it's funny. when my laptop was working, it seemed like there were a million things to do on the laptop so i never left its side. now that it's not working, i can't think of many things i need to do on the computer. either it's 'cos my vital files i need to work on are gone so i don't feel the need to be at the computer or i'm just a computer addict. it's really a combination of both.

spending less time on the computer gives me more time to watch movies. my mom has a box of movies on vhs that i've never seen but somehow i can't bring myself to watch videos anymore. it's gotta be dvd! i've gone through several netflix rentals without discussing my thoughts on them so i'll summarize my rental activity this year.

depeche mode: the videos '86-'98
i want to watch more music video collection dvds of groups i like but not enough to buy the videos without watching them prior. man, depeche mode videos suck. especially the early ones. i don't know what's worse, early cure videos or early depeche mode videos. i'm not a big fan of either one so who cares.

new order: item
damn, more music videos that suck. and these really suck. not one good video. i remember watching the "true faith" video on american military tv when i was a kid living in japan. i didn't understand it then and i don't understand it now. i realize that new order and depeche mode have something in common. the song is either really good or really crap. except, the heights of enjoyability are higher with new order than depeche mode. depeche mode songs are just long exercises of verse/chorus/verse, like tears for fears.

cold mountain
2 years after the hype i finally watch this thing. it was really, really hard for me to watch the two main characters put on american southern accents when i know they are english and australian. (now i know how other countries feel when america makes films set in their countries and the parts are played by americans.)it was really, really hard for me to watch most of the actors in the film because they are so famous, they are larger than their characters. the vernacular was also a bit tough at times. it was so hard for twiddle thumbs that we had to put on the subtitles. there were several points in the film where you could see where it was going, therefore i see no reason why it was as long as it was. definitely a case of more cutting required. the constant flashbacks in the first part of the film were really hard for me as well. i thought there could've been a better way to tell the story, or at least make the flashbacks more seamless. this is hollywood afterall.

red eye
a thriller. a plane. a killer. uh... better than i thought it'd be but still lame.

girl with a pearl earring
alright, make a book based on a painting and then make a film about it. whoopee. boring ass shit. truth is, twiddle thumbs is on a cillian murphy kick lately which is why we rented this one, the ones above, and the one below.

disco pigs
bizarre but i really liked this one for some reason. 2 kids grow up next door, very close to each other in friendship. they call each other pig and sow. just watch it if it interests you.

a state of mind
a documentary focusing on two gymnast hopefuls for the north korean mass games. i wanted to see this one simply because we have no idea what north korea is like. i was really impressed with how much access the filmmakers were given. they weren't on the heels of the general, that's not what i'm talking about. i'm talking about day to day lives of the young gymnasts and their families. at first the families were reluctant around the camera crew but if you watch the real world you know that the camera crew eventually becomes part of the atmosphere and the true selves come out of the shell. crap comparison but hey, it's what the kids know. the only thing for me was that the film was focused on the capital city of pyongyang, which is north korean communism working at its best. it would be a real educational experience to get a glimpse of other north korean communities, perhaps the top 10 most populous cities. the film crew did get to follow the gymnasts on a school trip to the holy mountain of mt. paektu and that is another example of the access the filmmakers were granted and how amazing that was. plus, the footage of the mass games in itself is something to see.

a bunch of eddie izzard standup tour dvds. (he's too popular therefore expensive to see live these days.)
unrepeatable (1994) - blah, early stuff, needs work.
definite article (1996) - much better but still not quite there.
glorious (1997) - now this is the izzard we know and love!
(dress to kill from 1999 is the show that got me into izzard and the dvd i own)
circle (2000) - shipping today, should be good.