My Cinema: Things We Lost in the Fire

Things We Lost in the Fire, by Susanne Bier, USA 2007

From Dogme 95 to Hollywood
Danish director Susanne Bier (remember 2006’s AFTER THE WEDDING, for which she received an Oscar nomination?) films her first “American” movie, for Sam Mendes (remember AMERICAN BEAUTY), producer behind this project. She hasn’t however lost much of her previous style of filming, with the use of handheld camera, cuts and many close-ups, which all contribute to creating that sense of intimacy which she masters so well.
Despite the soapy subject, Bier avoids falling into melodrama and films here a realistic drama, an emotionally rich family story, served by an excellent cast, in particular Benicio del Toro and Halle Berry. As TODD MCCARTHY wrote so well, “Benicio Del Toro’s performance sparks an otherwise morose study of loss, addiction and catharsis”. [3.5/5]

My Cinema: Independent's spirt awards

FILM INDEPENDENT’S SPIRIT AWARDS

Just before the famous Oscar awards, those of the north-american independent film industry were awarded yesterday. Will (some) of the Oscars follow?... we'll see tomorow!

Best Feature
Juno
Directed by Jason Reitman (excellent!)

Best First Screenplay
Diablo Cody
Juno

Best Documentary
Crazy Love
Director: Dan Klores (haven't seen)

Best Male Lead
Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages
(excellent although he had other great performances in 2007, after his Oscar he is in great shape!)

Best Female Lead
Ellen Page / Juno
(she's great, ever since Hard Candy)

Best Foreign Film
Once (Ireland)
Director: John Carney
(not out here yet, looks promising)

Best Director
Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(not seen yet, too sad)

Best Cinematographer
Janusz Kaminski
The Diving Bell andthe Butterfly

Best Screenplay
Tamara Jenkins (who also directed)
The Savages
(it's a good one)

Best Supporting Female
Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There
(not seen yet, but she's always great)

Best Supporting Male
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Talk To Me
(not seen yet)

Best First Feature
The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank
(not seen yet but I didn't know Miramax was independent)

My Cinema: recent reviews

Sweeney Todd, by Tim Burton, UK 2007

A beautiful graphical film with great acting. Probably the bloodiest musical in film history, this is a dark revenge tragedy served by great performances by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. And fortunately there is no happy ending. So even though I am not a big musical fan, this certainly is a good movie worth seeing. [3/5]

The savages, by Tamara Jenkins, USA 2007

From Sun City to… grey Buffallo. The savages is a wity drama, not a comedy. At moments it even seems to be a european film, from some eastern european country or a Ken Loach film with dry witty humour. No, this is not another Hollywood comedy set in some glamourous place like LA or Miami or Santa Barbara. Not everybody in the US lives in such ‘sexy’ places and some do lead grey lives in sad places like Buffallo… Director Tamara Jenkins pictures family dynamics and personal dense and credible characters in their mid-life chrises while dealing with their ageing dependent father, all not glamourous and not easy subjects. She paints this family portrait and all the many uncomfortable situations with realism and humor and with humanity, but never looks for the easy tear. And she gets the support of a superb cast, Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman in top form. It wouldn’t be surprising if they would get an Oscar. [4/5]

There will be blood, by John Paul Anderson, USA 2007

This could seem a metaphor about war and oil, blood for oil or conveying some subliminal political message… not so, it seems that this wasn’t Anderson’s intention. "There Will Be Blood" displays business and religion as two forces shaping America's "progress", amid greed, ambition and corruption. Transposing here a novel from the beginning of the century, John Paul Anderson (remember Magnolia?) tells the story of a self-made oil prospector in California and the evolution of his character, becoming meaner, more isolated, more wicked and merciless as he gets richer… personifying much of the evolution of the early days of the oil industry (and the economy in general) in the wild west. After a strong beginning, with strong images and plans, the film’s final 30 minutes do not fulfil the initial promise, failing to deliver the emotional density and strength ending a bit disappointingly. It remains however a fascinating, breathtaking and disturbing cinematographic experience served by a brilliant acting by Daniel Day-Lewis, a serious candidate to the Oscar (which would be well deserved) and not forgetting rising actor Paul Dano who we also saw in Little Miss Sunshine. [4/5]

Adaptation, by Spike Jonze, USA 2002

This is a movie from 2002 which I discovered now although Spike Jonze (the director, remember 'Being John Malkovitch') isn't quite a newcomer. He has particularly made many music video clips. Jonze and screenplay writer Kaufman manage to mix reality,...(read more) fiction and fantasy in an original and funny comedy/drama. It certainly is not a movie with much mainstream appeal, but it is quite an interesting approach about the narrative creative process, a film where the process of transposing a book into a film is actually the plot. And is served by an excellent cast, where Nicolas Cage excels. [4/5]

P.S.I love you by Richard LaGravenese, USA 2007

James Berardinelli (http://www.reelviews.net) wrote that this movie is the cinematic equivalent of a Celine Dion song, and that is quite true! Some sharp and witty lines are lost in many cliches and in a plot that is too contrived, too cute-to-be-tru...(read more)e. It even fails to reach the level of those 'feel good' movies or 'guilty pleasures' although it is watchable... And I liked one of the quotes, by Patricia (Kathy Bates): "if we're all alone, then we're all together in that too". [2/5]

