A Semester in cyberspace...

Hard to believe assessment 2 is actually upon us, it felt like only yesterday I was on class being marked on the first assessment, but I guess thats because it was at the start of this term as apposed to the end of last term. I have to say if there's one thing I'm glad to have learnt more than anything in this subject its how handy html is. I mean I know its been around for a while but I can't stop using links in everything I put on the net now, I don't know why I find it so cool. This isn't to say that I haven't stunbled accross anything else cool, but for me learning basic html was a standout.

The first thing one might notice about my blog is how its changed, oh yes I went to work on it, and I think it looks quite good. The light blue and white colour scheme is something I've been cooking up for a while as I'm big fan of these too colours together. Ofocurse being the monkey house I had to refer back to my theme so I layed an image of cartoon monkeys onto the background. A few adjustments here and there and overall I'm pretty happy with the look and layout of my blog however I'm sure it will evolve in future. One thing I've concentrated on throghout the semester on my blog is to make the posts as colourful as possible, by way of pictures and how they complement the text. A colourful picture can enhance the reader's appreciation of a post as apposed to one with just text. Its also important to incorporate the picture into the text. Some posts the picture was wedged between the text such as here and in others it was amongst the text such as here. I think consistency is an important thing in blogs so I tried to keep a similar format for each post that I made, the most obvious being my top ten film list. Every entry had its postion, name and year released as the post title followed by a picture, then the text, then a video link. I tried to give each entry atleast three paragraphs, any less wouldn't have been substantial enough and any more would've of turned away the casual reader. Even if all reader's looked at were the pictures and maybe the video links at least the post has attracted some attention, if they'd read the actual text in the post then that would be a bonus.

Regretably I didn't get to spend as much time on my flicr as I would have liked but during the term I got to put up some good snapshots dealing with website aesthetics, not only did this introduce me to the some cool sites thanks to technorati's top 100 but it also taught me a thing or two about what makes a web site look good. I'm still yet to find this thing which I assume is another account I would have to sign up for. I think the site that I most wish my blog looked like is this one. This semester has been all about community and interactivity with other peoples web identitys and probably the best interativity that I had with others was sharing pictures with Flickr. It was just so cool to be able to find pictures that others had shared from say a concert which you were at also and compare their photos to yours. I found flickr accounts of very gifted photographers and some photos I even favourited such as this one. Organisation is very important in Flickr as the vistor wants to be able to navigate through what they are most interested with the greatest of ease and this is where sets comes in handy. Unfortuntely the free version of Flickr only lets you have three sets but it was fun while it lasted I guess. Labelling sets with short, concise titles as well as giving a good background information on what the set is all about does't hurt either. Here's my favourite set that I made this semester. Flickr has opened out a whole new world in image browsing for me especially for band photography, I will continue to upload many more photos of my own as well as scour Flickr for as many other gems as I can.

Del.ici.ous is something I never saw the point of, I mean saving bookmarks is what my firefox browser is for right? Well yes but the whole point of del.ici.ous is to share your bookmarks with others, once I worked this out I acknowledged Del.ici.ous as being a very helpful tool for internet browsing. Whenver I came across a link that I thought someone else might like I saved it for them and quite often I would have links saved for me. Sometimes you'll come accross somoenes whos saved you a really popular site that only a person living under a rock wouldn't of heard about (can you believe people bookmark google?) but most of the time I stumble across interesting and helpful sites which I never even knew existed. I've been lost for hours on going from one bookmark to another. Bundles also make things a whole lot easy as I found out the hard way, you see I didn't start bundling my tags until quite late in the game so it took quite some time to categorise all my links into several helpful headings. I'm going to work more with delicious in the future as I don't think I've quite taken full advantage of its abilities just yet.

I can't see myself simply walking away from the online community I've created this semester, not only would it only render all the work I have done this year useless but it would prevent me from getting the most out of the internet. Which has a LOT to offer, thats for damm sure.

They came, they saw, they never came back...

Its been roughly 2 weeks since I joined up to sitemeter after my last visiter counter failed to impress. The results that I've been getting back have been a lot more detailed than I could of imagine. For example, apparentely the average time people spend on my blog is just 1 minute and fifty five seconds. Thats an incredibly short amount of time considering the amount of time I've spent tweaking this baby. I doubt 2 minutes isn't even long enough to read even one of my posts, but I guess it goes to show do people do a lot of quick skimming on the web and they're not always going to stop and have a good look around if there's nothing that grabs their attention straight away.
I've had a tolal of 25 visits with a further 70 page views and an average of 2 visits per day. Pretty dissapointing I reckon, but when you take into account I had 114 visitors before I joined up to sitemeter I really don't seem like such a loser. Granted my last counter was a little dodge but whos gonna figure that out? Unless ofcourse they read this post....

