HAPPY NEW YEAR and the Catcher in the Rye

This past New Year's Eve I was in Victoria, B.C.
It's the capital of the province of Canada I live in.
I was going to help my Dad move some stuff out
of his place there because he finally got a job in the
Vancouver area again.

I started reading the Catcher in the Rye during
the ferry ride over to Vancouver Island. I g0t it
because it's one of those "classic" written works that
I'd not been able to read yet. When I bought my copy
I was surprised by its relative brevity of 214 pages.
I probably could of finished it within a day if left alone
without any interruptions. Nonetheless, I read it in bits
& pieces in a fairly quick span of 2-3 days.

It really made me think of the nature of human social
interactions. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, spends so
much time being disinterested in the intricacies of human
socialization yet he can't be the way he is without those
social protocols existing. In a way, his constant references
to various people as "phonys" is an excuse to not become
too invested in anything or anyone. He's intelligent but
generally unmotivated. He's always trying to look for
the "phony" in everyone. It becomes an obsession.
I think one of the reasons that this book was so interesting
to me is that Holden seemingly strives for disconnection from
people, society, and the world at large. However, he's always
remembering good and bad times that he's had in New York
City and the New England area. He also wants to dispense
with the formalities of social introductions as soon as
possible. I can appreciate that. There's nothing more awkward
than initial meetings. I can appreciate that. Finding common
ground is difficult. Arbitrariness is in everything. Holden really
takes this to heart. He wants to escape his personal version of
the mundane. He is always thinking for better or worse. He
generally sees the worst in people before the positives. He doesn't
want to admit that he needs personal attachments. This is made
even more interesting by showing his increased sensitivity to
many norms and social interactions. One of my favorite aspects
about the narrative is how Holden deviates from telling the 'present day'
storyline by recounting anecdotes of the 'past'. It really enriches the whole
novel. Another aspect I really liked is simple. Holden's narrative voice sometimes
acknowledges the reader in 'breaking the wall' fashion. The novel
is written in a manner that makes the reader feel the way that
NYC & the New England area feels to the character Holden Caulfield.
This was kind of a revelation for me while reading it. I love when
books really describe the hell out of their locations with a lot of personality.
We're left to experience those locations through Holden. Holden is also
delightfully biased. I love characters written with their biases on their sleeves.
They're more interesting that way. He's highly intelligent but he's also highly
suspect because of his inability or indifference to personally connecting with people.
The one relationship in the novel that was most interesting to me was between
Holden and his little sister. His kid sister sees right through his protective
facade of calling nearly everyone a phony yet she loves him. She calls him
out regularly on his faults yet Holden doesn't dislike her for it. In my opinion,
It's the heart of the novel. It's a bit of a shame that J.D. Salinger didn't publish
more works post-Catcher in the Rye.

Finally, If only to acknowledge it. I was reading this novel in basically the same
time of year that the novel takes place in. Christmas & New Year's in New York
City can be beautiful but the New York City of Catcher in the Rye is like a wonder
and a monstrosity of the past rolled into one package. Holden Caulfield greatly
dislikes other Upper Class people like himself yet he can't get away from them
if he tried. He's a rich kid that doesn't want anything to do with riches, wealth, status
and the means to achieve those things. He's an oddity yet I found myself identifying
with him quite a bit. Apparently, Ronald Reagan's would be assassin John Hinckley Jr.
quite identified with this book too. Should I be worried for myself? hah hah

later. Here's to reading even more good reads, old and newly published works, throughout 2011.
Yeah, I'm continuing on with the resolution I made in the middle of last year to read much more than I had in the past. It's a good practice. I've noticed that people who read less aren't necessarily dumber but their vocabularies suffer. I wouldn't want that to happen. Reading makes
you knowledgeable about things. I like being knowledgeable.

Have a great 2011

MISFITS

I was just talking about this show in the last post but I wanna talk about the series in more detail. The image above is the moment when these unlikely people receive their superpowers. This show is about a group of 5 young delinquents who are sentenced to having to do court ordered community service for various offences they'd each done in the recent past. The main cast is

Iwan Rheon as Simon
Robert Sheehan as Nathan
Lauryn Socha as Kelly
Nathan Stewart Jarett as Curtis
Antonia Davis as Alisha

There was a 6th member to their crew but he was killed by their original probation officer. The 5 go on to kill their original probation officer because he also gained abilities during a freak thunderstorm (eventually revealed to have given several people special abilities or powers) that caused him to be seek violent justice against troublemakers that he ends up basically babysitting for his job. Simon gains the ability to turn invisible. Kelly, a young woman with a bit of an aggressive streak gains the ability to read minds. Curtis is a young but disgraced track & field star that's in court ordered community service because he's being made an example of by the authorities after being busted for participating in a drug deal. Alisha is a young party girl that gains the dangerous ability of causing anyone that touches her to immediately want to have sex with her. The person touched doesn't remember what happened after Alisha moves away from him or her. Finally, there is Nathan. He seems to be unchanged by the storm but eventually it's revealed that he is immortal. He soon learns that he can also communicate with and see the recently dead.

