A post doc between the Netherlands and Portugal

Artist #5: Self

2011-11-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently this is not new. But it was thanks to a Weeds episode last night that finishes with this song that I got to know this band. Self is a band producing alternative pop rock music. Matt Mahaffey is basically the creator behind the whole thing. He's the writer, singer, producer, etc. He was already producing for hip hop artists while still in high school. He has a vast knowledge of music that allows him to produce songs combining many differnet styles, within the same song. Below it's just one wonderful illustration. Listen to it and notice how it varies so nicely. Lyrics however are repetitive!

and that's it...

2011-09-15T06:52:00.001-07:00

I knew she had a great voice but I was really surprised by this performance.

Movie #22 - Super 8

2011-08-04T04:22:00.001-07:00

It was great fun to be in the movies the other day. For two hours, I felt the same way as I did during a summer in the early 90’s a cultural centre near my place did a retrospective of the “oeuvre” of Steven Spielberg. During that summer I saw at least 12 movies of Steven Spielberg and only a few days ago I realized how that summer was so determining in making me love the movies the way I do nowadays.
And why did I feel like that? Because I was watching Super 8, and the entire time I felt like I was watching a Steven Spielberg’s movie. In fact, it’s the new JJ Abrams movie (the guy from Lost, Star Trek, Alias, etc) but Spielberg produced it and apparently he was on set often and for long periods.
Below I can describe how much this movie resembles other Spielberg movies, but specially ET, but for now just a couple of lines to say why it is worth watching. Well, first, if you like typical Spielberg movies you’ll like this one. Second, and as in all the movies I enjoy particularly, the acting is amazing. It’s even more incredible because the performances here are provided by kids. Ellen Fanning demonstrates us that the talent was equally distributed in the family and it’s not just Dakota (the girl from I am Sam) who got the talent. The kid is also brilliant but I don’t recall seeing him in other movies. He does remind me of someone but I still can’t say who it is. And the rest of the kids are all great. It’s all rich characters and that doesn’t happen often with kids. And finally, the story is exciting. You don’t know anything at the beginning and you gather bits and pieces of information along the way.
There were a few things I did not like in the movie (some clichés, some sentimental crap, some gaffes) but all minor details drowned in the sea of excitement that I felt when watching the And now SPOILERS down below.
The major critic I could have for this movie is how much it resembles ET. At some points, it seems like a remake.
Here is a list of similarities between the two movies:
1) An alien arrives to the Earth
2) A group of kids contacts with this alien
3) Within this group of kids, the one that is most shy is the one who will relate more to the alien and is the one who in the end will be the bravest.
4) The group of kids tries to save the alien by helping him return home
5) There are bicycles flying because of the alien, even though this time the kids are not on top of those bicycles.
And then, there are other aspects that are very “Spielbergian” even if it’s from other movies. On the one hand, the whole adventurous spirit of the kids reminds me of The Goonies and the complicated father-son relationship is a typical feature in almost all Spielberg movies.
Despite of all these similarities, or maybe because of these, it is definitely a film worth watching that feeds the thirst for Blockbusters that always emerges in the summer but also feeds on my constant will to watch good movies. And this is a good movie!

Sushi by Tupperware

2011-07-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

If this is a blog about things I enjoy during the course of my postdoc, then it would be a matter of time until sushi got his mention. And this is the perfect opportunity as yesterday I bought the perfect instrument for those who sometimes struggle to make the makis and the nigiris. Apparently Tupperware is not stuck in time and has given proofs of adapting to the future. Check out in the video what I just bought yesterday. I bought the orange instruments. The tupperware for making the rice wasn't necessary as I already do it in the magic kitchen machine called Bimby.

Wine #10 - Casa Santa Vitória 2008 @Tasca da Esquina

2011-06-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

The other day we went to Tasca da Esquina, a kind of recent place that was taken by one the most famous Portuguese Chefs (Vitor Sobral). His idea was to make a comfortable, nice and affordable place to eat informal food. We had the 4-course dinner and it was amazing at a very reasonable price. It's in Campo de Ourique and I strongly recommend to anyone living in or visiting Lisbon, But I'm mentioning this restaurant mostly because during this dinner, I had the chance to taste a wonderful wine, again at a very reasonable price. The wine is Casa Santa Vitória 2008. At the wine shops, this wine is sold at less than 5 Eur. It's from Alentejo, with an incredible smell and a very dark colour. You can consult some tasting notes (in portuguese) here.

Movie #21 - The tree of life

2011-06-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

It is a bit hard to talk about this movie. First, I need to mention that in the session I was in, there was some kind of problem with the copy that was being projected in terms of editing. It seemed to be a mix of two different films: one was a documentary for National Geographic and the other one was Terence Malick's movie and these two got mixed during editing and that editing was made in a Mac, that's why I kept seeing Mac's screensaver at some points in a movie.
Obviously this is just a (bad) joke that I am using to talk about a film that carries some of the most beatiful images I've ever seen on film. When you read about The tree of life there will always be someone mentioning the dinoussaurs and the big sun and the screensavers (sic). But that's not the movie. It's part of it, not pivotal but complementary to the movie. How about the rest of the movie? How was it? It was wonderful. It's not simply the photography that is wonderful and the beatiful photography wasn't just present in those "documentary-kind" portions of the movie. It was always present along with some of the most beatiful pieces of music ever created. It is easy to compare this movie to Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odissey but some of the most fantastic parts in the movie are nothing close to Kubric's style and story types.
Let me illustrate this by explaining how one of my favourite aspects of the movie is simply about the way he films and presents the family. So, the movie follows the life of a young couple as they are about to become parents and follows from birth, the childhood of Jack and his two little brothers. At this point, everyone mentions how these kids are raised by a mother that follows the way of grace and by a father that represents a tougher view of life, closer to Nature's competitive system. But that's one very restrict metaphysical opposition that I felt like a limitation of the movie. What I found incredible in this part of the movie is how it felt like. What it really felt like was that Terence Malick spent a decade with this family and taped most of their moments in everyday life. At the end of this decade, he started editing a film of about an hour about this decade. It's a brilliant work of editing that was only possible by having thousands of hours of filming made before hand.
I could say more about this movie as I think this movie will be part of movie history and as most movies that reach this status, it will be greeted with love and hate to the same extent. But for now, the only thing I feel like being left to say is: You can say whatever you want about the movie but I consider that it is impossible to say that this is not a fantastic piece of work and that's why this movie made the list.

Is there anything funnier than bunnies killing themselves?

2011-06-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

Andy Riley came up with the idea that the white rabbits of this world are tired of being fluffy and sweet and just want to end their own lives... in a funny way.

Artist # 4 -Tom Caruana

2011-05-27T04:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a friend, the most refreshing piece of work in years came to my attention by a music producer called Tom Caruana. Hi skill is mostly known through his mash-ups of Rap music with other genres and artists. He has done one with Wu Tang and The Beatles. Check out an example of that mash-up below

And check out what's next with Jimmi Hendrix. Delightful!!