What a Grind....

Just after I finish with one rant about the questionable decisions of film studios another rant begins. This time I'm airing my frustrations at the decision by god knows who to release the double feature splatter extravaganza Grindhouse as two seperate films in Australia. I mean as if it wasn't bad anough that Grindhouse was coming out a good five months after the U.S. release, we now have to wait for an inferior product as the directors in no way intended originally. The newly seperated films will also come out at different dates, forcing australian audiences to wait even longer to see both of them.


The decision has obviously been made after the poor box office that Grindhouse recieved in America, and naturally instead of giving the film a chance with audiences over here, the studios would rather take the safer option, so even if the films do poorly atleast the will have double what they would of had. Half the attraction of this Grindhouse project was the fact that it was a double feature and it even had fake ads and traliers inserted into the intermission, and now we might not even get these extras thanks to the new format of release. What can you do? Studios can make whatever decisions they want and the cinema viewing public just have to wear it and fork up the money, and at any rate, Australian's have gotten used to paying for America's mistakes.

Blogger Post 22: Failure of the Franchise

This is not so much an angry post, its more of a sad one. The thoughts about to be expressed by myself haven't simply come out of nowhere, they've been developing over time and they relate to that popular form of entertainment known as the film franchise. Ths summer blockbuster has been an annual event ever since the success of Jaws oh so long ago. Every year in America the summer period is littered with all the BIG movies that this year has to offer, its not to say that all blockbusters come out during this time but a fair majority of them do in order to keep the country's population occupied whilst on their long holidays. More and more we are seeing sequels pop up during this summer blockbuster period and franchises have become a permanent fixture of the cinema landscape as we know it today.


I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with franchises, I love my event films and usually no matter how bad the reviews I will still go and see a movie if its one I've been excited about for a long time. Two recent films however, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Spiderman 3, have confirmed a fear that has been growing in me since this whole franchise thing started. This fear relates to the pressure put on filmmakers by studios who want as many films made from the one franchise as possible thus maximising their profit as much as possible. Both Spiderman and Pirates of the Caribbean end ambiguously and in such a way that if the intention was put fourth to make another entry in the series it could easily be done. So despite the fact that studios advertise these films as the last in the series they end up being just another entry. Long,overblown ones at that.

It's up to the filmakers to take a stand against this kind of thinking as it stops a film from being a full story and rather one which never really ends satisfactorily in the hope that someone will pick up the pieces and provide the prospect of even more money. Both Gore Verbinski (Pirates director) and Sam Raimi (Spiderman 3) have refused to rule out sequels to their films and its a little dissapointing to hear that neither of these guys can admit that they intended their film to be the last of a story. If studios insist on dreching us with sequels the least they could do is think of their audiences as more than just a source of income.

Technorati!

Technorati, as joh has pointed out on the metablog, is commonly defined as a search engine for blogs but it is also capable of letting the user save favourites where he/she finds them. This feature is kind of like saving bookmarks in delicious but its more of a network for just blogs. I joined up to Technorati earlier this month and have so far gained an authority of 7 which is simply the number of times my blog is linked to by others. My rank at this present time, which is a measurement in terms of where my blog stands in terms of popularity with all the other blogs, is currently sitting at 704,172. I defintely have a long way to go to reach number 1 and somehow I don't think I will do it before the end of semester...or indeed before I graduate.

Form and Content

I will now attempt to tackle the subject of form and content in a blog, whilst both are of equal importance, form is something that can significantly improve a blog even if the content is of a low quality. Aesthetics is a word being thrown around a lot in class at the moment and my interpretation of this word is the level at which the item is pleasing to the human eye. Crusing around the net I discovered that one site defined the word aesthetics as something with an artistically beautiful or pleasing appearance. This definition matches pretty well with my own definition of the word and aesthetics is something which I constantly strive for on my own blogger.

In my opinion a blog or website is less likely to be viewed if it is unnatractive on first appearance. A web site for the band MUSE is one which consistently catches my eye due to its innovative design and straight away this raises the appeal of the band despite whether the person visiting the page has heard any of their material. Its font and colours complement each other perfectly and the way in which the page loads immediately catches the eye in an ultra smooth fashion. I'm a big fan of simplicity in web pages, if a page looks good without having an abundance of information then its gone a long way to impressing me. A good example of this can be made by comparing the google and yahoo pages. Both are similar websites content wise but yahoo is far more cluttered looking than google, causing much confusion when attempting to perform a simple search. For this reason I think Google not only looks better but its simplicity wins me over.

