the most beautiful films

i just rewatched a movie called Perfume (The Story of a Murderer) this past weekend.  here is a list of what i consider the most beautiful (visually) films:

Perfume (The Story of a Murderer)
Amelie
Hard Candy
Sweeney Todd
300
Moulin Rouge
30 Days of Night
Sin City
A Very Long Engagement
Pans Labyrinth

Truth?

I’m going to pontificate for a bit, if you will, if that’s the word, about the idea of truth.

What i don’t understand about life is, why does everything have to be such a mystery?  Why are there so many questions with so many differing answers?  I know that’s seemingly what life is all about, but sometimes it just hacks me off beyond words.  All i want to know in most situations is: what is the truth?  What’s real and what’s propaganda?  Here are some issues that really bother me at times:

1. Global Warming. Is it real?  Is it not?  Who do you believe when all these figures and theories are thrown out there?  Why is it a conservative vs. liberal thing?  I tend to just try to do my part to be a good citizen of earth, regardless of if it’s true or not, and that’s all i know how to do.

2. Alternate forms of fuel/energy. With gas prices kicking me (and all of us) in the face, what do we do?  Some say that oil is the only realistic answer because if everyone switched to electric cars, we wouldn’t have enough electricity to run our homes and businesses.  Does good, gas efficient technology exist?  Do the oil companies stop it from getting to the public so they can keep raising prices and control us?

3. Religious beliefs. Who’s right?  Why?  I know faith plays a HUGE part in all of it, but even among people who claim to follow Christ there are huge differences.  And once again, why do politics often play into all of this?  How corrupt is the world?

4. Consumerism. I want things.  Yep.  But to what extent?  Do i buy a shirt that could have been made in a sweat shop?  Do i avoid buying anything that wasn’t created by someone who is working toward a better life in some way or is contributing to our world?  And what does that even mean?  I’ve already attempted to completely cut out eating at chain restaurants (unless they’re local chains), but is that enough?  Finding that balance between living a decent life and making good, moral, world-helping choices isn’t always easy.  I also know that locally owned places often have success, and at one time were small owned businesses.  But when you mass market everything, there’s a certain watering down that occurs.  A dilution of the goodness that was once the business.  Money becomes the bottom line, rather than good/quality product.

I have many more, i’m sure, but that’s all that’s on my mind for now.

Carry on.

i am the captain

someone in the office found this. i don’t know what it is. but it’s pretty awesome.

music by ratatat.

Radiohead in Charlotte

This is my 2nd time seeing my favorite band, Radiohead.  Last time i saw them was during the Amnesiac tour, and i have to say, this time was even better. They played with excellence, crammed several favorites into the mix, and put on a fantastic show, which i can only assume was environmentally friendly.

I find it interesting that they played Exit Music right after Talk Show Host, considering that Exit Music was the song they wrote for the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack, and the film makers chose Talk Show Host instead.

2 disappointments: 1. they played House of Cards, which is not one of my favorite songs.  2. They didn’t play The National Anthem or 2+2=5.  Oh well.  Besides that, and a crappy opening band (Liars), the show, weather, and everything else about the evening was tops.

Set list of Radiohead’s performance in Charlotte, NC on May 9th:

Set 1:

All I Need
There There
Airbag
15 Step
Nude
Sail to the Moon
Weird Fishes/Apreggi
Myxomatosis
Idioteque
Morning Bell
Videotape
Optimistic
Where I End and You Begin
You and Whose Army?
Everything in Its Right Place
Bangers & Mash
Bodysnatchers

Encore 1:

Go Slowly
Talk Show Host
Exit Music
Planet Telex
House of Cards

Encore 2:

Paranoid Android
Reckoner

Top 20 Radiohead songs

Here are my top 20 Radiohead songs (in honor of me seeing them tomorrow in Charlotte) in order from favorite to 20.

1. Airbag – OK Computer
2. 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm) – Hail to the Thief
3. Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner) – Hail to the Thief
4. Paranoid Android – OK Computer
5. Everything In Its Right Place – Kid A
6. Nude – In Rainbows
7. Exit Music (For a Film) – OK Computer
8 . Talk Show Host – Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack
9. Pyramid Song – Amnesiac
10. Sail To The Moon (Brush The Cobwebs Of The Sky) – Hail to the Thief
11. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi – In Rainbows
12. Subterranean Homesick Alien – OK Computer
13. Reckoner – In Rainbows
14. Jigsaw Falling Into Place – In Rainbows
15. No Surprises – OK Computer
16. Let Down – OK Computer
17. High and Dry – The Bends
18. Optimistic – Kid A
19. Just – The Bends
20. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box – Amnesiac

Juno

ok. so i finally watched Juno. twice.

i’ve watched many an ‘indie’ flick, often disappointed by the lack of story or overuse of awkwardness to just try to be cool. Juno is funny, clever, quirky, and, get this, it has a good story. i’ve been saying for a while that one of the major downfalls of many indie films is that they merely portray a dysfunctional family, put them in a bizarre(ish) situation, and then leave whatever it was they were trying to show us partially resolved and leaving us unfulfilled.

the film is well cast, well acted, well written, and doesn’t try to go overboard with anything. there’s balance. we need more movies with balance and heart.

at this point, i’m still not sure if i liked it more than another one of my favorite Ellen Page films, Hard Candy, but it’s easier to repeat watch. Juno may have broken the top 20 of all time barrier. i guess time will tell.