If you haven’t heard of Lana Del Rey, good for you.  In a way, I feel I should apologize for disturbing your blissful ignorance.  Her new album, Born to Die, was released today, landing her on the front page of Google News, something you don’t often see from debuting “indie” acts.  (Yes, I put the word “indie” inside scare quotes.  More on that later.)  The Lana Del Rey (or LDR, if you’re a Twitter user parsimonious with her character count) meta-discussion began a while back when her unreleased songs first hit YouTube and sparked a debate among music bloggers.  Then everything exploded when she made her ignominious television debut as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live a few weeks back, drawing criticism far and wide, including from NBC News anchor Brian Williams.  But I’m skipping a bit.  A nice overview of the LDR story can be summed up in the medium so adept at summing things up:  Taiwanese News CGI.

If you want a little more in-depth treatment of pre-SNL LDR, including the hipster backlash (and backlash-backlash) this Vulture article is quite good, even though it was written way back in September of 2011(!).

If you’re familiar with Del Rey, it’s probably because of “Video Games,” which went MP3-blog viral (meaning not that viral) in August, or because of the crankiness surrounding her rapid rise to Internet fame. If you’re not, allow us to break it down for you.

The singer released an EP under her real name — Lizzy Grant — before reinventing herself as retro siren Lana Del Rey. She’s up front about the role that managers and lawyers played in creating her new, highly stylized fifties pinup persona, though she’s less willing to talk about her pre-makeover career. The visual for “Video Games” — edited by Del Rey herself — makes the most of her aesthetic, splicing sultry webcam shots of Del Rey in with video clips of Paz de la Huerta falling down. Predictably, it garnered some attention. After receiving a “Best New Music” designation for the track, Del Rey gave a selective interview to Pitchfork, avoiding questions about her management and volunteering her thoughts about sleeping with the boss (“It doesn’t get you anywhere”). Then came a second webcam video (“Blue Jeans”) and last week, an industry secret show at which Del Rey was photographed dreamily, cementing her status as indie music lust object.

Next came the backlash. Hipster Runoff took notice, writing a typically obnoxious but no less relevant post about Del Rey’s dubious origins. Meanwhile, the Village Voice‘s Maura Johnston wondered, as part of a larger post about the secret-show trend, whether Del Rey was the indie Kreayshawn — meaning a manufactured sensation based on YouTube views rather than actual musical talent. (Or even musical product: Kreayshawn scored a $1 million record deal based on the merits of a single video.) Amy Klein of Titus Andronicus chimed in with a blog post titled “The Problem With Lana Del Rey”; it turns out there are a lot of problems, and most of them are America’s, but Klein also takes issue with the way that Del Rey markets her sex appeal.

Then, of course, you can view the SNL performaces for yourself:

My initial reaction to the SNL songs was a whole lot of meh.  I’ve re-examined that initial reaction a couple of times, but it doesn’t get me very far.  (I have noticed an interesting effect, though.  When I just listen to the performances, they sound worse than when I watch and listen; but when I watch and listen, the overall effect of the performance seems more awkward than when I just listen. Odd.)  But, I have to admit, it’s not like she’s the only artist ever to sound terrible on Saturday Night Live, nor (probably) is she the least talented.  Looking over a complete Saturday Night Live episode list, there are several mediocre acts.  My response to Brian Williams’ worst-ever designation is the same as Kip Dynamite’s: “Like anyone can even know that.”

But, as I said above, Lana Del Rey’s music is the least interesting thing about her.  (To me, it seems to have been recycled from inferior immitations of Fiona Apple and Mazzy Star, with a heaping helping of trashy retro-sex appeal layered on top of that.  But not nearly as exciting as that sounds like it ought to be.)  In the second decade of the Twenty First Century—more than four decades since Andy Warhol first silk screened a Campbell’s soup can, called it art, and had his factory minions making mass reproductions—it should hardly be surprising that there are musical acts out there that are pre-fabricated and pre-packaged.  But what makes Lana Del Rey notable and controversial is that she’s aiming for “indie.”  If Lana Del Rey had tried dance-pop, music bloggers would have ignored her and hipsters would brush her off, if they ever learned her name at all.  She would have been (at most) yet another Ke$ha or Katy Perry, certainly much less interesting than Lady Gaga, who has raised the technique of manufacturing a persona to … well, to something, that’s for sure.  But because Lana Del Rey is posturing to the indie-rock crowd, she’s offended their sensibilities and (intentionally or not) created quite a stir.  This Good Magazine article puts forward the thesis that the faux-controversy surrounding Lana Del Rey is a result of indie-music-hipsters clinging too dogmatically about “authenticity”:

The controversy over Del Rey isn’t about her music. It’s that she’s “inauthentic,” apparently the worst thing an indie music star can be. …

[F]or indie music, “authentic” designates anything but genuineness—it’s just a fetishized form of cool. When artists are labeled authentic by indie tastemakers, it means they’ve internalized a standard image of indie success and have re-invented themselves accordingly.  We congratulate them for saying and doing on their own what they (or Pitchfork) wanted them to say and do all along. Is this so different than Del Rey saying and doing what she is “told” to do?

This is a fair point, though I think it’s overstated.  (Is it really fair game to criticize Amy Klein, a former member of Titus Andronicus—a band that’s seen a fair amount of critical praise, but is unlikely to ever find fame or fortune—as having a “personal stake” in the indie genre?  Artistically, maybe, but certainly not in a business or financial sense.)  Moreover, I think the idea that hipsters and indie tastemakers will turn on something as soon as it becomes popular is more of a tired cliche than a truism; I rarely see indie rock fans or critics solemnly declaring anyone a “sellout” anymore.

But backing up a bit, I think the “authenticity” question is where the discussion starts to become interesting.  Is authenticity meaningful?  What is it?  Is it snobbish, or naive, or perhaps both, to suggest that you want musicians to whom you listen to be “authentic”?  Does that even mean anything, and if so, by what yardstick does one measure authenticity?  Can a created persona still be authentic?  Does persona or context even matter, or should the music be judged on its merits alone?  Can authenticity be evaluated by reference to the music itself, and nothing else?

The concept of “indie” itself music is very amorphous and uncomfortably ambiguous; it resists definition.  The most obvious one fails almost immediately, I think: bands can be “indie” without being signed to an independent record label; and, conversely, belonging to an independent record label doesn’t make a band indie.  You can document it or create a history for it, suggest signposts that lead you there.  Prior to indie, it was “alternative” (before that label got applied to everything grunge and post-grunge); before that  ”post-modern” or “modern”, earlier “new wave,” “post-punk,” “punk,” and so on, at least back as far as the Velvet Underground, arguably the great-great-granddaddy of all indie rock bands.  (It’s worth pausing to note that the Velvet’s first album was “produced”—although it’s hard to imagine him doing any of the tasks you typically think of a record producer as doing—by none other than Andy Warhol, bringing our discussion full circle.)

But if you can’t easily define it, than how is indie rock as a genre different than non-indie rock, or even pop?  One possibility (as discussed in the article above) is that indie rock is different in its preference for a degree of authenticity (or low tolerance for inauthenticity).  But see the issues outlined above when you try to delve into the questions of authenticity.  And that’s just scratching the surface.  Can objective authenticity even exist?  (Here we go again.)  Is it ultimately just subject and a matter of taste?  And who gets to be the arbiters of taste?  The fans?  The critics?

As a catalyst for these types of thoughts and this meta-debate Lana Del Rey is an excellent discussion starter.  Even if I don’t think much of her music, and can’t help but thinking (despite myself and judgementally) that neither should you.

The names of the episodes continue to be interesting double entendres, and we see more of the scheming and planning in this episode that will set up the big conflicts of this season. Boyd’s scheme to get the Benett’s money, Raylan’s plan to buy a house with Winona, Bad guys planning and scheming all over the place, and a couple of new players with plans of their own.

Carla Gugino shows up here as Karen Sis–ahem–Goodall who is an old flame and fellow marshall from Raylan’s Miami days. Questions raised include whether Raylan still has feelings for her and whether those feelings are going to disrupt Raylan’s new relationship with Winona. It appears those questions are answered in the negative. Or to put it in a positive light: Winona wins. In an interview, Graham Yost has said Carla Gugino will NOT be sticking around for more episodes this season. So I guess that’s that.

But this episode mostly showcases Art’s ability to still kick ass with the best. The old guy still has the brains and brawn to get the job done, and it seems like he has more in common with Raylan than we knew previously.

