On the Horizon

There are a few films in the upcoming Fall/Winter season that I'm excited about.  Some with reservations, and one unabashedly.



First up is Loving, based on the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving is released on November 4th, and the trailer alone had me in tears.

Vincent Cassel's La Belle et La Bete, which debuted in France in 2014 and will be released in the U.S. on September 23rd is one that I have some reservations about, as the reviews have been mixed, and it seems partly an attempt to out blockbuster Hollywood, but at least it looks to be more influenced by the original story, or at least from the Jean Cocteau film, than from Disney, which pleases me, as I've always been drawn to the dark beauty and the melancholy undertones of the tale.

Another film I'm excited about, but also skeptical, is  Collateral Beauty due out December 16th and featuring Will Smith, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren.  There is no trailer available as of yet, and it has been shrouded in mystery so far, but it claims to have shades of It's A Wonderful Life, and The Wizard of Oz. While I love both those films, and am a huge fan of stories based largely in the real world but with aspects of the supernatural, everything about that I've learned about this film so far seems to hint that it may be overreaching.  

The one I am most excited (unabashedly, mouth flamingly excited about, having to temper said expectations so that I actually enjoy the film as much as I do its dreamily delicious trailer) is La La Land which is also being released on December 16th.  I am as in love with the idea of this film as it is possible to be.

"Cat People" Gets the Criterion Treatment

I don't really collect DVDs anymore as I began to notice that the ones I bought had a tendency to stay in their wrapping months, if not years after I purchased them.  My habit of watching and rematching my favorite films has pretty much become a thing of the past with so many other things to watch and enjoy in this new "Golden Age" of television.  But there are some things I still can't wait to get my hands on, even if I will only watch them once.  Call it sentiment, call it the illusion of closeness.  I will happily grab at the illusion of closeness with this film.  It's a 1942 film by the name of Cat People.  You may not have seen the original, but you are likely at least familiar with the title, or the remake from the eighties that takes the originals subtext and makes it "text".

On September 20th, Cat People gets the Criterion treatment.  Criterion does truly beautiful work restoring oftentimes forgotten or little known masterpieces, and I eagerly await the chance to see this film in its crisp restored form, and to drown myself in all the extras Criterion provides.  The film itself is a subtle, shadowy noir horror piece.  A female werewolf movie, with the more feminine but equally deadly panther stepping in for the brutish wolf.  It says so much about the things that we as people fear about ourselves, our histories, about fear of our own sexual desires, desires that we have been told are sinful.  And it is intensely artful, subtle visual cues throughout to tell its story.  In short, I absolutely adore every aspect.

The Criterion set includes:

• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 2005 featuring film historian Gregory Mank, with excerpts from an audio interview with actor Simone Simon
• Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows, a 2008 feature-length documentary that explores the life and career of the legendary Hollywood producer
• Interview with director Jacques Tourneur from 1979
• New interview with cinematographer John Bailey about the look of the film
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien

I've heard the audio commentary, as it is available on the current DVD, and it's a great complement to the film as it details how intricately it was crafted to work on the viewer's mind, right down to the visual effects of the shadows from the window which fall on the heroines face and give the impression of her being caged.

In truth, if you haven't seen it yet and you need the luxury of immediate gratification, see it in any form.  If you are a fan, then this new disc is a must own.

Blustery Days

The weather took a turn yesterday and I was surprised to see that in one day, New York had switched to light fall fashions.  Hoodies were out, folks shrouded themselves in navy and chestnut colors, and I felt very out of place in my white, pink and peacock checked shirt.  I secretly, if metaphorically,  embraced anyone I spied on the streets wearing pink or white.  Labor Day has not yet passed!!!!

(This whole "no white after Labor Day" rule reminds me of the days when, as a supremely hefty twelve year old I began wearing white jeans.  Every day.  Even though I had no business wearing white jeans. Not that anyone did, but certainly not me, in November.  Every day.  It's an approach to fashion that I had then and still mostly do.  I find a fashion trend I like and I grab onto it for dear life.  If it makes me feel comfortable and somewhat in place, I will return to it again and again to reunite reclaim that sensation.  Variety is not the spice of my somewhat limited fashion life.

