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dBD #130

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dBD130-covJe feuillette le plus récent numéro de dBD (février 2019) dans l’espoir de découvrir de nouveau titres intéressants. Malheureusement, je suis déçu car je n’y trouve rien de bien passionnant pour moi. Toutefois, ce numéro nous offre un hommage à Stan Lee par une interview avec Jean-Marc Lainé (biographe de l’artiste américain) et une interview avec Didier Tarquin (Lanfeust de Troy) qui revient avec U.C.C. Dolores, une BD de SF très prometteuse où une nonne hérite d’un croiseur de guerre et se lance vers la Frontière spatiale (voir le sommaire de ce numéro pour plus de détails sur le contenu). 

Dans le cahier critique on retrouve notamment Nymphéas Noirs de Cassegrain, Duval & Bussi chez Dupuis (adaptation d’un thriller de Bussi qui se déroule à Giverny, “quoi de plus naturel que d’adapter un roman policier aux airs impressionnistes en BD”), Journal d’une vie tranquille par Tetsuya Chiba (Ashita no Joe) chez Vega (autobiographie de son enfance en Mandchourie, “extrêmement séduisant”), Avant de partir par Jung & Koo chez Sarbacane (manhwa coréen “merveilleusement étrange”), ABCD de la typographie chez Gallimard (ce collectif, scénarisé par David Rault, ambitionne de tracer “l’histoire de la typographie latine, intimement liés à celle de la BD”), Ragna Crimson par Daiki Kobayashi chez Kana (dark fantasy, histoire de chasseurs de dragons avec des personnages attachants, qui “tient pour l’instant ses promesses”), et Talentless t. 3 de Looseboy & Furuya chez Doki-Doki (“un peu la rencontre entre Battle Royale et les X-Men”). Un magazine riche en information pour les amateurs de BD.

dBD #130 — Février 2019. [collectif dirigé par Frédéric Bosser] Boulogne-Billancourt: dBD sarl, février 2019. 100 p., 23 x 30 cm, 8.90 €. ISSN 1951-4050. Lectorat adolescent (12+). stars-2-5

Pour plus d’information vous pouvez aussi consulter les sites suivants:

[ Biblio —  Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

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Logan

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Logan-covThis movie from the Marvel universe is far more darker than the comedic Deadpool movies I commented earlier. Here, an aging Logan (aka Wolverine) is taking care of an Alzheimer Charles Xavier (Prof. X) along with Caliban. The X-men are no more–as mutants has been chased into near extinction. Although Transigen, under Dr. Zender Rice, is trying to create and weaponize new mutants. A compassionate nurse helps a bunch of mutant kids escape, but they are separated. With only one kid left under her care, she seeks Wolverine to help bring them to a sanctuary in the north. He first refused but grudgingly takes up the task when the nurse is  killed and he realizes that the young mutant girl, Laura (aka X-23), has the same powers as he and that his own genes were probably used to create her. It is the end of a generation and the birth of another…

The obvious comment about this movie is that it is very violent. It is even quite troubling to see such a young girl committing extremely violent acts (and even more having such a young actress performing it!). However, the story is very reflective and rich in emotions. You wouldn’t think that those could go well together. It works only because the acting is quite excellent as the actors give superb performances (particularly the young Dafne Keen, Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart) in expressing a nuanced range of feelings : angst from not seeing the path forward, rage for being somewhat “powerless“ over their situation, regrets from bygone days and past mistakes, longing for a normal life and family, etc. Also it is clear that the director, James Mangold, has put lots of stylistic research into this movie (notably taking inspiration from film noir and old westerns like Shane, which is featured into the movie).  All this makes of Logan a surprisingly good superheroes movie. And indeed it was successful, both at the box office (earning five time its budget) and in reviews (with ratings of 8.1 on IMDb and of 93% / 90% [critics/audience] on Rotten Tomatoes). It is well worth seeing. stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMDb — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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dBD #121

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dBD-121dBD c’est toute l’actualité de la bande dessinée.

dBD, c’est chaque mois de longues et courtes interviews, des dossiers, des analyses, des portraits d’auteurs, un portfolio qui revient sur les images et les planches marquantes d’un créateur, des visites d’ateliers, des retours sur le passé et sur des albums majeurs dans l’histoire de la bande dessinée, des coups de gueules et de cœur mais également un important cahier critiques et un tableau des étoiles établi par des journalistes spécialisés.

dBD n’est pas un magazine que je lis régulièrement, même si je suis un grand amateur de BD et qu’il couvre aussi un peu le manga — que j’adore encore plus que la BD en générale. Et je n’en ai parlé qu’une seule fois jusqu’à maintenant lorsque j’ai commenté le numéro 215, qui mettait Valérian en couverture.

Dans ce cas-ci, dBD #121 a attiré mon attention à cause de sa couverture sur Naoki Urasawa (pour les détails sur le contenu, je vous renvoi au sommaire du numéro sur le site du magazine). Apparemment, c’est la première fois que dBD consacre sa couverture à un artiste japonais — et ce à l’occasion d’une exposition à l’Hôtel de Ville de Paris des planches d’Urasawa, qui avait déjà été mis à l’honneur à Angoulème. L’article de cinq pages passe en revue la carrière du mangaka qui est très connu en France pour ses nombreux succès: Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto, Billy Bat. Mais il ne faut pas oublié Master Keaton, Happy!, Yawara!, ou Pineapple Army. Je l’ignorais mais Kana a même publie une anthologie intitulé Histoires courtes de Naoki Urasawa. 

J’ai feuilleté le reste du magazine avec intérêt. Il faut dire que, dans le cas de dBD, c’est surtout les actualités et les critiques qui sont intéressantes. Je connais très peu les auteurs de BD qui publie de nos jours. La scène BD est très différente de l’époque de mon enfance où elle se limitait surtout aux auteurs et artistes orbitant autour des périodiques Pilote et Tintin. La quantité de titres publiés annuellement de nos jours est tout simplement époustouflante! Ah, si j’avais des centaines d’heures pour lire chaque semaine!

Quelques titres ont attiré mon regard: la revue L’Histoire consacre un numéro Hors-Série à la série de BD Alix de Jacques Martin; San Antonio de Frédéric Dard fait un retour en BD avec San-Antonio chez les Gones par Michaël Sanlaville chez Casterman; Delcourt/Tonkam réédite Fruits Basket par Natsumi Takaya en douze volumes doubles (Perfect) et en rajoute avec la publication du spin-off Fruits Basket Another; critique de Le coeur des amazones par Bindi & Rossi chez Casterman (“une relecture féministe du mythe” troyen); critique de Le goût d’Emma par Takahama, Maisonneuve & Pavlowitch chez Les Arènes (les aventures d’une critique culinaire); critique de Osamu Tezuka, Une vie en manga chez Pika (“biographie colossale”); critique de Souvenirs d’Emanon par Kajio & Tsuruta chez Ki-oon (histoire décevante mais “graphisme enchanteur (…), trait d’une élégance rare”); et une critique de L’Atelier des sorciers par Kamome Shirahama chez Pika (“une belle découverte”). Un magazine riche en information pour les amateurs de BD.

dBD #121 — mars 2018. [collectif dirigé par Frédéric Bosser] Boulogne-Billancourt: dBD sarl, mars 2018. 100 p., 23 x 29.7 cm, 8.90 €. ISSN 1951-4050. Lectorat adolescent (12+). stars-3-0

