I watched this latest Tim Burton movie a few days after seeing his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory again...
I have to say I couldn't have made a stronger contrast.
They basically show the whole range of the spectrum that Burton can do: on one hand an outstanding and intelleigent children movie that can also truly entertain adults (that's Charlie) on the other the darkest revenge movie.
Indeed, don't get fooled by the musical aspect of Sweeney Todd. Although it is a "proper" musical, meaning that at least 3/4 of the dialogs are sung, the song are never here for lifting the atmosphere...
From the 1st frames of the movie, blood rains on London and that 1st gloomy impression is not betrayed by the rest, the horror ramping up as Sweeney plots his revenge.
This is most certainly Burton's darkest movie to date. He has always had a taste for gloom, but most of the time his characters are some sort of romantic misfits. Here, Sweeney Todd is so absorbed by his vengence that he can't even see anything else, he's completely consumed by it. And along goes any kind of so said romantic characters that could be associated with him...
I didn't expect such darkness from Burton. Sure he did Mars Attacks! yet it's a funny movie. To see him come up with something like this when people had suspected him to "soften up" is a very nice surprise indeed!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Engrish.
Once in a while I have a look through my "archive" of funnies that went through my email in the past and rediscover some gems.
Anyone who has been to asian countries (especially Japan I'd say) might know that they sometimes have a "distorted" knowledge of english. In Japan one of the most common example is that they confuse "R" & "L", because they don't have those sounds in Japanese.
That often leads to funny or cryptic messages.
A website compiles them: www.engrish.com.
It's very good! :)
I have also a selection below:
Anyone who has been to asian countries (especially Japan I'd say) might know that they sometimes have a "distorted" knowledge of english. In Japan one of the most common example is that they confuse "R" & "L", because they don't have those sounds in Japanese.
That often leads to funny or cryptic messages.
A website compiles them: www.engrish.com.
It's very good! :)
I have also a selection below:
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
No country for old men.
I am a great fan of Terry Pratchett and especially his Discworld novels. ANd in those, one of my favourite characters is Death. It has a kind of sympathetic feel to it. Just "something" doing its job. It has to be here, he doesn't specially enjoys it yet he takes pride in making sure it's done well.
In the Coen brother's latest, the character that will most certainly stay in everyone's mind will be that of Anton Chigurg. And that character could actually be an incarnation of Death itself. With a difference that makes him less engaging. He loves what he does.
Actually I read an interview of Javier Bardem (who plays Chigurg) somewhere and he said that he though his character was more an incarnation of violence. And it does make sense (not that I would doubt that he knows what he's talking about, after all he played the guy... ^^; ).
Violence is everywhere, unstoppable, thorough. That's what he is.
At some point in the movie people question if he's not a ghost. And you hear this stories that could be his doing but are way too old... Was he there? Or is he just doing the same old thing that other did before him?
To the point that later in the movie, you don't even see things, because you just know what happenned anyway. The same old.
You can only witness it or be a victim.
So to get all those point of views ad so we're not left with just that grim character, we also have the witness in the person of the aging sheriff (that has seen it all) and the guy that thinks he can get away with it.
As usual with the Coens (although here they were adapting a book, so they are not the only ones accountable for this), the characters are very well written and very engaging whether main or secondary. They are also played to the standard, with obviously Javier Bardem in a turn I'm not going to forget (as the "ultimate badass"), but also Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin that give him a good opposition (although they never share a scene).
One thing was that the movie is set in Texas and the characters have very strong accents, which pushed my laguage skill to the limit, so I couldn't fully enjoy the dialogs. Obviously, again as usual, they are excellent (from what I managed to understand). But this is only due to my own limitation and should be put to the cedrit of the Coen, that always scrupulously keep their universe coherent.
Along the same lines, the attention to the tinest details in the cinematography was also amazing, the way they manage to suggest things without showing it (the repertition of blood trails, the attention of Chigurg not to put blood on his shoes...).
It all adds up to make a fairly standard and unoriginal pitch still feel fresh.
It's a movie that gets your mind working after you've left the cinema, that you want to discuss... That's how good this is.
