Random Rumination

Choosing My Cinematic Religion

      I always suspected the Force could drive me towards the unknown. Obi-Wan Kenobi communicating some inscrutable power with such conviction. It's intoxicating. Omniscience inhabiting that purest of manhood is impossible to deny. The possibilities of extraordinary reflex, manipulation, healing all within my arsenal is just too amazing a possibility to compute coherently. And knowing all along that Alec Guinnes is Ben Kenobi, well, please indoctrinate me into the cult of believing right now. Like Tom Cruise and Scientology, pull the rug of common sense from under me and I'll still follow. I'm a ride-or-die disciple. Paul Thomas Anderson, you are my Master. Accept me as your stowaway and allow Phillip Seymour Hoffman to teach me the process.

My Top 13 Most Anticipated Films of 2013

Lucky Number 13

Image courtesy of ScreenRant

      Forget the Super Bowl. When your team's not represented, it's a tawdry affair. A massive marketing bonanza. Lest we forget that all the so-called "great" commercials can be viewed online on our time, at our convenience. Forget football. Let's talk movies. 
      2013's movie schedule is truly astonishing to behold. How foolish I must have been to think 2012 was the anomaly, an indicator of how conditioned our myopic thought-processes have become. How we're taught to believe that bearing witness to such excellence month after month is an elusive desire. But the outlier I thought I discovered may in fact have been the primal markings of an exciting new trend in which first-rate craftsmanship is the standard currency. 2013 promises a cornucopia of original stories, science fiction forays, major superhero films, unexpected sequels, classic adaptations, exciting prequels, and so, so much more. I'm positively ecstatic. 

My 100 Favorite Directors - UPDATED AGAIN!

43 Reasons Movies Are Vital

      Commercial aggrandizement is the creed of Hollywood. So entrenched is the impetus for profit that vehicles like Movie 43, indicative of a certain creative malignancy, enjoy the buoyancy of a wide release. Well, power resides in the populace. The public recognized the near fraud perpetrated on their senses and allowed Movie 43 to harshly experience the reality of an inferior product. It sunk.

Top 10 Movies of 2012

Looks Like I've Made It

      It is important to maintain a semblance of tradition despite the jarring reality that my blog has exhibited reclusive tendencies more severe than Henry David Thoreau during his Walden Pond stint. While receding quietly into the distance, a compulsion to maintain some blogging consistency, even if remote, propels me forward. And what represents forward at the present moment is my annual edition of the "Best Films of the Past Year;" substitute 2012 for past year.

Film News

Creative Coup d'etat...Maybe?

      Like all great, or once-great properties that have come before it, Star Wars has been seized by the mechanisms of commerce and vicissitudes of time. Disney, the ubiquitous merchant of magic, which for some is now an unbecoming title—well, the magic part at least—is the new owner of that cherished timespace. While its current profile inspires neither uniform applause nor outright derision, Disney's capacity for magnificence is uncontested. With a catalog of films that stretches as far back as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length traditional animated feature in motion picture history, Disney has demonstrated time-and-again an ability to sustain feelings of wonder and awe, and a primal adeptness in the management of story and fantasy. These statements spotlight a reputation that is owed primarily to its founder, Walt Disney, a brilliant visionary who carved a lineage that is steeped in fantastical ambition. Well, what is more fantastical and ambitious than a continuation of the original Star Wars Trilogy? How about an actual continuation of the Star Wars Trilogy!?

My 100 Favorite Directors - UPDATED!

These Go To Eleven...111!

      Those who frequent my blog may wonder where in the hell have I been. But I like to maintain mystery in the digital world. I am not Amish; not that there's anything wrong with that (is it not a coincidence that Peter Weir's Witness features in this edition...). And I don't practice the Thoreau method. What I do is rigorously follow the wisdom of Wooderson from Dazed and Confused. "Living man, L-I-V-I-N!" Such an answer is perfunctory, I know. I am quite the cyber obscurest. All you need to know is that I am having fun and working hard. It is my social networking duty, first and foremost, to keep that perpetually curious aura alive. 

Top 10 Least Favorite Movie CHARACTERS: Part II

The Best of the Worst

      Part I of my "Top 10 Least Favorite Movie CHARACTERS" can be found by clicking the above link.  
      I suppose I'll have to choose my words carefully. Chuck Norris is watching. I'll oblige only because Bruce Lee's reincarnated-self is not here to protect me. 
      These characters are the vermin of cinema. But they are the best vermin, contaminating the world, charmingly, one evil at a time. They are simply too good at being bad. While their actions, behavior, and generally their outlook on life is morally objectionable and admittedly terrifying, their determination and affinity for destruction is captivating. 
      Evil is not the prerequisite, but its very existence is crucial to my ultimate aversion to these characters. So, I urge you to tread cautiously. Trading glances with individuals so miserably appalling is known to be the predominant cause of nightmares. As we all know, fear leads to madness. Do not let fear transform you into a revolting character of cinema. I never want to see any of you lovely readers creepily decorating one of my future "Love to Hate" installments. I for one harbor no such fear.