UPDATE - December 2012

I hope everyone who took the time to read over it, enjoyed my latest and greatest TOP 20 list. I realize the impossibility of our agreeing on all my choices, but hopefully we agreed on a few. I'm proud of the TOP 20 list I made and am excited that thirty more movies have joined the official ranks of my favorite films. Now, when I'm flipping through the channels and see that, for example, "The Silence of the Lambs" is on television, it's no longer just a movie, but one of my TOP 20 choices. Anyway, this is my usual, season ending State of the Union address, where I'll fill you in on the current goings-on, give you a more in-depth sneak peek at next season and officially announce my hiatus from the blog. Here goes...

HIATUS

Since my last hiatus, I've watched and reviewed exactly one hundred movies, so it goes without saying that my batteries are in dire need of a recharging. It shouldn't be a long hiatus, however, because at this point in the game, I'm raring to go and am eager to finish my journey. I can nearly make out the finish line and am ready to throw my arms into the air and run through it, chest first. I trust that new followers will find plenty of reading material. I've made 752 posts since the blog's inception, so that should keep you busy during the month (maybe two) that I'm gone. Don't worry though, I'll be back!

WILDER WEEK

By now you all know that "Wilder Week" will be the grand kick-off to the next 100 films. I'm very excited to take in "Wilder Week" and have high hopes that we'll kick off the season with more than one TOP 20 contender, right off the bat. Here are the films I'll be watching, reviewing and presenting to you, as part of "Wilder Week":

Double Indemnity (1944)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The Big Carnival (Ace in the Hole) (1951)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Apartment (1960)

THE 50's PROJECT

It's become somewhat of a tradition, here on the blog, for each season to be focused on a particular decade. Next season I'll tip my hat to the 1950s, as I focus my attention on that decade and try to beef up my personal favorites list, as it pertains to film from the decade that brought my parents into the world. I'll be cramming in a nice chunk of films from the 50s and here are just a few: Ben-Hur (1959), Shane (1953), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The African Queen (1951), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Les Diaboliques (1954), Marty (1955), Le Trou (1959), The Ten Commandments (1956), Singin in the Rain (1952) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955), plus many, many more.

MORE TRICKS UP MY SLEEVE

The "HAT TRICK's" will keep on coming, as I present three film salutes to Yasujiro Ozu, Alain Resnais, Jacques Tati and Vincente Minnelli, as well as a "DOUBLE SHOT" tribute to George Cukor.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAY-MANN

In addition to "Wilder Week", I'll also be presenting two other tribute week's. The first will have me taking my initial look at the film's of Nicholas Ray, including "In a Lonely Place" and "Rebel Without a Cause". The second will also have me experiencing a new director, as I take in the cinema of Anthony Mann, including such films as "Winchester '73" and "The Naked Spur".

Well that about does 'er. Like I said, I wouldn't expect my hiatus to last long. If I had to guess I'd predict that I'll be back before the end of January and even that's stretching it. Remember kids, I'm no movie critic, nor am I a writer. What I am is an average Joe who adores watching films, experiencing new worlds, new personalities, new characters and the like. Sometimes my opinions don't translate well to the page, but I do try my best and for those of you who appreciate it and take the time out of your schedule to read it, I am eternally grateful to you. I thank all the new followers and of course, all the old ones. I hope you'll keep visiting my little hole in the wall and I promise to hurry back.

I'll be back at the end of the year to write up a RECAP for both November and December. For now, I'll say goodbye, but don't you cry...I'll be back again someday!

December 4, 2012  1:04am