2001: A Space Odyssey

As much as I like movies, the truth is that there a lot of classics that I never saw like "The Maltese Falcon""or "A streetcar named desire". Until a couple of days ago "2001 - Space Odyssey" was on that list. Well. it is not anymore. I saw it, and it went straight to another list, the list of my favorite movies, and will definitely be a part of the 30 movies that I established as a goal for the duration of my pos-doc. It's an absolutely incredible experience.

I will not say anything about the movie plot, but I believe that some people may find the movie a bit slow paced. In fact, there are only 40min of dialogue in a more than 2 hour movie. But as Kubric said, the movie was supposed to be more of a visual experience. And indeed it is. Just for the visual effects alone, the movie should be considered mandatory. But it's much more than that. The story may seem a bit mysterious, but that leaves space for your own interpretations which I also appreciate in a movie.
Though the ending may seem a bit like taken from the Cremaster cycle, it did not disappoint me, as it simply elicited my motivation to learn more about it. It is a movie that really captivated me and that is exactly what I look for in movies.
Do watch it if you have the chance.

#1 Book: The lady with the dragon tattoo

I finished reading the first book that someone suggested since I’ve created this blog.
The book is called “The lady with the dragon tattoo”and is part of a trilogy written by the late Stieg Larsson (Swedish writer and journalist). In English the trilogy is called “The Millenium series”.
I took the story of the book from Amazon: Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

Now my opinion: I think it’s a great crime novel. For a crime novel, it is superior among its kind, but I don’t think it will captivate those who don’t appreciate this kind of literature.
I feel that the story has some very strong original elements, namely the female main character – Lisbeth Salander – and the fact that it is presented with a very well-crafted writing, usually not seen in this type of literature. It has, nonetheless, some very cliché aspects, starting with the cover (this is the edition that I read, I’m sure the author would probably have a more original idea than this) and the title. In fact, concerning the title, I really think that is inadequate. I think it simply has this title because it refers to Lisbeth, a character who is prominent in the whole trilogy, but for this book many other titles would be suitable.
All in all, it is a good book that I certainly recommend for those who appreciate crime novels.

30 favorite movies

As I'm sure you could tell already, I'm a listology fan. I like to see lists that people create when they talk about movies, music, books or whatever and I like to come up with my own. It is very hard for me to talk of my favorite movie or even my top ten. So here are 30 movies that I really really like:

(with no specific order)


1) The game - David Fincher
2) Romeo & Juliet - Baz Luhrman
3) Memento - Christopher Nolan
4) Goodfellas - Martin Scorcese
5) Black cat, white cat - Emir Kusturica
6) Life is beatiful - Roberto benigni
7) One flew over the cuckoo's nest - Milos Forman
8) A clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubric
9) City of God - Fernando Meirelles
10) Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean
11) Schindler's list - Steven Spielberg
12) Jaws - Steven Spielberg
13) And your mother too - Alfonso Cuáron
14) Snatch - Guy ritchie
15) The Shawshank redemption - Andy Dufresne
16) Sweet and Lowdown - Woody Allen
17) Apocalypse now - Francis Ford Coppola
18) Oldboy - Chan-wook Park
19) Amelie - Jean Pierre Jeunet
20) Raiders of the Lost Ark – Steven Spielberg
21) Trainspotting
22) American History X
23) Full Metal Jacket – Stanley Kubric
24) The big Lebowsky – the Cohen Brothers
25) Sixth Sense – M. Night Shyamalan
26) As good as it gets
27) Cinema Paradiso
28) Out of Africa
29) Good Will Hunting – Gus Van Sant
30) The fifth element – Luc Besson

Now, you tell me your favorite movies and I promise that if it's not on this list, I will do my best to find it and watch it.