Jason's Blog, page 179

Some books I've read 4

Prince Valiant, vol. 3: 1941-42

A bit surprised by how much I enjoy this series, particularly how unironic it is. Beautiful drawings, of course.

Killshot by Elmore Leonard

Satisfyingly unpredictible, but maybe not Leonard's best book.

The Mayor of MacDougal Street by Dave Van Ronk

A very funny and wellwritten memoir about Greenwich Village and the folk revival in the 60s. I didn't really know that much about his music, but his name always pops up in Bob Dylan books; he was also one of the faces in No Direction Home, the Scorsese film.

Jack Kerouac, Selected Letters: 1940-1956

Very interesting to read. This is only the first half of his letters, but already you can see the rise and fall of his friendship with Neal Cassady, from writing long confessional letters to towards the end of the book going «why don't you write me anymore?» There's helpful biographical text by editor Ann Charters between the letters, putting them in a context.

Jack Kerouac - King of the Beats by Barry Miles

An interesting biography. It doesn't paint a pretty picture of Kerouac, though, the way he and his mother treated his wives as maids and the way he ignored his daughter. Also, of course, the almost incestuous relationship he had with his mother. So, okay, the guy wasn't perfect. Reading biographies about artists you admire, you find out very few of them are.

Buz Sawyer, vol. 1 by Roy Crane

Less fun than the Captain Easy Sundays book, the whole spirit of adventure sort of missing. Only looking at the drawings, I find them more appealing than the ones by Milton Caniff, but Caniff wrote better stories and characters. However, I thought Terry and the Pirates also got less interesting during the war years. It's a bit annoying how the quality of the images gets worse in the second half of the book. Shame on you, Fantagraphics!

Currently reading:

Jack Kerouac, selected letters 1957-1969.

His days on the road mostly over, and an alcoholic by now, he for the most part stayed at home with his mother. Writing letters about going to Japan or Europe, but then not doing anything.

On my bedside table, waiting to be read:

Off the Road by Carolyn Cassady, The Subterraneans by Jack Kerouac, Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, Touch by Elmore Leonard, Chronicles by Bob Dylan

An old strip

Michael Caine

Got some new Michael Caine films and will re-watch some other ones. First: Gambit. Caine gets help from Shirley MacLaine to steal a priceless statue from Herbert Lom. Directed by Ronald Neame.

It's one of those romantic heist films from the sixties. I found it to be better than Topkapi or The Thomas Crown Affair. Made in 66, it still has a stylish and timeless feel. If it had been made just two or three years later, it would probably have looked more dated today. Seen with modern eyes it might be a bit slow, but the actual heist part towards the end is genuinly exciting and unpredictable. I had a hard time guessing how it would end. Caine is cool as a cucumber and MacLaine does her kooky thing. That they have fallen for each other by the end is maybe the one thing in the film that doesn't feel earned.

Some more sketches

Barcelona

Well, I brought the good old sketchbook with me when I went to Barcelona for the comic book convention this weekend. I'm out of practice so the sketches are not very good, but anyway...

God raking leaves

Should have been working...

... on my new book. Instead I drew this.

Flyer...

... for the release party of Mjau Mjau 2.

Femme Fatale

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos participates in a diamond heist, then coublecrosses her partners. Also starring Antonio Banderas, directed by Brian De Palma.

Okay, this is not one of De Palma's very best films, but it's the one where I felt I finally understood De Palma, it's the one that made me a fan. Previously I had mostly liked his more commercial films, like The Untouchables and Mission Impossible. This film has some ridiculous dialogue, big coincidences and logically the heist makes no sense at all. The whole heist is based on Romijn-Stamos being able to seduce the girl with the diamonds. But VISUALLY it makes sense! The heist sequence with the Bolero influenced music is hypnotic, it's pure film and pure De Palma. I love the part with the cat! I'd say the best sequences in the film are those with no dialogue. As soon as one of the characters open his mouth you sort of want to push fast forward.

Another great sequence is the one with the wedding photographer waiting for the sun to re-appear and the gangsters wearing suits trying to catch the diamond girl wearing boots and some sort of army look hotpants, only showing their legs running, in slow motion. Apparently the film was made with European money. After the heist, there is a long sequence where you at first have no idea what's going on, with Romijn-Stamos turning out to be the double of a French girl. 15 minutes pass before you start figuring it out. I'm not sure an American studio would have allowed such a long sequence like that where you could end up losing the audience. There's also, not to give too much away, a big part of the film that might be seen as a cheat, but that I found to be completely fitting for the noir universe of the film.

Anyway, this film made me go find his older films, and even the lesser ones, like Raising Cain and Snake Eyes will have one or two of those brilliant sequences or set pieces that make them worth seeing, showing De Palma to be the master of visual storytelling.

Before Sunset

The sequel to Before Sunrise, made nine years earlier where Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy spend a day in Wienna and promise to meet again in six months. Directed by Richard Linklater.

So, they meet again in Paris, nine years older and with some lines on their faces. The story is told in real time and since Hawke has a plane to catch, the clock is ticking for how long they have together. Slowly they get closer to telling the truth about the dreams and disappointments in their lives. It's like a romantic comedy version of My Dinner With André, with a satisfyingly open ending. Ethan Hawke will always be Oh, Captain, my Captain! for me, so it's strange to see him getting older, and Julie Delpy is still cute. I wouldn't mind too much if they make a third one.