Mike Davidson, writing about the fires that destroyed Pacific Palisades last January.
What I will say though is that if we want to avoid more catastrophes like this, collective action is the only solution.
I haven’t even mentioned the idea of human-induced climate change at all in this post, because it frankly doesn’t even matter at this point. Extreme weather is here, whether we caused it or not. Even if you believe, as some people do, that the earth just does this stuff on its own, it’s beginning to kill us at an accelerating clip, and that should be something we can all band together against. Right? (…)
Earth is raining calamities down upon us that should unite us as a species. Will we do what we did during the pandemic and turn against each other again? Or can we use this even bigger, spiraling threat to put our disagreements aside and perform the collective action necessary to maintain human life on earth?
The planet will be just fine without us. It is we who are endangered.
In Mike’s words, the fires were an “ever-present, existential threat”, yet they were not in people’s face enough to take proactive measures. The example of how Los Angeles fought smog between 1980 and 2000 is both encouraging and perplexing. We could mitigate and adapt to climate change much more quickly than we currently do.
🌱 × 🏛️
The Adam Project, 2022 - ★★★
The Adam Project is a hybrid child of Terminator, Back to the Future, Deadpool, and a lost scene from Good Will Hunting. It shouldn’t work – but somehow, it mostly does.
It’s a fun, family-ish adventure with just enough heart to make the time-travel chaos land. I’d probably wait until my kids are 10+ to show it – there’s quite a bit of violence and some heavy themes – but I’d happily watch it again.
Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo bring such warmth to their roles that you can’t help but be pulled in. Also, that house? I want it.
Of course you’ll cry at the end – the movie knows exactly where to hit you.
Not the greatest, but undeniably likable. Comfort sci-fi with a soft center.
🍿
The Adam Project, 2022 - ★★★
The Adam Project is a hybrid child of Terminator, Back to the Future, Deadpool, and a lost scene from Good Will Hunting. It shouldn’t work – but somehow, it mostly does.
It’s a fun, family-ish adventure with just enough heart to make the time-travel chaos land. I’d probably wait until my kids are 10+ to show it – there’s quite a bit of violence and some heavy themes – but I’d happily watch it again.
Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo bring such warmth to their roles that you can’t help but be pulled in. Also, that house? I want it.
Of course you’ll cry at the end – the movie knows exactly where to hit you.
Not the greatest, but undeniably likable. Comfort sci-fi with a soft center.
🍿
The French Connection, 1971 - ★★★★
After watching Hoosiers, I unintentionally dove into a Gene Hackman retrospective. That led me to The French Connection, William Friedkin’s gritty thriller that predates his work on The Exorcist.
What struck me most wasn’t the car chases (though they’re as intense as legend suggests), but a quiet, brilliant sequence on a subway platform – a tense game of cat and mouse between cop and suspect that relies entirely on body language, suspicion, and timing. The film captures a pre-digital world of investigation: long hours of surveillance, tailing suspects through the city with no radio backup or GPS, just instinct and determination.
It’s a lean, street-level thriller, and the avant-garde jazz score gives it an unpredictable, edgy momentum — a sound that still feels bold even today.
Footnote: the movie starts in Marseille, and at one point, we see the giant Pan Am sign on the building of the same name in the background. Marseille… Panam… Funny, right?
🍿
The French Connection, 1971 - ★★★★
After watching Hoosiers, I unintentionally dove into a Gene Hackman retrospective. That led me to The French Connection, William Friedkin’s gritty thriller that predates his work on The Exorcist.
What struck me most wasn’t the car chases (though they’re as intense as legend suggests), but a quiet, brilliant sequence on a subway platform – a tense game of cat and mouse between cop and suspect that relies entirely on body language, suspicion, and timing. The film captures a pre-digital world of investigation: long hours of surveillance, tailing suspects through the city with no radio backup or GPS, just instinct and determination.
It’s a lean, street-level thriller, and the avant-garde jazz score gives it an unpredictable, edgy momentum — a sound that still feels bold even today.
Footnote: the movie starts in Marseille, and at one point, we see the giant Pan Am sign on the building of the same name in the background. Marseille… Panam… Funny, right?
🍿
Again, Letterboxd is amazing. Their commitment of web standards allows me to choose my next movie simply by visiting this URL: https://letterboxd.com/dirtyhenry/watchlist/on/favorite-services/type/stream/by/shuffle/.
This link filters my watchlist to show only the movies available to streaming services I subscribe to, and randomizes the order. My strategy? I just pick the first movie that appears. It’s that simple.
I like losing the context of when or why I added a movie to my watchlist. I trust that my past self picked these films for a reason. This approach saves me time and helps me avoid indecision.
🍿 × 💻
RIP Bernard Lacombe. Encore une belle une de L’Equipe. ⚽️
Notre retard se rattrape à grands pas. Après Un Été 2023, et Un Automne 2023, voici donc Un Hiver 2024.
Franz Beckenbauer a les honneurs de la pochette, et comme d’habitude, vous y trouverez quelques pépites.
