I went to see the new Wes Anderson movie, Moonrise Kingdom, last week and heartily recommend it to everyone – even those who don’t happen to be rabid Wes Anderson fan girls like myself! Between my portraits of Margot and Richie from the Royal Tenenbaums to my latest addition, Bill Murray as Captain Steve Zissou, it’s pretty clear I’m smitten with my secret boyfriend and may not have the most objective opinion. However, with his latest film, I think the pacing and story sets it up to be appreciated by a wider audience.

I won’t go into too much detail – just go see it! There is an incredibly sweet love story that captures so perfectly the sentimentality of childhood and summer. There is action! And delicious pacing! Wes Anderson movies are always so beautifully stylized that I can often fall in love with the cinematography and aesthetics, which, I realize, may not inspire quite the same heart-fluttering reaction in folks who don’t view the world as a million paintings yet to be painted. So yes, Moonrise Kingdom is enchanting to look at. I could spend the rest of my summer painting scenes from the movie. But that doesn’t mean that your boyfriend will find it boring. I swear!

If you have a summer date night planned, I can’t think of a better pick. And then afterwards, perhaps play a little Wes Anderson Bingo over at Slate.com:

BINGO!

A couple of my favorite antique store finds of recent weeks include this wind-up tin toy made in Japan:

Apparently this dapper little dog was made in the 60s and still works perfectly. His awkward hopping action had me squealing with delight and he was immediately tucked under my arm lest anyone else spot him.

Now the question is…what the heck is in his mouth? At first I thought it was a fish, but the white paint really does not in any way depict scales or fish bones. It most closely resembles a blue carrot. I’ve owned dogs my entire life and carrots are not one of the things in danger of being gobbled up when accidentally dropped on the kitchen floor. Perhaps Japanese dogs are more health conscious? Though why it would be blue is still a mystery.

Also scored on the same antiquing trip, an antique photo album complete with amazing black and white photographs:

I will often buy random antique photographs, especially ones of children that no matter how handsome, inevitably end up looking a little creepy.

Between finding inspiration for new painting subjects and the lovely detailed typeface on the reverse side of the cards, they’re irresistible to me. So an entire album? *swoon*

I love flipping through the pages and coming up with stories about who these people are. There are several who I’m sure will turn up in some of my new paintings, as soon as I figure out exactly who they were.

There’s a video of Whitehorse playing a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” on YouTube that is well worth listening to (if you can disregard the awful camera phone video quality!):

And if you’re interested in hearing some of their original music, here’s another video on a Canadian morning show where you can see how they record, then loop different sounds via effect pedal.

They have such incredible energy between them on stage that it’s riveting to watch. They remind me of a modern day Johnny Cash and June Carter, with less pills and booze.

Not surprisingly, when I get interested in something new I can obsess over it for days or weeks at a time, endlessly researching until I eventually get distracted by a new topic (SQUIRREL!). My current obsession: the TV show Breaking Bad.

I’m a little late to the party since I don’t have cable, but as soon as the show was added to Netflix (Canadian version), I watched the pilot and was instantly hooked. I think I went through all 4 seasons in the span of 2 or 3 weeks. *love*

I love so many things about this show. The characters are so well written – complicated, a mix of good and bad, just like real people are. There are no clear good guys. There are a whole bunch of bad (and badder) guys, but no obvious path to take, no “right” answer. Most of all, I love the way the writers allow the story to unfold without that overbearing narrative style so prevalent in entertainment today. It’s up to the audience to figure out what the main characters are thinking and feeling. I hate it when viewers are beaten over the head with explanations of here’s what’s going to happen, here’s what’s happening now, here’s what just happened. Give the audience some credit, Hollywood!

awesome Jesse Pinkman paper doll by illustrator Kyle Hilton (more Breaking Bad paper dolls on his site)

Adding to the obsession – there’s also a companion podcast to go along with each episode of Breaking Bad. I haven’t gotten through all of them yet, but there are some fascinating tidbits about how the show is made, the writers room and all of the behind the scenes stuff that go into producing a TV show. The fact that each episode is shot in only 8 days is astounding, particularly with some of the crazy explosions and shoot outs. One episode often feels like a movie, which would have been allowed months and months of filming.

Art lovers may have enjoyed the episode where Jesse and Jane go to the Georgia O’Keeffe museum (technically it was in a flashback, but still a really sweet moment). While watching, I assumed the show got permission to shoot at the actual museum and briefly wondered how many hoops that was to jump through. In the podcast, the producers reveal just how much effort went into that 2 minute scene.

First, they contacted the Georgia O’Keeffe people to request the rights to show one of her paintings on camera. Shooting at the museum with one of her original paintings was never even considered. Instead, they were granted the rights to one painting (“My Last Door”), and the art department of Breaking Bad set out to reproduce it. Once they were finished, the painting was sent to the Georgia O’Keeffe people for approval. The painting was approved, the set built and the scene shot with very wide aperture so any paintings in the background were blurry & indistinguishable. Once the crew was finished, the painting had to be sent back to the O’Keeffe people to be destroyed.

