'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'

Reading all these books, listening to all these records and watching all these films, you pick up on a ton of trends and common threads between generations, genres and individual works.

A week ago I read "Candide," which is a short story about a man who deals with the cruelty of mankind and the ideas of human nature, fate and behavior.

In "Strange Case ..." we are confronted with the same sort of themes, most notably the duality of man. As we saw in "Candide," humans seem to have the capability of making their own decisions and often times we are met with evil, destruction, pain and ill intentions. This is personified in the body of Dr. Henry Jekyll as he personally struggles with his inner animal and desires only the things that agree with the flesh without conscious.

Funny note: Visiting Edinburgh, I visited the pub of the man who inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's story.

'Can't Buy a Thrill'

That's it. I'm officially a fan of Steely Dan. After 28 years. After about eight years upon first receiving their 1977 opus "Aja." I'm a fan. So much of a fan that I am inclined to purchase their catalog on compact disc.

"Can't Buy a Thrill" is a really good album. And it was their first. I like some of their other albums a little better, but not much. Their technical fluidity, acuteness and flair just oozes from my gameroom speakers.

The scratch and jump of the turntable as it rolls through their hits ("Reelin' in the Years," "Dirty Work") and their hidden gems ("Brooklyn," "Kings" and "Do It Again") is one of the better sonic experiences I've had the last several years.

And I don't think I'd be here at 26 or 21. It had to be now. At 28, listening and enjoying Steely Dan makes so much more sense. It feels as if everything I've listened to before now built up to this moment. Of loving Steely Dan.

Man, I need religion.

'Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables'

It's hard to invest in punk rock.

I find most of the genre pretty bankrupt and hypocritical in nature. It is -- probably, for the most part -- an organic hypocrisy and something not intentionally done and probably something that most would deny.

Punk was formed on the basis of being different. Or basically not being like everyone else. Particularly the cool, right-wing. It was also a rejection of idols and beauty or image. A cultural anarchy, so to speak.

As much as fans would've wanted punk to be considered a communist regime, it never happened because even within punk there are tiers of "coolness" whether they like it or not. If you weren't punk from the beginning, then you weren't punk and you couldn't join in later. It was a group left out to begin with who were more than willing to leave others out. Those rejects of the rejects just became goth, I guess.

Then there's the position of idols. Guys like Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Johnny Rotten and others have become idols. Hell, they write books, engage audiences in "speaking" tours and host TV shows. How is that punk?

Also, the whole idea of actually getting together to record and release an album seemed very un-punk. Just seems like the record industry (no matter how DIY) was still part of the machine.

Another thing, so did the state of California just elect fascists every time? You'd figure they'd get it right eventually. Or maybe folks who re-record "California Uber Alles" shouldn't be so picky.

Other than The Clash, it's hard to get engaged in punk. And that's why.

'Boudu Saved From Drowning'

I thought this was a really funny film.

But is it really a comedy?

Where does Boudu's beard rank in the history of facial hair in film? Top five, at the very least.

How much do we love that font on the movie poster?

'Encounters at the End of the World'

If you're a bit of a naturalist and are as fascinated about the wildlife and environment of Antartica as I am, you'll love this documentary.

Furthermore, if you like Werner Herzog you'll like this documentary, too. I like Herzog. I like him because he puts himself into his documentaries without trying to be the star. He tries to serve as an intermediary or some personification of the viewing audience.

He makes randomly beautiful observations about things that are his personal point of view. He's making a film that he likes and espousing the ideas that he has but all with the audience mind because he thinks that we'll enjoy it.

What some call selfishness, I call public relations.

'Slumdog Millionaire' & 'Wall-E' & 'Milk'

Saturday the day before the Academy Awards, I had the opportunity to watch all five best picture nominees in a row.

It was the first time ever that I had seen all the nominees before the awards and it was a pretty crazy day because I didn't think I could stand 14 straight hours of movie watching.

In addition, Sunday, I had the opportunity to see the animated film "Wall-E." I had a very busy weekend. Anyway, I'm placing these three films on the 1,001 films I should see before I die because there probably won't be an updated list for another two years or so.