The writing and acting of the main cast is pitch perfect. They are 5 people that would never have come into contact with each other if it wasn't for their forced community service. Each of them has a distinct personality. Curtis, a disgraced pro athlete is nonetheless still very goal oriented and interested in working hard (despite also being a bit of a womanizer) Nathan is also a womanizer except he's much more arrogant. It's ironic that the one guy that is most likely to get on everyone's nerves with his smarmy humor will possibly outlive the rest of the group. Simon is initially a textbook introvert. He also murders their second probation officer after she manipulates him into thinking that she wanted to be in a relationship with him. She was only looking to find out what happened to the original probation officer (revealed to be her fiance). After he does this second murder, the audience might think that Simon will have a villainous future. Instead, he's revealed to eventually become something like a superhero. Alisha is a party girl that was potentially already sexually destructive with her body. Kelly is someone that regularly got in physical fights with other women. This creates humor with her character because she'd get angry when hearing people's thoughts about her. She'd react the same way as if she'd heard someone actually say something negative against her. Alisha and Kelly both learn to be more caring through the friendship (and further criminal activity) shared between the 5 of them. Alisha also learns that she's fated to have a loving relationship with Simon (because she meets a future version of him). All of these story progressions and details could be thought of as ridiculous. Smartly the writers acknowledge this. Thus the characters come across as more believable because of this fact. Acknowledging the tropes of sci-fi & fantasy shows & movies before it provide a welcome wink to the audience regarding any similarities or influences MISFITS might have with or taken from other shows or movies.

The show is also incredibly efficient in utilizing guest characters for maximum effect. It's apparent from the first episode. The quick murder of the 6th member of their forced community service crew and their shared act of committing the murder of their first probation officer (who tried to kill them) are good examples of guest characters used for very few episodes. The first probation officer isn't seen again until the episode detailing the implications of Curtis' power of rewinding time. He can change the past, albeit with the possible limitation of having to be personally invested in a situation to reverse time. However, I think that Curtis can go back in time regardless of personal investment or not. He just doesn't think that it's ethical to travel back in time without a personal stake. He alters the past to spare his ex-girlfriend from having to serve jail time. This first series episode focused on Curtis also reveals his series 2 love interest for the first time as well. Curtis knew that he had to pursue a relationship with this woman named Nikki once he finally met her in present day. This relationship also mirrors the relationship between Alisha and the future version of Simon. She & Simon later pursue a relationship in the present day time as well. Nathan's secondary ability to have conversations with the recently dead is revealed in an episode where he meets his half brother for the first time. Naturally, Nathan's brother is eventually killed in the course of the episode where he was also introduced. The half brother introduces himself to Nathan by revealing their father tied up in his car trunk/boot. The brothers then proceed to bond over all the ways that their father is a disappointment and how they've both done many things that would disappoint any parent. Both brothers are really funny and entertaining in their own respective ways. I became so invested in Nathan's brother through the course of the episode that by the time he was killed at the end of the episode it was heartbreaking. Curtis' series 2 girlfriend also gains her abilities through a heart transplant from someone caught in the storm that day. This revelation is interesting because it gives a plausible secondary way to gain powers without introducing a character that can transfer powers. This makes the recent second series ending Christmas special even better because in it they finally do introduce a character that can drain and reinsert powers into anyone. The introduction of this character also has given the writers a way to expand the amount of powers available to members of the small main cast. It also provides a plausible source for explaining a rise of superpowered villains if they choose to go down that route. I've only scratched the surface with the storylines introduced thus far.

Did I mention that there have been only 13 episodes produced and aired in total so far. The amount of story and character detail put into the two 6-7 episode series/seasons of MISFITS so far put story and character progression in most North American TV Dramas, Comedies, or Dramedies to shame. Check it out. You won't regret it. The only thing that might put off some people from the show is the sometimes excessive sexuality. Just a warning. Even the sexual encounters help in maintaining the believability of the situation in the show overall.

now for some recommendations

That last post was a bit of a downer. Venting is really useful. It works much better than thinking that bad moods are strictly negative. Unfortunately particular aspects about the reality of most situations are more clear to me when I'm in a bad mood. What makes me happy. Sharing movie, TV & book recommendations

Movie recommendations - I think my last few posts have taken care of what I've been watching lately film wise

TV recommendations - I've been watching a lot of British TV shows lately. Check out Sherlock, Misfits and Merlin. Sherlock is a brilliant version of Sherlock Holmes that places him into contemporary London, using technology and tools that are common today. The characterizations of Sherlock & Watson are perfect. Misfits is an excellent dramedy about what would happen if average people got superpowers. It focuses on 5 characters that gain superpowers while doing court ordered community service. Just watch it and discover its magic. Merlin is a fun origin and retelling of the whole Camelot & the Knights of the round table myth told from the point of view of Merlin. He is depicted as the apprentice of the court physician to King Uther, Arthur's father. Magic is outlawed. This court physician has a past of using magic. The physician gives Merlin a book of magic so that the young Warlock/Wizard can develop his powers and fulfill his destiny of protecting the future King Arthur and bringing about the return of magic to Avalon (nation Camelot is in). The Walking Dead is my top new North American show. It's just a fun old time. Zombies are fun again because of this & a few predecessors on the big screen. Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother are always good comedy choices. This week's Big Bang Theory involving competing for a New Year's Eve comic book shop costume party prize is great. One of the most continuously funny shows on television. Probably the best comedic cast on mainstream television today. How I Met Your Mother is a rare comedy show with an overall story arc. It's about a guy named Ted Moseby and his friends Barney, Marshall, Lily and Robin. The whole show is also about Ted telling is kids the story of his 20s-30s culminating in the reveal of the circumstances leading to him meeting their mother. The show is still going strong. I'd honestly be ok with them continuing on even after they've introduced the character that's the mother. This is a show that does the journey of a life in a comedic way exceptionally well. Supernatural is always a good watch. Another excellent drama that straddles the dramedy line quite well. It's just balls to the wall fun with some really outstanding storytelling at its core.

