2 + 2 = 5.

1) Natalie Portman in Closer.

I've already covered this one, but I felt compelled to point it out again. The movie might not be perfect, but she is.

2) Depeche Mode: "Halo (Goldfrapp Remix)."
Goldfrapp deconstructs DM's mopey-dance-pop into a a slo-mo orgy of dreamy-slash-menacing sexuality (like a David Lynch sequence in the form of a four-minute pop song). Spend 99 cents and get it here.

3) Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral: Deluxe Edition.
I got the original Downward Spiral as a gift during my freshman year of high school. Even then I saw through its over-the-top angst and silly lyrics, but loved Trent's obsessive attention to detail and sound. Ten years later the album's been re-released and the lyrics are even sillier and the production even more impressive.

4) Richard Avedon's opening title sequence for Funny Face.
OK, so the movie-- not so hot. I was hoping that the filmed/fifictionalized Richard Avedon story (as told by Stanley Donen and starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn) would be a great piece of '60s fluff. Yeah, not so much. But Donen managed to get Avedon onboard as a special visual consultant and he created a snazzy, colorful main title sequence that's better than anything else in the movie.

5) Jeff Bridges listening to Khia's "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)" in Door in the Floor.

I watched Door in the Floor over the weekend and found very little to like. (Tony, Manohla-- what are you guys talking about?) Just when I thought aboslutely all was lost, I got to the scene where teenager Eddie has to drive sullen/pissed Jeff Bridges home. Eddie doesn't strike me as an r&b type fellow, but he's always listening to the hot jam radio station in the car. As the two of them drive home in total silence, Khia's "My Neck, My Back" begins to play. Mortified by the song's, um, ribald lyrics, Eddie fumbles to change the channel. "DON'T DO THAT, I LOVE THIS SONG!" Jeff bellows. He then precedes to white-boy dance to Khia. It almost made it worth it. Almost. The Dude abides.