In the Coen brother's latest, the character that will most certainly stay in everyone's mind will be that of Anton Chigurg. And that character could actually be an incarnation of Death itself. With a difference that makes him less engaging. He loves what he does.
Actually I read an interview of Javier Bardem (who plays Chigurg) somewhere and he said that he though his character was more an incarnation of violence. And it does make sense (not that I would doubt that he knows what he's talking about, after all he played the guy... ^^; ).
Violence is everywhere, unstoppable, thorough. That's what he is.
At some point in the movie people question if he's not a ghost. And you hear this stories that could be his doing but are way too old... Was he there? Or is he just doing the same old thing that other did before him?
To the point that later in the movie, you don't even see things, because you just know what happenned anyway. The same old.
You can only witness it or be a victim.
So to get all those point of views ad so we're not left with just that grim character, we also have the witness in the person of the aging sheriff (that has seen it all) and the guy that thinks he can get away with it.
As usual with the Coens (although here they were adapting a book, so they are not the only ones accountable for this), the characters are very well written and very engaging whether main or secondary. They are also played to the standard, with obviously Javier Bardem in a turn I'm not going to forget (as the "ultimate badass"), but also Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin that give him a good opposition (although they never share a scene).
One thing was that the movie is set in Texas and the characters have very strong accents, which pushed my laguage skill to the limit, so I couldn't fully enjoy the dialogs. Obviously, again as usual, they are excellent (from what I managed to understand). But this is only due to my own limitation and should be put to the cedrit of the Coen, that always scrupulously keep their universe coherent.
Along the same lines, the attention to the tinest details in the cinematography was also amazing, the way they manage to suggest things without showing it (the repertition of blood trails, the attention of Chigurg not to put blood on his shoes...).
It all adds up to make a fairly standard and unoriginal pitch still feel fresh.
It's a movie that gets your mind working after you've left the cinema, that you want to discuss... That's how good this is.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I Am Legend
I started 2008 on a big one.
I have heard about this for nearly 2 years now.
In a nutshell: supposedly the book it's adapted from is one of the best "vampire" books of all time (I haven't red it yet). And the adaptation took years and years to be made, the original had the reputation to be the best script ever written. But no one could do it.
And then it finally resurfaced and Will Smith was attached to it, with the director of Constantine directing. That produced quite a stir, with fans fearing that Will Smith would change the main character into a wise-cracking guy.
I had to admit that when the book is supposed to be 1 guy alone going crazy, that could be a problem.
Also, doing a "Hollywood blockbuster" based on that could lead to fabricated action sequences that would spoilthe whole spirit of the novel.
So I took good care not reading the book efore seeeing the movie, to reduce the chances to be disappointed to the minimum.
Well as a movie, just on its own, I have to say it's a pretty damn good effort.
The script also alternates quite nicely drama moments and action sequences that are handled quite well, that gives a nice rythm of tension build up then release then build up... There are plenty of memorable moments and the overall tone stays quite dark.
Having completely CG vampires seem a bizarre idea, yet it didn't really bother me.
More importantly Will Smith is excellent, with a very believable turn on a man alone. I just felt it rang true. He relly carries the film.
Ultimately it's what makes the movie compelling.
Now I have to read the book, to see the (apparently numerous) differences.
Even if it's much better at least I'll have been able to enjoy the adaptation!
I have heard about this for nearly 2 years now.
In a nutshell: supposedly the book it's adapted from is one of the best "vampire" books of all time (I haven't red it yet). And the adaptation took years and years to be made, the original had the reputation to be the best script ever written. But no one could do it.
And then it finally resurfaced and Will Smith was attached to it, with the director of Constantine directing. That produced quite a stir, with fans fearing that Will Smith would change the main character into a wise-cracking guy.
I had to admit that when the book is supposed to be 1 guy alone going crazy, that could be a problem.
Also, doing a "Hollywood blockbuster" based on that could lead to fabricated action sequences that would spoilthe whole spirit of the novel.