Some also importatant factors in web design are the legibility of the content: it is important to ensure the background colour is picked to enable to viewer to read the text with the greatest of ease. Another factor is the bandwidth of the user visiting the page: A page that has too much different types of media that takes a while to load is going to infuriate someone using a lower bandwidth and thus detract them from visiting the page again. Media on the net is different from print media becuase its interative, in a book you turn to a specfic page to find what your after using the index, on the net you simply click on the link that relates to what you want to see and you are taken there almost straight away. This interactive quality highlights the importance of easy navigation in a website, a user must be able to find what they are after with the aid of headings and sub-headings.

At the end of the day a good web site is something that is not only nice to look at but offers you things that print media can't. It reminds you why we use the internet.

Crazy Techo Talk

What exactly is a feed? I used to see these crazy symbols at the bottom of web pages talking about rss feeds and all this kind of business and I chose to ignore them, now I see how they can greatly enhance your appreciation of the net.

XML or Extensible Markup language is a part of this whole thing becuase its yet another aspect of web use that I haven't known anything about until now. It seems to me as though its a more intelligent version of html, which for a while now has been the code of choice when surfing the information super highway. Although I'm still attempting to get my head around the whole XML thing and it does seem a little complex for my small brain I do think that it would be a useful tool in the ongoing construction of my online community. RSS or Rich Site Sumary is a feed service which I started using on my blogger just before Assignment 1. Its the perfect way of retrieving the latest content from a huge number of sources automatically and with zero effort.

As well as using RSS to automatically show my Delicious bookmarks on my blog I am now using it with the aid of Google Reader. As a requirement of the subject we had to subscribe to either Google Reader or Bloglines and the reason behind my choice is simple. If I had signed up with Bloglines I would of had to create yet another account where as with Google Reader I am automatically given a Google Reader account as soon as I gained a google identity. Another reason for my choice was because google reader looked like it would be so much more simple to use over bloglines and I'm an idiot, I want things to be as simple as possible.

Now the quest begins to see just what I can do with these new tools and how they can enhance my web tasks.

Assessment #1: the journey so far...

So here we are at the first assessing stage of MPI104, man am I sick of writing that subject code as a tag for pretty much everything this past term or so. Adding tags isn't the only thing I've been doing in this class so far...

Starting with good ol' Flickr which to begin with I was a bit skeptical about. I mean I immediately assumed that it would have a large amount of crap on it but what I realised was that thats what the whole internet is, a bunch of crap. The way you find the good stuff is by sorting through all the crap, and with effort comes rewards. So far I've uploaded three sets of photos, not as much as I would of liked but I've discovered that I really like flickr, especially after I'd added myself to a few groups and got my contact lists beefed up. I commented on a few pictures and even selected a few favourites while cruising around through the immense library of photos that can be found. In terms of my own photos I tried to limit them down to only things that would be interesting to others, that is, even if they knew nothing about me or my friends they might still be able to get a kick out of the images. I gave them all titles and descriptions and all that jazz and forwarded a few to the MPI104 group as well as a few others. Here's my favourite set of pics after I discovered the amazing face morpher.

Delicious, for me, was a bit of a waste as I could never find cool enough websites to bookmark and if I did I'd find that many others had got in before me. I didn't see the point of adding common sites that any idiot could find, i wanted ones that were hard to find and would be useful to people. I joined up to a network with almost all my workshop class and saved bookmarks for others whom I thought would enjoy them. I made sure to bookmark all my actual blog posts on my delicious as a quick way for people to find them. Tags were also used extensively, I made sure to bundle them and also subscribe to a couple which were of interest to me. I also chucked my flickr and blogger bookmarks up on there to make sure everyone would have a look if they wanted. Getting the RSS feed up onto my blog was a bit tricky but in the end it was pretty straightforward, I just wasn't looking in the right places. I hope to spend a lot more time on delicious, the webs a big place and I'm sure there's some cool stuff out there waiting for me to discover and tag.

Now to blogger which is where I, like most people I'm guessing, spent most of my time. I did 17 posts in total and the whole html thing is actually really fun and I can't believe I haven't done it in blogs before now as they really do add to the depth of them. I also put plenty of pictures in my posts as they helped brighten things up a bit. A little way through I decided to do a top 10 film list and as part of each entry I put a you tube player window into the post showcasing a scene from the chosen film. I'm glad I did the top 10 thing because it related back to my strongest interest and let me explain my reasoning behind each entry. In case you were wondering here's what ended up at number one. I worked a bit on my profile and found a nice little pic to put as my display image. I chucked a bunch of links to other blogs, mostly proddies ones, down the sidebar and created a list as a page element detailing the fictional rules from the movie Fight Club. I signed up to Technorati and added their stuff to the sidebar as well as a little counter at the bottom of the page. I played around with templates/fonts/colours to get the exact look I wanted and I made an effort to see as many other peoples blogs and comment on them as possible. Overall I tried to be as interesting as possible with my blog, I do hope some people bothered to check it out.