Wine # 9 - Paulo Laureano Premium 08

2011-05-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

In April, I went back to the Netherlands. But before going back to Nijmegen, I spent a couple of days in Utrecht with a Portuguese friend. While there, we had a Portuguese Lunch to get together with other Portuguese working or studying in the Netherlands. For the occasion, I took this wine from Alentejo. This is a wine made by Paulo Laureano (hence the name), the same guy responsible for another wine on the list of wines in this blog: Dolium. What I loved most was the smell. But maybe it was the occasion. Here are some tasting notes in Portuguese.

Wine # 8 - Douro Conceito 09

2011-05-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks before going back to Nijmegen, I went to a place in Lisbon that procrastination had kept me from trying for a long time. The place is called Goliardos near Avenida da Liberdade, closer to Praça da Alegria. It's a wine bar with some great wines, good ambiance but no so good service (at least not very attemptive). I tried Douro Conceito 09 which is a very soft, very pleasant wine from the Douro region as the name insists on announcing. Luckily this is a wine with tasting notes in English:

Taut and intense nose with fresh citrus and grapefruit pith notes, as well as some white peach and intense toastiness. The palate is broad but well defined with nuts, toast, citrus, spice and good acidity. Really fine and burgundian with potential for development.

As I'm no expert it's hard for me to complement on these tasting notes but I can certainly vouch for the fresh citurs notes and the good acidity. It was a good first wine to a not so great first time in this place but that left me with the will to come back and give the place, and especially the service, another chance.

Movie #20 - On the waterfront

2011-05-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

In March, we went with a couple friend of ours to spend a weekend in the country. We went to a region near Arganil. One of the nights we watched On the waterfront. It's a movie that I wanted to see for a long time and that is considered to be a masterpiece by Elia Kazan. The movie portrays an ex-prize fighter turned lonshoreman who struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses and some say that it was an act of atonement on the part of Elia Kazan for naming names to HUAC during the McCarthy witch-hunts of the 1950's. Regardless of what the purpose might have been, the movie is mandatory for all movie lovers and I can name one reason alone: Marlon Brando. It is an incredible performance but so different from a character like Don Corleone in the Godfather. In this movie, Brando is a potent but innocent and kind young man. I love the conversation with his brother in the taxi when he says to his brother that he is the one to blame for him not being a champion. I love the way he says: "I could have been a contender!".

Movie #19 - Another year

2011-05-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

In February, I saw the movie Another Year. It's a movie by Mike Leigh and it portrays the life of a happily married couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) and their relationships with their family and friends during four seasons. I've enjoyed two things about the movie. First, the performances were brilliant even though they are mostly constrained performances. An exception is Lesley Manville who plays a person who seems to be always happy but who is very depressed and a alcoholic. What a great performance. The other reason that I enjoyed the movie so much was the tranquility I got from it. Simply a good feeling that makes me smile just by remembering this movie.

Let's give it another try

2011-05-20T09:38:00.001-07:00

A long time has passed since the last time I wrote here. The lack of motivation to write here was mostly due to the lack of visits to the blog. Finally, and after a long period of procrastination (always a factor in this lack of writing), I decided that this is first and foremost to myself and for me to remember what I’ve enjoyed during these 3 years of postdoc.
A lot to catch up and probably some things that I wanted to write here are now forgotten but regarding what I remember, I will write about it in the next few posts.

Movie #17 - Black Swan

2011-02-07T06:14:00.001-08:00

I saw this last saturday. It's a powerful movie that does not elicit soft responses. I think the movie reveals two major artists: Natalie Portman is definitely a great actress that deserves the oscar for this performance and Darren Aronofsky is a great director with a very clear idea of what he wants in each shot. Every scene is powerfully delivered and it will leave you breathless.
I haven't seen any other nominated actresses this year but I'm still certain that Natalie Portman will get the oscar. The reason is simple: you don't get two performances like that in one year!

Movie #16 - The Social Network

2010-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've written something in this blog and that I posted something about a movie. Well, yesterday I felt the urge to comeback to the blog to write about the new David Fincher's movie: the social network, the movie about the beginning of facebook. If you're one of the two or three people who usually check this blog, you know that one thing I really value and really determines whether I like a movie or not. The social network presents great acting. Jesse Eisenberg has a great part impersonating Mark Zuckerberg even though I suspect that the real Mark is not quite as fluent as Jesse's character. But two other things made me feel pretty good about this movie: one was the editing and the other was the music. Editing here is very dynamic and it really determines the way the story is told and what we can take out from each scene. The music is very good both the original created for the movie (where Trent Reznor from the NIN is involved) and the songs chosen. About this particular aspect, I love it when I'm reaching the end of the movie feeling that I've just watched a great movie and all the sudden a great song starts to carry us to the final credits. That also happened with this movie. It was great to end this experience listening to "Baby, you're a rich man" of the Beatles.

Honest R&B song

2010-10-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

Where was this picture taken?

2010-09-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm off to this place to spend a week. Just as a little game, I want to see who is the first person that can guess where am I'm going to.

Movie #15 - El Secreto de sus ojos (2009)

2010-08-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

Saw it last friday. The Secret in their eyes (2009) won the oscar for best picture in a foreign language in this last edition of the oscars. It's from Argentina and includes several well know argentinian actors and actresses. I was very impressed by the movie. As always when a movie has good acting employed to create good characters for me that's more than half a movie. That is definitely true in this case. The dialogues are amazing and are impecably acted upon by a group of actors that make the characters seem to exist in real life. But it's not just that. The storyline is very good and the pace is amazingly taken care of. And here may lie for me the only big flaw of the movie. I felt (and this was something shared by the other people who saw the movie with me) that I was being too guided. I guess there could be something that should be left out to make the movie more subtle and to let the viewer take part in the interpretation of the scenes. It feels like you're being told exactly what to feel in each given moment and that everything is very well explained (for example, by using repetition of past dialogues in the background sound). But this flaw was not enought to impede my impression of the movie has a great one that opened my eyes for Argentinian cinema. Definitely a very good movie that deals with a very strong story in a serious way but mingled with great humour (I burst out laughing several times mostly because of the character Pablo Sandoval incredibly interpreted by the famous argentinian comedian Guillermo Francella). Enjoy.

tan hon ming in love

2010-08-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

I'm back

2010-08-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ever since I got back from the Netherlands, I stopped writting on this blog. It wasn't on purpose, it was just simple and utter sloth. I couldn't find the time or the energy or both to writte something new here.
Now that I got back from my holidays, I feel a new energy to write here. So let's see if reasons to write here also emerge, namely good books, good movies, good artists and good wines. I can say this already: I gave a chance to that Twilight saga in the holidays. I read the first three books and saw the two first movies and I'm definitely not impressed. It's pretty basic adolescent stuff. Depressed girl meets vampire, vampire falls in love for depressed girl, vampire struggles not to suck the life out of depressed and ridiculously clumsy girl. Then some werewolves appear, yada yada yada, Dakota Fanning is like Darth Vader and that's all the effort I'm giving to Twilight.
In terms of music, I've been hearing to Marvin Gaye a lot. "I heard it through the grapevine" and "Got to give it up" are two really good motown songs. Check it out if you don't know those classics yet.