A little more of Raylan’s relationship with Winona is revealed as the episode opens with Raylan waking up in Winona’s house that she owned with Gary. Even ignoring the fact that Winona is as hot as a Las Vegas sidewalk on the fourth of July, their dialogue is pretty awesome:

Raylan: At least this time I don’t have to worry about you taking up with the realtor (which he pronounces “relitor”).

Winona: Why’s that?

Raylan: She’s too old for you.

Winona: That guy was cute though.

Raylan: He’s married.

Winona: So was I. Too short for me though. I need someone tall and strapping like a …fireman.

Raylan: Like a… lion tamer.

Winona: Mmmmm, outdoorsy, good with animals, can find alternative uses for houshold furniture…

Something Winona says about realtors always lying makes Raylan finally figure out Boyd’s plan, so he makes a visit to the prison to screw it up. He’s just in time to stop Boyd from ruining Dickie’s breakfast. During some awesome-as-usual jawboning with Boyd, Raylan tells him he will be released the next day. Boyd looks for Dickie but finds out he is in solitary, courtesy of Raylan.

An old friend of Art’s named Bill is visiting and Art tells him that he thinks Raylan is Art’s penance for the grief he gave his own chief years ago. Apparently, Art was a bit of a hell-raiser himself back in the day. Bill is with witness protection and is making his rounds to the protectees, including one named Mary who has a baby and a little girl named June. Bill is making sure they are following the guidelines as Mary is expected to testify against some high-level baddies soon.

But someone is following Bill and when Bill gets wise and confronts him, the guy gets the drop on him and Bill gets shot. BTW, this all happens before the theme song and opening credits. That has to be a record for opening scenes.

After the credits, Rachel sets up camp with Mary while Raylan and Winona check out the baby’s ultrasound photo. Did I mention Winona is super hot? Raylan has to run to the office after turning on his phone and noticing he has 17 missed calls. Oops. He walks in and meets up with Assistant Director Goodall (Carla Gugino), who he knew by a different last name in Miami. The previous name is not mentioned. Goodall is in town to help out with Bill’s murder, as it looks like Bill’s protectees have been compromised. The other marshalls are already with the protectees, while Raylan will be going with Goodall to check on Little Joe Delahunt, a gangster who just happens to be in Lexington. Apparently one of the protectees, Terry Poe, fingered Little Joe’s dad, so Joe’s presence in Lexington cannot be coincidental.

On the way to the hotel, Raylan comes up with a plan of attack and talks about the past with with Goodall. She was apparently married for only a few months, but kept the guy’s last name (Why?). Raylan flirts a little with her: “Nothing I can think of that would keep a guy from coming after you.”

Art goes to sit on Poe to make sure he isn’t the target of Little Joe and his boys. We recognize Poe as the guy that shot Bill, but Art doesn’t know that. Will he figure it out, or will he become the next victim. Poe packs a gun in his overnight bag.

Meanwhile, Boyd is trying to figure out how to get at Dickie before Raylan’s release kicks him back out on the street. It looks like he’s found a cooperative guard, and he decides to povoke a group of black weightlifters by showing off his white supremacist tattoos. That should get him in the hospital at least.

Raylan and Goodall work Raylan’s plan and it gets them two of Little Joe’s boys cuffed in the hallway of the hotel, but Little Joe locks himself in his room. Goodall makes a pretty good argument for Joe to give them the info they want.

Art gets a call from Raylan telling him what they found out from Joe. We don’t hear what it is, but Art tells Poe thay have to move, and he notices that a chair has recently been placed under a vent in the wall. It’s a hiding place, but for what? They get in Poe’s car and drive off to a safe house. Art asks to use the GPS system and finds out the car was at the site where Bill’s body was found. Seems too easy. Do GPS systems really do that? And wouldn’t you delete that info if you had just dumped a body? He goes back to Poe’s house, disarms him and gets him back in the house. How much did Raylan tell him? Did he know Poe was selling info to Joe before they got in the car?

Boyd is getting treated in the prison hospital, then gets put into solitary, right next door to Dickie. The friendly guard is pretty friendly.

Art has Poe tied to a chair in his house and finds that the vent is concealing a big bag of cash. He tells Poe what the GPS told him and says he needs to start talking or he’s going to get the “old testament” treatment, which pretty much consists of getting hit repeatedly in the face. He has apparently been reading Deuteronomy 7:

9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

Art says Little Joe confessed that Poe was offering 2 million bucks to get forgiveness from Joe for ratting on his dad. Art figured out that Poe must be selling info on one or more of the protectees in order to get the money to pay Joe. Now he needs to know which protectees have been compromised. But Poe’s not talking, so Art threatens to shoot him and say that he was shot in a struggle. He makes Poe believe, and finds out Mary is the one Poe sold out.

