Movies seen in 2009

It is interesting to get a global view of 2009, the more so because I started this blog in August 2009. Here is my ranking of the movies I have seen during year 2009:

Outstanding (4/4)

- Avatar (2009) from James Cameron

Very good (3/4)

- Away we go (2009) from Sam Mendès

- Casino Royale (2006) from Martin Campbell

- Le Coeur des hommes (2003) from Marc Esposito

- Le Coeur des hommes 2 (2007) from Marc Esposito

- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009) from David Fincher

- Divorce Italian Style (Divorzio all'Italiana) (1962) from Pietro Germi

- The French Kissers (Les Beaux gosses) (2009) from Riad Sattouf

- Gran Torino (2009) from Clint Eastwood

- The Hangover (2009) from Todd Phillips

 - Le Hérisson (2009) from Mona Achache

- Inglorious basterds (2009) from Quentin Tarantino
- Je l'aimais (2009) from Zabou Breitman

- Pot Luck (L'Auberge espagnole) (2002) from Cédric Klapisch

- Quantum of Solace (2008) from Marc Forster

- Russian Dolls (Les Poupées russes) (2005) from Cédric Klapisch

- Star Trek (2009) from J.J. Abrams

- Up (2009) from Pete Docter 

- Whatever works (2009) from Woody Allen

Good (2/4)

- Coco before Chanel (Coco avant Chanel) (2009) from Anne Fontaine

 - The Good, the Bad and the Weird (Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom) (2008) from Kim Jee-Woon

- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) from David Yates

- Micmacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot) (2009) from Jean-Pierre Jeunet

- OSS 117: Lost in Rio (OSS 117 - Rio ne répond plus) (2009) from Michel Hazanavicius

- Public ennemies (2009) from Michael Mann

- Tetro (2009) from Francis Ford Coppola

- Transformers (1997) from Michael Bay

- Le Vilain (2009) from Albert Dupontel

- Volver (2006) from Pedro Almodovar 

Average (1/4)

- Bancs publics (2009) from Bruno Podalydès

- Slumdog Millionaire (2009) from Danny Boyle

- Tellement proches (2009) from Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache

  

The elegant universe

The preface reminds us that the two important theories which constitute the pillars of modern physics, quantum mechanics and relativity, were born almost at the same time, at the beginning of the 20th century. However, explains Brian Greene, physicist and author of this book, these two theories, which deal with the infinitely small and the infinitely large, are not compatible. The aim of this assay, published in 1999, is to present the string theory, which may allow to merge and reconcile all theories of physics. The beginning of the book is rather easy to read, all the more because Wallace et Gromit or everyday life objects are called to rescue to explain the concepts in a pedagogic way. Unfortunately, I abandoned around page 250 (out of 602) because the concepts were becoming more and more complex and their applications less and less obvious..

My mark: -1/4 (not finished)
 

Avatar

The last film directed by James Cameron, Avatar, released in December 2009, is his eighth full length fiction and the first since Titanic in 1997. It mixes real characters and computer-generated images but the latter are of such a high quality that it is impossible to discriminate them from "reality". The film was shot in 3D; you should therefore verify that your cinema is properly equipped (Screenrush and cinemas are fortunately starting to be display this piece of information). Avatar is really wonderful and, contrary to what certain critics have written or said, it is not only a technical prowess; is it also a very nice story. The characters are endearing and there is a feature that, as far as I know, was not highlighted: "motion capture" does not only allow the movements of the Na'vi to be fully credible but it also gives them extraordinary expressive faces. The casting includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi. See it as soon as you can!

My mark: 4/4 (outstanding)
The mark of A: 4/4
 

Red Mars

Kim Stanley Robinson is an American author born in 1952. His Mars trilogy won several science fiction awards: Red Mars won Nebula and British SF awards in 1993, Green Mars won Hugo and Locus awards in 1994 et Blue Mars won Hugo and Locus awards in 1997. Therefore, I was rather confident when I bought Red Mars.

It does not start very well because the first part, which describes festivities in an immense transparent bubble that protects the first city built on the surface of Mars, is confused and unconvincing. There are conflicts between the different minorities living there. But I was relieved when I understood that this was probably the end of the story, because the second part starts the story from the beginning. However, I found the description of the difficult relationships between the first 100 explorers leaving for Mars (fifty men and fifty women: thirty-five Americans, thirty-five Russians and thirty others from different nations) uninteresting and anachronistic. I stopped at page 72 (out of 663).

My mark : -1/4 (could not read)

 

Was 9.99, Now 6.99: A novel

Frédéric Beigbeder has published Was 9.99, Now 6.99: A novel (in French: 99 francs) in 2000. What a shock! It is funny and one learns a lot of things on advertising, although the book was published 9 years ago. The black humour and the cynicism of the author are stunning and one does not feel unharmed when the book is finished. A novel for adults! Wikipedia tells us that Frédéric Beigbeder was born in 1965 and that this was his 4th book.

My mark: 3/4 (very good)

The mark of I:  4/4 (outstanding)

The mark of O: 2/4 (good)

The mark of A: 1/4 (average)

  

Let the great world spin

The last book of Colum McCann, Let the great world spin, published in 2009, is an outstanding book. One should not read the back cover and one must accept to be immersed in the New York of the 70s without understanding, at first, the aim of the author. The beginning (the 3 first pages) is great but, indeed, the reading of the 100 following pages make us wonder if we shall cling on. Then, everything falls into place and one understands little by little what are the chess pieces. From this point, one just enjoys a very good book. Colum McCann has already published several novels. He is an Irishman born in 1965.

(Invited critic)
The mark from A : 4/4 (outstanding)
My mark: 2/4 (good)
 

Tigerlily

The last CD of La Roux (whose title is La Roux) obtained good critics in the specialized press. But it is with the piece Tigerlily that I discovered her. Once you have listened to it twice, it does not leave you anymore. I find it both cute and aggressive. The voice which appears in the middle of the piece sound like the lugubrious voice heard at the end of Thriller of Michael Jackson. Too bad that there is, to my knowledge, no available video. The singer of La Roux, Elly Jackson, is a Londoner and is 21. Tiger Lily is a character from Peter Pan.

My mark: 3/4 (very good)