Not all classics are good

In the vein of my thirst for classics that started a couple of years ago, I saw West Side Story last night. And it was important, because I realized that not all classics are good. I actually did not like the film. And it's not that I don't like musicals, because The Sound of Music is one of my personal favorites and it is by the same director (Robert Wise). So, it's not that. It's just that the film is boring, the plot is a very loose, very weak adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The choreographs are poor, with the exception of the musical number: Cool. The acting is pitiful. The lyrics are not inspiring (except for Gee, Officer Krupke). Some of the musics are catchy like I Feel Pretty, and some are beautiful and classic like Maria (I just met a girl named Maria...), but all in all, most of the times I felt bored by the movie. I do not recommend it but I can totally understand those who may like it. It just didn't feel right.

Book #2 - The Road (Cormac McCarthy)

And finally, I have a second book for the list.
I've just finished reading it and I read in less than a week. It's a less than 200 page-tale about a post-apocaliptical journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed all civilization and, apparently, most life on earth.
It amazed me by how the book completely stands on great writing. the plot is ridiculously simple, yet so powerful. The writing to support this kind of plot is necessarily rich. However, what I liked it most was how parsimonious was some of the writing. With just a few words, I could imagine the whole situation and how I would feel in such a situation. It is definitely intense and made me question very much about I would react in a situation like that. And in this sense, i agree with one review (By George Monbiot) that goes like this
"A few weeks ago I read what I believe is the most important environmental book ever written. It is not Silent Spring, Small Is Beautiful or even Walden. It contains no graphs, no tables, no facts, figures, warnings, predictions or even arguments. Nor does it carry a single dreary sentence, which, sadly, distinguishes it from most environmental literature. It is a novel, first published a year ago, and it will change the way you see the world". I agree.
Enjoy!

And now for something completely different

This post is not about books, or films, or music, or wines. It's about how far we've gone in terms of technology and tools to help us in our everyday life.
Yesterday, I got a call from my wife who's in Paris for a conference. She left the airport and took the subway to go to the hotel. And after half an hour looking for the hotel she called me and asked for directions. Never having been to that part of Paris was not an obstacle to the way in which I could help her. I turned on the computer, went to google maps and all she had to tell me was the street she was in. And there I was, 1000 kms from Paris giving directions about what she should be seeing and where she should turn without ever having been in that place. This is amazing. And the most amazing thing: it is completely natural to us and we don't even talk about it anymore. I just wanted to remind us about it.

Back in Nijmegen

And I'm back in the Netherlands. I haven't written here for a long time, mostly because of all the work of moving to a different country and get settled in.
Since I've arrived (more than two weeks ago), I still haven't had the chance to go to the movies, listen to new artists, read good books and try different wines.
But I can tell you this: yesterday, I saw What's eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and there was something about it worth writing about in here. In this film with Johhny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and Juliette Lewis, DiCaprio plays an unforgettable role as Arnie Grape, a seventeen years old boy with a severe mental condition. His performance is absolutely flawless. I was really amazed. Though I've always been able to appreciate his acting skills in other movies like The Departed and others, the fact is that I always have trouble to take him serious because of his babyface. Now, in this character he lands it perfectly not because of that young appearance but it sure doesn't harm him.

I'm sure I'll see a lot of movies in the following months. I'm going to enjoy more and more to be indoors while I'm in Nijmegen. I leave you with a picture of the view from my house in one of these mornings so you can understand my passion for indoors right now.

Movie #10 - Inglorious Basterds

I'm back from my vacations and on my last weekend I went to see the last Tarantino's movie. I have the best of impressions of this movie. I felt like a child just sitting there watching the movie, nervous about the fact that the movie was gonna end eventually. I was so excited about each upcoming scene that I giggled many times. It reminded me what movie passion is all about.
In the last scene of the movie (I don't think this is actually a SPOILER but be aware anyway) one character says in an obvious reference to the way the director feels about this movie: "You know, I think this may be my masterpiece!".
The one reason why I wouldn't consider it a Tarantino masterpiece is because of the soundtrack. A few days ago I saw an interview with Christopher Waltz where he said that each Tarantino movie is always completely different. That may be partially true but there are definitely key elements in the Tarantino Style: great unbelievable dialogues, amazing characters, stylish framings, movie references and handpicked songs that compose bestselling soundtracks. I would say that this last elements is the only one where Tarantino didn't excell in Inglorious Basterds. Some of the songs are very good but there was two or three times in fundamental parts of the movie where I felt the songs were poorly selected for that particular situation, I felt like it messed with the situation flow.
Aside from that, this is definitely a great movie, very very enjoyable, loads of fun, it will make you feel sadistic for laughing for the most horrific situations, but in the end, in a very fucked up way it's a feel good movie.
Two thumbs definitely up.
A movie for those who love movies.

P.S. - I'd love to have feedback from people who saw this movie to see if they feel the same way

Wine #6 - S de Soberanas

I have a friend with whom I have dinner every now and then and where, each time, one of us introduces a new wine to the other. This time it was my friend's turn. While I have a clear preference for the Douro region (north of Portugal), he has a clear preference for Alentejo (south of Portugal). This time he brought a wine called S de Soberanas. And this time, the wine was not from Alentejo. Instead it was from Terras do Sado. Terras do Sado is a name of a wine region that includes a southwest region in Portugal around the Setubal peninsula. However, though this wine reflects this Sado Terroir, it is a wine that is made of typical grapes from Alentejo. And perhaps that's what makes it so amazing.

I actually enjoy some wines from this region quite a lot, like the classical Periquita and Quinta da Bacalhôa, but you don't usually expect a wine of this level from this region. It is a very rich wine combining the freshness of Sado with the typical flavors of Alentejo. This one is only produced in exceptional years, as it was the case of 2004 (the one we drank).

You can read some tasting notes (in portuguese) here.

It is an expensive wine but with a great quality/price ratio. Enjoy!

Yann Tiersen in Lisbon

A few days ago I attended a concert here in Lisbon by Yann Tiersen. Yann Tiersen who achieved world fame after creating the soundtrack for the movie "Amélie" and then for "Goodbye Lenin" raised great expectations for me about what this concert would be. I wasn't under the ilusion that I was going to hear soundtracks for two hours but I was expecting a talented musician and a calm beatiful evening. I got the first part right. I would say that Yann Tiersen is the most talented musician that I've seen in concert. He plays guitar as easily as the accordeon or the piano and he is absolutely amazing with the violin. Unfortunately the concert was much more aggressive than I was hoping for. As I read somewhere it was much closer to Sonic Youth than Amelie. Nonetheless the band was made up of amazing musicians and it was fun to watch, but I was expecting something different. There were only two songs from Amélie and even those were completely altered, and only those completely familiared with this soundtrack could recognize it. One of these songs was, for me (but also for the rest of the crowd), the highest point of the whole concert. The music was Sur le Fil, a less known song from Amelie's soundtrack. You can listen to it here. But this is the original version. What I heard in concert was absolutely unforgettable. It was Yann Tiersen alone playing the violin. You can check a very similar version here. You should wait for the final part to be completely swept off your feet. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. That moment made my night.