Category: Entertainment

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Music Ranking

I’ve been listening to a large quantity of music lately, little of which I actually like. It’s called “pushing my boundaries.” At the least, I managed to find a few good gems in the rough. In the process, I’ve been rating all of the albums I own, and the albums I’ve borrowed for listening purposes.

I’m going to maintain a list of those here, grouped by rating. The ratings are pretty coarse, but whatever. Come back to this post once in a while; it’ll be kept up to date as I listen to more music.

Best Albums (9/10)

  • barenaked ladies. gordon. pop.
  • boards of canada. in a beautiful place out in the country ep. ambient.
  • radiohead. ok computer. rock.
  • sarah mclachlan. fumbling towards ecstasy. pop, pop-rock, folk.
  • sarah mclachlan. the freedom sessions. pop, pop-rock, folk.
  • thievery corporation. the mirror conspiracy. downtempo, dub, jazz.

Great Albums (8/10)

  • aphex twin. selected ambient works 85-92. experimental, ambient, drum & bass.
  • autechre. amber. ambient, experimental.
  • beatles. 1967 to 1970. pop, rock.
  • beatles. magical mystery tour. pop, rock.
  • bebel gilberto. tanto tempo. latin, pop.
  • black sun empire. driving insane. drum & bass.
  • boards of canada. geogaddi. ambient.
  • boards of canada. music has the right to children. ambient.
  • bob marley and the wailers. very best of the early years 1968-74. reggae, dub.
  • broken social scene. you forgot it in people. rock, pop.
  • calexico. a feast of wire. rock, latin.
  • clifford gilberto. i was young and i needed the money! acid jazz.
  • deadbeat. new world observer. dub, downtempo, minimal techno.
  • delerium. karma. ambient, world, trance, new age.
  • dizzy gillespie. compact jazz. jazz.
  • dj krush. jaku. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
  • dj krush. ki-oku. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
  • dj maüs. intersections. drum & bass.
  • dj teebee. the legacy. drum & bass.
  • dj tiësto. in search of sunrise. trance.
  • elektrofant. flipstick ep. downtempo, synthpop.
  • elvis costello and the attractions. very best of elvis costello and the attractions. pop, reggae.
  • fatboy slim. halfway between the gutter and the stars. big beat, breaks.
  • four tet. rounds. ambient, glitch, folk.
  • franz ferdinand. franz ferdinand. rock.
  • freddie hubbard. the body and the soul. jazz.
  • future sound of london. cascade ep. ambient.
  • godspeed you black emperor!. lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven. postrock, rock.
  • herbaliser. blow your headphones. acid jazz, hip hop.
  • herbie hancock. head hunters. jazz, funk, hip hop.
  • kruder & dorfmeister. the k&d sessions. downtempo.
  • manu chao. clandestino. pop, latin.
  • massive attack. blue lines. trip hop.
  • metric. old world underground, where are you now? rock, synthpop.
  • michael brook. cobalt blue. ambient, new age.
  • miles davis. the best of miles davis. jazz.
  • miss kittin. radio caroline. techno, electro.
  • monolake. gravity. ambient, minimal techno.
  • mouse on mars. autoditacker. ambient, minimal techno.
  • mouse on mars. instrumentals. ambient, minimal techno.
  • neil young. sleeps with angels. rock, folk.
  • nicola conte. bossa per due. downtempo, acid jazz.
  • nils petter molvaer. solid ether. acid jazz.
  • nina simone. jazz masters 17. jazz, soul.
  • nirvana. nevermind. rock.
  • nirvana. unplugged in new york. rock.
  • peace orchestra. peace orchestra. downtempo.
  • plaid. double figure. techno, ambient.
  • pluhgt. when nature calls. ambient, drum & bass.
  • police. live!. rock, pop.
  • portishead. dummy. trip hop.
  • prodigy. fat of the land. big beat, breaks.
  • quench. punctuated. ambient.
  • radiohead. the bends. rock.
  • radiohead. kid a. rock.
  • radiohead. hail to the thief. rock.
  • rae & christian. northern sulphuric soul. downtempo, soul, hip hop.
  • r.e.m. automatic for the people. rock.
  • r.e.m. monster. rock.
  • rjd2. deadringer. hip hop.
  • sarah mclachlan. surfacing. pop, pop-rock, folk.
  • sasha. xpander ep. trance.
  • sigur rós. ( ). postrock, rock.
  • simon & garfunkel. old friends. pop.
  • spring heel jack. 68 million shades. drum & bass.
  • squarepusher. feed me weird things. drum & bass, experimental.
  • squarepusher. hard normal daddy. drum & bass, experimental.
  • suba. são paulo confessions. latin, acid jazz.
  • tea party. the edges of twilight. rock.
  • thievery corporation. dj kicks. downtempo, dub, jazz.
  • thievery corporation. sounds from the verve hi-fi. downtempo, dub, jazz.
  • tom jenkinson. bubble and squeak ep. drum & bass.
  • tori amos. from the choirgirl hotel. pop, pop-rock.
