Movie Loner

I don’t think I have adequately expressed my admiration for the film Fight Club. It’s too famous for me to review on this site. I have to abide by my own rules. Although, since I made the rules I can probably break them, but I won’t. Let me just say Fight Club is a fuckin’ really cool movie. If you still don’t believe me, watch the video below. A fitting tribute to one of my favorite films courtesy of The Dust Brothers and a some guy named Tyler Durden.

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It’s once again time to celebrate America’s birthday. And what is more American than movies? Screw baseball and apple pie, movies define America. So to commemorate our country’s independence I offer a scene from one of the best independent films ever made. That movie is Bottle Rocket. It put wunderkind director Wes Anderson on the map and also introduced us to the comedic abilities of the Wilson Brothers, Luke and Owen. Oh yeah, it also has fireworks.

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Ah yes, it’s time for the Movie Loner to set sail for the Caribbean for a little rest and relaxation. If only it was that exciting. Actually, I need a week to take care of some other business before I resume my movie review duties. I realize this is a crushing blow to my tens of readers, but alas I will return. I bid you a fond adieu with the funniest scene from the funniest vacation movie ever made, National Lampoon’s Vacation.

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Ever wonder how the great singer/songwriters find the inspiration to create hits? Well, I have. John Mayer dispels a lot of myths about the process. Check this out:

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I have no idea if Ed can resurrect the Hulk franchise but the guy is a terrific actor. I caught him yesterday on The Opie and Anthony show and he mentioned the film Pride and Glory, which apparently got lost in the shuffle of New Line Cinema’s absorption by Warner Bros. Movie stars Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight and looks damn good. Thing has been in the can for months but the rumored release date isn’t until early 2009. Take a look at the trailer:

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I’d bake a cake but blowing out 4.5 billion candles would not be environmentally friendly. I know, Earth Day doesn’t really celebrate Earth’s birthday, but it should. Leave it to dopey humans to pick one day a year to pay attention to the place that allows us to be alive. Thankfully we have millionaires like Al Gore looking out for us. Of course, maybe if the guy had shown a spine and fought to be president back in 2000 gas wouldn’t be $4.00 a gallon. The truth isn’t inconvenient, it’s just sad. Humans care about saving humans, not the planet.

Enough about politics. We talk celluloid here at MovieLoner. In the spirit of the environment Edward Norton narrates a new series on PBS called Strange Days on Planet Earth. It starts tomorrow so check your local listings.

Here’s a preview:

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There’s been much chatter recently across the movie message boards and blogs about the decline or death of film criticism as we know it. The firings/lay-offs of movie critics at such esteemed print publications as The Village Voice, Newsday, and Newsweek in the last few months have sent waves of panic through the online and offline world. Cutbacks and consolidation are an accepted evil at today’s corporate owned media giants. Why pay a full-time salary and benefits to a critic when reviews can be siphoned out to any number of capable freelancers? That’s the corporate mentality, right or wrong. I personally think it’s disgusting, but my day job is in television news so I’ve witnessed this practice first-hand. It’s only going to get worse.

What does all this mean to movie bloggers like myself? Since I started this site a couple months back and have only tens of readers to satisfy, it means little. I would love to make heaps of money doing this but I’m under no illusions that I’ll ever earn a dime. I do this because I love writing about great films. I studied film theory in college and have been writing reviews for over ten years. My total earnings during this time wouldn’t be enough to purchase a plasma television, mostly because I didn’t pursue publication. However, when I did accept freelance work the best I could hope for was $50 a review. I applied to newspapers and magazines to be a critic but most didn’t employ full-time staff reviewers. Even back in 1995, they preferred to use freelancers and syndicates.

The truth is film criticism has never been a reasonable profession to pursue. The average person doesn’t read reviews, and they certainly don’t care about mis-en-scene or narrative deconstruction. With the exception of King Ebert and a select few, the layman wouldn’t recognize a film critic from a grocery butcher. Most people see movies they want to see. Bad reviews for the upcoming Iron Man won’t dissuade droves from lining up at the nearest multiplex. But I digress — I’m missing my own point.

Critics are necessary because they are only ones capable of championing smaller films into the overcrowded mainstream. Last year’s No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are two prime examples. The former grossed $156,000,000 worldwide, the latter hauled in $75,000,000. Neither of these films had a fraction of the marketing budget of a Spiderman or Harry Potter. It was the dogged, perceptive praise of film critics that pushed these movies to box-office and Oscar success.

Lesser-known films need critics to help shepherd them out of obscurity. That’s why I started this blog. Too many great movies that go unnoticed deserve a larger audience. Of course, I’m not alone here; numerous other blogs/sites have been doing this much longer than me. They share my passion for undiscovered cinema and labor daily to get their message to the masses. It’s far from easy, and the competition for readers is fierce. My hope is to continue to reach new readers craving to discover the kind of films I enjoy. Would I love to do this for a living? Hell, yes! But I realize those chances are remote. Until then I’ll do what countless others do everyday. Trudge to my banal 9 to 5 job and dream of doing the one thing that will make me happy. See you in the next reel.

The Movie Loner

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I’ve always found student films to be intriguing, especially those by directors who have “made” it in the biz. Here’s one from Rian Johnson, who directed Brick (see my review) a couple years back. Found it cruising around on YouTube. Ladies and gents, I present Evil Demon Golfball from Hell.

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