Cinematical Reviews A Good Year

by Erik Olsen on

I am a devoted, passionate fan of Ridley Scott’s films. Sorry to say, but like many guys, I have watched Gladiator, oh, probably 10-15 times. I can’t say why exactly I so love this film, other than the fact that there is something about it that is very stirring to my genetic heritage with it’s scenes of vigorous carnage and dudes battling it out with spears, clubs and all manner of killing instruments.

There is also a heart-lifting underdog theme in the film that just makes me all giddy. But that aside, it seems as though my favorite director has got a new film out based on, of all things, a Peter Mayle novel. Sounds squishy, doesn’t it? Well, according to this fine review of the new film, called A Good Year, over at Cinematical, it is squishy. The film is about some hard-driving stock-broker who has to choose between the vigorous city life of London and a mega-bucks career and the possibility of living the easy life (and running a vineyard) in Provence (Mayle’s familiar territory).

Definitely NOT your typical Ridley Scott fare. As Cinematical puts in “A Good Year seems a little too delicate a soufflé for Scott, who seems to be more of a meat-and-potatoes director.” OK, fine. But does that mean you shouldn’t see it? Well, the film does star Russell Crowe, so even if its a big soft around the mid-section, it probably still worth it.

Traveling Gnomes

by Neil Woodburn on

Gnomes, for some reason or another, have become somewhat of a mascot to the travel world.

I think this can be traced initially back to a story I heard from a couple of Australians while backpacking through Europe many years ago.

Apparently a family in Australia awoke one morning to find their garden gnome missing. The thief who stole it then traveled around the world, taking photographs of the gnome in various famous locations and then mailing them back to the family as though the gnome himself had gone on vacation. One day, many months later, he was returned, covered with tourists trinkets and mementos from around the globe.

The prank was later picked up by the French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet who incorporated it into the storyline of his excellent movie, Amélie. A few years later, Travelocity hijacked the gnome prank and started using the red, pointy-hatted creature as their de facto spokesperson.

So, that brings us to the recent news from France that 79 garden gnomes which have gone missing throughout the French countryside have turned up on the banks of a local stream. This was in addition to the 86 gnomes discovered last month on the grounds of a nearby high school.

The gnome abductions was the handiwork of the Front for the Liberation of Garden Gnomes (FLNJ), an international activist group who, as their name suggests, liberates garden gnomes from their ignoble servitude in the gardens of the overly kitsch.

Unlike their Australian predecessors, the FLNJ did not take the gnomes on vacation, but merely set them free in the countryside underneath a sign reading, “Gnome mistreated, gnome liberated.”

I just love the French. Don’t you?

Visiting the Phantom Metro Stations of Paris

by Neil Woodburn on

I’m always intrigued by that which is underground. We’ve posted, for example, a number of times here on Gadling about the Parisian catacombs which stretch for hundreds of kilometers under the French capital.

Today, thanks to USA Today, we bring you up to speed on another subterranean attraction below the streets of Paris: the metro.

No, we’re not talking about the ho-hum commuter metro ridden by thousands of people every day. We’re talking about the metro ridden by a select group of aficionados only a few times a year. Technically, it’s the same line, but this particular journey takes passengers into the past, to metro stations which have closed long ago.

The tour is conducted by a club of metro enthusiasts known as ADEMAS (Association D’Exploitation du Material Sprague). It is a secretive club (with a website, of course) who does not publicize their tours, yet take 2,400 people a year on an all night jaunt that begins when the regular metro shuts down. The lucky few who manage to join a tour do so aboard an historic 1930 Sprague-Thomson train.

The train rumbles ghostlike through active stations before shooting off the main track and eventually coming to a stop at abandoned “phantom stations” which have been closed since World War II. Passengers disembark for a small party of beer and coffee which is accompanied by a festive organ grinder. How very French!

The tour lasts for an intriguing five hours and ends with hot chocolate and croissants. Then, it’s time to join the regular mopes on the regular metro and get yourself back to your hotel for some well-earned Zzzzzs.

Le Halloween est Mort

by Erik Olsen on

AN intriguing little piece over at Forbes declares that the French, so put off by the war in Iraq and the infestation of McDonalds in their country, have largely declared Halloween dead. The “holiday”…a term hardly foreign to the leisure-loving French, no longer inspires legions of wee French kids to go about knocking on big heavy doors and pleading for candy.

Well, then let them eat cake, I say. But seriously, it seems the decline in interest follows a short-lived popularity, during which the French briefly copied our customs, but then decided that the day way too commercialized and had just enough a whiff of America about it that they decided it was time to commit the holiday to the plastic jack-o-lantern of history.

That’s all fine and dandy except that, dear Pierre, Halloween comes from the Pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain in the British Isles, where it was once believed that spirits would rise from the dead and mingle with the living. It is not American…except in its blatant exploitation of children to sell candy. That’s American through and through. But what would the holiday be otherwise, I ask you? What are you going to give all the little dressed up munchkins? Croissants? A pack of Gaulloises?

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of October 22

by Adrienne Wilson on

Can everyone say TGIF? Boy, am I glad the first hint of the weekend has arrived. It’s been a long one and if your week happened to have been as hectic as mine then you may have missed some of these Gadling pieces, but never fear – they are here.

5. Paris Too Hardcore for the Japanese?:
Culture reads are always fun in my book and seeing how different tourists react in certain countries is also good info to know, but something about this piece on Paris being too tough on Japanese strikes me as odd. I’ve never heard of a city that caused one to seek psychological counseling after your return. Is there anyone out there who can back this up?

4. World’s Most Expensive Restaurants:
Follow poor Erik as he accidentally gets in on a dinner bill at one of NY’s most priciest restaurants and regrets ever showing up. After sharing his own personal story he points those that like having restaurant tabs starting at about $370 a person to this Forbes List of most expensive restaurants. Chow down for me, because you won’t find me there.

3. New York Times Looks at Los Angeles:
Erik lives in New York. Neil lives in Los Angeles. I live in Limbo. What better set of travel bloggers could one possibly find? While I stay out in the land of Limbo I can thank Neil for holding his ground in LA to help provide honest criticism on the City of Angels when folks like the NY Times try to sum it all in one go. If you’re considering travel to LA, read Neil’s blurb and this pretty good read from the NY Times as well. Then let us know what you think.

2. Dirty, Filthy, Nasty, & Unclean Airplanes:
Some find horror in film, but I find horror in real life. I call it soiled seats, filthy carpet and greasy windows 35,000 feet in air. I’m sure you’ve been on a dirty airplane a time or two. Well, reading this piece will probably have you reaching for that barf bag next time you fly.

1. Smoke-Free Hotel Rooms:
With this news I’m sure some non-smokers lungs are singing praise and screaming hallelujah! Yes, it looks as though Westin Hotel & Resorts along with the Marriott are banning smoking altogether in their chain of hotels. Good news for us, but I’m sure those not ready to kick the habit are either pouting or puffing it up in some shady smoked-filled motel room.