Anyway, white jeans became so prevalent in my fashion that my beautiful and somewhat snarky French teacher Madame Bare gave me the french name of "Blanchet" deriving from the French word for white.  And lest you think that I was being paranoid, she actually told me at the end of the year that she had named me that because... I always wore white jeans.  I believe she said this right after she told me that though I had driven her a bit bananas at times, she had enjoyed having me in her class.  Touche, Madame.  But at least my name wasn't... MADAME BARE!!!!  Although, snarkiness aside, she did, along with old Judy Garland movies, greatly fuel my love of the musical by sharing her cast album of Cats in our Language Arts class.  I played "Jennyanydots" over an over and over.  I know that any self respecting musical theatre fan shows a blatant disdain for it, but I will always have a soft spot for Cats.)

They've been saying we have a tropical storm in our near future, but what was supposed to arrive today has now been pushed off until tomorrow.  We will see if this becomes a reality or if it is yet another disaster that... blows over.  Me, as long as everyone is safe, I wouldn't mind a bit of a storm.  Dramatic weather has the tendency to remind me that things are not the same day after day after day.  Change comes unexpectedly and inevitably and some times you just have to cuddle up and watch the wind and rain rattle the things that thought they were safely settled.

Illustration by E.H. Shepard

Of course, after the storm blows over we are supposed to return to late summer weather, so until late September we will probably keep the off-white, aging a/c units in our windows.  Both because we don't want to suffer, and because we have become used to to cool comfort.

Florida Bound!!

In a little less than a month I will be making my first trip to Disneyworld, and I could not be more excited!  My roommate Laura and I are going to a 45th Anniversary screening of Bedknobs and Broomsticks exclusively for D23 Members (of which my roomie is one).  We'll be there for  a relatively short time, so rather than try and shove everything into two days, we have decided to focus on The Magic Kingdom which is both of our main interests.

My major fascination with DisneyLand (which I've been to several times) is the ability to step into these films that have meant so much to the formation of my imagination, and my love of story.  Cinderella, Snow White, Pinnochio... these stories dictated how I learned about dreams and overcoming obstacles and becoming a good person.  And being in those parks allows you to feel like a child again, to indulge in the purest part of yourself.

Fantasyland was always my favorite part of the Disneyland experience, so I am most excited to see the reimagined Fantasyland in Florida with Gaston's Pub, and the Beast's "Be Our Guest" Restaurant, The Little Mermaid Ride, and The Dwarfs Mine Train.  Those things alone would probably be enough for me, but add to that the experience of seeing the attractions I love with a slight twist.

I remember my Dad taking my mom and myself to Disneyland when I was eight (he was the only one of us who had been) and how he prepared me by telling me each detail of the rides he loved. He rhapsodized about the hitchhiking ghosts from The Haunted Mansion  and each detail of The Peter Pan ride.  When I finally got there, I loved getting to see the things I'd imagined through his stories as they really were.  It was such a bonding experience for us, and the days of my first trip to Disneyland are some of the clearest and happiest of my young life.  Every time I go back I build upon those memories, and I am so excited to go to this new park and experience it for the first time.

Going with someone who loves Disney as unabashedly as I do (and who has been to the park before so is loaded with bits of info and glowing memories) is pretty exciting, and I can't wait to report to you all our adventures when we return.

PS:  Cross your fingers that we are able to get a walk-in seat to the "Be Our Guest" Restaurant, as the reservations were booked up two months in advance, and I am aching to eat the "grey stuff" in The West Wing!!!

Artist Rendering of the "Be Our Guest Restaurant"

Book Recommendation: Use Your Words!

Quite simply put, I've had difficulties getting myself to the writing desk, or the kitchen table, or the coffee shop--- wherever it is I am planning to be to make the act of committing words to screen--- and Cathy Deveny's book has been truly helpful in combating my procrastination.  If you are a writer of any kind, I could not recommend it more highly.

