useful tools

You know what? This blog needs more links. I've been reading some of my favorite blogs lately (like this one, and this one), and they all seem to pretty full of interesting, thought provoking, or just plain bizare links. It's time I started providing more than just my meandering thoughts on various insignificant matters. It's time I also provide useful tools to my faithful readers.

Half Nelson

Right, lest you think that I like nearly every movie I see, I must first say that the truth is, the good movies are the only ones I generally feel compelled to write about. Of course, that said, it is also true that I can find something redeeming in a huge percentage of the movies I watch. But then again, I'm not hitting the cinemas every weekend to shell out £8 on the latest big budget money-maker from the states...

I'm not sure why I'm going on about all this. I watched the movie "Half Nelson" the other night, and it's stuck with me like a hearty oatmeal spiked with razorblades. It's stuck with me in a way that no movie has in a long while. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with it and its sort of pitch-perfect approach to incredibly rough subject matter. I've not been as moved by the climax of a film in a very, very long time (in fact I can't remember when I've been so moved), and I honestly can't remember another time that I've been moved to tears by a film and not felt at least a little bit ashamed or manipulated. This movie made me cry rich, wholesome tears I could be proud of, which were not brought about by the slightest tinge of sentimentality. It's not a pleasant thing; it's a squirming thing, but it is brilliantly executed.