Pour plus d’information vous pouvez aussi consulter les sites suivants:

[ Biblio —  Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

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Deadpool 2

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6252772_sa.jpg;maxHeight=640;maxWidth=550It was unavoidable: the bad guys kill his girlfriend. The anti-superhero tries to redeem himself to be worthy of her but he remains a jerk. It offers the usual thin story (this time about family and friendship), senseless violence and teenage humour, but even worse than the first movie. Although it IS amusing to see the Marvel universe NOT taken seriously. It was a success at the box office (earning seven times its cost) and it got a surprising rating of 7.8 on IMDb and 85% on Rotten Tomatoes! Again, it’s mostly the performance of Ryan Reynolds that sustain the film. For myself, I would say that it was an entertaining movie but only if you are a hardcore fan (which I’m not). stars-2-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMDb — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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They Shall Not Grow Old

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91lwssevehl._sl1500_That movie has been hyped so much that when I finally got to see it I was rather disappointed. It is not really a documentary as the picture are shown as it is without any context (places, dates or names). It is just footage of the First World War (the war to end all wars they said, but it ended up being the most useless, senseless war of all time) with voiceover by survivors who describe their experience. Not all footage has been restored, retimed and colourized — but most of it. And I am wondering when those testimonies were recorded — as the voice sounded like old men and the recording seems of pretty good quality, so it must have been done at a time when they already had good equipment, although the sound had probably been restored the same way the pictures were. Both the original footage and the audio recording of the British soldiers come from the archives of the Imperial War Museum and the BBC.

All in all, the movie is still pretty interesting as it give us the chance to witness the Great War in colour, as it was experienced by the men who fought it. It gives a really good impression of what it must have felt like. The war is not an impersonal historical event anymore as we get closer to the soldiers. It is a fit tribute for the 100th anniversary of the end of the war. I was expecting more visually, but Peter Jackson’s team did a really good work (it’s a great technological feat to gather, edit and restore all this footage) and it is therefore a must-see movie. Through this those young men will indeed never grow old and hopefully such horror will never be repeated.

The movie was shown on the BBC and is already available on Blu-ray & DVD in U.K.. It was shown in theatre for one day in North America and hopefully will be picked up for broadcast (Netflix? Amazon?) and released in DVD/Blu-ray soon. The critical response was very positive (8.6 on IMDb and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes). stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Google — IMDb — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Mujirushi: Le Signe des rêves 2

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signe-des-reves-2-covLe récit, débuté dans le premier volume, se poursuit. [Attention: SPOILER] Kasumi et son naïf de père Takashi ont un plan pour voler La Dentellière de Vermeer au Louvre: distribuer des masques de la présidente américaine Duncan (une sorte de mélange entre Trump et Hilary) dans le cadre d’un faux exercice d’évacuation et profiter de la confusion pour cacher le tableau dans les combles du musée. L’escroc Iyami, ce prétentieux personnage aux dents saillantes, espère profiter de la disparition du tableau pour vendre son faux à haut prix… Le pompier Michel tente de les en empêcher mais de toute façon Takashi ne réussi pas à saisir le tableau et le plan échoue… Toutefois, l’incident est perçu comme  une manifestation éclair anti-Duncan et, comme un scandale impliquant la président éclate au même moment, les masques de la présidente reviennent populaire et l’usine de Takashi suffit à peine à répondre à la demande. Sa femme revient et sa fortune est retrouvée!

signe-des-reves-2-bcovEntremêlé au récit principale on retrouve trois autres histoires: celle de l’inspecteur japonais à la poursuite d’un trafiquant de tableaux volés qui fait erreur sur la personne; deux journalistes qui “suivent” la présidente Duncan et révèlent le scandale; et finalement l’histoire de Kyôko, une japonaise qui a vécu à Paris et s’est occupé de Michel quand il était jeune. Finalement, l’histoire qui lie Kyôko et Iyami n’a rien de mystique et, si elle est un peu rocambolesque, elle est même plutôt décevante tellement qu’elle est banale. 

signe-des-reves-2-plancheLe manga nous offre quatre planches en couleurs et se conclue avec les fiches signalétiques de deux des oeuvres du Louvre représentées dans le récit (La Dentellière de Vermeer et la statue égyptienne du couple Sementaouy et Rouiay), une postface de Naoki Urasawa (qui explique la genèse du manga) et la présentation du personnage de Iyami. C’est sans doute cette dernière qui est la plus intéressante car elle donne une nouvelle optique au récit. On y explique que Iyami est en fait un personnage très populaire du manga Osomatsu-kun par Fujio Akatsuka. Le récit est donc rempli d’inside jokes que seul les gens familier avec cet aspect de la culture japonaise peuvent comprendre  et apprécier. Cela m’avait échappé…

Si le dessin de Naoki Urasawa semble un peu ordinaire, il est très efficace à exprimer l’action et l’émotion des personnages. Et, si la conclusion de l’histoire est un peu décevante, le récit est bien mené et captivant. Le signe des rêve demeure donc une bonne lecture. C’est du Urasawa, après tout!

Mujirushi: Le Signe des rêves 2, par Naoki Urasawa. Paris: Futuropolis / Louvre Éditions, octobre 2018. 136 pages, 19.5 x 26.5 cm, 20,00 €  / $39.95 Can. ISBN 978-2-7548-2581-8. Sens de lecture original (de droite à gauche). Pour lectorat adolescent (14+). stars-3-0

Vous trouverez plus d’information sur les sites suivants:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

© 2018 Urasawa Naoki • N Wood Studio / Futuropolis • Musée du Louvre Éditions.

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Deadpool

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deadpool-posterA comedic take on the superhero movies (and particularly the X-Men). It offers the usual plethora of stunts and special effects, as well as the usual story [¡SPOILER! although it’s all in the trailer…]: mercenary boy is madly in love with girl, but has to leave her to go seek a cure for his cancer which turn him into a super-healing anti-hero with a new ugly face so he cannot come back to her but instead seeks revenge against the vilain who did that to him however in counter-action the bad guy kidnaps girl therefore he has to save her and they ends up back together in a happy ending but the guy remains a jerk.

It’s all rather ordinary but what’s distinguish this movie is the dialogues (actually, mostly the monologues, performed by Ryan Reynolds) which are rather funny. Frankly, the movie should have been titled “deadpan”… It’s another brainless action movie. Nothing serious (the good thing is that it doesn’t take itself seriously at all) but it offers some twisted entertainment. A fan-boy movie.

It is based on a Marvel comic book set in the X-Men’s universe. Despite being called vulgar, infantile, obnoxious, irreverent, etc., it was well received (mostly by  the comics book fans) with ratings of 84% / 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.0 on IMDb ! Rated R…stars-2-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMDb — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube]

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Mrs Wilson

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mrswilsonThis three-part historical drama is set in Britain during and after WW2 (in the ‘50s & ’60s). When her husband dies, in the early sixties, Alison Wilson is already distraught. They lived comfortably in their little cottage. She’s a typist and Alexander is a spy novelists (and retired MI6 officer). They have two sons, Gordon and Nigel, and they were happy. However, as she tries to come around organizing her husband funerals, she receives the visit of a woman, Mrs Gladys Wilson, who claim to be Alec’s widow! Her happy world quickly crumbles as she struggles with one question: was her husband really the man he claimed to be? Was it just a lie? 

