Le Petit Prince review

It has been some time since I read a fiction in french. Last one I read one was a few years ago, The Wave by Todd Strasser french version, so it is named La Vague. Too many english books I have read, it's time to balance out a little bit. What's the best book to start off french literature than The Little Prince, Le Petit Prince.

Because of its simple language and it's barely 110 pages long, I finished it just within two hours. This is a good book for any beginner to learn french. This is the kind of book that cannot be seperated from its paintings. It kinda reminds me of another book I have on my bookshelf in my home in Penang. The similitude is uncanny but I don't think they are the same book. I definitely gonna check out the book again to verify. 

I started this book without much expectation. The only fact I know about it is it is really famous, nothing else. As a children book, I didn't expect it to be so profound, metaphors after metaphors. At some point, I was kinda fed up with all this profoundness. After some time, all the metaphors do feel like 'in your face', as if the book is shouting out for attention : "I am so profound!" to me. As much as I dislike the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I love its one quote :

Mike : Why is everything here completely pointless?
Charlie : Candy doesn't have to have a point. That's why it's candy.

Not everything has to have a deeper meaning or logic. And that is how I would prefer the book to be. Not entirely pointless but at least express the meanings in a non explicit way. I don't get why the hype about this book. I don't hate it, don't get me wrong. Perhaps that means I have already became a grown-up myself.


















      

Phelps' 12000 calories

Behind any great man, there are always some mythos surrounding him or her. There was a rumour saying that Michael Phelps consumes a monstrous amount of 12000 calories daily during his training. It is an impressive number, so impressive that it has became a signature food challenge for many youtubers such as the following. 

The rumour isn't true though. Saturday Night Live and Phelps himself together even make fun of it in a fake commercial. Swimming is indeed very energy-demanding. It is true because from my experience, my craving for food is always at the peak after a solid swimming training session. But no matter you are training for Olympic gold medal or just an average man, a well balanced meal is the right choice, or like Phelps says, eat only as much as you need.

My dietary principal is eating only when I am hungry. As my training getting more and more intense, I get hungry so fast that I eat so frequently, probably 5 to 6 meals per day. The rumour of Phelps' 12000 calories stays impressive but not so unbelievable anymore to me.

As Ramadhan is on going, for those Muslims who doing fasting, I salute you because you are doing something that needs a certain level of dedication. For someone like me who cannot stay away from food and water for a few hours, fasting is a really difficult task.

Under The Skin got under my skin

No pun intended for the title but owh my god! This movie is creepier than Sinister and it is not even a horror movie! Many disturbing images and scenes, preying not on blood or disgust but the fear of the unknown. The fact that you won't be able to fully understand those scenes is unsettling. And adding in some incredible background music, goosebumps ceaselessly appear. 

However I wasn't really engaged in the storyline. The arch of the story isn't huge enough for me to attach to the main character. I thought may be I was so adapted to the formula of main stream movies. I say this because this is certainly not a movie for everyone. Firstly, it is rated R. Secondly, it does require some brain power to follow, at least it is how I feel. 

Then I saw a french movie critic saying, the synopsis kinda gave away the main twist and it might explain why I was not engaged in the movie. If audience has not know from the beginning that she is an alien, the payback might be higher. If I have not known that she is an alien, her strange behaviour would have drive me crazy by searching in vain for answer. But since I know, throughout the movie, what I only did was I kept anticipating her to reveal her true form. 

I would consider this movie as pure sci-fi, same category as most of Kubrick's movies. The only Kubrick's works I have watched is 2001. Is this as great as 2001? I don't think so. As much as I say 2001 is boring, I still like it though. This one not so much. It feels a bit pretentious at some time, trying too hard to be meaningful and profound. May be I am just too ignorant to understand it. The truth is if it is not for Scarlette Jo, I won't go to see this movie in cinema. And yes I admit, the main reason I went for this movie is primal : I like Scarlette Johansson. 

In the end, I don't like it but the creepy factor is well constructed.