une semaine fabuleuse en images

Je reviens d'une semaine de vacances fabuleuse dans le Sud de la France.  Quelques images pour vous dessiner ce qui m'a traversé l'esprit pendant ces derniers jours:  

Petit rappel de qui est le boss.

Groupe trip-hop/hip-hop/électro marseillais qui vient de changer ma vie musicale avec leurs volumes I et II.

Rouler.

Film réalisé par Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko !) en 2006 avec The Rock, Justin Timberlake, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Wallace Shawn, et d'autres.  Une film complètement fou sur une sorte de fin du monde.

La Cale Sèche à Toulouse: bar à rhum qui ne déçoit pas.

Petit session de fraises bio des champs à coté de Nîmes.  Confiture délicieuse.

Mami à 81 ans!  Allez, repas surprise.

En haut du Pic St. Loup.  Righteous.

La prochaine fois qui je serai à Montpellier avec la famille sera dans une année.  Ciao, bises.

participating in a harvest

Over the weekend I enjoyed my second parisian-cinema-bound french film.  Les Aventures extraordinaires d’Adèle Blanc-Sec was beyond over the top.  And I don't say that in a snooty way: from start to finish, your eyes are graced by so many quick-wit words, creatures, ancienticities, fantasma, clothes, vehicles, characters...  You can't help but enjoy the overload of sensory artificats that are being thrown your way.

The fim is based on the series of comics by Jacques Tardi dating back to the late 70s.  This cinematographic feat belongs to the renowned french fim director, writer, and producer Luc Besson, who had to wait beggingly for 6 years before he convinced Tardi to give him the rights to this magnificent story.

There is really no way to give a short summary of the film, [my poor attempt at this would be something like "it's a story about a woman trying to save her sister, and somehow, talking mummies, a giant omelette, and a pterodactyl fit into this quite snugly"] for I could never bring together the various story lines in a succinct and comprehensive fashion the way Besson's film does so.  Watching the film is almost like participating in a harvest where you pick up delicious fruits a long the one-and-a-half-hour journey until you finally reach the finale with a bucket of treasure.  You don't really understand how the bucket is going to turn into treasure, but you have faith that is does, and well, it did.

Although critics were quite harsh in regards to Louise Bourgoin, the star of the flick, I thought she was divine.  She had a spark to her, never letting anything get in her way, whether it be a giant prehistoric monster or flowers being offered to her by a charming young jardin associate.

Another reason why my heart goes out to this fim is because one of the central locales to its plot, the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, stands at a nearly two minute walk from my apartment.  Hurray for living in a city which holds such grand cinematic attention.

yes, you'll cry if you see it

Whoa.  So I saw Cher John.  First remark: Channing and his jaw line did us well - delivered all of the goods.  Second remark:  I actually kind of liked it.  It is the most unpredictable of his movies yet.  The story has a couple non-foreshadow-able twists, which literally left my mouth wide open in shock.  It is a really clever film and it made me think.  Army romances must be so difficult - I really couldn't imagine having to be like 'okay man-I-love, go over to that far away place, kick some booty, and I'll see ya in a year!  Ciao!"  I have so much respect for army wives.

It is also a mega draining film.  Yes, I cried.  Yes, you'll cry if you see it.  The one good thing is that the very end bit isn't extremely sad.  I hate it when that happens, cause then the movie theater lights will start to come on, and I'm lookin'  all a mess - trying to wipe the tears off my face quickly in order to maintain my Xena reputation.  Sparks was nice enough to give us a couple minutes before the end of the film to re-compose ourselves.  Thanks bud.   

On a much more lighthearted note, another film that I saw with romantic tendencies was l'Arnacoeur - a french film (the first french film I've seen since I've been in Paris - ouch).  It was absolutely hilarious.  I loved it.  It made me proud of my french brethren.  Go see it.  

less than a week away

Uh oh, waves have just been made in my film anticipation ocean.  Alice got rivaled, and lost.  On my walk home from a rue de Rennes shindig, I saw a poster I thought would never come.  My dreams have come true: "Cher John" hits Parisian theaters on March 31st.  That is less than a week away.

 How to prepare for such an event?

-  watch the french trailer and marvel at the dubbing (no worries, I'm seeing it in version originale, these things just make me giggle)

-   cancel any previous engagements for the 31st...too bad it's a Wednesday, which means I would have to miss three classes, and thus get a zero for the presentation I have to give in one of them --- It's cool, I'll figure it out

-  maybe slip in a viewing of "Step Up" to reminisce on that time when Tatum changed my life

-  try and forget all of the spoilers that have been whispered my way

- put on my happy shoes

That'll do it.  

Look out for Chan's next flick, "The Eagle of the Ninth", currently in post production, in which he plays a young centurion from 140 AD.  I wonder how he'll do with the whole back in the day thing.

Alice aux Pays des Merveilles

Thanks to A Nous, today my sunshine-filled stroll and bus ride to Sciences Po was particularly magnificent.  With its newspaper pages right under my nose, I was taken to another world, Alice's world.  Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland comes out tomorrow in Paris and the reporters at A Nous are all about it.  Not only do they consider Alice to be the current "it" girl, but they reserved a full page spread on products inspired by and embodying the fantastical film.  

I got to get a little closer to Tim through his interview with A Nous, in which he compares himself to the Mad Hatter and talks about working with his wife, Helena Bonham Carter (or the Red Queen).  Having already been enticed to go see the fim by the intriguing posters flanking every metro station, after being thrown into Wonderland by this morning's read, you can be sure that I'll be first in the ticket line tomorrow evening.

To fall into Tim and Alice's wonderful world even more-so, visit my fugly fish's blog, Intervals of Sanity, and click on "Alice in Wonderland" in her cloud of labels.

swirling particles

I woke up 31 hours ago.  Had to pull an all-night-start-and-finish-an-exposé-inlessthan10hoursbeforeit'sdue for my politics class at 8 this morn.  Afterward, in my cultural triangulations (!) class I saw itsy-bitsy swirling particles above Monsieur Pierrepont's spectacular touffe of hair.  I think it might have been his aura.

Other swirling particles of happiness to look forward to: the film Dear John.  Ever since Step Up gave me the spark I needed to pursue my life-long dream of street dancing, Channing Tatum has held a most special place in my coeur.  Dear John's "dethroning" of Avatar is quite impressive, but even more so is Chan's jawline.  Ya, I am in slight-mourning of his fading boyish looks as he continues to... age, but there's something about the mister that will forever keep me holding on.

Gahhh! Please watch this interview.  He's just precious... in that manly way that makes you want to be protected/faiped by him.

Too bad the film doesn't come out in Paris until years from now... to illegally download, or not to illegally download?