I loved the original series
…but this doesn't really grab me in the same way. This review seems to comment on a very heavy-handed message about How Great Journalism Is, whereas that wasn't the point of the original.

"I read "the Spielberg of Anime" as an insult and thought some harsh criticism was going to follow."

Oh, Jacques Brel
You so lugubrious.

Cry, The Beloved Zombie
The Satanic Zombie
American Zombie
Do Zombies Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Steppenzombie

There's a Studio Ghibli film called "Whisper of the Heart" (written by Miyazaki but not directed) that has a similar subtext, using the dullness of Japanese suburbia to contrast with the fantasy sequences.

Spielberg is a very good director and a masterful visual sytlist, but he often relies on cloying sentimentality, and his "kids in peril" motif gets *very* overplayed the more of his films you watch. I've always thought Miyazaki has a much more open and honest view of childhood - it can be a scary place, where you…

I too am a big fan of "Untrue". Took me a while to get into, and it's not for listening to at all times, but it's "mood music" in the way that few other albums are.

I like that interpretation, Kelberon. I went on lots of train rides to the seaside when I was little, so watching that scene always brings up a kind of weird nostalgia. Also, the wondrous-but-spooky sense of reality turned on its ear that permeates the whole film.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it goes "downhill" - it's hugely enoyable all the way through. But when the humans show up onscreen there's something of a tonal shift from the wordless, transcendental love story of the early scenes to what was construed by some as unsubtle social commentary. It isn't the whole story,…

The Gun Seller is a great little comic thriller, a quick read and well worth everyone's time. It's recently become a bestseller in France ( http://tinyurl.com/dxslu9 ), which was weird because I bought an English copy on holiday there.

Ah, I can never change from book to book while I'm in the middle of one. Even when I hit a tough patch, I keep ploughing through, because I know if I leave it for any significant amount of time (the exception is dumping it for a book I know I'll burn through in a day or two), coming back to it the particular mood that…

I thank/curse British comedy genius Charlie Brooker for introducing me to Genn Beck through his Newswipe show. Watching Beck experience a mental breakdown on camera is more disturbing than anything Michel Haneke could come up with, mostly because it's real.

From the film of "Thank You For Smoking" I thought the "views" being expressed were mostly a kind of glib libertarianism (glibertarianism). Though I will say before the climax it had a surprisingly even-handed approach to satirising all sides of the political spectrum.

The adenoids were easily the worst/most disturbing bit of "Boy". I remember a passage which was either in "Going Solo" or a short story based on his war experience, which is this weird hallucinatory description of his plane crashing as the shadows of German aircraft dance on the ground. It really freaked me out at the…

"And surely a rule-breaker—there goes another cliche!"
He gets results, you stupid chief!

American Tabloid is amazing, for the reasons Miller and bascule state. It's got that huge historical sweep, excellently realised cast of characters (all of whom are working their own angles), and intensely sleazy atmosphere. (Plus, the demolition of the Camelot mythology is damn good fun.) I picked up The Cold Six…

Penguin: That sounds awesome. Thanks for the tip, I'll keep an eye out.

Bad Boys II is the definition of "guilty pleasure" for me. It's like a broadcast from some parallel universe where irony, restraint and basic human emotions don't exist. Whenever I find it playing on TV, there's always a car chase or shootout going on. That or you're only five minutes away from another car chase or…

I bought The Dead and The Dying (Vol. 3) after a recommendation on the A.V. Club. I really enjoyed it - the interconnecting stories made it feel a 70s-era Pulp Fiction, or a smarter Sin City. The trade included an article by Brubaker on Out Of The Past (aka Build My Gallows High), one of the best film noirs ever - the…

Now this is the kind of truth I enjoy being fucked up by. Outstanding! Now all I need to do is watch the rest of the series.