Book Recommendations - The Scott Pilgrim series and Lost At Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley. I don't think that there's another author that writes convincing young characters that live in contemporary North America as well as O'Malley. The fact that he's also a Canadian that laces his books with a distinctly Canadian feel is just extra special sauce on top of the pizza. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan does a great job of continuing the world established in his wonderful Percy Jackson & the Olympians books. Everything he writes is great & perfectly suitable for everyone, not just his "teen/young adult" genre designation. Reading the entire Percy Jackson series, The Red Pyramid (book 1 of his new Kane Chronicles series) and The Lost Hero have been amongst the most fun things I've done all year. I can't recommend his works enough. Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden is another excellent book that I read earlier this year. Perfect depiction of 2 Native Canadian Soldiers living the past & present of their culture through the experience of fighting in World War II. Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden as well does an admirable job of writing about descendants of the 2 native soldiers in Three Day Road living in Canada & the U.S. today. When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai was a book that captivated me but also made me really annoyed when it would seemingly change its characters sexual orientations out of nowhere. The dual narratives of one character living in Vancouver in the late 80s-early 90s and of the mythical fox of Chinese folklore was undeniably fun to read. Still haven't got around to reading the one book that I was most excited to read this year, Miguel Syjucco's Illustrado but I'll get to it soon. I hope to read more literary classics in 2011 and catch up on other books I've wanted to read. I'm sure there will also be tons of new interesting books coming out in 2011 as well.

Hope you all liked some of these recommendations. I've talked about them before. I've likely forgotten some of the stuff I've read this year but that's fine. Later

A Terrible Gift

Just bare with me on this. I'm feeling terrible and I need to get this out. again.

I am of the disabled persuasion.
I've gone through more medical procedures than most people will ever experience in their life.
I'm not sure if I have any fight left in me.
My perseverance has been tested time and time again.
I've commuted through endless tunnels.
Witnessed their bleak darkness
Chased by blinding lightness
and the variable degrees of dimness in between.

I am a seasoned warrior.
I fight in a stalemated battle.
The struggle has become routine.
My prayers for peaceful resolution have fallen on deaf ears.
The end of the battle is my decision alone.

I've witnessed the lingering pain of being around me.
I'm usually alright with solitude
But loneliness rears its head on occasion.
My lingering pain is viral.
It would be negligent to infect a beautiful, kindhearted, caring
and generous woman with myself.
Yet I've longed for her. To have, to hold, til the deathly interruption arrives.

Thus I am a melancholy loner.
Immersed in attempts to understand regular people through fiction and oral tradition.
Uninterested in experiencing the drama of a real life first hand.
Afraid of knowing that she cares.
She would have to agree to a life of all too occasional strife.
Agree to listen to me rant about the horrific indifference of humanity
towards struggle, disadvantage and physical limitations
Agree to feeling relief once I'm gone.
Despite how I'd argue against anyone being justified feeling that.

I am truly a terrible gift to give. I am a heavy piece of luggage in need of constant mending.

Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy - Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

It's not often that I do this anymore but I'm doing it right now. I've just watched a film version of the book The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo before even thinking of picking up & reading the series it's from in their original novelized form. This is even more odd because I've lately been resolved to read much more often than I'd done in the recent past. Nonetheless I felt like seeing what all the hype was about so I got copies of all three movies. I've watched the first film so far. I plan on watching the second and third films perhaps tomorrow night and the night after that. Then I'll write up my thoughts on each film right here in this post with note taken to mention when I'd watched the movie & wrote the thoughts down.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Movie watched night of December 12th, 2010 thoughts written on the day of December 13th. 2010.

This movie was definitely intriguing right from the start. If I had to describe it according to other movies that I've seen already I'd say that it's an odd combination of David Fincher's Zodiac, Johnathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs, and Gore Verbinski's American remake of The Ring. Each of these movies kind of focus on deconstructing serial killers, victims of violent crime, and people investigating and reporting on serious crimes involving life and death. Deconstruction of what creates a serial killer and what creates a victim of violent crime is heavily analyzed through the storyline of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Mikael Blomkvist is a disgraced journalist that is hired by a man named Henrik Vanger to uncover the identity of the suspected killer of his beloved niece Harriet, who's been missing for 40 years. Henrik suspects that someone within the family is responsible for her death. Mikael begins to investigate Harriet while Mikael himself is being investigated by a young female computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. She is slowly revealed to have had a history of being violently assaulted and taken advantage of by men for nearly all of her 24 years of age. She continues to be taken advantage of because she's alleged to be legally mentally unstable, thus she's under conservatorship by the state. She uses her hacker skills to obtain "research" for a security firm specializing in retrieving evidence for criminal cases and journalist exposes. Lisbeth begins to figure out clues to the disappearance of Harriet Vanger via hacking into Mikael's laptop computer. She brazenly e-mails Mikael answers to numeric clues left by Harriet possibly regarding the identity of her killer. Mikael tracks Lisbeth's e-mail and offers for them to team up to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Harriet. Mikael and Lisbeth slowly uncover the identity of the murderer or murderers through reconstructing the day before Harriet disappears and the identities and causes of death of other victims of the suspected murderer or murderers within the Vanger family.