So I took good care not reading the book efore seeeing the movie, to reduce the chances to be disappointed to the minimum.
Well as a movie, just on its own, I have to say it's a pretty damn good effort.
The script also alternates quite nicely drama moments and action sequences that are handled quite well, that gives a nice rythm of tension build up then release then build up... There are plenty of memorable moments and the overall tone stays quite dark.
Having completely CG vampires seem a bizarre idea, yet it didn't really bother me.
More importantly Will Smith is excellent, with a very believable turn on a man alone. I just felt it rang true. He relly carries the film.
Ultimately it's what makes the movie compelling.
Now I have to read the book, to see the (apparently numerous) differences.
Even if it's much better at least I'll have been able to enjoy the adaptation!
Terminator versus Robocop versus Predator versu Alien versus Batman... Who's missing?
A welldone rehash of the Terminator and Robocop movies that makes the 2 unstoppable machines face to face...
Made me think of the short movie Batma: Dead End that confronts Batman with other creatures. That's an actual short though and it does rock... :)
A good example where "amateur" works are better than "professionnal" stuff...
Made me think of the short movie Batma: Dead End that confronts Batman with other creatures. That's an actual short though and it does rock... :)
A good example where "amateur" works are better than "professionnal" stuff...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
2007 Cinema round up...
This year was fairly quiet one and because I had less time to go to the cinema I just went for biggies.
As a consequence, I saw "only" 11 movies, which kind of defeats the idea of having my yearly "top 10".
Not only that but for various reasons I think that all of them were excellent in their own right. Not much of a mind bending set, mainly only straightforward rides, but still highly enjoyable (that's what cinema is for anyway!) and not necessarily dumb.
If I still tried to order them, it would give:
1) Spider-Man 3
2) Beowulf
3) The Bourne Ultimatum
4) Transformers
5) La Science des rêves
6) Zodiac
7) 30 Days of Night
8) Hot Fuzz
9) 300
10) Shoot 'Em Up
11) Death Proof
This year holds a lot of promises, with the Coen brothers returning, as well as Tim Burton... Exciting!
As a consequence, I saw "only" 11 movies, which kind of defeats the idea of having my yearly "top 10".
Not only that but for various reasons I think that all of them were excellent in their own right. Not much of a mind bending set, mainly only straightforward rides, but still highly enjoyable (that's what cinema is for anyway!) and not necessarily dumb.
If I still tried to order them, it would give:
1) Spider-Man 3
2) Beowulf
3) The Bourne Ultimatum
4) Transformers
5) La Science des rêves
6) Zodiac
7) 30 Days of Night
8) Hot Fuzz
9) 300
10) Shoot 'Em Up
11) Death Proof
This year holds a lot of promises, with the Coen brothers returning, as well as Tim Burton... Exciting!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Avez-vous deja vu?
C'est une serie de spots d'une minute d'Alain Chabat, bien dans l'esprit...
YouTube en est plein il suffit de chercher "Avez-vous deja vu".
Petite seletion... Enjoy!
YouTube en est plein il suffit de chercher "Avez-vous deja vu".
Petite seletion... Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Christmas everyone!!
Here, the news talk about food poisonning with foie gras & carbon monoxyde intoxications in a few churches during the Christmas mass...
That should cheer people up!
Thanks to the TV!
That should cheer people up!
Thanks to the TV!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
A lire! Important!
Un petit email que j'ai recu et qui m'a fait rire... :)
----------
Petit rappel de l'année 2007:
Je voudrais remercier tout ceux qui m'ont envoyé des e-mails en
chaînes pendant toute cette année, car grâce à votre bonté:
1-J'ai lu 170 fois que MSN Hotmail allait supprimer mon compte
2 - J'ai accumulé environ 3000 ans de malheur et je suis mort 67 fois
à cause de toutes les chaînes que je n'ai pas renvoyées!
3-Quand je sors d'IKEA, je ne regarde personne, car j'ai peur qu'il
(ou elle) m'emmène dans un hotel, qu'il (ou elle) me drogue, pour
après m'enlever un rein pour le revendre au marché noir!
