An Ali-Like Return to the Blogosphere

I'm back, ladies and gentlemen.  I'm back.

I know it's been months since you've heard from me and that, in that time, there have been literally dozens -- if not hundreds -- of movies released for which you've sought out my opinion.

I know I've let you down.  For that, dear reader, I can only say I'm sorry.

This comeback hasn't been easy.  I've been training for months to get myself ready to write reviews and blog posts about movies that only about 10 people will ever read.  It's meant long hours in the blog gym, honing my skills and retraining my mind. Most of all, it's meant time at the theater and in front of my TV, watching movies, thinking about movies, and watching some more.

When they get a look at what I'm doing now, some critics may write me off.  They'll say that I'm only a shadow of my former self.

Maybe they'll be right.

But, I don't do it for them, dear reader.  I do it for you.  As I venture out once more into that [insert boxing metaphor here], my only thoughts are of you and whether you're fully aware of what I happen to think about any given movie or movie-related topic.

So let us press on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into whatever.

I can't tell you why I was gone.  I can only tell you why I'm back.

You see, I saw a movie the other day that I thought was incredible.  And, now I have write about it.

You'll see that post in a matter of minutes...or hours...or maybe a day.  No more than a day, though, I swear.
 
Good night and good luck.

Adventures in Netflix: Atlas Shrugged: Part I *

There are two types of people in this world, those who love Ayn Rand's landmark novel Atlas Shrugged and those that hate it.  I think the vast majority on both sides would agree, however, that it shouldn't have been made into a movie.

Truth be told, I fall more in the "love it" category, though I understand the arguments of those who don't share that view.  As a narrative, it's slow, clunky with a climax that comes in the form of a hundred-or-so-page monologue about economics and the morality of individual achievement.  The characters are, by and large, selfish jerks and the fact that Rand celebrates them for being that way turns a lot of people off.

As a bible for personal living, it's pretty terrible.  But, as an argument in favor of free markets and illustration of the catastrophic potential of a government that designs policies by notions of feel-goodery instead of efficiency, it's extremely effective.  And, I suppose that's why I like it.

Like many, I had my college libertarian phase wherein I read Atlas Shrugged and felt justified in being a jerk to everyone for about month.  That eventually wore off when I couldn't argue that drug companies should be completely self-regulating with a straight face.  But, I remain a small government conservative who believes that taxes should be relatively low and that, with some exceptions, government regulations should be designed to enhance the productivity of the marketplace and not to prevent every possible negative outcome.  And, in general, I believe that the government shouldn't be in the business of legislating morality.

In other words, I am more or less the target audience for this movie.  Yet, while some people will naturally hate this movie because of its subject matter, I hate this movie because it sucks.

How This Blog is Going to Work

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.