  • tori amos. under the pink. pop, pop-rock.
  • tosca. suzuki. downtempo, dub.
  • trüby trio. dj kicks. acid jazz.
  • u2. achtung baby. pop-rock, rock.
  • u2. the joshua tree. pop-rock, rock.
  • u2. under a blood red sky. pop-rock, rock.
  • various artists. compost – the future sound of jazz 4. acid jazz.
  • various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 5. acid jazz.
  • various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 9. acid jazz.
  • various artists. heat soundtrack. soundtrack, jazz, minimalist, ambient, industrial.
  • various artists. instinct – the future sound of jazz 3. acid jazz.
  • various artists. mojo club dancefloor jazz 9. jazz, funk.
  • various artists. nettwerk – plastic 4. trance.
  • various artists. ninja tune – funkungfusion. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
  • various artists. ninja tune – xen cuts. hip hop, acid jazz, downtempo.
  • various artists. st. germain café – the finest electrojazz compilation. acid jazz.
  • various artists. the blue box – blue note’s best. jazz.
  • yo la tengo. and then nothing turned itself inside-out. pop-rock, rock.

Good Albums (7/10)

  • a forest mighty black. mellowdramatic. downtempo.
  • air. 10,000 hz legend. downtempo.
  • air. premiers symptomes. downtempo.
  • air. the virgin suicides soundtrack. downtempo.
  • alex cortex. laconic. techno.
  • alex reece. so far. drum & bass.
  • amon tobin. bricolage. drum & bass.
  • amon tobin. out from out where. drum & bass.
  • amon tobin. supermodified. drum & bass.
  • antibalas afrobeat orchestra. liberation afrobeat vol. 1. jazz, world, downtempo.
  • aphex twin. selected ambient works volume 2. experimental, ambient, drum & bass.
  • apollo four forty. electro glide in blue. drum & bass.
  • arcade fire. funeral. rock.
  • arcade fire. the arcade fire ep. rock.
  • as one. 21st century soul. downtempo, soul.
  • a tribe called quest. beats, rhymes and life. hip hop.
  • a tribe called quest. midnight marauders. hip hop.
  • a tribe called quest. people’s instinctive travels and paths of rhythm. hip hop.
  • a tribe called quest. the low end theory. hip hop.
  • autechre. tri repetae++. ambient, experimental.
  • b.b. king. best of. blues.
  • beastie boys. hello nasty. hip hop.
  • beastie boys. the in sound from way out. hip hop.
  • beastie boys. the sounds of science. hip hop.
  • beatles. past masters vol. 1. pop, rock.
  • beatles. the white album. pop, rock.
  • beck. midnite vultures. rock.
  • beck. odelay. rock.
  • beefcake. ¥003 + ¥024 + 2x = ¥727. drum & bass, techno, idm.
  • belle & sebastian. 3..6..9 seconds of light ep. pop.
  • belle & sebastian. dog on wheels ep. pop.
  • beth orton. daybreaker. pop, trip hop.
  • big bud. infinity + infinity. drum & bass.
  • billie holiday. the quintessential billie holiday vol. 2. jazz.
  • bitman y roban. robar es natural. downtempo, turntablism.
  • björk. homogenic. pop, trip hop, ambient.
  • björk. post. pop, trip hop, ambient.
  • blue rodeo. five days in july. rock, western.
  • blue rodeo. nowhere to here. rock, western.
  • boards of canada. aquarius ep. ambient.
  • bob marley and the wailers. exodus. reggae, dub.
  • bob marley and the wailers. legend. reggae, dub.
  • bottine souriante. anthologie. celtic, jazz, québécois.
  • bran van 3000. glee. pop, disco.
  • cake. prolonging the magic. rock.
  • cat power. moon pix. pop, rock.
  • cat power. you are free. pop, rock.
  • charles mingus. this is jazz vol. 6. jazz.
  • chemical brothers. dig your own hole. big beat.
  • chemical brothers. surrender. big beat.
  • chris clark. ceramics is the bomb ep. experimental, ambient.
  • cinematic orchestra. every day. acid jazz.
  • cinematic orchestra. man with the movie camera. acid jazz.
  • concrete blonde. bloodletting. rock.
  • cujo. adventures in foam. acid jazz, drum & bass.
  • cure. galore. rock, synthpop.
  • dandy warhols. thirteen tales from urban bohemia. rock, pop, synthpop.
  • dandy warhols. welcome to the monkeyhouse. rock, pop, synthpop.
  • david gahan. paper monsters. rock.
  • david hedes skönt. hedoni ep. downtempo.
  • delerium. semantic spaces. ambient, world, trance, new age.
  • depeche mode. singles 86-98. synthpop, rock.
  • depeche mode. ultra. synthpop, rock.
  • depeche mode. violator. synthpop, rock.
  • de phazz. detunized gravity. acid jazz, downtempo.
  • diana krall. when i look in your eyes. jazz.
  • dieselboy. dungeon master’s guide promo. drum & bass.
  • dj czech. hooked on phonics. breaks.
