The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – the film

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), directed by Niels Arden Oplev, is, as most of the world knows, an adaptation of the first volume of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy which has so dominated bestseller lists over the past couple of years. The second (The Girl Who Played with Fire) and third (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest) movies were shot back to back with the first albeit with a different director (Daniel Alfredson). The second movie is just about to be released in the UK.

The Wire

Watching every episode of all 5 series of The Wire was an endeavour quite different to the other viewings of DVD box sets which I undertook during my hiatus in terms of both quantity and, more importantly, quality. It is one of those, relatively rare, items which undoubtedly belongs on both my blogs (which is why it appears on both!).

Murder Most English

Murder Most English was an adaptation of 4 of the ‘Flaxborough Chronicles’ of Colin Watson originally broadcast in 1977. A complete DVD box set is now available.

The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries

Another boxed set of DVDs which I purchased were The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries ; adaptations of 8 of Marsh’s books which were broadcast in 1993-94.

Taggart – Episode Guide and Introduction

Amongst a great deal of DVD watching over the past 6 months, about which I shall be writing here, were a considerable number of episodes of Taggart. My intention was to start at the beginning and watch every episode in order.

Poirot:Three Act Tragedy (2010)

While I do not note every new Suchet Poirot production, the adaptation of Three Act Tragedy (2010)  demands attention and consideration. I think it may well be the best of the Suchet Poirots, which is a very large claim, and an excellent piece of television drama  in its own right. Both direction (by Ashley Pearce) and script (by Nick Dear) are very fine and the acting of Suchet himself and Martin Shaw, superb. The following analysis will contain spoilers.

Marple:They Do It With Mirrors (2009)

The latest McKenzie Marple was They Do it With Mirrors. While there were some good elements and the usual strong cast and handsome production values, this particular adaptation failed in terms of its plot alterations and emotional impact. These two values are often closely linked in both the McEwan and McKenzie Marples, because one fairly consistent thread has been the replacement of money by love as a dominant motive and motif. The immediate problem with this is that to succeed the bar is set much higher in terms of the particular production conveying love in a both a convincing and emotionally satisfying way.

Mackenzie as Marple : Rye and Murder is Easy

Julia Mackenzie made her debut as the latest incarnation of Miss Marple, replacing Geraldine McEwan. The first episode was A Pocketful of Rye and it was pretty good.