4- J'ai versé aussi toutes mes économies sur le compte d'Amy BRUCE,
une pauvre petite fille qui était malade à l'hôpital plus de 7 000
fois (c'est drôle, cette petite fille a toujours 8 ans depuis 1995...)
5-Mon GSM Nokia gratuit n'est jamais arrivé, ni les entrées que j'avais gagnées
6-J'ai inscrit mon prénom parmi 3000 autres sur une pétition et j'ai
peut-être sauvé une espèce menacée d'écureuil nain à poil dur en
Biélorussie orientale .
7-Je connais la recette pour ne plus être seul en amour: il suffit
d'écrire le prénom d'une personne sur un papier en pensant très fort à
elle puis de se gratter le cul en tournant dans le sens des aiguilles
d'une montre autour d'une Renault 4L (pas facile de trouver une 4L)
8-J'ai lu au moins 25 tomes de tous les préceptes du DALAI LAMA et
j'ai accumulé du bonheur pour au moins les 4690 prochaines années!!
9 -Sans oublier les 50 fois ou j'ai dû scruter mon écran nuit et jour
pour détecter le fameux message qui contenait cet enfoiré de virus que
même Microsoft, Mac affee, Norton Symantec etc étaient incapables
d'avoir l'anti dote....et qui, non content de bousiller le disque dur,
risquait de flinguer la chaîne stéréo, la télé, la cafetière.le sani
broyeur !!!!!!
IMPORTANT: si tu n'envoies pas cet e-mail dans les prochaines 10
secondes à au moins 8500 personnes, un dinosaure venu de l'espace
viendra bouffer toute ta famille demain à 17h 30
----------
Petit rappel de l'année 2007:
Je voudrais remercier tout ceux qui m'ont envoyé des e-mails en
chaînes pendant toute cette année, car grâce à votre bonté:
1-J'ai lu 170 fois que MSN Hotmail allait supprimer mon compte
2 - J'ai accumulé environ 3000 ans de malheur et je suis mort 67 fois
à cause de toutes les chaînes que je n'ai pas renvoyées!
3-Quand je sors d'IKEA, je ne regarde personne, car j'ai peur qu'il
(ou elle) m'emmène dans un hotel, qu'il (ou elle) me drogue, pour
après m'enlever un rein pour le revendre au marché noir!
4- J'ai versé aussi toutes mes économies sur le compte d'Amy BRUCE,
une pauvre petite fille qui était malade à l'hôpital plus de 7 000
fois (c'est drôle, cette petite fille a toujours 8 ans depuis 1995...)
5-Mon GSM Nokia gratuit n'est jamais arrivé, ni les entrées que j'avais gagnées
6-J'ai inscrit mon prénom parmi 3000 autres sur une pétition et j'ai
peut-être sauvé une espèce menacée d'écureuil nain à poil dur en
Biélorussie orientale .
7-Je connais la recette pour ne plus être seul en amour: il suffit
d'écrire le prénom d'une personne sur un papier en pensant très fort à
elle puis de se gratter le cul en tournant dans le sens des aiguilles
d'une montre autour d'une Renault 4L (pas facile de trouver une 4L)
8-J'ai lu au moins 25 tomes de tous les préceptes du DALAI LAMA et
j'ai accumulé du bonheur pour au moins les 4690 prochaines années!!
9 -Sans oublier les 50 fois ou j'ai dû scruter mon écran nuit et jour
pour détecter le fameux message qui contenait cet enfoiré de virus que
même Microsoft, Mac affee, Norton Symantec etc étaient incapables
d'avoir l'anti dote....et qui, non content de bousiller le disque dur,
risquait de flinguer la chaîne stéréo, la télé, la cafetière.le sani
broyeur !!!!!!
IMPORTANT: si tu n'envoies pas cet e-mail dans les prochaines 10
secondes à au moins 8500 personnes, un dinosaure venu de l'espace
viendra bouffer toute ta famille demain à 17h 30
Monday, December 10, 2007
Non-motivation.
Grace a un article de Libe, j'ai decouvert un artiste qui repond a des annonces d'emploi pour dire pourquoi il ne postule pas...