The Darjeeling limited by Wes Anderson, USA 2007

Wes Anderson is not quite a newcomer and has already made some remarked films, such as The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. I had expected more of his new film and was quite disappointed. It's about the journey of 3 American brothers who have not spoken to each other for a while, who set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find their mother (all organised by one of them) and re-connect the family again, after the death of their father. This sort of 'spiritual trip' reveals to be not very spiritual after all and even though it might be the journey that matters and not the destination, it all seems to lead nowhere. In the meantime they manage to get rid of their luggage (both metaphorically and physically, expensive & posh Louis Vuitton's), meet their mother (Angelica Houston in a meteoric appearance) and witness a local funeral. Despite certain witty and funny scenes and the strangeness of some situations (Bill Murray running in the railway station to loose the train, as if coming straight out of Rushmore, one of Anderson's first movies), despite the setting in charming and enchanting India and despite the whole design and photography, the film doesn't seem to get us nowhere and gets lost in its poses and smart attitude. Well, at least we'll have seen Natalie Portman in the scenes of the prologue short film, where she meets one of the brothers in a hotel in Paris (Jason Schwartzman) all very chic, too blasé... [2.5/5]

My cinema: more reviews

JUNO, by Jason Reitman, USA 2007

Juno is a very intelligent, witty, sweet and endearing comedy, about the coming-of-age (a bit forced due to the unforeseen circumstances…) of a 16-year-old smart-ass girl. This is a real feel-good film and it is good to see such a film, after so much drama & tragedy… Thanks Jason Reitman (remember Thank you for smoking?) and the brilliant newcomer lead actress Ellen Page (supported by an excellent cast) and not forgetting screenwriter Diablo Cody. And it avoids well falling in clichés and Hollywood's easy-tear. Go see it! [4.5/5]

In the Valley of Elah, by Paul Haggis, USA 2007

The film rests in the great performance of Tommy Lee Jones who excels in his nuanced and adequate acting, not forgetting the other supporting actors, all providing an anti-hero charm to their characters. The film is quite good (better than Crash, Paul Haggis' previous) with a continually surprising plot, anti-cliché and where characters are neither Hollywood-heroes nor villains. It remains however a bit at the level of a political leaflet against the Iraq war, dismantling the vision of the war heroes from Iraq conveyed by some American media. It shows what the war in Iraq does to people, in a very disturbing way, pretending it is radically different to what happened in post-Vietnam with veterans (played by Tommy lee Jones) for who comradeship was a real value that nothing could break. But can any war be sane and leave anyone in complete sanity? All in all, a must! [4/5]

My Music: New music for 2008

Only one month has gone by and 2008 is already rich with new promises, new discoveries! Number one is undoubtedly DUBFIRE's 'I feel speed', brilliant remake of the same tittle by the group Love & Rockets, remember? Yes, the same guys who wrote 'Saudade' and many others in the 80ies. But Dubfire are closely followed by the new tracks from HOT CHIP, JAMIE LLOYD's 'May I?', Justus Köhncke's disco-ish 'Parage ', the italian prodigy DUSTY KID, the new track from Fischerspooner and a couple of others. And i would also mention the discovery of other names like Siriusmo from Germany, Jay Shepherd, Olga Kouklaki from Greece, Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya, Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, Lulu Rouge from Denmark and Hercules & Love Affair (in particular their track with Anthony, 'Blind').

As for the albums, a couple of great ones has just come out of which I would select HOT CHIP's 'Made in the Dark', undoubtedly the CD of the month, JUSTUS KÖHNCKE's 'Safe and sound' on Kompakt, MISS KITTIN's "BatBox', the last DISCO NOT DISCO 'Post Punk, Electro & Leftfield Disco Classics 1974-1986', the Dubstep complilation 'Tectonic Plates', KITSUNE's 'Compilation Maison 5' and THEDO's 'Thedo'. And not to mention the forthcoming album by GOLDFRAPP, out in late February, with the excellent remixes of 'A&E' by Gui Boratto and Hercules & Love Affair already out. It should be a bit closer to their first album with some more disco flavour and some accoustic notes...

So here's the tracklist for this beginning of 2008:

Ajello Amore Alieno (Original Mix)
Ben Wijay IOU
Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya Fuck Friend (Yuksek & Brodinski Remix)
Buy Now Body Crash
Cortney Tidwell Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan Pearson's Objects In Daso Meine (Original Mix)
David E. Sugar To Yourself
Dennis Ferrer A Black Man In Space (Sax Mix)
Djuma Soundsystem This Sound - Original Mix
Donnacha Costello Grape B [Trax Edit]
Dubfire I Feel Speed - Original Club Mix
Dusty Kid Luna
Fairmont Gazebo (an old track I know...)
Feadz Numanoïd [Edit]
Fischerspooner The Best Revenge
Flying Lotus Massage Situation
Goldfrapp A & E (Gui Boratto Rmx) + (Hercules & Love Affair mix)
Hercules & Love Affair Blind (Hercules Club Remix)
Hot Chip Ready For The Floor (Soulwax Dub)
Ida Engberg Disco volante (Sébastien Léger remix)
Jamie Lloyd May I? - Quarion's Morning Rave Remix
Jay Shephard 4NC
JoJo De Freq Saturn Returns - Original Mix
Justus Kohncke Parage [Edit]
Luke Solomon The Difference Engine
Lulu Rouge Bless You (Album Version)
M.I.A. (from Berlin) Can't Find You [Kiki Remix]
Mark Brown The Journey Continues [Thomas Gold Mix]
Mark Knight & D. Ramirez Colombian Soul (Original Mix)
Miss Kittin Pollution Of The Mind
Moonbeam Cocoon (Moon Mix)
Nicolette No Government (Tocadisco Dub)
Olga Kouklaki Calling U
Principles Of Geometry A Mountain For President (Joakim Remix)
Prosumer & Murat Tepeli feat Elif Bicer Turn Around (Dub)
Sasse Mount Juneau - Discotronix Mix
Sebastien Tellier Sexual Sportswear
Siriusmo All the girls
Thomas Melchior Feel Sensual
Toby Tobias A Close Shave (Prins Thomas Disko-Tek Miks)
Ulrich Schnauss Goodbye
The Whip Sister Siam ( Justin Robertson remix)
Will Saul 3000 AD - Original Mix Space Remix)
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My World: Human Rights Watch dénonce les arrangements des démocraties occidentales avec les régimes autocratiques

Human Rights Watch dénonce les arrangements des démocraties occidentales avec les régimes autocratiques
LEMONDE.FR | 01.02.08

©

My Cinema: more reviews

La Sconosciuta / The unknown woman, by Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy 2007

Tornatore (remember Cinema Paradiso?) comes back in shape after a couple of years without major films. The script is fairly good, despite some flaws maybe, but which are not so important to the effectiveness of the whole. The director manages to keep the suspense rising and the plot always takes unexpected turns... navigating in ambiguity. He is served by good acting and a good soundtrack, sometimes a bit too eloquent maybe. We follow a former prostitute/slave from Eastern Europe and her path in search of a better future away from a troubled past, that keeps haunting her. Tornatore’s cinema here becomes violent, sadistic and cynical, quite different from Cinema Paradiso. Even though this is not a masterpiece, it is great Italian cinema. [3,5/5]

Charlie Wilson's War, by Mike Nichols, USA 2007

Incredibly enough Mike Nichols’ film has received only one nomination for the Hollywood Oscars… for best supporting actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman (well deserved by the way…). This film is a good combination of an excellent script, intelligent, sarcastic and witty with great acting and very entertaining. In an unpretentious way it shows us the backstage of political life and decision making in Washington and how a bon vivant Congressman (played by Tom Hanks) together with a wealthy anti-communist woman (Julia Roberts) and one intelligence and cold-war expert (Philip Seymour Hoffman) managed to get the financial support needed for the Mujahedin in Afghanistan to defeat the Russian Army in the 80ies, still during the Cold War. Amazingly, it really happened back then. Maybe the reason it hasn’t made a huge success is because the American are not yet ready to be confronted with their recent past failures and with high class satirical smart dialogues (as when Hanks says "You know you've reached rock bottom when you're told you have character flaws by a man who hanged his predecessor in a military coup."). And of course, as Hanks also said, “the ball keeps bouncing”… and (yet again…) the North-American did not foresee what might come afterwards, and did not continue with aid to develop the country… so the rest of the story is well known, and what might have been cheaper back then turned out to be much more expensive, also in human lives… just see how Afghanistan is today. Maybe this is too much to deal with right now, despite the liberal turn that things have taken recently in the US… Excellent film, an absolute must. [4,5/5]

My Cinema: 'XXY' review

YYZ, by Lucia Puenzo, Argentina 2007

With great sensitivity and artistic integrity, in hand with psychological violence, XXY, Lucia Puenzo's first film, addresses different issues around the tough subject of the malaise of adolescence: the discovery and definition of the body, of sexuality and personality. She mixes two types of approach into the subject, the scientific-clinical approach and the intimate-psychological one. Whereas the first is less achieved, however conservative, castrating and limited in scope, the second saves the film and gives it its real organic and metaphorical dimension, one of tolerance and promise. Avoiding the easy pitfalls of the subject and avoiding sensationalism, the film delivers also moments of great violence, more verbal and psychological than physical, such as the failed aggression of Alex by youngsters at the beach, which is almost unbearable. Yet it is the violence that nourishes the sensitive and intimate side of XXY, confronting rejection and fascination of the bizarre and 'different', evoking a certain Cronenberg. And let's not forget the omnipresence of the sea, perfect setting contributing to the metaphorical and mythological dimension. XXY seems a simple film yet it is a complex one, nearly unachieved, yet promising, as those teenager years, as sexuality itself. An interesting cinematographic object.
[4/5]

check also: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXY_(film)

My cinema: latest celluloid adventures

No country for old men by Ethan and Joel Cohen

Yes, the last Coens' film is an intense, effective and nearly flawless thriller-western. It keeps you glued to the chair with the tension rising while it takes its unexpected twists. But it is much more than that, with its provocative, philosophical, premonitory and nearly mythical approach, encompassing some sort of critic on the American way of life, and of the present American soul. After all this is yet another film that tells in its own way, that something is wrong with America today. And that message is synthesized towards the end, when one of the characters says "You can't stop what's coming."
But is this film really such a masterpiece, one of the best of the Cohen brothers' films, as most of the critics are writing? Or a bit of a disappointment?
Maybe it's a bit of both, I will need more time to think over it. In the meantime the excellent photography and landscapes remain, with some great acting, in particular by Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem, unforgettable in his role of a psychopath assassin. Maybe I sense something wrong with the philosophical statement especially towards the end, maybe it was just the many week points of the script with things that seem a bit forced (okay it's a film and they are following a book...) or because things happen too fast and not necessarily well at the end, when for instance one of the three most important characters just disappears like that. [4/5]

