Dan And The Movies...

Well, faithful readers - it's all about priorities. One of the things that marriage has taught me is to put time and effort into the things that really matter. This does not necessarily mean that I am perfect at this yet - a recent example of playing Ping Pong for 5 hours instead of researching an already overdue paper is more than enough to convince even the most devout of my groupies of that (incidentally I was not penalized on the grade - a curse and a blessing probably).

I love spending time with my beautiful wife and making sure we are productive and active people. We have recently gone to the Batting Cages, gone rollerblading, and we try to go to the gym as often as our energy will allow. Patience has also baked many goods. I think we do all right with our time and we are still, of course, very much in love.

However, as those of you who know me best understand...I have vices. Transcending the vices of Ping Pong and even beating my brother Luke in darts, the one that is most prominent is my love for movies. I like to pride myself on my movie collection. Patience's previous collection has now almost quintupled - one bonus of the marriage, I suppose. I can't remember when this need to collect started, but I have always enjoyed it. I used to collect the little toys that came with McDonald's Happy Meals too.



I think in some ways I am a movie snob, but I have a good rationalization for this. Since movies are arguably already a lesser use of time, why waste it on stupid ones or ones I know I won't enjoy? Therefore I read lots of reviews, mostly from film critic Roger Ebert, cause I agree with nearly every review he writes. I'm not saying that a film has to be of Oscar caliber or anything for me to enjoy it, but I do enjoy good film. One summer my brother Ben and I had nothing to do so we took upon ourselves the awesome responsibility of working our way through the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list. I have now seen all but 7 of them. Had I not done this I would have deprived myself of such classics as "The Third Man", "MASH" and "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb". (all pictured below)



If you asked me to choose, I could list four favorite movies at the top of the pile. I don't think you could ask me to give them a hierarchy, but I can try my hand at reviewing them so you can understand why I love them. In alphabetical order:

1. American Graffiti (1977)
I saw this movie in 11th Grade, and instantly loved it. A plot summary is useless, but if you must have one, the movie is really a chronicle of the forgotten ritual of "cruising" found in small American towns in the early 60's. The reason I love it is because director George Lucas captures a lot of the emotion and poignancy contained in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. He does it by employing parallel storylines of several endearing characters over one night in a small Californian town on the eve of going off to College. The ending footnotes pack a particularly powerful and disturbing punch.

2. Batman Begins (2005)
This is probably the most controversial of my choices. You could argue it doesn't belong in the same company as the others, but I disagree. The bottom line is it is a highly entertaining movie - as grounded in reality as it is in the comic books that inspired it. The film surprised me with how inventive, suspenseful, exciting and entertaining it was. So much so that I saw it again two days after and was no less entertained. Director Christopher Nolan did a really superb job of delivering the best comic book movie to date.

3. The Godfather (1972)
The only word I can think of to describe it is "rich". When I saw it for the first time, I was shocked at the richness of the film. From the acting to the cinematography (the 'look' for you non-cinephiles), it is so sumptuous and amazing to behold. The story makes it even better. The themes, the implications, and the arresting scenes are all there. A masterpiece with no wrong notes.

4. Jaws (1975)
The first film I can remember really loving. It's hard to imagine things before this movie, but I wonder if we would be as afraid of sharks in the ocean if it did not exist. Maybe, but there's no doubting the thrilling nature of the movie, even if you know the shark is fake. It's power comes from the sureness of it's narrative, and the imagined presence of the man-eater, combined with the sudden attacks. What a good movie!

Well, there you have it. I do not apologize for my addiction. I think recognizing you have a problem is the most important step. I do put these things in their place - but what a wonderful place!!

P.S. - I love my wife:)