The future of economy

2010-05-27T01:54:00.001-07:00

Why can't there be love?

2010-05-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

Great songs make great commercials. I feel like a whore, but the fact is I feel like buying some adidas after watching this commercial.

A beatiful song/discovery

2010-05-12T01:54:00.001-07:00

Strolling through a new blog, I've stumbled upon a reference to a Joni Mitchell's song: Both sides now. I've heard about Joni Mitchell many times before, and I even tried to listen to it once but I remember that the couple of songs I heard did not captivate me. But I decided to give it another try and looked up this music on youtube and I felt peaceful. I hope you enjoy it too.

The 70's in Movie History

2010-04-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last time I mentioned a movie here was to talk about Chinatown and I mentioned how great the 70’s were for movie history.
A great part of my favourite movies were made in the 70’s. Here’s just a few:

A Clockwork Orange; Jaws; Star Wars; The Godfather (Part I and II); One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Chinatown; Apocalypse Now; Alien; Sleeper (one of Woody Allen’s most hilarious movies); Taxi Driver… and much more….

Movie # 14 - Chinatown

2010-04-14T05:07:00.001-07:00

Another movie entry. I saw Chinatown yesterday. It’s another movie from that wonderful decade (the amazing 70s). It was the last movie from Roman Polansky to be shot in the US (so, before he escaped the American justice for committing statutory rape in Jack Nicholson’s place). The film stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Jack Nicholson is a pleasure to watch. He is the true slick “Know it all”, incapable of asking innocent questions, always thinking ahead but who can still captivate you when he shows us that he has principles and a good moral fibre deep down inside. The screenplay is great (awarded with an Oscar). It’s the typical noir movie, even though it appeared 30 years later than the first ones. The recreation of the period (the 30s) is very well done.
Another great aspect in the movie is the appearance by John Huston. Though familiar to his movies (the best movie from the noir genre belongs to him: The Maltese Falcon), I had never seen him and so, when I saw him in the movie I loved the character even though I had no idea who he was.
Just for the acting and the wonderful script alone, the movie is worth it.

If you've seen one, you've seen them all

2010-04-13T07:01:00.001-07:00

The ballad of John and Yoko

2010-03-26T04:46:00.000-07:00

For days now, this song keeps going in my mind, so I decided to mention it in this blog. I'm fascinated by it. I think it's the way John Lennon shouts Christ when entering the chorus that really gets me. Because he shouts it the same way one would shout when looses his patience but at the same time it really fits the melody. And also the way he makes it sound poetic so common bits of life that he described in this such straightforward autobiographical portrait. Enjoy.

Sophie's Choice

2010-03-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I saw another classic: Sophie's Choice. A film by Alan J. Pakula with Meryl Streep whose performance ranked #3 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
The film is good. Not great. For me it looks too much of a stage play. The acting is definitely the best thing in the movie. Kevin Kline in one of his first roles is really good, although sometimes falls on the overacting error in my opinion. But the reason why I'm mentioning this movie here is very simply because of Meryl Streep's performance. I think it's probably the best performance I've seen in a film ever. Besides speaking two or three languages fluently in the film, the emotional range she shows to be capable is probably unique. And in the most dramatic scene of the movie (where the title comes from) is one of the most moving scenes ever.
Though the film does not make the list, I definitely recommed people to watch it just to see a master at work.

60% accuracy

2010-03-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

Let's see how did I do:

Best Picture

My bet: Avatar
Reality: The Hurt Locker

Best Director

My bet: Kathryn Bigelow
Reality: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Actor

My bet: Jeff Bridges
Reality: Jeff Bridges.

Best Actress

My bet: Sandra Bullock
Reality: Sandra Bullock

Best Supporting Actor

My bet: Christoph Waltz
Reality: Christoph Waltz

Best Supporting Actress

My bet: Mo'Nique
Reality: Mo'nique

Best Original Screenplay

My bet: Inglorious Basterds
Reality: The hurt locker

Best Adapted Screenplay

My bet: Up in the Air
Reality: Precious

Best Animated Feature

My bet: Up
Reality: Up

Best Foreign Language Film

My bet: The White Ribbon
Reality: The secret in your eyes

So, I got 6 out of 10. A 60% score is not very good.
At least is above chance.
Better luck next time.

oscar night

2010-03-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

Oscar night is about to start. Here are a few predictions and personal favorites.

Best Picture

Nominees:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

I've seen 6 out of 10, and of those 6, the one I definitely enjoyed more was Inglorious Basterds. However, I don't think the movie stands a chance. With the nem voting system, I guess The Hurt Locker has good chances. I definitily liked it more than I liked Avatar. Avatar promises to save the industry. And it has a bit of a green message too. It's very easy to win. So, my favorite: Inglorious Basterds; My bet: Avatar

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow- The Hurt Locker
James Cameron- Avatar
Lee Daniels- Precious
Jason Reitman- Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino- Inglorious Basterds

Once again, Tarantino is my favorite and once again, doesn't stand a chance. Kathryn Bigelow has one great strenght, besides the movie obviously: She's a woman in a category where no woman has ever won. And it's about time. However, James Cameron is definitely the man behind the movie. Avatar would be nothing without Cameron and the Academy may want say something about that.
My favorite: Tarantino
My bet: Bigelow

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart
George Clooney- Up in the Air
Colin Firth- A Single Man
Morgan Freeman- Invictus
Jeremy Renner- The Hurt Locker

Morgan Freeman was very well but it was not a demanding role. Jeremy Renner was really good but I think he will de dismissed this year. George Clooney is just himself. The fight is between Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth. Last year, a man portraying a gay won. Since the academy has a tendency to compensate for political correctness, Firth will probably not win. And Jeff Bridges is exactly what the americans love. I dont have a favorite. My bet: Jeff Bridges.

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
Helen Mirren- The Last Station
Carey Mulligan- An Education
Gabourey Sidibe- Precious
Meryl Streep- Julie & Julia

I only saw Carey Mulligan and I wouldn't mind at all if she won. But it's not my best. Meryl Streep has been nominated 12 times since 1982 and never won since then. It may be her night. But I heard Sandra Bullock was really good. My bet: Bullock ( don't mind losing this one).

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon- Invictus
Woody Harrelson- The Messenger
Christopher Plummer- The Last Station
Stanley Tucci- The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz- Inglorious Basterds

Christoph Waltz is 70% of Inglorious Basterds. My favorite and my bet.

Best Supporting Actress

Penelope Cruz- Nine
Vera Farmiga- Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air
Mo'Nique- Precious
Maggie Gyllenhaal- Crazy Heart

Mo'nique and Gyllenhaal are the only dramatic roles. Since Crazy Heart will get best actor. Maggie Gyllenhaal cannot win. Mo'nique is my bet.

