Greetings! Welcome!
My first blog post, ever. EVER. I've been mulling this over for a little while, and to be quite honest I'm still not sure what I want to say right off the bat. Let me start with an idea of what I want this blog to be.
I'm a huge fan of movies. Like millions of other people, I suppose, but I could probably use a twelve-step program. I watch a ton of movies, and then I like to sit back and analyze every damn moment. And that's great for me, but I've come to realize lately that maybe I'm boring my friends every time I launch into one of my psychotic rants about why Alfred Hitchcock's movies are amazing and I take any attempt at remaking them as a personal insult. (The exception is Cape Fear, because Scorsese directed the remake and Gregory Peck appeared in both. Well-played, gentlemen, I'll give you that one.) And what better place to hurl out your unasked for opinions than the internet, am I right?
One of my other goals is to find other like-minded people. By "like-minded" I don't mean people that share all of my opinions and think the same things I do and like the same things and people. BORING. I want to connect with people who love watching movies as much as I do. I want discussion and debate. I want someone to tell me I'm wrong and tell me why. And sometimes, damnit, I want to gush over something with other people. Because there are definitely days where I'm in "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME" mode and that's always more fun with other people.
I'm hoping to learn more as I go along, too. Watching movies isn't enough, I want to understand as much of the process as I can. And I'm the first to admit that right now, my knowledge is pretty scarce. I want to change that. One of the things I'll be doing as I write is doing more research and learning as much as I can, not just about writing or directing, but cinematography, visual and sound effects, and everything in between. I studied theatre in college, so I've learned a bit about acting in those four years, but beyond that I'm pretty green. I don't want to go into this trying to pass myself off as an expert (because that would be lying), but instead as simply a fan who wants to learn everything I can.
Movies are only one part of this, though. I'm also a huge reader, and for me, I can't have one without the other, so I wanted to be able to incorporate the books I read throughout the year into this blog as well. (And trust me, I have plenty of opinions on those, too.) I make it my goal to read fifty books a year, so in addition to writing about the movies I watch, I'll also be keeping track of my progress here. (Nevermind that it's four months into 2015 and I've already read 10 books, ssshhhh...)
I have a pretty wide and varied taste when it comes to my entertainment. I'm kind of all over the map, which is good because at least I'm never bored. I'll list some of my favorites, though it's nowhere near comprehensive and will probably change over time. Hell, it could be different by tomorrow, who knows?
Favorite Movies: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, All the President's Men, The Princess Bride, The Sting, Psycho, The Goonies, Apollo 13, Jurassic Park, Zodiac, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Frost/Nixon, Scream, The Fall, Clue, In Bruges, The Dark Knight, Waiting for Guffman, How to Train Your Dragon (1 and 2), anything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (except X-Men: First Class, what the hell was that?)
Favorite Books: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Rings, The Stand, All the President's Men, The Birth of Venus, The Historian, The Invisible Bridge, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the Harry Potter series, Wicked, Jonathan Strange and M. Norrell, Helter Skelter, Jurassic Park, Feed, The Thirteenth Tale, 11/22/63, The Day Kennedy Was Shot, The Terror, Gone Girl, Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series
Like I said, it's all over the place (and there's some overlap, too). As far as genres go, I'm not sure I have a favorite, per se, but I'm definitely drawn to darker material. I think part of the reason for this is that I like the movies or books that stay with you long after you've finished them, and the darker stories are the ones that get under my skin and leave the biggest impression. The best play I ever saw was The Pillowman, and that left me shaken up for days after I saw it. That's my favorite kind of reaction.
I love horror - wait, let me be more specific. I love good horror. It's out there, friends, it just tends to get buried underneath all the crap. Does your movie rely on gore and cheap jump scares? Pass. Otherwise, I can usually find something to like there. I love thrillers, particularly psychological, and I like when the film I'm watching or the book I'm reading gets me thinking. I guess if I was to sum up my tastes, it would be: If it's good, I like it. So helpful!
As with most aspects of my life, this blog is a work in progress. It may take me a little while to find my voice, and even longer to get the hang of blogging in general. (And making it look good, like damn, how do some of you do it?) For now, there isn't much of a theme or a pattern, it's more like: if I watch it (or read it), I will talk about it. I also tend to get stuck on one particular actor and spend a lot of time going through their filmography, so don't be surprised if one particular name shows up many times in a row. (Right now it's Robert Redford, so you're welcome.) I'm hoping as I go I'll be able to hit some kind of rhythm, but who knows? Everything is wide open right now and maybe that's the perfect way to start.
My name is Lindsay, and I'm addicted to movies and books. Let the fun begin.
