Last night I went out with some friends for a late night snack at Swingers on Beverly. There was no parking directly on Bev, so I parked on a side street. Whatever. After our meal, I walk back to my car, and the first thing I notice is a huge dent on the side of my car. No note (of course). I’m a little upset. OK. Pretty upset. My car is fairly new and I know that the front part will have to be completely replaced if they can’t bang out the dent. So I’ll have to get an estimate when I return from San Fran. Bollocks. My poor Belle & Sebastian vehicle. And the notes of “I Love My Car” begin to play. Here’s a question: Do you always leave a note when you hit a car? Or does it depend on how bad the damage is?

Arcade Fire
5.30.07
Night #2 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles
Grade: B+

It must be a good feeling for the Arcade Fire to return to Los Angeles and play two sold-out nights at the Greek Theatre which seats over six-thousand people considering their last Los Angeles show was at the small and intimate Troubadour located in West Hollywood. Outside the theatre was parked a large touring bus which is quite an improvement from the last time they were here when they drove a white van with a trailer hitched to the back and brakes that only occasionally worked.

The open-air atmosphere with a full-moon above shining down was a perfect setting for the night’s performance. At 9pm the lights went out and a large neon bible was displayed upon a red curtain hanging at the back of the stage. There were five small oval display-screens for images to be projected upon through-out the night as well and two large video displays to the side of the stage for those too far back to see the band members faces.

With Arcade Fire’s second full-length album ‘Neon Bible’ reaching the number two position on the billboard charts the week of its release the band was aware that they were not just out to perform a new album, but also draw from their first full-length album ‘Funeral’ to satisfy all the new fans who missed the band the last time around. The band did not disappoint. The first 40 minutes of the show was primarily dedicated to songs from ‘Neon Bible’ with the exception of ‘Haiti’ from the album ‘Funeral’ and the song ‘No Cars Go’ from their debut E.P. During the performance of ‘My Body Is A Cage’ Win had a cardboard cut-out of his body at the mic with an oval projection screen for his face where it projected his face singing the song. Through-out the night band members moved and ran around the stage and switched instruments and had a grand time. The audience cheered enthusiastically to every song and they were entertained by Win’s story that one of the benefits of being in a “modern day successful rock band” is that you can attend ‘The Price Is Right’ of which at least one of the band members did and he proudly displayed his name-tag from the show.

After about 40 minutes of playing the band started pulling out their songs from the ‘Funeral’ album and performed such stand-out tracks as Neighborhood 2 (Laika), Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood 3 (Power Out) and closed out the set with Rebellion (Lies) where Win jumped down into the audience and sang with some fans before trekking his way all the way to the very back of the theater to great the fans who sat in the bench seating. During his walk the rest of the band left the stage to later return as Win was making his way down to which another member of the band spoke into the mic, “Win Butler, come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Price Is Right”. The audience cheered enthusiastically. The encore consisted of two songs and the show closer was ‘Wake Up’. The band played for a total of an hour and a half. At the end the audience made its way out of the venue into the hills and trees where their cars were parked and slowly made their return to the bright lights of the city below.

I see Sunset Junction is annoucing its line-up and with Blonde Redhead AND Autolux playing Saturday, I think I will HAVE to go.

Topic: Long Weekend

*I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. My goal this past weekend was to watch 10 movies from Friday to Monday. Sad to say I didn't even come close. :(

*On Friday, I got to leave work early and I considered watching a movie in LA but realized 1. I would have to pay for parking and 2. there is NOTHING good in theatres now. So I went home and cramped one film in before I went over to my friend's place for home-made shabu shabu dinner.

*On Saturday, I had a little get together at my parent's humble home since they were in China (again). I considered making it a BBQ but realized 1. I don't have a grill 2. I could buy one but I didn't care enough. Later that night Cup, Hedwig and a few friends had dinner at Pho 79 and went drinking at Hop Louie and Mtn. Bar. Here I learned: 1. The freak "yindies" love their trendy bars in Chinatown (actually I already knew that but still) and 2. A drunk Hedwig is the bestest ever!!

*On Sunday, after waving bye to a semi sick and tired Hedwig whom crashed at my house from the night before :), I headed out for an exciting Dodgers game. After watching the Dodgers' win over the Chicago Cubs, I rushed home and started a Chinese movie I got through good old Netflix, then it was off to dinner for a friend's b-day.