Smiley Face by Gregg Araki

After The Doom generation and Mysterious skin, Araki comes with Smiley Face, portraying a young dull would-be actress who gets stoned by eating her roommate's pot cakes by mistake, which triggers a series of misadventures… It’s not a road movie but some sort of an L.A. streets movie…
This is a big disappointment since I expected something very special from Araki after the two mentioned films. This might be some sort of a social critic of modern-day America and the so-called American-dream, of a whole generation corrupted by drugs and apathy… some scenes are funny and it is never boring, because one wonders… what next? Yet the humour is never excellent and the film really fails to convince. Maybe Araki is just trying to tell that something is wrong, as in the quotation from Stella Adler: “A junkie is someone who uses their body to tell society that something is wrong.”
The soundtrack is however quite good, featuring tracks by the Chemical Brothers, Belgian group Ladytron, Scissor Sisters and also Talking Heads' "Memories Can't Wait," which goes (There's a party in my mind and I hope it never stops…) which underlines Jane’s (main character state of mind. [2.5/5]

Lust, Caution by Ang Lee

The romanticism of Ang Lee’s new erotic espionage thriller could linger in our minds for a while, with its erotic Kama-Sutre style images, yet I think it fails to be the grand epic Lee wished to make. So the film is a bit of a disappointment, and I would expect a bit more from Ang Lee. Yet the film is special and does not fit to ‘mainstream’ standards, served by excellent acting by the two main characters. But it is more about style and less convincing on the content side. Photography is excellent, however, as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "There is not a frame of the film that is not beautiful, but there may be too many frames.” And the 158 minutes are a bit too long. Lee is a great director and he proves it here, but I think he could do better, much better. [3.5/5]
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My music: new music for the new year!

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It's only mid January yet my year is already rich with new musical proposals...
My TRACK for January is definitely Dubfire's "I feel speed".
Listen to it here.

Others include the following (coming soon...)

My cinema: recent film reviews

Before the devil knows you’re dead, by Sidney Lumet
32 years after ‘Dog day afternoon’, Sidney Lumet, 83, films ‘Before the devil knows you’re dead’. Like a greek tragedy this film brings out the worst in people, the worst from modern American decadent society, the worst from American suburban lowclass. And shows Lumet’s ruthless cynicism and hopeless vision. The film starts bad & goes worse, scene after scene, until the whole puzzle is complete after the frequent flash backs and forth, wonderfully mastered by Lumet. The result is heavy, very heavy, yet extremely effective. I felt like I had 100 tons on my shoulders when it finished. Great cinema. But go on a Sunday afternoon. [4.5/5]

Rendition, by Gavin Hood
Despite some weaknesses of the screenplay and some scenes and also some inconsistencies of the plot (after all that is not the most important here) this film works quite well and achieves a growing tension as the story develops. Another film about th...(read more)e out-of-law behaviour of some organisations like the CIA in the supposedly biggest democracy in the world. it seems something has definitely changed in politics in the US and this film is just yet another sign of that. Excellent acting too! Very watchable. [3.5/5]

Into the wild, by Sean Penn
This is not only a road movie about the true story of a guy in search for freedom, for the meaning of life. It's also his own inner path, in search of himself. In the beginning he said that the more he knew people the more he liked nature around him ...(read more)and that will change as he follows his way. This great film cannot leave anyone indifferent. And it's not fiction, but based on a true story. The main actor, Emile Hirsch, is excellent and it is well directed by S. Penn, despite some weaknesses, in particular wenn it looks for the easy tear. But the flashbacks are good. And the photography is great too! Highly recommendable! [4/5]

Cassandra’s dream, by Woody Allen
Another drama-crime film of Woddy Allen's english series... This one not as convincing as the previous two, in particular Match point. And no irony nor humour this time. I prefered Allen's Manhattan ones. Woody go back! [2.5/5]
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My Music: best of 2007

MUSIC choices 2007

When I was picking up my choices for 2007 I realised it was more about tracks/songs rather than albums… 2007 celebrated 25 years of CD (I remember) and it seems that album-CDs have their days counted. 2007 confirmed the ongoing revolution in the way we buy and listen to music. And saw many record/CD shops close or having difficulties and see their space reduced. We download (paying of freely) tracks which we listen to directly from our computers/laptops from playlists or download to our iPods (and mp3 players). In 2007 it seems that paid mp3 downloads have increased but they’d better lower prices or people will continue to download illegally! The end of CDs is not so sad… we will save a lot of money because we only have to buy the tracks we want and forget the rest. Albums will remain for some rare artists or alternative musicians. As for me, I’m still an old school guy and like to feel the touch of a CD. Yet fewer and fewer are worth buying. Burial’s “Untrue” is one of those unique listening experiences, you sit on the sofa & listen from beginning to end and just let it flow. That is my album of the year! Check the rest of my choices.