She knew Alex/Alec was a spy because they met at the Secret Intelligence Service headquarters where they were both working during the war. She starts her own investigation, questioning Alex’s handler at MI6, some colleagues in the Intelligence Service, Gladys’ son. She becomes obsessed with this quest to discover who the man she thought she knew for twenty-two years really was. The deeper she digs in his past the more secrets she discovers! Through flashbacks, she relives their history together until she understands who he really was. When she comes to term with the truth, she becomes a nun, but she never could tell her sons about their father until after she died—she had written everything down. 

It is a beautiful and compelling story told in the manner of a spy or mystery novel. The most interesting part is that it is a true story — and the cool twist is that Alison Wilson is played by actress Ruth Wilson, he own grand-daughter! Alexander ‘Alec’ Wilson wrote twenty-four novels, mostly inspired by his career in the secret service and his huge imagination. He was a bigamist who had seven children with several wives. Many aspects of his life are still a mystery as, even today, the Foreign Office still consider his files as ‘sensitive’.

Mrs Wilson is a very interesting historical drama, beautifully filmed and cleverly told. I enjoyed it greatly and recommend it warmly. It was well received by the critics (with rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.4 on IMDb). It aired on BBC One in late November / early December and will premieres on PBS Masterpiece Sunday, March 31, 2019, 9/8c (and will subsequently be available on Dvd, iTunes Store and Prime Video). Don’t miss it! stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Google — IMDb — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Tomb Raider

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tomb_raider_(2018_film)This reboot of the video game adaptation is neither better nor worse than the previous one with Angelina Jolie. Unfortunately, the story is not very inspiring, but it offers good action (despite the impossible stunts typical of Lara Croft), as well as very nice acting from Alicia Vikander and Daniel Wu. I was quite annoyed by the fact that all the aspects of the supposedly Japanese ancient culture presented in the story is completely bogus and actually looks more Chinese than Japanese. (WTF!?) However, [SPOILER ALERT] I like that the ancient curse turned out to be a disease [SPOILER END]. It offers a nice breath of realism in the movie. Unfortunately, to make it cinematically palatable they had to make the disease’s symptoms completely, absurdly improbable. 

It is safe to say that Alicia Vikander comfortably slips into the Lara Croft character (despite not having her exaggerated physical attributes which she thankfully compensate with great stamina and charm) and delivers a performance that saves the movie from a complete wreck. The movie received mixed reviews (6.3 on IMDb, 51%/56% on Rotten Tomatoes). All in all, it’s an average action movie that offers brainless entertainment. It’s worth watching, whether you are a fan or not, but only if you have time to spare. stars-2-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMDb — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

Damn! The trailer is showing all the best scenes of the movie!

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Z Nation

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znation-s05-poster

Season 5

“A group of survivors must cross the country with a possible cure for the zombie apocalypse. The holder of the cure, a zombie-human hybrid named Murphy, may not be so cooperative.”

That’s the premise of this 5-season series. At first I thought, “Not another zombie show!” but it grew on me because of its humour, its clever ideas and the fact that it was able to reinvent itself season after season. Hell, it tackled every zombie cliché, and sometimes it was boring or stupid, often repetitive, but the producers had the sense to give it mercy before it becomes worse.

The fact that the series is a gross comedy doesn’t prevent it from touching serious subjects. It is particularly the case in the fifth and last season which is more political. The series talks about Native American rights and the zombies (who have evolved an intermediary stage where they still have cognitive and language abilities before becoming murderous brutes) are an allegory pleading against prejudice and discrimination (racial, sexual, religious, etc.). We must accept the difference in other people, whatever they are.

The series was relatively well received (rating of 6.7 on IMDb and if the first season was dislike by critics on Rotten Tomatoes with a rating of 45%, the over-all audience score is nevertheless 77%). It aired on SyFy in the U.S. and on Space in Canada, but can still be viewed on Dvds and on Netflix. A prequel, titled Black Summer, will be airing on Netflix in early 2019. Over all it is a nice, funny entertainment, that changes us from The Walking Dead. I have always been partial to post-apocalyptic stories, so I guess it is binge-watching worthy. stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMDb — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Pacific Rim Uprising

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pacificrim2-posterAs bad as this movie is you cannot but love it if you are a mecha (or giant robots) and a kaiju fan — which I am. There’s plenty of action (although not very realistic and playing loose with the laws of physics), not much story, a hint of human drama, and a bit of humour. There’s not much originality either, but let’s call it an “hommage.” The term Jaeger reminds me a little of Heavy Gear (although it could come from so many other sources: it means hunter in German, could refers to infantry troops, a bird, a car, or several anime or manga), some designs seems inspired by many giant robots anime (Giant Robo, Mazinger, The Big O) and, of course, the kaiju part if inspired by Ultraman, Godzilla and Gamera, but the biggest “influence” is without contest Neon Genesis Evangelion — and this is probably the closest we’ll ever get to an Evangelion live-action movie. The alien monster attacking Earth, using alien technology to develop weapon against them, the synchronization part, the tall slender design similar to the rogue jaeger Obsidian Fury (damn! I love that design!): that’s seems all “inspired” by Evangelion. Although they’ve gutted all the really interesting stuff (mystical bits and human drama) it is still pretty entertaining.

There is plenty of cool stuff in this movie. No transforming robot but instead a combining kaiju. Not a bad idea. And I’ve certainly LOL when the pilots of Bracer Phoenix have to eject and land at the feet of a statue of a… Gundam! Beautiful and really funny. I couldn’t fail to notice the heavy Chinese presence in the cast and crew (not surprising since producer Legendary was bought by the Chinese Wanda Group and some of the shooting was done in a studio in China). It did relatively well at the box office but was not particularly liked (rating of 5.6 on IMDb and 44% / 41% on Rotten Tomatoes !).

All in all, it offers brainless sci-fi action and lots of mecha & kaiju nostalgia. If you are a fan. stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMDb — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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The Bill Murray Stories

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billmurraystoryApparently there are lots of stories on the internet about Bill Murray doing some crazy spontaneous things where he crashes a party or a wedding picture session, comes behind someone in a public toilet and puts his hands on the person eyes saying “No one will ever believe you”, or ends up doing the dishes in some kid’s apartment. He just shows up out of the blue, acts like he is just a normal guy (not a celebrity) but in a way that touches people’s life. Could those stories be true? That’s the question which Tommy Avallone asked himself and decided to make a documentary about it. 

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From a Mythical Man is a documentary that retells those stories and interviews the people who experienced them. It really seems that most stories — at least those told in the documentary — are true and there is pictorial or video evidences to prove it. Avallone then goes on asking himself: why? Why someone like Bill Murray would do such things? To goof around? As a publicity stunt? Not at all. It is just who Bill Murray is. It is part of an improv thing and part of a life philosophy (something like taoism or zen). He just like to live in the moment and make people happy.

Personally, I am just wondering what makes people wake up in the morning and decides to make a documentary about Bill Murray. You are in movie school and need to do one as an assignment? Or really want answers to those questions and decide to just films everything and try to make money out of it? Or you just have the “reporter” gene in your blood? I guess someone should make a documentary about that.

