I've always loved movies. When my brother and I would visit my dad on the weekends, one of our favorite pastimes was renting movies from the Wherehouse. It's kind of funny that, as Blockbuster Video is experiencing its death rattle due to Netflix and other streaming video options, I'm reminiscing about it predecessor, which would later reinvent itself as a music store before it, too, would become extinct. I remember going to the Wherehouse with my brother and having to agree on one movie we could rent for the weekend. Anyone who experienced my brother and me as children know that agreeing on a single movie took a level of negotiation not unlike the current NFL labor talks. I remember getting annoyed when the movie I wanted to rent was only available on Beta instead of VHS (yes, I know I'm dating myself here.)
As I got older, quoting movies became somewhat of a game with my friends. One would throw out a quote, and the other would have to guess the movie, or name which character said it, etc. It wasn't until I began dating my wife, Susan, that I started getting interested in older movies. My in-laws are very big into older movies; some classic, others not so much. I often joke that my father-in-law won't like a movie unless it's in black and white. As I became more exposed to "classic" movies, I found that I had an appreciation for a much broader range of movies than I thought. I'm currently typing this in my office, surrounded by old movie posters like 'Vertigo" and "Casablanca."
As much as I love movies, I've decided that I can't truly consider myself a "film buff" until I've seen all 100 movies on AFI's list. It's something I've felt for awhile, and I've chipped a few off the list here and there, but now I've decided to make it my mission. Turner Classic Movies has been running what they call "31 Days of Oscar," and I thought this would be a good way to record a big chunk of the list on my DVR. For some strange reason, I've also decided that I'm going to blog about the experience. When I mentioned this to my mom, she asked "Who's going to read it?" Maybe my friends, maybe my family, maybe nobody. The truth is, I just think it'll be fun to chronicle the experience. As an accountant, I don't get to flex my creative muscles that much, so this is a good excuse let my right brain do a few deep knee bends.
Now, the ground rules. Well, really, there's only one. If my wife and I haven't seen the movie in the last two years, we have to watch it. I'll be writing about all the movies on the list, and two years is a short enough time frame that the movie is fresh enough in my mind to write about. This is partly to save time, as just two movies a week would take about a year to finish. This is also a way to avoid movies on the list that I may have recently watched and have no interest in doing so again. In that spirit, I'm calling this "The Annie Hall Rule."
I hope this blog brings somebody some entertainment, provokes some thought, or gives somebody something to do at their job other than work. I'll try to keep it light, somewhat regular, and my wife may occasionally chime in.
Thanks for reading!
