Dinklage is well deserving of Emmy nomination

Tyrion Lannister Character Feature

I usually don't get too excited when the Emmy nominations are announced. But, outside of a few glaring exceptions, I felt like the nominating panel did its homework this year, particularly when it came to highlighting Peter Dinklage. 

Dinklage was nominated as best supporting actor in a drama for his role as Tyrion Lannister in HBO's "Game of Thrones." Dinklage is a short person who refuses to play roles that denigrate his height, and anyone who watches Dinklage for five minutes sees an actor at the top of his game. In fact, after about a half hour, I told myself Dinklage would get an Emmy at some point for this role. 

His nomination is especially noteworty when you think about the terrific "Game of Thrones" cast around him. As I noted last month, by all means give this series a look. 

On the downside of the Emmy nominations, it's sickening that "Treme" didn't earn a single nomination. When you factor in that producer David Simon's "The Wire" earned just one nomination over five seasons, you begin to wonder whether the business can't handle series with predominantly black casts. I'd like to think otherwise but you have to wonder. 

Update on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 9:25 PM by Logan Molen

I usually don't have much success predicting major awards but I hit on this one: Dinklage picked up the Emmy tonight for best supporting actor in a drama.

Well deserved. 

'Treme' hitting its stride

Ep. 21 – Preview

HBO's "Treme" ended its second season in fine form this week, capping an eventful season that saw the series hit its stride as complex storylines came into focus.

With "Treme," producer David Simon has returned to the heights that made his HBO series "The Wire" one of the best TV shows ever.

Like "The Wire," the acting is superb (in fact, at least four "Wire" actors have either starring or supporting roles in "Treme"). And while Season 1 star John Goodman appeared only briefly in Season 2, his now-dead character remained in the forefront. 

The series has been renewed for a third season, and I can't wait. I encourage "Treme" rookies to dive in while the show is still in rotation on HBO or wait and pop for the inevitable box set. I can't recommend this kind of smart TV enough.

Every American should watch 'Too Big to Fail'

Trailer

The banking crisis that continues to ripple through -- and rip through -- economies worldwide is a difficult event to understand.

Millions of words have been written on its past and present, most notably by Michael Lewis (his Vaniety Fair piece on the Irish banking collapse is long but well worth reading). But for many people, the back story remains murky and impenetrable. 

That's why HBO's "Too Big to Fail" should be required watching for all Americans. The star-studded movie brilliantly explains a very complex topic with the pace of a thriller. You're on the edge of your seat without knowing you're actually getting a rich history lesson in how greedy banks became overleveraged in tapping a financial house of cards, and how a few dozen people furiously worked to keep the world financial markets from buckling under the pressure. 

Because the developed world likely came within hours of financial collapse, it's important that we all take notice and learn lessons so this crisis doesn't recur. Invest the 1 hour, 45 minutes "Too Big to Fail" takes in documenting the fraud that enveloped America, cost millions their jobs, toppled a few European countries, and who knows what else lies around the corner. 

I won't give away the chilling ending, when William Hurt, starring as Treasury Secretery Henry Paulsen, can't help but feel like the boy with his thumb in the dike. But it's a scene you'll never forget. 

"Too Big to Fail" left me feeling that America -- and the world -- hasn't been this close to such a man-made catastrophe since the Cuban Missile Crisis. I'm hoping we don't have another near miss in my lifetime.