  • dj food. a recipe for disaster. acid jazz.
  • dj krush. zen. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
  • dj shadow. endtroducing. hip hop.
  • dj shadow. the private press. hip hop.
  • dj tiësto. in search of sunrise 2. trance.
  • dj tiësto. live on trance airwaves 2004.05.15. trance.
  • doors. the doors. rock.
  • doves. lost souls. rock.
  • duke of harringay. alroy road tracks. drum & bass, acid jazz.
  • dupain. musica viva. rock, dub, français.
  • dzihan & kamien. freaks & icons. downtempo.
  • ed rush & optical. the creeps disc 1. drum & bass.
  • electrelane. rock it to the moon. rock.
  • ella fitzgerald & louis armstrong. best of. jazz.
  • elliott smith. xo. pop.
  • elvis costello and the attractions. this year’s model. pop, reggae.
  • eminem. the eminem show. hip hop.
  • eric clapton. the cream of clapton. blues, rock.
  • everything but the girl. temperamental. pop, downtempo, house.
  • everything but the girl. walking wounded. pop, downtempo, house.
  • fatboy slim. you’ve come a long way, baby. big beat, breaks.
  • fc kahuna. machine says yes. house, big beat, acid house, techno.
  • fila brazillia. brazilification. downtempo, latin.
  • findley quaye. maverick a strike. reggae, trip hop.
  • flaming lips. the soft bulletin. rock.
  • flim. helio. ambient, folk.
  • four tet. as serious as your life ep. ambient, glitch, folk.
  • four tet. pause. ambient, glitch, folk.
  • frank zappa. freak out!. rock, humour.
  • freak power. more of everything for everybody. downtempo, funk.
  • freaky flow. obscene underground 1 – tits. drum & bass.
  • freddie hubbard. this is jazz vol. 25. jazz.
  • fryderyk chopin. piano concertos 1 & 2 – murray perahia. romantic.
  • future prophecies. warlords rising. drum & bass.
  • future sound of london. dead cities. ambient.
  • future sound of london. lifeforms. ambient.
  • future sound of london. my kingdom ep. ambient.
  • galliano. a thicker plot: remixes 93-94. acid jazz.
  • glenn gould, j.s. bach. goldberg variations. baroque.
  • godspeed you black emperor!. f#a#oo. rock, symphonic rock.
  • harry manx. wise and otherwise. blues.
  • herbaliser. session one. acid jazz, hip hop.
  • herbaliser. very mercenary. acid jazz, hip hop.
  • hrvatski. swarm and dither. glitch.
  • hybrid. wider angle. trance.
  • james. laid. rock.
  • jamiroquai. synkronized. funk.
  • jamiroquai. travelling without moving. funk.
  • jean leloup. l’amour est sans pitié. québécois, rock.
  • jean leloup. le dôme. québécois, rock.
  • jewel. pieces of you. folk, pop.
  • joe henry. scar. pop.
  • kate bush. hounds of love. synthpop, pop.
  • keith jarrett. standards, vol. 1. jazz.
  • ken nordine. colors. jazz.
  • ketil bjørnstad. the sea ii. jazz.
  • kid koala. carpal tunnel syndrome. turntablism.
  • kid koala. scratchcratchratchatch demo. turntablism.
  • kruder & dorfmeister. dj kicks. downtempo.
  • laika. good looking blues. trip hop.
  • laika. sounds of the satellites. trip hop.
  • lamb. fear of fours. trip hop.
  • led zeppelin. houses of the holy. rock.
  • led zeppelin. physical graffiti. rock.
  • lee scratch perry. arkology. reggae, dub.
  • legion of green men. floating in shallow water. techno, downtempo.
  • leonard cohen i’m your man. folk, pop.
  • lil kim. la bella mafia. hip hop.
  • little rabbits. la grande musique. français, downtempo.
  • llorca. new comer. acid jazz, house.
  • lonesome organist. collector of cactus echo bags. rock, novelty, experimental.
  • lou donaldson. blue breakbeats. jazz, funk.
  • luomo. the present lover. microhouse, house, pop.
  • magnetic fields. 69 love songs. pop, humour.
  • man or astroman? intravenous television continuum. rock, surf.
  • manfred hüber & sigfried schwab. vampyros lesbos sexadelic dance party. soundtrack, acid jazz.
  • manu chao. proxima estación: esperanza. pop, latin.
  • manyfingers. manyfingers. ambient, folk.
  • massive attack. 100th window. trip hop.
  • massive attack. protection. trip hop.
  • mazzy star. among my swan. rock.
  • meat beat manifesto. actual sounds and voices. big beat.
  • michael blake. blake tartare. jazz.
  • miles davis. birth of cool. jazz.
  • miles davis. bitches brew. jazz.
  • miles davis. kind of blue. jazz.
  • miles davis. ’round about midnight. jazz.
  • moby. play. ambient, acid jazz, techno.
  • mocean worker. home movies from the brainforest. drum & bass, acid jazz.
  • mocean worker. mixed emotional features. drum & bass, acid jazz.
  • monolake. cinemascope. ambient, minimal techno.