So with the Academy Awards in mind, I present another set of honors that may or may not have anything to do with these films:

Most Overrated
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Too long. The plot was inconsistent and pretty dumb. It's basically a "Forrest Gump" for the Gen Y. Brad Pitt isn't very good. Plus, he's not even in the film for 65 percent of the film, which meandered hither and thither. Cate Blanchett is hot. It's a good thing she didn't age until she was 80.

Biggest Surprise
Frost/Nixon
Thought it would be drier. It was funny and beyond interesting. The chemistry between Michael Sheen and Frank Langella was captivating.

Best 45 Seconds
Frost/Nixon
Near the end of the final interview in "Frost/Nixon" when Frost corners Nixon on apologizing to the American public. Just an intense half minute.

Hottest Babe
Kate Winslet
All apologies to the cutie from "Slumdog," Blanchett, the white robot from "Wall-E" and the chick from "Frost/Nixon," Winslet is soooo doable.

Best Chemistry
Sean Penn-Josh Brolin
Penn deserves whatever awards or kudos you want to heap on him. The scenes between him and Brolin are fantastic. There's a ton that's unsaid that makes the film.

Best Supporting Cast
"Milk"
"Frost/Nixon" brings it with Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell. But it's hard to beat a motivated Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, James Franco and a handful of other actors (including the blonde kid from "High School Musical") that absolutely make this film.

Best Suicide By Hanging
Kate Winslet
It took 40 years, but she finally understood that killing 300 Jews in the Holocaust wasn't cool. By the way, the other hanging was Diego Luna's character in "Milk." At the time, Harvey Milk and Luna's character were gay lovers. Luna's character kills himself in Milk's apartment right as he was becoming a high flyer in city and state politics. How does that not become a tabloid news story destorying Milk's political career?

'Swordfishtrombones'

I've heard this question many times: "Why is he/she famous?" This is typically directed at socialites like Paris Hilton, who have no discernible other than the ability to be born in the right family.

I don't really one way or another because I don't subscribe to any news programs or outlets that feature people like her very much. As long as they don't mind being photographed, then photograph them, I guess.

My personal questions is why is Tom Waits famous? I guess the better question is, why is Tom Waits important?

What has he done, who has he influenced to the point that people fall over themselves to cite Waits as an influence or a good musician or singer? He pretty parlayed an entire career of crap into a spot in "Coffee and Cigarettes" that featured people with real talent talking about nothing. Like Bill Murray. And the White Stripes.

'The Yellow Wallpaper'

I was shocked to see that this story was published in 1892. I don't know why, however.

It's possible because it did actually happened. It's such a raw and unforgiving story about a person who is dealing with some kind of psychosis that is warping her brain to the point that she becomes obsessesed with the yellow wallpaper in her vacation house where she's recuperating from some hysterical fit. It's hinted that it's some post-partum depression.

When the narrator describes the smell in the room as a "yellow smell" I could almost taste it nad it kinda disgusted me. The color yellow can do that. The narrator says the smell is unlike all other yellow smells like a flower. Honestly, I think of bile, urine, jaundice and all kinds of bad stuff.

It's so stark and scary and something I would not have associated with typical female-penned literature in the late 1800s. But I guess I should know better.

'The Mayor of Casterbridge'

As I slide through a bunch of Thomas Hardy novels, I realize that he loved going over the same themes over and over. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The main protagonist -- a dude -- makes bad decisions after bad decision eventually having to pay some sort of penance for his sins as he goes from being on top to being on the very bottom.

What would've benefited many of his characters the most would have been to stay as far away from members of the opposite sex as possible and never -- ever! -- get married.

What is most interesting is that no matter how low a character gets, there always seems to be another level of hell that he or she hasn't gotten to yet. And no matter how much they want to make up for what they've done, it's never enough.

'Broadcast News'

I think James L. Brooks is one of the worst directors in the history of film. Christ, it was almost impossible to get through this movie without hating everyone on Earth because I had to blame somebody for this movie ever getting made.

How melodramatic and inane can you get? How can three characters (one of which being the great Holly Hunter) but so stinking unlikable.

I guess it doesn't help casting two of the most stunted, unlikable people in Hollywood: Albert Brooks and William Hurt.

Hurt I could care less for. Brooks I hate. He's not funny. He can't act. He can't be taken seriously. What's his value? Curly hair? Being a pretentious motherfucker who can never fight for what he wants (Hunter, an anchor position). What a hollow and unwelcoming actor.

