Top Secret!, 1984 - ★★★
Another ZAZ movie. Stupid but fun. It’s a movie that is very playful with image and sound. The plot is really dumb. But you are not here for the plot, are you?
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Another ZAZ movie. Stupid but fun. It’s a movie that is very playful with image and sound. The plot is really dumb. But you are not here for the plot, are you?
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It's a fun movie. Like most comedies with a gimmick plot, the first half is much more convincing than the second. However, it's still very funny. Amy Adams is remarkable; pay attention to how she uses her arms, reflecting a Disney princess demeanor. Before watching it with your kids, watch at least Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty with them, as there are numerous references to older Disney movies. 🍿
I enjoy this movie more with each viewing; this might be my third or fourth time watching it. As a former amateur musician, the film truly resonates with me. It explores education and emphasizes the importance of allowing kids to pursue their own dreams rather than conforming to their parents' wishes. The final scenes always make me tear up out of joy. Knowing that Mike White, the writer, is behind both Migration and The White Lotus has deepened my appreciation for the movie even further.
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Finished reading: Maniac, by Benjamin Labatut. The book traces the evolution of mathematics toward artificial intelligence, passing through the atomic bomb along the way.
The first section focuses on Paul Ehrenfest. Disturbed by the growing unintelligibility of quantum theory and struggling with depression, he ultimately killed his disabled son and himself. His story introduces the book’s central theme: minds overwhelmed by the implications of their own field.
The second and longest section centers on John von Neumann, from child prodigy in Hungary, to architect of nuclear strategy — as part of the Manhattan project — and pioneer of modern computation — through the MANIAC computer. Each chapter is told from the perspective of someone in von Neumann’s orbit: family members, friends, or colleagues.
The final section turns to Lee Sedol and his defeat by AlphaGo in a historic Go tournament.
Across its three parts, the book examines how extreme intellectual brilliance fuels transformative breakthroughs — and how those breakthroughs blur the line between reason and madness, creation and annihilation, human mastery and human obsolescence.
j’éprouvais non seulement une tristesse accablante devant le sort de mon ami d’entance, qui tombait à présent en chute libre vers la mort, le déclin et peut-être même - Dieu l’en garde - la folie, mais une touche de soulagement qui m’a rendu extrêmement honteux. Oui, songeais-je, Janos était humain après tout, pas seulement un génie mais aussi un ivrogne imbécile, comme nous tous.
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I am halfway through Mad Men season 2. Another critically acclaimed show I’m bravely discovering 15 years late. The ending of A Night to Remember was particularly brilliant.
And I love that the internet provides ego-soothing confirmation bias: someone thoughtfully uploaded the scene to YouTube, and the comments are full of people explaining why it’s genius. My opinion? Widely pre-approved.
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Dans une planche d'Idées noires, Franquin montre une foule compacte, joyeuse et bruyante, qui avance en se poussant les uns les autres, portée par l’enthousiasme collectif ; les cris d’encouragement se mêlent aux injonctions contradictoires, personne ne regarde vraiment devant, et l’on découvre soudain qu’ils progressent droit vers un précipice, d’où ils tombent en cascade, les suivants continuant pourtant à pousser comme si de rien n’était — une image à la fois absurde et cruellement lucide du suivisme.
Avec mon rôle de développeur logiciel, j’ai parfois l’impression de faire partie de cette foule. D’une part, coder avec un agent est devenu une obligation professionnelle, sinon c’est la porte ouverte vers la reconversion. D’autre part, la tentation d’aller plus vite, de produire davantage, est bien sûr alléchante. Pourtant, on ne sait pas encore quel sera le prix à payer de ces bouleversements. Il sera environnemental, social, sociétal, et peut-être financier.
Un article de Paul Ford, dans le New York Times, n’a cessé d’apparaître dans mes flux RSS et tourne autour du même paradoxe :
All of the people I love hate this stuff, and all the people I hate love it. And yet, likely because of the same personality flaws that drew me to technology in the first place, I am annoyingly excited.
L’article complet est recommandé, mais c’est cette citation qui a été le plus reprise (par Daring Fireball et Kottke notamment).
Donc allons-y, mais allons-y mollo. Avec raison et modération. Ça ressemble à un open bar, mais attention à la gueule de bois.
💻 × 🌱 × 🏛️
Flying Taxis? China Has Them. And Drone Lunch Deliveries, Too.
This article by Keith Bradsher and Qilai Shen feels like sci-fi. One part of me thinks “Why don’t we have these technologies in France yet?”, the other part thinks “Is this a desirably future?”.
