Golden Globe Nominations 2012: Just Stick to Movies, Guys

Dear members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association:

I respect you.  I do.  In the past you've nominated some of my favorite performances and films, if only because you have more room for them than the more crowded Oscars, for which you also usually set the tone.  And this year you've come through again, giving praise to some films, actors, and actresses who haven't gotten all the credit they deserve for the work they've done this year.  I'm very happy with the film nominations, particularly the heavy presence of The Ides of March, which thus far has my unswerving vote for most well-crafted film of the year.  You've also confirmed my hunches about which movies I must see before awards season really kicks up, including (but certainly not limited to) My Week with Marilyn, J. Edgar, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Descendants, Hugo, and The Iron Lady. 

There are some specific nominations I'm very happy about and/or intrigued by, and most of them are the ones I know will evaporate just in time for the Oscars.  I love that you nominated Joseph Gordon-Levitt and 50/50, which is one of the more underrated movies of the year-- the only icing on the cake would've been if Seth Rogen could have sneaked into the Supporting Actor mix.  I love that Ryan Gosling is nominated twice; I think we can all agree that he just deserves some kind of "Best Human Being" award for everything he's done on and off screen this year.  Putting Rooney Mara in there for Dragon Tattoo is bold, and if I weren't already planning on seeing the film at midnight next week, I'd be even more inclined to watch it now.  Overall, I think you guys pretty much nailed it on the films front, with the only outrageous robbery being of Alexandre Desplat for the Deathly Hallows Part 2 musical score. 

Let's talk about television.  Namely, the burning question of whether we're watching even remotely the same shows.  Have you actually seen New Girl or Glee, or were you merely blindsided by the cuteness of Zooey Deschanel (who you nominated for best actress in a completely incomprehensible move), and the iTunes sales of Glee?  As two of the most overrated and wildly inconsistent shows on TV right now, there is no way either of those shows should be within 18 miles of a nomination for any kind of award, let alone one of the most prestigious in the bunch.  And on top of that, you refused to recognize anything about Parks and Recreation (with the exception of the brilliant Amy Poehler), which is currently in the midst of the television equivalent of a no-hitter.  There is so much wrong with this that I can barely articulate it. 

Therefore I move that the HFPA stop pretending it knows anything about quality television, and just play to its strengths, which is acknowledging movies that deserve recognition.  Just consider it, ladies and gentlemen; it might save you some time in the future, and fans of shows that are actually good a lot of needless frustration.

Sincerely yours,
Andrea

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

As indicated in my post about what I'll be reading this summer, this series is one that was a last-minute addition, with the first novel forcibly thrust into my possession by my younger sister.  It took me about three days to get through, and I appreciated that-- Larsson's awareness that he isn't writing the next great novel is apparent, and the prose is clean-cut and direct.  There is a lot of hype going around about these books, and probably innumerable unsolicited opinions being published about them on the web, so I'll keep my thoughts as brief and spoiler-free as possible.

Speaking of spoiler-free, maybe I'm more of a sleuth than I originally thought, but I was able to predict large portions of this book prior to actually reading them.  The only thing I got completely wrong was the identity of the murderers, and in my opinion that was due to a mislead on Larsson's part.  It's true that I am usually predisposed to dismiss many mystery writers, because the standards for writing don't seem nearly as high, and many of them are very formulaic, but I will acknowledge that this is one of the better books I've read in this genre.  It was sophisticated and obviously well thought-out, and in many ways the perfect breezy summer read (well, despite the grisly nature of some of--okay, most of--the crime's content).

One thing I did have a problem with, however, and this is most likely because of how much people were hyping it up prior to my reading it, was the characterization of the two protagonists.  Blomkvist, the intrepid reporter, is flat and at times downright uninteresting as a person; he is kept afloat in my mind by the intriguing nature of the crime which he investigates over the course of the novel.  He was frankly kind of a lame hero, and there were times when it irked me to have to read so many pages of his thoughts and actions.  And though she was much more badass than any of the other characters, for me Lisbeth Salander was problematic as well.  I loved a lot of the things we learned about her prior to her teaming up with Blomkvist, and I think Larsson does a wonderful job making it clear why she is necessary and perhaps even the ideal person to help solve this case.  However, her [SPOILER ALERT] subsequent romance with Blomkvist, and particularly the note the book concludes on, seem much too weak for such a previously strong character.  The revelation that she thinks she's in love with Blomkvist is abrupt and fairly cliche, and it cast her too much in the mold of the typical female sidekick/love interest, which considering the compelling backstory and development of her character to that point, is a huge shame.

The mystery itself was my favorite part.  I loved trying to keep track of all the Vanger family relatives and figure out who had committed the crime in this "locked-room" whodunit; it just felt very old school in a way, like this could have been a revamping of a nineteenth century Russian story, complete with an old manor and an almost unbelievably odd cast of characters.  I was invested in the question of what had happened to Harriet (though my initial hypothesis did prove correct), and I enjoyed taking the journey with Blomkvist to uncover the past, even though I suspected how it might play out.  I could have done without the last chunk of the book (which details the aftermath once the mystery has already been solved), but overall this was a pretty good read, and definitely a great way to ease into some of the denser reading I have planned for myself this summer.

I will probably read the two subsequent novels, but I think I'll read a few other things to sort of cleanse my palate in between.  I am also very interested in taking a look at the film adaptations of this book, because I've heard nothing but rave reviews of the Swedish version, and of course I'm always intrigued to see what David Fincher (who is directing the American interpretation) has up his sleeve.