REVIEW: Tiny Furniture

Aura has just graduated from college, her relationship is over and on top of all that she's moving back in with her mother and younger sister. She's in that awkward stage of life that so many girls find themselves in their early twenties. Not yet ready to really start on your own, too grown-up to make living with your family still work. Uncertain what to do with her life, what do with her newly acquired and potentially useless degree, not sure which people to be friends with. Even though the situation could be worse, it does lend itself perfectly to insecurity-fueled melodrama.

That combined with the movies' tagline "Aura would like you to know she's having a very, very hard time" had me slightly worried "Tiny Furniture" was going to be a Sylvia Plath-esque tale of self-pity. But instead, I was slowly drawn into Aura's life through her various awkward encounters, new-found friendships and clipped, dead pan conversations. It gives the viewer an intimate look into this girls' life for a couple of weeks and I started to recognize a lot of myself in her. Her non-perfect body, the odd and off-kilter friendships that seem to be built on a few weeks of intense bonding and then become uncomfortable and slightly unhealthy, her slight neuroticism, trying to decide whether you're still a child or an adult. I think every aspect will be very recognizable to a lot of people of Aura's age group.

"Tiny Furniture" was written and directed by Lena Dunham, who also plays the main character, after she found herself in the portrayed situation. Her mother and sister are played by Lena's real-life mother Laurie Simmons and sister Grace Dunham. This really helps making the interactions very natural and realistic.

I don't think "Tiny Furniture" will be to everyone's liking, but if you're one of those people who finds it hard to stop listening in on stranger's conversations, or if you like dead-pan humor of the likes of Woody Allen, it is worth a watch. Also, if you liked Tiny Furniture, check out the new HBO series "Girls", also written and directed by and starring Lena Dunham and Jemima Kirke (Aura's friend Charlotte).

Lady Gaga - Pop Singers Don't Eat..

So, yesterday Lady Gaga sent a tweet that I just couldn't believe she actually pressed the send button on. Just to be clear from the start, I'm not a "hater".  At first I really liked her and I would like to continue being one of her fans, but it's these type of things she comes out with that just make me think she either doesn't care, doesn't have a single braincell in her pretty head, or she's just too up herself to realize the statements, one-liners and guru-esque wisdoms she is so kind to grace her little monsters with are just completely contradictory.

Here is the tweet I'm talking about:

https://twitter.com/ladygaga/statuses/189809689570189313

First of all, who really cares that she is eating a salad but dreaming of a cheeseburger? You're a grown woman, you've just been exercising your ass off, have a cheeseburger if you want one. I get that as a popstar, she wants to look good and that's fine. I think most people know that a body like hers doesn't just come naturally. Although, taking that into account, I don't see why the hashtag IWasBornThisWay makes sense. I was born what way exactly? I was born this way, but need to dye my hair, do back to back spinning classes and eat salads when I'm actually more hungry than that?

 But that's not really the worst. It's obvious she's decided to tout that phrase around as often as possible to be inspirational and alluring the her fan base which consists generally of outcasts. People who are in a vulnerable state, who feel insecure about themselves, their sexuality, looks, weight, and Lady Gaga is there as a friend, confidante and fellow societal pariah. She's someone they look up to, aspire to be like and want as a spokesperson. Now then, knowing what her fans think of her and want from her, it's even more grating when she uses this to end her tweet: #PopSingersDontEat.

Excuse me? Pop singers don't eat? That's a joke right? Even if it was a joke, has she no filter? No inclination in the back of her mind that this might come across wrong? Everyone, little monsters, accept who you are. You were born this way, you're perfect the way you are. But if you want to be like me, you have to starve yourself. You see, pop singers don't eat...

I can just imagine this thirteen year old girl or boy, recently rejected by their crush, feeling like they don't fit in, feeling like they're not pretty enough. Maybe once or twice they already even threw up after their lunch thinking it might make them skinnier, or at least not put on weight, so they can fit in with the popular crowd. But no, they turn to their hero instead. Lady Gaga will tell me I'm fine as I am. I don't need to be popular. I was born this way! I can just see that a tweet like that will push someone vulnerable right over the edge into a full on eating disorder.