Un fantasme partage je suis sur par nombre de chercheurs d'emploi (dont j'ai fait partie). Je vous renvoie a l'article pour les details...
Les lettres sont consultables gratuitement sur le site de l'editeur.
Un fantasme partage je suis sur par nombre de chercheurs d'emploi (dont j'ai fait partie). Je vous renvoie a l'article pour les details...
Les lettres sont consultables gratuitement sur le site de l'editeur.
Citation du jour...
«La K7 permettait de se faire ses propres compilations, soit en copiant les disques qu’on vous prêtait, soit en enregistrant la radio. Je crois qu’à l’époque se disaient à peu près les mêmes conneries qu’à l’heure actuelle à propos des MP3, d’Internet et du piratage. Enfin je crois, parce que je n’étais pas né»
Notamment «Home Taping is Killing Music»... Ca rappelle des choses...
Le mouvement essaie de ressuciter la cassette contre la dematerialisation dela musique. Interessant...
Contexte.
Notamment «Home Taping is Killing Music»... Ca rappelle des choses...
Le mouvement essaie de ressuciter la cassette contre la dematerialisation dela musique. Interessant...
Contexte.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Geeeeeeeks!
Suite a la sortie un docu sur le sujet, Rue89 traite des geeks.
Cela ne peut que me toucher puisque j'en fais partie, quoique de maniere relativement benigne. En effet le passage d'un test (ici) ne me donne qu'un score de 1378, faisant de moi un geek honnete sans exces.
Mais bon je dois dire que ce test fait pas mal d'impasses jeux videos et anime / manga, ca aurait fait monter mon score.
Le test d'Otaku suivant me donne en effet en otaku.
C'est tres subjectif tout ca...
Et pour relier avec mon post sur les zombies, voici comment le monde sera sauve (ou pas).
Cela ne peut que me toucher puisque j'en fais partie, quoique de maniere relativement benigne. En effet le passage d'un test (ici) ne me donne qu'un score de 1378, faisant de moi un geek honnete sans exces.
Mais bon je dois dire que ce test fait pas mal d'impasses jeux videos et anime / manga, ca aurait fait monter mon score.
Le test d'Otaku suivant me donne en effet en otaku.
C'est tres subjectif tout ca...
Et pour relier avec mon post sur les zombies, voici comment le monde sera sauve (ou pas).
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Beowulf.
At a 1st glance this didn't seem really promising: the technology used for the Polar Express (which was a so-so Christmas tale, so kids only, and with fish eyed characters) was going to be used again to tell a story I had only heard of in a crappy film starring Christophe Lambert...
But that story was adapted by Roger Avary & Neil Gaiman, which is a 1st good sign.
Also, I read a few things in which director Robert Zemeckis was stating he wanted to do something more adult to follow up on the Polar Express.
A good script and good intentions are always nice things, but don't always give a good movie.
What of this?
Well it's fine example of a very succesfull epic!
Technically, it's stunning. The technique consists in digitalising the actor's performances and then recreating everything from scratch in CGI.
It therefore frees the camera (which is then virtual) completely and make possible the wildest movements.
It also enables a lot of liberties on the characters, as you can see with Beowulf, a young buffed up colossus that is originally played by Ray Winston, a 50-something actor.
The textures are amazing (especially skins and hairs) and the characters movements also, which is no real surprise as they're "real".
There are still a few things that feel strange (the horses in particular).
Having said that, and eventhough the point is more or less "photorealism", I don't think the point here is to recreate "real" in CGI.
It's just a hybrid between animation and live action. It's an animation movie, but instead of having only voice acting it also captures physical acting.
So as such it's neither, it's just another way to make pictures, to tell stories.
And that's actually there that Beowulf is, in my opinion, the most succesfull: the story is truly engaging.
It obviously treads on 300 ground, being a sort of bedtime story, the kind that gets bigger each time it's told (you actually get a nod to this at the beginning of the picture). It's firmly centered around its main character, but whereas in 300 couldn't really identify with the main characters (unless you're a wild warmonger), Beowulf is a very human character, despite being a hero.