It’s not a very good documentary (it’s clumsy, particularly toward the end, and I dislike when someone makes a documentary about themselves looking for something) but I enjoyed it because I not only learned a lot about who is Bill Murray, but it was also quite entertaining (lots of funny anecdotes and movie excerpts). It reminds me of this book that I once saw in the library: The Tao of Bill Murray: Real-Life Stories of Joy, Enlightenment, and Party Crashing, by Gavin Edwards and R. Sikoryak, which was basically asking the same questions. [ Amazon / Goodreads / Library ]

Apparently, Bill Murray is quite an interesting person. But whether you are interested or not, whether you like documentaries or not, it doesn’t matter: if you just take the moment to watch this sixty-seven minutes movies you will certainly enjoy it. And maybe, maybe, you’ll take something out if it and wonder, like me, could I ever be that spontaneous and really live in the moment? stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Google — IMDb — Netflix — Rotten Tomatoes — Wikipedia ]

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Mujirushi: Le Signe des rêves 1

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signe-des-reves-1-futuropolisKamoda Takashi est un japonais crédule et malchanceux qui se fait constamment embarquer dans des magouilles où il se fait exploiter financièrement. Acculé à la faillite, sa femme le quitte. Mais un corbeau lui apporte un message d’espoir… mais ce n’est que pour se faire embarquer dans une autre magouille par un japonais francophile et mystérieux. Il se retrouve à Paris en compagnie de sa fille Kasumi avec mission de voler La Dentellière de Vermeer au Louvre! Kasumi raconte tout à Michel, un pompier parisien qui parle japonais et qui semble lié à leur mission par un mystérieux destin…

planchea_341960Le dessin d’Urasawa, sans être désagréable, est tout de même assez ordinaire. Par contre son récit — souvent empreint de fantastique — est toujours captivant. Si ses personnages sont peu crédible (l’éternel “looser” pathétique et l’amateur d’art manipulateur aux dents géantes), sa description des salles du Louvre est plutôt charmante. Dans l’ensemble c’est un très bon manga mais la première partie se termine abruptement sur un suspense. La suite au deuxième volume!

Cette série est intéressante pour deux raisons: d’abord il s’agit d’une oeuvre de Naoki Urasawa qui a produit de très bon manga sur une base très consistante (Yawara!, Master Keaton, Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto, Billy Bat). Deuxièmement, elle fait partie de la série de BD sur le Louvre publié conjointement par Futuropolis et Louvre Éditions (dont nous avons déjà commenté Les Gardiens du Louvre et  Les chats du Louvre). Le Signe des rêves vaut donc la peine d’être lu — mais je réserve mon jugement définitif en attendant d’avoir lu la suite.

Mujirushi: Le Signe des rêves 1, par Naoki Urasawa. Paris: Futuropolis / Louvre Éditions, août 2018. 144 pages, 19.5 x 26.5 cm, 20,00 €  / $39.95 Can. ISBN 978-2-7548-2577-1. Pour lectorat adolescent (14+). stars-3-5

Vous trouverez plus d’information sur les sites suivants:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

© 2018 Futuropolis / Urasawa Naoki.

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Murder on the Orient Express

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268x0wA murder on a luxurious train forces a Belgian detective on vacation to get back to work. It is an entertaining and beautiful movie (with nice CGI scenes of old cities or of the train slithering through the snowy mountains) but it is mostly unremarkable — beside the many inconsistencies, the average [over-] acting (despite an all-star cast) and the outrageously grotesque moustaches of Hercule Poirot. Frankly, I did not like Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Agatha Christie’s landmark character. I guess it was one adaptation too many for this famous 1934 detective novel… Over all, despite a Box Office success (revenu were more than six times the movie’s budget), it’s a rather disappointing movie. It got a lukewarm reception with ratings of 58% / 54% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.5 on IMDb. stars-2-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio Mtl — Google — IMDb — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker

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CompleteCartoonsNewYorker-covI acquired this phenomenally huge book in a sale earlier this fall and I paid only fifteen dollars for it. I have always liked the single-panel cartoons (often referred to as “gag cartoon”, in the likes of what you find in the series “For Dummies”, or in Herman or Bizarro, and, of course, in newspapers’ editorial cartoons) and the most iconic of those could be found in the magazine The New Yorker. So I was quite pleased with this acquisition. However, it is the type of nightstand book that you savour slowly and it took me a couple of months to go through its 655 pages and over 2,000 cartoons (about two weeks of actual reading). Unfortunately the used copy I purchased did not include the two CDs with all 68,647 cartoons ever published in the magazine (if so it would have taken me much more time to read!).

A New Yorker cartoon is usually made of one drawing (but sometimes of the sequence of two or three), plus a funny caption. Most of the time all the humour is in the caption… Here are some examples:

 

The cartoons are organized into the eight decades during which the magazine was published (from its founding in 1925 until the publication of the book in 2004) and each period is introduced by an essay by one of the magazine’s most distinguished writers: 1925-34 (introduction by Roger Angell), 1935-44 (Nancy Franklin), 1945-54 (Lillian Ross), 1955-64 (John Updike), 1965-74 (Calvin Trillin), 1975-84 (Ian Frazier), 1985-94 (Mark Singer) and 1995-2004 (Rebecca Mead). The book starts with an Editor’s Note by Robert Mankoff and a Forword by David Remnick, and concludes with an index of Artists.

In addition, for each era, you find a brief overview of a predominant theme (the depression, drinking, nudity, television, cars, the space program, slipper dogs, business culture, the internet and politics) as well as a brief profile (including a mini-portfolio) for a key cartoonist (Peter Arno, George Price, James Thurber, Charles Adams, William Steig, Saul Steinberg, George Booth, Jack Ziegler [about whom I’ve already talked], Roz Chast, and Bruce Eric Kaplan).

In a way, this book chronicles the history of the magazine, but also the history of the American society. Therefore, it is much more than just a funny reading as it provides great insights and understanding of the socio-politics of each era.

For me, the cartoons were funny most of the time (not LOL, but a chuckle or quiet giggle), but I also often didn’t get it (particularly the older ones — I guess culture change with time or the context was lost to us as sometimes you needed to be there to understand). However, I enjoyed reading this book immensely. If you have a chance, it is worth the time and therefore highly recommended. stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio Mtl — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

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RBG

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RBG-covI just watched this CNN documentary about the life of judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is really a historical crash course about the other side of the fight for civil rights: the legal aspect of the women’s lib movement in which RBG played an essential role. The film is composed of extracts of hearing and court proceedings as well as interviews with RBG, friends, family and some legal or political experts. We first learn how she became a lawyer in 1959 (Harvard and then Columbia) but couldn’t find employment because she was a woman. She taught law at Rutgers. Within the ACLU she co-founded in 1972 the Women’s Rights Project which oversaw hundreds of gender discrimination cases, RBG personally arguing six of them before the Supreme Court (winning five). It is incredible how such a small and frail woman could be so dedicated and determined to fight gender discrimination in any way necessary in order to slowly build up precedents and find justice.

In 1980, Jimmy Carter nominated her as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.. In 1993, Bill Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court where she played an iconic role. With the retirement of Justice O’Connor in 2006, she became the only woman on the court, until the nomination of Justice Sotomayor in 2009. First considered a moderate, she shifted toward the Left to preserve the balance as the court became more conservative. She is known for her dissenting opinion. She could be the last line of defence against the civil rights roll back by the Trump administration. Strangely, the appeal of her work and personality — through an Internet meme named Notorious R.B.G., which was comparing her to rapper Notorious B.I.G. — has given her great pop culture fame.

