by Tim Burton (1997)

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories is a simple collection of quick witty poems, stories and illustrations that could only be the work of Tim Burton. Macabre and charming, they focus mostly on body morphing and children being born very, very strange.

The drawings are delightfully ghoulish yet childlike. As Halloween and before you know it, Christmas are approaching, it’s a perfect read for those wanting something a bit off center for the holidays.

I also love the design of the book from it’s black cloth binding down to its font, which embodies the mood exactly. Several of the books characters have been made into toys and Stain Boy has been made into a series of animations written and directed by Burton.

Click here for the rest of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy

See more: Books 1990s Children’s Poetry

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on October 22, 2010

Too Beautiful to Die, Too Wild to Live

When you’re playing the waiting game while pregnant, you’ve got to find things on a daily basis to get excited about. For me, the fact that Lifetime Movies Network was playing Gia, and that I had it taped was one exciting, alone time afternoon taken care of. The Angelina Jolie vehicle is the pinnacle of made for TV true stories and everyone is turned up to 11 with campy performances.

Faye Dunaway is channeling her most eye brow arching faux accent. Jolie is constantly growling and writhing. Mercedes Ruehl is spectacularly theatrical as the ignorant flawed mother. Even Juliet, that smirky doctor on Lost, is here, as a reluctant lover. Sprinkled throughout are token bitchy fashion gays, flamboyant photographers and even an embarrassing Anna Wintour type who declares stuff like “Now this is meat! This is sirloin!”

While the true story of Gia is quite tragic, she was one of the first casualties of AIDS, in HBO’s hands the lesson to not take drugs makes for entertaining TV. It’s definitely the most watchable thing Angelina’s been in. Campy gems like this only come along every once in a while.

Click here for the rest of Gia

See more: TV Shows 1990s Docu-drama TV Movie

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on October 13, 2010

by Radiohead (1995)

Let’s pretend we can drop in on me the Spring of 1996. You will find me listening to The Bends and feeling introspective. It was an album that had been released the year before but was only introduced to me on a soul igniting Chicago visit to life long and dear friend, Billy (Radiohead hadn’t made the rounds in Colorado Springs yet, where people were pretty much still hung up on Steve Miller and Led Zeppelin). It was a visit that found myself in puppy love, teetering on the edge of  semi independence into young adulthood, and finding that that world was going to be so much larger and fascinating than I could have imagined.

It was this, Radiohead’s love letter of cryptic moodiness that would be the soundtrack to those first steps towards someplace larger than High School. Which is probably why I don’t listen to the album all that much, even though it really stands up to the passing years as artful and lovely and much more sophisticated than it’s time of the mid nineties… home to Alanis Morissette and belly button piercing.

When it popped up on a random shuffle it was immedately transporting in the best way possible. I guess the me of now, about to embark on an unknown life as a mom can relate to the me of then that was about to embark on college and beyond. Both versions of me are romantically swayed by lyrics like “I keep falling over I keep passing out when I see a face like you”. Sigh.

See more: Albums 1990s Indie Rock

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on October 6, 2010

by David Mitchell (1999)

David Mitchell entered my life with one of my favorite novels ever, Cloud Atlas. I decided to visit his first novel, Ghostwritten a few weeks ago and found the beginnings of genius, but unlike Atlas, it’s a slow, sometimes confusing process to make it through this dense, story-hopping book that begins with a Tokyo subway attack and ends with the end of the world narrowly diverted. The stories in between are loosely connected, a style he has made his own and some are more compelling than others.

It’s hard to say exactly what it’s all “about” though there are clearly themes like individuals versus the masses, whether it be a corporation, a cult, or the government, human accountability, and ghosts of many kinds. Somehow though, in it’s ambition and global sweep, the novel is a bit dry and passionless. While it’s certainly worth a read with many memorable elements, he perfects the balance of mind and heart with his later works. (i.e. read Cloud Atlas if you haven’t yet).

See more: Books 1990s Fiction

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on August 15, 2010

directed by Jonathan Mostow (1997)

Breakdown is one of those Sunday afternoon TV movies, that catches its audiences between far too many car and prescription drug commercials. It deserves a second look as a bit more than that – not much more mind you, this is pure B-movie fun that feeds of urbane fears of the rural, but there’s so few movies that fit the bill like this, that it’s great in it’s simple effectiveness.

How often do you just want a tense, enjoyable thriller, that isn’t dumb, but doesn’t require too much thinking either? And how often can you find such a movie? (I’ve found, not often enough – and sadly, never again from director Mostow who helmed the forgettable Terminator 3 and Surrogates). Well as we suffer through this intense summer weather, now is a perfect time to tune into this fast paced Kurt Russell flick on instant netflix along with some AC.

Not only is the dimpled handsome in to his usual solid leading man mode but you’ll find great character actors including M.C. Gainey (you may recognize him as Tom in Lost) looking every bit Lemmy as a threatening redneck and the far more quietly menacing truck driver, JT Walsh, who passed away from a heart attack after the movie was shot.

Click here for the rest of Breakdown

See more: Movies 1990s Thrillers

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on July 11, 2010