...In which our heroine is returns from Twin Peaks.

"She's dead...wrapped in plastic."

 

It's taken me a while, but I've finally come to the end of my Twin Peaks viewing experience. I don't know what prompted me to start watching the show, loved by my parents and other folks, but I'm certainly glad it's a trip I took.

For those who don't know: Twin Peaks was the Mark Frost/David Lynch creation that aired on ABC in 1990-1991. It is a lot of things - a mystery, a soap opera, a surrealistic exploration into small-town life, eerie one moment, and slapstick the next. The central plot of the show revolves around the simple idea of "who killed Laura Palmer," homecoming queen, local beauty, and all around America's sweetheart...or so it seems. FBI agent Dale Cooper, played to stunning quirky perfection by Kyle Maclachlan, is brought in to town to solve the mystery and gets surrounded by the many unique locals there. That's the basics.

I don't claim to be a David Lynch fan - the only film of his I can say I truly enjoy is Blue Velvet - but here I think he really gets the combination of normalcy and what the fuck just right. Some of the images are just simply stunning, namely all of Cooper's dreams and journeys into the Black Lodge. As TIME says in the above link, Peaks "turned primetime TV into a giant indie art house theatre." With that we get the balance of day to day goings on in the town, everything to failed romances, baby daddy drama, and simply what's going on at the local diner - and that's why I think the show works so well for me.

The thing I like most about the show, and Blue Velvet, is the exposure that lying just below the surface of Americana, the blue collars, the homecoming queens, the cherry pie, is a dark and scary world we'd rather not think about. Take Laura Palmer for instance: Homecoming Queen. Charity Worker. Girl Next Door. Cocaine Addict. Sometimes Prostitute. Incest Victim. The appearance of small-town life from the outside and what lies beneath the surface are two very different things, Lynch shows us. There are some moments in the show that had me cowering in terror and a general unease overwhelms most episodes. BOB is as scary as villains get. With such themes as drug use, abortion, incest, and pornography, I can't believe Twin Peaks was actually on network television - it certainly wouldn't be today.

  

Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman

Aside from the mix of the surreal and the mundane, I think what also really works is the cast. Somehow, the show manages to pull off an ensemble cast of 25 or so truly unique characters that you feel as if you've met before, and care for each one individually. Sherilyn Fenn as seductress Audrey Horne and Jack Nance (Eraserhead, that guy, who has one of the saddest life stories I've ever read) as Pete Martell, a fisherman who discovers Laura's body, are my favorites, but everyone is so good. Michael Ontkean as everyman sheriff Harry S. Truman, Piper Laurie as resident bitch Catherine Martell, Peggy Lipton as diner proprietress Norma Jennings...

I wish I would've been around for the cultural frenzy when the show first aired, how I long for a cherry pie and coffee party. My parents told me about it. The show did quite well for a while, because everyone loves a good whodunit, and then sharply decline. From cult hit to cultural phenomena to who cares, all in a year and a half. I so wish there was a third season, because the season two finale leaves more questions than any show ought to ever. There is no resolution, more questions than answers...but I don't totally hate it. 

Despite my love, the show definitely tapers off a bit in season two - I've read it's because Lynch left to work on Wild at Heart - and the mystery of Laura Palmer's death is solved mid-season, leaving ten or so odd episodes where a storyline had to be made up on the fly. Still, while there are some definite moments of lag and "really?" as I find with most great television, each episode is like a small treat to be savored, enjoyed.

Then there's the movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, made a year after the show was canceled. There are some beautiful parts in it, but overall it feels as The AV Club states, "pointless at best, sadistic at worst." The freedom of film allowed for the rape and murder of Laura Palmer to be shown - but I didn't really want to see it. It does clarify Agent Cooper's fate, but otherwise it's a disappointment.

Twin Peaks is one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had when it comes to episodic television - it ranks in the all-time top five, without question. I'm quite sad to be finished with it, but it'll be a show I will most certainly re-visit. Now, who wants a damn fine cup of coffee?

• Some sweet Twin Peaks Nikes
• The AV Club's exhaustive, wonderful TV Club on the series
• The TIME article from when Lynch was on the cover, discussing the show
• The Rolling Stone article that inspired this gorgeous cover
  
• Twin Peaks Wiki
• And all the episodes streaming, for free! in great quality! Just don't forget to watch the two-hour pilot first.
  

...In which our heroine visits the trailer park.

