Lexington, KY - My first "Flick Picks" column appeared in April 1999. I reviewed "EDtv" and "Sliding Doors." Eleven years and 416 movies later, give or take, I've decided to step down as film critic and return to being a leisurely moviegoer. It's been great fun and a great run.
But before I put down my notebook and flashlight pen, I thought I'd share some random observations and discoveries I made along the way.
What you see is what you see. There is no right or wrong when it comes to our responses to movies. We all see them through the lens of our own experience. One person's Oscar is another person's Razzie.
What's your favorite movie? Closely related to the above, I find it's often telling to ask people this question. It usually says more about them than about the movie.
It's all in the timing. Movies often mean more to us because of the time in our lives when we see them. For me, it was the summer when I was 11 years old, and the movie was "North by Northwest"- still my all-time favorite. Maybe I was at my most impressionable then, but from that moment on, I became a true believer in the power of film.
Movies that end badly can be good movies. For someone accustomed to seeking out feel-good movies, I discovered a certain beauty in bleakness. The boy doesn't get the girl, the soldier journeys through hell to return to his wife only to be killed, a hero dies sacrificing for others. Or, in the case of the Coen brothers' films, things just routinely go off the rails.
I discovered I love any movie having to do with: A. Trains ("North by Northwest," "Under Siege 2," "The General") B. Mountain climbing ("Vertical Limit," "Cliffhanger"). C. Time Travel ("Terminator"- the first two anyway, "Time After Time," "Frequency"). D. Claustrophobic spaces ("Die Hard" -
the first one, "Rear Window," "Speed"). E. Altered reality ("The Matrix," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "A Beautiful Mind"). F. The fight for survival ("The Road," "Cast Away," "Into the Wild").
Creativity's not dead -
keep looking. Mediocre sequels and cookie-cutter action pictures guaranteed to make a buck are the rule in big studio pictures. But independents (such as "Memento" or "Paranormal Activity") and animated films (anything done by Pixar) are still breaking new ground and thrilling us with their vision.
Truth is more fascinating than fiction. Stories based in real life, even when they take great liberties, strike a chord with me. "The Blind Side" was just one recent illustration.
Less is more. Hitchcock believed the things we don't see scare us more than the things we do. It's a lesson more modern filmmakers should take to heart. One notable example of the terrors we can't see: "Cloverfield."
Sometimes you have to dig deep. The plots and characters on screen often are metaphors for greater themes or insights into the human condition ("In Bruges," "A Serious Man," "Lars and the Real Girl").
But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. There's pure pleasure to be had in a story well told. Maybe it's inspirational ("Seabiscuit") or comic ("Ghost Town") or a puzzle to be solved ("Identity").
There's no place like home. As more technology becomes available to the home viewer, it will become increasingly difficult to entice audiences out of their easy chairs and into the multiplex. Theaters are fighting back with 3-D, but their work is cut out for them.
Look in your own backyard. During my time as a film writer, I've met and interviewed local filmmakers, people like George Bonilla, Charles and Mike Shouse, Russell Johnson and David Cottingham, Stu Pollard, Elliot Greenebaum, Jared Smith, Jerry Williams, Larry Bobbert, and Georgetown College Professor Ed Smith. I admire their commitment, and their ability to overcome obstacles to get their vision on the screen. They're a creative group and I wish them all the best.
It was an extraordinary experience. Getting to be an extra in the movies that came to the Bluegrass -
"Seabiscuit," "Elizabethtown," "Dreamer" and, most recently, "Secretariat"-and to report about my experiences on the set Ö well, that was a major thrill.
Roll the credits. Thanks to Chuck Creacy and Chris Eddie for the opportunity to be a columnist and film critic. And thanks to the Smiley Pete editors through the years -
Amber Scott, Lisa Davidson, Kristin Ingwell Goode, Anne Sabatino and Robbie Clark -
for steering me in the direction of great story leads and making me sound good. And thanks to all of you who have read my column over the past 11 years. Your feedback, both positive and negative, was most appreciated. See you at the movies.
For the Record
I don't need to see another scene of someone calmly walking toward the camera while something blows up in the background. A way overused clichÈ.
I also don't need to see another troubled superhero with a tortured past.
I don't see enough of Michael Keaton, John Cusack, TÈa Leoni, Rebecca DeMornay, Frank Langella, anything directed by Christopher Guest, anything written by Charlie Kaufman.
Best jaw-dropper ending: The Sixth Sense
Biggest one-hit wonder: M. Night Shyamalan (director of The Sixth Sense)
Star Trek or Star Wars: For me, "Star Trek," especially after Lucas' three most recent Star Wars flops, and then, of course, this past summer's terrific reboot of "Star Trek"
Highly rated and deserving it: Meryl Streep, Gene Hackman, Kate Winslet, Russell Crowe
Highly rated but phoning it in of late:
Al Pacino, Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, Christian Bale
Currently underrated: Diane Lane, Katherine Heigl, Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, David Morse
Best villain ever: Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) in "No Country for Old Men" -
quiet, indestructible, vicious, scary as hell
I laughed until I cried: Galaxy Quest, Welcome to Collinwood, Hitch, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Talladega Nights, Role Models, Dodgeball
Aren't his 15 minutes almost over: Sacha Baron Cohen
Oscar Fever: It's corny, contrived, bloated, self-congratulatory and runs way too long. Oscar night is all of those and more, but I still love it. And on that note, I only picked six of this year's 10 best picture nominees. But I'm sticking with "Avatar" to win it all.
My top 11 films of the past 11 years: Adaptation, Avatar, Cast Away, Crash, Cold Mountain, Gladiator, Memento, Mulholland Drive, Seabiscuit, The Sixth Sense, Vanilla Sky