by Sam Juliano
I will be posting the next Monday Morning Diary on Sunday, December 25th. Most of the time I do post this long-running weekly feature on Sunday afternoon, though it is always referred to as the Monday Morning Diary. At that time I will post some Christmas-related photos and ornamentations. Wishing everyone a safe and soulful holiday.
In place of my annual Caldecott Medal Contender review series, I have taken up a daily Facebook presentation titled “Caldecott Capsules.” The series comprises short reviews of a few paragraphs, though I strive to frame the book’s artistic excellence. I plan on gathering together the 25 to 30 capsules at the end of project and posting them here at the site in one single post.
I made a little bit of progress this past week on Roses for Saoirse, but for the most part I am tweeking Irish Jesus in Fairview and awaiting the contributions of the editor and artist.
My son Jeremy and I spent Thursday evening in rain-soaked Manhattan tonight to watch Mia Hanson-Love’s highly acclaimed French romantic film, “One Fine Morning” with Lea Seydoux on the final day of its December run. (8:00 P.M. show) The film was deeply moving and beautifully acted and for me rates a 4.5 of 5.0.
My wife and the three boys have tickets to see Avatar: The Way of Water on Sunday night at 7:30 P.M, so I will revise this post on Monday morning.
Wishing everyone a great (and for sure) a busy Christmas week!
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
Favorite new-to-me films watched in 2022: The Barefoot Contessa (Mankiewicz), Othello (Welles), El Vampiro Negro (Barreto), The Phenix City Story (Karlson), A King in New York (Chaplin), Jail Bait (Ed Wood Jr.), The Saga of Gösta Berling (Stiller).
Rarely went to the cinema this year, though I especially enjoyed Benediction, The Fabelmans, and Nope on the big screen.
The Giant Claw (1957). You won’t believe your eyes. The flying creature looks like something out of Dr. Seuss. Part vulture, plucked chicken, baby condor, and Tizzle-Topped Grouse. A schlock classic. I watched it twice. No grade.
At the Circus (Edward Buzzell, 1939). The sight of Margaret Dumont shot from a cannon always reduces me to helpless laughter c.f., the little girl on the seesaw in Young Frankenstein, one of Brooks’s best sight gags.
More on “Jeanne Dielman.”
One of the great casting coups in film: regal Delphine Seyrig (whom we all know as the Chanel-swathed beauty in “Marienbad,” the marcelled blonde vampire in “Daughters of Darkness,” and the diaphanous fairy in “Donkey Skin”) cast as an ordinary Belgian homemaker in “Jeanne Dielman.”
The audacity of Akerman’s casting against type is one of her film’s many triumphs.
Happy holidays to all.
Happy New Year to you Mark! And I trust you had a soulful Christmas! That’s quite a fabulous maiden line-up of films there! Not a bad one in the bunch though that particular Chaplin for me is considerably lesser than his other work. You saw the Davies and the Spielberg on the big screen. I adored both and they will certainly be in my Top 10. I smiled when I read about what you said there about The Giant Claw! Equally enjoyed your commentary on At the Circus, Young Frankenstein and Jeanne Dielman, though you specifically spoke about Seyrig who was fabulous too in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. Happy New Year my friend!!