*On Monday, I was really hoping to plow through AT LEAST 3 movies that day but various things prevented that. GRRRRR!! So the count for the weekend was only 2 movies which really irked me. (sigh). Due to all my TV watching, I have fallen quite behind in my movies. Oh well. Tonight I get to watch Arcade Fire rock the Greek and I have to admit I'm not too pumped about it. Oh well.

(B) Timequake (Kurt Vonnegut, 1997) Grade: B+
According to Vonnegut, a timequake is when the Universe rewinds back in time, and people are forced to relive their last 10 years with no free will. It’s an interesting idea and makes you wonder how much of our lives are, in fact, “free.” The book is an unconventional narrative, interspersed with Vonnegut’s alter ego, Kilgore Trout, and general ruminations about society.

(B) What Was She Thinking? (Zoe Heller, 2004) Grade: B+
I’ve never heard of this book until I saw the film Notes On a Scandal, which I thought was great. And it followed the book exceptionally well, so there were few surprises in reading this, except that the ending was changed. But that didn’t matter too much, because the essence of the book was carried over to the film. I also must note that Heller has a fantastic writing style, and she’s a noteworthy journalist in the UK.

Here’s a Yahoo article all about the all-you-can-eat section at Dodger stadium.

It was twelve years in the making, but I finally finished college. Yeah, so i could have repeated elementary school, junior high, and high school ALL over again in the time it took, but hey, at least I got the last "2 years" done in a year and a half.

In other news, and more exciting news I am sure, STAR WARS is gonna rock L.A. this weekend!!!!!

Topic: I f*cking love JOY DIVISION!

*Trailer for the Joy Division film Control, not the best quality.

*Mix of film clips and interview with director Anton Corbijn.


*The film got a positive reaction at Cannes last week.

*On May 18th, 1980 Ian Curtis killed himself. It has been over 27 years.

Garbage has a new single to promote the upcoming greatest hits album, titled Absolute Garbage, which is due out in July. The song is titled "Tell Me Where It Hurts" and I'm loving it (no surprises there). I must say, Shirley looks amazingly beautiful in the video. There's some news about the album (+ limited edition bonus remix cd and videos collection dvd) here. I can't wait!

Topic: TV Talk

*I just finished watching the season finale for Day 6 of 24. So many emotions!! I have been reading and hearing a lot of complaints about this ep but honestly I thought it was pretty good. I think the last scene between Jack and James Heller really got to me because the acting was so strong. Kiefer Sutherland is awesome and hot (he comes out of the ocean all wet in one scene). Some characters changed which pissed me off and others I actually grew to like more so we'll see how Day 7 goes. In the end, there were more questions then answers but that's 24 for you. If I had to rate this Day I would give it a B ... maybe B-.

(M) Shrek the Third. (Chris Miller, co-direct Raman Hui, 2007) Grade: C-

Thoughts: After the King Harold falls ill and passes away, Shrek (Mike Myers) is left to rule Far, Far Away land. Dreading the news, Shrek looks for a way out by getting a family member to rule - cousin Arthur (Justin Timberlake). Oh and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is pregnant. This sequel was beyond pointless and pretty tiresome. It was not witty and clever as the first two and the use of Damien Rice’s 9 Crimes song during one scene weird me out. On the plus side, the sequence with the Gingerbread Man losing his mind was pretty awesome. I can’t believe they are making a four, actually more like I wish they weren’t.

(M) Valentin. (Alejandro Agresti, 2002) Grade: B

Thoughts: Valentin (Rodrigo Noya) is an eight year old boy who just wants a family of his own. His mom left when he was young, his dad is never around because he is working and his grandmother is getting old. The film was sweet and touching. The boy that played Valentin was very charming.

(M) Mecaniques Celestes (Celestial Clockwork). (Fina Torres, 1995) Grade: C+

Thoughts: A modern day Cinderella story set in Paris with a Latin American vibe. The film was all over the place introducing new themes and ideas. I enjoyed it but I can see myself forgetting all about film in few months because there was nothing too memorable.

Movie Count: 49

(M) Viridiana. (Luis Bunuel, 1961) Grade: B+

Thoughts: Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) is about to become a nun, however before she takes her final vows she is asked to visit her uncle Don Jamie (Fernando Rey), who has funded her education. Viridiana happens to look very similar to her uncle’s dead wife. He decides to plot a way to corrupt and keep Viridiana with him so she can never go back to the church. The film has strong negative religious undertones and is a dark satire. When the film was released it was banned in Spain and denounced by the Vatican.

