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Today's the day to "check your back" - because if you are here in France, there's a possibility that someone you know will stick a fish on your back.. and you will walk around with this fish ALL DAY long without realizing it!

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Coraline Jones has just moved to a new house and left all of her friends behind. As if living in the pink house weren’t enough, her parents are ignoring her and the grandson of the pink house’s owner Wybie claims that his grandmother won’t ever let children live in the pink house because of what happened to his grandmother’s twin sister. Unconvinced of a real horror story, Coraline soon finds a secret door in the pink house that leads to another world. A world with her other mother, other father and where she is not only important to them, but everything revolves around her. It isn’t until her other mother starts to scare Coraline that she realizes perhaps this other world isn’t quite what she thought it was.

Don’t let the fact that Coraline is an animated film fool you – this is a hard core children’s horror film. If I had seen this film as a child I would have been more than freaked out – the blender scene in Goonies gave me nightmares, so I can’t imagine what the freaky other mother would have done to my head. This is a film where the main character is antagonized, put in danger and faces death multiple times and as if that weren’t scary enough it’s death at the hands of a monster who steals eyes and sew buttons in their place, and sews peoples smiles in place when they make her mad.

I understand that to make the premise of Coraline work, for her to be interested in an alternate reality Coraline’s parents have got to be vacant and neglectful. However, what I wasn’t prepared for was how downright mean Coraline’s mother was in the film. She is an awful, awful mother who should have her child taken away. At one point when Coraline asks her a question she literally tells her daughter “If I do this will you leave me alone?” Her father isn’t much better, though he’s presented as more of a absent-minded neglectful father instead of a downright mean one. I was almost rooting for the other mother/Beldam to kill Coraline’s parents just so they’d be out of Coraline’s life. I don’t know how terrible the parents in Neil Gaiman’s book were, but it was incredibly hard to see them as sympathetic characters whom their daughter should eventually care about saving.

Henry Selick gets the short end of the stick a lot. He’s the man that directed The Nightmare Before Christmas but all anyone considers that is a “Tim Burton Film”. However, now that Coraline has received a best animated film Oscar nomination perhaps Selick will start getting some credit on his own.

Director & Writer: Henry Selick
Coraline Jones: Dakota Fanninf
Mel Jones: Teri Hatcher
The Cat: Keith David
Mr. Bobinky: Ian McShane

Unable to take care of herself or move on her own, Christine goes on a group pilgrimage to Lourdes with medical aid not to partake in the religious experience, but to be able to travel. While everyone else on the trip seeks a miracle for their ailments, Christine expects nothing and instead tries to show interest in one of the men on the trip with them. However, no one besides an older companion shows Christine any concern until a miracle does happen and Christine is healed.

Lourdes has made the rounds at Sundance and international film festivals, I was only able to see it by making my way to the City of Angels Film Festival in Los Angeles. While I can’t say that I disliked Lourdes I’m not entirely sure why this film has made it into so many festivals; the film is intriguing, but poorly shot, adequately directed and other than acting, it’s only merits are that it is a not so thinly veiled critique of the faith of the masses.

In order to enjoy this film I had to put my film student hat back on, and literally try to “take notes” on the film as I watched it. Only by piecing things together in that very academic way was I able to get anything out of the movie. What I got out of it was interesting, but not what one would call entertaining and it was a very dry experience compounded by what I found to be very bland, unsure visuals.

What makes Lourdes worth study is that the film is a critique of faith – that is why it was playing at the City of Angels Film Festival. However, I sat through a panel after the film with one film scholar and two priests and listened to them argue that the film was a positive look at miracles and faith; let me tell you Lourdes is anything but. This is a film that thinks faith is a farce propagated by the masses where even the clergy goes through the motions and anything worth being a “miracle” must be quantified and qualified by a third party and only counts if it can be recorded. At one point in the film the priests and soldiers even tell a joke about the Father, Son & Spirit deciding to vacation in Lourdes as they’ve never been there before. In fact the moment Christine’s miracle occurs people begin to immediately doubt and question not only its validity, but why Christine would deserve such a thing. How any one was capable of getting a positive read of religion off this film I will never know.

