This month's Empire mag has a list of "the 500 greatest movies of all time". I love Empire and buy it every month, but this issue should really be called "listing stuff in lieu of writing actual content". [HK mag did this last week as well, they're usually a dependable little mag, but last week adopted the "list instead of content" thing, with a rag tag list of "750 things to do in HK before you die". Mostly it involved eating lots of local snacks and was as exciting as reading a shopping list.]

Anyway back to films. Empire's list had me thinking about what my favourite films are. When Lee and Carol were here it came up, Carol mentioned some comedy (I can't remember what) and Lee said something like, "I don't know if a comedy'd make my top ten. I prefer films that make you think." Kapow! deathblow.

Si and I were discussing it today and he couldn't narrow his list down.
Si:This is serious business! Life aquatic would be on there... 2001... Lost in Translation... Constantine? I liked it but would it make my top ten? Spirited Away... This is really difficult. I'll get back to you with a definitive list.

So, anyway, here's a list of some of my favourite films (not really in any particular order) in lieu of actual content:
1. This is Spinal Tap
2. Lost in Translation
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Lilo and Stitch
5. Spellbound
6. The Prestige
7. Iron Man
8. Ferris Bueller

There's a new movie coming out shortly called The Soloist. It stars Robert Downey Junior as an LA journalist, Steve Lopez, who one day encounters a homeless man, Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted violinist. It turns out that Nathaniel is a Julliard trained celloist but his life has been derailed by schizophrenia. You can view the trailer here and the original article by Steve Lopez that inspired the movie here at the LA times.

When I was in NZ I had a few mental health clients. Sometimes it would be for mental health hearings, and I would go and talk to them about the fact their doctor wanted the court to grant a compulsory treatment order and then I'd represent their views to the judge. Other times it would be criminal cases, where my client had punched his caregiver, or she had been carrying a large kitchen knife in public, or she had stolen a couple of packets of panadol to try and kill herself. I often felt like a PA, calling them constantly to make sure they'd make their next doctors appointment, or court appearances or court ordered appointments and cajoling them to do so. I'd also make an extra effort to explain what was happening at court and fight harder to get them a good outcome with the judge, as it wasn't really their fault they were there.

The thing that struck me the most about them was how scary and lonely it is to have a mental disorder, particularly schizophrenia. They don't know who to trust and what is real. Imagine living like that.

I'm not a big fan of Jamie Foxx, but I think he's a talented actor and his portrayal of schizophrenia (from what I've seen in the trailer) is bang on, so I am looking forward to seeing this movie.

There's a more recent follow up here by Mr Lopez and all the columns that led to the book and film here

I love RDJ. I loved him in Soapdish, I loved him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and I love him in Iron Man. Here he is, doing his thing in Japan at the premiere of Iron Man.

Some people like RPG's (that's role playing games) so much that they like to act them out in their spare time. Kindof like those guys who like medieval stuff and joust ... actually, it's probably the same crowd. Anyway, someone made a documentary about them called Monster Camp. It is probably the apex of non-tech nerd culture and I would pay money to see this.

This is just something that made me laugh. A roundtable with Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Ellen Barkin.

Sayama Forest, the forest that inspired Hiyao Miyazaki to create Totoro, is in danger from urban sprawl. Pixar and co have come up with The Totoro Forest Project to try and preserve as much of Sayama Forest as possible. They asked artists how Totoro inspired them and how they felt after they watched the movie and got an amazing response, over 200 artists have created and donated work for a charity auction. Go look at the fantastic artwork and those who can, please donate too.

That wonderful, otherworldly creature Tilda Swinton has come up with her own film festival in her home town in Scotland. Films are going to be shown in an old ballroom called the Ballerina and people will find beanbags to sit in, not chairs.

An admission. I've bought comic books since i was 14. This is an expensive thing to do in NZ, because the NZ peso and shipping make comics pricey by the time they hit our shores; however, I also worked at the comic store when I was 14, so then i got a sweet staff discount for a long time.

Anyway, I bought the comic Wanted back in 2003 because I liked what the writer, Mark Millar, had done with Ultimate X-men, a reboot of the xmen series, but I wasn't that keen on Wanted. The premise is that the protaganist is a major loser who works at some dead end job. Then some hot girl turns up and he finds out his father was a master villan and he's inherited membership to the villan club. He then learns he is above the law, so the first thing he does is go out and rape a movie star. This left a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, I know he is supposed to be a super badass, and what better way to show it then to have him do something morally repugnant, but it's not cool to make your protagonist a rapist.

The Guardian have reviewed the movie, and I haven't read such an entertaining and scathing review in a long time.

I haven't seen either of these movies (and probably won't get around to seeing the SATC one) but that didn't stop me laughing over this mash up by jill morris at McSweeny.