But Gaga doesn't even seem to notice the misstep. She just tweets along happily, taking in all the compliments from her fans about how good she is for keeping in shape and how perfect she is. I'm just so fed up of her message of acceptance. She speaks about gay rights, yet the only gay people I've ever seen her around are stereotypical queens even Bubba from Texas wouldn't be too afraid of because they're just so cartoonish. She's against bullying, yet she's bezzies with one of the most foul, meanest assholes on the internet, Perez Hilton, who does what for a living? Oh yes! He bullies people, even 2-year olds can't escape his venom. (Here's Adam Sandler's little daughter being attacked: http://perezhilton.com/2007-07-02-how-do-we-say-this-delicately-3#.T4dMfNWyics) She talks about accepting yourself for who you are, yet if you compare photos of her from before she was famous the difference is pretty staggering. And what I think is the most ridiculous of all is her constant praising of Jesus. If she had any idea of what Christianity was actually about, I think she'd be embarrassed to profess her love for him in front of an audience like hers.

It seems to me like she was one of those girls who was unpopular in high school, bullied and did everything she could to get in with the popular kids. So she bleaches her hair, dresses like a hooker and giggles along with their petty little put-downs and tries her hardest to conform to what they say is "cool". While, when she's around her old friends she claims to still be one of them. Only difference is, is that now she's in showbiz it's not the gum-chewing bimbos that rule the school, it's rich, gay men who want a barbie doll to play with.


In summation, I just hope she grows up and quits the bullshit. Pick a side. Either be religous, hang out with bullies and give a nice big finger to your devotees or stick to your original story and really make it ring true. But for some reason, I just don't see that happening until she gets her head out of her ass and realizes that she isn't a messiah.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Kid (1921)

I'm fairly new to the world of silent cinema. I had seen a few shorts before, some Laurel and Hardy sketches mostly and the classic horror movie 'Nosferatu', but Charlie Chaplin's 'City Lights' made me fall in love with the media. Because I was only familiar with silent slapstick and horror, I never realized before that this form of old-fashioned film-making would be so well suited to bringing a touching story to life. I love how Chaplin mixed hilarious comedy with romance and sentimentality. The Tramp is immediately likeable and you want him to succeed in his efforts, whether he's trying to get a girl or bringing up a little boy as his own, you're there with him all the way.

The Kid was Chaplin's first feature length film and was extremely well received. It follows The Tramp as he finds an abandoned baby and tries to figure out what to do with the boy. He decides to raise him as his own and names him John. Because he's so poor, he works together with John in little schemes to earn money. When the boy becomes ill, a doctor finds out that The Tramp isn't his real father and has John taken away to an orphanage. Distraught, The Tramp pursues them to try and get his son back. Meanwhile, the woman who left the baby has become a big star and uses her wealth to do charity work helping the poor.

The Kid, as it says at the start of the film, is a picture with a smile and perhaps a tear. The relationship between The Tramp and his adopted son is very sweet and touching. They struggle, but you can tell that he really cares for the boy. I think the choice of subject, a childhood filled with poverty and hardship, was a very personal one for Chaplin. This was his first full length film, which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in and you can really feel all the effort he has put in it. The story sparks off the screen. The jokes are hilarious, bright and light-hearted despite the desperate situation, but the emotional scenes just tear right into you. A lot of credit is due here for the young Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester in the 1960's Addams Family t.v. show). He's such an excellent actor in this movie. He's endearing as the little rascal that he is, but when it comes down to the more emotional parts in the film, like when he gets taken away, his performance is just heart-breaking. The interaction between the Tramp and John seems so realistic, it's hard to believe that they're not really father and son.

