Green Greetings

A couple of years ago, Jim Carrey portrayed an American Christmas icon, a character loved by young and old but not very well known in Belgium until then. He has a fat little tummy but he isn’t Santa, he’s fury but he isn’t Rudolph (who has always been a personal favorite of mine), he’s green so he’s none other than the Grinch. The Grinch who stole Christmas to be precise.

The Grinch (among many other popular characters) was created by Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss. He was an American author and cartoonist whose children’s books have now become classics. Plump and outlandish creatures were his trademarks combined rhyming texts and dynamic drawings. 1957’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a prime example of his quirky yet heartwarming creativity. In this story, the Grinch is a bitter little critter living in a cave on Mount Crumpit looking down on Whoville, home of the merry Whos. Besides being fat and fury, he has another problem namely his heart is two sizes too small. Luckily he has Max, his loyal pet pooch who has to masquerade as a reindeer when the Grinch decides to go down to Whoville to put a stop to all this Christmas nonsense. If he can’t have fun, no one can. But naturally it wouldn't be Christmas (or a children’s book for that matter) if all wasn’t well in the end.

If you want to indulge in some good old-fashioned holiday fun, I suggest you sit back and enjoy the merry musings of Dr. Seuss and have a wonderful Christmas!

Indie Apples

Not a lot of people know that Edward Burns besides acting in also writes and directs many of his movies, if you know Edward Burns to begin with. He isn’t a very popular nor commercial actor but has mainly caught hold of the public eye due to his own indie flicks (hence the probable Edward who? reaction in Belgium) and appearances in Saving Private Ryan, 15 Minutes and Confidence to name a few. And of course his own brain children: The Brothers McMullen, Sidewalks of New York and about eight others.

His latest movie Purple Violets, won best narrative feature at the Savannah Film Festival and thus caught my eye. Specializing in relationship comedies, this movie is once again a prime example of his low key, narratively blessed and New York based fables. Boy (Patrick Wilson) meets married college sweetheart (Selma Blair) and decides to wander down the familiar yet a little more complicated road he travelled many years ago while his best friend (Burns himself) tries to rekindle a romance with the one who got away (and still holds a grudge, namely Debra Messing). A complex, contemporary love story with a few aspiring writers thrown in just for the hell of it.

But that’s not why I’m writing about it. It has another very unique quality, namely that it’s exclusively available on iTunes as of November 20th. It hasn’t been released in theatres or on DVD, at least not yet. Despite getting critical acclaim, the movie wasn’t able to find a distributor, not only did iTunes solve this problem but it is also a great opportunity to get notice seeing as iTunes has already become a household brand and makes the future of many indie movies look brighter.

Independent releases often get trapped in a few art house theatres, if released at all (which is the case in Belgium) and thus aren’t able to reach the broader audience they deserve. Purple Violets’ fate was sealed until Burns decided to go Apple, this way he has the chance to promote his film for free to the millions of people who have iTunes. Officially it's the first full-length feature to open on iTunes and already it shows a lot of promise seeing as it is a more efficient and profitable way for filmmakers to find an audience and the deal is also aimed at winning attention for the iTunes movie category.

Burns: "My style of filmmaking is dying on the vine. These small, talky movies have a hard time finding an audience theatrically, so you need to adapt. There are still people who want to see this nontraditional type of film, and now there are nontraditional ways to get them out there."

Earlier this year Hotel Chevalier, a short prequel to Wes Anderson’s The Darjeerling Limited, was also released exclusively on iTunes and features a very nude Nathalie Portman for those who are interested (alas not available in Belgium).

Here he is

Something completely different now. Last week my friend Véronique gave birth to a beautiful boy named Aiden and made me godmother. Once again I'd like to congratulate the proud parents with their bundle of joy.

Guess who?