I'd not heard of Cathy Deveny until reading an emphatic review stating quite plainly that this book does what it is intended to do: help anyone who wants to write more to do that.  Cathy is a successful Australian comedian with a very straightforward and refreshing approach, and her book is easily available for e-readers at the bargain price of  $7.99 Amazon.com.  People who insist on paper will have to pay around $25, as the book hasn't made it to American publishers as of yet.

It's full title is  Use Your Words: A Myth Busting, No Fear Approach To Writing, and while she makes no claims that the book will make you a better writer, if the act of writing more,  and gaining experience through that process makes one a better writer, then this book will make those who stay open and receptive to it better writers.  But please understand, the only point of this book is to help its reader get over the issues that keep him or her from the act of writing, and get on with it.  The fact that Deveny achieves this in such a readable and humorous way just makes it all the more enticing.

I will make one suggestion which I don't believe Cathy does.  When you finish reading it (aside from the obvious "get to writing") at your earliest convenience, go back to page one and re-read it.  Even if it's just to skim it the second time. Even if you just flip open to a random page and read a paragraph or two.  Because as helpful as these words are, the glow of them will only last so long, and you will need to re-engage with it in order to keep the good vibes and the words flowing.  

On the Streets of New York

New York City contains some of the most unique and memorable sites in America, and I'm not merely talking about designated "sites".  On my way into Mid-town every weekday morning, I encounter people shouting tirades to fellow subway goers, one man bands, and folks wearing brilliant and unusual fashions worn for no reason at all.  I walk by sculpted works of art that I appreciated on the first encounter, but that have since become just part of the background.  I am the first to admit what a shame that is.  These are the things that make New York "New York", and to truly appreciate the city, one has to pay attention to these details.

One such detail that I had noticed in passing, but hadn't really paid all that much attention to as I passed it each day on my way to lunch, was this...

a pair of liquid nitrogen tanks just sitting in the street with yellow tape around them.  I'd passed them several times, and never really paused to wonder what they were doing there, or if they posed any kind of threat or hazard. And then one day I stopped.  And took notice (and a couple of photos)

What do they do?  Well there's a hose coming from the canisters that goes down a grate or manhole and the liquid nitrogen changes to a gas and expands, keeping copper wiring dry underneath the streets.  It belongs to Verizon and helps to keep their phone service and internet running smoothly.  In spite of the fact that there is a protective covering over the wires, there is some damage due to the elements and steam from heating, so the nitrogen assists.  

As for the tanks, they've apparently never leaked or exploded (and there are many of them around the city) in spite of occasionally being tipped over by cars hitting them.  

I find it kind of funny that they can't fund a better way of doing this, but I'm hardly a scientist, and this is just another interesting feature that is part of living in New York City.  

On the Way to the Fountain

A couple of weeks ago I went to Central Park to see Bethesda Fountain, and the statue of the angel so prominently featured in Angels in America. I've been re-reading the piece in honor of its 25th anniversary, and it felt important to see it in person.  To really experience it.  What I didn't expect was all the joy I would encounter on the way there...

Stultifying

Stultifying.  The summer heat in New York City is stultifying.  It beats on you from above in the walk to and from work, it bounces off from the concrete towers all around, it radiates in stinking waves from the grates in the street.  It leaves you, after ten minutes of walking with strange and oddly placed splotches on your withered business shirt, and you smell as if you just mowed the lawn without the fresh grass aroma to cut the sweat.  And humid!!!  Like a floating soup.

About a month ago I gave up and put the window unit in.  There was really no reason not to other than my "Old Man Johnson" attitude of thinking I could beat the heat, be stronger willed than a fucking force of nature.  And if I could?  Where's the real victory?  The fifty dollars a month it saves me in electrical bills?  I'll pay.  You win heat.  You fucking win.

