here's what i netflixed in may and my silly thoughts on them:

bus 174 - this was interesting because it takes one incident and uses it to consider the greater social issue at hand. it starts to touch what that greater issue is but doesn't go too heavy into it nor try to offer solutions. that is perfectly acceptable. the incident is from 2000 when a bus from the 174 line in rio de janeiro had a robbery gone bad which turned into a hijacking. it was done by a slum/street kid so his background as a slum/street kid is explored and some of the interview footage is really great. it's also good to watch the dvd extras on how they researched and tracked down the people they interviewed.

moro no brasil - a documentary about some of the musical genres and styles in brazil. wow, such great music! it makes me cry with joy at how good the music is and that i'm going to visit brazil this year. however, i'm not going to the regions covered. i'm not going to a place known for anything at all other than business and kidnappings. next time...next time...

survivorman (season 1) - i liked this one. a guy all alone showing how you could survive a situation. he makes mistakes. he has to lug all of his camera gear himself. he gets very hungry, tired, weak, cranky sometimes but never lets the show suffer. granted, if you don't like the host you're not going to like the show but there was only a few moments in one episode where he started to get annoying. of course, as a vegan, i would have loved to see more about plants and shrubs in the wild one could survive off of instead of trying to hunt or trap something. i realize in some places it's pretty grim for picking wild plants but no matter how hungry i was, i don't think i could bring myself to kill an animal. some of the places he was left behind in, oh my god i would have no idea what to do because there is nothing to really sustain life off of except for meat. for the natives living there, that's fine, but if i went there on vacation and something happened, i guess i'd end up dying there.

jeff dunham: arguing with myself - jeff dunham is one of the comedians who i think can be really funny but yet somehow i can't remember what his name is. i could probably do a bit of the routine but never be able to remember his name or face. not anymore. that's why i wanted to watch this dvd. to commit to memory who he is. if you don't know, he's the ventriloquist who has several dolls but the main funny line that sticks out to me is to say that he's the "on a stick" guy. he also is probably known for his "peanut" character, who is like some purple monkey with funky hair on top but he's supposed to be a pacific islander. anyway, the show takes place in orange county and they make some cracks about performing there in santa ana which is very hilarious to a los angeles county person. they probably do it at each city but that it's recorded on dvd in santa ana makes it great.

auschwitz: inside the nazi state - this is a 2 disc documentary on a fascinating topic. a lot of facts presented but yet arranged in such a boring manner that i could hardly pay attention and didn't even bother to watch the 2nd disc. sorry, but this was lame.

the nazis: a warning from history - now here's a nazi documentary done right. i was completely enthralled with both discs. i don't want to say anything to spoil it. there are many powerful moments. if you are into ww2 history then i recommend this film.

dead can dance: toward the within - this was sooooo boring. i love to listen to dead can dance on cd but watching them live on disc or in person is too much for me. it's like watching some hippie drum circle in santa cruz.

joy division: under review - it's odd but i only like a few joy division songs when i listen to them by myself and completely on their own. when it is part of a soundtrack, a movie, or a documentary on the band like this one, then their music sounds really, really good. i don't know if it's that i have a crappy stereo, the quality of the songs i have suck compared to the ones used in the film, or what's going on but that's what usually happens to me. after watching something and hearing joy division, i get in a joy division mood and proceed to play them on my stereo or ipod but then it wears off very quickly. it's not even about watching the members or the energy of the members live. i had never really seen footage of them moving about on stage, just the lifeless "love will tear us apart" video. i truly think it has something to do with the quality of the recordings or stereo system. that or they're a great soundtrack band where only part of the song is highlighted and if you listen to the whole thing it's not as powerful.

love and rockets: the best of love and rockets - i rented this to evaluate it as a love and rockets fan to see if it's worth buying. i still have "the haunted fish tank" on video but this dvd includes material beyond that, including david j and daniel ash solo stuff, which is nice. plus it's always good to have all the music videos on dvd. however, i'm not a big enough love and rockets fan at this point in my life to buy this on dvd. it was a nice trip down nostalgia lane but that's about it. i'm just a bigger fan of bauhaus than love and rockets.

smiley face - i have been avoiding this movie for a long time because it just seemed like a bad film. it's directed by gregg araki, whom i used to love a lot as my favorite director but he just doesn't put out enough stuff and i've grown up and out of his earlier teenage apocalypse trilogy. it's nice to go back and watch the earlier stuff out of nostalgia but i thought he was really going to make great things after "mysterious skin". instead we get one of the worst movies ever made.

inland empire - the last of the david lynch period i went through earlier this year (except for the "twin peaks" movie which i'm still waiting for in my queue as "very long wait" so hurry up fuckers and return the disc!). i was not into this movie. it just didn't do it for me. but having laura harring during the end credits helped bump it up a notch.