  • monolake. interstate. ambient, minimal techno.
  • monolake. live at beta lounge 1999.11.23. ambient, minimal techno.
  • moog cookbook. the moog cookbook. novelty, rock.
  • most serene republic. underwater cinematographer. rock.
  • mouse on mars. agit itter it it. ambient, minimal techno.
  • moxy früvous. bargainville. pop, humour.
  • mr. scruff. keep it unreal. acid jazz.
  • mùm. yesterday was dramatic – today is ok. ambient, glitch.
  • murcof. martes. ambient, minimal techno, glitch.
  • my bloody valentine. loveless. rock.
  • naomi. pappelallee. pop, downtempo.
  • neil young. freedom. rock, folk.
  • nine inch nails. fixed ep. industrial, rock.
  • nine inch nails. march of the pigs ep. industrial, rock.
  • nine inch nails. pretty hate machine. industrial, rock.
  • orbital. untitled. techno, ambient.
  • orb. orbus terrarum. ambient, ambient house, ambient techno, dub.
  • orb. u.f.off. ambient, ambient house, ambient techno, dub.
  • orb. u.f.orb. ambient, ambient house, ambient techno, dub.
  • oscar peterson and freddy hubbard. face to face. jazz.
  • overman. 100% loaded ep. ambient.
  • passengers. original soundtracks 1. experimental, rock, ambient.
  • paul simon. graceland. pop, world.
  • pavement. terror twilight. rock.
  • pearl jam. ten. rock.
  • pearl jam. vs. rock.
  • peatbog faeries. mellowosity. celtic.
  • photek. form & function. drum & bass.
  • pink floyd. meddle. rock.
  • pixies. doolittle. rock.
  • placebo. placebo. rock.
  • plaid. peel session. techno, ambient.
  • p-love. hey mama. rhythm & blues, acid jazz, house, synthpop.
  • pole. 1. minimal techno, glitch, dub.
  • pole. 2. minimal techno, glitch, dub.
  • pole. 3. minimal techno, glitch, dub.
  • portishead. portishead. trip hop.
  • portishead. roseland nyc live. trip hop.
  • prefuse 73. extinguished outtakes. instrumental hip hop, glitch, downtempo.
  • prefuse 73. one word extinguisher. instrumental hip hop, glitch, downtempo.
  • prodigy. experience. big beat, breaks, jungle, house.
  • prodigy. the dirtchamber sessions vol. 1. big beat, breaks, funk, hip hop.
  • radiohead. amnesiac. rock.
  • radiohead. pinkpop ep. rock.
  • rae & christian. sleepwalking. downtempo, soul, hip hop.
  • reinhold heil. run lola run soundtrack. soundtrack, techno.
  • r.e.m. eponymous. rock.
  • r.e.m. new adventures in hi-fi. rock.
  • r.e.m. up. rock.
  • richie hawtin. de9 | closer to the edit. minimal techno.
  • r.l. burnside. wish i was in heaven sitting down. blues.
  • roots manuva. brand new second hand. hip hop.
  • st. germain. boulevard. house, acid jazz.
  • st. germain. tourist. house, acid jazz.
  • salaryman. salaryman. experimental, ambient.
  • sarah mclachlan. remixed. pop, pop-rock, folk.
  • sarah mclachlan. solace. pop, pop-rock, folk.
  • sasha. airdrawndagger. trance.
  • sasha & john digweed. northern exposure – expeditions. trance.
  • sergei rachmaninov. piano concerto no. 2 and 3 – phillippe entremont and andre watts. romantic, 20th century.
  • shadows. greatest hits. pop.
  • sigur rós. untitled (vaka) ep. postrock, rock.
  • skalpel. skalpel. acid jazz.
  • smashing pumpkins. adore. rock.
  • spring heel jack. busy curious thirsty. drum & bass.
  • squarepusher. music is rotted one note. jazz.
  • squarepusher. port rhombus ep. drum & bass, experimental.
  • squarepusher. untitled ep. drum & bass, experimental.
  • squarepusher. venus no. 17 ep. drum & bass, experimental.
  • state of bengal. visual audio. drum & bass, bhangra.
  • tan dun. crouching tiger, hidden dragon soundtrack. soundtrack, orchestral.
  • tea party. transmission. rock.
  • terje rypdal. skywards. jazz.
  • thelonious monk. the best of thelonious monk. jazz.
  • thievery corporation. sounds from the thievery hi-fi. downtempo, dub, jazz.
  • thievery corporation. the richest man in babylon. downtempo, dub, jazz.
  • tori amos. little earthquakes. pop, pop-rock.
  • tori amos. to venus and back. pop, pop-rock.
  • tosca. suzuki in dub. downtempo, dub.
  • tracy chapman. tracy chapman. folk, pop, rhythm & blues.
  • tragically hip. day for night. rock.
  • tragically hip. fully completely. rock.
  • u2. pop. pop-rock, rock.
  • u2. zooropa. pop-rock, rock.
  • u.n.k.l.e. psyence fiction. hip hop, rock.