(M) Journal D’une Femme De Chambre, Le (Diary of a Chambermaid). (Luis Bunuel, 1964) Grade: B-

Thoughts: Celestine (Jeanne Moreau) is hired as a maid in the French country for the Monteils estate. The wife is uptight and cold, the husband is a hunter for women and animals and the grandfather has a strange shoe fetishist. I could not connect to the characters so I had a hard time caring about what was going on with them. In addition, the director threw in a political message that got lost on me.

(M) Au Revoir, Les Enfants. (Louis Malle, 1987) Grade: A-

Thoughts: Julien Quentin (Gaspard Manesse) is sent to a French boarding school run by priests during WW II. There he befriends Jean Bonnet (Raphael Fejto) and the two slowly become good friends. It is later discovered that Jean Bonnet is Jean Kippelstein who is hiding from the Nazis only to be found and killed. This film was touching and sad and heartbreaking; more so because it was based upon the director’s own experiences when he attended a boarding school during the war.

(M) Persuasion. (Roger Michell, 1995) Grade: B+

Thoughts: Eight years ago, Anne Elliot (Amanda Root) wanted to marry Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds) but due to his poor family connections it was not allowed. Now Frederick is Captain Frederick, a wealthy and successful man and Anne’s family is in financial trouble. Another classic Jane Austen tale about love and class status, Persuasion is not one of my favorites. The actors were amazing BUT not very good looking. As superficial as that sounds, I think Hollywood has trained me for Keira Knightley-type Elizabeth Bennet. Actually, Ciaran Hinds was okay looking, sort of a poor man version of Clive Owen.

Movie Count: 46

Today is Morrissey’s 48th birthday. I wrote an article about it on my Web site for anyone who cares... I like this El Mozzo quote on aging: Age shouldn’t affect you. It’s just like the size of your shoes; they don’t determine how you live your life! You’re either marvellous or you’re boring, regardless of your age. Well, Moz is marvellous!

Topic: Dodgers All-You-Can-Eat

*So Darth and I were pretty excited today because our Dodger tickets were for the All-You-Can-Eat section. The Dodgers created this section this year to I guess genearate more revenue and make people fatter.

The menu is made up of: Dodger dogs (not the grilled or super kind), peanuts, nachos and popcorn. The drinks are soda fountain or bottle water. Darth started off with two hot dogs, nachos, peanuts and a soda. I had two hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and soda. One thing to note is the portion is smaller than what you normally get in the stands. After we ate most of our food, Darth went back for two more hot dogs and more nachos for me. I ate about 1/4 of those nachos and Darth only had one and half of the hot dog before we both said we felt sick. HA HA. One good thing is we took 3 extra bottles of water and 5 bags of peanuts for work tomorrow.

Overall, the section is pretty organized. I mean you are cut off from the rest of the stadium so you don't take food and bring it to other areas. The bathrooms are a bit far but I would sit in that section again. Too bad the freaking Dodgers lost tonight :( GRRRRRRR. Ugh we are only half a game ahead now. Darn it! But Kent hit a home run and I so called that. Ha Darth!

Tonight’s the 400th episode of The Simpsons, and though the series has become a bit uneven in recent seasons, it’s still a Sunday night staple. A few years ago, I was having dinner with friends, and we brought up an example of the series’ social commentary, to which a friend said, “Is there anything that doesn’t have a reference to The Simpsons?” I think not. So what’s your favorite episode/moment? Oooh, so many to name… I like the episode when Homer and Mr. Burns are trapped in the ski lodge and build snowmen.

Topic: Drinking, abandonment, friends

*On Friday, I went to Red Lion Tavern to get my drink on. I had one and a half beers and a shot of jagermeister (gross) and was slightly buzzed if that. It was a nice to catch up with some friends I had not seen in a while, especially when they were drunk. Afterwards, a few of us went to Norm's to grub. It was funny because some kids were there after their prom or some lame high school dance. Oh high school shite, how much I loathe you.

*On Sat, I went to Oiwake to get my drink on for a friend's b-day. I had two gin and tonics and a shot of Johnnie Walker (super gross) and was not buzzed. Weak. Again more time catching up with some friends, which is always nice. It was funny because when I went to the restroom I got to see a girl get ready to yak and I heard two other girls tell each other how drunk they were. Classic! Oh and watching lame guys try to hit on girls is always entertaining to me. Especially if they are total knob heads.