So there it is. Everything that I can think of at this point in time that I accomplished these past couple of months in MPI104. I'm not afraid to say that I've actually learnt some things during the process also...

1. Fight Club (1999)

This is one hell of a film. Fight Club is a violent, trippy, brutal and stylishly cool film that came out of nowhere and has stayed in the cult movie mindset ever since. There's no doubt in my mind that out of all the films in this list I've seen it the most and strangely its the one that I can watch above all other movies and never get sick of it. It's almost hard to explain after being so in love with this film for so long to actually explain the reasons behind its placement in this list. I saw it after Se7en so I kind of had high expectations from director David Fincher but whilst Fight Club was nothing like what I'd expected it still totally blew my mind and was better than I ever could of imagined.

I bought the film after discovering that buying R rated films when you're under the age of 18 was an achievable feat in high school due to the local Target's inability to really care. This was 2003 and I'd been trying to see the film for years, I was so desperate in fact that I went out and bought the DVD even though my friend had already got me a copy off E-bay. I simply couldn't wait that long to see this movie I'd heard so much about. It wasn't successful on release and was naturally criticised by many critics due to its supposed excessive violence. It eventually gained a large and loyal following on its video release as all great films do and went on to be a classic.

David Fincher manages to pull off some of the sleekest camera work you'll ever see and this aspect alone is worth watching Fight Club. Thankfully however it's got plenty of substance as we follow the less than sane character simply credited as Jack. Edward Norton is perfect in this role and its a travesty that he didn't receive some form of recognition by the academy for his work. Brad Pitt has had some good roles, he's also had his fair share of average ones, his Tyler Durden is undoubtedly his most memorable character.

Fight Club is so absorbing and the story is told in such a different and exciting manner that its always hard to stop watching the film once you've started. From its innovative opening credits, its atmospheric and utterly cool soundtrack performed by the Dust Brothers to its ultra-smart dialogue, Fight Club is a blast from start to finish. Number 1 by a long way in my book.

Here's a scene from Fight Club...

2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Ferris Bueller was my hero during high school, as he was for many others especially during the 80s era in which the film is so obviously set. I was never that rebellious during my high school years, and how could I have been when my dad was the school truancy officer? I could only ever dream of coming close to what Ferris does by wagging a day of school, borrowing his best friends ferrari, screwing over the villainous Mr. Rooney and somehow not getting caught. Ferris Bueller was an icon for his generation becuase he did what everyone wanted to do but knew they never could, and damn did he do it in style.

I found the film very entertaining from the first time I saw it and although many of the clever jokes would have gone over my head when I was 14 years old, the fun nature of the film sucked me right in. It's fair to say that Matthew Broderick was typecast following this film but there's no denying that Ferris Bueller will always be his most memorable role. The cheeky manner in which he delivers Ferris' monologues to camera are wonderfully handled and this playful manner is carried through the entire film ensuring that it becomes utterly impossible not to love Ferris.

It must be said that Ferris Bueller is also greatly enhanced by the skillful direction of John Hughes, a legend of this genre during the 80s, who never came close to matching the dizzying heights of this mini teen masterpiece. Hughes showcases a precise use of the camera and a wonderfully written script with extremely well defined, memoralbe characters. This lifts the quality of the film to a level above all other teen comedies and whilst you won't see it in many other top tens, I consistently watch it and find it to be supremely enjoyable on each viewing. Make no mistake, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a perfect film, both of its genre and in general...

Here's a scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

3. Donnie Darko (2001)

Now this is one entry amongst my top ten that truly deserves cult film status. During the film's theatrical release it was barely noticed. Being an avid reader of the film geek magazine Empire, the five star review of Donnie Darko made me stand up and take notice. Unfortuntely living in a country town has many disadvantages, one of which being the inability to see any independent cinema and seeing as Donnie was on limited release for a very limited time I missed my opportunity to see it on the big screen. I was quite distraught. Satisfaction wouln't come until a couple of months down the track when to my great surprise I discovered the DVD on the shelves at the local Video Ezy.