Music Best of 2007 – Best Albums

Burial / Untrue
LCD Soundsystem / Sound Of Silver
Chromatics / Night Drive
Black devil disco club / 28 after
Simian Mobile Disco / Attack Decay Substain Release
Digitalism / Idealism
Supermayer / Save the world
New Young Pony Club / Fantastic Playroom
Justice / †
Dave Gahan / Hourglass
Feist / The Reminder
Pantha du Prince / The Bliss
Calvin Harris / I created disco
The Oscillation / Out of phase
Kasper Bjørke / In Gumbo

Music Best of 2007 – Best Compilations/ Mixes

After Dark / compilation from label Italians do it better
Henrik Schwarz / Live
Milky disco by Lorecordings
The Glimmers / Eskimo Vol V
DJ Hell / Hellboys Italomegamix
Kitsuné Maison 4
Various / 5 tears of Get Physical
Dirty Space Disco
Prins Thomas / Cosmo Galactic Prism
Back To Mine / Mix by Röyksopp

Music Best of 2007 / Best TRACKS

Top 10+2

Axwell ft. Charles Salter /I Found You
Das Pop+Aeroplane/ Fool for love (Aeroplane remix)
Farah /Law of Life
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons/ Beggin (Pilooski Re-edit)
Italoboyz / Viktor Casanova - Original Mix
Jamie Jones /I Like You
M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade featuring Laurie Anderson / O Superman
New Young Pony Club /Ice Cream (Comets Remix)
Rework/ Love love love yeah
Simian Mobile Disco /Hustler
Trentemoller /Moan - Radio Slave's Remix For K
Feist /My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

& more…

Ajello/ I Wanna Be Italian Too (Maximilian Skiba Remix)
Aril Brikha /Life Like - Original Mix
Ashley Beedle /Magic Sky (Shiny Pop Mix)
Audiofly X / Below The Surface
BarBQ /Myself - Original Mix
Ben Westbeech / Hang Around (karizma kaytronic dub remix)
Blue Foundation ft. Trentemoller Buda/ As I Moved On (Run Jeremy Band Mix)
Burial /Ghost Hardware
Calvin Harris / Acceptable In The 80's
Chica and the Folder / I'll Come Running
Chromatics / In The City
Claude Vonstroke / Whos Afraid Of Detroit
Coco Electrik / Your Love Is Gum - Original Mix
Danton Eeprom/ Confessions of an English Opium eater
D.I.M. / Is you
Daso / La Fee Verte - Original Mix
Dave Gahan / Kingdom
David Lynch / Ghost of love
Deadmau5 / Faxing Berlin (Original Mix)
Deetron & Ovasoul7/ I Cling (Aril Brikha Remix)
Dorfmeister vs. Madrid de los Austrias / Boogie No More (Reverso 68 Remix)
Faze Action / a_disco warrior (special disco mix)
Felix Da Housecat / Like Something 4 Porno (Kris Menace Remix)
Glass Candy / Miss Broadway
Gregor Tresher / A Thousand Nights
Gui Boratto / Beautiful Life
Guy J / Save Me - Original Mix
Henrik Schwarz / Walk Music
Infected Mushroom / Becoming Insane - Album Mix
James Zabiela / Human (Original Mix)
John Dahlbäck / If You Give Me
Jupiter Black / Hold Me (vocal Extended Version)
Just Jack / Writers Block
Justice / The Party
Justice / D.A.N.C.E.
Kanye West / Stronger
Kaskade / Sorry (Dirty South Mix)
Klaxons / Magick (Simian Mobile Disco Remix)
Krazy Baldhead / Revolution
Loco Dice / A Chico A Rhytmico
Loco Dice / Flight Lb 7475 (Flight Lb 7475)
Manhead Feat. Dennis Young & Nemesi / Special - Switch It - Lasteroide (Baldelli & Dionigi Mechanic Remix)
Manuel Tur & DPlay / Rest your senses - original mix
Markus Enochson / For You to See (Tiger Stripes mix)
Martin Landsky / Let Me Dance - Original Mix
Maximilian Skiba / Apple of Disco. RD
Midnight Juggernauts / Shadows
Mika / Relax take it easy (original_mix)
Minilogue / The Leopard (Extrawelt Remix)
Miss Kittin & The Hacker / Hometown
Moonbeam / Sunshine
Musetta / Peace & Melody - Gutterstylz Vox Mix
MyMy / Fast Freeze - Original Mix
Naomi / No Entry
Nini Raviolette / Suis-Je Normale
Plantlife Featuring Dena Deadly / Your Love
Principle of Geometry / A mountain for president
Raudive / Zeitgeist__Steve Bug Remix
Reverso 68 / Especial - Original Mix
Rex The Dog / Every Day
Riot In Belgium / La Musique
Roman Salzger & Manuel Tur / You Wont Change (Night Edit)
Samim / Heater
Shitdisco / Ok (Yuksek Remix)
Simian Mobile Disco / It's The Beat
Slagsmålsklubben / The Wold Welcomes Fame
Snax / Honeymooners Over (Konrad Black Remix)
Solomun / Black Rose
Star You Star Me / Perfect Day (Satoshi Fumi the Milky Way Mix)
Star You Star Me / Can't Stay - Rune Lindbaeck Remix
The Subs / The Origin (Michoacan Remix)
Trickski / Grace
Vangelis / Let It Happen [Beatfanatic's Balearic Boogie Remix]
Voom Voom / Best Friend (Charles Webster Mix)
Wojtek Urbanski / Violet Violin - Maximilian Skiba's Remix
Worm Is Green / Army of Them (Hermig's Re-Assembly)
Yuksek / Sorry

My cinema: BEST OF 2007

CINEMA 2007

Bellow is the list (in alphabetical order) of the best films I saw in 2007. If I would have to select ‘the’ best of the year that would certainly be REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, but since that is a film from 2000, I would pick DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN (The Lives of Others) or A GUIDE TO RECOGNISING YOUR SAINTS.