This is a great documentary that is fun to watch, but also very informative. I’ve learned a lot about American history. It is also a nice introduction to another movie about RBG’s life, this time a fictionalized account of her early days, titled On the Basis of Sex and which was just released this Christmas. RBG was well received as it earned a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.6 on IMDb. Therefore, it is highly recommended. I recorded it when it aired on CNN in September, but it is now available on Dvd (from Amazon or your local library) and can also be streamed on iTunes or Amazon Prime. stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon Prime — Google — IMDb — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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A place to call home S06

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APlaceToCallHome-s06-covI just finished watching the sixth and final season of this Australian soap. It tells the story of the Blighs, a rich family of land owners from Inverness (New South Wales) whose life change forever after the chance encounter with a nurse on a cruise ship. Each member of the family will know love, grief and betrayal multiple times as they ride the wave of modernity emerging from the post-WW2 era (the Fifties). Some of them will have to come to term with the horrors of the war and they will all discover — and fight for, sometimes against their own prejudices — a large spectrum of human rights: gay rights, minority rights (Italians, Jews, Aboriginals) and women’s rights… It’s some sort of Australian’s Downton Abbey.

I am not a big fan of soaps (I watched them only with my wife) but this one is well written, endearing, it knows how to stir emotions and makes you reflects on our own society. It was very well received by the critics with a score of 100% (audience score of 85%) on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.3 on IMDb. I enjoyed it a lot myself, so I’d say it’s worth watching if you have the time (it has 67 episodes) and can find it (it plays on BBC Canada sometimes and the first five seasons are available on Dvd). stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMdB — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Transformers: The Last Knight

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TransformersTheLastKnight-covThis story literally puts Earth against Cybertron. It’s Megatron versus Unicron. The Transformers have been here since the night of time. They fought with King Arthur, they fought in World War One, and even against Hitler. But we didn’t know about it because their existence has been occulted by a secret society started by Merlin himself, as he was entrusted with a power staff to control them all (or at least the three-headed dragon made of the bot-knights of the round table!). And Stonehenge is a weapon (more or less; maybe more a socket for a weapon…)!

Under the influence of Quintessa, Optimus has become Nemesis Prime! However, Yeager’s Autobot partner, Bumblebee, turns him around and, with the help of the bot-knights, they fight back against Quintessa and Megatron’s plan to destroy Earth. But it is far from over as the fight will continue with yet another movie (no, please, make them stop!)…

This movie offers a few good ideas (transformers in the past, steampunk influences, introduction of interesting new characters like Viviane or Izabella), but they are unfortunately slapped together in a messy way. The editing is horrendous, the dialogues terrible and don’t even get me started with the bad humour! At 2h34, the movie is way too long and the action is going too fast — transformations are just a blur and it feels like you’re watching a movie in fast-forward! Definitely entertaining but also rather annoying (particularly Cogman, the Bot-ler). I guess it is mostly for the hard-core fans.

The movie made plenty of money but it was disliked by viewers (with a mere 15% critic rating and 44% audience score at Rotten Tomatoes and 5.2 on IMDb — strangely the next film, standalone prequel Bumblebee, did very well with a Rotten Tomatoes critic rating of 94%). Maybe it’s time to pause and rethink the franchise… stars-2-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Biblio Mtl — Google — IMDb — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Mars S02

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Mars-TV-posterI just finished watching the second season (and the end) of Mars, a National Geographic docudrama about what the colonisation of the red planet could look like. It’s based on a book by Stephen Petranek, How We’ll Live on Mars [ Amazon / Biblio ]. The series has 13 episodes (two seasons of six episodes, plus a prequel).

It offers a fictitious story intertwined with interviews of real scientists and personalities (such has Elon Musk, Susan Wise Bauer, Andy Weir, Antonia Juhasz, Neil deGrass Tyson, Adam Frank, Stephen Petranek, Bill Nye, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Zubrin, Ann Druyan, etc.) to discuss the feasibility and necessity of exploring and colonizing Mars. It shows not only the scientific aspects of such endeavour, but also its human side. It is filmed in a very realistic way and the acting is good (although there’s no known actors in this international cast). A companion book was created to go along the TV series: Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet [ Amazon / Biblio ].

It is really interesting, particularly if you like hard science-fiction (series like The Expanse), but I would rather see a TV series adaptation of Kim Stanley Robinson Mars trilogy… I am disappointed that it lasted only two seasons as it could have been so much more. The constant interruption of the storytelling with interviews can be annoying sometimes, but it gives the story more realism and makes the series not only entertaining but also educative. However, considering how slow space exploration is going right now, I think that starting the story in 2033 is a bit too optimistic. It was relatively well received by viewers and critics (ratings of 61% / 66% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.5 on IMDb) and it is worth watching if you like space exploration. stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Google — IMdB — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Travelers S03

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Travelers-s03This week-end I binge-watched the third season of the Canadian-American sci-fi TV series Travelers that was just released on Netflix (December 14th). 

A little similar to the older TV series Continuum (2012), this is a time-travel story where people from the future travel back in time to try preventing a dystopian future and possible civilization-ending events. Although, this time, the people themselves don’t travel in time, but it is rather their consciousness that “overwrites” the mind of present-day people who were about to die and of whom they assume the identity. Those well-trained travelers follow a strict set of rules (or protocols) and are executing missions that are given to them by the Director, an artificial intelligence that rules the future and monitors the timelines. 

The concept is quite interesting and it is cleverly written. Of course such stories are a basketful of paradoxes that are often confusing and not always credible so it is generally better not to scrutinize them too much. However, it is compelling and very entertaining. Despite all common sense telling me it should be bad, I liked it a lot.

The first season (12 episodes), which aired in late 2016 on Showcase and Netflix, introduced the characters and the setting of the story as the travelers main mission is to prevent an asteroid from destroying the northeastern seaboard. Each episode bring a minor mission and develops further the relationships between the travelers and their entourage. One of them, Marcy, has trouble with her host’s body. They all must battle a rebel group of travelers called the Faction, which want to save humanity from the control of the artificial intelligence.

With the second season (12 episodes), in 2017, the story concentrate around the fight against the Faction and their leader in present-day, known as Traveler 001. The third season (10 episodes), which was released only on Netflix, continues the Faction story arc. The travelers a battered and their cover story is blown — but their existence is known only to the top levels of governments. They are forced to work under the oversight of the actual FBI. As none of their missions seems to improve the future and as the Faction is gaining ground, the prospects are quite bleak for the travelers… 

No fourth season has been announced yet and the third season’s ending could very well also be considered the end of the series. However, it also leaves an opening for a sequel…

All in all, Travelers is a very good science-fiction TV series, well worth watching. stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Google — IMDb — Netflix — Rotten Tomatoes — Showcase —  Wikipedia ]

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Outlaw King

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OutlawKingPosterOutlaw King is a movie about the other hero of the 14th-century War of Scottish Independence. As Braveheart told us about William Wallace, this story is about Robert the Bruce. When the Scottish monarch died without a descendent, the lords called upon Edward I of England to chose a successor, a process known as the Great Cause. Instead he invaded Scotland and seized power. The Scottish lords rebelled but the superior English army prevails and the lords finally submitted. Only Wallace continues to fight. However, when he is captured and killed, the civil unrest convinces Robert the Bruce to take arms again. He is crowned king of the Scots in 1306 and, despite being outnumbered and a series of early defeats (like the battle of Methven), he succeeds, through guerrilla warfare, to push back the invader and finally defeat Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. He remains King of the Scots until his death in 1329 and is succeeded by his son, David. Ultimately, through his daughter Marjorie, one of his descendants (James VI/I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots) will reign over both Scotland and England (1603-1625). He is still today revered as a national hero.

