Kat's Notebook » TV Shows/Movies/Books

Stieg Larsson’s Trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: book review

Katkat — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:08:42 +0000

Out of the blue, I got into reading this Swedish author’s novel. I didn’t actually know why I committed myself in reading Stieg Larsson’s books. When I saw the upcoming movie trailer of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (cast: Daniel Craig), I was intrigued. From the trailer I saw that it was adapted from a book so I thought to myself instead of watching the movie, why don’t I save myself movie ticket money and just read the book directly? Hence this review.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I didn’t know that this was a trilogy. It took me a month to finish the 3 books (because I was busy with other stuffs) and had many nights of staying up late reading this. The main draw in this book for me was the heroine, Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius. Other than that, the whole thing was a simple but elaborated mystery/detective/conspiracy theory/semi-political story. The setting was in Sweden, with Swedish characters whose tongue-tripping names took some getting used to.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo centered on Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, who watched his professional life rapidly crumble around him after convicted of a libel suit. Prospects appeared bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name was extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. Vanger hired Blomkvist to solve the mystery of the four-decade disappearance of his most beloved niece, Harriet. He thought that one of his family members murdered Harriet. At first Blomkvist was skeptical of solving the mystery until he teamed up with Lisbeth Salander, a tattooed-and-piercings-riddled girl who displayed high intelligence that contradicted the rebel image.

This first story was a bit dragging. The writer used up too many chapters to introduce and develop the 2 main characters, Blomkvist and Salander. There was no suspense or reader-realization of the mystery. It seemed that all of a sudden in this chapter, the mystery was suddenly revealed or solved and then I was caught reading through the rushed ending. What kept me going was Salander’s abilities to ferret out the answers. She was a genius having photographic memory and superb hacking skills and doing all those things with a contrary sullen demeanor.

The second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire threw Blomkvist and Salander together again. Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

The final book, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge–against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

If the first book was just ok for me, the second and third book were amazing. My hero, Salander, kept getting interesting. With her dark past resurfacing in connection with Blomkvist journalistic investigation, I was able to see how complex and clever this girl was. She outwitted everyone, was always one step ahead of the investigation and solved the whole thing single-handedly. The last chapters of the 2nd book were very suspenseful and I’m not going to say what happened but it was such a cliffhanger that I immediately jumped to the final book without pausing. The third book dealt with a lot of conspiracy theory mainly exposed and solved by Blomkvist. Salander was exiled to a hospital recovering from a bullet wound and couldn’t do much to clear her name of the murders so Blomkvist, a loyal friend, did the legwork to free Salander from all the allegations and from the government who had manipulated her life since she was a young girl. The pace was slower than the second book nonetheless there were many twists in the plot and it kept me glued to the book until my eyes screamed for sleep.

After the whole Salander-novel-reading-marathon ordeal, my life was back to normal – no more no-facebook-days and late nights reading this darn book! If you’re into suspense and detective novels, I highly suggest this trilogy.

Sidenote: I just discovered that this trilogy has been adapted into a movie long before the coming out of the latest one starred by Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. The trilogy movie was played by Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist. Hmmm…makes me want to get my hands on that set!

Waiting for September’s TV season premieres

Katkat — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:03:50 +0000

Our TV has been seriously neglected for the past summer months. I couldn’t find anything to watch except for Masterchef and So You Think You can Dance (which I didn’t really follow that much.) Anyway come September the better TV shows come back! Here are their schedules (if you’re watching what I’m watching, )

Parenthood (NBC) – Sept 13

America’s Next Top Model (CW) – Sept 14

Dancing with the Stars (ABC) – Sept 19

New Girl (Fox) – Sept 20, starring Zoey Deschanel. I liked her at 500 Days of Summer. So we’ll see…

Glee (Fox) – Sept 20

The X-Factor (Fox) – Sept 21, will Simon Cowell bring it?