Deconstruction is created through mirroring the clues regarding the violent deaths of these various women with the life of Lisbeth Salander. Salander's violent past as a victim that's willing to exact revenge upon others that have harmed her makes her a true anti-hero. Lisbeth is justified with being very angry and even violent against people that have harmed her. However, the violent acts that have been committed against her are extremely violent. She is suggested to have come from a family of domestic abuse. She is revealed to have harmed her father to protect her mother. This puts her into mental health facilities well into her adult years. When we meet her she's being blackmailed into performing sexual acts and being raped by the man administering her conservatorship so that she can gain access to her money. She commits a violent sexual act against him in revenge of his previous deeds against her. It's possible that she might have committed violent acts towards her previous conservator who's revealed to have recently passed away at the beginning of the film. These 2-3 violent acts committed by Lisbeth are recalled once the identity of the serial killer within the Vanger family is revealed. She chooses his fate according to her conflict ridden personal history. She also takes into account everything that she's learned about this killer through assisting Mikael in uncovering his/her identity. Lisbeth's tendency to exact violent revenge on people who commit violence against women is admirable and reprehensible at the same time. Mikael's journey through uncovering the identity of the killer within the Vanger family is one of personal and professional redemption. He's lost everything because of accusing some very powerful people of serious crimes in his news magazine Millenium. Uncovering the identity of the Vanger killer is a case that redeems him as a man and a journalist. The relationship that he develops with Lisbeth happens because they are both maligned outsiders of society. Their partnership can be characterized as similar to that of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. The difference is that I'd say that Mikael, the initial character we're introduced to is the Watson of this pairing. The assistant Lisbeth is a more accomplished sleuth thus the Sherlock of the pairing. Nonetheless, Mikael, the Watson of the pairing, is definitely in charge. They don't attempt to reign each others excesses in. They revel in their odd pairing and develop a genuine friendship and love for each other through the movie. It's not a relationship of open affection. They strive to maintain their rationality rather than to give in to irrational, overly emotional behavior. It's questionable whether they succeed in creating a partnership based on rationality because they are heavily invested in each other by the end of the film regardless of whether they want to admit it to each other. The investigation causes both of them to reevaluate their actions and judgments hopefully for the better. I can't recommend this film enough. Especially if you're interested in horror or crime procedural films. I'm sure go on further with analyzing this film but I'll leave it at this

The Girl Who Played With Fire - Movie watched on December 13, 2010. Thoughts written also on the night of December 13, 2010 and December 15, 2010

My gut reaction to this second installment is that it's much more simplistic compared to the layers and depth involved in the conflicts of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. This makes the second film a bit of a letdown especially when watched shortly after seeing the stellar first film. The comparisons to Zodiac and The Ring still stand in regards to the investigative aspects of the film involving Mikael, Lisabeth, and their associates. A key difference between Dragon Tattoo and Played With Fire is that Mikael and Lisabeth are physically separated for nearly the entire running time of the film. Yes, that's likely how the original sequel novel played out. However, it's a shame that the chemistry established between the 2 leads in Dragon Tattoo is non existent in this film because the storyline dictates that they're not in the same place for this installment of the Millennium Trilogy. If I'd have to generalize the storyline of this second film I'd say that it's like KILL BILL except with investigative aspects and a bluntly serious storytelling sensibility rather than the over the top action and satirical tone characteristic of Quentin Tarantino. In this film, Mikael has hired a new staff writer for Millennium news magazine that is writing about people involved in International Human Trafficking in the Sex Trade of teenaged girls and young women. His fiance is also about to complete a PhD on the subject of Human Trafficking as well. There are several men involved that are in positions of power and influence, under legal and illegal pretense, in Sweden. It has been a year since the events of Dragon Tattoo and Mikael hasn't had much if any contact with Lisbeth. Mikael's new hire asks him to come to his apartment to receive some new evidence further supporting the claims that he (the new hire) is writing about for Millennium. Mikael arrives and the new hire and his fiance have been murdered and Lisbeth's the main suspect. Mikael continues to pursue leads on the figures involved in the piece on human trafficking that the new hire was working on before his demise. Mikael hopes that Lisbeth is still tapped into his work laptop because he knows that she'd be definitely interested in anything serious concerning the welfare of women. Lisbeth uses the leads found by Mikael, as well as those found on her own to determine the identities of the people responsible for her becoming a woman wanted on a murder charge. It is slowly revealed that it isn't random that the people involved in the human trafficking ring that caused Lisbeth to become a fugitive targeted her to take the blame for the murder of the millennium writer and his fiance.