What I think is so special about Chaplin's films, is that The Tramp always goes through a sort of transformation. Or it's more a realization and testing of his true character. For example, John gets into a fight with a bigger boy and the other boys father threatens The Tramp that if John wins, he himself is gonna have to fight this much bigger and burlier man. So, instead of letting his boy win (which he was totally going to), The Tramp holds down his son in order to prevent himself having to get into a fight. Beside this being a really funny scene, it's also a pivotal point in the plot that shows how much The Tramp hates to fight, making it all the more heroic when he does so to win his son back.

I've only seen three of Chaplin's films so far, (the Kid, the Circus and City Lights) but I'd say this was probably my favourite. It's nice to see The Tramp try his hand at romance, but a father-son relationship is a much more difficult thing to get right and he succeeded with excellence. I know that silent films are back into fashion a bit now, with 'The Artist' having done so well, so hopefully more people are willing to check out older movies. I used to think that silent movies would be harder to get into because of their lack of dialogue, but I think that that's exactly why a story can hit you so much harder. You pay more attention to the surroundings, to the physicality of the acting and the interactions between the actors. More often than not the music is enough to convey the mood and with great performances like in 'The Kid' you don't even notice the fact that they aren't talking, because like they say, a picture paints a thousand words. Even if you're not certain you'll be able to get into silent film but you're willing to spend an hour finding out, check out The Kid. (Make sure you watch a remastered copy, it'll look great.) It's not just one of my favourite Charlie Chaplin movies, it's probably one of my favourite all together.

RECOMMENDED: Monster High

Monster High is a franchise that mostly revolves around it's merchandise; cool looking dolls made by Mattel based on old Universal monsters and other horror characters. For example, Frankie Stein (Frankenstein, obviously), Draculaura (Dracula), Ghoulia Yelps (a zombie) and Blue Lagoona (granddaughter of the Creature from the Black Lagoon). The dolls all have their own outlandish clothing-style and little attributes to do with the characters. Although the dolls are what caught my attention at first, Monster High is worth checking out even if you're not interested in collecting awesome but freaky Barbies.


So far there have been three books, there's a web-series of very short Flash cartoons, an interactive website and a couple of iPhone apps. The books and the web-series seem to be set in a different kind of world. First of all, in the book (I'm currently reading the first one, written by Lisi Harrison) the monster girls, their families and love interests, have to figure out a way to blend in with the "normies" of the world. Frankie Stein, a very new 15-year old, wishes she could just be herself instead of having to cover her green, stitched-up skin with thick pancake make-up and always wear turtle-necks or scarves to cover her bolts.

While in the book she struggles to cope with hiding her true self and is trying to find a way for the normies to accept her and her friends the way they are, in the web-series the girls get to flaunt their unique looks and identities because they go to a school filled with monsters. In the very short (about a minute and a half each) episodes we see them come across all sorts of problems and situations that you might expect a monster to come across in high school. How exactly do you tell that zombie-boy you fancy him when you can't even really utter a single audible word? How do you put on perfect make-up any emo girl would be jealous of, without a reflection? The cartoons are very heavily laden with puns that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of Tales from the Crypt and have plenty of references to classic (Universal) horror films, to make a monster film fan happy. I like that even though the franchise is there mostly to sell stuff, enough effort has gone in to the details of the characters and story lines to not make it feel like they're just cashing in on a growing population of nerdy chicks.

So, if you like the look of the dolls but aren't willing to fork out any of your money for a just a toy, check out the web-series and you'll quickly find out whether you like the characters or not. The book is really worth a read as well, it's quite a lot like any other story about teenagers in high school, apart from that it's cooler because it's got monsters in it, so you don't have to feel like a weirdo for reading things aimed at people ten years younger than you. (Not that you should anyway..) I think all together Monster High is a very enjoyable, silly and light-hearted collection of characters and stories and it's at least worth a few minutes of your time to check it out!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Muppets

Note: 'The Muppets' was released late in 2011 in the United States and will see a DVD/Blu-Ray release there next month.
After much anticipation it has finally made it's way to European cinemas over the last couple of weeks. 

