Here We Go

What is this? This is me, Joe, writing about movies after I see them. I hope I have fun doing this, and I hope you have fun reading this.

Why am I doing this? That's probably a good question, too. I've always been drawn to movies. A friend of mine was talking about why history is so awesome. He said it was because all it is is stories. I thought about it a little, and he was close. It's all good stories. You don't get into history without doing something important, having an interesting story that would last the test of time. No one remembers the boring stuff from history. We likely won't learn anything from the boring stuff in history. So, movies. They seem to me to be a little window into a different world, every time. They're all small snippets of bigger stories, but just showing the most interesting parts. The best movies are ones that are able to create those worlds in which you want to spend more time. With sequels and remakes, sometimes, for better or worse, you do get to spend more time there. Also, movies just rule. I'm lucky to live in the country/home of most movies. I'm not trying to discredit foreign movies in any way, but Hollywood is right here. The Oscars are the only award show that matters. Would the ratings of the Emmys, Tonys, Grammys, and Golden Globes all added together equal the Oscars' rating? The Oscars are always the second-most-watched-event right behind the Superbowl. I kind of like knowing a lot and being well-versed in something that most everyone else has in their life in some way.

I watch a lot of movies at home. With Netflix, cable TV, and my somewhat compulsive Blu-Ray purchasing habits, it's incredibly easy. But none of those hold a candle to the theater. I love just being sucked into that experience, and just for 100 minutes, there being absolutely nothing except for you and the screen. I made a crack today when I was the first person in theater for a movie about hoping no one else joined me and I got a private screening. But thinking about it - it doesn't matter. Others showed up, but I still got the whole experience of just myself and the screen. This isn't meaning to sound like I watch movies with my friends in abject silence. No, I like having a good time. And I also don't want to discredit the audience experience, and how it can enhance a movie. People screaming at a jump scare in a horror movie, people laughing uproariously at a comedy that's just hitting every mark, and everything like it are fun in their own ways.

So, I have noticed this last year or so, I've really slacked off on seeing new movies. This is a little bit of a jumpstart just to give me another reason to watch movies. Also, an excuse to think and write about movies, which is something I've wanted to try in some form or fashion for years now. I'm abandoning the rigid "watch one movie a day" thing. I'd love to do that. I might end up doing that. I'm still going to try to keep this one post a day on a new movie I saw. I can put them in a can, watch a lot of movies on a weekend, and have all week already done, just waiting to post. That's how I invision it going anyways. If 2012 ends with me seeing 300 new movies, this will be a huge success. I'm also going to play around with the format. I don't know exactly what every post is going to be. I don't want to call them all flat-out reviews. Just some sort of kind of organized thoughts, maybe just some stuff about how I saw the movie, what I thought about the movie before I saw it, WHY I chose it to watch, some things like that.

With this post, I suppose it starts tomorrow! I'm really excited to do this. I hope you're excited to read this. All feedback, good or bad, just put them in the comments here, or email me at joseph.p.rand@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Movies at my fingertips - a loose queue

Here is a queue of sorts. A handful of lists of a LOT of movies I have easy access too either though ones I own, Netflix Instant Watch, or Netflix mailed blu-rays. This is not a promise that I will see all of these. Just maybe a starting point, or something I can go to if I’m at a loss for something to watch.

Movies I own
The Bank Job, True Crime, Komodo, All the King’s Men (2000s), Black Supaman, Ocean’s 11 (1950), Ocean’s 12, Ocean’s 13, Sex Drive, The War of the Roses, Cold Creek Manor, A Prairie Home Companion, Appaloosa, Trapped in Paradise, I am Omega, Monster, AVH Alien vs Hunter, Matchstick Men, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Point of No Return, A History of Violence, High Tension, Be Cool, Blade Runner, Cursed, Disaster Zone, Absolute Zero, Porky’s, Police Academy, Redbelt, Pitch Black, My Super Ex Girlfriend, Reefer Madness (1930s), Get Shorty, The Lost Boys, Zombie Honeymoon, Santa Fe Trail, Alone in the Dark, Doom, Quicksand, Ticker, Fall time, Beyond the Law, Return of the Living Dead, Match Point, See No Evil, Easy Rider, 1408, The Black Dahlia, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Doomsday, Slither, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Panic Room, Poltergeist, Jackie Chan’s First Strike, Mr Nice Guy, Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli, The Ruins, One Hour Photo, The Lookout, Winter Passing, Good Night and Good Luck, Amadeus, Missing in Action, MIA 2, MIA 3, Delta Force 2, Tora Tora Tora, The Longest Day, Patton

