Marie writes: The countdown to Christmas officially begins the day after Halloween, which this year lands on a Wednesday. Come Thursday morning, the shelves will be bare of witches, goblins and ghosts; with snowmen, scented candles and dollar store angel figurines taking their place. That being the case, I thought it better to start celebrating early so we can milk the joy of Halloween for a whole week as opposed to biding adieu to the Great Pumpkin so soon after meeting up again...
Marie writes: every once in a while, you'll stumble upon something truly extraordinary. And when you don't, if you're lucky, you have pals like Siri Arnet who do - and share what they find; smile."Using knives, tweezers and surgical tools, Brian Dettmer carves one page at a time. Nothing inside the out-of-date encyclopedias, medical journals, illustration books, or dictionaries is relocated or implanted, only removed. Dettmer manipulates the pages and spines to form the shape of his sculptures. He also folds, bends, rolls, and stacks multiple books to create completely original sculptural forms.""My work is a collaboration with the existing material and its past creators and the completed pieces expose new relationships of the book's internal elements exactly where they have been since their original conception," he says. - mymodernmet
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Welcome to a special Halloween edition of the Newsletter! Marie writes: the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris is considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world, in addition to being the final resting place of many a famous name. From Édith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt and Chopin to Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Georges Méliès, the well-known sleep on the tree-lined avenues of the dead and which you can now explore in a virtual 360 degree tour...
ENTER Père-Lachaise
Q. Re "Pearl Harbor." The lines you quote from the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto are accurate. He was not sympathetic to the militarists like Tojo (he once pulled Tojo's chair out from under him!) and was opposed to war with the U.S. He had studied in California, liked America, and feared her industrial might. (Steve Thompson, Alexandria VA)
Q. Your review of "The Mummy Returns" was harsh on what is, was, and always will be a popcorn movie--a fun jaunt through Indiana Jones territory. It was meant to open the summer with a bang, and has achieved that. In a movie where they have resurrected an ancient mummy and there are magic powers abounding, does it really matter if Rick O'Connell can run 1,000 miles an hour, or that one of two armies can emerge unscathed from battle? So why take issue with "unbelievable" ideas and scenes? I review movies for a web site, and gave "The Mummy Returns" a mostly glowing review, as a popcorn movie. It won't go on my list next to "Fight Club," "The Usual Suspects" or "Run Lola Run," but it is still good fun. (J. Scott, Oakville ON)
CANNES, France -- Films are booed at Cannes for two reasons: Because they are bad, or because they are infuriating. Those in the second category are likely to be quite good, although they make you so mad, you have to step back and cool off to appreciate their qualities.
Q. You mentioned the time-slippage in "Cop Land," where the characters are betting against the five-time champion Bulls even though it was not yet the season after their fifth championship. Are all movies going "back to the future?" In "Conspiracy Theory," at the end we see a death certificate which says "10-2-97." Were the producers planning a release later in the year? (Casey Anderson, Schaumberg)
Q. We took our children, of grade school age, to see "Batman Returns" because of all the publicity from McDonald's. We assumed it was a children's movie and were shocked at some of the scenes. This movie is far too violent and depressing for children.