When I heard there was a new Muppet movie coming out, I was very excited. Since it was going to be written by Jason Segel, who claims to be a huge Muppet nerd, I expected something that was at least pretty good. Most people I know had grown up with the Muppets in some form or another. I started of with watching "Muppet Christmas Carol", then "Muppets Tonight" hosted by Clifford, and from there on the other movies (although, I've not seen all of them yet, including "Muppets Take Manhattan" which was a source for one of this movie's plot points) and episodes of "The Muppet Show". Despite a few T.V. outings, including the decidedly average "Muppets Wizard of Oz", it seemed like they were out of the public eye for a while and that younger generations would be missing out on these wonderful characters, were it not for this new movie.

In "The Muppets" we follow Mary, her fiancee Gary and his rather unusual brother; Walter, who for reasons that will become immediately apparent is the world's biggest Muppet fan. Gary is planning to take Mary to L.A. for their ten year anniversary, but since the Muppet Theater is located there he's also taking Walter. During a tour of the now run-down theater, Walter slinks off into Kermit's old office, disappointed and sad at the state of things. While he's there he finds out that Statler and Waldorf are showing the theater to Tex Richman, a wealthy oil magnate, who has plans to buy and then tear down the place because there's oil underneath. Though, if the Muppets can raise ten million dollars, they could buy back the theater. Walter is shocked and together with Gary and Mary they visit Kermit to try and convince him to do something about it and raise the money. All together they set off to get the old gang back together to put on one last show.

I was surprised at how much "The Muppets" was about the original musical variety show instead of a new, stand-alone adventure. The movie and it's promotional campaign seem so much about reviving the Muppets' popularity, I would have expected it to be less hinged on past occurrences and more on reintroducing the characters and establishing them to a new audience. While watching it, there were so many references to specific details from the shows and there was only a short amount of time spent to explain what kind of characters these Muppets actually are. Not that I'm complaining, it felt like a Muppet movie made for the fans, by the fans. It felt like a celebration, a big Muppet party full of great songs and all your best friends. A nostalgic callback to the opening sequence of  "The Muppet Show" and the inclusion of more obscure characters such as Uncle Deadly and Bobo the Bear, Hobo Joe -  all these details written into the script could have only come from a real Muppet devotee and could only be there to please the old fans. Even Walter is all the die-hard fans wrapped up into one enthusiastic and loveable new Muppet.

But despite the back references and hardcore Muppet-nerd moments, Walter provides a terrific window into the magic of Muppet fandom for newcomers. He is your way in to this wonderful world, explaining why they're so great and beloved. Besides that, I think a lot of the Muppets are just instantly likeable, especially to kids. Like Fozzie, for instance, he's silly and tells bad jokes even children can chuckle at, not necessarily because they're funny, but because of how bad and cheesy they are and Swedish Chef too, even grown-ups don't know what he's on about, so his strange behavior and silly face can make anyone laugh.

I loved how much all the characters were still the same. I've read some complaints about Kermit not being his happy-go-lucky self, but I feel that he never really was such a peppy personality anyway, he was caring, tried to run a chaotic show and was always kind, warm and idealistic. Considering he originated as an avatar for Jim Henson and his personal, hopeful philosophy, I'm not surprised with how things are these days that Kermit is a bit sad and nostalgic. It's so nice to be able to see Jim's spirit live on and that Kermit has not changed into something else (in no small part thanks to the sensitive and caring performance of Jim's successor and one-time protege, Steve Whitmore, who has played Kermit for around twenty years). All the scenes where we get to see them all again were fun: Miss Piggy as the editor of plus-size Vogue (that's such an idealistic Muppet thing as well, like there would ever actually be a plus-size edition of Vogue..); Gonzo with his own business and Animal in anger management training. I liked that his storyline made Animal into more of a person instead of just this rampaging, although of course hilarious, beast and then there was a funny but kind of sad scene with Fozzie now performing with these horrible imposters "the Moopets" in a dingy Reno club.

