It seems rather absurd to me that I feel the need to write in defense of what has already become one of the highest grossing films of all time. (Though don't try to tell me that it has nothing to do with the extra $3 charge for a cheap, plastic pair of 3D glasses.) Still, we fantasy lovers walk a lonely path of persecution by our far cooler (or far more lame, depending on who you ask) friends. And perhaps before I continue with this line of thought, I should go ahead and make you all aware of a crucial element of my fascination with film: I am a special effects junkie.

The first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem, and I think that a lot of people would describe my paying to see disasters such as The Day After Tomorrow, as a problem. Still there is nothing like the thrill I feel when a few brilliant computer nerds manage to convince me that Los Angeles has be destroyed by tornadoes, or the white house has been destroyed by aliens, or that a dinosaur has escaped in San Francisco. The beauty of cinema is not found in special effects alone, but you gotta love the men and women that make our suspension of disbelief that much easier.

That being said, you can consider yourself warned if you want to disregard what I say. I wouldn't blame you. Avatar is a feast for the eyes, and a miracle for those who love special effects. But I hope you trust me enough to know that it's more than that for me. I would not advise you that a film was amazing just for the special effects ( I would only advise myself!)

So let's talk about Avatar. My roommate says its "an old story." To that I say: "Find me one that is not." All stories are the same. Why? Because human emotion is the same. A special movie--an important movie--is one that knows that and portrays it right. You don't sympathize with the characters in Avatar because you've been there (When were you a 10ft tall blue person)--you sympathize because you understand the story. It just makes sense. If you were those tall blue people, you would feel the same.

I have more to say, and I will. But let me just make you understand that this film is beautiful. Don't be that person who saw Titanic 4 times and said you hated it one year later. Own up to how you feel. Love it because it deserves it! Sure there were better films this year--artistically speaking of course--but that's not why you go to see this one is it? Enjoy the film, and take the lesson as it comes (perhaps hidden). I love film enough to be very sure, that you will be better for it!

The Transformers and A Few Good Reasons to Read my Posts

It is difficult to decide whether it is a great injustice that I had class at 9am this morning, or whether my complaint is merely a product of being badly spoiled by my undergraduate experience. Whatever conclusions you may choose to draw on that account, the birth of this blog is undoubtedly the product of years spent forgetting that Friday is in fact a weekday, and not a part of the weekend. However compelling the temptation to turn off the alarm and roll back over may have been this morning, the fact is that skipping Friday morning classes the second week after they have started is never a good idea. And so, (somewhat tragically, in my opinion) I found myself sitting in my Property class this morning faced with an interesting dilemma. Should I, in an effort to make the most of my law school experience, attempt to pay meaningful attention to the lecture while running a rather extreme risk of my professor seeing me fall asleep in his class (maybe that last beer last night was a bad idea after all...), or should I forsake my growth as an individual in favor of appearing to be the attentive and studious individual I most assuredly was not this morning?

And out of this decision, my blog was born.

As I sat surfing the web, in an effort to look like I was taking notes, I made my usual Friday morning rounds to Fandango.com and Rottentomatoes.com. This is of course an essential activity on Fridays as the weekly release of new movies is also typically accompanied by an array of articles about the doings of the film industry that are the fuel of anticipation for any avid film buff. As I sat chuckling (Internally of course. This was all in an effort to appear studious, remember) at the comments of various critics about what they felt were the worst films of 2009, I couldn't help but think about how foolish it was that some of the highest grossing films of the year repeatedly made it onto these lists.

Don't get me wrong. I would never dream of arguing for the artistic merit of mindless blockbuster like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but let's be honest--you know you went to see it! (Alright so I went to see it twice--but in my defense I have a thirteen year old sister who wanted to watch it in Imax!).

And ultimately, that is what this blog will be about. I love the movies. It's not a crush. It's not a fling. It is a deep abiding love--a romance that has been and will remain one of the great loves of my life! I love everything about the movies. From the introspective to the sociually aware, from the profound to the mindless, there is something in almost every movie to love. And the truth of the matter is, a movie that receives bad reviews from the critics sometimes will, and should, be hugely popular with the rest of the world. So why not write about it? Why not be honest about it. So The Transformers is utterly lacking substance--the special effects are fantastic, Megan Fox is hot (if you're in to that sort of thing), Shia LaBoeuf is cute as a button, and the movie is crazy, stupid, fun. Would I reccommend it my mother? Not so much. Would I reccommend to other students whose brains need a break? Absolutely.

I'm no film scholar, and I'm certainly no critic. Sure I've got an undergrad minor in film, but all that really means is that I've seen a lot of obscure older films. I am a law student. My life is given to books, class, and stress. So for a little while each week, I am going to indulge in my passion. As the grades start rolling in, and I watch my fellow students collapse under the weight of their crumbling expectations (or float away with the expanding size of their heads, depending on the individual), I will be here, reminding myself that school is school, and a career is a career, (and these things can be wonderful and important), but there is a big world outside of it.

There are a lot of reasons to escape into the movies. Maybe you need a good laugh. Maybe you need a good cry. Maybe you need some eye candy. Maybe you just need to turn your brain off for awhile. Maybe you need to turn it on. If you want to see cinema through the eyes of one of its most passionate advocates, then give me a read every now and then. You won't be disappointed!