Witty Wednesdays -

This week's comic is actually closely related to Monday's article. If you read it, you'll understand why. If you haven't, well... Why haven't you?

Sleep tight.

Witty Wednesdays - The Poseidon Adventure

In following with my theme from last week, I've decided to put up another retro comic - from some of my early attempts at fancy picture-editing software. These were done after the remake of "The Poseidon Adventure" came out in 2006. These are the worst places to be on Poseidon:

Note: If you were confused, the comics with portholes were done with this in mind

Movie Mondays - The Great Gatsby

Many of you have probably seen the trailer for Baz Luhrmann's upcoming interpretation of what is probably one of the single most famous novels ever written: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby:

Since Lurhmann announced the project in 2008, Gatsby has been the center of much controversy and debate by movie-goers and Fitzgerald fans alike. The casting process was quite drawn out, even Luhrmann himself considered dropping out of the project at one point, but instead we found ourselves with:

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby
• Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan
• Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway

However, it isn't the stellar cast that is causing a ruckus, it's Luhrmann's portfolio. Many people worry that the subtlety of Fitzgerald's novel will become a grotesque comedy of manners. Luhrmann himself has been quoted as saying that he intended to use this vehicle as a timely social commentary on the ever-increasing gap between the upper and lower classes, as well as the behaviors of the wealthy. Others criticize Luhrmann's departure from accuracy in his portrayal of the 1920s in costume, setting, and especially music. They worry that his splashy directorial style will take away these extremely important elements to the plot.

The first trailer for the film came out on May 22nd, 2012. It did little to quell fears. In fact, it has given new fire to the debates, for all of the aforementioned reasons:

I will say I'll be pretty disappointed if Luhrmann doesn't end up using at least some period music. After all it is a huge element of the period. The setting and costumes, while highly stylized, seem to work for me. I also definitely get the sense that the intimacy and the intensity of the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby is well executed. I'm ambivalent. I don't feel comfortable making a call until I see the whole movie. I guess I'm hoping mostly for a Daisy Buchanan that I don't find completely and unbearably obnoxious.

I'm looking at you, Mia Farrow.

What do you think of the movie? Will it be a smash or a stinker?

The Young Victoria - Nostalgic Film Review

I don't consider this review to contain "spoilers" because the historical people and events this film is based on are common knowledge. If you do not wish to know what happens in the movie, you can skip the synopsis.

I have only recently discovered the wonders of Netflix, and I've created a sizable dent in their classic film collection since I joined a few nights ago. The first film I watched was "The Young Victoria".

Emily Blunt plays Alexandrina Victoria

Unlike the young, inexperienced queen seen in this film, most probably remember HRM Victoria as the dowdy and somewhat cross-looking widow Queen of England, whom you learned about in history class:

HRM Queen Victoria on her Golden Jubilee

The story begins with an overview of Victoria's youth, oppressed by her position as the only living heir to the throne. Her day-to-day life is completely controlled by a set of strict rules - called the "Kensington System" - designed to keep her safe but ultimately extreme in nature. The young heiress presumptive was not even allowed to go up or down stairs without holding the hand of a servant or companion.

Victoria exchanges sideways glances with Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong), who helped her mother, The Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson, in green) develop the Kensington System. He was also allegedly her lover.

Victoria's 18th birthday arrives and a Regency is avoided, just in time for the death of King William IV a few short months later. Just like that, the young woman found herself queen. In the midst of political intrigue involving questionable advice from Lord Melbourne (then Prime Minister of Parliament), and her family vying for political favor, she is introduced to Prince Albert of Germany. The connection was almost instant, and historically genuine, which makes this film all the more compelling.

Blunt and Friend as the infectiously charming Royal Couple.

Both Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada", "Sunshine Cleaning") and Rupert Friend (The hunky military officer from "Pride and Prejudice") did an excellent job portraying the Royal couple. The entire cast played out the time period very well, avoiding the somewhat contrived period settings in some movies. Screenwriter Julian Fellows is known for creating authentic but natural period dialog - he also wrote the screenplays for "Gosford Park" and "Vanity Fair". My only complaint regarding the authenticity of the film has to do with the scene in which Victoria goes to inspect the "newly-built" Buckingham Palace. Well, the palace looked pretty much as it does today. I would have liked to see some digital magic to make the stone walls look new.

Blunt wears a fabulous suit in this scene. I also love the top hat!

Needless to say, the costumes were phenomenal. Sandy Powell ("The Other Boleyn Girl", "The Aviator", "Shakespeare in Love") won a BAFTA award for her designs - I've found rare concept art for the costumes in the film. Finding these is always one of my favorite things. I've shared some of them below.