Trailers for your enjoyment:

Kick Ass - Every trailer I see for this makes me want to see it more. Good marketing, Matthew Vaughn.


Fish Tank - I love coming of age films, especially foreign ones like Stealing Beauty or Waterland. And Michael Fassbender is so handsome.


Frozen - The production value doesn't look too high, but something about being stuck on a ski lift in the freezing cold is pretty scary.


Tucker and Dale vs. Evil - I'm all about horror comedy, and especially horror comedy that subverts the genre.


A Prophet - Because we all need some gangster badassery, and this badassery is critically acclaimed.


Red Riding Trilogy - More British cinema, this time modern crime noir.



And a quick recommendation for The Depot Diner. I saw it last week on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and so of course we took an adventure to eat there. Despite defining hole in the wall - 4 booths, about 12 counter seats and one big table - the food was so awesome. They're very old school, without even a soda fountain and a two-man cooking operation. I had the Pot Roast sandwich, a Coke, remarkable because it was in the bottle, and my mom and I shared the homemade donut holes with mocha dipping sauce. Everything was fully homemade and delicious. Might be the best Chicago diner I've been to.

...In which our heroine is verbose.

Last day in the Queen City for a while...

I got up at 1 PM today and therefore am not tired in the least. My mom keeps saying that late nights are like my afternoons. She's right. This is a terrible habit to be in. Just finished an awesome episode of Twin Peaks, going to watch another before bed which will probably not be for several hours. I only have a few episodes left and I'll be so sad when it's finished. I can say it's one of the few media obsessions I don't want to live in - explained: since I was a little one, most of the time when I can't sleep I wonder what it would be like to live in some of my favorite films, books, what have you. Dorky and strange behavior for sure. Back to Chicago tomorrow, this is good. Stir crazy in my own home, I hate being immobile. The snow fell, but like that Over the Rhine song, I don't know if it was falling like forgiveness. I've had this strange compulsion to call him ever since I've been home which is so so so so dumb I can't even talk about it or believe myself. Why am I so stupid when it comes to boys? I feel like I had several chances to make moves over break and I didn't and now I feel ridiculous. I known anyone in the biblical sense since August and I'm getting to the point where I go a little mad. No wonder frigid Victorian women got all hysterical. Male affection, STAT! Depeche Mode on shuffle, sounding cold and industrial. Start working on Tuesday, I hope. Went on a mad search for my birth certificate and social security, thought I lost both, both were found. Two most important documents I have probably, and I didn't even know where the fuck they were. A temporary kind of day, yeah? I'm ridiculous sometimes. I really hope this semester revitalizes my interest in film because I think it may be at an all-time low. I just want to write television. Or do something related to women. Or both. Kings of Leon, I wonder if Molly and her chambers were a real girl, and if she is, she's got to be proud you wrote an ode to her vagina. I can't decide if I'm hungry, or just bored. I can't be hungry, but there isn't even food here to eat if I was. Canned tuna or various soups, mmm, such delicacies. This post is certainly reflecting temporary-mooded Katydid, I'm even being mean to the food in my pantry. "My Girls." This song can't be a whole year old. It sounds like we're fucking in a jungle - yes, it did, and now I'll never be able to listen to Animal Collective and not think that. Inappropriate comment. My nails are getting too long, but this "Vino" nail polish has shown excellent staying power. "Vino" is not nearly as cool of a name as "Vodka and Caviar" for nail polish. Bohemea has up a picture of Dita von Teese as a redhead, as if I didn't need more reason to love her. And Scarlett Johanson in a corset, my dear lord. "The Seed V 2.0," this song always puts me in a better mood. The lyrics are so obscene, but if you didn't know what to listen to for, you wouldn't catch it, maybe. I think that next episode of Twin Peaks is done loading, time to join the Log Lady.

...In which our heroine makes another list.

I always struggle making year-end lists for film because I never get around to seeing everything I want to in a timely manner. I still need to view A Single Man and Crazy Heart, but I've seen the large majority of everything else this year.

It was a weak year for film, I must say. There were a lot of good films, but even on my list, I think there's only one or two great films. Nothing has polarized me the way Slumdog Millionaire, There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Pan's Labryrinth, or Children of Men did in the past couple Oscar races. Any other year, and some of these films wouldn't make the list.