  • vangelis. blade runner soundtrack. ambient, soundtrack.
  • various artists. animatrix soundtrack. downtempo, trance, drum & bass, soundtrack.
  • various artists. compost – the future sound of jazz 1. acid jazz.
  • various artists. compost – the future sound of jazz 2. acid jazz.
  • various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 7. acid jazz.
  • various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 8. acid jazz.
  • various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 9. acid jazz.
  • various artists. deep concentration 1. downtempo, trip hop, hip hop.
  • various artists. desert sessions vol. 9 & 10. rock.
  • various artists. du maurier jazz, vancouver 2002. jazz, latin.
  • various artists. garage anthems. garage.
  • various artists. global underground – departures sampler. trance.
  • various artists. hed kandi – winter chill 1. downtempo.
  • various artists. human traffic soundtrack. breaks, hip hop, drum & bass, downtempo, house, trance, soundtrack.
  • various artists. jackie brown soundtrack. soul, rhythm & blues, hip hop, western, soundtrack.
  • various artists. lost in space 3. drum & bass.
  • various artists. nettwerk – plastic 3. trance.
  • various artists. nutone – delicious tunes. downtempo.
  • various artists. pi soundtrack. soundtrack, techno, industrial, ambient, experimental, downtempo.
  • various artists. rebirth of cool 3. hip hop, acid jazz.
  • various artists. rebirth of cool 5. downtempo, acid jazz, hip hop.
  • various artists. rebirth of cool 6. downtempo, acid jazz, drum & bass, funk.
  • various artists. the freestyle files 2: germany vs. england. downtempo.
  • various artists. trainspotting soundtrack. rock, downtempo, techno, ambient, soundtrack.
  • various artists. verve – the jazz masters: 27 classic performances. jazz.
  • various artists. verve – verve remixed. acid jazz.
  • various artists. verve – verve remixed 2. acid jazz.
  • various artists. verve – verve remixed 3. acid jazz.
  • various artists. verve – verve unmixed. jazz.
  • various artists. verve – verve unmixed 2. jazz.
  • various artists. verve – verve unmixed 3. jazz.
  • various artists. way out north. house.
  • we are wolves. non-stop je te plie en deux. rock, français.
  • wild strawberries. quiver. pop.
  • yann tiersen. le fabuleux destin d’amélie poulain soundtrack. soundtrack, français.
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Films, 2004

  • the ladykillers. usa, 2004.
  • the bourne supremacy. usa, 2004.
  • bulworth. usa, 1998.
  • mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (women on the verge of a nervous breakdown). spain, 1988.
  • the take. argentina, 2004.
  • the incredibles. usa, 2004.
  • cool hand luke. usa, 1967.
  • diarios de motocicleta (the motorcycle diaries). usa / argentina, 2004.
  • wargames. usa, 1983.
  • hero. china, 2002.
  • collateral. usa, 2004.
  • metallica: some kind of monster. usa, 2004.
  • fargo. usa, 1996.
  • fahrenheit 9/11. usa, 2004.
  • spiderman 2. usa, 2004.
  • orphée (orpheus). france, 1951.
  • the battle over citizen kane. usa, 1995.
  • citizen kane. usa, 1941.
  • once upon a time in china. hong kong, 1993.
  • one flew over the cuckoo’s nest. usa, 1975.
  • basquiat. usa, 1996.
  • shrek 2. usa, 2004.
  • troy. usa, 2004.
  • the godfather part iii. usa, 1990.
  • the producers. usa, 1968.
  • mies vailla menneisyyttä (the man without a past). finland, 2002.
  • little dieter needs to fly. france / uk / germany, 1997.
  • kill bill vol. 2. usa, 2004.
  • goodbye lenin. germany, 2004.
  • osama. afghanistan, 2004.
  • ararat. canada, 2002.
  • les triplets de belleville (the triplets of belleville). france / canada / belgium, 2004.
  • el mariachi. usa, 1991.
  • lashou shentan (hard boiled). hong kong, 1992.
  • the corporation. canada, 2004.
  • elephant. usa, 2003.
  • office space. usa, 1999.
  • le déclin de l’empire américain (the decline of the american empire). canada, 1986.
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Films, 2003

  • men with brooms. canada, 2003.
  • return of the king. usa/new zealand, 2003.
  • les invasions barbares (the barbarian invasions). canada / france, 2003.
  • 21 grams. usa, 2003.
  • winged migration. france, 2003.
  • capturing the friedmans. usa, 2003.
  • star wars episode ii. usa, 2002.
  • monsters, inc. usa, 2001.
  • geung si sin sang (mr. vampire). hong kong, 1985.
  • finding nemo. usa, 2003. Wow – I was blown away by this flick. I’m actually proud to work in computer graphics when Pixar can make such a stellar film using the technology. The film’s success is really in the imagination and skill of its creators: good characters, and brilliant animation to evoke their personalities. Pixar still suffers from a masculine view of the world (witness the dippy female character), but they’ve improved a lot from past films.
  • spellbound. usa, 2002.
