On to a more enjoyable topic...

With the myriad of recent happenings in my life, I took some time to take a step back (and a deep breath) and revert back to the things that I find enjoyable, and one of my passions is that of movies.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a film critic and am, in fact, far from possessing extensive knowledge about film history or types of film around the world, but I know a good movie when I see one.

Some of my favorite movie sites are IMDB, RottenTomatoes, AtTheMoviesTV.com> (which recently made a change [and substantial upgrade, in my opinion] in co-hosts). I also like to peruse Youtube to find reviews of movies that I've either recently seen and/or have especially liked.

As you may or may not be wondering, I have watched a good collection of films that have been released this year, and these are some of my favorites:

Watchmen
Star Trek
Up
Public Enemies
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
Inglorious Basterds

Some of films I'm looking forward to are: Where The Wild Things Are (yes, based on my all-time favorite children's book), The Wolfman, The Lovely Bones and Avatar (the James Cameron one, not the M. Night Shyamalan one).

I find movies to be many things that fascinate me. They are works of art (and contained within that, means of expression), forms of entertainment, adaptations, interpretations, but I think what is most valuable about films is that of the contribution of talent to society. Whether it's the spectacle of the beach landing at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan or the acting talents of Daniel Day-Lewis as the morally void oilman Daniel Plainview in "There Will Be Blood".

It is such talent that continues to awe me. I myself aspire to one day write a screenplay, and with every great movie I watch, I'm given a new idea of where to start.

To wrap this post up, I'd like to suggest you watch King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Before you watch it, I have to let you know that it's NOT a mockumentary, but it is, in fact, one of the most real and bizarrely entertaining movies you've never seen. This movie encompasses the age-old saying "you can't make this **** up".