This is a beautiful and enthralling historical movie about honour, power, courage and strength. Unfortunately, like most movies, it favours drama over historical accuracy. I particularly like the gritty and realistic depiction of the period, which feels just like Outlander (the first season is similarly about the Jacobite rising of 1745 culminating with the defeat at the Battle of Culloden) or Game of Thrones (some actors of this series appear in the movie: James Cosmo, Stephen Dillane and Clive Russell), but without the fantasy elements. 

Outlaw King, starring Chris Pine (Star Trek), Florence Pugh and Aaron Taylor Johnson, premiered at TIFF in September and was released on Netflix (and select theaters) on November 9th. It is rated R because of some full frontal nudity and graphic violence. The movie was liked but without too much enthusiasm (rating of 63% / 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.0 on IMDb). It is very interesting if you are a fan of Scottish historical action movies, but remains quite entertaining nevertheless. stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Google — IMDb — Netflix — Rotten Tomatoes — Wikipedia ]

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Solo: A Star Wars Story

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Solo-covThe latest Star Wars movie offers us quite an interesting (but simple) story with the usual (improved?) special effects. It’s the story of someone who gets out of the slums, with audacity and a bit of courage, doing what’s need to be done. A story of love and betrayal. It has a moral (hey, it’s Disney after all), lots of action and great humour. It also has a bunch of very interesting characters (and excellent acting to go with it). It’s sort of a growing-up story, about how a slum kid become… well… a kind of accidental hero. For the Star Wars fans it also offers lots of back story: how Han got his name, how he met Chewbacca and, later, Lando, how he got the Millenium Falcon and what makes it such a special ship, and, finally, how the rebellion started. 

It might not have the depth of the original movies (although that fame might be due in part to the legend, greater music and fantasized childhood memory) but it is, in itself, a good movie. It might not be THE Star Wars movie but, as the title says, it is A Star Wars movie. However, it is a fact that it didn’t performed well at the box-office, barely breaking-even, and was less appreciated by the fans than the critics with an audience score of 64% versus a critical rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.  It’s a little blend, yes, but it’s still quite entertaining and well worth watching. stars-3-0

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — BAnQ — Biblio Mtl — Google — IMdB — Official — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Le Chat du Rabbin 8. Petit Panier aux amandes

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ChatDuRabbin08-cov“Ils s’aiment. Lui est juif, elle est catholique. Ils vivent à Alger, et un jour, le Rabbin voit arriver cette jeune femme qui, pour mieux s’intégrer et faire plaisir à son futur époux, veut se convertir au judaïsme. La stupeur le dispute à l’incompréhension : pourquoi vouloir embrasser une foi si compliquée, si irrationnelle, si pénible ? Le Chat et Zlabya sont tous d’accord pour la dissuader, et vont trouver en Knidelette une alliée inattendue…”

[Texte du site de l’éditeur; voir aussi la couverture arrière]

ChatDuRabbin08p05Roger est fiancé à Aline, qui désir se convertir au judaïsme pour adopter le mode de vie de celui qu’elle aime et pour préserver l’harmonie de sa famille. Ils demandent au jeune rabbin de la convertir, mais celui-ci refuse! Lui, il est né juif et n’a donc pas le choix: tout son imaginaire baigne dedans, mais il conçoit mal qu’un être équilibré ait spontanément envie de s’infliger une religion aussi contraignante. Alors Roger va voir le vieux rabbin, qui propose que sa fille Zlabya (la femme du jeune rabbin et maîtresse du chat!) enseigne les coutumes juives à Aline. “Le plus important“, dit-il, “le centre de la vie juive, ce n’est pas la synagogue, c’est la table familiale.”

Étrangement, Aline semble prendre plus à coeur tout ces commandements et rituels que Roger, aussi absurdes qu’ils soient. Ce dernier a d’ailleurs un doute et, peut-être qu’il ne veut pas trop se faire rappeler sa propre religion, alors il regarde du côté de Knidelette… Et Aline, pendant qu’elle se préoccupe de tout ces rituels, elle ne pense à rien d’autre…

Je n’aime vraiment pas le style “ondulé” et brouillon de Sfar. Cette fois-ci, on dirait même que le lettrage des bulles a été fait au stylo à bille par la main de l’auteur! Toutefois, il faut aller au-delà de cette première impression et se laisser emporter par la profondeur de son récit qui, à travers son humour et ses planches à six cases, nous fait se questionner sur la nature de la religion et tout particulièrement le judaïsme (évidemment). Ici le chat qui parle n’est plus l’instigateur du récit mais plutôt un simple observateur… Une histoire qui nous faire rire ou sourire, réfléchir et apprécier la différence d’une culture complexe et millénaire.

Vous trouverez cela génial si, comme moi, vous aimez à la fois les chats et la métaphysique! Je recommande chaudement.

Le chat du rabbin, 8: Petit panier aux amandes par Joann Sfar. Paris: Dargaud (Coll. Poisson Pilote), septembre 2018. 60 pages. 22.5 x 29.8 cm, 14,00 € / $24.95 Can, ISBN 978-2205-07835-0. Pour lectorat adolescent (12 ans et plus). stars-3-5

Vous trouverez plus d’information sur les sites suivants:

[ Amazon — BAnQ — Biblio Mtl — Goodreads — Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

© Dargaud 2018.

Voir aussi mes commentaires sur les volumes précédents:

chat-rabbin-tome-1-bar-mitsva  chat-rabbin-2-malka-lions  chat-rabbin-3-exode  chat-rabbin-4-paradis-terrestre  chat-rabbin-5-jerusalem-d-afrique  chat_du_rabbin_6-cov chat_du_rabbin-v7-cov.jpg

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Capsules

SDL: Entrevue capsule avec Francine Pelletier

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entete-communique-02-300x148Dans le cadre du Salon du livre de Montreal 2018, je voulais faire une série de mini (capsules) entrevues avec des auteurs (surtout de science-fiction) de chez nous. Malheureusement, l’ambiance sonore du salon n’était pas adéquate pour des entrevues, alors celles-ci ont été faite hors-site. Le principe de l’entrevue capsule est de s’en tenir à deux ou trois questions de base et que l’entrevue ne dure pas plus que trois à cinq minutes. Cela doit être compacte et bien se digérer!

Voici donc la première de ces entrevues capsules, réalisée avec Francine Pelletier. Pour en savoir plus sur cette auteure de science-fiction — à ne pas confondre avec la journaliste homonyme — et de polar (sous le pseudonyme de Catherine Sylvestre) vous pouvez consulter sa bio/bibliographie sur le site des Éditions Alire ou sur Wikipedia.

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Isabella Bird: Femme Exploratrice, vol. 3

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IsabellaBird-v3-cov“Le Japon du XIXe siècle hors des sentiers battus !”

“Pour rejoindre Niigata, première étape de son périple, Isabella Bird a choisi une voie secondaire, rarement empruntée par les voyageurs étrangers. Au fur et à mesure que l’intrépide exploratrice s’enfonce dans la campagne japonaise, l’agitation des grandes villes et la splendeur des sites historiques s’effacent devant la misère du monde rural… Aux divers chocs culturels s’ajoutent des conditions de voyage de plus en plus difficiles, si bien qu’Ito lui-même a du mal à faire face à cet aspect de son pays qu’il ignorait. Mais l’aventurière refuse de se laisser abattre, et c’est sans fléchir qu’elle s’engage sur le dernier tronçon de la route d’Aizu !”

