I've watch tons of movies since my last extensive update, but I'll just mention the most recent two:

Half Nelson; No doubt that the main reason to watch this flick is to see Ryan Gosling in his best role to date. He plays a drug-addicted history teacher at a junior high school, and when one of his thirteen year-old students discovers his habit, they form a unique friendship. This movie isn't without a few pacing flaws, but Gosling gives a memorable performance and it's definitely worth a rental.

A Scanner Darkly; An interesting cell-shading take on what could be happening seven years in the future. A new Substance D drug is highly addictive and, in simple terms, messes with the user's brain. The movie stretches the viewer in ambivalence, with some parts being interesting, deep, or funny; however, the movie fails to keep up the suspence, and the problem with cell-shading is that it takes away the depth of live action movies, and glazes over what could be top-notch animation (we'll say Pixar movies, for a quintessential example). The concept is a fresh take on addiction, but the movie falls short in the closing scenes. Two important things with this movie: first, even when cell-shaded, Winona Ryder is hot, and second, Robert Downey Jr. is the most memorable 'performance' in the movie. If anything, I love when he does the bullet-through-the-head motion (see about 1:15 in the video below). Worth a viewing on HBO.

Here's the trailer for the latter movie.

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