Hello, I’m S.G., and I have two great loves – movies and lists. For no particular reason, I decided last year to compile a list of my top 300 films, basically for my own peace of mind and compulsive satisfaction. I don’t know if anyone else has done such a seemingly useless thing, but it was recently suggested to me that perhaps I ought to do something with it that, while not necessarily useful, will at least serve as a creative outlet.
So here I am. I’ve expanded the list to 365 and will try to watch and review one film a day for the whole of 2014. I will most likely fall behind, but I’ll try my hardest to finish by the end of next year. Oh, and here’s the part that will really test me. Another great love is poetry, and, while I’m no Longfellow, I have been told by family that I’m a decent poet so I’d like to prove it. Thus, I shall write a summary of each film in verse to accompany the review whenever I can. Such is the plan anyway.
Now, let me just preface this blog with what readers (if any) can expect. I am not a film critic, though I wouldn’t mind being one someday; I am simply a film lover. This will not be a repeat of Roger Ebert’s list or Leonard Maltin’s or AFI’s. This is a personal list of favorite films (as of the end of 2013), balancing artistic expression, originality, repeated watchability, and good ol’ entertainment value. Many will probably disagree with it (that’s all right), but it’s mine.
I am also a college-aged, conservative, Christian man with a corresponding worldview. Thus, you won’t find much Tarantino or Scorsese or horror or gratuitously violent, pornographic, or profane films. That being said, it will also not be a list of low-budget Christian films that no one has ever heard of. This list is an amalgamation of nearly every genre. R-rated action films will stand alongside light-hearted family fare. Blockbusters will rub elbows with box-office bombs. Multiple Oscar winners will keep company with films the Academy probably hasn’t even heard of. Animated gems will hold hands with gripping dramas. Romantic comedies will leapfrog with post-apocalyptic sci-fi! The lion will lie down with the lamb, and so forth. Trust me, even if you disagree with most of the list, there’ll be some good stuff on there for everyone.
Also, though I’m not the Doctor, I will have a companion on my journey through films past and present. This Viewing Companion (VC) will see many of the films on the list and offer a different perspective than my own, a woman’s perspective, which every self-respecting man ought to heed (to some extent). She probably disagrees with my list too, but that’s okay.
I honestly don’t know if anyone but my family will read this, and, whether they do or not, this blog (as I’ve said) is to prove to myself that I can do something this big and long-term. I haven’t done anything of note in my life thus far, and this may or may not be notable. But it’s the first step of my attempting something beyond just dreams and wishes. We’ll see if it works out as well as I hope. Here it begins….
Tomorrow — #365: Thor (in case you want to watch along with me)
Rhyme and Reason 