Much of this second film is focused on revealing the origin of Lisbeth Salander. We meet her previous conservator in this film. He is someone that the audience was led to believe to have suffered a fatal heart attack or stroke in the first film. He is interviewed by Mikael, who reveals that all he wants to do is help clear Lisbeth's name. The original conservator reveals the details of Lisbeth's parentage and thus how she's involved with the central point of conflict in this second film. Lisbeth, the antihero, does commit some reprehensible acts once again in the name of finding the people responsible for framing her for murder. However, there are interrogations throughout the film that made me feel like Lisbeth is much more outright villainous in this film compared to the first film. In the first film every act of violence she commits could be explained by vengeance or punishing someone that's done acts similar to the acts of violence that had been done to her in the past. There's a bloodthirstiness to Lisbeth in this film that makes her come across as just as evil as the criminals and murderers she's already suffered at the hands of. She basically goes on a cold blooded killing spree in the name of defending the women that had been exploited by this human trafficking ring like a female version of Marvel comics' The Punisher. She only regains a slight bit of possible audience sympathy when the exact nature of her familial connection to some of these criminals is made clear. I'd like to assume that it's intentional that the director and screenwriter(s) and the original author of the novels likely wanted viewers & readers to become less sympathetic to Lisbeth. It's an interesting contrast in the depiction of the character of Lisbeth compared to the first installment. Mikael's faith in the innocence of Lisbeth for not having committed the murders of the Millennium writer and fiance is justified. However, Mikael seems like he believes that Lisbeth is a fully innocent woman that's had a history of being victimized. Other supporting characters continually question why Mikael has such faith in Lisbeth's innocence and it's irrational. The writing seems to dictate that this is intentional as well. The juxtaposition of scenes of Mikael investigating and defending Lisbeth with scenes of her torturing or murdering men involved in the Human Trafficking ring without concern or thought over how deeply each man is involved makes her come across more as a serial killer rather than the antihero that she is. Mikael is also less sympathetic because the further details he learns about Lisbeth merely reinforce his existing belief that she's simply a misunderstood outsider that's had lots of violence committed against her. Mikael can't fathom the possibility of Lisbeth being just as bad as the people that have hurt her. This is a serious lapse of judgment by a supposedly quite accomplished, albeit controversial journalist. Mikael is more or less the main protagonist of this film. The first film was fairly evenly split between focus on him and Lisabeth. I admire the fact that the script tries really hard to defamiliarize the audience with Lisbeth. It adds a tinge of further depth to Lisbeth in this sequel but overall she's written as much more villainous in this sequel compared to the original. I think the defamiliarization of Lisbeth in characterization in her scenes is supposed to act as contrast to the increased familiarization with Lisbeth that Mikael is experiencing. However, Mikael's increased familiarization with Lisbeth is deeply flawed. It's mainly because he overly trusts the materials that he receives through investigating her whereabouts. He trusts too much. Overall, I'm left with the impression that the main point of this installment is to bring to light the character flaws of the 2 main characters rather than create a compelling self contained mystery like the original film. The film very much so feels like it's supposed to be a bridge to something more dramatically eventful in the final installment. The increased disclosure of the events of Lisbeth's past is appreciated but the over reliance on character development scenes causes this film to drag slowly for much of the 2 hour running time. I enjoyed seeing the characters of Mikael and Lisbeth again but the second film is clearly inferior to the first film in the series.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - Movie watched on the night of December 14,2010 - December 15, 2010. Thoughts written on December 15, 2010.

This film is a direct continuation of The Girl Who Played With Fire. At the end of Fire, Lisbeth is in dire medical condition following a violent conflict with some dangerous, estranged relatives. Her main target at the end of Fire survives this violent reunion as well. He is a dangerous former Soviet that fled to Sweden. However, he's involved in a large conspiracy with a discrete faction of men that have been negatively influencing the events of Lisbeth's life. They have been doing this because she is related to this dangerous Soviet in a very specific way that I'd rather not spoil for any potential viewers of these films. This Soviet had a fellow family member act as his bodyguard throughout Fire. He pursues Lisabeth to exact revenge against her for actions she's done against the Soviet. However, Lisabeth is under police supervision at the hospital because she attempted to kill the Soviet (who is believed to be a legitimate Swede by the authorities). Lisbeth goes on trial for her violent actions against the Soviet. Mikael puts together a defense team for Lisbeth. He also supplies evidence from Lisbeth's files and additional research done by himself and the Millennium staff. Everything about the conspiracy to protect the Soviet, Lisbeth's specific relationship to him, and everything about her years of abuse by people in the public safety and justice system associated with the conspiracy involving this mysterious faction of men is brought to light.

