7 Movies That Make ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ Look Like A Pixar Flick

Jared Jones — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:46:33 +0000

David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was many things; it was a brilliantly filmed, exceptionally scored, and fairly faithful take on the 2009 Swedish original, which itself was based on the trilogy of novels penned by Stieg Larson. It was also a dark, twisted piece of storytelling that featured more than its fair share of rape, murder, and overall downer moments. And as we sat in our screening, crouched in the fetal position and begging for our favorite blankets, we got to thinking; what other movies had tested the limits of both our minds and stomachs? Here are the seven we were able to write down before the sickness overwhelmed us.

Seven Days

Also known as The Seven Days of Retaliation, this Canadian thriller tells the story of Bruno Hamel, a father overcome with the thirst for revenge in the wake of his pre-teen daughter’s rape and murder. After outsmarting the police and capturing the man responsible with relative ease, Bruno enacts a plan to torture the killer for seven days, at the end of which he will turn himself into the proper authorities. Brutal and unflinching, Seven Days features extended scenes of gut-wrenching torture. But don’t be confused, this is not your typical “torture porn” affair. It’s a multilayered tale depicting the effects of violence on both the victim and the inflictor, and a fantastic piece of indie filmmaking.

Megan is Missing

If you were too watch the first hour or so of this Michael Goi directed, handheld style drama/thriller, you would likely think it was a pointless, plodding story of two teenage girls. And you wouldn’t be that far off. The first two acts of this one (if you can even call them that) amount to little more than a series of video diaries and chat sessions between a young coke whore and her stereotypically virginal friend. But the last 25 minutes, you guys, the last 25 minutes. It isn’t often that we see a found footage film switch perspective to that of the killer, but this film makes it work in the worst way possible. Parents, show this one to your kids if you want to scare them from using the Internet, like, ever again.

6 Non-Porn Porn Movies

Joseph Gibson — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:25:03 +0000

Everyone loves porn stars. That’s why they’re called porn “stars” and not porn “pariahs,” porn “lepers,” or porn “disgusting outcasts.” And with Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star out now on Blu-ray™ & DVD, you might want to brush up on your non-porn porn. Here are some good old fashioned entertainments that aren’t porn, but feature plenty of porn stars, content related to porn, etc. – basically everything short of actual pornography. Enjoy!

Boogie Nights

PT Anderson‘s glorious epic about the world of 70s porn represents a bygone era in porn. This isn’t about people anonymously grunting all over each other, this is about when porn had a plot, man. And those plots revolved around young people with giant penises, like Mark Wahlberg’s Dirk Diggler. Watch it, and shed a single tear for the departure of the glory days or pornography. At least I hope that’s a tear.

The Girlfriend Experience

Here’s a movie that doesn’t just have a cameo from a porn star, but a full-blown starring role from none other than America’s Porn Star Sasha Grey. And she turns in a pretty good performance as an escort who specializes in “the girlfriend experience,” which makes clients believe they have something other than a hooker on their hands. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since director Steven Soderbergh has lots of experience working with non-professional actors. Which, hey, Grey’s a professional actor, when you get down to it.

Screen Junkies » The Girl Next Door

7 Movies That Make ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ Look Like A Pixar Flick

Seven Days

Megan is Missing

6 Non-Porn Porn Movies

Boogie Nights

The Girlfriend Experience