All credit for this work goes to Sandy Powell and/or her illustrators. These images are not my work and are used here for educational purposes and not for profit.

The character of Queen Victoria is an easy subject to lend interest to, since she has so much draw already. Aside from her role as Queen, Victoria singlehandedly shaped the fashions of the later 19th century. When she married Albert in 1840, she wore a white gown. This seems quite normal to us, but at this time the white wedding gown was not the norm. Women wore a variety of colors to their weddings. Victoria's choice of color, though, suddenly became the most popular choice for the nobility and now is the traditional wedding color.

Victoria and Albert's wedding, painted by Sir George Hayter

She and the Prince Regent worked to draw attention to the working and living conditions of the lower classes, and the more "sober" fashions of the 1840s onward reflect this move from romantic idealism to realism. Hemlines dropped back to the floor and long sleeves and high collars became commonplace. Furthermore, when Albert died in 1861, she entered a state of mourning that she would keep until her death. Her black, modest wardrobe influenced Victorian English fashions and lifestyles. If you think the English are sober now, imagine what they were like under a widowed queen.

Victoria with three of her grand-daughters. I can't imagine spending time with her as a child would have been much fun...

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of the costume drama genre. It is also a greatly romantic film, but without the excess of mush that some of these period films have. The story and dialog are light and genuine, despite the often tense political and relational conflicts going on on-screen. A+!

From left to right: Paul Bettany as Lord Melbourne, Richardson, Blunt, Friend, and Jim Broadbent as King William IV

God save the Emily Blunt!
Nostalgically Yours

Talk Like Jane Austen Day!

I'm sure many of you Readers have heard about the dual rallies being held on the 30th of October by both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. If you haven't, you can click on their respective names to learn more about their shows or on the links under the posters to learn about their individual rallies.

Stephen Colbert's Rally

Jon Stewart's Rally

I'm sure you're wondering exactly how this relates to Nostalgia and to my blog - well, I'll tell you. The thirtieth of October also happens to be "Talk Like Jane Austen Day"! Just like other novelty days, "TLJAD" asks participants to step back in time and invoke the language of her novels. Austen only published four novels during her lifetime: Sense and Sensibility (which was published on October 30th - thus the date of the event), Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma. Her other novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously.

Our tragic heroine, Jane Austen (1775-1817)

In any case, "TLJAD" be a great opportunity to host that Jane Austen party you've always wanted to throw! You can have period-appropriate party games and dancing, or have a Jane Austen film marathon. Some might even opt to dress with a Regency flair on that day - for which I refer you to my previous post on my Regency Portrait for some more information on Regency garb.
The "TLJAD" official website has some helpful hints on speaking the way she would have 200 years ago. It features definitions such as "Nice: fussy, over particular, affected" and reminds us how they would have spoken "Numbers: Not 'twenty-four', but 'four-and-twenty'". They say the list will grow as the day approaches and also offer the resource of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language. Published in 1822, it gives an approximate idea of how Jane Austen would have spoken.

On a similar note, there's a new episode of "Sex and the Austen Girl" out this week. I've included it below. If you'd like to read my previous post and review on the subject, click here.






[Insert Austenian Remark Here]
Nostalgically Yours

Let's Go to the Movies!

Yes, I know. The sound is out of sync. There aren't any other versions of this on Youtube...

This evening at dinner, my grandmother told the story of her first visit to an American movie theater.

Edward Hopper - "New York Movie" 1939

She first left her native Colombia for the United States in the fall of 1950 to attend Mississippi Southern College. She still has all the correspondence she wrote in those early days. Much of the content of her letters pertained to the vast differences between her country and ours - for instance, how the black people were forced to sit in the back of the bus. She found this out the hard way when she took a seat in the rear of a city bus. The driver actually stopped the bus, went up to my grandmother and forced her to switch to a seat closer to the front. Needless to say, my grandmother was embarrassed and confused.

Poster for the movie that made Clara Bow

Many other things about the United States seemed very foreign to her, and the American movie theater experience was no exception. On a double date with her good friend from Colombia, the (American) men were very attentive. After buying their tickets and finding seats, they asked my grandmother and her friend if they'd like some popcorn. My grandmother's English was still rusty, so she asked for clarification. Her date explained that it was fried corn kernels covered with salt and butter. She and her friend exchanged looks - not because she didn't recognize the food; quite the opposite.

Damn. Good. Movie.

My grandmother had grown up eating popcorn as a side dish much like rice, so it was odd to think one would eat popcorn at the movies. The only movie theater treat my grandmother knew were candied almonds and other sweets. The movies weren't really a place to eat. In fact, eating at the movies would spoil one's appetite for tea after the movie in one of many local cafés. You can only imagine what she thinks of the nachos and hot dogs available today.