  • the station agent. usa, 2003.
  • lost in translation. usa, 2003.
  • kill bill vol. 1. usa, 2003. So violent, so gory. There were some truly inventive shots and fights in this film; I have to give Tarantino credit. It was all very memorable, and very stylish. But I just didn’t have the stomach for the level of “comic” violence he used in this film. update: I saw this again in 2005, and I actually really liked it the second time. So much style and comedy… I can put up with the worst of the violence for that, now.
  • the birds. usa, 1963.
  • the saddest music in the world. canada, 2003.
  • fog of war. usa, 2003.
  • animal nightmares: sex, frogs and rock ‘n’ roll. canada, 2003. Peter Lynch really outdid himself with this flick. After project grizzly and cyberman, the last thing I expected was a glossy, freaky music video. Very stylish and creative, but probably impossible to see outside a film festival.
  • bugsy malone. usa, 1984.
  • x-men 2. usa, 2003.
  • the matrix reloaded. usa, 2003.
  • the hours. usa, 2002.
  • x-men. usa, 2001.
  • hable con ella (talk to her). spain, 2002.
  • love happy. usa, 1948.
  • intacto. spain, 2002. A top-notch flick. I’m not sure if it was the espresso before the movie, but my heart was thumping non-stop through this philosophical thriller. It’s a very eerie piece, dealing with a world where luck is not random. Individuals hold luck, and can steal luck from others. The ramifications of this fact play out slowly over the movie, which is shot in an eerie Lynchesque lighting, with a suitable soundtrack. The storytelling is excellent, communicating complicated ideas in a clear, highly visual manner. First rate.
  • gangs of new york. usa, 2002. Wow, what a violent movie. It felt like it had the material to be a great film, but the actual movie didn’t live up to the promise. Some magnificent sprawling setpieces, a very convincing bit of geography and an excellent period look, but there’s just not enough thematic material to tie it together. To justify the raw, ugly violence of the opening scene, I needed a grander, deeper, and more coherent message. To its credit, the movie is much more realistic about American history than most: class warfare, racism and lynch mobs, and the ugliness of the political system are well represented. But the initial ugly gang brawl still sits poorly with me: it was shot with fast-paced excitement music, and it didn’t tie into any of the other themes, really. All it did was set the tone and shape a vivid image of the Five Points. Sorry, Scorcese – you didn’t deserve an Oscar for this one.
  • nine queens. italy, 2002.
  • roger and me. usa, 1988.
  • russian ark. russia, 2002.
  • être et avoir (to be and to have). france, 2002.
  • blue velvet. usa, 1986. It took a while to make up my mind about this one, but in the end I liked it. It’s a difficult film to watch, and distinctly strange and twisted. The real trick with the movie is that you think you understand it: the story is straightforward, there isn’t any nonlinear narrative structure or dream sequences. The characters and situations are outlandish, but you could easily just reject it as a bad or gratuitous movie. mulholland drive, by comparison, was outrageously difficult to follow, so you spend a lot of time analysing it before drawing a judgment. To my mind, mulholland drive is still the better film, and definitely more accessible. However, if you spend some time reflecting on the characters and meaning of the scenes in blue velvet, there’s a lot of substance there. And there’s no denying the power of lynch’s style; the images and music of the film have stuck in my head for weeks afterwards.
  • siunin wong fei-hung tsi titmalau (iron monkey). hong kong, 1993. Some very fun kung fu, with the typical way-over-the-top acting and so on. A little too mysogynistic at times, but otherwise excellent. There are a few spectacular fights along the way, especially in the finale.
  • the pianist. poland, 2002.
  • feng yue (temptress moon). china, 1996. I wasn’t very impressed, frankly.
  • dogtown & z-boys. usa, 2002. A fun ride. Very informative for those of us who knew nothing about skateboarding history, and some cool shots of 70s style skateboarding, doing surfing tricks with narrow boards in empty pools and so on.
  • adaptation. usa, 2002.
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Films, 2002

  • the two towers. usa, 2002.
  • microcosmos. france, 1996. Fantastic, incredible cinematography. There’s no plot – it’s just 24 hours in a French field, shot at the scale of an insect. This is a film of beautiful, mind-blowing images, and the insects themselves are full of many all-too-human surprises.
  • banff mountain film festival. I saw several films: eiger b.a.s.e., cannibals and crampons, white trax and more.
  • le salaire de la peur (wages of fear). france, 1953. A very tight thriller, with even surprises to keep a modern filmgoer interested. The plot: drifters in a South American town take a job moving nitroglycerin by truck to an oil fire. If the truck is bumped, they’ll be blown sky-high. The start is quite slow, but once they get in the trucks the tension never lets up. Remarkable considering its age.
  • barbarella. usa, 1968. Yes, it’s camp. But it still feels to exploitative for my tastes, and I can understand why the one woman in the audience left after a few minutes.
  • himalaya: l’enfance d’un chef. uk / france / switzerland / nepal, 1999. Beautiful images, and a straightforward plot.
  • 8 mile. usa, 2002.
  • repo man. usa, 1984.
