The Last Movie I Saw

There is only one reason why I went to see the English-language version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  Having seen the Swedish original and finding it a bit on the turgid side, I probably would've skipped the remake, except that it was directed by David Fincher, who has been on an incredible winning streak over his last few films (Zodiac, Benjamin Button, Social Network).  But, while I found the new film somewhat tighter and more crisply paced than the original, a lot of the story still seemed unnecessarily bleak and heavy-handed.  No, let me restate that: it wasn't unnecessary, since clearly the story is intended to be bleak and heavy-handed. Evidently that is exactly what made the book such a phenomenon and a big part of the appeal of the dueling international film franchises.  It just isn't my cup of tea.  Certainly Fincher has effectively worked with this kind of material before (notably in Seven), so I can see why he was drawn to the project.  But if he ends up directing the sure-to-follow sequels, they'll probably be the first of his films that I knowingly skip-- which is less a reflection on his talents (or for that matter, those of stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara) than my own growing lack of patience with entertainment that dwells unremittingly with the "dark side" of things.