Henry Spencer

Oh, Badlands. What a terrific fucking thing. Malick never even came close to equaling it. The appeal of Dead Man lies, to me, in numerous things. Neil Young's score, the gorgeous cinematography, the deadpan humor. Like I said, though, it's a hard one to love. A bit like a retarded child.

I'd say Dead Man is easily equal to, if not better than, Stranger Than Paradise. It easily surpases its predecessor in creating a completely familiar yet wholly alien universe. Dead Man's a hard one to love, granted, it just happened to hit me in just the right spot.

It means their performances are reduced to a series of mannerisms and facial tics. Not once during the movie could I suspend disbelief. I was always aware that I was watching Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro. He's hardly a character at all.

Can I make a contentious statement? Goodfellas is a terrible, terrible movie. Reasons: 1. Ray Liotta. Terrible actor, painfully transperant and self conscious charactor development, and written to be sympathetic to an artificial degree. 2. DeNiro and Pesci. Two good actors basically spending the whole movie reminding us who they are instead of acting. 3. Direction. I never really like Scorscese anyways, but the over the top machismo and semen slinging here was intolerable to a new level. Goodfellas is the Kill Bill of the nineties, only worse, because it thinks it isn't.

1. Bubble 2. The Proposition 3. A Prarie Home Companion 4. Cocaine Cowboys 5. Little Children 6. Jesus Camp 7. Little Miss Sunshine 8. Art School Confidential 9. Over The Hedge 10. The Devil and Daniel Johnston Five Worst: 1. World Trade Center 2. Dreamgirls 3. Marie Antoinette 4. Brick 5. The Pursuit Of Happyness

Revised list: Buffalo '66 Eraserhead Last Year At Marienbad L'Eclisse Alphaville

Acronyms!

I would be lying if I said I was entirely comfortable with the number of capital letters in these sentences. Certainly a high level of stress is betrayed that smoking might help relieve. Just a thought.

Bite your tongue. I'm rather neutral on Simon & Garfunkel, save the aforementioned Cecilia, one of my favorite songs.

Czech should take up smoking.

Their best song.

I like the Stone Roses.

Vincent Gallo's When is well suited for grey, cold winter mornings.

Most of the obvious choices have already been posted and discussed, but AFI's Love Like Winter has its own special way of sucking that doesn't deserve to be ignored.

I still like Magic Bus.

Elliott Smith - The White Lady Loves You More

This thread is a perfect example of the callousness inherent in political mindsets on both sides.

I like The Head On The Door and Seventeen Seconds. Disintegration is so, so boring.

I've been fascinated by Backwater lately.

She's absolutely adorable in both appearance and mannerism. This probably played an unfairly large part in my enjoyment of the concert, but what can I say, I'm a man of simple tastes.

And what's the deal with airline food?

Conversely, the White Album is the only thing of theirs I ever feel like listening to anymore.

Joanna Newsom gets slotted up to number one. Holy fuck.

I was just feeling confrontational, really.

I'd appreciate it.