What I'm really glad about is how well the new songs and characters worked alongside the old-school Muppets. I'm not surprised that "Man or Muppet" received an Academy Award nomination for best original song. The Moopets were fun, although I felt they were underused. I would have liked to have seen more of them and hopefully will when the DVD comes out. 80's Robot was cool - who doesn't like a retro robot? I liked Jason Segel and Amy Adams in it as well, the storyline with Gary and Mary offset with Walter's Muppet adventure works really well. It's funny that in the scene where Mary is sad/annoyed that Walter has to come along on their anniversary trip I'd much more agree with her if Walter was a human being instead of a Muppet, but because he's the way he is I felt more sorry for him. (It makes me wonder whether Walter being a puppet has put him at a disadvantage in this universe. Nobody seems to treat him differently. Is there an unspoken rule that his 'puppethood' is to go unmentioned, much like when The Muppets make appearances at real life events such as the Grammys and the BAFTAs?)

There weren't really any things that annoyed me while watching the movie, or anything that jarred me. I didn't  mind that suddenly the Muppet Theater is in L.A. instead of in England where it was actually filmed, I liked the new characters and loved Walter. The songs are catchy, fun and sweet. A lot of the celebrity cameos seemed unnecessary, but because they were so brief that isn't even really an issue. I liked that the man version of Walter was played by Jim "Sheldon" Parsons and Jack Black was pretty good, definitely less irritating then he has been every other time I've seen him lately. I liked Emily Blunt as Miss Piggy's receptionist, just arrogant and over-styled enough to fit the roll and Rashida Jones was good as the network executive. But the real stars were undoubtedly the Muppets. I really loved this movie. Thinking about it days after watching it, it still brings a smile to my face. I think it's nice that it's proved so popular with kids too. Every time I go into a toy store lately (yes, I go into toy stores a lot!), there's always a kid begging their mum or dad to buy them a Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Kermit, Animal or even Swedish Chef. I think it's not only a really fun, sweet and warm-hearted movie, it has really done the Muppets and their legacy justice and has done a great job of bringing these wonderful characters back into the spotlight.

RECIPE: Sage and onion bread rolls

I got this recipe from the Hairy Bikers' Best of British TV show. I love watching cooking programs and I think they are by far the best. Unlike some shows that go for a fancy "new cuisine" kinda thing, the Hairy Bikers actually cook, talk about and eat food that I'd actually want to eat instead of be weary of it's peculiar ingredients and names that I can't even pronounce. Call me unsophisticated, when it comes to food, nothing goes above a great comforting meal that fills your stomach and lightens your mood, and these delicious bread rolls are just the perfect accompaniment to such a plate of food.

My first ever attempt to even make bread, they turned out wonderful on my first try. I slightly altered the recipe, because I didn't really need eight rolls. Because they are so tasty though, I tried making it to the original recipe and somehow it didn't turn out right. So here's my adapted recipe for the Hairy Bikers' sage and onion bread rolls.

Here's what you need:

- 75 ml of whole milk (and a bit more for glazing)
- 75 ml of water
- 200 g of strong white flour (and a bit extra for kneading)
- half of a 7 g sachet of fast action dried yeast (the original calls for a whole sachet)
- 1/2 tsp caster suger
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 8 g of butter
- 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil (and some extra for greasing)
- 1/2 a large or one small onion, peeled and chopped
- about 4 tbsp full of dried sage (the original uses fresh sage leaves which I didn't have. If you want to use fresh, go for about 10 leaves)
- freshly ground black pepper

Here's what you do:

1. Heat the water and milk until lukewarm.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the yeast, sugar and salt.

3. Make a well in the middle and stir in the water and milk with a wooden spoon or your hands. Make it into a ball and knead it for about 10 minutes on a floured surface.