Adjectives just don't cover how I felt after watching the film for the first time. I was frightened, bewildered, exhilerated....and very confused. So I did the only logical thing: I made a VHS dub before it had to be taken back to the video store. Over the next few weeks I would watch the film again and again, studying every scene to pieces and my appreciation for director Richard Kelly's sci-fi masterpiece only grew with time. As word spread, Donnie Darko, like the Shawshank Redemption before it, became a true cult classic thanks to home video and DVD.

There are many reasons why I love this film. When it first came along it was fresh and exciting, it felt like a throwback to the teen angst films of the 80s, the film is actually set during the 80s and Kelly portrays this beautiful, transporting us back to the era through way of music, costume and key political events of the time. As Donnie Darko, Jake Gyllenhaal gives us an angsty teen we can root for, he was such a great choice for the film which ended up catapulting him into the A-list, likewise for his talented sibling Maggie whom also plays his sister in the film.

The best thing about Donnie Darko is that it's so refreshingly weird. This, and the effortless combination of so many different film elements and you've got yourself one big, enthralling mind trip. It's equal parts funny, scary and sad and by the end you really feel like you've been a part of a compelety different kind of journey.

It is true that I may never be able to fully understand the film, however, the fact that the first time I saw it I had absoloutely no idea what was happening and yet was still taken in by it speaks volumes about the kind of unique experience this piece of independent cinema was. In my opinion the film is timeless and will continue to be discovered by people on DVD for years to come, it's always been this way for films of this nature. It is the greatest accolade a film can get to be remembered long after it's release as apposed to audiences flocking to it upon release and then have it dissapear into the void. Bombing at the box office was probably the best thing that could of happened to Donnie Darko.....did I mention it has the best bunny rabbit in film history?

Here's a scene from Donnie Darko...

4. Goodfellas (1990)

A film contained on many critics top 10 lists, Goodfellas is without a doubt my favourite gangster film and gives a truer account of the mafia life than The Godfather achieved. This isn't to say that the Godfather is a lesser film, on the contrary its a cinema classic, however Martin Scorsese's masterful work here conjures up so much more excitement for the audience.

As with most of his great films Scorsese casts Robert Deniro as one of his main characters, the two becoming more than simple muses but a true team whom through their collaborations create pure gold. Real life mobster Henry Hill's rise from childhood up through the ranks of the Italian family and his subsequent fall from grace are accounted here with style, humour and grace. It must also be said that actor Ray Liotta gives the performance of his career in the film and it's one the reasons Goodfellas dragged me in to begin with. This, along with the casting of Joe Pesci, represents an ensemble cast of lengendary actors that Scorsese is now able to create with great ease thanks to his high class reputation. It's interesting to note that, in this film and in many other classic gangster films like it, there are quite a few minor cast members present whom would later go on to be a part of the mafia television show The Sopranos.

Despite Goodfellas being almost two and a half hours long it never feels anywhere near that long due its rapid fire pace as if we skimming through images of Henry's life with his narration guiding us the whole way. It's the most entertaining film I've ever seen because of its pace and the energy of the voice over and I think any viewer would find it hard once they start watching the film to stop it at any point. It has just the right balance of dramatic and humourous moments of which there are many and once again like all Scorsese films we are not asked to sympathise with these criminals but to simply enjoy there company for the duration of the film and that we certainly do. Along the way we are given bursts of violence, drug deals, genre defining tracking shots, freeze frames and a cool soundtrack, all of which adds up to a true classic of the art form which has not only been talked about and often emulated since its release but will continue to do so for decades to come. Goodfellas almost made me wanna be a gangster, but then Scorsese's ending whacked that fantasy off the face of the earth.

Here's the classic tracking shot from Goodfellas...

5. Scarface (1983)

Is there a film I quote more frequently than Scarface? Very unlikely, although Star Wars would come close I'd reckon. Let's face it though everyone loves talking like Scarface's hero Tony Montana, I mean he's Cuban and he loves to swear, I've heard the band Blink 182 based their name on the number of times the F word is uttered during this film. Al Pacino really does shine in this film and you can never fault his accent or his performance as the ambitious Tony whom is brought to Miami from Cuba as a refugee. The power hungry Tony not only became an icon for many thanks to his carefree "the world is yours" attitude but also gained a firm spot in the pop culture mindset, a spot which has strengthened over time.

Scarface wasn't recognised by the academy or given any outstanding accolades on its release, in fact according to many critics the 1932 original was far superior to this 80s rehash. Despite all this it's still recognised as a classic by audiences who can't get enough of director Brian De Palma's vision. The fact that the violence is so over the top makes it impossible for censors, though they did try, to have a case against the film. For me Scarface defintely shouln't be taken seriously and its beyond me how anyone could when considering the amount of excess within the film, everything is over the top and that's what makes it so damm entertaining to watch.

