ambidextrous without a pen: Back!

Hello there! Its been weeks since I last posted an entry. (Such a lousy blogger I know. LOL) Anyhoo, awards season (in the US at least) had began and in a matter of weeks, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will soon be handling out the coveted Oscar statuette that will honor the films from the year that was. I'd say that is one diverse list with names ranging from previous nominees (Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams) to first timers( Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain).

As for the films, it can be said that this is a diverse one as well with themes ranging from Old Hollywood (The Artist), Southern (The Help), Biopic (My Week with Marilyn and The Iron Lady) to suspense thriller (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Every year, I try to watch as much nominated films as possible before the ceremony (though some of the films were shown here post-Oscars and in very limited release.)For this year, I managed to kick-off my Oscar viewing with perhaps one of the most anticipated films of the year: David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

The movie is a remake/ retelling of the book of the same name written by Swedish author, Stieg Larsson, which evolves the "disappearance" of a young lady being investigated by a journalist (Daniel Craig) and a young computer hacker (Rooney Mara). Let me tell you that I haven't read the book nor I've seen the Swedish version, BUT there's something about the for the film that caught my interest the moment I saw them.

Daniel Craig as journalist Mikael Blomqvist.

Ingenue Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth Salander, the computer hacker who helped Blomqvist unravel the mystery.I still can't get over the amount of work put in her transformation from the bleached brows and severe haircut to the body piercings which are reported to be real!

And since this one's a suspense thriller, there are plenty of scenes that gave me the chills because of the way it was delivered/ shot. One particular scene was the one prior to this one. Let's just say its so intense! :)

I so love this scene inside the elevator when Lisbeth confronts Nils Bjurman (played by Yorick van Wageningen) and says: "And stop visiting tattoo removal websites, or I'll do it again....Right here." (points to forehead)

The costumes designed by Trish Sommerville also matched each characters' personality. And with Sweden as its backdrop, there are a lot of layering seen through out the film. The flashback scenes provided a bit of 60's nostalgia with shift dresses seen on the ladies, knitted cardigans for the younger ones and suits for men as seen in this dinner scene.