2023-09-07

September 2023 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

I am Sleeping in Jon Hamm’s Bed

I am sleeping in Jon Hamm’s bed. Not the one in his Italianate villa overlooking Lake Como, of course, but the one that he used while filming a TV series in Calgary last year. I can’t tell you the name of the series because I’m sworn to secrecy, but the pig-Latin pronunciation is Argo-fay.

How I came to be sleeping in Jon Hamm’s bed is really banal. Our friends were flying to BC and needed someone to baby-sit their tomato plants for the weekend. As they were leaving, they said, “Oh, by the way, we rented our home to Jon Hamm last winter.”

“Not the handsome but morally-compromised ad executive who starred in Mad Men?”

“That’s the one.”

I fluff the bedsheet. It’s one of those micro-fabrics that feel like it’s made of baby seal. I imagine Jon and his girlfriend having breakfast in bed, eating French toast with real Canadian maple syrup, when suddenly Jon reaches beneath his pillow and pulls out a jewelry box with a ring and asks her to marry him! I lean over and peek under the bed for the discarded box; a dust bunny stares forlornly back. Still, I can imagine his Fiancée taking Jon in her arms and giving him a big kiss then spilling the maple syrup as she jumps his bones.

I don’t know why I can’t tell you the name of the TV series. It’s not like nobody knew he was here. When the cleaning ladies showed up at the door, he said; “Hi! I’m Jon Hamm.” They all took selfies and shared them with half of Manila. When I walked in to a local take-out shop to buy lunch the other day, there was a signed-photo of him behind the till with a big sign advertising the day’s special, Hamm Sandwich. Like, subtle.

I am drying my clothes in the dryer. There must be six months-worth of lint in the catcher. It is kind of dusty but I keep it because it just might have some remnant of Jon’s socks tucked in there. I’m thinking of making a beret if I can figure out how to keep from sneezing.

I discover a half-empty jar of Jiff sitting in the rear of the pantry. I envision Jon having a bachelor dinner in the living room by sticking a knife in and licking the peanut butter off. Doesn’t taste too bad, though.

There is a copy of Jon’s script on the book shelf. I know it’s his because someone has helpfully written Jon Hamm’s script on the spine. Jon plays Sheriff Ray Tillman, a rancher with some anger management issues. It contains only the first five episodes, so don’t bother asking me how it ends, although I highly recommend you get a subscription to FX or Hulu and watch it when it drops November 21, 2023.

A big shout-out to Laurie and her book club in Calgary! Their featured book this month is The Hotel Seamstress, and they graciously invited me for a Q&A session. The book is available on Kindle Unlimited, and you can also pick up a copy of the eBook or paperback on Amazon.

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Movie Review

Barbie

Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling

“You want to go see Barbie? Are you nuts?”

Yes, yes, I know I’m supposed to check out Oppenheimer, but, man, can’t a guy just chill, for once?

And, guess what? Barbie isn’t just for kids, not by a long shot. From the very first scene, an homage to 2001; A Space Odyssey, where the black obelisk is replaced by a blonde in a bathing suit who incites children to destroy their old dolls in apelike brutality, you know this ain’t no Disney flick.

Instead, Greta Gerwig has constructed a highly entertaining movie that explores the dichotomy between male and female-dominated societies.

The story opens in Barbie Land, which is populated by all the versions of Barbie ever created by Mattel, including Astronaut Barbie, Doctor Barbie and Disco Barbie. All of the Supreme Court is occupied by Barbies, as is the Pink House.

All of the Kens, on the other hand, are subservient to Barbie. They hang out at the beach and wait to be noticed.

All is perfect, until Stereotypical Barbie (played by Robbie), suddenly begins to get bad vibes from one of her owners in the Real World. Her feet go flat and she begins to have nightmares about mortality. Weird Barbie (delightfully played by Kate McKinnon), advises her to go to the Real World and set things straight before she gets cellulite.

Barbie and Ken trek to LA, where they promptly get into a series of fish-out-of-water scrapes with the law. Barbie realizes that reality sucks, but Ken discovers patriarchy, where men rule the world. He takes his findings back.

When Barbie finally returns to Barbie Land, she finds that everything has been turned upside down, with all the other Barbies fawning over muscle-bound dudes. Appalled, she seeks out the help of Weird Barbie, who comes up with a solution; “By giving voice to the cognitive dissonance of living under patriarchy, you rob it of its power.”

In other words, show that the Emperor has no clothes.

Now, if you’re wondering how this goes over with an audience of six-year olds wearing tutus, worry not; there’s more than enough dog-poop jokes and dance numbers to keep them screaming in the aisles.

