Stieg Larsson’s bestselling thriller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” was originally entitled “Men who hate Women,” and divided critics on the question: is this book feminist or misogynist? The film depicts the violence alarming accurately for UK audiences and whilst any entertainment depicting violence will always be condemned by some as indulgent, the scenes here are truthful and informative. English speaking cinema has ratings chasing conventions about the depiction of violence that are intended to be slick but are now hackneyed. This film was refreshing in its honesty, but had a satisfying story line: the misogynists get their come-uppance. I highly recommend it, but the 18 rating is there for good reason.
The original SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN II films of 1978 and 1980 were spectacular at the time for their special effects and heralded the Super Hero genre. Superman Returns (2006) updates the brand to our modern expectations of production quality, but is disjoint from the sequence. Events in Superman III and Superman IV are ignored and my disbelief received little encouragement to be suspended from the arrival of flat screen TVs and mobile phones only a few years after we had been in the 1930’s comic book world of Metropolis. Brandon Routh was cast, I suspect, for his likeness to Christopher Reeve rather than for any charisma although Kate Bosworth fared well as a chirpy Lois Lane. In all perfectly serviceable cinema but it only reminds me of the original series rather than adding to it. No surprise, then that that Warner Bros. have the Superman franchise on hold.