Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

Review: God Is Alive and Crabby, According to ‘The Brand New Testament’ – The New York Times

In the Belgian filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael’s wickedly amusing religious satire, “The Brand New Testament,” God (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a snarling, meanspirited bully who rules the universe from an apartment in Brussels. Inside his locked office, surrounded by walls of card files, the tyrannical, perpetually bored deity sits behind a computer and plays nasty practical jokes on humans.

A favorite pastime is contriving Laws of Annoyance, like making sure that when a piece of toast falls, it always lands with the jelly side down.God’s wife (Yolande Moreau) is a silent, slavishly dutiful housekeeper; his son, JC, has been reduced to a statue. It remains for his rebellious young daughter, Ea (Pili Groyne), to flout his authority.

Sneaking into his office, she hacks into his computer and, in what the news media later names “DeathLeaks,” sends text messages to everyone in the world, informing all of the dates of their deaths. Suddenly, millions are free to use the time they have left as they see fit. One daredevil, assured of a long life, keeps jumping from heights and landing safely [ . . .  ] Read Full New York Times Review

Paris bans cars for third day to help curb crippling air pollution 

Paris prohibited cars from going the roads on Tuesday and Wednesday depending on whether their license plates ended in even or odd numbers, and will continue to do so on Thursday.

The City of Light can’t catch a (clean) breath. The capital city experienced the worst air pollution in a decade, according to Reuters, prompting officials to enforce a driving restriction for the third day in a row. Earlier this fall, the city council approved Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s controversial ban of cars along a two-mile stretch of the Seine, but change can’t come fast enough, it seems.

Continue reading “Paris bans cars for third day to help curb crippling air pollution “ →

The Dardenne brothers: ‘Attacks on Obama to democratise healthcare are pathetic’ 

The Belgian siblings speak about their new film, why they are drawn to stories of female empowerment and how they think The Unknown Girl might be received in the US

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Belgian siblings who have twice won the Palme d’Or, speak in Cannes about their new film. The Unknown Girl is the story of a young female doctor trying to discover the identity – and the killer – of a woman found dead outside her medical practice. They discuss why they are drawn to stories of female empowerment and gender equality and how they think the film might be received in countries such as the US, where the fight for universal healthcare continues.

Watch the Interview: The Dardenne brothers: ‘Attacks on Obama to democratise healthcare are pathetic’ – video interview | Film | The Guardian