2007 was yet again a rich cinema year and I saw more than 60 films not only at cinemas but also from DVD. Actually there seems to be a trend for people to go less to the cinema (6% less in Belgium) and watch more DVDs at home. I think this is due to DVDs being released earlier than before and to the big flat screens that keep invading our homes. Again it seems that I’m definitely not a ‘mainstream’ cinema fan, out of the 40 top box office films in France, I have only seen 4 and only 5 out of the US top 40. That leaves me happy! I hate those 2, 3, and even 8 (yes that exists) series… 2007 was also the year I discovered Darren Aronofsky’s cinema, in particular REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (now one of my favourites ever) and THE FOUNTAIN. And also Carlos Reygadas’ JAPÓN (now also another of my favourites).

2007 confirmed yet again the good shape of US independent cinema, producing some of the best films. But it has confirmed the trend for a higher diversification with great films coming from Latin America (Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil…) from Central and Eastern Europe (in particular Germany and Romania) but also Asia – China, Taiwan, South Korea. To me 2007 was rather weak as regards French cinema, many films were produced yet few were really excellent. I hope new people will step in there and renew French cinema. And 2007 showed also some new Italian cinema, I hope that will be a trend to be continued!

As for actors 2007 was Ryan Gosling’s year! But also Shia LaBeouf’s! I saw three films with Ryan (LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, HALF NELSON and FRACTURE) and he was excellent in all 3. And Shia showed his huge potential as one of the best promises of US cinema in the two films A GUIDE TO RECOGNISING YOUR SAINTS and PARANOÏAK. Let’s also not forget Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett (two of my favourites), Sam Riley playing Ian Curtis in Control, Seth Rogen and Viggo Mortensen!

Best films 2007

A GUIDE TO RECOGNISING YOUR SAINTS, Dito Montiel, US 2006
AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE, Fatih Akin, DE-Turkey 2007
DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN (The Lives of Others), Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck, DE 2006
DEATH PROOF, Quentin Tarantino, US 2007
EASTERN PROMISES, David Cronenberg, UK, CA, US 2007
EL CIELO DIVIDIDO, Julián Hernandez, MEX 2006
EL VIOLIN, Francisco Vargas, MEX 2005
I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE, Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan-FR-Aus 2006
JAPÓN, Carlos Reygadas, MEX 2002
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, Craig Gillespie, US 2007
LITTLE CHILDREN, Todd Field, US 2006
PERSEPOLIS, Marjane Sastrapi, FR 2007
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, Darren Aronofsky, US 2000
THE BOTHERSOME MAN (Norway of Life), Jens Lien, Norway 2006
THE BUBBLE, Eytan Fox, Israel 2006
THE FOUNTAIN, Darren Aronofsky, US 2006
THE HOST, Joon-ho Bong, South-Korea 2006
WE OWN THE NIGHT, James Gray, US 2007
4 MONTHS 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS, Cristian Mungiu, Romania 2007

And also special mentions to the following films:

Alpha Dog, Nick Cassavettes, US 2006
Away from her, Sarah Polley, Canada 2006
The Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass, US 2007
Control, Anton Corbijn, UK 2007
Destricted, various short films, US-UK 2006
El Metodo, Marcello Pineyro, Spain 2005
En la cama, Matias Bize, Chile 2005
FUR a portrait of Diane Arbus, Steven Shainberg, US 2006
Half Nelson, Ryan Fleck, US 2006
Hairspray, Adam Shankway, US 2007
Inland Empire, David Lynch, US 2006
Irina Palm, Sam Gabarski, UK, FR, BE, DE 2006
Jindabyne, Ray Lawrence, Australia 2006
Knocked up, Judd Apatow, US 2007
La stella che non c’è, Gianni amelio, IT 2007
Les chansons d’amour, Christophe Honoré, FR 2007
Les Témoins, André Téchiné, FR 2006
London to Brighton, Paul Andrew Williams, UK 2006
Paranoïd Park, Gus Van Sant, US 2007
Play, Alicia Scherson, Chile 2006
Proibido Proibir, Jorge Duran, Brasil 2007
Sicko, Michael Moore, US 2007
Sunshine, Danny Boyle, UK 2006
2 days in Paris, Julie Delpy, FR-DE 2007
300, Zack Zinder, US 2006

MY WORLD: good news from the air in 2007!

The ACRO (Aircraft Crashes Record Office), based in Geneva, informed that 2007 was one of the safest years since the last half century! In 2007, 136 accidents occurred in the world, 28 less than 2006, the lowest record since 1963! Thus, the total of victims is 25% lower than 2006 and is the lowest since 2004 with 965 fatalities.