Art calls Rachel to warn her but the bad guys are already there to kill Mary. Raylan and Goodall get to Poe’s house and go with Art to help Rachel. It’s a tense cat and mouse game at Mary’s house. Rachel and the family hide in the attic while the gangsters search for them. The baby is not quiet enough and Rachel has to shoot the gangster that tries to get into the attic. Art shoots the other guy downstairs.

Boyd gets help getting into Dickie’s cell in the night and threatens to cut Dickie’s throat unless he gets the info on Ma Bennett’s money. Dickie tells him the money is being held by Limehouse, who won’t give it up to anyone but Dickie. You can see the wheels spinning in Boyd’s head while he formulate’s a new plan. The problem is, the friendly guard heard the whole thing too.

Goodall lets Raylan drive back and invites him to come to Miami with her, but Raylan doesn’t take the bait. He tells Goodall that Art saved his life. apparently, Goodall doesn’t know where Raylan’s from. Raylan tries to help talk to Rachel about her shooting, but she’s not having it. Winona shows up and Raylan goes right to her and kisses her in front of everyone, including Goodall. Seems like he’s sending a message. He leaves with Winona while Goodall casts some longing glances after him.

Boyd gets sprung from prison and tells Ava that getting the money will “take some doing” because it’s with Limehouse. Then we meet Limehouse. Looks like a serious dude. We’ll be seeing a lot more of him.

Best Picture

“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film

“A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
“Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction

“The Artist”
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo”
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“Midnight in Paris”
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse”
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography

“The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
“Hugo” Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

“Anonymous” Lisy Christl
“The Artist” Mark Bridges
“Hugo” Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
“W.E.” Arianne Phillips

Directing

“The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Alexander Payne
“Hugo” Martin Scorsese
“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
“The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)

“Hell and Back Again”
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
“Pina”
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated”
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)

“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
“Incident in New Baghdad”
James Spione
“Saving Face”
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing

“The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Kevin Tent
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film

“Bullhead” Belgium
“Footnote” Israel
“In Darkness” Poland
“Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
“A Separation” Iran

Makeup

“Albert Nobbs”
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
“The Iron Lady”
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

“The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
“The Artist” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)

“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Short Film (Animated)

“Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
“La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
“A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
“Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

“Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
“Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
“The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
“Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
“Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing

“Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
“Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
“Hugo”
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
“Moneyball”
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
“War Horse”
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
“Hugo”
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
“Real Steel”
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin  Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
“A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

My thoughts, in no particular order:

• Ryan Gosling was screwed.  Some sort of anti-Gosling backlash going on here?

• I don’ t think Terrance Malick needs to block off Oscar night on his calendar or plan a speech. No way is winning anything.  Hollywood likes to give nods to artsy movies, but in the end, it’s not really that high brow.

• Apparently, the Academy cannot figure out who produced “Tree of Life.” (“Nominees to be determined”) Either that or no one wants to take the blame.

• I hear that “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is terrible. I have no idea why it was nominated (other than that several high-profile Hollywood heavyweights were involved) and have no desire to see this movie.

• I am glad to see that Hugo got lots of nominations. I think it’s a terrific movie. But it was totally predictable that the Acadeny would love Hugo, because it is 1) Scorsese, and 2) basically a big-budget love letter to cinema.

• The animated feature category sucks more this year than in any year of recent memory. Puss in Boots? Kung Fu Panda 2? Why did Tintin get no consideration?

• Only two song nominations? Weird. While I liked “Man or Muppet” quite a bit, it’s sad to think it’s the best Hollywood had to offer in 2011. That song from Rio is just so-so.

• Transformers: The Dark of the Moon got three nominations. As if Michael Bay needed that kind of encouragement. Hey Academy: you people are enablers, you know that?

Share your thoughts and reactions in the comments below.