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – Sept 22

Amazing Race (CBS) – Sept 25

Once upon a Time (ABC) – Oct 23. Oh this isn’t September…the trailer looked interesting so we’ll see…

Unfortunately I can’t watch Top Chef and Project Runway because our cable package doesn’t include them. Anyway there are too many shows, they would surely keep me glued the whole week. Thank God for September! and thank God for DVR!

Gayle Forman’s “If I Stay” book review

Katkat — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:07:00 +0000

While I was perusing People magazine, I saw this advertisement page of Gayle Forman’s book “If I Stay”. I didn’t know why I thought it was an interesting book to read. I had never heard of the author. I guessed I was convinced by the wistful girl on the cover or maybe I was still having a vestige of melancholy after watching Robert Pattinson’s “Remember Me.” Anyhow I started reading this when I was preparing myself to bed one evening. I usually went to bed early so I could be awake in the job the following day. But boy it was a mistake turning that first page. I was totally captivated by the story and I finally gave up reading when I felt my eyes straining badly which was about almost three-quarters of the book.

“If I Stay” is the story of Mia Hall, a talented cellist who had a great loving family when one day they were all taken from her after a horrific car accident. Mia’s spirit hangs on in the hospital over her battered lifeless body and decides whether to stay or go. Although the story background was tragic, the flashback and snippets of Mia’s life made this story poignant. I didn’t feel sad reading this at all because the author made Mia, her family, and her friends who were cheering her in the hospital, endearing. I loved each character even the dead parents and her dead brother, Teddy.

The best part of this story was Adam, Mia’s rock boyfriend. I fell in love with their romance – how two people from different musical world came together and found a deep abiding kind of love. I wished I have an Adam in my life. There was a part in the story in the hospital where he was imploring her not to die and he ended his plea with “Don’t make me write a song.” That sentence even though I didn’t know the significance of it conveyed a wealth of grief and heartbreak.

It might be hard to visualize the narration of this story. You may scoff at the writer’s perception of a soul at a crossover between life and death. However if you have seen the movie “Lovely Bones” (Saoirse Ronan) you can understand how the author built up the story through the eyes of Mia’s hovering spirit. Nevertheless the extraordinary circumstance didn’t detract the sentimental and touching story of Mia’s life as it flashes back. The only time I find myself tearing up was when Mia’s granddad was silently crying after telling Mia’s prone body that she can go if that’s what she wanted.

So did Mia live or die? The ending of this story was a big cliffhanger. When I read the last sentence I was shocked that it was the last sentence. I leafed through the pages of the book thinking there must be more than this! I thought to myself that it couldn’t end this way. Well, it didn’t. The author wrote a sequel, Where She Went, which was told from Adam’s point-of-view. Whereas “If I Stay” was tragic but full of heartwarming stories, the sequel was about the living but full of angst and confusion. It was dark, brooding, and miserable. I didn’t comprehend the love story or should I say love/hate story.

Anyway, I didn’t want to reveal any more clues how “If I Stay” ended. Sufficed to say I enjoyed this book tremendously and better than the sequel. I wonder if they’re going to make a movie out of this. I hope they do and do it well because it’s too wonderful a story to mess up.

Seven Days: movie review

Katkat — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:59:00 +0000

During my routine trip to the city library, I borrowed this Korean movie dvd which I thought I would end up returning without having watched at all just like what I always do with the other dvds. Surprisingly I couldn’t stop thinking about this movie after I’ve watched it. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a movie with a great storyline, suspense and mystery. This movie was really fast-paced and kept the mind working with all the twists that it presented.

Seven Days starred Korean actress, Yun Jin-Kim (from TV series, Lost) who played Ji-yeon, a successful lawyer whose daughter was suddenly kidnapped one day. The kidnapper didn’t ask for money but demanded that she must free a convicted killer in just one week or else see her kidnapped daughter murdered. The abductor orchestrated the perfect crime. He watched her every move and forced her to comply without the help of the police force. Ji-yeon had no time to break down because she must run around in a frenzy to get this case together. Her only help was a corrupt police friend Seong-yeol who ran her errands trying to piece all the evidence together. To top off our protagonist’s misery, she faced moral a dilemma. Her client was charged with brutally murdering a young woman, with almost all evidence proving his guilt. When she met the mother of the victim, her own motherly instincts surfaced. And when she finally gets to the bottom of what really happened in the crime scene, she must choose between justice or her daughter’s life.

