3 days to go: Obligatory naval gazing post...

Fisherman: Here, squid, squid, squid, squid...

About me: I am 27 years old, a film school graduate, employed (thankfully), sometime composer, sometime writer. I live with my life-mate, Tara, and together we publish a magazine of literary humor called "The American Drivel Review". See the link on the right there. Oh, and, uh, I like movies. A lot.

I have wanted to be a film director since the age of 4 (after seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark) and, though other dreams (baseball player, astronaut, quatumn physicist) have come and gone, the movie-making one has remained firm. But here's the sticky truth: I have not made anything significant since my thesis in school, a half-hour science fiction piece called The Harvesters. It's been about four years. And while I've stayed busy acting, directing some stage work, and writing a couple of scores for a much more prolific friend's projects, somewhere I lost the drive, the commitment, the energy. This blog is, in part, an attempt to jumpstart my creative drive by immersing myself in my first love. Cinema.

So what? This is a blog about movies I'm watching, not me. You might wonder what kind of movies I like. What will I be writing about? After all, if I’m going to be writing about Godzilla movie after Godzilla movie for 3 months, this might not be so interesting. Or maybe it would be MORE interesting... Actually, now that I think about it that would be kinda fun. Especially if I watched them in order. But I won’t be doing that. Which is suddenly disappointing.

Imagine the Godzilla movie-a-day blog! "Day 72. Godzilla vs. A Big Rat. This Godzilla movie succeeds in character-driven plot in a way that most Godzilla movies don’t. For instance, when Ikio tells Johnny that she is in love with him, the interplay between the actor’s face and the dubber’s voice tells us that she KNOWS their love would be futile if explored. And yet, when Godzilla crashes into the building and knocks them into each other’s arms, we’re still pleased. We want these two to get together because if they don’t get together, then Godzilla has no power. Also, note the symbol of the dog in the corner in this scene. Clearly, it means something because when they cut away from the shot and cut back, the dog is GONE! Later, when Godzilla fights the Big Rat, it reminds us of New York with its many rats and alligators in the sewers.”

Now THERE’S a blog-worthy idea. What the hell am I doing? Maybe someone else can take that one.

Anyway, to answer my own question... I like lots of stuff. I am hoping to watch the cheesiest of grade-Z flicks to the highest echelons of CINEMA itself. The stuff in between... maybe I’ll catch some of it, but nothing is worse than the mediocrity in between. I watched the remake of The Manchurian Candidate a few weeks ago. Boy, there was some stuff to like in there. Boy, did it not matter because the movie was pretty forgettable. What a shithole of an ending, too. All I remember now, when I think about it, is liking Denzel and Liev and being embarrassed for Meryl.

Looking at the words “Denzel” “Liev” and “Meryl” seems like there’s some sort-of hidden code in there. Anyone want to spell something out of those three names? I don’t have that kind of time. There’s Squid to catch. And Godzilla movies to watch.

For those that wish to know: I'm planning on the "official" blogginess starting on October 1st with comments on A History of Violence Cronenberg is a personal idol and this one is looking to be super.