Best Original Screenplay

The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up

My favorite: Inglorious Basterds. My bet: Inglorious Basters

Best Adapted Screenplay

District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air

An Education is wonderfully written by Nick Hornby. I would say it's my favorite. But my bet is for Up in the Air, specially if it doesn't get any other oscar.

Best Animated Feature

Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Up
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells

Up will win.

Best Foreign Language Film

Ajami
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
The Milk of Sorrow
The White Ribbon
Un Prophète

Unfortunately, I haven't seen none. From the hype of it, The White Ribbon is my bet.

And now the Oscars are about to start. Enjoy

Movie #13 - An education

2010-03-07T01:12:00.000-08:00

By this time of the year, this blog turns into an almost exclusive movie blog. And that is because when it's Oscars time, if you live in Europe, it means that's when most of the nominated movies are showing in theaters. So, I always go to movies very often in these weeks surrounding the oscars. Last night, I went to see "An Education" which is nominated for best picture. What a refreshing movie. I really enjoyed it and I felt passionate about the movie, the same way I felt it when I was watching Inglorious Basterds (also nominated).
The best thing about the movie is called Carey Mulligan, the young actress portraying Jenny, the main character. Peter Saarsgard also goes along very well, very smoothly I would say. But Carey Mulligan is absolutely unforgettable in the role of a bright, interesting and sweet young student trying to get into Oxford who meets David, an older man who seems to be able to provide her with the life she always dreamed of. I did not see any of the other movies where the other nominees for best actress were, but I could easily see this girl getting the Oscar. My only doubt could be that I don't know her from other movies. I know she was in another movie that I saw (Public enemies) but I just don't remember her there. So, this person that she was in the movie could simply be the person she is in reality, which would make it a lot easier for her. But I just saw some information about her and realized she won several awards already (despite being only 24 years old). So, her performance in An Education was not a fluke and therefore it is oscar deserving. Whether she is the one who deserves it more, I don't know. But it's not a wrong attribution if she gets it.
The movie is also good for other aspects: the secondary characters. Alfred Molina and Rosamund Pike, provide some very funny moments in the movie. The expressions that Rosamund Pike makes as a dumb blonde are priceless. Emma Thompson shows up for a total of less than 10m and almost steals the movie. The songs chosen are good. The recreation of the 60's in England is also well made. I don't like the fast pace of the ending, but all in all is a good nominee for Best Picture.
Tonight is Oscar night, and I'm now deciding whether to go ser A serious man or A single man. The first is nominated for best Picture and the second is nominated for best actor. I can't even use the title as a criterion for choice...

Movie #12 - The Hurt Locker

2010-03-04T02:57:00.000-08:00

From the movies nominated for Best Picture, so far I've seen Inglorious Basterds, Avatar, Up in the air and (last night) The hurt locker.
The Hurt Locker is a Kathryn Bigelow's movie and it follows the everyday life of an American bomb squad in the war in Iraq.
It won the Bafta for Best Film and some people seem to think it will take the Oscar too.
I'll leave any discussion out for now about who I think will take the oscar and who I think deserves it.
In any case, this movie does deserve to be on this list. Basically, because of the performances. Jeremy Renner is great and is nominated for an Oscar too. Anthony Mackie is also impecable and maybe should have had an oscar nod with this movie.
The story is pretty basic but it is powerfully captured. Cinematography is great too. There is one scene in particular with Jeremy Renner with a fire in the background which I really thought it could stand alone as a beatiful picture.
I've never been in a war nor have I have ever been in Iraq, so I couldn't say whether the movie is accurate or not, but it sure felt realistic. And here lie two aspects that for me made the film less enjoyable. First, I thought that the choice of camera angles and editing make it too much of a documentary and less of a film. And that, along with the second aspect, which is the fact that I felt that the soundtrack was often absent, made me feel less involved in the film. So, even though it's a very good film, very well done, it is not one of those movies that in the end I was completely taken by it. Nonetheless, it is a great movie that I do recommend.

There is still a couple of movies I'd like to see before the Oscars, namely A Single man (by the former main stylist at Gucci, Tom Ford) and A Serious man by the Cohen brothers.

Since I'm sure the movies list will have new entries this month, here's an update on how things are now.

1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) 2001 Space Odissey
3) Dr Strangelove
4) It's a wonderful life
5) JFK
6) In the Valley of Elah
7) In Bruges
8) The graduate
9) The Godfather
10) Inglorious Basterds
11) Garden State
12) The Hurt Locker

Roadtrip!

2010-02-27T04:58:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I'll start the ride back to Nijmegen. It's 2500 kms in two days.
As soon as I arrive, I'll have to catch up in terms of movies. The Oscars are here soon and this year, there are 10 nominees for Best Picture.
I'll write more in the Netherlands.
Tot ziens.

February in Portugal

2010-02-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the long silence. This time I was in Nijmegen for a very short time, and it was a period of a lot of work. I'm now in Portugal again and here I will be for the next couple of weeks.
February is always a great month for movies in Portugal, because that's when most of the movies that were nominated for the Oscars premier.
In the last month I saw Avatar, Up in the air, and Invictus. They all deserve some comments but not now. I also read the last book of the Millenium trilogy (which was interesting but not exciting).
More to come soon.

A new wine in a new place

2010-01-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

While in Portugal for the holidays, I spent 24h in a wonderful place in Alentejo (a region on the south of Portugal) called Herdade da Malhadinha Nova. This place serves both as a country house (with Spa) and a winehouse. The 24h spent there were amazing, even though it rained as much as in the Old Testament. The food was great, the scenery was amazing, and the wines they make are fabulous. One in particular gathered my affection: Malhadinha, 2007. It´s a red wine (from Alentejo obviously). It uses five types of grapes: Aragonês, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Touriga Nacional. Some tasting notes (in portuguese can be found here.

One particularly great thing about this wine (and the other wines from Herdade da Malhadinha) is that it has a very family-like management. And, in accordance, even the children of the family who runs the place have a task in the wine process. They are responsible for creating the labels of every bottle. So you'll easily recognize this wine in the gourmet stores (and they can be found in lots of places in the world, in over 20 countries), because they are filled with tender lovely drawings, like the one of Malhadinha 2007. Enjoy.

