a scanner darkly


philip k dick was a tragic figure who made art out of his pain

richard linklater is a film maker who manages to straddle both the mainstream ('school of rock') and indie ('before sunrise') scenes

keanu reeves is an actor who rarely succeeds on his own, but when he's in the right context, he does things that no one else can

'a scanner darkly' is a superb film about the divided self, the fearsome power of drug misuse, the encroachments of the state, the uses and abuses of personal freedom, and the life of the mind

it's the first film i've seen this year that i immediately wanted to see again

back from greenbelt

hey folks

sorry i've been off-line for a few days - decided for the first time not to take my computer to greenbelt - turned out just right as it was the busiest festival i've ever had.

so, highlights:

michael franti's near-spontaneous combustion as he enacted everything i could possibly wish for a euphoric last night on mainstage

dancing in the organic beer tent

re-connecting with beautiful friends - mr steve lawson & mr alastair mcintosh, mr kester brewin as three stand-outs

feeling at home again

great to see so many of you there

the spirit grows

greenbelt: films of the year


a heads up for anyone heading to greenbelt this weekend - i'm doing a film review of the year seminar. here's my brief thoughts on the themes that have surfaced in the films of past year, along with a draft list of the films that i've appreciated the most since last august bank holiday. love to hear your thoughts.

THEMES
angst-ridden artists as the keynote of our time
commitment in relationship matters
post-9/11 cinema
the rudest film ever made
god works for disney
peter jackson has too much power
50 cent's movies are worth the price of his name
make peace with your own death
the usual waste of time popcorn
smart popcorn
god is at the edges

FILMS
grizzly man
brokeback mountain
junebug
40 year old virgin
an inconvenient truth
the constant gardener
the three burials of melquiades estrada
a history of violence
good night, and good luck
syriana
munich
cache
the new world
paradise now
crash
superman returns
little miss sunshine
thumbsucker
walk the line
the beat that my heart skipped
pavee lackeen the traveller girl

for what it's worth, my three favourite films of the past year are
junebug
little miss sunshine
the new world

what is blogging for?

so, i've been at this blogging malarkey for a couple of weeks now and i'm enjoying it. it's kinda nice that some of you out there are happy to connect with this blog.

i am intrigued by one thing, though - last week i wrote a post about the president of iran and his veiled threats against the u.s. one of you good people has responded to this post. the next day, i wrote a short of review of the new will ferrell movie. TEN posts in response!

perhaps there is a lesson in the fact that the score is currently ferrell 10, ahmadenijad 1, but i just wanted to say that i'm eager to see traffic on the political stuff as well as the comedy!