It's been a while since I've posted anything substantial (excluding my Halloween bit) on my blog. The reason why, is a lack of time and slow fleeting bursts of inspiration. I can either let my City fall into the tragic spiral of forgetfullness or just bite the bullet and once again share my rambunctious ramblings with the world. Clearly, I chose the latter and while I sit here (behind my dumpling's laptop while he is out there creating tantalizing tunes) there is only one thought one my mind. Namely, how for the love of all things sacred can one make any sense of Ulysses without Spark Notes? Probably not what you were expecting, am I right?

Almost two months ago I embarked on the already tedious affair that I like to call my Master's degree in English Literature. Finally I got to chose my own courses which also sounded fun, in theory. On the other hand, the hours are minimal yet the work load is driven to an unprecedented high. Since I've started, I've been reading at a speed of almost 1000 pages a week. Don't get me wrong, I love to read otherwise English Lit would have been a slightly masochistic choice but come on! Over the past few weeks I have been annoyed by Proust's passive whining, unimpressed by DeLillo's Magnum Opus, fascinated by Kafka's dark and mesmerizing mind (it wasn't all bad, ok), bored by Doctorow's historical hickup, indifferent towards Camus' indifference, aggrivated by basically all things Russian (don't even get me started), gobsmacked by Boem Paukeslag, entertained by Vonnegut and then there was a novel by Gadda that I just skipped altogether. I'm probably leaving a few out but forgive me due to temporary overload. Basically, we have to read one book a week for each class combined with some articles, essays, whatever dribbled out of the pen of people who have to much time to read, think and supposedly "write". I'm not big on criticism if you hadn't noticed already.

All that reading has gotten me sidetracked from the main attraction, namely my thesis. In an earlier post I said I was probably going to do it about Dorothy Parker but alas she lucked out. She wouldn't have been offended but knowing her she'd have obliterated me with a poem like any dignified lady would. This year I'll be focussing on Blonde, not just any blonde but one in particular: Marilyn Monroe. A few years back Joyce Carol Oates, a celebrated American author and one of my personal favorites, wrote a novel that got her another nod at the National Book Awards and Pulitzer Prize, namely Blonde. This 939 page masterpiece (hey, I don't do easy ok) is a fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe. The main character is based on Monroe's life and Oates has also added her own personal touch to the mix. My job, by reading an endless amount of biographies and historical accounts, is to see what's real and what's fiction and what Oates' fictional elements add to Monroe's life in contrast to actual biographies. Basically why fiction if you've got facts? So the next few months I'll be delving into every aspect of 1950ies America from Hollywood to politics with Marilyn, naturally, inbetween.
Now you know where I've been hiding. What's your excuse?

Happy Halloween

Human Nature

The cold air creeps up my spine and wakes me.

I feel cold and empty.

I turn my head and everything is still the same.

I must have been dreaming.

The most awful thoughts raged through my mind.

Fear, pain and loneliness are feelings that have become unknown to me.

Somehow I feel different but nothing has changed.

The house is old and eerie, maybe that has something to do with it.

I open the drapes around my bed and see, it is night.

My clothes stick to my body.

I feel some sort of fluid running out of me.

As I walk to the window I feel light, floating.

The moonlight shines in and things become clear.

I see a hole.

It penetrates my dress and my body.

My feelings become reality.

I don’t feel empty, I am empty.

I sense a presence in the room.

As I turn I hear the floorboards creaking and someone or something leaving.

I am not alone nor do I feel fear.

I follow it in search of answers.

The house is dark and sticky.

I see it moving in front of me.

It knows that I am there but it can’t escape me.

Suddenly I stumble.

Some sort of log is blocking my path.

I pick it up to put it aside but it is warm.

Red liquid flows out of it and into the room.

I enter the room and see Julie.

She is covered with the liquid and spread out on the carpet.

Then I realise, she’ll never walk again.

I am numb.

I hear a scream.

It forces me out of the room.

I see the being again and follow it.

Something is wrong.

I don’t feel but something carnal drives me.

The stairs are long and slippery.