This third and final film in the series is steeped in the sub-genres of political thriller and courtroom procedural. That's not to say that there aren't events that happen outside of private rooms, jails, and courtrooms. It's that everything builds towards Lisbeth's trial because the main narrative of this film is to prove her innocence through the exposure of the clandestine group dubbed "The Section" that has been manipulating the nature of Lisbeth's life since her conception. I still take issue with the fact that Mikael defends Lisbeth's intentions without fully knowing in detail all of the incredibly cruel acts she has perpetrated against various people who have harmed her or other women. The fact that many of these men have been working against her through "The Section" alleviates this fault of Mikael's a bit. However, Mikael is absolutely driven to assemble Lisbeth's defense that he becomes willing to put the lives of the rest of the staff of Millennium at risk. It shows that he is reckless when pursuing a story exposing the excesses of law and the government. There is even a conversation where he claims that he despises law and the government. Mikael while pursuing a story is like an addict pursuing another fix. He is absolutely irrational in that he believes that what he is doing is absolutely the right course of action. An act of true justice. Mikael enlists his sister, a defense lawyer to take on Lisbeth as a client. He also takes lightly threatening e-mails sent to his publisher/sometimes mistress. He does nothing so she's forced to hire a personal security detail. The other staffers at Millennium become outraged that Mikael would put the story ahead of the lives of his colleagues. Obviously, Mikael sticking to his guns works out in the end but the structure of the storytelling is was strong enough to make me consider what if he ends up wrong in the end. Mikael being wrong could potentially mean the early deaths of his colleagues. Mikael is drunk with self righteousness. The character is captivating and appalling at the same time in this film.

Lisbeth is thankfully closer to her characterization in Dragon Tattoo albeit neutered from influencing events in the film more directly because of being hospitalized, then imprisoned while waiting to stand trial for the attempted murder of the Soviet. She is abrasive yet oddly charming once again. The only problem that I have with Lisbeth has more to do with other characters that come to her aid. Lisbeth easily charms Mikael in Dragon Tattoo therefore making him more amenable to her in Played With Fire thus somewhat rationalizing his drive to defend her here in Kicked The Hornet's Nest. The fact that it's such clear manipulation makes Mikael an incredibly blinded journalist at certain points of the films. Obviously this opinion could change in different viewers depending on how they choose to interpret the interactions and communications between Lisbeth and Mikael. A more clear example of how Lisbeth manipulates men is the Doctor that treats her in the hospital in Kicked The Hornet's Nest. This doctor almost instantly comes to the conclusion that Lisbeth is a lot less harmful than the "Section" compromised authorities investigating her believe. Regularly throughout the trilogy opponents of Lisbeth make note that while she's small in stature, she's an adept fighter with knowledge of how to use several objects as weapons. She is also said to be mentally unstable by those conspiring against her. Surely a medical doctor would be aware that someone who is mentally unstable could pretend to appear mellow, harmless, or benign. He even assists Mikael by giving Lisbeth a smart phone to type out her version of the various events shown throughout the movies. This memoir is presented as evidence at her trial. The doctor is depicted as a fairly likable guy too. It bothers me that he never critically thinks out the situation involving Lisbeth. I like that he doesn't allow himself to be bullied by any of the psychiatric professionals that are secretly in "The Section" but it seems like he helps Lisbeth out because she's slight in frame (therefore physically harmless) and that she seems nice. He never even thinks that he barely knows this woman brought in by the police. A WOMAN BROUGHT IN BY THE POLICE. You would think that a Doctor tending to someone who's a potential murderer would be somewhat professionally withdrawn from her. Lisbeth basically is given the Hannibal Lecter treatment in this film. She's physically incapacitated or jailed but she helps Mikael's pursuit of exposing "The Section" through using the smart phone slipped to her by Mikael via the Doctor. I like that they really focus on Lisbeth's extreme reluctance to verbally recount her version of events during interrogations and courtroom cross examinations. She puts on the show of being an introvert when convenient. It's truthful to her character from the very first installment. Lisbeth argues that the majority of the violent acts that she has committed were in self defense. I enjoy how the audience knows better than the other characters in regards to the nature of Lisbeth's violence. Lisbeth violently interrogates people when it is to her advantage. If she ends up being held accountable for these violent interrogations she simply argues self defense. In this film she can be understood to be somewhat a vigilante/anti-hero and as a possible serial killer. She is kind of morally ambiguous with the only exception being that she is absolutely against any kind of physical harm being done to a woman. There is a whole section in the film where Lisbeth doesn't seem to care about whether she lives or dies while incarcerated. Even after she is cleared of wrongdoing, she is incapable of expressing open gratitude to Mikael and his Lawyer sister that defended her in court. It's almost like she wants to be a blank slate whenever possible. She accepts that she is absolutely opposed to violence against women yet she is willing to be ambiguous in regards to other sociopolitical issues and the emotional connection called love. I think that this constant striving for moral ambiguity is what's at the core of the character Lisbeth Salander. Noomi Rapace did an incredible job portraying this incredibly conflicted female character. I think I can only call her an anti-hero at best. She's not a heroine. She's not willing to openly express a belief in basic human goodness despite it being expressed towards her several times in the films. Michael Nyqvist also does an incredible job at portraying Mikael Blomqvist, a journalist all too willing to succumb to professional and personal excess if it's in the name of obtaining true justice against the powerful entities of private business, law, and government.

