Thanks so much to you both. I only wish i could contribute some new exciting stuff but i'm miles (or should that now be kilometres?) behind with viewing this year so for a while i'll be a bit predictable. We've certainly had incredible ups + downs this year, but somehow it's been fantastic in getting us out of a rut. And i'm trying to get used to the idea of life being more about experiences than just the goal of happiness. Like a good novel i suppose? 

A: Murakami's Tokyo Decadence: i didn't think it was a patch on Haruki Murakami's masterpiece novel The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and i see the usually very admirable Geoff Andrew gives it a pasting in Time Out film guide. May make an interesting double bill with Ai no Corrida? I noticed it first in a couple of top 10's in a Time Out poll several years back. It's glossy and quite disturbing i suppose (my memory's a bit vague) and i'd be interested in why you rate it so highly, and i'll certainly have to take another look.