And so it begins...
A mindless effort and waste of time some would say but I have a lot of time to waste right now, and I don't want my mind to shrivel away, so I figured aimlessly writing about movies I watched while wasting my time is really better than nothing. On the plus side though, I allow myself to watch a bunch of movies, classics in fact (as deemed so by the American Film Institute, seeing that America apparently is the Third Reich when it comes to movie appreciation). OK maybe not as strict, but still led by Charlie Chaplin nonetheless.
Let it be known that as I begin my journey through these 100 films, I have no official background in the film industry, hence, I'm you're ordinary Joseph E. Schmo watching movies from the perspective of: me. So if you can imagine sitting in a movie theatre, looking back at the other people settling in, some with popcorn buckets and sodas, others deciding strategically where to sit, and then looking forward again because there was nothing behind you that really caught your attention...I was the one with the popcorn.
With that point made, I think I should just touch on the idea(s) that inspired me to start this "journey." I was wasting away in the world of the online waste bucket, when all of a sudden I found myself looking up the top 100 movies on Google. I printed out the list and figured it would be fun to say, "Yes sir, I've seen the top 100 movies of all time...Excuse me?...Yes, of ALL time...Thank you." It also finally gave me an excuse to go to my local video store instead of the all-too-frequently visited RED BOX. (Which, on a side note, I always wondered why they seem to be near McDonald's more often than not. Is it just me, or has the general public associated hamburgers with movie watching, replacing our beloved popcorn ideals? I certainly hope not. A big McDonald's conspiracy if you ask me.) Anyway, there just so happened to be a "Classics" section in the video store, for which I am ever so grateful, another sign that watching these movies may be my destiny, or at least a way of passing time till I find out exactly what my destiny is, and if I even have/had one. I came home and figured that I would need to talk to someone after watching these films, at least for discussion. I talk to my sister all the time, though she complains that most our conversations involve me referring to at least one movie or TV show per conversation. Because she's absolutely right, I figured I could write my thoughts down to maintain her sanity, or what's left of it. Then it lead me to the possibility of allowing others to read my thoughts, seeing that I don't have a Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or FamilyWatchDog account. Plus I could limit my thoughts to the movies and not have to write random statements throughout the day as they apply to me, "President is giving a speech tonight, can't wait...cancel that: American Idol is on, hope he doesn't interrupt." And so forth.
Another dilemma I met along the way was the eerie resemblance to the movie "Julie and Julia" and how this attempt may seem to be too cliche and not original enough. But then again, the use of the word "cliche" has in a way become cliche in itself, and by the weird laws of mathematics and rationalization, the multiple cliches in my dilemma cancel each other out and I feel that I've managed to find a loophole outside of the problem all together. Plus the thought of me playing a male version of Amy Adams gives me unsettling shivers. Moving on.
So roll out the red carpet ladies and gentlemen, I'm walking down, about to watch my first movie, Number 1 on the list: Citizen Kane. I'm excited and if you are too, you may be too excitable, or I have an act to be an enthralling character. If that's the case, thank you.
So until tomorrow! (Or a couple of hours, whichever comes first...think about it...)
