Tintin, Tim Butcher and the Congo

Coincidence 1: A few months ago, as part of my chronic obsession with Herge, Tintin and belgian comics in general, I read the very controversial and now almost banned Tintin in the Congo, one of only 3 Tintin adventures that I hadn't read and re-read throughout my life [pretty mediocre for Herge's standards it has to be said, although only the second one in the series and therefore important in historical terms].

Coincidence 2: A few months ago, as part of my continuing obsession with Herge, Tintin and belgian comics I started reading Michael Farr's excellent Tintin: the Complete Companion in which he talks a lot about the controversy over the Congo volume, Stanley, Livingstone and Belgian colonialism.

Coincidence 3: A few months ago, I subscribed to Andrew Marr's Start the Week podcast, by far the most interesting programme on British radio which has become a weekly fix on the treadmill. A few weeks ago, STW featured Tim Butcher's Blood River: A Journey to African's Broken Heart, a truly unique travelogue/diary of Butcher's journey through the Congo following H. M. Stanley's 19th century steps. For some reason I was immediately drawn to that story and the day after the book came out (Friday 8th June) I got a signed copy from Borders on Oxford Street. I just read the last page of this book and I can tell you this: if you're only planning to read only one book this year then choose this one. It's moving, witty, important, gripping, unputdownable etc cliches. It's as if Tim Butcher has been possessed by a non-fictional William Boyd.

Coincidence 4: The day the book came out (Thursday 7th June) I got back from Brussels where I indulged in Tintin-shopping and sight-seeing plus more reading about Belgium's colonial history, Stanley and Livingstone.

Non-coincidence: After having discovered that Herge modelled several of his Tintin props on the collection of the Royal Museum of Central Africa and the Royal Museums of Art and History (both of which are in Belgium), and having read Tim Butcher's haunting account of that beautiful but hurt country (Congo that is, not Belgium), I'm going back (to Brussels that is, not Congo) this weekend for some more "research".

Review: Die Hard 4.0

There are some films that don't take themselves too seriously. Some films whose sole purpose is for you to have fun. And there's nothing wrong with that. Personally speaking I tend to be more serious-minded than I should be when it comes to choosing and watching films. I expect films to educate me, change me, make me a better person, open my minds. Often enough, it works.

But I had missed just going to the movies and HAVING FUN! There's been so much sh*t lately and even films which were supposed to entertain me/us, failed to do so (e.g. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, see previous post).

Die Hard 4.0 [a.k.a. Live Free and Die Hard] actually succeeds. I haven't had that much fun in a movie theatre since The Matrix.

From start to finish this is an absolutely awesome, gripping, cool, slick flick. Ok, you may say its plot and characters are a bit thin. For once only, allow me to say (and I can't believe I'm saying it) "it doesn't matter!". Direction, editing, cinematography, art direction, set decoration, pace, score, one-liners, action scenes, CGI, geeky gadgets and inside jokes - they all work seemlessly from start to finish [one of the final scenes in which Bruce Willis takes out an F-35 with a truck is the only one that I felt was unnecessary, exceedingly over the top and badly produced (you can tell it's CGI - looks like a bad Hitchcock effect from the 50s)].

Before watching it, I thought that the sight of Bruce Willis jumping around with a bad hip or high blood pressure would be ridiculous. Somehow the film-makers manage to overcome the 'age' issue.

Overall, if good action scenes and hero-based high-tech disaster movies are your thing then it doesn't get much better than this. I, for one (thing), am planning to watch this again soon - perfect escapism in the gloom of the British non-"summer" and the doom of my PhD write-up.

p.s. check the cool website (needs Flash I think).

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

And what was that about?

Should I even bother to review this film?

Nope, I don't think so. Got better things to do. 168 minutes was enough life-time wasted.