He's faillible and his pride will lead him to his fall, but ultimately his redemption.
All this takes place in a pure medieval fantasy setting, meaning brutal fights and epic set pieces, magnified by the possibilities of the virtual camera.
So not only this is a technology leap, it's also an emotionnal journey doubled with an amazing ride...
But that story was adapted by Roger Avary & Neil Gaiman, which is a 1st good sign.
Also, I read a few things in which director Robert Zemeckis was stating he wanted to do something more adult to follow up on the Polar Express.
A good script and good intentions are always nice things, but don't always give a good movie.
What of this?
Well it's fine example of a very succesfull epic!
Technically, it's stunning. The technique consists in digitalising the actor's performances and then recreating everything from scratch in CGI.
It therefore frees the camera (which is then virtual) completely and make possible the wildest movements.
It also enables a lot of liberties on the characters, as you can see with Beowulf, a young buffed up colossus that is originally played by Ray Winston, a 50-something actor.
The textures are amazing (especially skins and hairs) and the characters movements also, which is no real surprise as they're "real".
There are still a few things that feel strange (the horses in particular).
Having said that, and eventhough the point is more or less "photorealism", I don't think the point here is to recreate "real" in CGI.
It's just a hybrid between animation and live action. It's an animation movie, but instead of having only voice acting it also captures physical acting.
So as such it's neither, it's just another way to make pictures, to tell stories.
And that's actually there that Beowulf is, in my opinion, the most succesfull: the story is truly engaging.
It obviously treads on 300 ground, being a sort of bedtime story, the kind that gets bigger each time it's told (you actually get a nod to this at the beginning of the picture). It's firmly centered around its main character, but whereas in 300 couldn't really identify with the main characters (unless you're a wild warmonger), Beowulf is a very human character, despite being a hero.
He's faillible and his pride will lead him to his fall, but ultimately his redemption.
All this takes place in a pure medieval fantasy setting, meaning brutal fights and epic set pieces, magnified by the possibilities of the virtual camera.
So not only this is a technology leap, it's also an emotionnal journey doubled with an amazing ride...
Quote of the day.
"The only term I won't accept is "genius." The term "genius" gets used far too loosely in rock & roll. When you hear the melodic structures of what classical musicians put together and you compare it to that of a rock & roll record, there's a hell of a long way rock & roll has to go. There's a certain standard in classical music that allows the application of the term "genius," but you're treading on thin ice if you start applying it to rock & rollers. The way I see it, rock & roll is folk music. Street music. It isn't taught in school. It has to be picked up. You don't find geniuses in street musicians, but that doesn't mean to say you can't be really good. You get as much out of rock & roll artistically as you put into it. There's nobody who can teach you. You're on your own and that's what I find so fascinating about it." Jimmy Page (in the 70's)
Context
Context
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Citation du jour...
"(...) le concept de «marque amie», «marque choisie» que propose l'offre publicitaire de Facebook est géniale. Elle revient à assimiler personnes physiques et personnes morales. La marque se définit comme une personne et l'internaute lui-même, lorsqu'il s'inscrit sur Facebook, livre ses caractéristiques comme une marque. Même s'il n'en est pas conscient ! » Christophe Lambert, coprésident de FFL.
On oubliera peut-etre la pub, mais la pub, elle, ne nous oubliera pas...
Contexte.
J'en profite pour passer un autre article de Libe sur l'utilisation du telephone portable dans les pays en voie de developpement: maintenant que les portables sont aussi puissants que les ordinateurs d'il y a 10ans, avec en plus la connectivite sans fil, c'est un outil inestimable pour le developpement des pays pauvres!
Ca fait du bien d'entendre de bonnes nouvelles de temps en temps...
On oubliera peut-etre la pub, mais la pub, elle, ne nous oubliera pas...
Contexte.
J'en profite pour passer un autre article de Libe sur l'utilisation du telephone portable dans les pays en voie de developpement: maintenant que les portables sont aussi puissants que les ordinateurs d'il y a 10ans, avec en plus la connectivite sans fil, c'est un outil inestimable pour le developpement des pays pauvres!