4. Once kneaded, place your ball of dough into an oiled bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm (loosely) and leave to rise for about 45 minutes to an hour.

5. In the meantime you can fry the onion with the butter and oil until soft. If you like, you can add some fresh garlic. Just before it's done, add the sage to your frying onions and mix it through. Add lots of black pepper and leave it to cool.

6.  When the dough has risen, flatten it with your hands and add the onions and sage on top. Then knead the dough until it's all nicely incorporated. This will get very messy, if it's too wet add a little bit of flour.

7. Divide the dough into four little balls and place them against each other on some baking paper on a baking tray. Again, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for another 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C.

8. Brush the rolls with some milk and scatter some sage on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool a little before serving. They're delicious warm with some butter.

Enjoy! 

HOWARD HAWKS DOUBLE BILL: Bringing Up Baby

Bringing Up Baby is our second movie in this Howard Hawks double bill. An immensely enjoyable screwball comedy, it just goes to show what a versatile and talented director Howard Hawks was. Filling his oeuvre with so many classics, from the 1932 Scarface to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starring the lovely Marylin Monroe and Jane Russell. Now we go from Rio Bravo, made in the late 1950's to one of his earlier efforts. While both movies are now considered masterpieces, unlike Rio Bravo, Bringing Up Baby was a commercial failure. 

In Bringing Up Baby, we follow David Huxley (Cary Grant) who has been trying to get hold of the last bone for his Brontosaurus skeleton which he's been trying to assemble for the last four years. He is about to marry Alice Swallow (Virginia Walker), a stern, boring woman who won't even let their honeymoon get in the way of David's work and his attempt to impress a Mrs. Random (May Robson) who has intentions of donating a million dollars to the museum he works for. On that same day David meets Susan Vance. From the get-go things go wrong, she putts his ball on the golf-course, then proceeds to drive away in his car instead of her own. It is obvious that while she's a stunning beauty, she's also a terrible klutz who not only gets herself into trouble but all of those around her. Misunderstanding Davids profession, she practically forces him to help her take care "Baby", a leopard that she's supposed to give to her aunt. They go to her house in Connecticut and as you might expect, all sorts of misunderstandings and mishaps occur, causing the flaky Susan to fall in love with the awkward David.

Boy, could I ever have a wrong perception of actors. Because of their huge star-quality and dignified status, I always assumed that Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant were big serious actors. I'd never seen a movie with either of them in before and the image I had of them was so wrong! I expected Cary Grant to be like Clark Gable, or more precisely, Rhett Butler. And because Katherine Hepburn is always talked about in terms of outspokenness, strong character and her roles as powerful, sophisticated women, I assumed a certain infallibility and coldness. But both we're so charming, silly and loveable in this movie. Immediately I took to the characters. The stumbling, awkward David reminded me very much of Ross in Friends, another geeky paleontologist who's unassuming charms have a real effect on the women around them. And to stick with the Friends comparisons, Susan is not unlike Phoebe. Both are a bit crazy, silly, get into weird situations but always seem to see the fun of it and their enthusiasm is infectious. It's interesting to think of this movie as a look into how things might have been if Ross and Phoebe had gotten together.

Bringing Up Baby is a movie full of absolutely hilarious scenes, there's not many movies I've laughed out loud at more than this one. Nearly every shot lends itself to another joke. It's full of physical, visual and verbal comedy, lending itself to a very iconic scene where most likely for the first time the word "gay" is used in the way it is used today. The performances are excellent. Grant and Hepburn deliver their lines with such crispness and their acting is so vivid you nearly forget you're watching this movie in black and white. Of course I wouldn't want to see it in colour, the fact that it is in black and white not only transports you back into time but makes it a visually stunning movie. Bringing Up Baby is a must-see for anyone who likes a romantic comedy, slapstick or just likes a laugh really. I don't know why it was such a box-office failure in the first place, but I think it's fifteenth place in the American Film Institutes list of the hundred funniest films of all time is more than deserved. Make sure you see it!