GOOD THINGS

I know I haven't updated in a really long time. Sometimes I feel like I should start writing in this thing. Sometimes I want to update about the minutiae of my boring life, but I figure that no one would want to read that.

However, I feel like I've reached a creative standstill, so I'm gonna start updating regularly so I can feel like I'm accomplishing something. Actually, I haven't been completely useless lately. I've completed a short screenplay, and I've been working on a few other projects, but they're the kind of projects that I'm in no position to complete. I need to write a script that I can actually make right now or in the near future. In fact, I'd like to make some sort of short film when I go home to visit, but I haven't thought of anything yet. The problem is that I need to find actors, and I don't really like using my friends because I don't like writing stories about twenty-somethings.

Anyhow, I've just purchased a coffee maker, after living here for eleven months. So, I'm all hopped up on caffeine right now, which is why I'm rambling on here.

I used to really like writing, and people used to tell me that I was good at it, but I kinda don't care anymore. I feel like everyone wants to be a writer, so it's no use. Besides, I feel like I need a real kick in the pants to get myself to start writing anything. I don't have the innate motivation that I used to have. I guess it's a struggle for most people to create things. It's certainly easier to do nothing, but I'm semi-serious about forcing myself to work. Otherwise, all I do is go to work and get drunk, which feels pretty pathetic.

So, since nothing especially exciting has happened around here lately, I'm going to post my "Best of 2009" lists. I didn't really listen to enough new music or watch enough new movies to properly do this, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

I hate reading music reviews, so I won't say much. In the days of instant streaming, there's really no reason to read a review of a song when you can just listen to it.

TOP 5 ALBUMS OF 2009

1. Kumisolo - My Love For You is a Cheap Pop Song

I just like cutesy Japanese/French dance music.



2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/T

Damn catchy pop music. I can't tell if these songs make me happy or sad.



3. Phosphorescent - To Willie

A cover album of Willie Nelson tunes. I like these better than the originals.



4. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

I was kinda into this band in high school, but then I forgot about them because I mostly considered them a "lesser Belle & Sebastian," but I think they're proving to be more than that with each new album.



5. Dan Deacon - Bromst

I made the mistake of seeing pictures of Dan Deacon before I ever heard his music. He looks like the kind of obese ironic sweatshirt-wearing hipster that I hated in Austin, so I didn't give him a chance for a long time, which is a shame because he makes some truly amazing electronic music.



Honorable Mention:

Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

This album has a few really great songs ("Jim Cain", "Eid Ma Clack Shaw," and "Too Many Birds") but it's mostly mediocre. I don't think Bill Callahan (or any other artist) will ever surpass A River Ain't Too Much to Love.

Girls - Album

The name of this band and the title of this album made it really hard to pirate. The first few times I heard this band, I hated them. I hated the singer's voice, and I hated the way they looked. But I kept reading about them everywhere (and I don't even really seek out stuff about new bands), and I kept giving them another chance for some reason. I guess they grew on me. I used to sing "Hellhole Ratrace" to myself in the shower every morning.

NOW, onto the best movies of the year. There's a lot of stuff I haven't seen yet, but whatever.

TOP 9 MOVIES OF 2009

1. Antichrist

This movie is so supremely "fucked up" and retarded that I can't help but love it. The fox saying "CHAOS REIGNS" is one of the greatest moments in film history. I knew it was coming, but I still nearly shit myself. I admire Lars von Trier not because he always makes great movies (he's made some real stinkers), but because he always does something new. Like, he used a robot/computer program for the cinematographer on the movie he did before this one. Who else would even think to do something so ridiculous? Anyway, Antichrist has pretty much everything I could ever want in a movie.



2. Mammoth

This movie has a pretty polished aesthetic for Lukas Moodysson, but I don't think it detracts from its grittiness. Moodysson packs a real emotional punch with this one.



3. Orphan

A great Hollywood horror flick with perfect tone and pacing and a nice surprise ending.



4. I Am Not Your Friend

Gyorgy Palfi is another director who does something wildly different with each new feature. His first film, Hukkle, doesn't use a single word of dialogue. His second film, Taxidermia, is a technically impressive movie despite the complete insanity of the storyline (competitive eaters, enormous mutant cats, and a guy who shoots fire out of his dick). And his most recent film, I Am Not Your Friend, is a real low-budget shot-on-digital movie about horrible people doing horrible things to each other. Somehow, that seems to be the basic plot of almost every single Eastern European movie ever made.



5. Nymph

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is one of my new favorite directors. His films are reeeally slow, but I find myself really liking "boring" movies these days. I wish I could understand what makes some slow movies effective (stuff by Hong Sang-soo, Bruno Dumont, and Zhang Ke Jia for example) and others completely boring (stuff by Ming-liang Tsai and Yasujiro Ozu). It's a really enigmatic quality. Nymph mostly takes place in the woods and shares a few of the same thematic elements as Antichrist.



6. Crank: High Voltage

This movie is nuts.



7. Tyson

Mike Tyson's story is really compelling, and I love the fact that Tyson speaks so openly. Occasionally, he says something poignant. Often, he says something hilarious.



8. Treeless Mountain

A good Korean movie about cute little girls.



9. Mother

A pretty good Korean movie about a semi-retard.



Holy cow, that took me a long time. I don't feel like proof-reading all that, so I hope it doesn't sound too stupid.

Since I'm considering posting more regularly, let me know if you read this. I want to see if it's worth it.