempted rape) has been shown from The Outlaw Josey Wales to Pulp Fiction to the Shawshank Redemption. Directors and actors know how to get the plot across without making a full-fledged porn film. They leave things off-screen and use facial expressions, sound effects, screams, etc.

I don't really have a dog in this fight; I'm just incredulous at the suggestion that film-makers might be struggling to pull this thing back from an X rating (though I guess that would be NC 17 rating now). It seems more like the choice is between an R and what people sometimes call "hard R."

The movie ratings system is quite subjective, capricious, and possibly manipulated by the big studios.  Check out the movie "This film is not yet rated"  for some insight into the odd workings of the MPAA ratings board. One of the most striking points made in the films is how big studios tend to get away with more than those from small studios. Additionally, the ratings board is very poor at giving guidance as to what would garner an R vs. NC-17 rating. This has a direct affect on a production with tight budgets, as there is additional cost in re-editing or doing alternate takes of scenes that may or may not be "over the line" into NC-17 territory. 

Roger Ebert's take on "This Movie is not Yet Rated" sums it up pretty well:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/FILMFESTIVALS05/60126002/-1/FILMFESTIVALS