The first film in the series is my clear personal favorite. It has a compelling self contained mystery that wraps up entirely within the running time of the film. The 2 sequels are compelling because they're willing to go even deeper into what makes the characters tick. I may have been too forgiving in writing about the faults of the second and third films regarding character motivations and plot points. I firmly believe that many of the possible character inconsistencies were because they wanted to establish that Lisbeth has a strong, light-touched ability to create connections with other people despite the fact that she's an anti-social person that's probably best described as a broken person because of all the strife and anguish she's experienced. Part of me wishes that the possibility of Sherlock & Watson type mystery stories featuring Lisbeth & Mikael could still happen. The second and third movies are heavily weighted towards uncovering governmental and legal conspiracy. That kind of makes the mystery a bit impersonal despite the conspirators all having influence on Lisbeth's life. The conspiracy in the second and third films felt like it could exist without Lisbeth and Mikael. The mystery/family conspiracy in the first film was much smaller in scope. Therefore it was more plausible in my mind. Mikael and Lisbeth ended up learning about different aspects of their own personalities and personal histories because of the nature of the Harriet case. There is a lot of forced over complication of Lisbeth's life and history in the second and third films. Mikael thankfully is an assured person in the second and third films. Albeit, he does let personal connection taint the objectiveness of his journalistic investigations. It's more compelling with Mikael because it's a character flaw that shadows the mystery unfolding. Lisbeth is given much more back story and moral ambiguity yet I'm not sure she learned anything from her ordeal in the second and third movies. She becomes an expressionless female version of Marvel's The Punisher or a version of The Bride from Kill Bill that's emotionless and devoid of humor. She appears to be coldly angry because of all the abuse she had experienced in her life. However I understand her. However anyone else understands her, Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant creation. Mikael ensures that there is humanity in a series that's compellingly dark and twisted because it strives to present violence tinged with ambiguity. I ultimately did enjoy much of all three films. Dragon Tattoo is merely my favorite because it feels the most well realized.

Harry Potter for the last time Pt.1

I just came back from watching Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1. I like many others have devoured the books, watched each movie as it came out & argued the merits of each film in comparison to the original book version. Yes, the movies aren't able to put in every sub-plot in their full details. Yes, the movies have reconfigured, rearranged, and omitted things in some of the books that are important to understanding the resolutions of each installment. Nonetheless, It's amazing that movies have been made of ALL SEVEN BOOKS. It's amazing that Warner Bros, a Hollywood Studio, invested in filming every installment of this book series, starting at a time when it wasn't certain how many Harry Potter books the author Jo (J.K.) Rowling was planning on writing. It's amazing that all of the main characters & most of the supporting characters came back for nearly every single film required of them. It's amazing that people got to watch every child actor in the series come of age through the stories progressing through a year in each film. It's amazing that the quality of the storytelling in the series mostly improved with each subsequent film. Altogether, It's amazing that there is a film for each book in the series. When does that happen. Usually with a film series based on a series of books the studio makes 2-4 films & calls it a day even if there's still storytelling potential for more films. Harry Potter is different.

That all being said, I'll now get onto my opinion of the 1st half of a 2 film extravaganza that depicts the events of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows. The first thing that I have to say is that the film is honestly scary in quite a few parts and it should be. The most absolutely evil Wizard of all time has shown his cards and seized control of the Wizard government known as The Ministry of Magic. All hell should be breaking loose. Death Eaters (Voldemort's followers) are everywhere and they're rounding up mudbloods (biologically mixed wizards or wizards born to non-magical parents aka muggles) to be tortured like sacrificial lambs up for slaughter. The initial scene with the Death Eaters meeting around a long dining table while torturing a mudblood via magic is very uncomfortable to watch. As it should be. I love how the Ministry of Magic scene had guards that were dressed up like Nazi Secret Policemen. The conflict has come to a head and Harry has to kill Voldemort for the sake of the lives of magic folk & muggles. You really see how deeply affected Harry's friends are because he's in their lives. The recurring theme of enduring through trust in your friendships is really driven down in this film. Harry's friends are there for him despite how much genuine danger they've put themselves in merely by associating with him. The Locket that is one of Voldemort's horcruxes (items holding fragments of Voldemort's soul through strong enchantments) is a brilliant McGuffin to bring about conflict amongst Harry, Ron & Hermione. It's basically like the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy in that it brings out a person's paranoia, jealousies, insecurities & everything potentially evil about that person. It causes Ron to temporarily leave his 2 best friends in the middle of this 1st half of HP7. The original Dance Scene, not found in the book, added by Director David Yates is one of the highlights of the film. Is the dancing in the brief sequence good? No & it's not supposed to be. It's merely Harry trying to comfort his good friend Hermione while their mutual resolve to find solutions to destroying the Horcruxes & the world around them is steadily crumbling under the tyranny of a Wizard War. The movie always leaves a bit of hope & humor inter-weaved with the scariness of mass conflict. It also remembers to personalize the present and past conflicts of the Wizarding world with personal stories. An excellent example is the Godric's Hollow scene set during Christmas. Harry & Hermione encounter the ruins of the home that Harry lived in briefly as an infant & visit the graves of his parents. The audience grieves with Harry because we're deeply invested in him. It's that expert blend of tragedy & triumph at the heart of the Harry Potter narrative at work again. A solemn moment is given room to breathe while still swiftly shifting to the grotesque scariness of the Bathilda Bagshot transforming into Voldemort's snake Nagini. Harry & his friends are fugitives. Time for careful deliberation and planning is no longer their reality. The safe confines of childhood symbolized by Hogwarts are cast aside and Harry, Ron and Hermione aren't ready for it. Through the whole film they struggle with their mission, each other, and who within the wizarding world they're still able to trust. Friends and Foes are dropping like flies all around Harry, Ron and Hermione. They're put through a mental, emotional and physical ringer all the way through this installment and I love it for it.