Back in Nijmegen

2010-01-06T07:12:00.001-08:00

New updtate on the lists

2009-12-03T05:25:00.000-08:00

What I've enjoyed since the beginning of this blog:

Movies:

1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) 2001 Space Odissey
3) Dr Strangelove
4) It's a wonderful life
5) JFK
6) In the Valley of Elah
7) In Bruges
8) The graduate
9) Inglorious Basterds
10) Garden State

Books:

1) The lady with the dragon tatoo
2) The Road

Artists:

1) Tim Christensen
2) Elbow
3) Orquestra Imperial

Wines:

1) 3 Bagos Lavradores de Feitoria (Douro - White)
2) Cortes de Cima 2006 (Alentejo - Red)
3) Dolium (Alentejo - Red)
4) Callabriga 2007 (Douro - Red)
5) Passadouro Reserva 2004 (Douro - Red)
6) S de Soberanas (Terras do Sado - Red)

Movie #11 - Garden State (2004)

2009-12-01T02:39:00.000-08:00

Garden State is simply the best OK movie I've seen in a long time. It was suggested to me by a friend (Dank je wel Martijn) who presented it as an OK movie. And he was right in the sense that the movie is not one bit pretentious and if I think about it there is nothing really spectacular about it. But within the kind of movie it aimed to, is just perfect. Nothing is wrong with it.
So, the movie is Zack Braff (the guy from Scrubs) 's directorial debut. It was critically acclaimed and tells a story of a guy who seems not to feel anything and numbly goes to their parents home to be in his mother's funeral. The people he knows and the transformation he undergoes there make the film wortwhile. For me, a big part of the reason I liked the movie so much was Natalie Portman. That girl can act and she's pleasant to watch. Also, the songs that populate each scene in a perfect way were personally chosen by Zack Braff and he got an award for that.
Not a masterpiece, but a great movie.

Please recommend a book

2009-11-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

Since I've arrived in Nijmegen, I've read The Road (Cormac McCarthy), The Human Stain (Philip Roth) and The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown). This last one, by the way, I didn't like.
I don't have any book now. Could you please recommend something? Either in english or Portuguese.
thanks

Not all classics are good

2009-11-03T06:27:00.001-08:00

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)

2009-11-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T06:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-15T03:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Artist #3 - Orquestra Imperial

2009-07-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I came to know a new brazilian group - more like a crowd. considering they're almost 20! - called Orquestra Imperial. It integrates artists from different groups and different musical experiences - people like Rodrigo Amarante (lead singer from Los Hermanos), Moreno Veloso (Caetano Veloso's son), Wilson das Neves (famous drummer who worked with Chico Buarque and Elis Regina), etc.

The group intends to create the spirit of "gafieiras". A gafieira is a place where traditionally people from lower classes would gather around to practice some dances with brazilian music as background.
The true spirit of the group is better grasped "live" and luckily I had that chance this weekend on the lovely gardens of the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
It was a lovely surprise to hear such traditional brazilian music in such a refreshing way.
To have a little glimpse of the band check it out here.

Movie #9 - The Godfather

2009-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

One may wonder: How is it possible that a movie aficionado like me hadn't seen the godfather yet?
Well, in fact, I did see the movie before, but I realized that I did not remember anything about the movie except for one or two blurred scenes. I saw the movie when I was very young and one thing that fascinated me was the fact that the memories I had of this movie was that I had really enjoyed it, even though I saw it at an age when I was more interested in action loaded american blockbusters and when I couldn't sit still for three hours to see such a slow paced movie. So, I decided I needed to devote my full atention to this classic... and what wonderful three hours I spent watching such a cinematic opera prima.
The camera angles, the choice of light, the sets, the dialogues (oh man the dialogues! - leave the gun, take the cannoli; I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.), the acting (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Duvall in such a constrained but wonderfull part, James Caan, they're all great), all tied together with an unforgetable score... it gives you the feeling that you were entitled to witness for three hours to the events of a mafia family in the 1940's and 1950's in America and you simply believe that those characters will live on after you turn off the tv or walk out of the movie theater (well actually, 18 of them, including the horse don't live on).
Definitely, one of the greatest movies I've ever seen and if this sounds like a cliché that's because sometimes reality is obvious and the majority is sometimes right.
Do make an effort to see this movie if you haven't (or even if you have seen it before, it's always a pleasure).

And an honorable mention to the movie Love Story

2009-06-30T04:40:00.000-07:00

While on honeymoon I enjoyed one of the most romantic, lame and cliché movies ever.
Love Story (1970) is a movie by Arthur Hiller which tells a classic story of a forbidden love between up class Harvard Law student/hockey jock (Oliver Barrett IV/Ryan O'Neal) and Radcliffe music wonk (Jennifer Cavalleri/ Ali MacGraw).

It does not deserve to be on the list, but it does deserve an honorable mention. And the reason for it is simple: it contains all the cliché elements of a romantic movie such as the tragically simple script, the lame music (world wide famous piano excerpt) and the profound phrases ("Love means never having to say you're sorry"); however, it was this movie who introduced most of them to popular movies. Besides, it's an opportunity to get a glimpse at Tommy Lee Jones in his film debut

You should check it out if you have two hours to spare.

Back with 2 more wines

2009-06-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

I'm back.
While I was away I enjoyed two very nice wines.
One is definitely better than the other but the two deserve to be mentioned here.

a) Wine #4: Callabriga. Another wine from the Douro Region. This one from Casa Ferreirinha.
Contrary to the other wine that I will mention here, this one was ready to drink as soon as the cork was out.
Here are some tasting notes (not mine) in Portuguese:
O Callabriga foi produzido na Região do Dão duma mistura das castas Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional e Alfrocheiro Preto, exprimindo a vivacidade sensorial característica da região. Apresenta uma cor vermelha profunda com aromas vivos de frutos frescos e maduros, e tem algumas notas resinosas e ervas aromáticas. Encorpado, é abundante e firme nos taninos, com a acidez viva. Esta acidez está ainda presente no final frutado e vivo.
They suggest this wine to go with meat, but for me it was a perfect company for a very nice gilthead seabream (Dourada).

b) Wine #5: Passadouro Reserva 2004. Once more, a fine Douro wine. This wine is clearly superior to Callabriga, uncomparable I would say. I coudn't find some tasting notes, aside from some common comments that I can certainly agree with: Rich full bodied wine, red fruit, vanilla.
It takes some time to be in a condition to be enjoyed. I waited almost two hours before I considered it to be ready, but it was definitely worth the wait. It is another wine by Dirk van der Niepoort, a dutch youngman who took care of the independent family business that exists in the Douro region since 1842. I still haven'd had a Niepoort wine that I did not enjoy.

Away for two weeks

2009-06-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

For a very good reason, I will not be posting any message in this blog for the next two weeks.
I'll be getting married this weekend and will be away on my honeymoon for two weeks.

If you need me, you can try to reach me here :)

A presto

On Kings of Leon

2009-06-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine kindly offered me a CD (I can´t remember the last time I had been offered a CD!).
The CD was from the band Kings of Leon, the album was Only by the night with a cover reminding a Rorschach test.
It was the first time I heard Kings of Leon, even though the name was familiar for some years now. I really enjoyed this album. THe music was very rich, with every song revealing an interesting detail that highly enriched it.
However, I'm still not able to say whether I will consider this band in my list of artists, because this is all I know about this album. And in fact, the friend who gave me the album told me that he personally didn't like all the other stuff by this group. I need to find out more about this band and will do it soon.