Not a movie poster, but you gotta love Barbi

I adore hearing these stories from my grandmother and from anyone who can share little gems of life in different times. I hope to share more and more of these with you as I blog my way through the ages.


Finis
Nostalgically Yours

"Avatar" Review (No Spoilers)

I'd like to start out by saying that this movie has honestly changed my life. It's touched me on such a deeply personal level... It was incredible.

Second, I highly recommend you see this movie in 3-D. Even if you've seen it flat already, go back and see it in 3-D - you will not regret it. Unlike most 3-D films, it doesn't abuse the medium (there aren't any of those gimmicks where they throw stuff at the camera, etc.), and James Cameron's fictional world seems all the more real in three dimensions.

So, the movie is set in a dystopic 2154, and though we don't actually see the earth in the film, we get the idea we've pretty much ruined everything. Anyway, we are exploiting a planet called Pandora for a coveted mineral, "UnObtainium" (stupid name, I know. Get over it). Ex-marine Jake Sully is sent to Pandora to take his dead twin brother's place in the "Avatar" program. Humans use complex machinery to inhabit test-tube replicas of the Pandora natives, the Na'vi, in order to study the local tribe and head diplomacy to move them from their Home Tree, which happens to be located over the largest existing source of unobtainium.

Some of you may notice similarities to the story of "Pocahontas". This is "Pocahontas" on steroids, and though the spiritual and ecological sentiments are a major part of the film, there is no lack of danger and adrenaline to keep the audience going - no singing birdies in this film.

The ecosystem James Cameron creates in this movie is rich and complex, and an absolute delight to the eyes. Not only that, but the thruline of the mother tree and the way the Na'vi are so deeply connected to their world. It's fascinating not just from the story perspective, but also in that it gives insight into the ways in which we affect our ecosystem, and vice versa.

Viewers with extreme agoraphobia might want to avoid the 3-D version of the film, as the extensive flight sequences may be distressing to those sensitive enough to heights. Some of you may already know that "barracks talk" is another euphemism for 'bad' language. This movie being centered around ex-marines, you can imagine that there is a lot of barracks talk. The violence isn't terrible, but the scenes of distress might be too much for some - if you couldn't stand to see "Titanic", there is an equal amount of human tragedy in this film.

If you're able to go see the film, do. This is this year's absolute must-see. This is a movie you will be telling your children and grandchildren about. DON'T MISS IT!


Nostalgically Yours

PS: I mentioned before that I feel it's changed my life, I'm actually going to start work on a Tarot deck based on the characters from the story. I'll keep you all posted as I work on it.
PPS: Did you know? When writing more than one "Post Script", the proper thing to do is to add another 'P' not another 'S' - as in, "Post post script"

The Princess and the Frog - Movie Review

Unless otherwise noted, my reviews will contain NO SPOILERS


This was an excellent film! I truly hope this - like "The Little Mermaid" of 1989 - will be the start of a long string of wonderful animated musicals from the family movie king.

I unfortunately missed the first few minutes of the film due to a momentary loss of my normally keen sense of direction, and came in during what I think is the first song: "I'm Almost There". I was instantly hooked! In the number, Tiana describes her dream - owning a successful restaurant on the banks of the Mississippi* River in New Orleans. The art in this song is sumptuous, keeping in mind my completely biased POV as a total Costume History nerd, really showing off Art Deco with a colorful NoLA twist. Though there are a few rushed spots in the storyline, character development and enjoyment of the film do not suffer.

I honestly wasn't expecting much from a Randy Newman score, but I was pleasantly surprised! Unlike a compilation of his assorted works in other movies, the songs didn't all sound the same, except for the Cajun through-line. The songs helped build the characters' different personalities, which I always love!

As to historical accuracy**, this movie does a very good job at staying true to the times. The costume design in this film is excellent. Interesting side note: this may be the only animated Disney wedding sequence to date featuring paparazzi! (If that was a spoiler than you've never seen a Disney movie)

Here are some important warnings for sensitive viewers. This film contains various snakes and reptiles, which may frighten some audience members. Insects are also included, but didn't bother me. Young children may be frightened by certain segments in the film - if they couldn't sit through the "Snow White" tree sequence or the headless horseman's part in "Ichabod Crane" you may need to cover their eyes or wait for the DVD. These were the only things I noticed, but if you have specific questions, feel free to comment with them!


Go see this movie!
Nostalgically Yours

*The reason I will always know how to spell Mississippi? A little orphan named Annie :D "M-I-doubleS-I-doubleS-I-doubleP-I"
**I will always talk about this when discussing a period film.