Barbie: it’s nuts, it’s funny and it’s in your face. I highly recommend you go see it while it’s still in theaters and enjoy one of the most original movies made in a long, long time.

Book Review

Cinema Speculation

By Quentin Tarantino

I became a big fan of Quentin Tarantino when I first saw Pulp Fiction. It was violent, scary and in-your-face in a way that I had never seen before. I was so riveted that I could remember, scene-by-scene, exactly what had happened. But one of the biggest questions in my mind was; “Who could create this film?”

Cinema Speculation is a first-hand account of how director Quentin Tarantino’s childhood was shaped by cinema. At the age of six, his single mother would take him with her when she went on dates to double-feature movies. Starting at the age of six, he was exposed to graphically-violent movies such as The Wild Bunch, MASH and Bonnie and Clyde.

And he loved every gory, blood-splattered moment of it.

The memoir is broken down into two dozen essays, each focusing on either a classic action movie such as The Getaway, or on a director or actor who he cherishes for their contributions to film.

As a respected auteur in his own right, Tarantino has gone back to the titans of the industry and interviewed them to determine how each film came together, right from how the script was molded to the choice of actors and the artistic decisions that ultimately made an otherwise pedestrian movie into a masterpiece.

One quibble; the author doesn’t explore the entrails of any of his own films. I can only hope that that’s the subject of his next book. In the meantime, I highly recommend Cinema Speculation to all cinephiles!

2023-08-03

August 2023 Newsletter

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Life in London

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”

Samuel Johnson said that over two hundred years ago, but it still holds true today. Whatever turns your crank, you’ll find it within the shadow of Big Ben.

We spent a week at the end of July in a lovely AirBnB flat located in Earl’s Court. We were in walking distance of Kensington Palace and a thousand curry take-outs. A short ride on the Tube took us everywhere else in town.

Our favorite pastime is always the West End, where you can see some of the best musicals on earth. We went to see two shows, Guys and Dolls and Cabaret; a head-to-head comparison follows below.

We also love to travel around town on the double-decker buses, the fare of which is included when you purchase a week-long Oyster Card. They are far less crowded than the Tube, and you get to see all the attractions, like Buckingham Palace, as you roll by.

If I have one gripe, it’s that the folks in London don’t know how to walk on the sidewalk. They stagger along, heads bent over cell phones, totally oblivious of everyone else. Fortunately our flat had a big umbrella with a pointy end that I could use to goose them into oncoming lorries.

Alas, our time in Europe passed too quickly. We’re back in Calgary for the next little while, so I have to remind myself not to drive like a Mexican or I’ll end up in jail.

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Head-to-Head Theatre Review; Guys and Dolls vs Cabaret

We had the pleasure of seeing two musicals in London this summer; Guys and Dolls and Cabaret. Both have many similarities – they are set in the 1930s, feature hit songs, innovative immersive sets, and the best singers and dancers that the West End can offer.

Cabaret first appeared on Broadway in 1966. It starred Jill Haworth as Sally, a role that was reprised by Liza Minnelli in the 1972 movie.

The show is set in 1930s Berlin, at the end of the jazz age and the rise of Hitler and fascism. American writer Clifford is involved with Sally, a singer at the seedy Kit Kat Club. The debauched world of the Weimar Republic swirls around them as they stagger toward the nightmare that awaits.

The stage is set up in the center of the theater, and audience members sit at tables surrounding the performing area. Waitresses bring Champagne and snacks before the performance. Once the show starts, the cast sings and dances through a dozen songs, including the hit Cabaret.

Guys and Dolls is based on a series of short stories that Damon Runyon wrote about hard-scrabble con artists and gals down on their luck in New York. The stage is also set in the center of the main level, with audience members milling about as risers lift the actors up. The cast of 24 also performs a dozen songs, including the Sinatra standard, Luck be a Lady Tonight.

So, how did the compare?

Keep in mind that we saw matinees, so several of the main characters were played by understudies. That said, the cast of Guys and Dolls had a significant edge when it came to belting out the tunes, soaring above the competition with heart-felt gusto.

I also preferred the story line of Guys and Dolls, which had a more light-hearted theme of pursuing the American dream. Mind you, the sub-plot of Cabaret was focused on the rise of fascism, so one could hardly expect a laugh-riot. The director gamely explored the dark humor of the situation, but the comedic timing was off.

Out of five stars, I give Guys and Dolls a four, and Cabaret a three.

Movie Review

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Back in 1984, I went with my sister Marlene to see the first Indiana Jones movie, and was utterly entranced by this big-screen, throw-back to the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Over the ensuing 40 years, I have faithfully viewed each sequel in a theatre as they came out.