32% of these accidents occurred in North America, 23% in Asia, 14% in Africa, 10% in South America, 10% in Europe, 9% in Central America and 1% in Oceania. In 2007 were reported 34 accidents in the United States of America, 10 in Canada, 8 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 5 in Colombia and Indonesia.

And moreover, no major accident occurred in Europe during 2007 which confirm that this continent is one of the safest for flying in the world!

Read more here.

MY BLOG: new year, new blog

As you may see in one of the last posts of 2007, very few people read this blog, or, if they do, they did not care to answer my survey...

In any case, I have decided to continue posting on a regular basis and folllowing the inspiration of the moment. The information will be available in the blogosphere for those who want to read it. But I will focus mainly on music and cinema issues, posting my tips, reviews and suggestions. I will start in the coming days with my usual BEST OF 2007, for cinema and music. These themes will now be labelled MY MUSIC and MY CINEMA.

But I will not forget some sort of active citizenship, keeping some space for my more rebellious and contestatarian side, with three labels: MY PORTUGAL, MY WORLD, MY TRAVELS and BRUSSELS_BASHING. I will most likely be more active as regards MY WORLD, posting issues of general interest (politics mostly), calling your attention to issues I consider relevant.

I just hope the coming posts will raise more comments than they have until now, after all a blog is supposed to be an interactive tool for communication, right?. I will continue to write mostly in english to reach more friends and other people but I will post some articles in portuguese or french, or even spanish, whenever appropriate.

of course.... have a great 2008!

BLOG ACTION DAY

readers poll...

Citizenship: Europe goes... EUTUBE !

When the European Union opened its own video-site in YouTube, named EUTube, nobody could foresee that the site would register more than twenty thousand visits per day.
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However, videos on the agricultural politics of the EU and on road security are hardly seen, yet a clip with erotic scenes cut from several European films have become a huge success. Entitled "Film Lovers Will Love This", the video shows parts of European films with images of couples having sexual relations.
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Some consider the video celebrates European cinema, others more critical consider it "ponographic". As did british member of the European Parliament, Chris Heaton-Harris, who has affirmed to the BBC that the European Commission is wasting taxpayers money. "To show 44 seconds of soft porn in the Internet is not a brilliant form of improving the image of the European Commission", he considered. Expectedly, critics from Poland were even more severe. A member of the League of the Polish Families party has accused the EU Commission of using "immoral methods" to promote itself. European Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said to the BBC that a wave of claims had come from Poland, in particular on one scene of the video. Polish conservatives allege that it is immoral to include a sex scene between two men, but the Commission does not comment on whether there is such a scene in the film. Irritated with what he called "an almost religious attack on the important cultural diversity within the European Union", Selmayr affirmed that the sex scenes come from films which have received awards, and that the Commission is proud of its rich cinematographic heritage. "The European Union is not a stronghold of bible readers, we believe in liberty of speech and in artistic creativity", the EU Commission spokesman added. In the launching of the video, last friday, the vice-president of the Commission, Mrs Margot Wallstrom, said: "It is very important for the Commission to be able to use all the possible means available, to communicate with European citizens".
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You can also watch another nice movie entitled "Joy" or another less glamourous yet frightening on climate change. Or this one.

Politics: What has Europe done for us?

Regional policy is undoubtedly among the main achievements of the European Union. It is one of the EU's achievements presented in the new ‘Speak Up Europe’ campaign which was launched in February 2007 by the international organisation European Movement with the support of the European Commission.
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Central to the campaign is an animation based on an excerpt from the Monty Python Life of Brian film. The animation What has Europe ever done for us? is combined with a series of around 300 local, national and/or European events across the EU. The aim is to offer a complete debating experience to a large number of EU citizens, in particular those which aremore 'euro-sceptical'.
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If you have any doubts about what the European Union has achieved, whatch this video.

Lifestyle: another weekend on planet Earth

Another boring weekend in Brussels… grey skies, depressing weather, boring city. And yet quite a lot has happened. Not only here, throughout the world.

Not far from here, in Paris, at Roland Garros, the usual suspects won again (the glacial Justine Henin in a super fast match and the tennis machine Nadal, for the third time in a row, a muscled but passionless match).

At the same time, still in Europe, Mr Bush visited Albania, first visit of an american president to that country. That was a clear support to the independence of Kosovo, against the will of Serbia, which counts with the support of Russia. George Bush rejected in Tirana a “dialogue without ending” as regards the future of Kosovo and indicated that he was ready to support Kosovo’s independence even without the agreement of Russia. As a way of convincing Serbia, he indicated that Serbia could join the European Union. Amazing, since when does he decide what happens with the EU ?

In th emeantime, the big leaders of the G8 were meeting. At least they were nice enough to invite the leaders of some emerging powers, like Brasil, Mexico, South Africa India and China. But what about the poor powers, like Mali, Burkina Fasso, Bolivia, Mozambique or Vietnam? Shouldn't these issues be debated in the United Nations? Does the world need a G8, or G200?

