Woebegone days

I’m feeling a bit woebegone at the moment because Beth has a cold necessitating an early night, so I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. Its rubbish, I tell you, although I suppose it’ll be OK once bubba works through her sniffles, bless her.

What I have managed is to watch a few more films so, if you’re interested:

- All Quiet on the Western Front
Made in 1930 but is still incredibly powerful in the battle scenes and in its anti-war sentiment. The sound affects (whistling bombs etc) must have been terrifying to contemporary audiences used to silents.

- Through the Olive Trees
A sweet-natured Iranian film about someone trying to make a film but hamstrung by the unreciprocated love of his leading boy for his leading girl. The ending is just lovely.

- Mildred Pierce
This has a delightfully perverse and twisted noir plot and some great performances. It also confirms 2 of the great movie laws:
a) No matter how poor you become, you can still afford to have Butterfly McQueen as your maid
b) If you develop a mild cough, you’ll be dead within a reel

Loving the new (for Australia) Futureheads song, “Area”. “Tell me how bored to you have to be?”

Meanwhile, in proper news:

“The temptation, to which too many are succumbing, is to see this as a showdown between Islam and Europe or the west (although, for once, the US has been somewhat out of the firing line). That is how extremists want to frame the argument, as in the poster waved outside the Danish embassy in London: "Europe is the cancer, Islam is the answer". But the real dividing line is between moderates and extremists on both sides, between men and women of reason and dialogue, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, and men and women of hatred, such as Abu Hamza or Nick Griffin. Not for the first time in recent history, the means are more important than the ends. In fact, the means you choose determine where you'll end up.”
The Guardian – Hear hear!