Another Earth. Hugo and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Always on the look out for a decent sci fi drama, I took myself off to Milton Keynes to see the (very) low budget movie "Another Earth". Almost not worth the journey. A disastrous car accident leaves the perpetrator (Brit Marling who co-wrote the screenplay with first time director Mike Cahill) in prison and the victim without his family. How the two come together is the basis of an intriguing story, set against the discovery of a parallel planet Earth that comes nearer and nearer. However, the film becomes pretty slow and tiresome at certain points, and is not helped by the naive acting of newcomer Marling. The sci fi element is only a sideshow, with only some radio communications to tell us what is going on. Until the last seconds of the movie that do, at least, give us a brilliant conclusion.

When Martin Scorsese was thinking how to make a movie about George Melies, one of the earliest pioneers of moving pictures, and found he ended up selling toys in a Paris railway station, he must have thought this would be a marvellous place to set his new film. And he was right. Based on the illustrated novel by Brian Selznick "The  Invention of Hugo Cabret", Scorsese knew he could build a fantastic set, bring in some wonderful characters who inhabit the station, and film it all in 3D. So unlike a normal Scorsese thriller. But what a beautiful movie he has created. The story revolves around the boy  played by Asa Butterfield who lives a clandestine existence in the station's clock tower. He is surrounded by a fabulous cast of British actors. Ben Kingsley as Melies, Helen McCrory as his wife, Baron Sacha Cohen, Emily Mortimer, Richard Griffiths, Frances De La Tour, Christopher Lee (never been better) Jude Law and Ray Winstone are all terrific. But for me,  it is the one American who steals the show. Chloe Moretz as Melies' adopted daughter is just so charismatic for one so young. The opening sequence of the movie is worth the price of admission on it's own, and the technical expertise throughout is top drawer. Some critics were less impressed with the last part which delves into the early works of Melies, but the story is actually about him and I think we are very lucky to have Scorsese show us how movies actually started.

Having seen the original Swedish version, and not being impressed with Daniel Craig in the trailer, I was not going to see "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" until I watched Film 2011. Both Claudia and Danny gave it great reviews, as had all the press. Now I see why. This was a brilliant piece of cinema from David Fincher. Despite the running time of two and a half hours, there were times when the pace was relentless, and the editing fierce, as if he was trying to cram everything in. There were obviously scenes I recognised from the original, but overall I have to say that it was superior. Much of the movie takes place on an island where members of the same family inhabit various luxurious properties, and this was far better, and obviously more expensively filmed than the original. The complex plot was easier to understand without subtitles and the whole story seemed to be more coherent. Daniel Craig was actually pretty good, as was Roony Mara in the title role. And like "Hugo" it was the British acting contingent that gave the movie so much class. Christopher Plummer, Steven Berkoff, Joely Richardson and Geraldine James were all terrific. Steve Zallian did a great job adapting the book for the film, but the greatest credit still goes to director David Fincher. Top man.