10. Avatar, Directed by James Cameron
I'll say that the plot and dialogue is laughably bad and recycled for most of the film. It's nothing new, but James Cameron is such an adept storyteller, you don't care, you're too busy being immersed in the world of Pandora. I don't know that I'll ever want to watch this film again, because nothing at home can mimic the in theatre, 3-D experience. But I included it because I really do think the technology and the gorgeous 3-D used is the next great leap forward in filmmaking. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

9. The Hangover, Directed by Todd Phillips
Yes, I'm serious. It's hard to do stupid guy comedy well, but this film managed to. Even my mom liked it. There were some truly inspired parts to the script - Mike Tyson! - and I laughed a lot, thanks in no small part to Zach Galifianakis. Sometimes you just need some low-brow comedy, and why not watch one that's a little better than the rest of the herd.

8. A Serious Man, Directed by the Coen BrothersI've had some time to consider this film, and I like it a lot more than upon initial viewing. It's one of the Coens darkly comic works - more Fargo than No Country for Old Men - but it's not as good as either of those films. Michael Stuhlbarg is excellent in the lead role, and I give it major points for a jaw-dropping ending as well the best filmed depiction of what being stoned is like.

7. District 9, Directed by Neill Blokamp
What a good year for sci-fi. This was the best of the bunch, and shows the ingenuity goes further than millions of dollars like some other film on this list. The application of alien lifeforms in South Africa was a really interesting move in terms of script, and Sharlto Copley plays a great stranger in a strange land. And any film that can be disgustingly gory, and later on, exceedingly touching, is doing something right.

6. Up, Directed by Pete Docter
Seven. That's the number of times I started crying during this, which I'll maintain has no business being a kids movie. This is far from my favorite Pixar film, but I thought the blend of cute stuff for kids with a heavier emotional tone showed what they're best at. A waste of 3-D though, I should've seen it normally.

5. The Road, Directed by John Hillcoat
The biggest travesty of the year is that this isn't getting more attention, especially Viggo Mortensen's performance. I had read the book, so I thought I was prepared for the bleak apocalyptic landscapes and dark dark dark subject matter. I wasn't, and most of the film I sat there either crying or feeling like my guts were slowly being ripped out. This was an exceedingly tough watch, even for my cynical, film school self, but it was also the most beautiful apocalypse put to film. The little boy, Kodi-McPhee Smit, is also marvelous for such heavy material at his age.

4. An Education, Directed by Lone Scherfig
This falls into the 1% of chick flicks that don't suck. I really hope Carey Mulligan wins Best Actress, because without even opening her mouth, the way she holds her shoulders, her awkwardness, the sly smile - she explains being what a teenage girl is really like. Every time this film steered into the land of convention, it quickly twisted right back out. I'm as much of a sucker for 1960s stuff as I am for Peter Sarsgaard, who as the older man who courts school girl Jenny, always has enough charm to make a 30 year old dating a teenage acceptable. But my favorite relationship in the film is between Jenny and her parents, played by Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour. They aren't ever perfect, but they try their best. That sounds familiar.

3. The Hurt Locker, Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
I really hope this is the year. A woman needs to win a Best Director Oscar, and I love Kathryn Bigelow. This is a great film to do it - a gritty drama about a bomb squad that needed a woman's touch to turn it from a political show of machismo to an interesting, heartbreaking character study. This is an uneasy watch too, full of tension, but that tension makes it feel all the more real. Jeremy Renner continues to show a lot of promise as an actor and is a hard to love and hard to hate lead character.

2. Drag Me to Hell, Directed by Sam Raimi
The best American horror film in at least 15 years, and all with a PG-13 rating! Raimi is a wonderful filmmaker, and knows that the biggest scares are left unseen and sometimes, just need to be heard. The misdirection, the surround sound, the pop-out gags - it was all genuinely scary. The seance scene is one for the Raimi archives, right up there with the laughing deer head. I didn't even hate Justin Long in it. Kudos to a horror film for going for it to - the final girl does in fact get dragged to hell. It warmed my heart so.

1. Inglourious Basterds, Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin has redeemed himself in my eyes. This is a great war film, with lots of little geeky film snob references throughout. Hans Landa is a fantastic villain, and I hope Christoph Waltz wins the Oscar. I would've liked more of Brad Pitt as Aldo Raine, and more of the Bear Jew, and maybe less Shoshanna, but they are minor issues. I loved the bursts of violence in contrast to long, drawn out conversations that Tarantino loves. The opening and closing twenty minutes are as perfect as film gets. The "Cat People" sequence gave me chills. An outstanding film, and my second favorite thing Tarantino has ever done.