  • the execution of wanda-jean. usa, 2002.
  • american movie. usa, 2001. A remarkably sympathetic documentary, with a mildly scathing view of American life mixed in for good measure.
  • bowling for columbine. usa, 2002. Quite entertaining, more than a little deceitful, and generally on-the-money. It even had a shot of my ex-girlfriend’s home, which was (inaccurately) labelled as a slum.
  • manhunter. usa, 1986.
  • punch-drunk love. usa, 2002. Good, sometimes great, but a little uneven. I’m still not sure what to make of it.
  • chinatown. usa, 1974.
  • spirited away. japan, 2002. First-rate, and much easier to absorb than princess mononoke was.
  • donnie darko. usa, 2001.
  • e v o. canada, 2002. AWFUL!! Stay far, far away. The worst film that I have ever seen, and that’s quite an accomplishment. Film school wankery at its worst, claiming scientific greatness and depth with visual daring, and failing on all counts. The world’s cheesiest special effects (palette- rotated blowjobs and porn, anyone?), pretentious text that the filmmaker clearly didn’t understand, and a few minutes of Richard Dawkins (the only redeeming feature, and clearly over the head of the filmmaker). Honestly, this will never make it to theatres or video, so no one else will have to suffer through the shit. Just feel sorry for me okay? And never, ever, bother with experimental film poetry.
  • dracula: pages from a virgin’s diary. canada, 2002. Excellent. Spectacular visuals, and the marriage of ballet and surreal cinema is perfect.
  • the trial of henry kissinger. uk, 2002.
  • after jenin. 2002.
  • seeing is believing: handicams and the news. canada, 2002.
  • lilya-4-ever. sweden, 2001. Lukas Moodysson’s together and fucking åmal were brilliant films, amongst the best I’ve seen during the last year. This one pales by comparison, but is still a strong contender. My largest criticism is that it doesn’t make a strong statement beyond nihilism. There’s a faint thread of “this could be happening in your everyday life; do something to stop it”, but it’s faint and uncertain.
  • fix: the story of an addicted city. canada, 2002. Marvellous.
  • view from the summit. canada, 2002.
  • a tree without roots. bangladesh, 2002.
  • hellhouse. usa, 2002.
  • waking life. usa, 2001. First rate.
  • vernon, florida. usa, 1981.
  • magnolia. usa, 2000.
  • about a boy. usa, 2002.
  • treed murray. canada, 2001.
  • lumumba. france, 2000.
  • lolita. uk, 1962.
  • blue crush. usa, 2002.
  • once upon a time in china 2. china, 1992.
  • red sorghum. china, 1987.
  • nikogarsnja zemlja (no man’s land). bosnia-herzegovina / slovenia, 2001. An intriguing film. In tone, this film is a much lighter-hearted look at the Serbian powderkeg than cabaret balkan was. But the message of the film is equally bleak: there is little solution to the mess that they’ve got themselves into, regardless of the good (or bad) intentions of the UN, the media, and the international community. There are some hilarious portrayals of different nations’ attitudes in here: the French peacekeepers who start every conversation with “Vous parlez français?”, without meeting a single french-speaker; the central role of a psychotic design of American-made mine; the British twit in command. A worthwhile film, if somewhat unhappy.
  • ulee’s gold. usa, 1997. I’d heard good things about this film, but I wasn’t honestly very impressed. It’s a slow drama starring Peter Fonda, who tries to help his family back from the brink of disaster after his son is arrested. Overall, it felt too much like a retiree’s fairytale: the old grandfather saves the day, everyone comes around and understands his passions, and no problem is too great. The way that the oldest grand-daughter changes is completely implausible, and the quick conversion to beekeeping was too easy as well. Nevertheless, the film does avoid some of the classic pitfalls of the genre, and would definitely make a good recommendation for any filmviewer who dislikes the more violent and unhappy cinema made these days.
  • amores perros. mexico, 2000. A truly excellent film. Violent, unhappy, etc. etc., but it has the potential to really make you think. This is a story of three sides of Mexico, and it’s also a narrative on the risks of love. The first part shows us the violent, crazy life of the hopeless lower classes, where tragedy is caused by love of money, and love unreturned. The second (and weakest) short story tells us about the upper classes, where the biggest risk to love is accidental destruction and self-love. The final (and strongest) segment follows a homeless man, and speaks of the risks of love destroyed by our own actions. I found this third part to be the most moving and human of the narratives, and it closes the film with a hopeful note. The movie is gripping in its violence and tragedy, but offers enough themes and depth to warrant contemplation after the fact.
  • insomnia. usa, 2002.
  • spike & mike’s classic animation festival. usa, 2002.
  • ghost world. usa, 2001. This proved to be a remarkable little comedy. Usually, I avoid anything based on a comic book, but reviews were quite positive. And the risk paid off – the film take risks and really succeeds. It’s a cynical sort of comedy, but it has some real insights into the present culture of alienation, and it’s not lacking in hilarity along the way.
  • spider-man. usa, 2002.
  • l’emploi du temps (time out). france, 2000.