Last season we saw the end of the Bennet clan as Mags committed suicide and all her sons were dead except Dickie, who was in custody for doing all kinds of bad stuff. Meanwhile, Boyd Crowder was going back into the family business by taking over the drug trade in Harlan. Raylan got shot in the process of bringing the Bennetts down, so when this season opens, we see Winona getting pulled over and informed of Raylan’s injuries. He’s in the hospital and Art tells her he’s going to be ok: he was shot straight through with no major damage. Lucky.

Three weeks later Raylan is still recovering, and having a lot of trouble shooting and walking, when he decides to talk things over with Boyd in the office. The subject of discussion is the missing money and weed from the Bennet’s operations. As usual, the dialogue between the two is priceless:

Raylan: There’s a sizable amount missing.

Boyd: How sizable?

Raylan: Well over ten dollars.

Boyd: If I found that kind of money, I’d be in Mexico by now.

Raylan: Boyd, I’ve been to Mexico, and I don’t think you’d like it.

Boyd: How so?

Raylan: There’s a lot of Mexicans.

Boyd: Raylan, if a book could only be judged by it’s cover, you’d be a best-seller.

But Boyd doesn’t want to talk about that. He wants an apology from Raylan because Raylan never brought Dickie back after Boyd rescued Raylan from Dickie’s clutches last season. Apparently, Boyd was under the impression some kind of deal had been made. Raylan takes offense to that and a fight erupts, wherein both go through the glass into Art’s office. Not good for either one of them.

Emmett Arnett is dealing with a man from detroit about a loan. The lenders are getting nervous and want repayment. Arnett promises payment tomorrow, but it looks like he’s planning something else on the sly. He’s got a man names Nix (Desmond Harrington, on loan from Dexter) working for him who’s upping the creepy factor considerably.

Boyd’s partners Arlo and Devil are trying to unload the big haul of weed they took from the Bennets while Boyd spends some time in prison. It’s a no go because the customer, Hot Rod Dunham, says the weed is now moldy. Ava saves the meeting from deteriorating into a shooting match.

Winona is pregnant, as we learned last season, and despite her condition (and Raylan’s) she has certain needs, which Raylan seems just barely able to fulfill. Raylan wants to move into a house now that the baby is on the way but Winona seems noncommittal.

Nix is doing a little work, taking some watches from a guy he installed an alarm system for. He plays a little psycho game with the guy where he allows him to try to get his gun, then stabs his hand with an ice pick and shoots him. Then he kills a pizza delivery guy. Seems like maybe he wasn’t held enough as a child.

Tim comes to Raylan at the office the next day and has recognized the previous night’s exploits as the work of Fletcher “the ice pick” Nix, who is a fugitive. He wants Raylan to talk to Win Duffy (Jere Burns, who is BTW also currently playing a bad guy in Burn Notice) who owns the company that installed the alarm system on the house where Nix did his business, Duffy is also our friend from last season who was involved with Gary, Winona’s ex. Raylan says no to Tim, because he’s on light duty and because he told Duffy last time they spoke that if they had another conversation it “won’t be a conversation.” Tim doesn’t give up, so Raylan gives in and goes along.

The conversation with Duffy goes pretty much as Raylan thought, and they don’t learn anything new, so Raylan goes to visit Duffy’s boss, Emmett Arnett. Duffy calls Arnett and tips him that Raylan is coming. Raylan runs into Nix in the elevator and doesn’t know who he is. Nix appears to get a call about Raylan at the same time, and is apparently told to stand down.

Raylan meets Yvette, Arnett’s assistant and mistress, who volunteers to have drinks with Raylan and tells him about Arnett’s plan to meet Nix that night. She is apparently actually working for the man from Detroit however, as she gets into a car with him and tells him that Raylan took the bait.

Meanwhile, Ava visits Boyd to tell him about the weed issues and Boyd orders the weed burned. Later, Ava relays the orders to Arlo and Devil and enforces obedience by frying pan. Something about that scene reminds me of Tangled:

Raylan is back in the office and finally looks at a picture of Nix, and recognizes him from the elevator. He’s having second thoughts now about the whole Yvette thing and tells Art the info came too easy. Art’s not bothered and tells Raylan to go home. Later at the meeting, the whole thing goes south. Neither Nix nor Arnett shows up. Nix watches from a cab as Arnett’s bodygurad is arrested, then drives away.