Wow, right? It’s amazing how much effort by so very many people goes into creating a show! I’ve never wanted to be an actress, but I think being involved in production, set design or special effects would be really fun jobs. In another life, maybe!

And just for Jesse, one of Georgia O’Keeffe’s “vagina paintings” (though it should be noted that Georgia flatly denied any intentional resemblance to lady parts):

“White and Blue Flower Shapes”

Though she’s certainly most famous for her flower paintings, I’m personally more drawn to her desert bones and skulls period. There’s an interesting video on YouTube of Georgia talking about her trips to the desert:

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an avid podcast listener. Walking to the post office, working on a new painting, snuggling under the covers – a podcast is often my background sound of choice. This American Life has been one of my all time favorites, despite being Canadian, so I thought a holiday round-up of festive episodes may be in order. Most episodes stream beautifully for free right on your computer or you can download them for 99 cents. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass of nog & have a listen:

• episode 422: Comedians of Christmas Comedy Special
• episode 371: Scenes From a Mall
• episode 305: Holiday Spectacular
• episode 255: TAL’s Holiday Gift-Giving Guide
• episode 202: Faith (not a Christmas episode, but interesting)
• episode 148: The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Suit
• episode 87: A Very Special Sedaris Christmas
• episode 47: Christmas and Commerce (***If you only listen to one, the David Sedaris tale of working as an elf at Macy’s is a very good bet.)
• episode 6: Christmas

On a much happier note than my last post (thank you for all of the kind words via Twitter, email & Facebook), I watched the sweetest documentary this weekend about two average folks who collected one of the world’s most incredible & comprehensive collections of minimalist contemporary art. Herb and Dorothy documents the story of the Vogels, a postal worker and librarian from New York City who, over several decades, managed to buy over 4000 works of art (all stored in their one bedroom NYC apartment, no less).

The story itself is inspiring, especially since the world of art collectors is usually reserved for the ridiculously wealthy, but even more joyful is what they ultimately decided to do with their collection. They could have easily sold a few pieces here & there for a small fortune & would never have had to work again. Their collection is worth millions today & includes works by Charles Clough, Sol Lewitt, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Tuttle & John Cage. But the Vogels never sold a single piece.

Sol LeWitt

With an apartment filled to the brim, they finally decided to let their “babies” leave the nest & donated the entire collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Part of why they decided to donate the collection to this particular institution is because the gallery’s charter states that no work will ever be sold, unlike other galleries who sometimes choose to liquidate pieces in order to raise operating funds.

Christo

Ultimately the Vogels’ collection proved too big even for a national gallery and a new program was created – 50 x 50. By the end of 2009, fifty artworks were gifted to each of the fifty states. That’s right – 2500 pieces of art. Amazing!

If you want to see the documentary AND pinch your pennies, check your local library. I put in a hold request for it & the Vancouver library system sent me an email when it was ready to be picked up. Easy peasey!

Zoe and her Skunk
11″ x 14″, acrylic on canvas
available in the shop

My new painting, Zoe and her Skunk, is now up for sale in my Etsy shop. I’ve been nabbing frames of various sizes when I see them on sale lately, so it was nice to be able to photograph it looking…finished. I don’t mind hanging canvas paintings without frames, as long as the edges are painted, but sometimes a frame helps a piece look a little more important, gives it a little more oomph. This is particularly true with the size of canvases I like to paint on. They can feel lost on a big blank wall without a frame to anchor them.

In other totally random, train of thought blogging, an audiobook recommendation – Stephen King’s Under the Dome. I’ve been listening to it over the past few weeks while I paint and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s definitely not an easy listen or read – there are some seriously disturbing scenes of violence against women – but it wouldn’t be considered “horror”. Think more Lord of the Flies for grown-ups. If you read (or listen to) the first chapter, you’ll be hooked until the very end, if for no other reason than to find out how the dome got there in the first place.

Now what should I listen to next?

One of the things I like doing best when people are here to visit is going to movies. I know…kind of defeats the purpose of visiting when you can’t talk, but with my ADD-adled brain, I just don’t do well when there’s a bunch of different conversations going on at one time. One on one? Fine! Bigger groups are fine too if the conversations are one person at a time, one speaker addressing the group. It’s those dinner party situations where someone sitting across from me is trying to talk while the person beside me is talking to someone else at the end of the table that throw my brain for a loop. I catch a bit of the other table conversations & my mind (& usually my eyes too) jump over there. My mister says I’m like a dog; focus, focus, focus – squirrel! Focus, focus, focus – bouncy ball!