“Lancez-vous à la découverte d’un Japon traditionnel désormais disparu à travers les yeux de l’intrépide Isabella Bird ! Basé sur les écrits réels de l’aventurière, Isabella Bird, femme exploratrice est un récit passionnant sur la rencontre d deux monde; dessiné avec un rare souci du détail par Taiga Sassa, un nouveau talent prometteur !”

[ Texte de la couverture arrière ]

Je continue la lecture de cette série dont j’ai déjà commenté le deux premiers volumes.

IsabellaBird-v3p010Juin 1878. L’exploratrice britannique Isabella Bird et son guide japonais Tsurukichi Ito continuent leur chemin sur la route d’Aizu en direction de l’île d’Ezo (Hokkaido). La route est difficile et les villages qu’ils rencontrent sont plongés dans une pauvreté si grande qu’elle surprend même Ito. Pourtant les villageois semblent travaillants et déterminés. Le palefrenier engagé pour prendre soin des chevaux leur explique que la région a été dévastée par la guerre de Boshin. L’armée de l’ouest, menée par les clans de Satsuma et de Chōshū, y a écrasé l’armée de l’est. Les paysans ont été enrôlés de force dans l’armée, beaucoup sont morts, les villages ont été pillés et brûlés. Dix ans plus tard la région n’a toujours pas récupéré. 

IsabellaBird-v3p020À Tsugawa (Aga), l’expédition fait des emplettes, Ito se bourre de friandises et prépare un repas gastronomique pour Isabella. Elle en profite pour commenter (à sa soeur, à qui elle écrit) que la gastronomie japonaise, par la propreté des ses instruments, “la parcimonie et la précision de chaque geste, la délicatesse de la présentation, l’incroyable variété des mets, absolument tout, est imprégné d’une beauté particulière”. Le lendemain, ils prennent une barque pour un voyage mouvementé sur le fleuve Agano jusqu’à Niigata, où Isabella passe quelques temps chez les Fyson. 

Pendant ce temps à Tokyo, un botaniste nommé Charles Maries rencontre le consul général Harry Parkes et James Hepburn car il désir poursuivre en justice Isabella parce qu’elle lui aurait volé son guide, Ito, qui était toujours sous contrat avec lui. Maries considère que son travail pour découvrir de nouvelles plantes est beaucoup plus important que les pérégrinations sans conséquences d’une simple voyageuse. Parkes objecte qu’au contraire l’intelligence sur la géographie et les moeurs des habitants de régions reculées fournit par les aventuriers est indispensable au développement de la diplomatie et des échanges commerciaux de l’Empire Britannique! Il lui refuse donc son support.

Isabella Bird est un autre manga historique au récit passionnant et instructif, mais aussi plein d’humour. La fluidité de l’action est assez bonne. Et, si le dessin est loin d’être parfait (parfois les proportions ou les expressions des personnages sont bizarres), il demeure très agréable à l’oeil et surtout bien détaillé pour donner une très bonne expérience de lecture. À travers le récit divertissant des aventures d’Isabella Bird, nous découvrons deux cultures assez opposées: celles de l’Angleterre Victorienne et celle du Japon de la restauration Meiji. C’est un sujet très intéressant et je recommande donc chaudement ce manga.

Isabella Bird, femme exploratrice T03 par Taiga SASSA. Paris: Ki-oon (Coll. Kizuna), avril 2018. 208 pg, , 13 x 18 cm, 7,90 € / $14.95 Can., ISBN 979-10-327-0248-2. Pour lectorat jeune (7+). stars-3-5

Vous trouverez plus d’information sur les sites suivants:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia — WorldCat — Youtube ]

© 2016 Taiga Sassa. All Rights reserved.

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Picnic at Hanging Rock

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picnic_at_hanging_rockThis is a fantastical story with Natalie Dormer. It follows more or less the Todorov’s definition of the genre as we are presented with a mystery that could have two or more explanations either rational or supernatural. This 6-episode Australian TV mini-series is based on a 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay which was also quite successfully adapted as a movie in 1975 by Peter Weir. It retells the story with more modern themes (like gender identity) and, like many other recent series or movies set in the victorian era, it is ultimately about the powerlessness of women in society at that time and all the distress that such situation was causing them.

Hester Appleyard is an ex-con on the run who purchases an Australian mansion to open a school for young ladies. Everything goes well until three students and one of their teachers mysteriously disappear on Valentine’s Day 1900 while on a picnic at a local landmark known as the Hanging Rock. This tragedy has a great psychological impact on the remaining students, the local community as well as on the finance and reputation of the school—leading to the discovery of Mrs Appleyard’s secrets and more tragedies. Did the girls get dizzy by the heat and get lost? Did they voluntarily run away to escape the harsh disciplinary environment of the school? Were they attacked and killed by a sexual predator? Were they kidnapped by Appleyard’s ex-crime partner seeking revenge? Or were they spirited away by the strange spiritual and physical properties of the rock itself which is a sacred (and feared) place for the aboriginals and seems to warp space-time continuum? No one will really know…

It is a very interesting and entertaining story but the storytelling a little confusing. It is beautifully filmed but fails to capture the mystical atmosphere essential for the genre and which the movie succeeded to establish. All in all, it’s a rather average and unremarkable series. This ambivalence is well expressed in the Rotten Tomatoes ratings (80% for the critics versus 58% for the audience). stars-2-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ Amazon — Google — IMDb — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Capsules

Pline vol. 6: Carthage La Grande

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pline-v6-cov“Dans le tome précédent : Au terme d’une traversée mouvementée, Pline, Euclès et Félix, flanqués de deux nouveaux compagnons, débarquent à Stromboli. Les uns exultent de se rapprocher de leur terre natale, d’autres se réjouissent simplement de fouler à nouveau la terre ferme… Les plus clairvoyants sentent planer le danger.”

“L’Histoire a retenu son nom. Mais que savons-nous du plus grand savant de l’Antiquité ?”

“Après une traversée mouvementée, Pline et sa suite débarquent enfin sur la côte africaine. Carthage et son animation, puis le désert et ses dangers, s’offrent au regard du naturaliste pendant qu’à Rome, les intrigues politiques et l’instabilité de Néron annoncent de funestes événements.”

Pline et ses compagnons arrivent enfin dans le port affluent de Carthage. Il y rencontre son ami Vespasien, qui attend de prendre officiellement le poste de gouverneur de la province d’Afrique. On apprend que le jeune garçon que Pline à recueillit est d’origine Phénicienne. L’expédition se lance  alors dans la désert en direction d’Alexandrie!

Pendant ce temps à Rome, Poppée donne naissance à une fille, qui ne survit malheureusement pas longtemps. Néron retrouve l’esclave Plautina qu’il abuse pour oublié que ses responsabilités le rendent misérable. Et Tigellin complote afin de faire d’une pierre deux coups — à la fois contre les chrétiens et pour la spéculation immobilière — d’une façon qui changera le visage de Rome à jamais…

Extraits des pages 5 à 9

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Ce fascinant manga historique nous offre un récit à la fois instructif et captivant. Le graphisme de Mari Yamazaki et Tori Miki est plutôt détaillé (de plus en plus avec chaque nouveau volume) et fort agréable à l’oeil. Ce manga est très recommandé particulièrement si la Rome antique vous intéresse. J’attend avec impatience le volume 7 qui devrait paraître en janvier 2019!

