And So It Begins...

Maybe it's my lack of a social life. Maybe it's my love for movies. Or maybe it's a bit of both. I am going to set out on an affordable cinematic journey, and I invite you to come along.

How many times in conversation does a film come up where you sheepishly bow out of the dialog or resort to saying "I never got around to seeing that?" I'm an avid movie buff, having seen over 75 movies in theaters last year, and it still happens to me all the time. I've never seen some really popular movies as well some some highly reviewed smaller films - and I am sure, unless you are a paid critic, you are in the same boat. So taking a page from Morgan Spurlock (the guy who did a 30-day McDonald eating spree in the documentary "Super Size Me"), I am going to set off on a one month movie marathon to get me up to speed with some of those films that I just haven't gotten around to yet.

I decided to go one step further though - and I hope you join in on the fun - here are the rules I made for myself and others that wish to participate:

The Rules

1. During the month of May, in the year 2010, you must watch at least 31 movies.

2. On May 1st, the movie must be from the year 1980. Each subsequent day in May, you must advance one year. By your last day, May 31st, you'll have to go to a movie theater to see something, as you will have made it to 2010. (You can see my list below if you find that description confusing.)

3. You must only watch movies that you have never seen before. This is a journey, and having seen the movies before would spoil the fun.

4. Try and change things up - watch some comedies, some dramas, some animated, some foreign, a documentary or two - be diverse in your selections.

5. If you fall behind on any given day, that's okay - that's what double and triple features are for! Just make sure you've seen all 31 by the last day of May!

In an age of public libraries, Netflix, and heck, even the $5 bin at Wal*Mart, this should be a relatively cheap endeavor - especially if you plan ahead.

Each day in the month of May, I will write a review of the movie I watched that day. That post in this blog will serve as a place of discussion - did you watch the same movie? a different movie? what did you think? - this will be the forum for discussion on both my month of movies and yours.

Below is my list of movies. Feel free to follow along! If you've seen some of the movies (and I'm sure you will have), simply find an alternate selection by using Yahoo or Google to search terms like "Best Movies in 1981" or "Funniest Movies in 1996" - it's the best way to compile your list. If you need any ideas or help, e-mail me: dnbarbour(AT)gmail(DOT)com

My Month of Movies - Dan's Selections

Date Year Movie

5/1/2010 1980 The Elephant Man

5/2/2010 1981 Cannonball Run

5/3/2010 1982 Blade Runner

5/4/2010 1983 Scarface

5/5/2010 1984 Splash

5/6/2010 1985 Out of Africa

5/7/2010 1986 Platoon

5/8/2010 1987 Broadcast News

5/9/2010 1988 Bull Durham

5/10/2010 1989 Say Anything...

5/11/2010 1990 Dances with Wolves

5/12/2010 1991 Silence of the Lambs

5/13/2010 1992 Unforgiven

5/14/2010 1993 Philadelphia

5/15/2010 1994 Clerks

5/16/2010 1995 12 Monkeys

5/17/2010 1996 Fargo

5/18/2010 1997 L.A. Confidential

5/19/2010 1998 The Thin Red Line

5/20/2010 1999 Magnolia

5/21/2010 2000 Yi Yi (A One and a Two)

5/22/2010 2001 In the Mood for Love

5/23/2010 2002 Talk to Her

5/24/2010 2003 The Station Agent

5/25/2010 2004 The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie

5/26/2010 2005 Me and You and Everyone We Know

5/27/2010 2006 Bubble

5/28/2010 2007 The Lookout

5/29/2010 2008 Man on Wire

5/30/2010 2009 The Messenger

5/31/2010 2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

All right folks, get planning! Post your thoughts in the comments section, and get ready to watch movies like crazy! I know you're all busy, but this is a crazy challenge and I hope you join in on the fun! God gave us 24 hours in the day - all it takes for this is about two of those!