Ca fait du bien d'entendre de bonnes nouvelles de temps en temps...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Zombiiiiies!
L'on m'a fait passer (merci Ninoune!) un article tres interessant sur la survie en milieu zombie.
C'est tres tres informatif et didactique, avec des videos d'information et meme une simulation en cas d'epidemie!
C'est avant tout tres drole. :)
Pour la simu, j'ai trouve la solution: faut les nuker d'entree... (^_^)
C'est tres tres informatif et didactique, avec des videos d'information et meme une simulation en cas d'epidemie!
C'est avant tout tres drole. :)
Pour la simu, j'ai trouve la solution: faut les nuker d'entree... (^_^)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Culture pub!
Vu sur Le Monde.fr (merci Guigui), Culture Pub, l'emission culte de M6 qui recensait les pubs les plus remarquables, en France comme a l'etranger, va retrouver une nouvelle jeunesse sur le net!!
Une emission hebdomadaire sera proposee, ainsi que les archives! Le tout gratuitement!
En voila une idee qu'elle est bonne!
Ca va pas faire monter la productivite par contre... ^^;
www.culturepub.fr
Une emission hebdomadaire sera proposee, ainsi que les archives! Le tout gratuitement!
En voila une idee qu'elle est bonne!
Ca va pas faire monter la productivite par contre... ^^;
www.culturepub.fr
Thursday, November 22, 2007
La citation du jour...
"(..)contrairement à une idée reçue, le smic français n’est pas le plus élevé: il est inférieur à ses équivalents belge, néerlandais, irlandais ou encore britannique."
Pour nous francais qui sommes persuades d'avoir le meilleur systeme social au monde, c'est une sacree claque!
Contexte.
Pour nous francais qui sommes persuades d'avoir le meilleur systeme social au monde, c'est une sacree claque!
Contexte.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
30 Days Of Night.
The pitch of this one was what caught my eye: an American town in Alaska gets each year 30 days during which the sun doesn't show up (as often happens in those northern lands) and that's the time that a bunch of vampires choose to go downtown and enjoy themselves a bit...
Now vampires movies are cool already, but when properly handed, you can reach some pretty awesome levels. That material was properly treated.
In essence, it's pure 1st degree no-nonsense survival movie. A bunch of mismatched people are being hunted and they try to survive, as they see everyone else being killed.
In that sense the movie doesn't sport anything very ground breaking in the sense that you get the usual freak outs and surprise kills. Nothing madly original in concept but no disappointment as it's still very solid stuff.
And anyway with this genre, what matters is how the material is dealt with. It's all about style and atmosphere and it's truly here that the movie delivers.
First of all the vampires are really scary. They're beasts, only looking for humans to feed and despising them as mere cattle. Danny Huston who plays their leader is truly creepy here.
The tension starts building up straightaway and never let go, even during the ending credits, a sort of patchwork of torn pictures reminding of the massacre. You only get a few jump shocks to keep you on your toes and the movie concentrates on distilling a creepy atmosphere that does the job as well!
It is also beautifully shot. It might be a strange thing to say about a horror movie, especially considering the amount of violence and the number of shock moments, but it is! Each frame manages to convey the creepy atmosphere and also to remind of the comic book source. It's not as stylised as Sin City but still plays on a tasteful palette of black, white and red.
Overall what we have is one of the best survival horrors in years, coupled with one of best vampires movies in years!
Now vampires movies are cool already, but when properly handed, you can reach some pretty awesome levels. That material was properly treated.
In essence, it's pure 1st degree no-nonsense survival movie. A bunch of mismatched people are being hunted and they try to survive, as they see everyone else being killed.
In that sense the movie doesn't sport anything very ground breaking in the sense that you get the usual freak outs and surprise kills. Nothing madly original in concept but no disappointment as it's still very solid stuff.
And anyway with this genre, what matters is how the material is dealt with. It's all about style and atmosphere and it's truly here that the movie delivers.