In the end Lourdes is one in a long line of foreign films that like what happens to Christine, a group of people with similar views will be engaged and excited about the film but only for a short period of time until the shine wears off and something else comes along to distract them.

Director & Writer: Jessica Hausner
Christine: Sylvie Testud

Just being silly with my baguette... It was a nice, sunny day last week! I felt soooo French carrying my baguette around with me on the street.. Except that I didn't take a bite out of the end, like people typically do here!

I have been an AVID Eros fan since my friend, Claudia in Austria, introduced me to his music during my trip to Salzburg in 1990. Since then, I have been "in love" with Eros-- he's gorgeous and has a voice that is not like anyone else's! I saw him in Los Angeles in 1996 with Lindsey and Frances. That was the last time I saw him in concert... and I have been waiting that long to see him!!!Last night was my night! It was sooo fantastic that there are no words I can use to describe my sentiments....

It's as easy as making bread-- Well, okay... it DOES take some time-- two rising times... so be prepared to give yourself a lot of time for prep! It's worth it, though! I love finding and trying new recipes! This one is in honor of a woman who I hold very dear to my heart... A very cute and funny lady, named Anna (Annie) who was Sicilian/American. I used to call her "Nona" (grandma). She used to make these every year as part of her Easter tradition and give them out to friends..



Annie passed away in July 2006 while I was away on a trip with friends (just before I moved to France). I remember getting the phone call from my friend, Margo... and though Annie's health wasn't great, because of her diabetes and other issues, I thought she'd keep going another 10 years, at least... Just on her energy and pep, alone! Annie was a source of comedy in Little Italy... She was a little lady who could cuss up a storm... It was hilarious! I have such fond memories of her... from her little red cart that she used to ride around... GO ANNIE... to her elaborate Betty Boop collection and her very sweet smile!! Her smile and laugh could melt an iceberg! I really loved her and miss her a lot! These are for you, sweet Annie... Happy Easter!

In a world where inflation has run to the point that the class system is ever more evident, Remy works as a repo man for The Union a company that among many things offers mechanical organs at a high price to those that need a medical solution. If you can’t make your payments, Remy or one of his partners will come and repossess your implant. The problem is Remy never sees this as murder, merely as a business transaction, until he ends up on the receiving end of a transplant. With a new perspective Remy becomes unable to continue being a repo man and ends up running from The Union.

Repo Man is an entertaining movie – entertaining but not great. This has nothing to do with Jude Law, Liev Schreiber or Forest Whitaker but more to do with the fact that this is a film that thinks it’s a Philip K. Dick story – the only one that can pull off a Philip K. Dick idea is Philip K. Dick. The world of Repo Men is a world where dystopia reigns, the government and corporations extort the people and the poor have no option but to run. The entire time I watched this film I felt like it was an homage to Bladerunner but wasn’t aware of it.

Also, whether it was unrelated or not I found it odd that this film follows so closely on the heels of Repo: the Genetic Opera. I have not seen Repo but it’s not every day that films about a future society that collects the organs of people who can’t pay comes out and yet Repo Men comes out only a year after the rock opera…

The great thing about this film was Jude Law. I’ve never really considered myself a die hard fan of Law, but the more I see him in the more I appreciate him. Even though Repo Man falls just short of being a great film, Law is charismatic, entertaining and manages to make Remy into an engaging and sympathetic character. Law is an incredibly talented actor of this Hollywood generation and I look forward to the journey he will take as he continues to expand his resume through the next few years.

I wish I had more to say about Repo Men but honestly, one of the reasons the film stops short of being a great film is that the film itself is a little confusing to figure out – it makes a left when the entire length of the film it tells you it’s making a right – and I’m not sure how I feel about that yet. I mean no disrespect to Miguel Sapochnik, but I almost feel that if the film were in the hands of another director perhaps the feeling of being cheated by the third act and the Philip K. Dick homage would be gone…

Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Writers: Eric Garcia & Garrett Lerner
Remy: Jude Law
Jake: Forest Whitaker
Beth: Alice Braga
Frank: Liev Schreiber