The shadow puppet animation sequence describing the 3 brothers tale from Beetle & the Bard alone deserves it's own analysis. I loved every moment of the beginning of the end of Harry Potter. I can't wait for the 2nd half & FINAL film of the Harry Potter saga this summer. After that, I can't wait until I can have an 8 film Harry Potter Film Marathon in the comfort of my home. I hope that Warner Bros puts out a 4 and a half hour version of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows for home viewing because it's already obvious that these 2 final films will be even better if viewed as a single film much like the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions.

December 4, 2010 - My 28th B'day

Today's my birthday. My birthday is December 4th. It's pretty much a full calendar year yet it always seems to unexpectedly creep up on me. This year's probably been the most difficult year of my life because of the wound issues that I'd had since shortly before my birthday last year. All that's resolved now but it took a lot of perseverance, stress, tears, anger, personal strength, & support from my family. I was in the hospital twice this year. Once in May & again for the whole month of September. There were medications that made me feel awful as well. I'm grateful for the supportive nursing staffs in the community health unit & in the hospital that did dressings for me throughout the whole prolonged affair. They didn't always tell me the best news but they were always able to help me put it into perspective despite my baggage of various health concerns throughout my life as a person with the disability Spina Bifida. I certainly wasn't always the most pleasant person to be around when it felt like things weren't progressing quickly in healing amongst other things. It added a whole other layer of stress during times of the year when I was going to classes regularly. The hospital stay in the month of September meant a loss of a semester. I felt like I was going to miss the semester anyways because I was determined to get everything healed up completely. I'm glad that I've developed a bit better knowledge of current books that are available. I've always enjoyed reading but had usually been mainly reading required works for English or History classes. I did read some other works by authors that I'd discovered while studying but I also read other things that I didn't expect to be drawn to. I started reading the works of Rick Riordan. Mainly the entire Percy Jackson series, The Red Pyramid: Book one of Kane Chronicles & The Lost Hero: first book of The Heroes of Olympus series, sequels to Percy Jackson & Camp Half Blood. He's technically an author for younger teens but like Jo Rowling's Harry Potter books there's something universally appealing about the worlds he's created through his writing. I read Through Black Spruce, Joseph Boyden's loose sequel to Three Day Road. It was interesting because it reiterated themes from Three Day Road, a book about soldiers at war & re-envisioned the dilemmas of these guys through their descendants in Contemporary Canada & USA. To be more in depth is to deprive people from discovering these books. I got into Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim comic books aka graphic novels through a cousin of mine giving me the first book to read while in the hospital. It's a comic book but I'd lump it in with several other books I've read that have completely impacted my life.
It's the only thing I've read that accurately conveys growing up in North America in the last 20 - 30 years and all of the cultural influences that have been mashed up to create the supposed prolonged adolescence & young adulthood of today. This year was the first time that I'd really analyzed Shakespeare's work through a course devoted to his works. It was wonderful. If I didn't take that course, I just might have avoided reading several of the Shakespeare's works that I now consider amongst my favorites of his output. I read several more books about the Asian experience in North America. I'm glad to read books like this because it speaks to who I am as a person. I still haven't got around to getting a copy of Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco but I will hopefully in the future. I've started reading Wayson Choy's All That Matters. It's a book I've looked forward to since reading his debut novel The Jade Peony. So far it isn't as good as Peony but it does cover a much longer period of time. I've picked up copies of George Orwell's 1984 & J.D. Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye because they're 2 "classics" that I've heard so many good things about but I've yet to read. I haven't started them yet but I'll get to them in 2011 definitely. It's the year that NBA Jam has triumphantly returned to the video game scene. It's the year that there was finally a really well done Batman video game named Arkham Asylum (& I demolished it in incredibly efficient fashion)

Most of all, it's the year that my Brother moved away to California. It's only been a few months since he left but it was the end of an era. The era of living together as a 3-4 person "nuclear" family unit. I still talk to him on the phone, text, & communicate with him on the internet but it's just different.

This year has been stress, change, & a rekindling of my love of reading. I forgot to mention in detail discovering that I love the sitcom Big Bang Theory & rediscovering that I love the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Not to mention, my favorite TV show LOST ended with fans heavily divided on the way the final season played out. I loved it all the way through because I like having my intellect stroked. It's a lot better to keep the mind sharp through constant speculation & making your own story connections than to have a show tell you how to watch it.

This is a birthday post but it's more like a year end wrap up. That's OK. I hope that 2011 treats me more kindly. 2009 & 2010 have been physically taxing & I'd really like to have less stress.

Later everyone