Mostly good, but everyone has their right to an opinion…right?

Die hard fans will LOVE it.

But before we list out the reviews, don’t miss this Noomi Rapace interview (audio) on NPR. And this one (text) on Women and Hollywood. Oh, and this one (video) on Time.com.

A smattering of the gazillion reviews:

Flavorpill

Salon

L.A. Times

Hollywood Progressive

David Fincher is currently hard at work adapting Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy” into a trio of English-language movies, with the first one due in December 2011 — but why the heck wait until then? This Friday sees the theatrical release of the Swedish film version of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, and tomorrow the Swedish adaptation of The Girl Who Played With Fire arrives on DVD.

To celebrate, Vulture is giving away a prize package that includes: a Hornet’s Nest movie poster signed by Noomi Rapace (who plays Lisbeth Salander), DVD copies of Nest and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and all three “Millennium” books. All you have to do is write us your best haiku — that’s five, seven, and five syllables — about Rapace by Thursday at 5 p.m. For complete contest rules, see here. Good luck!

Stieg Larsson’s best-selling “Millennium” trilogy continues to thrill readers across the country – and the film adaptations released by Music Box Films are putting viewers at the edges of their seats all across the country.  Everyone agrees: Kick-ass computer hacker/investigative sleuth Lisbeth Salander is the best heroine in pop culture memory.  So we’ve got a challenge for you…

This Halloween, can you channel Lisbeth’s brilliant, hard-core, take-no-prisoners attitude and intelligence?

Enter the contest by uploading a photo of yourself dressed up as Lisbeth Salander to our contest Flickr Group by midnight on Friday, November 5th.

Be creative – you can base your look strictly on Larsson’s prose, or borrow from actress Noomi Rapace’s stunning transformation.  Check the forum topic for guidelines and details.

First Place winner scores a private screening of the explosive final chapter of the Millennium trilogy, THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, and an official movie poster signed by Noomi Rapace.

Good luck!

–Music Box Films

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST comes out in movie theaters across the country Friday, October 29th.

Watch the trailer + check local listings at: http://www.millenniumfilmtrilogy.com/

GUIDELINES
Here’s the run-down on Music Box Films’ Lisbeth Salander Look-Alike Contest!

*All photo submissions for the contest must be added to Music Box’s Lisbeth Salander Look-Alike Contest FLICKR Group by midnight on Friday, November 5th to be eligible: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lisbethsalanderlook-alikecontest/ <http://www.flickr.com/groups/lisbethsalanderlook-alikecontest/>

*FIRST PRIZE will be awarded to ONE person by judges from the Music Box Films staff on Wednesday, November 10th.

*The WINNER will receive:
1) A private screening of THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST – the thrilling finale to the Millennium trilogy – for a total of 20 people, at their local theater.  (The screening must take place before December 31, 2010. The winner may only use the screening for personal use, at no charge to their guests. The theater location, screening time and screening date are based on availability, determined by Music Box Films.)

2) An official poster for THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, signed by Noomi Rapace, the stunning actress who brought Lisbeth to life on the big-screen.

For any questions, please contact: pblake@musicboxfilms.com

Check it out here and see the image below…and don’t forget to get your final dose of Swedish Bad Ass—THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST opens Friday 10/29 in theaters across the U.S.:

First, I can’t lie, I’ve been kind of worried about the Hollywood remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And I know that many of us have been. Today I read something that moved that worry from devastating to, well, a little less devastating.

Michael Sragow from the Baltimore Sun claims that Rooney Mara might actually be able to handle the role. He says:

“In the very first scene of David Fincher’s “The Social Network,” Rooney Mara quells any doubt that she’s qualified to play Lisbeth Salander in Fincher’s version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” As a woman who decides that she can no longer date a bundle of insecurities and ambitions named Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), she anchors the entire film with her decency and sanity and trust in her own instincts.

All the other characters, at one time or another, over-value mere brilliance. Mara and her character bring the movie rare emotional intelligence. She’s under a lot of pressure as a performer here — in just a few minutes she must operate as a flesh-and-blood Rosebud in a film that is the ‘Citizen Kane’ of the Facebook generation. But Mara pulls it off.

It isn’t a showy role but it’s a crucial one, and for my money Mara embodies it as superbly as Judi Dench did Queen Elizabeth in “Shakespeare in Love.” (In other words, award-givers should ignore the brevity of the part and take note of Mara’s mettle.) Those who worried about Mara playing Salander should now be avidly anticipating what she can do under Fincher’s direction in the plum female role of the decade.”

Okay…but I still have to see this to believe it. Facebook is not Dragon Tattoo….

