MOVIES!!! I’m a fan of fine cinema! I find it amazing that I can sit down and basically be transported into another world that a huge team of creative people has spent countless hours and probably many millions of dollars to create. The best part is all it costs me is a few bucks and a couple of hours of my life. I’m not sure there is a better value out there…well…maybe comic books…but I digress!
But movies are a waste of time!?!? I view time as precious so I try not to waste too much time in my life. I used to think movies (especially fictional movies) were just a waste of time. When I read, I generally read non-fiction and am trying to learn something about some topics I don’t know much about. When I would spend time on “fictional stuff” I’d generally watch movies. My reasoning was a movie takes a lot less time to digest than some big, long fictional book. I figured movies provided the best bang for my fictional buck. My thinking was if I was going to waste time I might as well waste less of it.
As I’ve gotten older (and hopefully wiser) I’ve changed my stance a bit on all this. Fiction is not a waste of time at all. Some of the best lessons I’ve learned in life were taught to me from a fictional story. Some of the most impressionable lessons were taught to me while watching the big screen in a superbly depicted scene. Movies can make you laugh out loud, they can make you cry, they can make you think long and hard about things you wouldn’t normally think about, they can make you wish for a better life, they can make you dream a new dream, they can point to a change you need to make, they can help you learn about people and places you may never otherwise be exposed to in your life. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle (and monotony) of our own lives it can help to see life through someone else’s view. You can learn all kinds of great things that will help you build character, develop empathy, become more compassionate, be more understanding, and place the correct value on things in your own life. Sometimes it is just good to step outside of your own little world and be transported to someone else’s world. Movies are a great way to do this. So…waste some time on a good movie!
Now that said, in general, I prefer true story movies over made-up stories. I’ve found that many times true stories are much more compelling than fiction. I also prefer to watch a well-made movie (good screenplay, casting, directing, cinematography, sound) over some silly/popular movie. That’s just me…each to his own. These days there are also really great mini-series and television shows that are extremely well done (and basically just really long Academy Award-winning caliber movies). I especially like war movies, westerns, phycological thrillers and anything my favorite directors put out: Stanley Kubrick (favorite director all time), Christopher Nolan (favorite living director), Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, and Quentin Tarantino. Honorable mentions to Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Over the years I’ve watched hundreds and hundreds of movies. I have a list of hundreds and hundreds more that I want to watch. I’m a nerd so naturally, I’ve rated them all. I rate movies 1-5 stars. Recently I decided that I needed to pick my favorite movie from each year. I don’t know why?!? I just do stupid things like this all the time! I went to my list of 5-star movies (I have rated 472 movies with 5 stars) and pulled out the best one from each year and made a list of those as well. I call this list Deano’s First Place, Far Out, Fantastic, Favorite, Fine Film Award. Some years there were several really great movies and other years there were slim pickings. Some years I picked really great critically acclaimed movies and some years I picked the movie I enjoyed the most (even if it might not be truly considered great). If I see a movie that is better than one that is already in the list in a particular year…boom new winner. It is a living breathing list. I have picked these movies for each year back to 1960. For me, these are the best 58 movies made in each year since that time and are a great walkthrough several decades of Hollywood.
Cinema has evolved greatly over the years. Are films today better or worse than films of the past? There certainly are more of them these days than in the past. Technology is better today than in the past. Has it made movies better? I don’t know. But if you want to see some great films, I recommend you watch some of my favorite movies of all time. Maybe you’ll like them. Maybe you won’t. I’d love to discuss them either way!
“But how will I watch all these movies?!?!” That’s your problem, unfortunately. For me I use PLEX. If I have ever watched a movie and liked it, I have generally kept a copy of it and loaded it onto my computer. I don’t have all my 5-star favorites but I do have a ton of them (over 300 right now). I also have many great mini-series and television shows that I could watch over and over. If I’m out and about and I see a cheap DVD with some movie I’ve loved at some point I’ll pick it up and add it to my collection.
Deano’s Private Collection
The real reason I set all this PLEX stuff up? The Dean Family Home Movies! Deano’s Private Reserve Collection! Of all the movies in my collection, these are my most precious. I’ve invested a good deal of time recording, editing, and cataloging the better part of our life in these home movies. It is so fun to sit and watch them and remember some of the happiest times in my life! As everyone moves out of the house, I wanted my kids to all have a way to access them whenever they wanted as well. PLEX allows for this and works really well. I hope they enjoy watching our life together as much as I do. I’m so glad to have these home movies to remember it all! I look forward to filming the next generation in 4K high definition (or whatever they have by then)!
So…I hope you will agree…Life really is better with movies!
12/22/2018
DeanoRolls (@deanoroll5) 