Although the backdrop of the story was simple (I thought the kidnapping was the main story), the mystery involved was really complicated. At first the suspect was presented as guilty, but Ji-yeon with her desperation to save her daughter, played around the evidence to prove that her client was not the killer. It was interesting to watch how the case unraveled with each clue they discovered and to finally reveal in the end what really happened – and what happened was not what I had expected. The acting was really superb, the mother’s grief was heartbreaking to watch. The scenes very detailed and truly told a story. However there were cliches like corrupted thug policemen, using violence to get information, and a despicable crime boss.

In the end I was left wondering, why did the abductor set the real killer free instead of rotting in jail? Did the mother of the victim have a connection with her daughter’s boyfriend’s father, who was a politician? If so, did she do it for revenge?

Oh questions that will leave me wondering for a long time. I’ll give this movie a 4 out of 5.

K-drama marathon

Katkat — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Before I hit the books again, I decided to catch up on some interesting korean dramas. Thankfully our internet here in the US is faster than in the Philippines so I was able to video-stream easily. My source of korean dramas were mysoju.net and dramacrazy.net. My younger brother also downloaded some dramas so I was able to watch it uninterruptedly. I was able to watch 2 which when come to think of it weren’t much but with 16 episodes each, I believed I had enough of korean dramas for now.

You’re Beautiful

It’s about a nun apprentice who winded up joining a popular guy band in order to fulfill her twin brother’s contract to the music company. Go Min Ah with the help of her brother’s manager, disguised as a guy to infiltrate the boy band because her brother had a minor cosmetic surgery accident and couldn’t show his face to the public yet. However one of the guys, Tae Kyung, found out that she’s a girl and he wanted to reveal her fraud. But when Go Min Ah pleaded to stay until she could find her parents, Tae Kyung conceded. Although they got along like cats and dogs, hilarity ensues when both of them tried to keep the truth from coming out.

This drama was ok for me. There were a lot of funny scenes especially with Tae Kyung. But as for the twist and romance, there weren’t much. The main guy didn’t appeal to me like the guys in Boys Before Flowers however his character was especially funny whenever he dropped his tough exterior. I didn’t like the ending too because it wasn’t romantic.

Mischievous Kiss

This drama was adapted from a Japanese manga and it was first made into a drama by Taiwan. Oh Ha Ni had a crush on Baek Seung Jo for most of her high school life. She gave him a love letter and confessed only to be mocked by Seung Jo when he returned it back and made corrections on the letter. His words “I hate stupid girls the most.” shattered her dream of having him as a boyfriend. One day their house suddenly collapsed and her father went to his old childhood friend for help. They were welcomed into the house only to find out that it’s the house of Seung Jo. Oh Ha Ni was ecstatic but Seung Jo made it clear that she’s a pest. But as they go on with their lives living in close proximity, the calm and detached life that Seung Jo has always lived was now invaded by Oh Ha Ni and both of them mixed like oil and water with Seung Jo’s mother joining in the fray.

I liked this drama. I enjoyed watching the Taiwanese version but I liked this version better. The main characters were pretty people unlike in Taiwanese version. I liked how Seung Jo’s character developed from cold to exasperated whenever Oh Ha Ni caused trouble. The drama took out the unimportant details which the Taiwanese version dragged on making it a very long show, which I didn’t like. I loved Seung Jo’s mother the best because she was pushing Oh Ha Ni towards Seung Jo. This drama was romantic and funny with a touch of light drama and I would recommend it.

