Sunset

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. I think it's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

The Darjeeling Ltd.

Better than The Life Aquatic stop Not as good as The Royal Tenenbaums stop

30 Days of Nighty-Night

Here's what I like about it:

1. Setting. The far north has a special place in my cold black heart.
2. Cinematography. Beautiful.
3. Concept. This is a compliment more for the graphic novel, but still.
4. The Vampires. So good, so freaky, and I love that the head V is played by Danny Huston. Bizarre casting that works.
5. Director. This is David Slade's 2nd movie, his first was Hard Candy, which was in my top ten last year. The guy's got a great style.
6. A few surprises in the breaking of the horror movie dialogue cliches. Example-
Lead Male Character: "I'm going out there..something's terribly wrong"
Female Character: "I'm going with you"
Lead Male Character: "Yeah, okay"
I know that seems inconsequential but when he said "ok" rather than "No way, I have to do this alone" I nearly passed out.

Here's what I don't like:

1. Josh Hartnett. It's no secret that I can't stand this guy. Maybe I'm just prejudiced against wooden dolls posing as humans.
2. The final showdown scene. An hour and a half of coolness is offset by a STUPID computer generated death.
3. Any scene where someone breaks their fingers makes me queasy. Which is strange because I was able to watch the scene of the guys head being hacked off with an axe without flinching.

Michael George Clayton Clooney

Michael Clayton is the kind of film you just should see without having to be convinced. It's cerebral, and doesn't assume it's audience is incapable of making connections on their own, which is so refreshing in a time where complex movie plots are essentially broken down and gift wrapped for Neanderthals.
George Clooney DOESN"T MAKE BAD CHOICES. This is such an unusual phenomenon in Hollywood that it deserves mention. I hope he continues to make important films with intelligence and meaning and that he continues to NOT CARE if the films gross really high numbers.
Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson should both be nominated for Oscars (not that an Oscar means anything anymore) and of course Clooney should be awarded for his work here also.

Top Ten. You heard me, TOP TEN.