This movie plays like a bad Neil Simon play. Or an even worse after school special. How anyone likes this film boggles the mind.

And the tagline: "It's the story of their lives." What the fuck does that even mean?

'Taste of Cherry'

This little project has allowed me to watch a lot of foreign films that I would not have watched otherwise, as I've noted previously.

I've seen a handful of films from the Middle East and the southern part of Asia. "Taste of Cherry" is Iranian. And I've found that a lot of movies -- or the ones I've seen, a very small cross section -- from this area of the world are very meandering. The characters tend to wander around without really doing anything. Dialogue is very leading and you sit there knowing that these people would like to say something but instead they take 35 mintues to not say it.

Another aspect of these films are that they feature the scenery a lot and show off the beauty of these countries that seem so foreign and eerie.

'Candide'

Read this my sophomore year of college in "World Literature."

It's good. More like a fable than anything else. Basically just Voltaire trying to make a point about religion, fate, destiny, God, the evil of man and all that.

And Voltaire jives with what I've always thought about people: They're inherently they're selfish and bad, and if you leave them to their own devices they will screw up and never do what is right for others or humanity as a whole.

It's these types of ideas that I learned in college that really molded the way I think about policy and life today.

On a more shallow note, I did like that Candide went through all that shit only to have his girl turn out to be ugly.

'4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days'

My first ever Romanian movie.

My first ever graphic abortion movie.

My first ever dead fetus.

A lot of silence that creep like a ghost. Very haunting film especially since it lacks the supernatural.

Most confusing part is when the abortionist first meets them in the hotel room and he's very sporadic yelling one minute and acting very understanding the next. The next minute he's giving it to the blonde. I had to rewind it because I thought I missed some line or something.

'New Boots and Panties!'

I have a friend and his name is Nick. He is British and has a ton of recordings from cool British groups (from punk to whatever) that I would never give a chance for one reason or another.

He is friendly and burns albums for me, including Ian Dury's "New Boots and Panties!"

I knew that Nick liked Ian Dury so I asked him for the album and I literally had no idea what the album would sound like. It sounds a lot more exhilarating than it actually is.

Honestly, I was really pleasantly surprised with Ian Dury. He's very dry and witty. His music is nothing more than straight rock and roll. He really pulls no punches and there's really nothing to get or understand. It's actually a record I've played more than the three spins I give a lot of other records.

Nick can be pleasantly surprising.

'The Piano'

There's a good chance that I'm just too stupid to understand film.

I get why "The Piano" is a good movie. It's got some wonderful shots, it's kinda funny in a mute kind of way and there are some good performances.

But I don't like the film. So doesn't that make it not as good on the whole. If a billion people signed a petition saying they disliked "The Piano" wouldn't that make it less good? How does this work? Surely we can change critical opinion.

The reason this movie is not good is because none of the characters are even remotely likeable (you kinda end up hating the girl) nor do you detest them all that much.

You kinda hate the husband because he's a douche, but you realize he's only a douche because he lives in New Zealand (where he realizes he's already awkward) and his new wife doesn't give him a single chance, which is why she's kind of a jerk. Plus, she can talk. She just chooses not to? That's lame.

Then the neighbor sleeping with other people's wives just ain't cool.

'Chicago Transit Authority'

Here's my story regarding Chicago:

I'd never listened to Chicago before college mostly because they weren't huge on classic rock radio stations and I didn't listen to a ton of pop/soft rock stations. I considered them "Uncle Rock" -- the sub-genre of 1970s and 1980s rock music that your uncles (or someone of their ilk) always tried to get you into. See: Doobie Brothers, Foghat, .38 Special, et al.

In college, the biggest vice for me (outside of the other stuff) was VH1's "Behind the Music" series -- hour-long shows about bands or musical artists with interviews and intriguing storytelling. Basically, this show was a means for me to learn about and listen to a band without having to buy an album. I could realize that Poison sucked without giving it more than an hour of my time.

Having no clue about Chicago, I watched their "Behind the Music" unsurprised about their horniness, but shocked to learn about Terry Kath's ability as a lead singer and guitarist. It almost made me overlook the horns and cheesy songs.

Later, a friend and I talked Chicago and he stated how lame they were and I brought up the greatness of Terry Kath and he retorted that I had seen the "Behind the Music" too many times.

And he was right. I had. Chicago does suck. They sound like a good high school marching band. End of story.

