Tondra Dene is a movie-loving downtown girl. Between her regular Saturday night gig hosting “Solstice” house music night at Bar Smith, Tondra co-produces and hosts weekly video episodes on Directorslive.com showcasing exclusive interviews with directors, producers and actors. Catch her movie review and news column here.

About a month ago I saw the new English remake of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so I decided to watch the Swedish original (2009) for a comparison of the two films this week. The main question I have to ask (like the original Swedish filmaker Neils Arden Oplev) is why? Why make an almost identical version of a movie 3 years later from the making of the original? Are the characters and premise of the story that intriguing to want to tell it all over again without the subtitles?

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With the holidays comes family and with family comes much needed time away from them in a dark theater where talking is seriously frowned upon. For this, we are eternally grateful for the Oscar gods who made this time of year the best for cinema. Want to know what to see? Check out what we’re itching to see after the jump.

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

July 4th weekend is so close, you can almost see the fireworks. So what does this mean for your cerebral stimulation? Usually, absolutely nothing aside from the ability to keep track of the week based entirely on the nightly television schedule. While we agree, summer may not be the best time to tackle Infinite Jest or The Sound and the Fury (trust us, we’ve tried), we have a few options that won’t ruin your summer buzz, but will still make for great conversation starters and witty pop culture references when the times comes. Check out the top six books we aren’t running from.

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey

If you aren’t a fan in some way of Tina Fey, then kindly find yourself a sense of humor and ignore this suggestion. As the former head writer of SNL and the genius behind the Emmy Award winning show, 30 Rock, it is no wonder the New York Times called her first book “a spiky blend of humor  introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephornisms for a new generation.” Get this for a laugh out loud beach read and some perfectly worded jokes for your next night out (comedic timing not included).

2. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

Normally, we hear “love story” and run the other direction for fear that something resembling a Danielle Steel novel lies within its pages. That is not the case for the author of the critically acclaimed, Absurdistan. We could describe it to you, but the book has an actual trailer on YouTube with a James Franco cameo that does a far better job. »READ MORE

July 4th weekend is so close, you can almost see the fireworks. So what does this mean for your cerebral stimulation? Usually, absolutely nothing aside from the ability to keep track of the week based entirely on the nightly television schedule. While we agree, summer may not be the best time to tackle Infinite Jest or The Sound and the Fury (trust us, we’ve tried), we have a few options that won’t ruin your summer buzz, but will still make for great conversation starters and witty pop culture references when the times comes. Check out the top six books we aren’t running from.

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey

If you aren’t a fan in some way of Tina Fey, then kindly find yourself a sense of humor and ignore this suggestion. As the former head writer of SNL and the genius behind the Emmy Award winning show, 30 Rock, it is no wonder the New York Times called her first book “a spiky blend of humor  introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephornisms for a new generation.” Get this for a laugh out loud beach read and some perfectly worded jokes for your next night out (comedic timing not included).

2. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

Normally, we hear “love story” and run the other direction for fear that something resembling a Danielle Steel novel lies within its pages. That is not the case for the author of the critically acclaimed, Absurdistan. We could describe it to you, but the book has an actual trailer on YouTube with a James Franco cameo that does a far better job. »READ MORE