Scarface isn't realistic or hostorical in any way, shape or form, nor is it trying to be. It's a heavily quotable, laugh out loud film that is bursting with energy and I think these are the reasons as to why I can watch it repeatedly. Unfortuntely I don't think the mojority of female audiences really get this feeling when watching the film and it's pretty hard for them not to take offense to the words and actions of Tony Montana. Primarily I think it's a guy's film and I'm defintely okay with that. I can only hope that I will someday be capable of making a movie that comes even close to Scarface's timeless pop culture status.

Here's a classic scene from Scarface...

6. Taxi Driver (1976)

If I had to choose one word to describe Taxi Driver it would be atmospheric, it's a film that places you firmly in a world, and what a dark world it is. The film shows the sleazy side of New York in a way that had never been acheived before on film and the first time I saw it, regretably only very recently, I was astonished to see just how unappealing New York looked when comapared to other films based in the city. Granted during the 70s New York would have been very much like this and has improved greatly over time, but it's still astonishing how director Martin Scorsese portrayed the neighborhoods in which he grew up in all their seedy glory. This succesful portrayal can be put down to down three important ingredients: the chracters, the cinematography and the soundtrack.

It's scary how real some of Taxi Driver's characters feel and it seems at times as though Scorsese simply hit the ghettos of New York and pulled the scummiest individuals he could find straight off the street and shoved them in front of a camera. We are introduced to pimps, gun dealers and child prostitutes but none are more sinister than our main character Travis Bickle, the Taxi Driver suffering from insomnia among other things. Robert Deniro gives a powerhouse performance, one of his first, as he portrays Travis' downward spiral into insanity perfectly and somehow still manages to force the audience to sympathise with his character: the very definition of an anti-hero. The cinematography is drmatically atmospheric with an array of shots giving New York that nightmarish look whether it be day or night. The shots in which Travis is driving through the night amongst the thick city smoke are some of the best and have become iconic over the years. The final key component is that of the soundtrack perfomed by master composer Bernard Hermann who was reponsible for much of Alfred Hitchcock's film music. The soundtrack for Taxi Driver is full of dark, thumping jazz style pieces that really drive the film and complement the images we are seeing whilst strengthening their impact at the same time.

I believe Martin Scorsese to be the greatest filmaker of all time and I'm sure this won't be the last entry from him amongst my top 10. Taxi Driver was one of his earlier films and whilst he would go on to make many more classics Taxi Driver will always be one of his most accomplished works. It's a true gem amongst the era of independent cinema in which filmmakers could be as bold and unpredictable as they wanted. It's a dark and daring piece of cinema that will be remembered by audiences and critcs alike for a long time.

Here's a famous scene from Taxi Driver...

7. Se7en (1995)

Do I realise the irony of this film being number 7 on the list? Well yes. Was this done on purpose? Absoloutely not, this isn't an attempt to be clever (believe me I'm not clever), this film just happens to fall at number 7 because thats where it ranks with my other favourites. Se7en was the second feature film directed by David Fincher after years of working in the music video business. His first film, Alien 3, was plagued by pressure from the studio and endless script changes and was critcally bashed on release. Although that experience may have left a sour taste in Fincher's mouth, it certainly showed he had promise as a director, especially in terms of his gift for the visual.

So along came Se7en years later and shocked audiences and critics alike, a twisted serial killer story with nightmarish visuals, an intrguing plot and two oscar worthy performaces from actors Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Considering I was only 9 when the film was released it would be some time before I discovered it's brilliance...7 years to be exact (and once again I'm not trying to be clever, this is just one of those coincidences). I remember when I first saw the film I was shitting myself, I mean there certainly were jump-worthy moments thoughout the movie but it was more the pure evil of the killer (Kevin Spacey in career best form) that really got to me. It was a twisted film and back then I wouldn't have put it down as one my favourites because how could you truly love a film where people get brutally tortured then murdered in a variety of ways by a psycho killer?

It wasn't until I saw Se7en for the second time that I realised there was a lot more going on in the film than what I'd first thought. It was as much a character study as a murder story, with the two main characters being forced to work together despite them being complete opposites. It's a fantastic idea, teaming a detective whos all but retired and has seen all the ugliness the world has to offer with the bright-eyed, trigger happy rookie and forcing them to work together to solve a case such as this. As the film progresses we learn much about these two characters through their contrasting methods and motivations and just when we think they've learnt something from one another along comes the breathtaking conclusion which must surely be one of the classics of cinema. Without this relationship at the center of the film it would be just another serial killer movie, albeit a very stylish one. I can watch it again and again, even though it's lost the mystery aspect it had the first time around it's still enthtralling to watch.