'Slacker'

Girl: "Sorry I'm late. I mean ..."

Girl 2: "That's alright. Time doesn't exist."

Richard Linklater is interesting.



On one hand, he can direct some of the most wandering and listless independent films like "Slacker" or "Waking Life." And these just aren't independent films. Most people would find these films ridiculously obnoxious with no point or plot.



Then Linklater can go out and direct "Newton Boys," "School of Rock" and "Bad News Bears." If you watched all five movies, you'd never really think that the same guy directed all five.



Then he's capable of "Dazed and Confused," which is a legit amalgamation of both styles (the random conversations and the way the camera serves as a fly with ADD).



I think it's more remarkable that he can do both kind of films rather than doing the more independent-style films.

'The Purple Rose of Cairo'

I've been able to watch a lot of Woody Allen in the past year. Frankly, I've enjoyed every one of his films.

This I probably enjoyed the most. It had excellent pace, it was really funny and well written (maybe his best writing for a film). The acting was great and super bad when it needed to be. Mia Farrow is such a great actress because in about 80 minutes, the audience loves her. In fact, you love her within about five minutes and by the end of the film your heart melts once she's jilted by Jeff Bridges.

It seems like a film that everyone loved to make, including Allen.

'Once Upon A Time In The West'

This is a really great movie. Jason Robards, Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda are fantastic (as always). I thought the story was really interesting and I loved that it was set against some historical context.

A lot like "Once Upon A Time In America," it follows a hodgepodge of characters with different attitudes and intentions and they all seem to clash together.

And Claudia Cardinale is one of the hottest pieces I have seen in really long, long time. Seriously.

'The Wonderful O'

A quaint and funny fairy tale about treasure-seeking pirates who invade an island and due to one of their own distaste for the letter "O" they begin terrorizing everyone by outlawing anything with an "O" in it's name.

A kid could probably read this and gain quite a bit of entertainment. But for an adult with interest in language and words, it's great because it's written (basically) in rhyme and with a very sing-songy tone.

You could present any number of socio-political allegories and be fine.

Sadly, James Thurber does not mention or describe a land with sex, but no orgasm.

'The Ice Storm'

An interesting commentary (actually, I don't know how much commentary there is) on sex in America.

Why is it that our privates causes more pain, anguish and sadness than anything else? Why are our naughty parts such devisive instruments used for bad? Why is it when things go to shit, all we want to do is hump each other?

And then, we tend to ostrasize prostitutes or teenagers that get pregnant out of wedlock. Look at the way we treat porn stars. All these people are trying to do is get everyone off and make some money off of it. But we wouldn't be caught dead being seen with them or being their friends.

We seem to be more than willing to sleep with everyone, but getting caught is like death.

If sex wasn't so awesome, I would probably think harder about these things.

'The Jazz Singer'

What was the appeal of "black face"? Was it was supposed to be funny? Or just another way to be racist?

I would assume it was comedic and I would further assume that it would be used in a comedic skit or some such. Instead, Al Jolson's singing to his poor ol' "mammy."

This is creepy. The "black face," Jolson's jutting eyes and the odd way they could dance back then with their hips being popped out of the socket.

That's it. I'm going to go Google "black face" now.

'The Evil Dead'

If I had to make a list of movies that my friends like, "The Evil Dead" would be on that list. And, yet, I never watched it.

I'm not a horror film type of person. First, some freak me out too much. Others are just dumb. In fact, most are dumb.

This film is pretty dumb, but it's supposed to be kinda dumb and it's so bloody and ridiculous that you look at it differently than "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th."

This film did freak me out after the first girl becomes the demon and is floating in the air.

Then it all goes downhill because you watch four people make awful decisions. As horror film characters often do.

'Mean Streets'

Harvey Keitel is a guy that can run underneath the radar for people born within a certain set of years.

He's a guy that doesn't do any action movies that are super popular. He does a lot of films that only adults would be interested in or he plays a cop in a bit role in a popular movie.

For the most part, his heyday was probably the early 1990s back to the mid-1970s. A time that a person born in 1980 isn't watching movies that include Keitel. I just thought he always played a cop.

He's great in this film and Robert DeNiro is super great.

'Trio'

A so-so A side is made up for by a phenomenal B side.