Raylan and Winona walk into Raylan’s motel room to find Nix sitting there. He wants to play his little game again. I don’t know if Arnett told him to go after Raylan, or if this is just Nix’s own thing, but it’s a mistake. Raylan knows the game, having seen the crime scene file from the last time. As Winona counts down, Nix goes for his ice pick, but Raylan just pulls the tablecloth, moving the gun his way. He shoots Nix and apologizes to Winona about the tablecloth.

The man from Detroit meets with Arnett and Duffy, who insists on patting down Detroit guy because he doesn’t know him. Detroit tells Arnett he tipped the marshalls. Arnett thinks it’s a joke but it’s not. Detroit guy has a sleeve gun and kills Arnett and Yvette, yet for some reason leaves Duffy alive. “You know me now?” he asks.

Boyd seems to have had a plan all along to get himself thrown in jail so he could have Dickie for lunch. Dickie looks none too happy about it, but at least it will relieve the boredom of hanging out with Dewey Crowe.

Great start to the new season.

Pariah is the coming out tale of an African-American, Brooklyn teenager named Alike (played by Adepero Oduye).  Alike lives with her younger sister and parents.  Dad and Mom both suspect their elder daughter is a lesbian, and neither are pleased by this.  Mom is completely opposed to what she believes her daughter is becoming, and she condemns Alike’s budding sexuality on religious grounds.  Dad seems somewhat in denial, but he eventually comes to face reality, and is defensive of Alike, even supportive of her development.  The plot takes us through Alike’s misadventures and evolving friendships with other young women, gay and straight, as Alike tries to navigate questions of identity and self-worth.  Meanwhile, we also get to observe the tension in Alike’s parents’ marital relationship, a tension due in part to Alike’s social/sexual development, but the product of some other issues as well.

I don’t know what it’s like to be an ethnic minority.  I don’t know what it’s like to be a lesbian.  I don’t know what it’s like to be stuck in a world of seemingly few economic and educational opportunities.  So it’s probably impossible  for me to evaluate how well the film portrays a life characterized by these features and impediments.  But it felt incredibly authentic.  I empathized with the awkwardness and trapped feelings that someone in Alike’s shoes must surely face daily.  As a result, the film was engrossing, and there probably aren’t too many higher complements I could pay it.  Alike’s daily grind is gritty and chaotic and awkward, but in the end, she does manage to come to grips with who she is and what she wants her life path to be.

My only hesitation in recommending the film stems from its opening scenes, in which we see Alike out on the town, visiting a local lesbian club.  The visuals are raw, sexual and accompanied by a pretty explicit rap song blaring in the background.  (Come to think of it, there are a couple other scenes with “too much information” as well).  The whole package was a bit much for me.  (Yes, I know I sound like my mother.  Sigh).  Though in retrospect, I’ve had second thoughts about why that is.  In part, I just wanted the explicitness toned down a bit to better suit my tastes.  But I wonder if the opening didn’t also shatter my stereotypes of how lesbian women do, in fact, behave.  So your mileage may vary.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thrilling crime drama about a disgraced Swedish journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig), who is hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate the death of his teenage niece 40 years earlier.  He enlists a troubled but talented ward-of-the-state, Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara) to assist him in his investigation.  Twists and turns abound, not all is what it initially seems, and I will spare you any further discussion of the plot, just in case you want to enter the theatre about as ignorant as I was.

This is one of those rare movies in which virtually everything goes right. I was thoroughly engrossed in every way, and I have no major complaints. I loved the understated, polished acting, especially of the Salander character (I worried a bit that, given her dark fetish costuming, she would be over the top, but I was wrong).   The script was fine. The cinematography was gorgeous.  I have a thing for Scandinavian architecture and design, so I loved the film visually in all sorts of ways.  The plot was gripping and suspenseful throughout.  The opening credits are a visual and auditory feast (Trent Reznor co-produces a cover version of a classic Zeppelin song!), and I can’t remember the last time I said that about any movie.  I suppose, if I have to offer up criticisms, I will give two:  (1) I’m not sure I like the fact that Salander beds Blomkvist (it seemed gratuitous); (2) The final portion of the film, devoted to Salander’s and Blomkvist’s take down of corrupt businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom, seemed rushed.  But these are minor quibbles.