Entre-temps, élections législatives en Belgique. Le pays tourne très nettement à droite. La coalition violette entre libéraux flamands et socialistes est finie. Au niveau fédéral belge la droite gagne bien, avec les trois premiers partis tous de droite, représentant 42,5% des votes. Les socialistes n’arrivent qu’après, 22% entre les deux socialistes, flamands et francophones… Le CD&V (chrétiens démocrates flamands) arrive comme prévu en tête des élections, avec 31 % des voix en Flandres( 28% en Belgique). Yves Leterme (son chef) a plaidé pour "Plus de sécurité, plus de justice et une réforme de l'Etat moderne, c'étaient les objectifs de notre programme et dès demain ce sera notre fil conducteur". On voit quelles sont les préoccupations de ce parti. La principale est l’indépendance de la Flandres ou au moins plus de pouvoir pour les régions fédérales. Leterme (tiens, un nom d'origine francophone) pourrait être le prochain (jeune, il a seulement 46 ans) Premier ministre belge, mais faut il attendre beaucoup de quelqu’un qui dit que les wallons (les habitants francophones du sud du pays) n’ont pas la capacité intellectuelle d’apprendre le flamand?

Le Vlaams Belang (parti d’extrême droite fasciste flamand) est maintenant le deuxième parti en Flandres avec 19% des votes! (et le troisième parti en Belgique, avec 12%). En même temps, les socialistes du nord et du sud sont en clair recul. En Wallonie le Parti Socialiste (PS) gagne encore avec 33% mais perd beaucoup de votes. Le parti Ecolo (verts) est en nette progression avec 10,5%. A Bruxelles, le MR (droite) gagne avec 23% et le PS arrive deuxième avec 14%. Mais même le Vlaams Belang y a pu obtenir 9,7% des votes (!), ce qui veut dire qu’une partie significative de la population flamandophone de Bruxelles a voté pour les fascistes. Mal, très mal. Bon résultat aussi à Bruxelles pour Ecolo (plus de 8%, en nette progression). Pas de quoi se réjouir, les élections belges. Il faut expliquer, pour les innocents, que dans ce pays (?) il n’y a pas de partis à niveau fédéral, mais qu’il y a des partis flamands et des partis francophones. Et oui, ils n'ont écrit leurs programmes que dans une seule langue. Au fait les langues, dans ce pays, au lieu de servir d’instrument de communication, servent souvent de facteur de ségrégation.
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A coté, en France, élections aussi pour l’assemblée Nationale (Parlement). Importante abstention, cette fois. Après la grande victoire de Nicolas Sarkozy dans les présidentielles, le parti de droite UMP du président est arrivé très largement en tête du 1er tour des législatives et devrait détenir une écrasante majorité à l'Assemblée, selon les instituts de sondages (faudra encore attendre le deuxième tour dans une semaine). En France on n'a pas un système proportionnel, si les candidats n'arrivent pas à obtenir 50% des votes au premier tour (25% de votes), il devront aller à un deuxième tour, qui aura lieu dans une semaine, le 17 juin.
L'UMP (droite) et ses alliés auront obtenu entre 45,6 et 46,4% des voix et devrait détenir entre 400 et plus de 500 des 577 sièges de l’Assemblée. Les socialistes (PS) n’auront qu’entre 35,6 et 35,7%, selon les sondages. Ils n'auraient qu’entre 69 et 170 sièges, très peu par rapport aux (déjà limités) 149 sièges actuelles. Le parti de Bayrou (Modem) par contre, n'a pas réussi un grand exploit, comme lors des présidentielles.

Le Premier Ministre, M. François Fillon, a indique que les électeurs veulent "donner un cap à la France". Il faut dire que ceci est difficile à avaler. Il semblerait que les électeurs ont une mémoire courte, puisque c’était justement ce parti qui était au pouvoir en France, lors des dernières années, et M. Sarkozy aussi, faisait depuis longtemps parti du même gouvernement. En plus il fau dire que depuis 1978 que le meme parti n’était pas reconduit dans le pouvoir en France. Alors je me demande comment peut ont appeler cette victoire un "cap"… Bien sur, Sarkozy y est pour beaucoup, avec une stratégie politique très intelligente, les résultats le démontrent, mais sera cette concentration de pouvoirs autour d’un seul homme positive, à la longue? On en reparlera dans quatre ans.
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On 10 June, the national day and of the Portuguese communities around the world was celebrated in Portugal. In Setúbal, military chars paraded and the president Cavaco Silva made a (boring) speech about the recent changes in the Portuguese armed forces, which were reduced from 300,000 man some 25 years ago to some 40,000 nowadays (now only professional). But why do we still have military parades on the national holiday? Aren’t there more interesting things to do? Other activities, speeches, something more creative? Or is it just an unavoidable formality?
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Something cultural as well… In Lisbon, the Book Fair in Park Edward VII ended and it seems that book sales increased between 30 and 50% from last year. Is this a sign that the economic chrisis is over? Or did the “alfacinhas” (Lisbon inhabitants) feel a sudden urge to read books?
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And in Venice, Italy, the 52nd Biennale opened to the public this weekend. It is the world's oldest and highest-profile international art exhibition, is to in northern Italy.
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Finally, Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, asked for a new world economic order which replaces capitalism and liberalism. He was in Iran, looking for support and investments for agriculture in his country. I agree with him, but maybe not in the same way. In any case, Chaves and Ahmadinedjad get a new ally in their crusade against Bush and the US.

Et voilà pour un weekend très animé… hélas pas ici.
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