It's interesting how artists and groups decide in which order to place songs. It especially had to be thought provoking in the heyday of the LP -- when you had two sides of a record. Literally, a listener (a lazy listener) could never listen to one whole side of an album. Not because they necessarily don't want to or because it's bad, but because you have to stand up, change the record and put the needle back down.

It's easier now with CDs that play straight through. But if you look at U2's Achtung Baby, their hit "Mysterious Ways" is like No. 8 or 9. Such an odd place for an obvious hit.

"Rosewood Casket" is great.

'Pieces of the Sky'

Maybe her first, but definitely not her best album. No one's become a bigger Emmylou Harris fan than me over the past year or so.

She's simply great. She sang songs that she wanted to sing and didn't seem to have any problem putting her own stamp on cover songs (on this album covering The Beatles, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton).

Plus, she gathered some of the greatest musicians to ever record on a country album. Just wish there were a couple other 1970s-era Harris albums on this list.

'War'

I can be hard on U2 now because I realize that at one time, they were on top of their game.

"War" is a really great album. It's captures a young band that had experienced no success actually trying to make a good rock album with thoughtful lyrics and a ton of energy.

The melodies are also better. There's more of an identity and direction; something's that lacking in the U2 of the past 20 years.

The Edge is particularly on top of his game. He truly brings it as a guitar with some style and individuality and, most importantly, energy. Real energy. Raw and youthful energy.

Now, they're just collecting a paycheck.

'The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover'

Helen Mirren super sexy most of the time. She's really sexy in this film. She oozes sex. So delicate and yet confident.

This is a pretty crazy film. Michael Gambon is great as the thief, who can somehow afford to own a restaurant that he eats at every night and terrorizes everyone. It's also set in, like, a post-apocalyptic London. Or in Stanley Kubrick's dead brain.

Plus, there's the blonde boy who keeps singing all the time. By about the second time, he turns really, really obnoxious.

'Pi'

I love math and science. I wish I were better at both in school and I especially wish I was really good at both because the mathematicians and scientists I talk to are pretty interesting people.

Then again, would I get so wrapped up in math and science that I wouldn't be able to give "Hamlet" any time? That would be sad.

Also, I like how this film incorporated religion, per the Kabbalah Jews who were trying to get the main character to share with them the code to the Torah.

Many would like to divorce religion and science-math because religion is based on faith which is the belief in something that can't be seen or touched. Whereas, math and science are the opposite.

But as the main character notes, math is the language of nature. Part of nature is humankind. And part of humankind is religion. So why wouldn't science and math have anything to do or to explain religion? Why does everything have to be so black and white with people?

'Fat Girl'

The explicit underage sex scenes didn't bother me.

The anal sex didn't bother me.

The nudity of girls didn't bother me.

The subsequent murder and child rape scene bothered me.

Fat girl's response to it all really bothered me.

'Freaks'

I was prepared to be pretty digusted at this film because circus freaks kinda disgust me.

Not in a bad way. I guess there's no good way to disgust a fellow human being, but there's something creepy about people who look like God got drunk one day.

Instead, I find myself really liking the "freaks" and feeling incredibly bad when they are the butt of everyone's joke.

Are there still "freaks" today? You never see them in circuses and there doesn't seem to be a ton of carnivals and, even if, they don't have the sideshow affairs like they used to.

So if these people actually exist (and I don't mean the small people or the guy with no legs) but the people with the odd-shaped heads and the guy that is just a stump. Where are these people? Why don't I see them working at Wal-Mart or whatever?

Nevertheless, Hans was a dick. Small person or no.

'Court and Spark'

Joni Mitchell is like salt: She's great in moderation.

I think "Blue" is a fantastic album, but some of her work bleeds together too much and just gets boring after a while.

'Four Weddings and a Funeral'

Some points:

1. Kudos to Hugh Grant's glasses.

2. I don't get why Hugh Grant was criticized and kinda ostracized after being caught with that hooker later after this movie (basically his introduction to American culture) was released. For one, if non-celebrity people have screwed up sexual tastes and needs, why wouldn't good-looking celebrities? Also, the argument is made that why would you want an ugly hooker when you had Elizabeth Hurley at home. Nothing against Hurley (a nice piece), but who said they were having sex? Maybe she was holding out? Maybe Grant had gone without it due to work scheduling for four months? The reasoning is limitless. Frankly, if I looked like Grant, I'd screwed everything in sight that would have me.

