Book : "The Power of the Dog" by Don Winslow - ♥♥♥♥♥
"The power of the Dog" tells the dramatized story of the war on drugs from the 70's to the end of the 90's, between the DEA, the Latin American Drug Cartels, and the Mob.
I'm gonna borrow the perfect summary from amazon:
"Art Keller is a brilliant DEA agent who sometimes breaks the rules to serve justice. Adan Barrera is an urbane drug dealer whose charm masks his brutality. Nora Hayden is a high-class call girl whose heart is in the right place. And Sean Callan is a taciturn mob hit man, a stone-cold killer who just wants out of the life. Winslow follows these four characters and assorted extras as they cross paths over three decades in the international drug trade, from Keller's first encounter with Barrera in 1970s Mexico, through the drug cartels' corruption of government officials in the U.S. and Mexico governments, to a final showdown on the U.S. border in 1999."
I FLOVED this book, like I haven't loved a page turner like that in a while. The writing is fantastic and gripping, Winslow never lets you go. Add to this an amazing sense for details and a gritty style that fits perfectly with what it's all about, and you have a winner. There are no real heroes in the book either, all of them are deeply flawed but consequently interesting. The epic story arc over the years and the way Winslow link all his characters, at one point or another in the book, is also a major great thing. It flows, it's fast and intense and sometimes informative as well, it's imprinted in History, it's also sometimes extremly violent and sometimes almost poetic, and in the end, it's one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. Must read.
Labels: book, Don Winslow, The Power of the Dog
Movie : Last Chance Harvey - ♥♥♥♥
I saw an add for a premiere of Last Chance Harvey in one my favorite cinema in Paris, and Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson were going to be there, so I couldn't resist and booked my ticket.
I had seen the trailer, and I wasn't expecting much of that movie, but hoped it would ultimately be a nice moment.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was, indeed, a very touching movie, about a developping love story between two people who have had their lot of disappointments in life, and feel like they will finish their existences alone.
It's not often that you see a movie talking about love for people who are above 45 years old, and it's even rarer to see it being very accurate on how the small things and events of life make people hopeless and feeling left out. Chosing Hoffman and Thompson for these roles was a brilliant idea, first because they are two fantastic actors (you know, that category of actors who could read the yellow pages and make it interesting :D), and secondly, because they have a fantastic chemistry on screen.
So, sure, it's a bit over the top compared to what would really happen, and it's still a romantic movie, but it's also bittersweet in the way it talks about lonely misfit "pre-seniors", it's never silly, it delivers a sweet message about the mistakes one person can make in a lifetime, and the appeal of this unusual story take the movie in the best of the Rom Com category you can find out there.
If you don't have anything against a romantic movie, I would highly recommend that one.
Movie : Gran Torino - ♥♥♥♥♥
To begin with this review, I will tell you that to me, Clint Eastwoord is the most "accomplished" man in Hollywood. My admiration for him has no limits, he succeded as a charismatic actor, inspired director and also as a musician, and manages to impress me everytime with every new movie. The man also happens to be 79 years old, and that's just... phenomenal.
So maybe I'm a bit biased, but considering what I heard about Gran Torino, that would be just like everyone else, because Gran Torino is fuckin brilliant, and Clint did it again.
This movie is, retrospectively, an hommage to Clint's career as an actor, along with a fantastic and extremly accurate portrait of America and its "forgotten" people(old people, losers, immigrants, mr everyone, etc), its mix of culture and origins, and its conflicts between the old time and the modern time. As simple as it may sound, simple can also be devastatingly crappy when badly done, and this is where Clint Eastwood makes a difference, by knowing his subject, not hesitating to be harsh and attacking both sides for their flaws, and all in all, making a realistic statement about the world, just like that.
Back to the hommage to his acting career, I saw many references to his work and the emblematic characters he played, which is not a surprise as it's supposedly his last role in front of the camera.
