ismael chang ghalimi

Movie Collection

The holiday break finally gave me some time to work on my cinephile movie collection. I started this project a year and a half ago, and I expect it to be completed by the end of next year. The original goal was to assemble the complete Criterion Collection (over 500 movies), but the scope eventually expanded to create a more comprehensive collection. Today, I intend to add the Eclipse Collection (74 DVDs), the Janus Films (24 additional DVDs), a couple hundred documentaries, and all movies directed by the following artists:

The whole collection should be made of about 2,000 DVDs. Each DVD is ripped and stored on a RAID 5 disk array, then converted into MP4 format and added to my iTunes library on a Mac OS X server. Movies are then edited to include title, director, release year, cover art, category, and personal rating. As of today, over 650 movies have been processed. Still a long way to go, but the collection is starting to take shape. Cool stuff…

Interesting Documentaries

Recent travels gave me some time to watch quite a few interesting documentaries, with a strong focus on design and environmentalism. There is beauty in this world, so let’s try to preserve some of it…

Historia de un letrero

Some controversy around this short film, yet a masterpiece.

Via United Airlines.

Esteban Diácono

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

Via swissmiss.

Impasse

Impasse from Reel 13 on Vimeo.

Via swissmiss.

Ethan Temple

“Normalcy is the ability to extract happiness from every day life without hurting yourself or anybody else. It is also your ability to adjust to the realities of life, regardless of how inhumane or cruel they may seem.”
 — Ethan Temple

Via Interview Project

Cidade dos Homens

Yesterday, May and I watched Cidade dos Homens (City of Men), the sequel to Cidade de Deus (City of God). It’s quite a bit more violent, and gave me the feeling of innocence being lost. Nevertheless, it’s a gripping and fascinating depiction of life in the favelas. Highy recommended.

Sweet Land

Yesterday, on my way back from Boston, MA, I watched Sweet Land, a 2005 movie directed by Ali Selim. It tells a great story of love, friendship, the passage of time, religion, tolerance, and the good old American Dream. Land Sweet Land…

Auf der anderen Seite

Yesterday, May and I watched Auf der anderen Seite, a German movie also titled The Edge of Heaven. The story takes place in Germany and Turkey. It’s a sad yet hopeful love story, which also talks about the challenges of being a parent. Touching.

Love Stories

The one thing I like about long flights is that I get some time to watch movies, and from time to time stumble upon a few really good ones. On my way back from Munich, I watched My Blueberry Nights and Hors de prix, two love stories, and I loved them both. The first is from Kar Wai Wong and starred Jude Law, Norah Jones, and Natalie Portman (among many others), the second from Pierre Salvadori and gave the lead roles to Audrey Tautou and Gad Elmaleh. The first is typical of Kar Wai Wong’s aesthetics, the second typically French, in a good way. Both are highly recommended.

Rendition

Yesterday, May and I watched Rendition, a 2007 thriller from director Gavin Hood, starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin. It’s a great illustration of what is wrong with the current U.S. administration. As a modern civilization, we cannot accept the use of torture, under any circumstances. My family learned this lesson during the independence war in Algeria, as did countless other families, during countless other wars. Let’s not forget this lesson.

The Lives of Others

Earlier this year, May and I watched The Lives of Others, a great movie taking place in the East Germany (GDR) of 1984. If you want to get a feel for how life was behind the iron curtain, this one shall not be missed.

Persepolis

Tonight, May and I watched Persepolis [IMDB], an animation movie directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, with voices from Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, and Danielle Darrieux. I’m finally starting to understand Iran’s recent history, and feel sorry for all my Persian friends. It will take quite a long time to re-build this country…

The Fog of War

Prior to watching Control Room, I enjoyed The Fog of War, a fascinating documentary directed by Errol Morris and presenting eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara, former US Secretary of Defense. To be watched alongside Why We Fight for an enlightening view of why the United States go to war.

Control Room

On my way to Europe last week, I finally got time to watch some movies. One of them was Controol Room, a documentary directed by Jehane Noujaim and presenting Al Jazeera’s coverage of the 2003 invasion of Irak. It serves as a powerful reminder that all media are biased, and that one should listen to as many voices as possible in order to form an educated opinion, especially regarding such highly important topics. The presentation of events leading to Tareq Ayyoub’s death is particularly disturbing, and Lt. Josh Rushing strikes me as a very decent guy. Eventually, he joined Al Jazeera English.

Rashômon

Tonight, May and I watched Rashômon [IMDB], one of Akira Kurosawa’s best movies. It was the second installment of our Kurosawa cycle, which started two weeks ago with Shichinin no samurai [IMDB]. Both movies feature Toshirô Mifune, Kurosawa’s favorite actor, but Rashômon is a more contemplative piece, investigating the human condition through the eyes of witnesses to a crime narrated in contradictory ways by four different people. The movie is an absolute masterpiece, and the commentary by Robert Altman definitely worth the watch.

The Good Shepherd

Tonight, May and I watched The Good Shepherd [IMDB], a movie directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, and actor/director Robert De Niro. This spy movie tells the story of the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and is relatively convincing. All in all, a pretty entertaining flick.

Children of Men

Tonight, May and I watched Children of Men [IMDB], a rather unconvincing movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and the excellent Michael Caine. This flick is reminiscent of another post-apocalyptic movie also taking place in Great Britain — 28 Days Later [IMDB] — and is similarly disappointing. The plot takes too long to unfold, and the story goes nowhere.

Fast Food Nation

Tonight, May and I watched Fast Food Nation [IMDB], a movie directed by Richard Linklater, written by Eric Schlosser, and produced by Participant Production. Starring Patricia Arquette, Luis Guzman, and Ethan Hawke, this movie depicts the darker side of the fast food industry, and the hardships endured by illegal immigrants in the U.S. Highly recommended, even though strongly disturbing.

Babel

Tonight, May and I watched Babel [IMDB], a movie directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, and starring Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. The movie features three losely interleaved story taking place in Japan, Mexico, and Morocco, and showing how easily you can lose what you love.