*So this morning I have to head to LAX for my parents. They are leaving for China for two weeks :(. Two days later, I have to head there again to take Darth for his trip to NYC :(. I am going to feel very very abandoned but it is okay. Darth comes back soon and before I know it my parents will be home to take care of me ... ha ha. If you guys want to come and hang you are more than welcome to. :)

Do you want personal stuff from everyone then?

Here is my story of the day so far. I am ending my classes this week. Finals are next week and then I am done with school. While waiting for a class to start today I was sitting with my friend and somebody wanted to video-tape us for a project. The question was about sports. Do we watch any and what do we think about women getting paid less than men. If it is a problem, what is the solution. I basically said that the pay scale is a product of capitalism and supply and demand economics, the solution is to get rid of capitalism. Naturally the camera moved away from me and toward my friend for the rest of the interview. The video may end-up on youtube. If it does I'll post it.



Tonight The Happy Hollows play in long beach. YAY HAPPY HOLLOWS!!

Topic: Re-tooling blog page

*I have been thinking of how to re-tool the blog page and decided the key is to be more personal. The reviews of foreign films can get old, even for me. So the objective is more photos and personal stories of things I'm doing. Not sure why this would be interesting but yea. I guess if it works on Darth's or Hedwig's page it can work for me ... maybe.

Topic: TV Talk

*A year ago around this time, I posted about the CW network. This year, Gilmore Girls has ended and Veronica Mars got cancelled. I'm glad Gilmore Girls ended because this past season was garbage but I'm a bit disappointed about Veronica Mars. It was a pretty decent show and I actually made time to watch it. Oh well.


*A shame Melinda Dolittle got voted off American Idol last night. She was one of the best singers but I had a feeling a girl had to go because American Idol loves to do boy vs. girl at the end. Overall, this season sucks compared to last.


*Speaking of sucky season, day 6 of 24 is such a bore. I'm waiting for day 7 to come.

*Are you Grey's Anatomy fans going to watch Private Practice? On the plus side, according to Darth Lost is getting better.

*I'm starting to realize I hate the entertainment industry more and more. Now adays, network TV execs axe and cancel too many shows which are never allowed a chance to build an audience. I think watching stuff on DVD or downloading it is the way to go now. After all, why commit when the show you are watching will be off the air in a week or two.

Hong Kong says the Bible is indecent and inappropriate. Read here.

Psychology today says loner's aren't lonely, and they're not weird. They're different, and happy. Read here.

(A) Volta, Björk (2007) grade: B+

So I'm not a huge Björk fan; I like her music, but I'm not a fanatic. Having been invited to the show near San Francisco, I thought I'd give this album a listen. Turns out, I like it. There's some hype around Timbaland's involvement on this album, but he only worked on three tracks, including the first two singles, "Earth Invaders" and "Innocence", which are my two favorite tracks (what can I say, I enjoy Timbaland's beats, after all, that's what made me like the last Nelly Furtado album). Other good tracks include "I See Who You Are" and "Declare Independence".
Definitely worth checking out.

(A) American Doll Posse, Tori Amos (2007) grade: B

I've enjoyed Tori for a long time. However, her last few albums haven't been that great. This album, for me, marks the return of the Tori I loved. The songs are more gritty than the soft rock she's been putting out; kind of takes me back to the Boys for Pelé days. It's written and recorded from the perspectives of five different characters: Isabel, Clyde, Pip, Santa, and Tori (oh Tori Amos and your faeries).
Some of the tracks I'm enjoying include "Bouncing Off Clouds" and "Digital Ghost" (the latter is a beautiful "ballad", along the order of "1000 Oceans"). I also love the intro track, titled "Yo George", a wonderful commentary on America.

(A) Back To Black. (Amy Winehouse, 2006) Grade: B+

Thoughts: I was about to write this album off but it is actually really good. I still dislike Rehab but the rest of the album is quite strong. Some tracks are better than others like Back To Black and Me & Mr. Jones but overall great stuff.

(A) The Boy With No Name. (Travis, 2007) Grade: A-

Thoughts: Some might not think this is an A album but I have a special place in my heart for Travis so I'm giving the high grade. They are back to Travis form and I'm so glad. As the lyrics from My Eyes say ... Welcome home, Welcome home.