Worst of the year is without a doubt Jennifer's Body. So, so terrible. The biggest disappointment was Funny People.

...In which our heroine cleanses the palate.

Feeling sinful or decadent after the holidays? This won't help.

Girl Crushes, Round 2. Because the men in my life have been particularly frustrating in the past week or so.

Mary-Louise Parker: Hottest mom? I think so. I love her as Nancy Botwin, and what I find most attractive about her is her openness to be sexy and protective at the same time.

Rosario Dawson: She's a comic book geek and is super curvy and was Gail in Sin City, enough said.

Liv Tyler: I wish her sister Mia wouldn't have gotten so many tattoos, or else she'd be on the list too. I've loved Liv ever since Stealing Beauty, and think there's a general effortlessness to her.

Jenny Lewis: Solo or with Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis understands my pain. The quote at the top of the blog comes from her. She's a foxy redhead that started her career in Troop Beverly Hills, and did acid when she was 12.

January Jones: I usually don't like blondes (I will never date a blonde male, ever) but January is a doppelganger for Grace Kelly. Even if Betty turned into a megabitch this season, she's just so classically beautiful.

Crystal Renn: I love her just as much for her politics as her beauty. I need to read Hungry soon, as I appreciate Crystal making it easier for curvy girls everywhere. PS - this is actually my favorite photo of her.

Christina Hendricks: I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I kind of like this show called Mad Men, and one of the women on there...she's pretty, I guess. To me, Christina Hendricks has the ideal female body - fantastic boobs, cinched waist, and round, beautiful hips. Oh and that red hair, even if it's fake. 90 pound models are not sexy, Christina Hendricks is sexy. Envy doesn't cover it, more like awe, as Joan or in real life. I love you so, Joan Holloway. You're my favorite girl crush of all.

...In which our heroine is back from the dead.

I am alive. Right now, barely, but alive nonetheless. I'm sorry for the negligence but since Christmas Eve, I've been home before four exactly one night. I just got up after last night's festivities, which involved purple Andre (uber-classy), some New Order, a potent hookah, and Alice B. Toklas' favorite sweet treat. I loved Cassie's apartment, cat hair and all. I've been out more in my ten days home than I was all semester, weird.

What have I been doing? I've been listening to The Wall and Rumours on vinyl after getting significantly freaked out by Twin Peaks. A clubhouse makes an ideal winter dwelling, and I'm never tired of Almost Famous. I ate Waffle House and wondered when the last time I consumed it sober was, as well as what makes their hash browns so damn good. I've been hanging out with all my high school friends and wondering if we're going to keep seeing each other on breaks when we're 30. I've eaten too many cookies and not enough real food. I've also been drinking champagne, and wine so sweet it says so on the label. My dad gave me a sip of Bombay Sapphire out of the bottle and I singed my esophagus. I finally got a haircut and I think the way she cut my bangs was a good omen for the New Year. Too much vice for one week, I know these should be my prime partying years but I'm a little dead.

I got nostalgic for what happened last year, but realized that's a whole year ago and it seems like a lifetime. I'm a better person than just a year ago, and all in all, 2009 was a really pivotal year for me, full of growth and change, all for the better. If I said at the start of 2009 that I was ready to start with a clean slate, 2010 amplifies that even more so. I have nothing to hinder me, nothing to hold me back. For the first time at the start of a new year, I am my highest priority and making myself happy is what's most important. I don't believe in resolutions because I think they just set you up for failure. So here are the things I resolve not to do:
 -Lose ten pounds because I'm finally happy with my body just as it is.
-Date men with downward trajectories, no matter how charming they are.
-Get wrapped up in the drama of others. Let them do what they want, even if it's a bad idea.
-Be so cynical about film. I do love it, and I need some films to help me remember that.
-Worry so much about money. It's just money, spent or saved.
-Settle. In school, relationships, friendships, or with media consumed. I'm tired of settling, and I hope 2010 brings the better.

I'm hopeful for this new decade - the 2000s were fine, but could definitely be improved upon. Even if that hope just entails killing zombies when the world ends in 2012.

...In which our heroine is very merry.

Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Price, Wilford Brimley cat, Opus, and I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. If you haven't bought it already, don't worry about it. I'll be looking forward to the annual viewing of Love Actually tomorrow and watching my grandma get all giggly after one glass of wine.