It’s like being in a maze where you know your way.

I pass Mary’s room.

There is a cold silence.

This can’t be right.

The room is usually filled with heated moaning.

I see long finger trying to open the door.

I reach out and am left with her hand in mine.

My poor girls.

The hall is hot and damp, I sense it.

Hot blooded girls heat the house.

It wants me to catch it, luring me on a path of death.

I am in the kitchen.

This is where it happened.

I am surrounded by logs and unsuccessfully opened doors.

Why am I still here?

I see it; it is a man with a featureless face.

He has come to restore morality.

But he can’t.

There is something stronger that drives us.

IT is incomprehensible but there.

He wants to capture and destroy IT.

But IT is invisible.

IT is free, IT is endless.

IT penetrates me.

I become a weapon.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

You reap what you sow.

I reach for him and we become one.

Now he is empty except for the mortal dogma’s filling his brain.

I take what he has taken.

This is IT’s revenge.

I am full again.

Now he is no more, even his ideals fade.

I take a knife and go to work.

I sow and sow and my girls are complete.

This can’t be destroyed.

IT is forever.

The sun is rising and I open the doors.

For today is another working day…

Ginny Jones

21st century genre painting

Robert Waldo Brunelle Jr (a Vermont native) counts Goya, Edward Gorey, Robert Crumb, Charles Addams, Tex Avery, Roy Lichtenstein and Edward Hopper as his "Art Heroes". The latter’s influence is clearly visible in Brunelle’s vibrant slices of Americana. Although his figures are realistic, he has a strong tendency towards caricature. This tendency (which was induced by his love of cartoons) led him to his breakthrough project; the 1997 cartoon "MR. BRUNELLE EXPLAINS IT ALL", in which his doppelganger tries to explain the absurdities of the modern world.

His acrylic paintings on the other hand, mostly feature lonely characters in day to day scenes with a dash of wry humor turning them into luminescent moments of contemporary life. Not only people but also buildings and cars fascinate him, especially their geometrics which he accentuates by adding a burning lightness in the centers of dark but rich fields of color. Brunelle tries to capture the best of both worlds and identifies himself as a storyteller whose work apprehends moments in the life of the unselfconscious "peasant class" occasionally with unabashed nostalgia, reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. To quote Brunelle: “the homely institutions people don't pay much attention to, like fairs, gas stations and old-fashioned barber shops -- all subjects that feature regular people living their regular lives against a technicolor backdrop."

The first time I saw his work was on a postcard that a friend of mine sent me. Being the girl that I am, I immediately fell for his luscious tones and his ability to make even the most mundane of activities sparkle. The way he combines color with subject matter induces a glimpse of hope in the beholder. Although his paintings are sad and simple, they are exuding warmth through the vibrant colors as they depict the serenity of fleeting moments we so easily take for granted.

I heart the eighties

Teen comedies, the nineties made them gross, predictable and fodder for those with an IQ of 30. In the eighties on the other hand, they thrived thanks to a genius called John Hughes. During this period he created one hit after another with his funny, sweet and honest movies. Alas, he has put directing behind him but he is still active as a writer. He created the genre defying coming-of-age classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off amongst so many others. Whereas teens now just want to get laid, he painted a broader picture integrating every aspect of their lives, aided by the members of the ever so evanescent Brat Pack which included the most famous redhead of the eighties and one of Hughes’ personal favorites Molly Ringwald. His films exuded a youthful innocence and idealism that few directors can get away with in this down and dirty day and age but everything was ultimately blissful in the imaginary Shermer, Illinois where most of his pictures where set. Besides teen comedies he also made the old and faithfully funny Plains, Trains and Automobiles, She’s having a baby, Uncle Buck,… All praise John Hughes for making adolescence fun!
If none of these movies ring a bell, shame on you! Otherwise, life is a carousel. A great big crazy ball of pure living, breathing joy and delight. You gotta get one.