Walt Kowalski is a humble man, living in the past and staying there as much as he can with an obsessive stubborness, but his loneliness will push him to open a door he never expected, and confront his actual time with more clarity than ever. He's not perfect, he becomes funny in his own way by using the forced and fake racism which shows how awkward he is, and his commitment to the people he loves has no end.
Going through all the themes Clint loves and played before(fear of death, being old in these modern times, loneliness, a broken family, war, etc), it sounded a bit like a good bye, but it's also a fantastic "fuck off" to all these people who were expecting some action flick for his last role, and ended up with an heartbreaking intimist drama.
The acting by everyone, from main characters to supporting cast, is brilliant, the movie is both funny and bittersweet, I laughed, I cried, and I applauded the awesomeness that is Clint Eastwood. Brilliant movie.
Even the car, the Gran Torino 72 is NOT the fancy car we think it is. The real fancy Gran Torino was the 75, it was the famous one. The 72 was done for lower budgets and small salaries... For this man, or that woman, the neighbour, the people we forget, we don't know and might never know about but for them to have a chance to own a great car, how is that for a metaphor about the movie?
Labels: gran torino, movie
Movie : The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - ♥♥♥♥♥
On my way to catch up with movies I've seen, I will obviously forget a lot of those I've seen in December and January, but I will try to talk about the best ones nevertheless!
Benjamin Button is a gorgeous cinematic experience, bringing back an old school cinema feeling à la Forrest Gump (and it has been compared to the movie as well) and showing another facet in David Fincher cinematography. This is not the movie I was expecting from a director who did Se7en and Fight Club, yet, the story then the trailer told us a different story from the beginning, so I was just impatient and very much intrigued by the concept.
There is a certain nostalgia in the way the movie is done, reaching for the golden age of cinema through lushious photography, fantastic orchestra music (a French composer by the way ;)), and the choice of two main actors who are so iconic and known for their brilliant carreer choices as well.
The idea of reversed aging, straight from the mind of Scott Fitzgerald, is also a very good subject about life and death in general, and how we go through life no matter what. Benjamin goes through the motion, feeling different and having to adapt to what's going on around him, but in the end, he's not so different from normal people and that's what makes the whole "aren't we all in this together" message even stronger. I loved how Brad Pitt played Benjamin, slightly blasé, always fascinated by life around him and maturing into a great soul, whose body is only a physical vessel. I thought he was fantastic. His counterpart, played by Cate Blanchett is definitely the equal high of the movie, Cate is flawless and there is so much going on in her eyes, it's no wonder why Peter Jackson casted her as Galadriel, she carries the life of the characters she plays in each of her moves and emotions. Amazing actress, I'm never disappointed by her.
Around them, a stellar cast of supporting actor, from the forgotten Julia Ormond who nearly had a carreer a few years ago - and disappeared without explanations, so it's good to see her again - Jason Flemyng as the regretful father, Taraji P. Henson as the fantastic substitute mother who never questions Benjamin's origins, and also the fabulous Tilda Swinton as a diplomat/spy's wife, bored to death, in the cold cold Russia.
The movie is fantastic, some people have said it was slow, or mellow, or simply boring, and I feel it's being unfair to what is obviously an ode to cinema in its most beautiful form, I loved every minute of it and would recommend it to everyone without a doubt.
Labels: benjamin button, movie
Chan-chan-changeeeees!
Hey everyone :D
OK, my blog was officially dead, right? 3 months and counting, that's a shame and I really want to catch up with that :D
I've decided I was going to change the formula a little, I think that what keeps me away from the blog is the fact that I generally post massive messages filled with tuns of stuff, and I can't keep up with that, so from now on, I will only post one message for one thing, even if I post 5 times a day :D
More like a livejournal thing actually :D
I still have tuns of things to say, from new movies to fantastic new music, I need to post about so many new stuff, beware of the messages invasion on your rss feed ahaha!
I'm also back in Paris, London was a great experience but it all came crashing down with that damn crisis, and I had to leave. I'm now working in Paris again, in some kind of transition situation and I'm hoping that a year of hardwork will stabilise my life again :D
See you soon for more updates :D I'll begin posting about movies straight away!
