...or S'Movies, for short. You know, like S'Mores, because you always want "some more"? Well, I always want some more movies, so...yeah.
I started this blog because I see LOTS of movies every year, but by the end of the year, I've forgotten some of them and I just want to keep a list.
My daughter and I see a lot of movies (10 years old now, but saw her first movies on the big screen as a babe in arms at a drive-in (X-Men) and at a matinee meant for parents to bring noisy babies so we didn't have to give up our favorite past time (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). She is a big movie fan as well, even watching three movies in one day at the same theatre with me (something I used to do a lot in my 20s, and no, I've never "theatre-jumped"). This means I see EVERY family movie that comes out, sometimes 2-3 times, but she's also interested in a lot of more "grown-up" movies these days, on up to PG-13 and even the occasional R (a few curse words or even naked butts/breasts out of context are easy to explain away. I draw the line at scary or adult themes that might haunt her forever).
My husband and I also see a lot of movies - he's mostly a blockbuster guy, but also a movie lover, so we sometimes end up at what might be an Oscar movie. I only see about 1-2 movies a year by myself, I just feel too guilty, but near Oscar time, I and my family allow the indulgence. Of course by then, we can get a lot on Netflix or DVD, so we can catch up a bit there as well.
Drive-in movies are a big thing for us March-October. I've lived all over and always found a hometown drive-in to attend (even if that way 90 minutes away) and on all my road trips, I stop to hunt down and take pictures of former and current drive-ins and have the bulging scrapbook to prove it. I've even been a member of the Drive-In Fan Club and written an article about my travels for their fan newsletter. You can find my drive-in pictures littering the internet.
In 1999, I even went to the Golden Globes (sat in the "fan" stands on the red carpet, stayed in the hotel where it and the following parties take place and met about 100 stars in the lobby and bar that evening). I've also been to the Toronto Film Festival - drove all night from DC and stayed a long weekend with friends - a-mazing! That year I saw Orgasmo and I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, two of the best movies EVER (but you'll have trouble hunting them down anywhere) and the Seattle Film Festival was fun while I lived there too (highlights - the original Dark Water and meeting the actors in Bang Bang You're Dead). I have also been to numerous "Oscar Nights" in various cities, where they roll out the red carpet, put out a nice buffet and champagne and show the Awards on the big screen. I would do it every year if my husband would go with me and I could get a babysitter. In truth, one time I took my then 9 month old daughter.
In my early 20's, I seriously used to plan my Saturdays by getting the Friday paper, looking up all the movies and scheduling as many as possible before matinee prices were over (usually involving driving all over DC or Malibu one summer...). Yes, I paid for every movie, even if I watched 3 in a row at the same theatre, going out in between to buy my tickets so I didn't look like a freak buying them all at once (not sure the "freak" thing was avoided anyway). THEN, on the way back to my apartment, I would stop at the local video store and rent half a dozen more to take me into the early hours of Sunday. Yes, I know that sounds pathetic, but I loved it and would sometimes even get my roommate to join me. My roommate, who was always up for seeing those three movies in a row with me at the same theatre - theorizing that we could live there - food, entertainment, bathrooms, just no showers..., or the time we saw The Titanic, bought the soundtrack, then later that weekend when reminiscing about the irish dancing segment of the movie, decided to go back and see it again - all 3+ hours of it. I was also a member of the Key Film Club in DC with Bob Mondello back then and I cannot describe the experience of seeing films there would be no other way to see and then discussing them with a theatre full of fellow film buffs. No time to find/join one nowadays with a family, so I do it on my own.
Sidenote: My autograph collection numbers somewhere north of 400, with about half of them obtained in person, so I've met many actors I admire and yes, written letters to others. I have more autographs in person and via mail than anyone should non-pathetically possess, from Bruce Dern to Carrie Fisher and Alexis Bledel. As a child, I saw a lot of movies at the drive-in, but was also oddly obsessed with every bad 50s-80s horror movie I could find on TV. This is also how I saw and fell in love with old musicals, Jerry Lewis, Danny Kaye, Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn and Natalie Wood. Maybe it all started in the early 1980s when I chose to spend Christmas Day watching very old (okay, broken) copies of the original Star Wars trilogy on the big screen. Mark Hamill and then movies, in that order, became my lifelong obsession. (Speaking of Mark, I finally did get to meet him at the San Diego Comic Con during one of the most epic weekends of my life and the second time I attended that amazing event. Another story to add to my blog one day...) I lived in LA for a summer in the late 90s and took several weekend trips there when I lived on the West Coast in the early 2000s, which did nothing but stoke the fires of my movie obsession. I grew up near Sacramento, California and several of my outgoing theatre type friends (many met through my stint as "Janet" in the local Rocky Horror Picture Show) and family have found work in TV and movies in Hollywood and beyond.
Also, as owner of 3 Girls Cupcakes these past few years, I jumped at every opportunity to help promote and be a patron for cinema in KC, creating promotional cupcakes for movie premieres, parking the Cupcake Cruiser outside movie events and providing cupcakes for the crafts table whenever CinemaKC called. I also used the business as an excuse to make and present cupcakes to as many fun cinema types as I could reasonably get away with, without going to jail. I made a lot of friends that way and had many unforgettable experiences that I am gradually cataloging over at www.cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com...
Back to the Blog at hand. This blog will contain reviews of every movie I see this year. I will include any other cinema exploits or commentary as well. Maybe I'll be inspired to expand on some of my old adventures and I'm sure there will be a rant or two about the movie world and maybe my daughter will get in on the act.
Also, Guest Bloggers Welcome! I have many friends as inspired by cinema as myself, but they are spread far and wide, so I hope we can come together virtually!
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