wow. i almost didn't watch anything this month! it's due to the breakup and moving out. i don't have a tv at my new place. my laptop cannot play dvds because i reset the region code so i can watch japanese dvds on my laptop, mostly to screen capture. this means that the only time i've had to watch netflix discs is when i go back to my old place to get some more things and help clean up. there's hardly any time to get what needs to be done, let alone have time for the luxury of sitting down to watch a movie.

"morrissey: who put the 'm' in manchester" - sorry guy but you're old now. this might have been recorded well but i would have rather watched something like this from your first or second year of being solo. i got this just to see it and i don't think i'll ever watch it again.

"wal-mart: the high cost of low price" - i know they are an evil company. anything that bit can't be good. but i had forgotten or never knew all the sordid details. this was a reminder/learner. there were lots of facts, somber moments, and even some silly moments. however, it just doesn't hold well together. it's just not well done. there's at least 1 or 2 issues presented that could be documentaries unto themselves. for me at least i walked away questioning my role in modern mass market goods. i know it's wrong and that people get exploited but i can't afford to buy things that cost much more either. we're all just trying to survive. my cost of living has just gone up but perhaps the items i do buy from now on will continue to be more ethical. certainly one needs to buy more locally to help local businesses and environment. it's just that these days it does seem quite hard to do that. so many local shops have been wiped out and not just due to a wal-mart opening up in town. try to not buy anything made in china or anything not made on your continent for 1 month and see how you manage. that's a challenge i might put on myself but i know i'll fail. markets have been globalized.

"rabbit-proof fence" - i only knew the very basics of this film from when a friend travelled to australia and saw this in theaters there when it came out. i've been meaning to see it ever since. it was somewhere in the middle of my queue and i bumped it up because enough is enough, it's time to see it now. well, this was certainly not in the direction i thought it would be. it's a very specific character, time-frame, and event. i thought it would be a more general telling and perhaps following a girl or a couple girls growing up in the system. this is based on a true story and after watching the film, i read up on the real person online. if i had to summarize their journey: amazing. if i had to summarize the ordeal in the film: heart-wrenching. it's just one of those things you have to make time for and watch, truly watch. don't be distracted by other things.