And second, Noomi Rapace à la Lisbeth Salander has gotten a LOT of attention, but I’m also a huge fan of Michael Nyqvist who plays the lovable Mikael Blomkvist. I think he plays and looks the part so very well. And the new surrounding him is that he landed the role of ‘evil villian’ in the upcoming Mission: Impossible 4.

So…hats off to him for the recognition and the job.

And so many readers, critics and book-talkers took this as fact – which could very well be ridiculous when the ‘diagnosis’ is just the scrambling of some very secondary characters that prove elsewhere to be relatively useless in their pursuits.

This is a woman who has been abused by family, government and country. She doesn’t trust anyone – and why should she? Of course she’s quiet, non-social and a bit odd. She was locked up wrongly in a mental institution for years! She didn’t have a normal childhood. She is alone and an outcast.

According to WebMD, these are the symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome:

• Not pick up on social cues and may lack inborn social skills, such as being able to read others’ body language, start or maintain a conversation, and take turns talking.
• Dislike any changes in routines.
• Appear to lack empathy.
• Be unable to recognize subtle differences in speech tone, pitch, and accent that alter the meaning of others’ speech. Thus, your child may not understand a joke or may take a sarcastic comment literally. Likewise, his or her speech may be flat and difficult to understand because it lacks tone, pitch, and accent.
• Have a formal style of speaking that is advanced for his or her age. For example, the child may use the word “beckon” instead of “call” or the word “return” instead of “come back.”
• Avoid eye contact or stare at others.
• Have unusual facial expressions or postures.
• Be preoccupied with only one or few interests, which he or she may be very knowledgeable about. Many children with Asperger’s syndrome are overly interested in parts of a whole or in unusual activities, such as designing houses, drawing highly detailed scenes, or studying astronomy. They may show an unusual interest in certain topics such as snakes, names of stars, or dinosaurs.
• Talk a lot, usually about a favorite subject. One-sided conversations are common. Internal thoughts are often verbalized.
• Have delayed motor development. Your child may be late in learning to use a fork or spoon, ride a bike, or catch a ball. He or she may have an awkward walk. Handwriting is often poor.
• Have heightened sensitivity and become overstimulated by loud noises, lights, or strong tastes or textures. For more information about these symptoms, see sensory integration dysfunction.

What do you think? Does Lisbeth have Asperger’s? Was that Stieg Larsson’s intention? Is there a difference between the likelihood of her having this disease in the books versus the movies?

This girl doesn’t look like Lisbeth—physically or metaphysically. She looks ‘nice’ and like you could snap her like a twig, or with one.

The site does note that they have no idea if this is how Rooney Mara will portray Lisbeth in the Hollywood adaptation as shooting just began this last week, but last we saw (in pictures all over the net) she was blondish with long hair—and here she is with short black hair…so you do the math.

Could Sony have made that big of a mistake? Only time will tell. But, so far, it’s like they’ve substituted a young waif for the Mona Lisa, when that mysteriously smiling woman played the part oh so well.

Can’t help but wonder, did they pick ‘Rooney’ cause it kinda sounds like ‘Noomi’???

In the film adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, there are several scenes that either show or discuss graphically the rape and incest that occurs within Larsson’s story. Lisbeth Salander and Harriet Vanger (victims in the movie) show two versions of life after assault. And, in an effort to turn these horrors into something that will make a difference and hopefully produce positive change, Music Box Films has partnered with RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network).

Together, the two organizations are bringing the movie to rape crisis centers and college campuses for a free viewing to be followed by a discussion group. The goal is to support victims of sexual assault and to fight the problem. The film shows

To date, 125 centers/colleges have signed up to be part of the program that was launched this summer and will be promoted as the school year begins this fall.

ABC did a wonderful piece about the program and the impact of the Millennium Trilogy on rape victims, one in particular. You can read it here.

Get Involved and bring Dragon Tattoo to your school or center, just click here.

Allegedly, Noomi Rapace is in talks to star in some big, old, Hollywood movies as the result of her outstanding performances in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire & The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (opens October 29th).

On the supposed list of potential places we’ll see Ms. Rapace:

~Sherlock Holmes 2 (Warner)
~Mission: Impossible IV (Paramount)
~The Last Voyage of the Demeter
~Jon Amiel’s next movie (rumored to be titled Mastrerwork),
~The Raven
~Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
~This Means War

We’ll be sure to let you know if there’s anything official.

David Fincher, the director for the Hollywood versions, recently directed Mara in The Social Network. So while she’s a relative unknown to most of us, she isn’t completely foreign to him.

And speaking of foreign, rumor has it that Fincher wants all of the actors to speak with Swedish accents—which begs the questions once AGAIN, what is the point of doing a remake of our fabulous Swedish versions?

In other casting news, Robin Wright, has been cast as Erika Berger—which begs the other question, why would Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) stray from someone as beautiful and brilliant as Robin Wright?