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Health & Fitness

2013 Resolution: Watch More Movies

In 2013, my resolution is to watch more movies. What are your 2013 resolutions?

It has been some time since I sat down and wrote a blog for Patch, but in 2013 I plan to change that. I’ve been given a rare opportunity to blog about all things movies at my own leisure and without deadlines, but rarely have I taken advantage of it. I will change that. 

2012 was a great year for me: I started to work on freelance projects as a videographer/editor, I finished my second feature film NICOTINE (and will be having a free public screening of the film at the Willow Creek theatre on Jan. 24th at 7pm) and above all else, in September I married the love of my life. Through all these great moments, the thing that was missing was movies. Of all the years past, I hadn’t seen such few movies as I did in 2012. I can’t even make an appropriate year-end top ten list because, well, I didn’t even see that many movies that I would consider to be the best of the year. 

My list does include The Master, Amour, The Dark Knight Rises, and ParaNorman. It’s pathetically quaint, but that’s the current state of my movie list. I was unimpressed with Moonrise Kingdom, and even though Django Unchained is receiving a lot of attention and accolades, I’m not sure if I loved it. Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson deserve Oscar-nominations, but as for the film itself, I’m still thinking about it. Granted, I only finished watching it less than three hours ago, it’s still settling in. I quite enjoyed Skyfall, and thought Sam Mendes did a great job with it, but I’m not prepared to say it was one of the best of the year.

I have yet to see Killer Joe, Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Holy Motors, Ted, Magic Mike, Looper, Lincoln, Bernie, Silver Linings Playbook -- you know, this is a little bit too embarrassing, so I will conclude the list of movies I haven’t seen. 

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2013 will be different. I will see more movies. Both new releases, streaming and on DVD/Blu-ray. But as I make this statement, I’m realizing there aren’t many new year movies I want to see. Let’s see what we have to look forward to. Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Wolverine, The Lone Ranger, and Hunger Games Catching Fire. Of those films I just named, I’m only interested in Star Trek. I greatly enjoyed JJ Abrams' first Star Trek film, and the teasers for the second look less bright and optimistic, but rather dark. Ahem, less lens-flare? 

We also have Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, A Good Day to Die Hard, Carrie, World War Z, and The Hangover Part III. I’m curious about Carrie because Chloe Grace Mortez, who is a fantastic actress, is playing Carrie White, and Julianne Moore is playing the infamous loving mother. But I’m sure the film will receive comparisons to De Palma’s wonderful adaptation, even though the screenwriter did use King’s novel as the source material. I am excited about Much Ado About Nothing, and even though I didn’t grow up loving Whedon's work on television, I appreciate the man’s sense of wonder. 

I will continue. Monsters University, The Great Gatsby, The Place Beyond the Pines, After Earth, Now You See Me, Side Effects, Kick-Ass 2, Oldboy, Pacific Rim, and Red 2. In one way or another, I’m interested in all of these movies. More so Monsters, Gatsby, Place Beyond the Pines and Side Effects. My all-time favorite Pixar film is Monsters Inc., so naturally I’m intrigued about the prequel. The Great Gatsby is something I struggled to enjoy when introduced to F. Scott Fitzgerald many years back. The 1974 Mia Farrow Robert Redford film is atrocious, but I have some hopes for the latest film. I get a lot of flack for loving Baz Luhrmann, but the man is off the wall, theatrical, and just on a constant adrenaline high, so no doubt his version will piss people off. The film being pushed from Christmas 2012 to May 2013 is worrisome, but I’m looking forward to it.

The Place Beyond the Pines could be very good, however it seems a bit too early for Ryan Gosling to do so close to Drive. Then again, Gosling can pull off anything, and the film was directed by his Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance. I trust them. I’m curious about Spike Lee’s version of Oldboy. The 2003 Korean film of the same name left a lasting impression in my head, so it will be a challenge to watch this new version without drawing obvious comparisons. Lastly, I’m in love with Steven Soderbergh, and even though his latest film, Side Effects doesn’t look to be memorable, I’m sure I will quite enjoy it. Plus, he claims its his last film as a director.

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I’m sure there are more films in 2013 that I will eventually discover and see, but as it sits now, if Terrence Malick doesn’t open a film in 2013, I won’t been incredibly excited for much.

As for 2013 Blu-ray releases, this is where I’m off-the-wall excited. After many years, one of my all-time favorite films will finally be released on Blu-ray. Michael Mann’s merciless 1999 film The Insider, starring Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. A few years back I put together a list of the top films I needed on Blu-ray, and this was one of them. The others included The Thin Red Line, which Criterion put out, and the two others include Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Bertolucci’s The Conformist. I know versions of these films exist on Blu in other countries, but I don’t have a region-less Blu-ray player. So I sit and wait patiently.

I eagerly await the moment when I can watch Terrence Malick’s first feature Badlands on Blu-ray. This is a film that feels like it has been teased for years. Earlier in the year it was reported that Jack Fisk, production designer on the film, recorded a commentary for Badlands. At the time he wasn’t sure if it was going to be released in Warner Bros. catalogue, or if Criterion would release it. Unfortunately when Criterion did announce Badlands, it didn’t include this commentary. I’m upset, but I can live with their decision. 

Even though my 2013 resolution is to watch more movies, there are the usual high hopes, like eating better, exercising more, write more for Patch and work on more freelance video projects. Wonder how I will achieve all of these things? I got it. I will place a treadmill in front of my television. Done. Brilliant.

What are your 2013 resolutions?  

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