And with that, here are my latest movie recommendations:

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Recommended. Loved it! As soon as the folding stage came on screen, I was hooked. It’s like a paper doll theatre, but life size! The layers of trees, the way it all folds up and DRIVES AWAY, the little compartments that still exist when it is all folded up for sleeping or chatting or playing with costumes and make-up…*swoon*. My eyes were big as saucers watching it unfold and after whispering, “I want that” to my mister, I spent the rest of the movie trying to figure out how we could build it. Or where we would put it. Awesomeness.

FYI: the rest of the movie is good too. The way they finished Heath Ledger’s scenes with other actors works beautifully and Lily Cole is an absolute doll.

Sherlock Holmes

Recommended. I was never a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. I’m sure I’ve read at least one of the books, but not for a good 15 years. Still, a good story is a good story and the characters are fabulous fun. Robert Downey Jr has such an expressive face, he can crack me up with one eyebrow. The little nods to the future were interesting too.

It’s Complicated

Not Recommended. Admittedly, I didn’t have huge hopes for this one and 80% of the movie was perfectly fine, fulfilling its romantic comedy duties nicely. I adore Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock and the trailers looked like he was going to be the same smarmy character in this flick. Sold! There were lots of funny, sweet moments, but the ending just didn’t make sense to anyone I saw it with. If you haven’t seen it yet (& want to), you should probably stop reading here – spoilers ahead!

It’s not that I would’ve ended it differently, but the reasons she gave for not getting back with her ex did not seem to match up at all with the movie I’d just watched. Them sitting on the bench agreeing that it had never felt “right”? Huh? When was that, exactly???

She could’ve said she didn’t want to risk trying again and then disappointing the children all over again. She could’ve said that she was so hurt from him standing her up that she realized she would never be able to forgive years of problems and truly start over with a clean slate. If they had fleshed out the Steve Martin character more she could say that though she still cared for her ex, she didn’t think she could ever be in love with him again. But after one date? Really?

Movies like this really irk me because it feels like the writer or the director just ran out of time and needed to end it, so they slap in an ending regardless of the fact that it doesn’t fit with everything they’ve spent the last hour and a half telling us about the characters. Fracture is another one (totally different genre) that springs to mind. The genius mastermind is tripped up in the end by a really basic legal loophole that even I, a lowly painter, has heard of? Not buying it.

Have you seen any movies lately that you’d recommend? And don’t say Avatar.

]]> http://www.acageybee.com/cagey-reviews/797/feed 0 http://www.acageybee.com/things-i-love-friday/648 http://www.acageybee.com/things-i-love-friday/648#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:21:42 +0000 admin http://www.acageybee.com/?p=648 …Click to read more]]> OK so T.I.L.F. doesn’t have quite the same ring to it that T.I.L.T. does (Things I Love Thursday), but yesterday danced out of my clutches before I had the chance to compile my list of things I’m loving right now. So pffft! Time management is clearly not on my list.

#1) Gala Darling

www.GalaDarling.com

I’m not sure if she’s the originator of TILT, but her site is the first place I saw it & one of my regular reads when I need a pick me up. She’s glitter & sprinkles & love. She always has interesting links to amazing photography, great fashion & just generally rad stuff. It’s funny…my inner hermit is too anti-people looking at me to ever be like Gala myself, but I wish I she could be my big sister. Then I’d sneak into her room whenever she went out to try on her clothes & play with her make up. hehe

#2) Puppy Snuggling

It’s been rainy & cold all week, so puppy snuggling? High on the list. I’m switching to flannel sheets today too so that may bump it up to number one.

#3) Joel McHale

Ah, my secret boyfriend. I loathe reality television & all of those fake reality soap operas (The Hills, Laguna Beach etc.), but they do make excellent fodder for The Soup, one of the top crowd pleasing shows in our household. The Soup basically rounds up all the weird, stupid things that are said & done on television, compiles a show of clips & then makes fun of them.  Low brow? Totally. But Joel McHale’s snarky commentary wins me over every time so I was extra excited when I heard he was in the new show Community – also starring Chevy Chase, the British guy from the Daily Show & a bunch of other people that you’ll recognize from somewhere, you’re just not sure where.

Anyway, it’s awesome. Watch it.

#4) Bored to Death

Also in the TV department (did I mention it’s cold & raining outside?), I’m loving the new HBO show Bored to Death with Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson & Zach Galifianakis (from the movie “The Hangover”). It’s quirky & cute & has all the appeal of one of Jason Schwartzman’s movies, but in a weekly format. So. Good.

#5) Cute Rubber Boots

Origami Me by Plueys

I’ve had my yellow plaid pair for 2 years now & they’ve served me well. No leaks, still comfy (though they could use a springy insole) & I’m not totally sick of them. But bright pink with origami cranes on them? *swoon*

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