Pline, vol. 6: Carthage La Grande, par Mari Yamazaki et Tori Miki. Paris: Casterman (Coll. Sakka), juin 2018. 200 pg, 13.3 x 18.2 cm, 8,45 € / $15.95 Can (ePub/PDF: 5,99 €), ISBN: 978-2-203-15361-5. Sens de lecture original, de droite à gauche. Pour lectorat adolescent (14+). stars-3-5

Pour en apprendre plus sur ce titre vous pouvez consulter les sites suivants:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia — Worldcat ]

Pline © 2017 Mari Yamazaki, Tori Miki • 2018 Casterman pour la traduction française.

Voir mes commentaires sur les volumes précédents:

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Press Ep. 1

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tv-55-8-lawson-press-rileyI just watched yesterday the first episode of Press, a six-part British TV series that aired on BBC One between September 6th and October 11th 2018. It is written by playwright Michael Bartlett (Doctor Foster, King Charles III), directed by Tom Vaughan (Endeavour, Victoria) and starring Charlotte Riley (portrayed on the left), Ben Chaplin (World Without End), Priyanga Burford, Paapa Essiedu (The Miniaturist) and David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot). It is set in the world of newspapers in England, showing the work, life and career anxiety of the staff from two very different (and fictional) newspapers: The Herald and The Post. It’s apparently inspired by The Guardian and The Mirror, two newspapers with opposite journalistic philosophies: one is more of an investigative newspaper and the other more of a tabloid (or “Red Tops” as they say in the U.K.).

It is a very good TV series. The acting is excellent and it is quite well-written — it is not as good and clever as Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom (which was about the daily operation and trials of a cable news TV station) but it is still interesting and well worth watching (like most British TV series). Of course, despite the creator’s best efforts, the show was criticized for not portraying accurately the journalistic and editorial work, but all fiction need to take same artistic license to make the subject interesting. However, the writer of the series thought it was important to base the story on some real aspects of the journalists’ work (even if the details is sometimes wrong) in order to express the essence of journalism to the viewers. And I think it succeeded pretty well.

It’s a mini-series, so I have only five more episodes to watch… That’s what I like with British TV: it is usually short and sweet, all the goodness being concentrated in just a few episodes. No car chases or explosions with special effects, but just excellent writing and storytelling. That’s all a good show needs.

Press will air in North America on PBS’ Masterpiece following the UK broadcast, probably in early 2019. I recommend that you watch it if you can… stars-3-5

To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:

[ BBC — Google — IMDb — PBS — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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Le Guide du Mauvais Père (4)

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Guide_du_mauvais_pere_4-covToujours aussi parentalement incorrect, Guy Delisle retrouve son rôle préféré : meilleur (mauvais) papa du monde ! Sa recette : une bonne dose de mauvaise foi, des colères importunes, un tas de gamineries et surtout BEAUCOUP d’humour !

Défier son fils aux jeux vidéo quand il travaille, oublier sa fille dans un magasin et lui faire croire le contraire, parler à ses enfants de sa vie merveilleuse d’étudiant… quand ils n’existaient pas… Guy Delisle, un mauvais père ? Non, un auteur de bande dessinée qui sait puiser l’imagination là où elle se trouve, avec un sens aigu de l’observation et une bonne dose d’autodérision.

[ Texte du site de l’éditeur; voir aussi la couverture arrière ]

Guy Delisle nous fait encore rigoler avec son alter-égo qui représente le summum du mauvais parent: distrait, égocentrique et enfantin. Il s’agit de quatorze petites histoires d’en moyenne un douzaine de pages chacune (entre dix et dix-huit pages): Coup de blues, La dent III, La signature, Au magasin, Compétition, Sortie scolaire, Le jeu, Une histoire, Les invités, Savoir résister, Le test, Un petit film, Le placard, Tunnel of life.

Somme toute c’est quand même très similaire aux trois premier volumes. Je suppose qu’il y a une limite à étirer la sauce avec toujours le même genre d’histoires inspirées de son quotidien. C’est pourquoi ce quatrième volume sera sans doute le dernier. Dans la dernière histoire, Tunnel of Life, le père s’amuse bien avec les enfants dans un parc d’attraction mais se rend compte soudainement que ceux-ci ont grandit (Alice a maintenant 11 ans et Louis 14 ans) et n’ont plus autant le goût du jeu…

À travers cette série (et la plupart de son oeuvre) Delisle réussit le tour de force de raconter des histoires complexe et riches en émotions de façon très succincte et avec un trait de crayon très simple. C’est un livre amusant (et terrifiant à la fois) mais, avec en moyenne deux dessins par page, cela se lit plutôt vite. C’est tout de même une bonne lecture, légère, pour le transport en commun ou la salle d’attente.

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Le Guide du Mauvais Père 4, par Guy Delisle. Paris, Éditions Delcourt (Coll. Shampooing), juin 2018. 18 x 13 x 1.75 cm, 192 pg., 9,95 € / $15.95 Can. ISBN: 978-2-413-00280-2. Recommandé pour public adolescent (12+). stars-3-0

Pour plus d’information vous pouvez consulter les sites suivants:

[ Amazon — Biblio — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia — WorldCat ]

Voir aussi mes commentaires sur les trois premiers volumes:

Le Guide du Mauvais Père © Éditions Delcourt, 2018.

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Mary and the Witch’s Flower

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Mary_and_the_Witchs_Flower-covThis smooth and beautiful animation was produced by the Studio Ponoc, staffed with people who worked at the famous Studio Ghibli. The movie is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (who was a key animator at Studio Ghibli and director of The Secret World of Arrietty [2010] and When Marnie Was There [2014]), with a screenplay by Hiromasa Yonebayashi & Riko Sakaguchi and character designs by Akihiko Yamashita. It is based on Mary Stewart‘s 1971 children’s novel The Little Broomstick (although it is never mentioned in the staff interview included with the Dvd).

Mary and The Witch’s Flower (メアリと魔女の花 / Meari to Majo no Hana) offers a good storytelling and quite a cute story but it doesn’t really look original at all. It rather feels like it is a mishmash of every Ghibli designs: the witch part is vaguely reminiscent of Kiki’s Delivery Service, the witch school in the sky reminds me a little of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, a herd of animal fleeing seems similar to a scene in Princess Mononoke, a costume design evokes Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the girl being away from home with some distant family members is similar to When Marnie was There, etc. This could be explained by the fact that most animators learned their skills while working at Ghibli. However, the influences are not limited to this source: Doctor Dee’s design makes me think of Dragonball’s Master Roshi and even Harry Potter makes a cameo appearance in one of the school classroom! I guess it was all intended as hommage or humour.

If I found this a little odd, I was not really annoyed by it. The movie is good entertainment (critical rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes) and, if you don’t feel the same depth as in Ghibli’s productions,  I was still quite glad that another major studio (even if this is their first real movie) would continue to produce traditional full length anime. Indeed, with the closing of Studio Ghibli after Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement, I really hope that Studio Ponoc will become its rightful heir… So, all in all, it is definitely worth watching. It is available on Netflix and on Dvd. stars-3-0

[ Amazon — Biblio — Google — IMdB — Wikipedia — Youtube ]

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