The Explosive Generation

My Favorite Films Of 2008

1) happy-go-lucky (mike leigh, uk)
2) my winnipeg (guy maddin, canada)
3) encounters at the end of the world (werner herzog, us)
4) wendy and lucy (kelly reichardt, us)
5) up the yangtze (yung chang, canada)
6) the edge of heaven (fatih akin, germany)
7) waltz with bashir (ari folman, israel)
8) still life (jia zhang-ke, china)
9) man on wire (james marsh, uk)
10) flight of the red balloon (hou hsiao-hsien, france)
11) paranoid park (gus van sant, us)
12) mister lonely (harmony korine, us)
13) the band’s visit (eran kolirin, israel)
14) rachel getting married (jonathan demme, us)
15) slumdog millionaire (danny boyle, uk)

**and also, here is a large list of films I still need to see, some of which could very well end up in the list above (as soon as they either open here or I get a chance to watch them on dvd). I’ve got quite a back log:

the class, milk, trouble the water, let the right one in, che, iousa, in the city of sylvia, momma’s man, revolutionary road, the last mistress, shotgun stories, a christmas tale, syncedoche new york, curious case of benjamin button, il divo, gomorrah, elite squad, xxy, boy a, jellyfish, married life, the betrayal, kabluey, son of rambow, redbelt, in bruges, adoration, the orphanage, her name is sabine, sangre de mi sangre, savage grace, the grocer’s son, blindness, elegy, alexandra, wall-e, ballast, tell no one, i’ve loved you so long, the visitor, you the living, standard operating procedure, the order of myths, blind mountain, operation filmmaker, the wrestler, a girl cut in two, vicky christina barcelona, iron man, 24 city, night and day, the headless woman, tulpan and the dark knight.

So…suffice to say, you will won’t be hearing me utter “there was nothing to see” in 2008. Frankly, it’s amazing to me that I even found the time to see what I have, given the breathless pace of this past year.

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If anyone still has any doubts about what a total fraud John McCain was this political season…now he admits that he doesn’t even BELIEVE IN the vapid empty vessel he was cynically was going to offer as a Vice President! What a selfish jerk putting himself before country. Country First was the most ironic slogan of ’08.

McCain Not Promising to Support Palin (Dec. 14) -

Sen. John McCain said Sunday he would not necessarily support his former running mate if she chose to run for president.

Speaking to ABC’s “This Week,” McCain was asked whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could count on his support. “I can’t say something like that. We’ve got some great other young governors. I think you’re going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party,” he said. He then mentioned governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jon Huntsman of Utah. McCain said he has “the greatest appreciation for Gov. Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them.” “She invigorated our campaign” against Barack Obama for the presidency, he said. McCain was pressed on why he can’t promise support for the woman who, just months ago, he named as the second best person to lead the nation. “Have no doubt of my admiration and respect for her and my view of her viability, but at this stage, again … my corpse is still warm, you know?” he replied.

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I’ve posted some photos from a recent trip to Disneyland below.

Things have been busy. I whittled Jonathan Gold’s list of the best 99 restaurants in the LA Weekly to 25.

This weekend (among other fun things we did), we hit the TWO local “craft beer” bars in our neighborhood. The Verdugo and El Prado. It’s as if high-end beer bars are the new wine bars now. I love it though. I mean REALLY good beers. Yum.

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