🎵
Hoosiers, 1986 - ★★★
Hoosiers is a charming underdog sports film that balances grit and heart. Gene Hackman delivers a compelling performance as a man seeking redemption, battling his inner demons while offering others a shot at their own second chance. Beneath the surface, the film quietly underscores a deeper message: the discipline required not just to succeed, but to truly belong to something greater than oneself. 🍿
Hoosiers, 1986 - ★★★
Hoosiers is a charming underdog sports film that balances grit and heart. Gene Hackman delivers a compelling performance as a man seeking redemption, battling his inner demons while offering others a shot at their own second chance. Beneath the surface, the film quietly underscores a deeper message: the discipline required not just to succeed, but to truly belong to something greater than oneself. 🍿
RIP Brian Wilson.
Au début des années 90, par l’entremise de La Fête à la Maison (ce que je semble partager avec Tom Hanks) et Allô maman, ici bébé, les Beach Boys furent un de mes premiers émois musicaux, et ont continué de m’accompagner jusqu’à aujourd’hui.
Je repartage l’article consacré aux Beach Boys de la fabuleuse Encyclopédie approximative du Rock and Roll de mon ami Joe Gantdelaine.
🎵
The Big Short, 2015 - ★★★★
This was my third time watching the movie, and I enjoyed it as always. Rewatchability might not be a requirement for great art, but it may imply it. The performances are outstanding. I don't think I had noticed the music before, but it is excellent as well, composed by Nicholas Britell, you don't say.
I see The Other Guys, The Big Short and Don't Look Up as a remarkable trilogy by Adam McKay.
It is also quite sad that he and Will Ferrell ended their creative partnership. These two guys made some movies with strong, often subtle statements, and it's a shame we can't enjoy more of their work together. They were on their way to winning my very own Peace Prize (and I am 100% serious).
🍿
The Big Short, 2015 - ★★★★
This was my third time watching the movie, and I enjoyed it as always. Rewatchability might not be a requirement for great art, but it may imply it. The performances are outstanding. I don't think I had noticed the music before, but it is excellent as well, composed by Nicholas Britell, you don't say.
I see The Other Guys, The Big Short and Don't Look Up as a remarkable trilogy by Adam McKay.
It is also quite sad that he and Will Ferrell ended their creative partnership. These two guys made some movies with strong, often subtle statements, and it's a shame we can't enjoy more of their work together. They were on their way to winning my very own Peace Prize (and I am 100% serious).
🍿
Whoever needs to go needs to go.
I just saw Stephen A. Smith on the Daily Show, and I must admit he made quite an impression on me. I feel bad for previously expressing my dislike for him when I was upset about FiveThirtyEight going dark.
While I still don’t appreciate loud, hot-take punditry, I’ve come to realize that he has much more substance than that. 🍿 × 🏛️
La victoire historique du PSG en Ligue des Champions m’a évidemment comblé. Mais davantage que la finale, impressionnante mais trop vite pliée, c’est le parcours de Paris depuis le match contre Manchester City qui m’a captivé, tout comme le reste de la phase finale. Paris, évidemment, mais aussi Liverpool, Arsenal, le Barça, et l’Inter — oserais-je ajouter Brest à cette liste ? — ont offert des matchs affichant une qualité collective inédite depuis trop longtemps.
Cette édition de la Ligue des Champions a été épatante. Gagner ce tournoi confère également un peu plus de prestige au vainqueur.
⚽️
Fini de (re)regarder Le Combat des Chefs, d’Alain Chabat. Excellent, tout le monde a aimé à la maison.
Mes highlights :
- Les title cards de chaque épisode sont superbes;
- Les animations liées à la potion magique, façon films animés du Spiderverse, sont hyper réussies;
- Les noms des Romains sont excellents;
- Toutes les interventions du gladiateur commentateur sont à mourir de rire.
Bravo.
Possible spoilers (cliquer pour déplier)
Les deux trucs qui m'ont surpris — mais pas déplu — sont l'apparition du trèfle à quatre feuilles dans la recette de la potion magique (qui par sa rareté rend donc la production de potion délicate — si les Romains savaient ça ?), et la relecture de comment Obélix est tombé dans la potion magique par rapport à l'histoire de l'album qui lui a été consacré.🍿
Je viens de me rappeler qu’à 6 ou 7 ans, à la sortie de N’importe quoi de Florent Pagny, j’étais fan. C’est plutôt rassurant sur le fait qu’il ne faut pas s’alarmer trop vite des goûts musicaux de ses enfants. Ça peut encore basculer du bon côté. 🍿
Okipic pomme, caramel, gingembre. Très bon aussi. 🧘♂️
Je pense aujourd’hui plus que jamais qu’il est important d’avoir une présence sociale sur le web.
Puisqu’il est sans doute trop tard pour un monde où l’influence des réseaux sociaux n’existe plus, alors on en revient à la question du “c’est comme tout, ça dépend comment c’est fait”.
Ma réponse actuelle à comment le faire bien est cet espace sur Micro.blog.
Je détaillerai ça très vite dans un post long, mais en attendant, je me réjouis de l’arrivée sur la plateforme de ma chère et tendre. Bienvenue Alkidel. 🤗
🏛️