I was trolling through the channel guide on my cable looking for something to watch when I noticed something peculiar. Three films by Stanley Kubrick -- The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut -- were all going to be on within just a couple hours of each other. As I pondered which one I'd watch and which ones I'd DVR, I realized something: In all my live, I had only seen a few Kubrick movies all the way through.
Like most relatively movie literate people, I'd seen 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove several times. And, of course, I'd seen Spartacus, though most don't consider that to be a "Kubrick" film. I was pretty sure that I once watched The Shining, though I couldn't remember much about it. But, as I scoured my memory, I couldn't think of any other Kubrick movies that I was at all familiar with.
So...yeah...I did it again. I posted my top ten list for last year and then promptly took like eight months off from updating this blog. Pretty much the same thing I did last year. My only excuse is that...well...this is my blog. I'll get to it when I get to it. And, it just so happens that, lately, I've been wanting to get to it more than I have previously.
I realize that I've left you, dear reader, high and dry all year. All of these movies have been coming out and I have neglected to bestow upon the internet's humble masses my thoughts and impressions, leaving you all aimless, without hope or direction.
Good thing only about five people read this blog. Still, I feel sorry for you five. For my part, I can only offer my sincerest (not really) apologies and promise (not really) to make it up to you.
But, above all else, I want to urge not to dwell on the past. Let us move forward. As Gandhi once said, "I'm tired of apologizing for not updating my blog. Get over it."
I've once again returned triumphantly to the world of conveying my opinions via an outdated form of online communication. This is cause for celebration and should be shouted from the proverbial rooftops...or whatever.
But, before we get to the moving on, the celebration, and the thankful monies sent to my PayPal account, let's talk about the past for a few more minutes. Like I said, I've taken the better part of a year off. Aren't you the least bit curious as to what I thought about the movies that came out in that time? I know I am.
So far, this year has been pretty weak. I've seen exactly two movies that, had I been blogging, would have received four-star reviews. I'll list them here without going into any detail as they are both very likely to end up on my top ten list this year. I just wanted to make note of them because few people I know saw either one, even though, in real, non-blog life, I've been recommending them left and right.
Snowpiercer
Boyhood
There are a handful of movies that would have gotten three and half stars from me. But, you've all seen those already (example: Guardians of the Galaxy). No need to add further commentary on a year that, so far has mostly been defined by decent, but hardly transcendent big-budget fare.
So what's next for the blog, you ask? Lots of stuff.
First of all, I saw a movie that many consider to be an Oscar contender the other night. I'm going to review that right away. I also plan on digging into the filmography of some great filmmakers and writing some retrospectives on their work. And, I plan on finally making good on my promises to include more entries under the Random Movie Lists and My Secret Shames categories, all while trying to stay up to date on reviewing the latest movies out there.
In other words, I've set up a pretty ambitious agenda for this blog in the coming weeks and months. Any bets on whether I make good on it?
Alright, now that we've gotten through the longer-than-anticipated process of revealing my Top Ten List for 2011, I want to lay out my more general plans for this blog going forward. In general, I see most of my future blog posts falling into a handful of categories. So, before I get started, I figured I'd lay out what those categories are.
In Theaters -- This should be fairly self explanatory. When I see a movie in the theater, and if it's still showing in theaters when I get around to writing the review, said review will fall under this category.
Catching Up -- Now that I have both a wife AND a child, there are a number of movies that I don't get to see in the theater. Reviews of movies that are relatively new to DVD, Blu Ray, or -- more likely in my case -- iTunes will be in this category.
Film Studies 101 -- Over the past week or so, I've decided that I want to have a greater, more academic knowledge of film history and theory. I've actually looked up several syllabi to various Film Studies courses to see what readings are assigned in those courses and what movies they watch. I plan to go through some of these readings and movies and reflect on them here. That'll probably be boring for most of you...deal with it.
Adventures in Netflix -- While many people have dropped Netflix over the last year, I've held onto it, though only for streaming purposes. I actually enjoy digging through it and finding little movie nuggets that I haven't heard of before or that I haven't thought about in a long time. Posts about these movies will be categorized as "Adventures in Netflix."
My Secret Shames -- I am pretty big movie geek. I see a lot of movies. But, invariably, there are a number of classics and acclaimed films that I haven't gotten around to seeing. Having not seen movies like Reservoir Dogs and A Clockwork Orange, I feel as though my street cred as a movie obsessive is sometimes in jeopardy. So, my efforts to catch up and reflect on these movies will be recounted in this category.
On Second Thought -- Another thing I'd like to do occasionally is sit down and re-watch a movie I used to really love -- or even a movie I used to really hate -- but that I haven't seen in quite some time. As with most people, movies tend to evolve in my mind. There are quite a few that I wonder if I'd still feel the same about if I watched them again.
Random Movie Lists -- And, of course, we can't leave out the occasional random movie list. Every geek feels the compulsion to sit and rank his favorite pop culture items, and I'm no different. So, every week or so, I'll pick a category and list my Top 5 or Top 10 in that category. I welcome any and all suggestions for these categories.
So, yeah...it took me way, way longer than I thought it would to get through my Top 10 list for 2011. Those long reviews take a while to write, people.
Anyway, now it's done and I can move on to more pressing and timely posts. But, before doing that, I thought I'd just recap the list so that people can look at a single post to remember my Top 10...er...Top 12.
1. The Tree of Life
2. Take Shelter
2.5. A Separation
3. Hugo
4. Drive
5. Win Win
6. Melancholia
7. Rango
8. Warrior
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
10 (tie). The Descendants
10 (tie). The Artist
Yeah...I'm as annoyed s you are that I haven't posted an entry to my Top 10 list in over week. I promise that I'll be getting the final four movies on the list out of the way in short order.
The reasons for the long delay are twofold. First and foremost, I wanted to see my Number Four movie again before writing about it. Second, I actually saw another movie that has thrown my list out of whack.
The list is done...complete. But, this new movie, though it was technically a 2011 release, wasn't playing nearby until very recently.
Normally, I wouldn't care. My list is made and I need to finish writing about it. But, this is a Top Five level movie, folks. It needs to be on the list.
So, here's what I've decided to do: I'm going to continue to count-down my list and the new movie will be thrown in right before I drop my Number One as sort of an alternate...a sixth movie in my Top Five.
Now, I know none of you care about this. But, these are the geeky things I think about.
Those who know me well should feel free to make fun of me in the comments.
For those that don't know me all that well...welcome to my new blog! I suppose an explanation wouldn't be entirely out of order.
I've been a blogger for some time...longer than most, I'd say. Over the years, I've started literally millions of blogs (of course, by "literally," I mean "not literally") only to allow them to die slow, painful deaths. I currently have another blog that I share with my wife. That blog can be located here. I haven't posted anything of substance on that blog in about year or so. Hopefully that'll change soon.