  • reservoir dogs. usa, 1992.
  • lawn & order. canada, 1995.
  • project grizzly. canada, 1996.
  • stranger than paradise. usa, 1984.
  • city of lost children. france, 1995.
  • the white balloon. iran, 1995.
  • muppets from space.
  • a matter of life and death. uk, 1946.
  • the chocolate wars. usa, 1991.
  • slackers. usa, 1992.
  • le fabuleux destin d’amélie poulain (amélie). france, 2000.
  • le pacte des loups (brotherhood of the wolf). france, 2000. Whoa. This is one messed-up movie, a real genre-bender. Take an 18th century wolf legend, add some eighteenth century costume drama, then toss in some kung fu, iroquois mysticism and a dash of political intrigues. The plot makes almost no sense and is completely over-the-top (just wait until you see the sword / nunchucks scene), combining traditional french martial arts like savate with some serious Hong Kong action. The film’s visuals are quite spectacular, though: also over the top and excessively arty, but this is still a refreshing change in the tired action genre. Lots of cute slow-mo water shots, dripping blood, and supertight depth-of-field. The visuals almost make it worthwhile.
  • mononoke bure (princess mononoke). japan, 1999. I’ve never quite understood the anime movement. At Waterloo, the second-biggest club on campus was CTRL-A, the Club That Really Likes Anime. I saw akira in high school, and thought that it was mostly just excessively violent and weird. On the other hand, my favourite television as a kid were almost all Japanese: astroboy, g-force, voltron. So, after hearing overwhelming positive reviews for this film, I gave it a shot. The artwork is gorgeous, reminding me of my childhood anime, of older Japanese painting, and even battle scenes that looked like Akira Kurosawa’s ran. Some of the best scenes are in the forest, where Hayao Miyazaki composes a beautiful still with just the slightest animation. Unfortunately, the characters are very flat and the plot just goes to hell during the final third of the movie. It devolves into an akira-style holocaust in the end, and then tacks on a happy conclusion. Maybe holocaust is a notable theme of Japanese cinema, but my tolerance in this respect is a little limited.
  • 35 up. united kingdom, 1992. 42 up. united kingdom, 1999. These films are the latest installments in the long-running 7 up documentary series by Michael Apted. The premise is simple: take 14 children at the age of seven, film them, then come back every seven years and interview them again. The series makes for potent criticism of English class structure, as we see the upper-class children achieve their dreams easily while the lower-class children struggle with variable results. You can’t help but compare your life to the characters’ lives. A truly excellent and engaging series – I’ll have to see the earlier installments.
  • le temps retrouvé (time regained). france, 2001. Marcel Proust’s writing is alleged to be almost indecipherable, and this film adaptation by Raoul Ruiz is certainly not an easygoing ride. I think that I tried to hard to understand what was happening, when the true content of the film lies in its style, its visual language. There are some truly luscious set pieces in the film, with some very disconcerting, swirling visual effects mixed in. It’s a beautiful piece, but it defied my understanding, at least on the first viewing.
  • meet the feebles. new zealand, 1989. I can’t believe that Peter Jackson ever 1) got money to make this; 2) got to make the lord of the rings after making this! It’s a totally twisted version of the Muppets, with a heroin-addict frog who has Vietnam flashbacks, a walrus / hippo pair to substitute for Kermit and Miss Piggy, a gay troupe director who puts on a splashy Sodomy song and dance number, and every bodily fluid imaginable. Gross, yes, but still occasionally funny. The Vietnam sequence is easily the best, and some of the other scenes are worthy, but the end was just gratuitously violent. Not for the squeamish.
  • harold & maude. usa, 1971. A curious little darkly comic oddity. Harold is 20, nearly mute, and likes faking suicides. Maude is 79, and a bit of a manic hippie. Somehow, they fall in love. It sounds improbable, but it (almost) works in the film… I was never fully convinced, but this is a fantasy-type film, really. Although the suicide part sounds dark, it’s not really a very dark film, more comic than anything. It’s quirky, but decent.
  • cabaret balkan. yugoslavia, 1999. They don’t come much darker than this. I’d heard that it was dark, but the first several scenarios weren’t too bad – grim, yes, but I’d seen worse. By the end, however, the film was as bleak and unhappy as anything I’ve seen. It’s a political allegory for the state of life in Yugoslavia, told in a series of chapters. In each story, a minor incident spirals out of control into violence, and the victims of one story become the aggressors in the next. The story flows very plausibly, giving a real feel for how violence begets violence. It’s a depressing film, but very well done. One scene in particular stands out: a man and his girlfriend are being held captive by a coke addict and a young boy, and the addict begins to rape the girlfriend, while forcing her boyfriend to sing his native Macedonian anthem. It was a very powerful scene, with brilliant acting and staging.
  • captain corelli’s mandolin. usa, 2001. I expected it to be dreadful, and it wasn’t. The scenery is gorgeous, the script is braver than you’d expect, the accents are atrocious, and the politics are braindead. It won’t get a high recommendation, but I won’t slag it totally I either.