Thor

Thor is the God of Thunder, son of yadda yadda yadda, directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Sigh... I was hoping to enjoy this film. I thought Iron Man and Dark Knight were pretty good, entertaining films. Maybe I'm getting too old for this shit? The film loses me with that boring fight between Thor and those ice creatures or whatever, and it doesn't get much better. Shouldn't a film like this be a bit fun? The script is weak, the editing is awkward. Who are these people, and why should I care? There are fights, but you don't really know what's at stake. The film apparently did quite well financially, but it has all the signs of a flop: There is nothing really funny or exciting, and you just sit there passively watching, never feeling any connection to what is happening. It has one good scene: the one where Thor has learned his lesson of humility and he finally gets his hammer back. One moment there it felt like a real movie.

Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Buster Keaton is the effete son of a riverboat captain who falls in love with the daughter of a competing steamship captain. It's still a great film. It has the usual love story, but the film is also a father and son story, with Buster wanting recognition from his dad. The lack of sentimentality makes the film less dated than some of Chaplin's films, and Keaton's stoneface also makes the film strangely modern. There are lots of great scenes: The one where the wall falls on top of Keaton and he is saved by the window, of course, but also the buying the hat with his dad scene and the file in bread in the prison scene.

Pop songs, the 80s

Okay, let's get down to business. Top five pop songs of the eighties. Ah, let's make it top ten:

1. Perfect Skin by Lloyd Cole and The Commotion
2. Come On, Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
3. Sally MacLennane by The Pogues
4. Centerfold by J. Geils Band
5. Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and The Waves
6. This Charming Man by The Smiths
7. Just Got Lucky by The JoBoxers
8. Roam by B52s
9. Let My People Go Go by The Rainmakers
10. Get Out of Your Lazy Bed by Matt Bianco

It's tough to choose! Where's Take on Me?! And I decided to go for rather poppier songs, so that means no In The Neighborhood by Tom Waits or Tinseltown in The Rain by The Blue Nile.

Buster Keaton

Happy birthday, Buster Keaton! He was born October 4, 1895. Which means that it's a good time to re-watch one of his films. I'll have to search among my dvds, but Steamboat Bill, Jr. is always a good choice.

David Sylvian

Top five David Sylvian / Japan records:
1. Secrets of the Beehive
2. Rain Tree Crow
3. Brilliant Trees
4. Gone to Earth
5. Tin Drum

Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities is also pretty good, at least what was the A side of the record.

Meow, baby!

Here's a page from a monthly Norwegian comic book of Gary Larson cartoons that had some other strips in the back. It's from 2003. I had a page in each issue.

Totem

The wraparound cover for a French fanzine about animal characters in comics, published by the comic book store La Bulle d'Or in Brussels, 2004.