My Amnesia Girl: movie review

Katkat — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:17:00 +0000

After a harrowing 3-day exam, my friend and I were just ready to explode from the stress. Instead of jumping off a building, we decided to watch a rom-com movie, My Amnesia Girl. The movie starred my favorite romantic leading man, John Lloyd Cruz and Toni Gonzaga. Because I loved John Lloyd in his flicks with Sarah Geronimo, I was anticipating this movie would be as good. We caught the movie in SM Manila and I was surprised that a ticket was already priced at 150php! This better be worth it!

My Amnesia Girl is a romantic comedy movie about a boy and a girl who fell in love and broke up and the guy pursued the girl for a second chance. Apollo (John Lloyd) messed up his chances with his one true love, Irene (Toni Gonzaga) when he walked out of the church altar leaving Irene behind. 3 years later he was having regrets from his actions and he was afraid that he’ll end up bachelor for the rest of his life. When he saw his ex-fiance again in a grocery store, he decided to try his luck one more time. Unfortunately when he confronted Irene, she told him that she didn’t know her that she had an accident and suffered an amnesia. In truth though Irene was so angry at Apollo that she fabricated the story of having amnesia. Apollo bought the lie and he saw his chance of making up for the past. He courted Irene and Irene initially gave him a hard time but then she fell in love with him again. Then the moment came when they needed to come clean of their lies and will their second chance in love will stand strong against it?

The movie had me laughing the whole time. John Lloyd was a very charming guy in the movie although the chemistry between John Lloyd and Toni was not at par with his team up with Sarah Geronimo. The script was well-written but it somehow bordered into being over the top with its cheesy lines. For once John Lloyd is not some rich guy who had everything easy in his life. And Toni acted well but I could see a hint of restraint in her acting which made the chemistry very slightly contrived. The supporting characters were all great and funny. The twist in the end was kind of a bit sad and I was wishing it happened differently.

All in all this was good de-stresser and feel-good movie. I will rate this 4 out of 5.

Giants wins!!!!

Katkat — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:01:00 +0000

For the past week, I’ve set aside my study review to faithfully watch the World series. It’s 7-game fight between Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants. Who do you think I’m rooting for? Of course, the Giants. Our hometeam. I’ve never watched a baseball game before even 10 minutes of it however this world series I watch them from beginning to end – a feat considering it’s a 3 hour show.

As I’m writing this blog, the world series has ended. Giants has captured the title. Fireworks can be heard outside. Cars are honking to salute the team and people are hollering. Woohoo! I’m so ecstatic. The Giants wins!!! And I tell you, they more than deserve it. Not one game have they shown lack of talent or motivation. They may have lost Game 3 but it was ok. We’re not sad. The team played great. And they proved it again on Game 4 and 5 by wining the post-season.

Some of the highlights for me are:

1. 5th inning of Game 1 when Giants scored 6 runs.

2. Freddy Sanchez’s impeccable defense partnering with Huff and Uribe…or Freddy Sanchez himself. He has double outed the other team four times, I believe.

3. 7th inning of Game 2 when Texas Rangers’s pitcher walked off 3 Giants because of bad pitching resulting to a 9-0 win for the Giants.

4. Uribe, Ross, Sanchez, Renteria, Huff, and Posey are some of the memorable players who contributed a lot to the winning.

Anyway, what made this series special and remarkable? It’s the SF Giants first World series title and I’m in the SF Bay Area to celebrate the win! Woohooo! Congratulations Giants!

Fall’s TV shows

Katkat — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:31:45 +0000

Yahoo it’s fall season again!!! With this season comes new TV episodes. I’ve been dying to watch all the shows that was left hanging at the beginning of summer. Here are the schedule lineups:

America’s Next Top Model – same format for the past 14 cycles but it never bores me. New season will start on Sept 8/9pm at CW.

Hellcats – I’m going to boycott Gossip Girl after wasting my time watching it last season. The previous season was a big joke. So I’m going to try and see what’s this new TV show, Hellcats, is about. I’m only watching it because: 1. it’s about cheerleading and 2. Ashley Tisdale stars. Hellcats premieres on Sept 8 9/10 at CW.