The good thing about the heat is that when it's this hot, nothing refreshes like a nice Mint Julep, which makes me imagine myself as a gracious lady in a floppy yellow sun hat as I sit on the porch and fan myself idly.  Or lemonade!  Or Strawberry Iced Tea.  Cold drinks, while not worth the trade off that is this... STULTIFYING heat (did I mention it is stultifying?) are a nice diversion, and one way to make the season of summer feel fully lived.

Ambivelence, Thy Name is Etta

Look, I'm a purist about many things.  I think, most of the times, it isn't neccessary to muck around with a story that works, unless you are making a strong point about said work.  For example, if you are going to set A Midsummer Night's Dream at the beach?  Please have a real reason, a way this re-conceptualization shines a new light on the story.  Don't just fuck around with a classic in the name of modernization, or to be different.

And yet... some things need to be changed as they age, because in today's context they go against they go against the original intent of the piece.  The piece under discussion, while not Shakespeare, is certainly iconic and embedded in th current culture.  We are speaking of Wonder Woman, or to be more specific, cohort... Etta.  Etta Candy.  Yeah.  You got it.  She "etta candy".  She etta lot o' candy and got real fat.

Etta was introduced in the second issue of Wonder Woman, and was supposedly born so thin and malnourished that she nearly died.  What saved her?  Chocolate of course!  Lots and lots of chocolate.  She ate a shit ton of it and got hefty.  Health problems over!

Now, for those of you out there insisting that Etta is kick ass and awesome?  That she's some kind of pioneer for the appreciation of self and of our own bodies, however they may be shaped?  I wish I agreed with you.

There is some evidence that supports your claim.  Yes, in one issue, Etta magically gains Wonder Woman's body and decides she prefers her own.  Sweet!  How body positive!  If it were not for the fact that her choice to keep her figure is written with all the jocularity and "can you believe it" whizz bang that comics could muster back then.  Her choice was at most a bone thrown to the heavy girls out there, and at worst a joke based on the incredulity that anyone would choose to be that size.

Yes Etta saves Wonder Woman in a lot of the issues. and has plenty of opportunities to be heroic.  She loves herself, loves her body, and stands up for herself and her friends with strength and bravado.   She is the leader of The Holliday Girls, a sorority that aids Wonder Woman in her adventures and is often taking down oppressors wherever they may pop up.  They also get into a lot of freaky shit behind the scenes...

My main point here, is that, yes, it is great to see an earthly woman who is even more confident and in charge than Wonder Woman, getting things done in a more down and dirty way. I love that she is a woman who has taken her fair share of hits from society, who would love to sideline her, and she always takes center stage, and takes charge.  But unfortunately, there is no getting around the fact that Etta is a joke.  She was written as a joke.  Her family (dad named "Hard", mother named "Sugar" and brother "Mint") is a joke.  Yes, she rescued some captured children... WITH A BOX OF CANDY!  And yes, she stopped a bullet...WITH A BOX OF CANDY! One of her favorite catch phrases?  "For the love of chocolate!" She is there to provide contrast with Wonder Woman, and as a kind of side show freak.  She's shock value.  A big woman who loves herself? Who doesn't want to change?   Whaaaaaaat? As much as I want to like the character, I can't get away from the fact that she is treated as a curiosity.

Etta Candy in the Modern Age

Through the years, a lot has changed with Etta. The attitude with which she was handled changed.  A lot.  She joined the airforce, was aid to a General and to Steve Trevor, and in at least one version she eventually married him, displacing him as Wonder Woman's love interest.  She's gone from body proud, to weight concious and back, she's been black, and white, fat and thin.

