the last day of a condemned man (victor hugo)

i thought i was going to like it, but i actually loved it. a passionate cry against capital punishment where the focus on the content is actually not an excuse for not looking after the form: it's really beautifully written... and so exciting! i love that chapter where the title suggests you are going to know the past of the prisoner and therefore the details of his crime, but then it's left blank, thus making the story universal. worth getting an edition with a prologue explaining the period and the reaction of the public when it was first published. not essential at all, but an interesting read.

Rating: 8.5/10

the innocence of father brown (g.k.chesterton)

i actually thought this was going to be a longer story and not a collection of short ones, not sure why. nonetheless, i actually welcomed the format: perfect for my holidays. i love how in every case the irrational solution seems in the end to be the only rational one. but that kind of becomes a pattern and you are expecting it in every story. and it happens in every story. but it's well written, and funny and highly enjoyable, if you happen to like detective stories (which i do). i only wished there was at least one that was longer than 15 pages, as there doesn't seem to be much character development at all, everything revolves around the priest and his shrewdness; which is fine, but it doesn't make me run to the library to find some more father brown collections of stories.

Rating: 7/10

the island (michael bay)

i liked the idea, the interior design and the clothes (apart from the trainers. i mean, trainers? whose idea was that?). i actually rather enjoyed the first half, but only when i managed to forget how much both main characters annoyed me. as i say, the premise is actually good, i always find the ethics of cloning really interesting. however, the second part was a bit too run-run-run-run-boom-boom-run for me, and too crazy on the product placement; but as a whole it's kind of ok for a quiet night in. oh, look, i've managed to write a review about this film without mentioning 'logan's run'! oh. no, i haven't. damn.

Rating: 5/10

cape fear (j. lee thompson)

much much better than the remake, in my humble opinion, and all thanks to robert mitchum's cold and contained performance, much more believable than the monster that de niro portrayed. no coming back from the dead a thousand times freddy krugger style, either (which i welcomed, i got bored with the boat scene in the remake). so, all in all, much more believable and creepy than the other one. what a surprise eh? it's true that, as far as i can remember, the secondary characters (especially the daughter) are much more developed in the 1991 version of the film, but as i said, as a whole i prefer this one. and gregory peck vs nick nolte? well, the fight was won before it even started.

Rating: 8.5/10

plagues and pleasures of the salton sea (chris metzler, jeff springer)

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luther, season 2 (neil cross)

enjoyable only on a very superficial level, so much so that i actually had to watch it whilst checking my tumblr or i felt i wasn't making use of my time wisely... it gets extra points for having stringer bell, being set in london and having sudden bursts of violence.... but it's also full of sensationalism in its plotlines, luther's logic is not logic but clairvoyance and all in all i found it a bit too daft. so yes, just so-so. only to watch if you want to watch some rubbish tv without feeling insulted.

Rating: 4.5/10

game of thrones, season 1 (david benioff and d. b. Weiss)

the first post-wire tv series that has surprised me. when i first knew they were adapting the books, i expected it to be a bit too 'hercules' looking, but that couldn't be further from the truth. the production values are really top-notch and the story, well, i can only say that all the hype is deserved. i love how it deconstructs most of the stereotypes of the genre (apart from the rather cheesy sex scenes): basically, you cannot predict anything plotwise. you have all the fantasy archetypes, but they are all twisted, full of grey shades and... well, real. i also welcomed the almost complete absence of obvious cgi. the whole thing totally blew  me away. pity about the horrible horrible horrible opening credits, i hate them, i really hope they change them for future seasons. roll on spring 2012!! can't wait for the second season.

Rating: 9.5/10

salambo: high priestess of ancient carthage (gustave flaubert)

"the best historical novel of all time", says the dust jacket. well, if it's by flaubert, and it's "the best historical novel of all time", then i think it's only fair i gave it a chance. i couldn't finish it. not long after i started reading it i remembered why i don't like historical novels that much: it always seems like the story itself is an excuse in order for the author to show us how much research he has conducted. the rather lengthy and numerous descriptions of buildings, tools or garments seem to be the main focus of the book, and not the story itself. maybe historians  marvel at the accuracy of the data, but for me this is just dull academic wank.if at least it was interesting academic wank... but no, it's dull, dull, dull!!! maybe the second part is really exciting. i will never know.

Rating: 2/10

mysterious skin (greg araki)

it doesn't matter how many times i watch this movie, i always love it. the way it's filmed, the music, the acting, the storyline itself, everything is five stars. my favourite bits are definitely the dreamy sequences (the rain of candy, the snow in the open-air cinema, the flying saucer...) and, of course, brian's ufo stories and obsessions, but i also love neil's relationship with his best friend... and elisabeth shue! she's amazing. i don't know, i can't find a flaw. i love how brutal and sensitive it can be at the same time. the scene when neil's sick punter asks him to simply stroke his back is one of the sweetest moments i've ever seen in a movie.  and, yes, mr simonotron, i even like the americanism in the plot of having a traumatic event in childhood that haunts people as adults :-p

Rating: 10/10