Movies on Netflix Instant Watch
Visioneers, Harry Brown, Four Rooms, World’s Greatest Dad, Men Who Stare at Goats, 8 1/2, Winnebago Man, The Expendables, Starman, Interview with the Vampire, Jack Goes Boating, Last Action Hero, Hellboy, Diner, Brothers, Thieves Like Us, Capitalism: A Love Story, Crusiing, King Corn, The Boxer, …And Justice for All, Drunken Master, Constant Gardener, Driving Miss Daisy, Primary Colors, Bangkok Dangerous, Presumed Innocent, Reprise, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, No End in Sight, Rabbit Hole, Fearless, Limitless, Insidious, Take Me Home Tonight, The Game, Panic Room, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Irreversible, Superman, Black Snake Moan, A MAn for All Seasons, Slacker, Midnight Cowboy, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Gentelmen Prefer Blondes, Middle Men, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Awakenings, The Last of the Mohicans, Buried, The Machinist, Mother, Pitch Black, Airport, Hatchet, Tangled, The Dirty Dozen, Paranoid Park, Slap Shot, Trainspotting, I Love You Phillip Morris, Hobo With a Shotgun, Hoop Dreams, Uncle Boonmee, Malcolm X, The Hustler, The Fighter, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Stone, Howl, I am Love, Sin Nombre, Syriana, I Saw the Devil, Enter the Void, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Red Riding Trilogy Part 1-3, Man on Wire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, The American President, Raging Bull, Mesrine Part 2 Public Enemy #1, Southland Tales, Wendy and Lucy, Punch-Drunk Love, Rio Bravo, Let Me In, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Restrepo, The Girlfriend Experience, Brokeback Mountain, Antichrist, The Messenger, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, When we were kings, Mesrine Part 1 Killer Instinct, Four Lions, 21 Grams, Half Nelson, Encounters at the End of the World, Letters from Iwo Jima, Arthur, Moulin Rouge, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, A Christmas Tale, Kramer vs Kramer, The Right Stuff, The Last Temptation of Christ, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

My Netflix Mail Queue
No Strings Attached, Love and Other Drugs, Going the Distance, Blue Valentine, Leaving Las Vegas, The Beaver, The Lincoln Lawyer, Better off Dead, I Spit on Your Grave, Wall Street 2, Harry Potter 8 P1, Another Year, Faster, Rango, The Mechanic, Drive Angry, Inside Job, The Visitor, Spartacus, Three Days of the Condor, Menace II Society, King of New York, Animal Kingdom, Season of the Witch, Crazy Heart, American Gangster, Never Let Me Go, Death at a Funeral(UK), Unbreakable, Assassination of Jesse James, A Single Man, District 9, Magnolia, It’s King of A Funny Story, Kung Fu Panda, Frozen River, Salt, Away We Go, The Killer, Get Low, Sophie’s Choice, Greenberg, Despicable Me, Conviction, Rescue Dawn, Edge of Darkness, The American, Monsters Inc, The Losers, Pirate Radio, Ratatouille, The Ghost Writer, A Prophet, Extract, The Slammin’ Salmon, Flags of Our Fathers, Basic Instinct, An Education, The Reader, Where the Wild Things Are, Coraline, The Damned United, Unleashed, Date Night, Cop Out, Daybreakers, Bull Durham, Layer Cake

New Things Coming - Movie a day project

I'm going to use this space to start a pretty ambitious blog sort thing sometime soon. Most likely before the end of the year. It will be where I watch one new movie every day and write about it. I'm still toying around with the specifics, but the rules will likely be something like this:

1) 1 Movie every 24 Hours ; 1 Blog Post per 24 Hours
2) Movie must be one I haven't seen all the way through. Ones I've seen some of but don't remember are cool.
3) Must be the full movie- via in a theater, DVD, Blu-Ray, Netflix streaming, Premium TV channel, etc
4) Blog must be about said movie I just saw, and be 250 words minimum

A few Television recommendations

 Here are a bunch of awesome cable shows that I don't think get enough attention and love.

"Everything Must Go" and "Bridesmaids"

This weekend, I was able to take in two movies. The wide release, raucous, R-rated comedy "Bridesmaids" and the introspective, indie character study "Everything Must Go". I definitely didn't think they'd have much in common going in, but I was surprised. Each movie features a long, hard look at the main character as they endure hardship after hardship. They both take similar paths to rock bottom, and then must deal with rebounding. They also both feature stellar lead performances from Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, two of the best-known SNL alum from the past ten years or so.