Etta Candy as played by Beatrice Colen

Etta Candy in the New 52

Etta Candy in Wonder Woman #1

Grant Morrison's version from "Earth One" harkens back to the original

Etta Candy in Wonder Woman (The Animated Film)

Etta Candy, as featured in The Legend Of Wonder Woman by Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon

My favorite incarnation of Etta is from The Legend Of Wonder Woman, a digital comic soon to be released as a collection in hardcover.  It sends Princess Diana back to college.  It's an origin story of sorts, in which Diana learns how to live in the modern world (the modern world being America in the 1940's. Etta is once again the head of The Holliday Girls (now a girl group a la The Andrews Sisters), and back to being more ample.  She's beautiful, confident, and relate-able.  No longer relegated to comic relief, yet retaining the sass and moxie that made her unique.  Are there a couple digs?  Yes.  As readers we are supposed to wonder at her grand ambitions to be a Hollywood star wooed by Gable, with no thoughts that her ample proportions might be an obstacle, and we the readers are supposed to smirk a bit.  But it's progress.  Major progress.

And what's next for Etta Candy?  She's featured in the upcoming Wonder Woman film, of course, and she still has that damn name.  Etta, as played by Lucy Davis, seems to be taking on some of the comic duties, but in a way that is much more modern and respectful.  In many ways she seems to be the eyes and ears of the audience.  Our "way in" to the character.  It's definitely a fine line to tread, allowing Etta her unique appeal and power (he curvy figure being a major component of which) without turning her into a figure of fun.

But through all these incarnations, no matter how grim and gritty the tone of the book or story, no matter how slender she is, she has been saddled with that awful name.  Etta Candy.  It's not even a real name.  It's a pun, like a bad drag name.  When she's heavy it's insulting, and when she's slender it's incongruous and takes you out of the story, because it's a relic of a less accepting age when men were the sole dictators of the rule of beauty.  As long as that name is tied to the character she won't be completely freed to be the in charge positive force she could and should be. 

Coming Soon: Power, Grace, Wisdom, Wonder

I've said it before.  How can a woman who stands for peace, an alternate way of living from the violence of man, carry a sword?  Why?  Who decided this should be?  In the recently released trailer for the June 2017 release of the looooong awaited Wonder Woman film, the fucking sword is very prevalent.  And she seems very ready to "whip it out".  Now that said, she seems to use it not to hack at people, but at things-- wood, weapons, and to distract and dazzle.  To my mind her golden lasso does just as good a job, but I suppose you can't expect the movie to go TOO far from it's usual philosophy that for women to be as good as men they must be warriors(although, in truth, I do).

Apart from the presence of the sword, there's a lot to be excited about with this trailer.  There is a great screen chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine's, and he carries a lot of the humor featured in the trailer to great affect.  Etta Candy (Wonder Woman's earthly side kick from the 40's) even makes an appearance, and she's handled with the right amount of care, or so it seems at least from this tiny glimpse. Although, can I for one say let's get rid of that awful, insulting name.  "Etta Candy"????  Aw, for fuck's sake.

I did think it interesting that the setting for the movie is not World War II, but World War I.  The original story was so firmly grounded in the mid-twentieth century aesthetic and mindset, that I never thought they would set it anywhere except the forties, assuming they didn't set it in the present.  This decision does a few things though...  it distances the look from campy visual aesthetics and anything "Old Hollywood".  As much as I love the forties, that glamor, that packaging and that era has become a lot more associated with camp, and for a film that wants to have the appropriate amount of humor and relatively camp free, I understand it.

  It also sets it apart from Captain America and its "aw shucks" mentality, which worked beautifully in that film, but anything similar at this point from a competing franchise's character could be seen as retreading through subject matter that has already been done exceedingly well.

Finally, and possibly most significantly, this time period coincides with the women's suffrage movement, the heroine's of which were major inspirations for the character.  The realization of a major achievement for women's equality could be a wonderful context to really show Wonder Woman in all her glory.

I have to say, this could be a really fun and empowering film, and Gadot certainly seems strong enough, extremely charismatic (in a super serious way, taking care of business way).

Morning At the Museum

Last week, thanks to a friend of mine, I was able to spend a little time at The American Museum of Natural History before it opened, and of course I headed straight for the prehistoric exhibits.  

It's an odd and giddy experience, to be in the presence of what can begin to feel like living creatures, and to have them all to one's self.  Not to have to fight the crowds.

I took a few photos, and while I can't convey exactly what it felt like, hopefully this will give you a glimpse of it.