🏛️ × 🌱 × 💻
The technical achievement is impressive. However, beyond the gimmick, it feels like an unoriginal biopic that failed to engage my interest in Robbie Williams. 🍿
I got overly excited about my recent rediscovery of the Naked Gun series, so I added all the Leslie Nielsen movies I had never seen to my watchlist. This one was awful. Apparently, it is even famous for being one of the worst movies in history, and I agree.
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This is a good animated adaptation of the classic. The kids watched it on repeat for a couple of days, and I enjoyed it as well. Movies with a big heart always have a place in our lives.
Cool images. But the story is too slow and predictable to be engaging.
Note pour l'audience francophone. Dans ce film, Tilda Swinton raconte l'histoire drôle dite de l'Ours Bleu. Je suis retourné voir sa célèbre interprétation par José Garcia dans Rire et Châtiment. Là tous, les commentaires pointent vers une version a priori meilleure d'un certain Renaud Rutten. Quoique bon client du genre, l'histoire drôle n'est pas le plus prestigieux de la gamme de l'acteur. Voir Tilda Swinton jouer sur ce terrain avait quelque chose de déconcertant.
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Outre les compiles trimestrielles, voici la compile des titres qui ont fait mon année 2025. Mon voyage à Manchester pour la reformation d’Oasis y pose son empreinte. Les explorations musicales de mes enfants également.
J’ai aussi pu retrouver les joies des collages numériques. Les outils de 2025 aident à faire ça bien plus rapidement que les outils de détourage du temps jadis.
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Was Stranger Things Season 5 up to the hype? Some people say it was not. I disagree. I found it spectacular and genuinely fun—not because it tried to outdo itself, but because of the way it handled hope and closure.
The hope and joy that a growing team brings. Stranger Things centers on characters who must convince others that a terrible threat is approaching. This is never easy. People resist the idea of danger for many reasons, ranging from self-interest to a simple fear of disrupting a comfortable life. Yet as the team grows, so does the hope for a positive outcome. Each new ally makes success feel more plausible. The show is often linked to Steven Spielberg’s influence: E.T. or The Goonies. This time again, this narrative dynamic echoes a familiar Jaws pattern: the threat is real long before the community accepts it. It is hard not to see a parallel with climate change—where the danger is clear, but collective belief arrives late.
An extended epilogue. Season 4 already took its time to wind down, and Season 5 goes even further. It was really nice to take the time to say goodbye to Hawkins after being connected to it on and off for the last ten years. That patience felt earned. It is the opposite of The Karate Kid, which I still remember for having one of the most abrupt endings imaginable.
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Nous y voilà. Après 10 mois d’effort et autant de compiles publiées, mon ami Joe Gantdelaine et moi avons rattrapé notre retard. Voici Un Automne 2025, une compile de fans de rock qui vieillissent, plus mellow que d’habitude, et ce n’est pas forcément une mauvaise nouvelle. Vous aurez échappé au Kpop Demon Hunters ou Taylor Swift, pas passées loin à la sélection.
Rob Reiner est sur la pochette.
Savourez la compile, la prochaine sera dans 3 mois.
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Happy belated birthday to me! 🍿
Not amazing. Subpar compared to Ocean's Eleven or The Nice Guys. 🍿
Best way to start the year. First time with the kids. I think they enjoyed it. 🍿
Il y a 15 ans, je sortais avec mes camarades de The Livingstones I Presume un EP 4-titres, The Stanley EP.
Les outils pour diffuser ce genre d’œuvres amateur se sont bien développés depuis, et j’ai le plaisir de vous informer que cet EP — enrichi d’un 5e titre démo que nous offrions comme titre bonus sur Bandcamp en cas d’achat complet de l’EP — est désormais disponible sur les plateformes de streaming. En l’occurrence, je suis passé par CDBaby.
Voici par exemple le lien pour écouter The Stanley EP sur Spotify.
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Watched on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
Watched on Wednesday December 3, 2025.
Watched on Wednesday December 24, 2025.
The opening — parodying _The Untouchables_ — and the final — with the fake movies scenes for the Oscars — are the highlights. 🍿
Not as good as the first one. But still very solid. 🍿
Pure joy. Laughed out loud many many times. My first watch in about 30 years maybe, and first time as an adult and in English. Loved it. 🍿
TIL comment écrire « être dans le coaltar ». Ça vient de l’anglais coal + tar (goudron de charbon). 🤓