Here's the creepy opening credits from Se7en. Brilliant...

8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Out of all my top 10 this is the most recent to be released at cinemas, I first saw the film on DVD in early 2005 and fell in love with it straight away. For a while there it felt like my own little secret until I realised many others shared my appreciation of this compelling piece of filmaking. I now encourage as many people as I can to watch the film and as long as they go into it with the knowledge that its not your conventional love story than they, like me, have a great experience watching it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the brain child of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman who has become well known for his concepts that at first appear very strange but are in fact original and pure genius when they are put into practice on screen. This film not only added to his respected status but showed that he was capable of displaying real heart in his stories. Teamed with music video director Michel Gondry, whose clips have a similar style of strange genius to Kayfman's stories, and you have a classic love story that is equal parts comedy and drama. It's no secret that Jim Carrey has been typecast over the years but even today when I watch this film it amazes how skillfilly he makes the audience forget all about his previous roles and allow them to concentrate on self-depreciating everyman Joel Barish, the main character whom he plays so well. The job was however made pretty damm easy by the strength of the material he's working with, his partnership with actress Kate Winslet in her best role yet doesn't hurt either.

The main reason to watch this film is for the eye popping sequences in which we revisit the fragile couples memories which literally crumble before our eyes as they attempt to erase each other from their thoughts. Most of these sequences were filmed without the aid of computer imagery and this makes the final product even more of an achievement because they are some of the most inventive scenes caught on film. These scenes are held together thankfully by honest, heartbreaking moments between the couple, this is not your typical relationship: they fight often and aren't compatible on the surface but in truth they are perfect for each other, the moments between them are real and this kind of releationship is rarely seen in cinema.

Here's a scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind....

9. Clerks (1994)

In some circles this film would be considered nothing but utter smut, a film littered with bad language and unlikeable characters whom particpate in activities that hold absoloutely no interest to any audience. Well apart from the fact these naysayers have to loosen the fuck up they also need to appreciate Clerks for what is: a very honest account of a day in the life of conveniance store clerks who must particpate in a large array of bizzare conversation topics and even more bizzare physical activities just to get through the day.

Clerks really makes you wonder about the kind of conversations real people have in these kinds of jobs when they're doing those long shifts and quite obviously want to be somewhere else. The film works so well because the two main characters, Dante and Randall, have two very different opinions on any given subject and this gives director Kevin Smith the opportunity to construct many interesting arguments between the two. To the casual viewer this may seem trivial and stupid but to anyone else who appreciates truly inspired dialogue they will savour every last one of Dante and Randall's seamingly meaningless conversations. This is a heavily quotable film and has some classic scenes that have been remembered over time by film buffs. Everything from contractors on the death star to man's lifelong mission to suck himself off are topics discussed in length during Clerks and they are utterly hilarious.

This is of course the first film in which the well known characters Jay and Silent Bob appeared, one of which is director Kevin Smith, and even though they provide some genuine laughs in between Dante and Randall's rants they are heavily toned down compared to what they would eventually become. These two would appear in 5 more of Smith's films but Clerks remains his crowning achievement not only because its his funniest but also because it has the most heart. I fell in love with Clerks because it disguised mundane subjects as great philosophical studies and this is the way I talk with friends when I'm as bored as Dante and Randall are. I would pick these guys as my film heroes over any other supposed action stars.

Here's a scene from Clerks...

10. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Well well, I surprised even myself when I realised this was my 10th favourite film. I thought for sure this would appear further up in the list, top 5 atleast! But lists are tricky things and something has to be number 10, in this case its Quentin Tarantino's groundbreaking and most well-loved film Pulp Fiction.

Funnily enough when I first saw the film I failed to see what all the fuss was about. I was too young when Pulp Fiction first hit the screens and as such didn't end up seeing it until a long way into my teens, maybe 15 or 16. Following this viewing I remember feeling a deep sense of unfulfilment. At one point I even thought I'd missed the real ending becuase the film concluded so suddenly, I don't know exactly what I was expecting, a resolution maybe, anything. But as I grew older and wiser I appreciated the film for exactly what it was, and wouldn't want it to end any other way.

I think part of the reason why the film didn't quite sit right with me when I first saw it was that it was non-linear in structure with several, interconnecting stories which at the time was something I just wasn't used to. The beauty of Pulp Fiction is that if it was told in a more traditional, linear way it wouldn't be anywhere near as good, it's what made the film so unique to begin with. That coupled with the fact that we'd never heard long passages of dialogue so entertaining on screen as this. All the pop culture references and the cool soundtrack are the icing on the cake. What a fucking awesome cake too, this film was extremely influential and is not only a classic of the 90s but also sits up there with the best of all time.