Having said that, in case you haven’t heard already, there’s a rape scene. Or, to be more precise, there’s a RAPE SCENE. It is (too) long, it is somewhat graphic, it was (for me) rather unpleasant to watch.  Defenders of its inclusion in the film will no doubt point out that it was necessary to understand the psychology of the female heroine.  And they are right.  Doesn’t mean a viewer can’t wish for a little less though, does it?  Defenders will also claim that because it precedes another, very graphic revenge counter-scene — that is quite satisfying in its payback — this makes the first scene (a) necessary; and (b) less unpleasant in the context of the whole.  Right again on both counts.  Some will contexualize Larsson’s literary focus on sexual violence against women by pointing out that it arises out of his own guilt at failing to stop a gang rape when he was a teenager, thereby making its inclusion in the book (and thus, film) easier to understand.  Right again.  Still, though.  Know what you’re getting into before you watch this flick.

Part of what makes rape scenes unpleasant (though by no means the only thing) is my sneaking suspicion that others aren’t finding them unpleasant.  I still vividly remember reading Roger Ebert’s review of I Spit on Your Grave many years ago, in which he describes the sociopathic, misogynistic outbursts of a fellow moviegoer, during and after each of that film’s repeated rape scenes.  Ebert was mortified and disturbed.  And who can blame him?  I thankfully haven’t experienced anything like this at the movies myself, but I can still vicariously live through Roger.

Also, I found myself comparing this scene to a similar one in The Last House on the Left.  This one wasn’t quite as disturing as that one.  Not entirely sure why, since the former similarly led to some outlandish, satisfying payback later on, but I’ll spare you any further analysis.  (I can’t believe I’m even typing this sentence, or that I’m actually evaluating the relative merits of these things).

Anyway, be aware of the unpleasantness I’ve just mentioned, but also know that if you can stomach it, you will have an enjoyable time.  I heartily recommend this fantastic film.

BEST CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

OK, some of my favorite traditions I’ve not been able to do as I’ve been working in a job that’s rather busy and hectic before Christmas.

12 Days of Christmas: Each day for twelve days before Christmas we’d celebrate a different nationality’s Christmas. We’d eat food from there, learn the traditions and often have something fun. So for Sweden we learned about Black Pete which used to be their version of Santa Claus. (He’d knock on the door and throw in candy)

Decorate the Tree: Yes, I know this seems lame but I used to get so into this. I loved it. My dad would usually be exhausted as he was a college professor. I remember him getting so mad trying to get the lights working. But decorating the tree. Good times.

Seeing the Lights: Blast the Christmas songs in the car and drive around to see the great lights. Much more fun when it’s snowing. (Utah is having a green Christmas this year)

Disguising Presents: Half the fun was trying to get people to guess what you got them which involved strategic boxes that looked nothing like what was inside.

In my view, the only way to see a film remains the way the filmmaker intended: inside a large movie theater with great sound and pristine picture. Music and dialogue that doesn’t fully reproduce the soundtrack of the original loses an essential element for its appreciation. Simply put, the film loses its power.

This is an interesting perspective, and increasingly Western audiences are able to replicate, or at least approach, movie theater quality picture and sound at home.  At least, that’s the potential.  But how do we really watch our movies?

Most often, I’m watching a movie after work late at night in a small room next to my bedroom.  I have a Visio 32 inch TV with built-in speakers, hooked up to an LG streaming blu-ray player.  Down in my basement I have a home theater — a 50 inch DLP and 5.1 surround system — but it’s not even connected.  Just the TV and an HD-DVD player.  Why?  Because the LG upstairs is the one that streams Netflix, it’s the one I use the most, so why would I put it way down in the basement when I never watch stuff down there?  As a matter of pixels, it’s unlikely that I will even notice a difference on my little TV between DVD and blu-ray, so the LG player’s peak functionality is never harnessed.  I’d be just as well off with a Coby DVD player and a Roku box.  The harsh reality is that most of my viewing is done in an impromptu manner and in terrible circumstances.  The additional pain of schlepping way downstairs simply isn’t worth it (and who will listen for the kids?).  I suspect that this is the case for many Americans.  Heck, lots of us are watching movies on iPads, for crying out loud.

How do you watch your movies?  Do you watch movies under different circumstances than TV?  The worst of it is that I agree with Ridley Scott entirely — there is added magic when you watch a movie under theater circumstances.  Perhaps this has something to do with taking entertainment seriously; when your content is immediately accessible anywhere, you just don’t respect it as much.  But when you take time to prepare yourself for a movie watching experience, you walk into the theater with a set of expectations as well as a level of commitment to the event that you don’t give at home.