Linda and I went to see Dial of Destiny at a cinema in Paris. I hate it when they dub in the voices, but fortunately it was shown in VO (Version original), so that wasn’t a distraction. True to form, the movie opened with an extended scene in which ruthless bad guys (Nazis!), try to off Indie during a New York parade honoring the crew of Apollo 11.

The premise of the story is that the no-goodniks want to get ahold of the Antikythera mechanism, a time-traveling device built by Archimedes 2000 years ago so that they can use it for nefarious stuff.

Indie sets off to thwart them, aided by his god-daughter Helena. As usual, there are pits full of snakes, chases on horseback, fights on trains and a dangle or two out of a plane. Needless to say, the scoundrels get their comeuppance in the end. My recommendation; go see Dial of Destiny while it’s still playing in the theatres; you won’t be disappointed!

Book Review

The Beach at Summerly

By Beatriz Williams

Beatriz Williams has long been feted as a master of the summer read. Most of her books feature a strong female lead, usually a young, feisty woman making her own way in the turbulent world of the first half of the 20th century.

The Beach at Summerly is set on Winthrop Island, just off the coast of Long Island. Secluded for most of the year, it comes to life in the summer when rich New Yorkers occupy their palatial summer homes.

Emilia is a native Islander, her family having arrived some three centuries ago to settle the rocky isle. She lives with her father and mother in a cottage adjacent to the Summerly Mansion, owned by the Peabody clan. As a child in the 1930s, Emilia grew up with the Peabody children, whiling away the summers swimming, cycling and picnicking in the dunes.

But WWII interrupts their idyllic existence; the young men go off to fight the Nazis. Emilia’s older brother is killed, as is the eldest Peabody son. When the survivors finally return, Emilia finds comfort in the arms of Shep Peabody, a kind and gentle younger brother who has had a crush on Emilia since they were children.

Enter, stage left, Olive Rainsford, a relative of the Peabody’s who has just returned from Europe. A twice-widowed woman of elegance and mystery, she asks Emilia to help care for her three young children.

Suspicions arise when undercover agents arrive on the island and begin to surveil the locals. Is there a spy in their midst? Death soon stalks their cloistered existence.

The author enjoys using split narratives. In this case, the main tale is set in 1946, and the ensuing flash-forward in 1954. I personally enjoy split narratives, as they keep the reader on their toes. Williams wraps it all up in the end; I highly recommend The Beach at Summerly!

French Digital Tour 2013 - Couleur

June 2023 Newsletter (2)

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Life in France

Linda and I have been in Antibes for almost a month now, and we love it!

Even though Antibes is in France and Manzanillo in Mexico, it’s amazing how much the two towns have in common. The people are friendly and laid-back, the sun shines most of the year-round, and the streets are lined with palms. But there are also glaring differences – here are a few observations.

Crazy Scooter Drivers

Not a day goes by in Manzanillo where you don’t see a moto flying down the street with a five year old jammed between mom and pop and a tyke plopped on the gas tank, gleefully clinging to the handlebars.

European drivers may not have the household strapped in, but they sure love to race their Vespas along the sidewalk should the street be clogged by lethargic traffic. I think there’s also a law that says they have to hold their cellphone in one hand and a Vape in the other while driving.

Tacos

That’s right, Diego, the ubiquitous street food of Mexico has gone big-time in France. They don’t limit themselves to boring things like tongue or BBQ brains over here, either. Our little taco joint down the block offers cordon bleu, scallops, spicy Thai sauce and fried eggs.

Fresh Ingredients

France prides itself in bio; the label on every head of lettuce and bag of spuds boasts about being grown with organic poo and no pesticides. Our neighborhood butcher, Monsieur Bardot, has Polaroids of happy calves taped to his veal display. Mexico is also big on bio, but mainly because farmers can’t afford the hormones and antibiotics for their cattle, and chickens are perfectly happy to wander around the yard feasting on ants and scorpions. Either way, you eat great.

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TV Series Review

Inside Man

Streaming on Netflix

Stanly Tucci plays Jefferson Grieff, a prisoner on death row who refuses to plead clemency for murdering his wife. He does, however, use his acute sense of deduction to solve seemingly baffling cases. Grief’s sidekick is a serial killer named Dillon (played with hilarious gruesomeness by Atkins Estimond).

Grieff is contacted by a woman who’s friend Janice has disappeared from her home in a tiny English village. Janice is, in fact, being held prisoner in the vestry basement by the vicar, who is wrestling with a moral dilemma that threatens to ruin his family and career.

The clock is ticking, and Grieff and his posse have to find and rescue Janice before a sinister fate befalls her. The four-part series is a tremendous mash-up of everything from Midsomer Murders to Silence of the Lambs, all held together by the inspired performance of Tucci. I highly recommend Inside Man!