First of all the vampires are really scary. They're beasts, only looking for humans to feed and despising them as mere cattle. Danny Huston who plays their leader is truly creepy here.
The tension starts building up straightaway and never let go, even during the ending credits, a sort of patchwork of torn pictures reminding of the massacre. You only get a few jump shocks to keep you on your toes and the movie concentrates on distilling a creepy atmosphere that does the job as well!
It is also beautifully shot. It might be a strange thing to say about a horror movie, especially considering the amount of violence and the number of shock moments, but it is! Each frame manages to convey the creepy atmosphere and also to remind of the comic book source. It's not as stylised as Sin City but still plays on a tasteful palette of black, white and red.
Overall what we have is one of the best survival horrors in years, coupled with one of best vampires movies in years!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Deathproof.
I've just realised I hadn't posted this, what a shame!
Last september, I was lucky enough to catch a preview of the latest Tarantino movie, followed by a very interesting and entertaining Q&A with Tarantino himself along with Zoe Bell (which I had never heard of before... ^^; ).
That was the actual cut of the movie, not the Grindhouse cut, so compared to the latter it was 30min longer.
It would be difficult for me to descibe this something else than "pure fun".
You know it's one of those movies that has no depth (other than style-wise) but that is however is purely enjoyable and deeply satisfying.
As usual, Mr QT starts on a fairly simple basis of trying to recreate a genre-film (here a slasher movie) but delivers something that is a lot more than that, that feels fresh and ultimately personnal and unique.
You always go to see a QT movie expecting something and come out having seen more. Also, you don't really have to "get" the references in order to enjoy the film...
So it's starts off as the usual chatty Tarantino flick, then turns into a slasher (kind of) and then becomes a car chase movie. In the intervals, you get to know the characters better, a gruesome car accident and a cool lap dance... It's amazing to see how he can fill empty space with just "random" dialogues without actually be boring. He makes the simplest girly chitchat almost as exciting as the ation bits...
As usual, it's perfectly cast, the obvious highlight being Kurt Russel masterfully portraying a twisted character that reveals to be surprisingly multilayered.
The soundtrack, unsurprisingly, is also top notch.
It's a movie you have to give in to. It's gripping and thrilling and you also get some tongue in cheek "defects" as if it was an "actual" grindhouse movie, whih add to the fun.
Maybe a "minor" Tarantino (then again you could argue he only makes "minor" movies) but he can make more like that as much as he likes, I won't complain!
Last september, I was lucky enough to catch a preview of the latest Tarantino movie, followed by a very interesting and entertaining Q&A with Tarantino himself along with Zoe Bell (which I had never heard of before... ^^; ).
That was the actual cut of the movie, not the Grindhouse cut, so compared to the latter it was 30min longer.
It would be difficult for me to descibe this something else than "pure fun".
You know it's one of those movies that has no depth (other than style-wise) but that is however is purely enjoyable and deeply satisfying.
As usual, Mr QT starts on a fairly simple basis of trying to recreate a genre-film (here a slasher movie) but delivers something that is a lot more than that, that feels fresh and ultimately personnal and unique.
You always go to see a QT movie expecting something and come out having seen more. Also, you don't really have to "get" the references in order to enjoy the film...
So it's starts off as the usual chatty Tarantino flick, then turns into a slasher (kind of) and then becomes a car chase movie. In the intervals, you get to know the characters better, a gruesome car accident and a cool lap dance... It's amazing to see how he can fill empty space with just "random" dialogues without actually be boring. He makes the simplest girly chitchat almost as exciting as the ation bits...
As usual, it's perfectly cast, the obvious highlight being Kurt Russel masterfully portraying a twisted character that reveals to be surprisingly multilayered.
The soundtrack, unsurprisingly, is also top notch.
It's a movie you have to give in to. It's gripping and thrilling and you also get some tongue in cheek "defects" as if it was an "actual" grindhouse movie, whih add to the fun.
Maybe a "minor" Tarantino (then again you could argue he only makes "minor" movies) but he can make more like that as much as he likes, I won't complain!
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