Tuesday, December 29, 2009
First Movie Selected and Ready to Go!
Thanks to a suggestion from my dear husband, I have decided upon the first and second films I will be watching for my "100 movies in 365 days" project. I won't start until after midnight on January 1st, though, otherwise it would be cheating! I intend to watch the first one on Friday and the second one probably on Sunday or Monday. I'm excited!
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Mandatory Indroduction
Well, here it is. The year 2009 is coming to a close, and 2010 is just a few days away. Since it is the beginning of the new year (and new decade, nonetheless) I have decided to take on a project that will no doubt be close to my heart.
What, exactly, am I doing? Well, to put it simply I am going to watch 100 movies this year. That's 100 movies in 52 weeks, or about 2 movies per week. (This is, of course, in addition to a full-time job, family, life, and taking classes starting in February.) Why? There are a few reasons:
1) I love movies. Movies have always been a passion of mine. I love to watch them, to emotionally digest them, to pick apart what makes them so amazing, and learn about the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to make them. I have a degree in film production, so I do have an understanding of what it takes to make a movie, but I am always thirsting to learn more and more about it.
2) I am fascinated by people. What makes people do what they do (whatever that may be) has interested me for the longest time. If it wouldn't be so creepy, I'd love to just sit on a bench all day and watch people just being people. (But doing that probably doesn't pay much, and I need to pay my bills.) Watching movies is essentially watching people, because movies are made about people's lives, their fantasies, their fears, and everything else that makes us human. Which leads into reason number three:
3) Movies speak to people, movies are all about communication. All movies, even the most silly and seemingly pointless ones, have a message and/or a moral. If someone has taken the time (and money, and resources, and all the headaches and other things it takes to make a movie), then the story was important enough to them to make the effort to do so. Maybe it was something simple or maybe it was something deep and emotional, but they wanted to share the story with the world. This also ties in to number four:
4) Inspiration. Think about the movies you have seen. Have any of them inspired you? Made you think? Enlivened you to change your life? For me, the answer is yes. How many times have you heard people quote movies? It is because those quotes and that movie has stuck with them. It doesn't have to be a dramatic feature to inspire, it can be comedic, and I know there have been comedic films that have inspired me in one way or another.
Bottom line, movies are a form of art. Art reflects life. Therefore, movies reflect life, and life is beautiful, and sometimes complicated. I love that- I love life, and all the possibilities it has to offer, and all the lessons it has to teach.
I was actually inspired to do this because of a movie. Recently, I watched the film Julie & Julia and as Julie Powell went through her experience cooking all of Julia Childs' recipes in a year, it changed her. Through a seemingly insignificant project, Julie found so much about herself and grew so much. I am hoping, through a similar-yet-customized project, that I will gain the same.
So here's the basic breakdown of what is yet to come: I'm going to watch 100 movies in 365 days and blog about each one after I watch it. I will be using the American Film Institute's "100 Years 100 Movies" 10th anniversary list. (If you want to see the list, you can download it from their site.) I won't be going in order, it will be seemingly random, and this is because I am using an online movie rental system in which they send me a movie through the mail based on availability. I hope to have the first of the films on January 1st or 2nd and blog about it on January 3rd.
I don't know if I will have many (or even any) followers, but if you do choose to follow along on this little "adventure," I'm glad to have you here. :-)
What, exactly, am I doing? Well, to put it simply I am going to watch 100 movies this year. That's 100 movies in 52 weeks, or about 2 movies per week. (This is, of course, in addition to a full-time job, family, life, and taking classes starting in February.) Why? There are a few reasons:
1) I love movies. Movies have always been a passion of mine. I love to watch them, to emotionally digest them, to pick apart what makes them so amazing, and learn about the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to make them. I have a degree in film production, so I do have an understanding of what it takes to make a movie, but I am always thirsting to learn more and more about it.
2) I am fascinated by people. What makes people do what they do (whatever that may be) has interested me for the longest time. If it wouldn't be so creepy, I'd love to just sit on a bench all day and watch people just being people. (But doing that probably doesn't pay much, and I need to pay my bills.) Watching movies is essentially watching people, because movies are made about people's lives, their fantasies, their fears, and everything else that makes us human. Which leads into reason number three:
3) Movies speak to people, movies are all about communication. All movies, even the most silly and seemingly pointless ones, have a message and/or a moral. If someone has taken the time (and money, and resources, and all the headaches and other things it takes to make a movie), then the story was important enough to them to make the effort to do so. Maybe it was something simple or maybe it was something deep and emotional, but they wanted to share the story with the world. This also ties in to number four:
4) Inspiration. Think about the movies you have seen. Have any of them inspired you? Made you think? Enlivened you to change your life? For me, the answer is yes. How many times have you heard people quote movies? It is because those quotes and that movie has stuck with them. It doesn't have to be a dramatic feature to inspire, it can be comedic, and I know there have been comedic films that have inspired me in one way or another.
Bottom line, movies are a form of art. Art reflects life. Therefore, movies reflect life, and life is beautiful, and sometimes complicated. I love that- I love life, and all the possibilities it has to offer, and all the lessons it has to teach.
I was actually inspired to do this because of a movie. Recently, I watched the film Julie & Julia and as Julie Powell went through her experience cooking all of Julia Childs' recipes in a year, it changed her. Through a seemingly insignificant project, Julie found so much about herself and grew so much. I am hoping, through a similar-yet-customized project, that I will gain the same.
So here's the basic breakdown of what is yet to come: I'm going to watch 100 movies in 365 days and blog about each one after I watch it. I will be using the American Film Institute's "100 Years 100 Movies" 10th anniversary list. (If you want to see the list, you can download it from their site.) I won't be going in order, it will be seemingly random, and this is because I am using an online movie rental system in which they send me a movie through the mail based on availability. I hope to have the first of the films on January 1st or 2nd and blog about it on January 3rd.
I don't know if I will have many (or even any) followers, but if you do choose to follow along on this little "adventure," I'm glad to have you here. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)