(M) The Importance of Being Earnest. (Oliver Parker, 2002) Grade: C-

Thoughts: Based on Oscar Wilde's play by the same title, this dull and childish adaptation was terrible. How the heck did Reese Witherspoon get casted for this role among awesome British actors like Frances O'Connor (so lovely), Rupert Everett (so charming), Colin Firth (great actor) and Judi Dench. What a shame because I bet if executed better the movie would have been more entertaining.

(M) Music and Lyrics. (Marc Lawrence, 2007) Grade: D+

Thoughts: My brain is mad at me for watching this. I should give it a F but darn Drew Barrymore for being so cute and Hugh Grant for being so charming. Darn them. Oh and it was cool to see a random Campbell Scott appearance. I did like the songs from the 80's band Pop! which was all composed by Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne. It was an interesting look into young woman artist like old Britney Spears who are making it in the music industry by selling their body and sex compared to the has beens who are trying to make a come back i.e. Tears for Fears (reference in the film), The Police, Crowded House and even Jesus and Mary Chain.

Movie Count: 42

(TV) Stargate Atlantis – Season Two. (Sci Fi Channel, 2005) Grade: B

Thoughts: This was an interesting season. They got rid of one major character and replaced him with another and they are changing the focus of the show a bit. They still don't spend enough time on character development but it is okay. I do like that Mitch Pileggi is in the series now; he was Agent Skinner from the X-Files (YAY!!). We'll see how Season Three goes.

The SciFi channel is having a Heroes marathon on May 19th and since Hedwig keeps telling me how amazing Heroes is I'm considering watching it. Not that I don't have enough to watch as is.

TV Count: 6

Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots (A-)

This is a great album. It sounds like an 80's band, but with a newer sound. Their songs are pretty catchy. I actually saw them at the Avalon a couple of weeks ago. They were the special band after the Billabong Fashion show. They are really good live.

I went to Amoeba today to buy some albums, which I have not done in ages, and to get rid of some DVDs in my car. (I got $90.) It’s always intimidating to go to the counter cos usually the clerk slowly rings up your goods, checking out what you bought. But this time, my clerk looks at my Joanna Newsom EP (She has a new EP! Yay!) and goes, my friend’s dad shot this album cover. To which I say, Oh wow. Are you friends with Joanna?! But he didn’t seem to know who she was. He just says his friend’s dad is a famous photographer who does lots of album covers. Turns out the dad is William Eggleston! Amazing! And he wasn’t judging my purchase. Cool.

I also bought Bright Eyes’ Cassadaga, Blonde Redhead’s 23, Idlewild’s Make Another World, I’m From Barcelona’s Let Me Introduce My Friends, The Young Knives’ Voices of Animals and Men, LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver and Albert Hammond Jr.’s debut. Eight albums and I only paid $10. Fantastic.

Carlos D at Coachella, or...

if Joseph Stalin was a bass-player.

(B) Thousand Cranes (Yasunari Kawabata, 1952) Grade: B+
Kawabata has an admirable writing style in that he is able to communicate so much by revealing very little. Small details hold a lot of symbolism to them (the redness of a tea bowl, the birthmark on a woman’s chest) that the casual reader might not understand how much depth there really is to his work.
“I don’t suppose Miss Kurimoto worries about it any more. The pain must have gone long ago.”
“Does pain go away and leave no trace, then?”
“You sometimes even feel sentimental for it.” She spoke as if still half in a dream.

So I've been to a few gigs lately and here is some info on them.

Autolux @ The Glasshouse
Grade: A
This band is top-notch. I always liked Autolux but had never seen them live. Well, I finally went to see them and I was beyond blown-away! They are playing again June 1st at the Natural History Museum but I am seeing Raveonettes that night, but at this point, I'd rather see Autolux again, and again, and again. They did 4 new songs which I liked. Carla (the drummer) has a very cool style of playing drums. Most drummers styles don't stand out to me but hers did.

Mono @ The Troubadour
Grade: A+
MY GAWD I LOVE MONO! This band is so great. LOVE LOVE LOVE. This band seems to come to L.A. once a year and I go to each show and each time I am rewarded and it only costs like $10 to see them. They rock, plain and simple.

Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Glasshouse
Grade: C+
Days have gone by for the JaMC. Their music still shines but their age has set in and I felt ripped off paying $30 for an hour set. I'll always be a fan but they were better live back in the early 90's.

Deerhunter @ The Echo
Grade: B
The band was TOTALLY on drugs! The lead-singer has some disease where he is deteriorating and he seriously looks like he is straight out of a concentration camp. He also wore a dress (ala Nirvana) and a womans wig at times (again, like Kurt Cobain). Their sound is ambient and noisey. I found them entertaining. I would definitely see them again but I wouldn't make it a regular event like other bands I see.

Happy Hollows @ The Echo
Grade: B+
I see this band ALL the time and I will see them many more times. They're a local L.A. band who are like the Pixies. They are fun and sometimes their shows are great and sometimes okay. This last show was one of the better ones. They'll be playing in Long Beach later this month, you can bet I'll be there.

The Klaxons @ Echoplex
Grade: B+
The Klaxons music is grand. One of my favorite new bands. The show brought in a lot of people and it was REALLY loud. I had ear-plugs but they drained out some of the synth sounds. Eventually I ended up towards the back where I could remove my ear-plugs and the audio was much improved and I ended up enjoying the last half more then the first. I will surely see them again when they come around next time.

(M) Funny Games
Grade: B+
I just watched this film and went online to read some IMDB comments and saw that a re-make is being made or was just made starring Naomi Watts. I don't know why you would re-make this movie because the original was spot-on but maybe the director wants to challenge people who won't watch movies with sub-titles.
There's really not much to say about this film, but it is a film that is PERFECT for discussion. Here is a synopsis though. A family goes on vacation and ends up being terrorized by two young men. Very simple plot. What makes the movie is how it plays out and how the audience gets dragged in and involved in the movie and then what it says about movies and the audiences of movies. This movie was beyond clever. I will probably see the English re-make though the movie is so unsettling that I am not sure I would want to sit through it but if I can go with some people who have never seen the original, I'd love to make a night at the movies with this film. It's intense.

*******UPDATE********
For those interested, this movie was also done by the director of Cache and The Piano Teacher

(M) Love Story. (Arthur Hiller, 1970) Grade: C+

Thoughts: Jennifer Cavalleri (Ali MacGraw) and Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) meet in college, fall in love, get married and find out one of them is dying. The film was a GIANT hit in the 70’s. According to my mom, everyone was watching it or listening to the soundtrack or reading the book. I found the movie pretty cheesy but I’m sure it was great for its time.

(M) Blades of Glory. (Josh Gordon and Will Speck, 2007) Grade: C-

Thoughts: Pretty typical Will Ferrell movie. Sadly, there were no really funny lines but a few funny moments. Will Arnett is the best as a bad guy and super funny, especially with his wife Amy Poehler. In addition, there were tons of random cameos but my favorite was Andy Richter and all the skaters like Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill. I would have liked the movie more but the ending killed it for me.

(M) In Debt We Trust. (Danny Schechter and Joel Sucher, 2006) Grade: C-

Thoughts: A semi low budget documentary about America and the huge debt problem we are facing. It is a very serious and concerning problem but like most documentaries it presents a lot of why and how but no what we can do or what is being done. Much of what they were talking about was nothing new if you follow current events, you won’t gain too much from this film.

(M) Shuang Xiong (Heroic Duo). (Benny Chan, 2003) Grade: C

Thoughts: This could have been a great film but the storyline was so weak. I liked all the actors (Ekin Cheng, Leon Lai and Francis Ng) and the action sequences were awesome but I just could not get into the storyline. Oh well.

(M) True Romance. (Tony Scott, 1993) Grade: B

Thoughts: This was such a Tarantino film; it just was not directed by him. It is interesting to see Patricia Arquette play this hooker compared to her stay at home mom looks on Medium. The all star cast in this film is impressive from Dennis Hopper to Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt. However, I really liked the random use of Bronson Pinchot and the awesomely scary Christopher Walken.

(M) Gargandi Snilld (Screaming Masterpiece). (Ari Alexander Ergis Magnusson, 2005) Grade: B+

Thoughts: An interesting but not informative enough documentary about music coming out from Iceland. The documentary shows footage from some of my favorite bands (Sigur Ros and Mum) but does not discuss why a country as small as Iceland (population is 309,699 as of April 2007) produces so much music. The scenery of Iceland is amazing and I would love to someday visit.

Movie Count: 40