3. Grant was 34 when he filmed this movie.

4. I'd kill myself if I had to go to all those weddings.

5. The director and casting almost had to do this on purpose. How can you not cast at least one attractive woman? How is that possible? Kristin Scott Thomas is the closest and, yet, her face is all pointy and she's a rail. Andie MacDowell is too safe. At times she looks awful. Not that I'm saying that you need a bunch of knock-outs in this film or any film. It's just uncanny, that not even by happenstance, a really attractive female is cast. Just odd.

'Farewell, My Concubine'

Gheesh. Another kick-you-in-your-ass foreign film.

This is a really fantastic film. One of the best films I have probably ever seen. Definitely the best I've seen in the last five years or so.

First of all, it's set against the various stages of China through the 20th century politically and socially. Then you include the themes of homosexuality, art, friendship, betrayal and love. Plus, add the great costumes and music.

It's two and a half hours long. You're so entranced by the film that the time just flies by.

'The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time'

A really, really good book. Written in the first person from the perspective of a 15-year-old boy with Asperger Syndrome with a photographic memory and a brilliant mathematical mind.

I don't know how much knowledge Mark Haddon has about the mind of the autistic mind, but it's amazing to read from that perspective.

And I suspect that it's implied that Sherlock Holmes was autistic. I'm making this up. But it makes me laugh.

'King of New York'

A spiralling film that never really went anywhere and didn't make a lot of sense. If you're Coppola doing "The Godfather" or Scorcese doing "Gangs of New York" you have to keep movies close to the vest. Especially when the characters are genuinely unlikable and uninteresting.

Plus, there's a lot of characters that I think we're meant to care about but we don't know what they're doing or why.

Then, Christopher Walken, I think, was affected by his role in "The Deer Hunter" to the point that he was kinda crazy during every role after that. He's largely unbelievable as a crime lord.

'Trans-Europe Express'

This may be one of the most influential albums (and groups) in music today.

Just listen to this record. It sounds exactly like Kanye West's latest opus.

Plus, the third guy from the right looks like Will Forte, the guy from Saturday Night Live who portrays the enigmatic MacGruber.

'Fragile'

Tipper Gore should protest the music industry to place warning labels on music not meant to be listened to before the age of, say, 23.

Yes would need that designation.

Not that there's anything, messagewise, that someone 17 should not hear, but Yes and Steely Dan and artists of that ilk took the fun out of music and made it serious. And yet, it had nothing to do with money. In fact, it was the repulsion of wanting to make money and be famous.

Not saying that Steve Howe didn't get laid for his intro to "Roundabout," but he probably wanted to make a brilliant piece of music that only subscribers to "Guitar World" would truly appreciate.

At 16 when I first listened to Yes, I thought they were boring and sucked. They lacked the grit and attitude that I loved about music. Now, a little bit older and wiser, I appreciate the complexity and insanely hard work it took for those really talented guys to create something so cohesive and good.

'The Clash'

The Clash are pretty seminal for me. Which isn't very odd or unusual.

My seminal bands: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Clash, Queen and The Get Up Kids.

Not exactly imaginative.

Most of all, I wanted to be Paul Simonon. Joe Strummer was cool and all, but he worked at it. He was kinda cool because he was the lead singer and looked like a communist. Simonon was cool because he looked like an extra from "Grease" and stood back and laid down some fantastic basslines for a band ultimately carried by their rhythm section.

The only other people I've wanted to be were 1969 Paul McCartney (with the beard) and Jack Kerouac.

'My Winnipeg'

The problem I face with watching, reading and listening to the 1,001 films, books and records I should watch, read and listen to before I die is that each year, more and more records, books and films are added to the list.

But an "official" list is not put out every year. So I take some of the "best" of that year and add them on. Unofficially.

"My Winnipeg" is unofficially a film I should watch before I die.

But I'm certainly glad I did. It's a low budget artsy house film about a guy's divorce from his hometown, Winnipeg.

And it's great. It's especially great if you yourself grew up in a town that had no identity or had an identity but let it fall apart. Also, there are the fascinating and almost unbelievable anecdotes and tidbits that every town has. These are the things that you tell other people and they can't fathom that happening.

The "What If ..." day and the horses freezing the river come to mind.