2008 Recap

It’s odd that I should start a new year with two reviews on films I did not particularly enjoy. One I had low (read “no”) hopes for and it was basically that good, although credit where credit is due, it could have been much worse. The other film had a decent chance to be excellent and was more less a saga of indifference all the way around.

A note about where we are going with this blog. The old model for reviewing films is forever gone. It was labor intensive and designed for a time when I would watch two to three movies in a day. This commitment to reviewing has given way, to my pursuit of seeing one of my own screenplays optioned and developed into a movie that I can file somewhere on my DVD shelf. In 2009, I am looking to complete a few projects and select a Ph.D. program, which really leaves me little time to chronicle my fascination with the silver screen. Recently, I joined a movie preview critic’s club that lets me view, one whole day in advance, a film opening for the general public. This month it is Defiance with Daniel Craig. No word whether it will be good, or if I will clean house on the Cinequiz that follows the film preview.

If you’re any kind of fan of film, 2008 was a rough year for you marred by movies that fell flat, promised nothing, and likewise delivered it, or were spectacular(ly) overlooked. My favorite film of 2008 was Slumdog Millionaire. If I could give you the gift of great film, every year you would open something that would resemble Millionaire. Inspired and unique, it is the champion of Danny Boyle’s career as a director. Last year I recounted how seeing Little Children made me want to read the book, Millionaire also makes me want to read Vikas Swarup’s novel Q & A. If there is one thing Millionaire’s impending award season success proves, it’s that outsourcing is not just a corporate trend. The movie had a comparatively small budget and turned out superbly equal product. Now of course the world is filled with great stories and America cannot own such an honor itself, but bet money on Bollywood henceforth. Their time is here.

Lastly, thank you for reading! I vow not to let you down in the blog and in my own writing for the screen. Reviews will be littered with little tidbits you didn’t know and perspectives that are mine, yours or somebody else’s who just wouldn’t shut up as they sat behind me in the theater. Thankfully, I have much more control over the home theater situation.