An update on the lists

2009-05-25T07:24:00.001-07:00

What I've enjoyed so far:

Movies:

1) Slumdog Millionaire
2) 2001 Space Odissey
3) Dr Strangelove
4) It's a wonderful life
5) JFK
6) In the Valley of Elah
7) In Bruges
8) The graduate

Books:

1) The lady with the dragon tatoo

Artists:

1) Tim Christensen
2) Elbow

Wines:

1) 3 Bagos Lavradores de Feitoria (Douro - White)
2) Cortes de Cima (Alentejo - Red)
3) Dolium (Alentejo - Red) (this one I haven't talked about it yet. Will do that soon..

The first wines

2009-05-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

As those who read this blog since the beginning know, this blog was created as a platform for me to talk about some of the things I intend to enjoy during the duration of my post-doc that takes place between the Netherlands (Nijmegen) and Portugal (Lisbon). The things I proposed to talk about are movies, music artists, books and wines. However, so far I hadn't talked about wines.

So, here is the first time.

First, let me say that it is not my intention to pretend to know about wines. The goal of talking about wines here is simply to make some humble suggestions to those who kindly follow ths blog. But, in any case, I will leave (whenever possible) tasting notes (definitely written by others) about the wines I suggest.

This weekend I tried two wines that I absolutely enjoyed: Três Bagos Lavradores de Feitoria (White) and Cortes de Cima (Red).

The Três Bagos I tried is a dry white wine from the Douro region which doesn't have the pretension of being an exceptional wine, but it was definitely appreciated.

You can check some more info on this wine here (only in Portuguese).

Cortes de Cima also has both white and red wines. Cortes de Cima is a family owned and run vineyard and winery located in Alentejo, Southern Portugal. It produces several wines (like Chaminé), among which are the wines with the same name as the winery.

I had already tried the Cortes de Cima White a few months ago and it had really surprised me. That is why I tried the red this weekend and it was at the same fantastic level. More information in english here.

I hope you have the curiosity and chance to try them both.

Movie #8 - The graduate

2009-04-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

Another classic movie hitting the list: The graduate. Starring a very young Dustin Hoffman being seduced by the horny Mrs. Robinson.
It has a great soundtrack. A lot of people don´t know this but the famous song by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (Mrs. Robinson) was written especiallu for this movie. However, contrary to what you might expect, another famous song (Sound of silence) is much more proeminent in the movie than Mrs Robinson.
The movie contains moments of pure magic cinema that really entertained me, like when Dustin´s character asks Mrs Robinson: you´re trying to seduce me, aren’t you Mrs Robinson?
However, it is not a master piece.
Dustin Hoffman reminds of his autistic character in Rain Man everytime he opens his mouth and the ending, which is supposed to be an hallmark of XXth century´s cinema scratches ridiculous… but maybe that´s… life.

Back to Portugal (for now)

2009-04-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

My time in the Netherlands is running out... for now. I will be back in October.
But I will keep watching movies, listening to music, read books and my chances to try wine will improve now.
I told my fiancée that I would be back on Tuesday, but in fact I´m going back tomorrow (Sunday).
I keep telling her to keep an eye on my blog but she never listens. So now, I´m going to profit on that and I´m going to surprise her and be able to tell her that it was right in front of her eyes.
So, for those who read this blog and know my fiancée please don´t tell her.
Thank you for reading.
I´ll keep writting.

GMT, M

And now the artists

2009-04-22T05:06:00.001-07:00

I noticed that I've been talking a lot about movies, neglecting the other topics.
So here is a post about music. In an earlier post, I said I've been listening to some new artists. Well, now I'd like to say that among them there are two names that already made the list of 20 artists (see first post for explanation) and the names are: Elbow and Tim Christensen.

Elbow is a very interesting band. I can't exactly name the type of music, but I can tell you that at times reminds me of Radiohead, and other times reminds me of Sigur Ros.
One particular music (that I would say doesn't sound like either of these bands) captivated me. 'Grounds for Divorce' has a very powerful riff. The song appeared recently on the trailer for 'Burn after reading' of the Coen Brothers (Here I am talking about movies again). You can check it here.

The other artist is Tim Christensen who has a style that goes from simple voice and guitar to other much more powerful songs. A very nice surprise is 'Whispering at the top of my lungs'.

I hope you enjoy them both.

Movies #6 & #7: The "In"movies

2009-04-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

This Easter I saw two great movies that start with the word "In": In the Valley of Elah and In Bruges.
They are very different movies but both tackle serious issues. While In the Valey of Elah is a very serious movie about the soldiers who come back from war, In Bruges is more of a dark comedy (but definitely not a light one).
In both movies, we witness amazing performances, but while In the Valley of Elah, the performances are characterized by restrainment (Tommy Lee Jones is amazing), In Bruges they go all out (specially Colin Farrel in his best performance ever).
I recommend them both but I must say I was much more surprised by In Bruges.

Movie #5 - JFK

2009-04-09T01:56:00.000-07:00

And another movie hits the list: JFK. An Oliver Stone movie.
And what an amazing movie it is. When I read about this movie (in that book: 1001 movies you must see before you die), I had the impression of the critics saying that the movie provides more questions than answers to what happened the day that JFK was shot, and the months before that.
Well, I did not feel that at all. I felt Stone's message emerging sound and clear and it's shocking.

An aspect that pertains to the quality of the film is that it's 3 hours long and the film just flew by. The editing is very well crafted and provides the viewer with much more information in each scene than what is merely happening in the core scene.

As you can tell by now, acting is for me a fundamental aspect in the appreciation I make of films, and this movie also offers great outputs at this level, namely by Tommy Lee Jones and Joe Pesci.

Just for the story, I would recommend this movie, but in fact, this is a work of cinematic art that should be seen by every movie lover.

Movie #4 - It's a wonderful life

2009-04-06T06:06:00.001-07:00

A new addition to the list of 30 movies: 'It's a wonderful life'. Not to be confounded with The life is beatiful by Benigni. This one instead, is a movie from 1946 by Frank Capra with the wonderful James Stewart and Donna Reed.
It is the quintessencial of the feel good movies, and I'm sure served as inspiration for most of them. The story is basic. Tells about a man who is about to commit suicide and a guardian angel shows them how life would have been if he did not exist.
The acting is superb, the feeling of the movie in general is incredible and it is a definite classic where you see a lot of the aspects that influenced movies in the following decades.

Still on the topic of movies, I saw Burn after reading of the Coen brothers, and I must say that I do not consider it to be a work of art. I think the acting is fantastic, the cast is excellent, but the plot is just not well explored. As for many Coen brothers'movies, this movie is less about the ending and more about the journey. But in this case, it really felt that it ended abruptly and with no excitement.

On other topics, I finished reading The Lady who played with fire, the second volume of the Millenium series trilogy by Stieg Laarson. Though I have mildly enjoyed it, I do not consider it good enough to be a part of the list of books. The book offers a full insight into one of the main characters (Lisbeth Salander, which continues to be a positive point in this book also), but I think the book strategically fails in terms of the attention it devotes to certain story plots and certain details that provoke a very slow pace and harden the reading at times, making it less enjoyable.
I am now reading Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, of which I will talk more in the future.

