Showing posts with label Coraline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coraline. Show all posts

Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween Flicks





There are so many movie options to match Halloween. From horror to gothic, to slasher, to humorous, this entry could last a while. Young Frankenstein, Rocky Horror, The Exorcist, all very viable options for Halloween viewing. As for me, I'm more 'Halloween-lite'. My picks this year? Nothing says Halloween like some good B-movies. Tonight is a double feature of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, followed by one from the Godzilla boxed set we have. Tomorrow we're going for some animation. There's the recent pic, Coraline, from the makers of Nightmare Before Christmas, about a spooky parallel universe. Another option is Spirited Away, an incredibly imaginative piece by the Japanese god of Animation, Hayao Miyazaki. I've seen it twenty times and I'm always blown away by its imaginative details. Don't ask me what it means; just know that it makes the incredible, credible. Finally, there's the ever-classic tale of faith-- The Great Pumpkin. In all seriousness, it is Waiting for Godot for children. How long do you wait for the Great Pumpkin? What alternatives do you have? Schultz was a devout man who infused the depth of his thought with childish irreverence. Of course there was a golden period with him-- they have an entire collection starting with the fifties, which are amazingly good all the way into the seventies.
I notice all of these pieces take place with the nighttime being a time of mystery, of depth, of transformation. My first novella, Searching for Moongirl is set at night. Most of my paintings, heck all of my paintings, are set at night. Surrealism, dreams, psychology, all realms of the night.
So on the night before All Hallow's Eve, a cozy night of movies and star-lit skies end the week in the most lovely way. I hope your night is wonderful, too.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Coraline? Divine!: A Review


If you want a cinematic experience which takes your breath away, no matter your age, you HAVE got to see the animated film Coraline in 3D. I loved the Neil Gaiman book itself-- wickedly, fascinatingly, and fiercely imaginative. The film captures these qualities in ways that are mesmerizing. Go out of your way to see it in 3D. It's Ed Gorey on acid.
The plot is also quite interesting. A girl moves from Michigan to Oregon with her distracted and unsupportive parents. Their new apartment is in a worn down, rambling Victorian, turret and all, which has been divided into three apartments. Bored with her new surroundings, Coraline explores the place, discovering a parallel universe behind a small door with a skeleton key. I don't know about all of you, but I love the idea of a house with a secret door to parallel universe. Heck, I'll even take a door to a secret hiding spot. And the skeleton key-- when we bought the house in Islip, the front door key was a skeleton key-- which we promptly overrode with a dead bolt, though skeleton keys catch my imagination in a Gothic, Edwardian kind of way.
So go out and get yourself a ticket, and don't feel you need to tag along with a kid to enjoy this fast-paced visual experience.