Parenthood – one of my favorite shows last season. It’s a refreshing change from all other dramas because this actually promotes good family and moral values. We need more shows like this to change society and less of 90210, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters. The new season starts on Sept 14 10/11pm at NBC.

Glee – will New Directions make a comeback to win the Sectionals? I’m most excited to see Filipino singing sensation Charice guest in this series. Tune into Fox on Sept 21 at 9/10pm.

Grey’s Anatomy – with that suspenseful cliffhanger season finale last April, I’m very excited to see what happens next in this medical drama. I wish Lexie and Sloan get back together though. New season starts on Sept 23 9/10pm at ABC.

I guess those are the only shows I’m going to watch. Hopefully I can navigate my study schedule around these shows.

Korean movies and dramas in a nutshell

Katkat — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:51:27 +0000

I grew up watching Asian dramas/movies. First it was Mexican telenovela popularized by Thalia. Then when the Meteor Garden or F4 series exploded in TV and in the Asian culture, my watching preference extended to Taiwanese, then Korean, then Japanese dramas and movies. Lately, I’ve been disappointed that I’m not finding any new, cute or impressive Asian dramas/movies, particularly the Korean ones. Same story formulas are recycled again and again in the newer shows. The novelty of My Sassy Girl or Autumn’s Tale which left quite an impression was not reproduced again.

If you have watched a lot of Korean movies and dramas, you’ll find that their stories revolved from ongoing themes and getting out of the box seems difficult to do. Here are my observations with Korean shows:

1. There is always a love triangle. Winter Sonata, Autumn’s Tale, Lovers in Paris, The Classic, My wife got married, Wedding, Sad love song

2. Someone always die of a disease and is usually the main character. Autumn’s Tale, …Ing, A love to Kill, A Millionaire’s First Love, Stairway to Heaven, Witch Yoo Hee, 100 days with Mr. Arrogant, Windstruck

3. The hero or heroine usually meets his/her partner by owing him/her money. Coffee Prince, Full House, The Snow Queen, She is Nineteen, My Girl, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Only You

4. There is power struggle over business or inheritance. Cinderella Man, Lovers in Paris, What Happened in Bali, Love Story in Harvard

5. The character involves himself in bad gangs and violent fighting. Volcano High, My Wife is a Gangster, Dirty Carnival, Gangster High

6. There is amnesia and sudden personality change. Save the Last Dance, Stairway to Heaven, 18 vs 29, Winter Sonata

7. The main protagonists are childhood sweethearts lost and reconciled. Spring Waltz, Stairway to Heaven, Love Story in Harvard, Smile Again, My Love Patzzi

8. Character seeks revenge either against his partner or partner’s parents. Green Rose, Bad Guy, Cinderella’s Sister, All In, All About Eve, What Happens in Bali

9. The story suddenly ends anti-climactically – most of the romance movies.

These being said, once in a while a cute story will emerge and renew my love for Korean dramas/movies. Here are some of my recommendations: My Sassy Girl, Goong, Antique Bakery, Autumn’s Tale, My Tutor Friend, Guns and Talks, 1st shop of Coffee Prince, and Kim Sam Soon. Find these titles at mysoju.com.

Happy watching!!!

Charice on Glee???

Katkat — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:19:07 +0000

Filipino and Charice fans, listen up! I got this latest news tidbit from Yahoo news. Charice Pempengco, the 16-yr-old singing sensation star that has been featured in Oprah Winfrey Show 3 times and Ellen Degeneres and other cool events, is going to join Glee next season. According to the article, Charice will play the role of a foreign exchange student who will rival Michelle Leah’s character Rachel for the top spot in Glee. Wouldn’t that be cool?! This news might be premature but for us Filipino fans, it’s great news!I hope Charice will have a good accent but I guess her accent won’t matter when she opens her mouth and sings a song because she’s truly talented.

I can’t wait to watch it! In the meantime, for those who don’t know Charice’s singing talent, watch her duet with Celine Dion in Madison Square Garden. It gives me goosebumps every time!