Updating the list

2009-04-02T05:09:00.000-07:00

As you may know, the goal of this blog is to talk about the main things that I wish to enjoy during my post doc that will take place between the Netherlands and Portugal for the next two years. As I've said previously, I would like to come in contact with at least 30 good movies, 20 artists, 10 books and 10 wines.

About the movies, I already have 3 on this list: 1) Milk, 2) 2001 - a Space Odyssey, 3) Dr. Strangelove (this one I just saw and it's one of the best dark comedies of all times and just to watch Peter Sellers'performance - impersonating three characters - is more than a valid reason to watch this movie).

Concerning artists, I'm still exploring, but a few names have been suggested that I'm now paying close attention. I got to know John Schofield, Elbow, Minnie Riperton and a very curious ethiop jazz band and I started listening more to a few artists that I already knew like Jose Gonzalez and John Mayer.

Concerning books, the only yet on the list is The Lady with the Dragon Tatoo. It is part of a trilogy and I'm reading the second one now (I'll let you know what I think later). And the next book I'll read is Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. I would like some more suggestions concerning this topic.

And finally wines. The only wines I honestly know by name and can tell the types I really like are the portuguese ones. And so, I haven't had many opportunities to try some of those wines that I read about. But for now I can tell you that I tried Vertente, a wine by Dirk Niepoort (coincidentially, a Dutch living in Portugal) which I really liked as I liked all wines I tried made by this producer.

Will keep posting more things that I come in contact.
Hope you keep sending suggestions

2001: A Space Odyssey

2009-03-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-12T02:58:00.001-07:00

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.

50 favorite songs

2009-02-26T05:38:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's more informative, if I present a list of some of the 50 songs that I like most.
I'm sure people will tell me about some song, that I will say: oh obviously, How could I forget.
But one thing I'm certain. These are 50 songs that I consider of very high quality and that I love to listen at least in some particular moment.

1) Tempo de nascer – Ornatos Violeta
2) Charlie Big Potato – Skunk Anansie
3) Glory box – Portishead
4) Hell is round the corner – Tricky
5) A little less conversation – Elvis Presley vs JXL
6) Black – Pearl Jam
7) Scam - Jamiroquai
8) The three of us – Ben Harper
9) Indifference – Pearl Jam
10) Há-de encarnar – Ornatos Violeta
11) Atom bride theme – Blasted Mechanism
12) Blow your mind – Jamiroquai
13) Gangster trippin’- Fat Boy Slim
14) Talk show host – Radiohead
15) Moonlight sonata – L. Beethoven
16) 3 am blues – Howard Alden (Sweet and Lowdown soundtrack)
17) Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder
18) Angel – Aretha Franklin
19) Wake up – Rage Against The Machine
20) Groove is in the heart – Deelite
21) Everyday people – Sly and the Family Stone
22) What I’d say – Ray Charles
23) Gente da minha terra – Mariza
24) No surprises – Radiohead
25) Across the universe – The Beatles
26) New Pollution – Beck
27) Lembra-me um sonho lindo – Fausto
28) Porto sentido – Rui Veloso
29) The universal – Blur
30) Air on a G string – J.S. Bach
31) Doidice – Djavan
32) Lacrimosa (Requiem) - W.A. Mozart
33) Souvenir – Morphine
34) Smile – Nat King Cole
35) Voodoo Chile – Jimmi Hendrix
36) Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
37) Caetano Veloso – Sonhos
38) A Banda - Chico Buarque
39) Nah Nah Nah – Vaya con Dios
40) To the teeth - Ani DiFranco
41) Corcovado – Joao Gilberto
42) Imagine – John Lennon
43) In my life – The Beatles
44) Strawberry fields forever – The Beatles
45) Great balls of fire – Jerry Lee Lewis
46) You can’t always get what you want – Rolling Stones
47) Down in the river to pray – Alison Krauss
48) Nothing compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor
49) Me & Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
50) Lover, you should’ve come over – Jeff Buckley

Favorite artists, composers, bands

2009-02-26T05:28:00.000-08:00

In the last few posts, I've always been talking about movies, but that was just because it was Oscars week.
Now I want to talk a bit about music.
As I said, I would like to know new artists, bands, musicians.
And therefore, I would like to have some suggestions from those who read this blog.
To help you come up with suggestions, i think it is useful for you to know what kind of music I listen to.
I have a wide range of music preferences.
So, here are a few names of artists, composers, bands that I really like:

With no particular order:

Radiohead, Ornatos violeta, Jamiroquai, Jeff Buckley, Fat Boy Slim, Rage Against the Machine, Portishead, Cla, Beck, Blasted Mechanism, Beastie Boys, Ben Harper, Blur, Beatles, Belle Chase Hotel (so apparently, I like artists starting with a B), and many more that I don't recall right now. These are just a few that I listened or still listen very often and consistently. There are a lot of other names that I listen just a few particular songs.
I'm waiting for your suggestions

2009-02-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

The results are out. I failed almost half of the predictions, which considering the laws of odds, I didn't do very well. In some cases, I'm glad I didn't. I'm really glad that Sean Penn won and I don't mind at all that Danny boyle got the Oscar. I'm sure the following years will bring Oscars for Gus van Sant and David Fincher.

My guesses and my picks

2009-02-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

Best Actor

Who will win - Mickey Rourke. Like I said below, Holywood loves a comeback.
Who should win - though it is unfair to talk without having seen Mickey Rourke's performance, I think Sean Penn's performance is Oscar material.

Best Supporting Actor

Who will win - Heath Ledger. And not because he died. In fact, Holywood has not been too keen on phostumous oscars (see Spencer Tracy and James Dean). But this time will be different..
Who should win - Heath Ledger. It is simply an amazingly complex character that Heath Ledger tackles beatifully and comically.

Best Actress

Who will win - Kate Winslet. After six nominations the Academy feels the pressure to award her and as Kate Winslet said in an Extras episode a couple years ago: Holocaust movies are always good for the Oscars
Who should win - Kate Winslet is an amazing actress and it is not a shameful choice that's for sure. But I only saw Anne Hathaway's performance (which is her best performance ever but it's not Kate Winslet level) so I don't know enough here

Best Supporting Actress

Who will win - This one is difficult. I'm going to guess Viola Davis (for Doubt)
Who should win - I have no idea. I only saw Taraji Henson (in Benjamin Button) and I don't think it deserves an Oscar. But Penelope Cruz or Marisa Tomei could also win the Oscar.

Best Animated Feature Film

Who will win - Wall-E
Who should win - Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film

Who will win - Waltz with Bashir
Who should win - I don't know. I did not see any of it though I'd like to.