Here's a scene from Pulp Fiction...

The Top Ten

Well I'm not gunna lie to anyone, I have been stuck for inspiration these past few weeks as to what exactly to write about on my blog but I think I finally have the answer....a list. I, like many others, constantly feel the need to make lists of my favourite things and what better list than my all time top 10 favourite films. So from here on in I will be posting this list one film at a time, from 10 through to 1. What will be numero uno? Hell I don't even know yet.

Music fan gone wild!!

I'm not usually one to tell people about a band I'm really into. Well...not on public display like this, usually just in general conversation. The reason for this is everyone has different musical tastes and thats cool but I'd hate it if this band I'm about to mention went by unoticed. The band is called Arcade Fire and if you listen to Triple J you might have already heard of them.

I first discovered them on Triple J when programmer Richard Kingsmill indicated their album as his favourite of 2005 prompting me to buy the debut effort entitled Funeral. It was such a beautifully made album and if your wondering about the genre in which they fall best into I would say indie rock but saying this is giving them a great disservice because they really are a one of a kind thing. They sort of resemble the early albums from Augie March I'd say: that is they combine brilliant, hearfelt lyrics with a host of interesting instruments which creates a rich, sometimes haunting sound. Funeral impressed me in ways that few albums do because it was a complete album, not just a collection of singles and some filler, an album where one song isn't complete without the other. I might be rambling a bit here (hell I know I am) but this album did crazy things for me and I just found it hard to believe that music could sound this good.

But you can't truly love a band until their second album, I mean it will either prove that the band was only ever a fad or it will confirm what your initial beliefs were: these guys are the real deal and have earnt there place in the music scene. The second album, titled Neon Bible falls into the latter scenario and I'm happy to report its equally as brilliant as the first. I'm not the only one who thinks so either as you'll find at sites like Triple j and NME.

So why am I even bothering blabbering on about this band for no good reason other than my own personal satisfaction? Well because its refreshing to know that there are still fucking geniouses in the music world who put their heart and soul into their work and come out with something other than disposable shit that Star FM 106.6 or whatever can chuck on high rotation for a couple of weeks until everyone gets sick of it. These guys are here to stay and I'd gladly be buried with both these albums.

Flickity Flick

Another week another account to add to my list and this time I'm going to remember the password. Flickr is an image sharing site and I've well and truly jumped on the wagon so please do check out my uploaded pics thus far.

Del.icio.us has arrived

Del.icio.us.....apart from being a nice word to say in itself is also a site that I am now a part of. Check it out.

One Night Stand..In Cowra?

Okay so I'm a big fan of Triple J, and I have to admit Silverchair have been a long time favourite band of mine, sure their new stuff just doesn't compare to their old stuff but isn't that the same with every band these days? The other sad fact in this little story of mine is that I'm from Cowra. How does this all fit together? Well quite easily actually: As part of a national competition called 'One night stand' one town is chosen to host a lineup of acts every year thanks to Triple J...and this year the town chosen is none other than my old stomping ground...Cowra!

Come 20th of April Silverchair will be joined by Behind Crimson Eyes, the Funktrust and Midnight Juggernauts to give Cowra a night to remember..well we hope so anyway. My biggest fear is that a bunch dickheads will rock up and ruin the night for everyone. You see Cowra really does have problems with underage drinking and as much as everyone would like to disagree their is a real threat of a couple of idiots turning the event into just another piss up. It would be such a shame for something like this to happen too because its not everyday a band like Silverchair comes to a town like Cowra...or any band for that matter.

That a small rural town like us could be chosen for something like this...well I hate to admit it but it really does make you feel proud to be from the place...sad but true.

Here's the video of Cowra winning the competition courtesy of JTV...

Grindhouse is coming...

Looking at the lineup of films coming to cinemas in recent times can be a depressing activity. I can't remember the last time I was genuinely excited about a film and that worries me considering that films are one of my favourite things I reckon, well I don't reckon, I know!
There's been a few exceptions here and there:
Pan's Labyrinth
Casino Royale
Babel
Well the next little glimmer of hope comes in the form of a double feature directed by filmakers Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Its called Grindhouse, and its a film nerds wet dream. It harks back to the days of the drive in exploitation films of old where you would get two films for the price of one. Tarantino directs serial killer story Death Proof whilst Rodriguez' entry is a zombie film titled Planet Terror. Both will be very gruesome, very camp and extremely cool and for me August, 2007 can't come soon enough. Do yourself a world of good and see it when it comes out..don't download it!

Welcome to the monkey house..

This is Ben's blog. It is a cool place to hang...