Best Director

Who will win - this will be very interesting to see. It's going to be tight. I'm going to guess Gus Van Sant.
Who should win - Oscars are a very complicated thing. They should be awarding the best performances in each year. However, the Academy's choices often mirror political issues and past performances. It was definitely because of past performances that Scorcese got the Oscar in the year of The Departed. So, this is a tough Oscar. On the one hand, I think Danny Boyle does a great work with Slumdog. On the other hand Gus van Sant and David Fincher are (for me) two special directors who have deserved an Oscar before and never got it. David Fincher has made three films that are always on my favorites list (Seven, The Game and Fight Club). Gus van Sant did Good Will Hunting (and many other interesting things). Moreover, Gus van Sant does an amazing work in Milk. Considering past and present, I consider that a deserving winner would be Gus van Sant.

Best Picture

Who will win - Slumdog Millionaire. Holywood loves an underdog and inspiring stories.
Who should win - The most enjoyable movie of the 2008 nominees is Slumdog, but considering everything I would say Milk is a better film.

I had more to say about the Best Picture Oscar but the Oscars are going to start in 3 minutes and I want to see if I'm right or not.

On Milk

2009-02-22T16:09:00.001-08:00

I just saw Milk today. It is a great movie. Great directing by Gus Van Sant and great acting by Sean Penn and Josh Brolin. However, while I do recognize that Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn could get the Oscar without being unfair, I do think that Heath Ledger has a more deserving performance than Josh Brolin.
I think Mickey Rourke will get the Oscar (I haven't seen it but Holywood loves a comeback) but that is probably because Sean Penn already won an oscar before (Mystic River).

The best thing about Revolutionary Road

2009-02-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

A short note on a film I saw yesterday: “Revolutionary Road” (coincidentally, I just saw on the comments are that Sara recommended it yesterday). It will not be a part of the 30 amazing movies of this blog, but is deserves two comments.

a) Leonardo DiCaprio offers a wonderful performance, at least as good as Kate Winslet’s, and all I hear is about Kate Winslet’s performance. Many times I have some difficulty in appreciating Leonardo DiCaprio’s performances, but this was one time that I was just amazed with his acting.

b) The best thing of the movie (for me) is Michael Shannon’s performance that the Academy acknowledged by nominating him for an Oscar for best performance in a supporting role. His character is absolutely delicious and I was always waiting for the character to show up again. The last time I had felt that was with Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight”. But, in any case, Heath Ledger’s performance is superior, and there is a strong chance that he’ll get the Oscar. But I’m still going to see Josh Brolin in Milk before the Oscars…

First movie; Slumdog Millionaire

2009-02-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I saw the first movie that I feel deserves to be mentioned here: "Slumdog Millionaire" by Danny Boyle (the same guy that did Trainspotting, one of my favorite movies).

The movie is about a kid (Jamal) who comes from the slums in Mumbai and we find him a question away from winning 20 million rupees (around 300 000 Euros) in the show “Who wants to be a Millionaire”. Since the show stopped for one night (to be continued the following day), we see him being interrogated by the police who is suspicious of this wonderful performance from an illiterate kid. So, great part of the movie is a depiction of the explanation that Jamal gives to the police as a justification to know all the answers. And basically he describes several episodes of his life that seemed to prepare him for each question of the show, as if everything was written and everything was meant to be.

As I have read from a movie critic: “At this point, you are left with a choice. You can let the cynic in you take over and sneer at the sheer contrivance and the crazy coincidences that hold the story together, which should keep you from developing any kind of emotional investment.(…) Or you can try to overlook that and ride along”

Once you take the latter road, you will be able to enjoy the magnificent cinematography, the contagious soundtrack and the great acting.

One thing that amazed me about the movie and pertains to what I felt about the acting (and maybe the filming in general) is that I saw the movie here in the Netherlands with Dutch subtitles and about 20% of the movie is in Hindi and nevertheless I never felt like I wasn’t aware of what was going on.

So, since I was able to suspend a cynical perspective and I ignored the predictability of the ending, I enjoyed a great movie, hopefully the first of many to come during this post doc.

I will try to watch all the movies nominated for Best Picture before the Oscars (Sunday). I already saw this one, "Frost/Nixon" and “The curious case of Benjamin Button. I still have to go see “Milk” and “The reader”.

Though I have enjoyed all three, I must say that Slumdog takes the cake.

living in a country in Northern Europe

2009-02-15T03:59:00.000-08:00

As a social psychologist, I like the idea of testing stereotypes.
When I told people that I was going to The Netherlands, most of them would say: now, that is a civilized country! You will be amazed with the differences comparing to Portugal.

Well, after two weeks here, here are a few remarks about this northern Europe country

On the negative side:

- They throw their cigarettes or joints to the floor as much as Portuguese do.
- they step on grass and jaywalk as much as Portuguese do.
- they have as much respect for pedestrians crossings as Portuguese (and that says a lot on why this is on the negative side). However, they do stop on yellow light (which in Portugal means: Show us you can still make it!)
- the names of the streets are even more conspicuous than in Portugal (it's really hard to understand the street that you're in)
- ATM's are very rare. When I asked a collegue where the ATM was he said: well, there is one on Campus (it should be mentioned that this campus is as big as a giant shopping mall). And even in the center, it's not that common to find an ATM

On the positive side:

- people are very nice in general
- the english general level is very good (though some are not very eager to use it, even if you talk to them in english, most keep answering in dutch). Specially in the university, I am very impressed with their english, even at the undergraduate level. It's just amazing. And here, it is not even allowed to write a PhD thesis in other language than english (this is at least true for the Psychology Department).
- the facilities of the university are really good. I saw some of the Chemistry and Biology labs and I was really amazed. And obviously, I saw the Behavioral Science Institute Lab, namely the Virtual Reality Lab andb it's just incredible.

One other curious thing here, that is not positive nor negative, it's just the way it is, is that they don't use a lot of curtains here. You stroll on the street and all the ground floor houses "expose" their living room to the pedestrians and for those who are not used to it (like myself) it really brings up the "voyeur" in you and it's hard not to look. But I'm getting used to it.

All in all, it's a very interesting country and I'm very eager to learn more about dutch society and dutch people

2009-02-03T04:26:00.000-08:00

This blog starts with a simple intent.
To talk about five things I want to enjoy during the duration of my postdoc:
Movies, music, books, wines and the postdoc in itself.

Since, a big part of my postdoc will take place in Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands, I will also take the opportunity to talk about life in the Netherlands.

About the movies, music, books, and wines.
I've always loved movies and music. And I consume a lot of it.
As for books, I've never read that much but I intend to change that.
And concerning wines, it is definitely an acquired taste... and boy, have I acquired it!!
I definitely know more about movies and music than about books and wines. But I'd really like to gather suggestions on all topics.
And this relates to the ulterior goal that led me to write this blog.
Before my postdoc ends, I want to enjoy (at least) 30 amazing movies, 20 great new artists (new to me!), 10 captivating books and 10 unforgettable wines.
And do a professional postdoctoral research in the meantime!

Therefore, for the next few years, I will write about these things and I really hope to have some people send me suggestions... maybe from the 3 readers that will follow this blog (that's what I'm aiming for).