Starting over, catching up.

So Film Year 2008 is officially wrapped. Two months after the year itself came to a close. For the past three or so years, I've regarded the Oscars both as my Film Year capstone and my cue to compile and reflect upon the best films of the previous year. It's a pretty goofy deal, I guess, but its fun for me.

The post-Oscar period is notorious for being the time of the year when all the crap movies are rolled out by the studios. There are a couple movies in theatres I'd like to see right now: Coraline and The International. But beside those two, I have only Watchmen to look forward to in the next few weeks. And I'll be honest, I'm still fretting over the potential for severe disappoint that movie holds for me. I'll still go see it in IMAX, if I can help it.

I'm sure there are a few good limited releases coming up on the next few Fridays, but Savannah is a pretty small film market. We get the mainstream stuff pretty promptly, but the good small-budget and foreign stuff pretty much stays away. Woe is me.

There is a bright side to the big-screen drought, of course. It gives me a chance to catch up on my backlog of DVD movies. And, perhaps unwisely, I'll be spending a bit of time re-watching some of my favorites from last year--Flight of the Red Balloon, The Wackness, and Paranoid Park are near the top of my NetFlix queue, The Band's Visit has already been delivered. I guess all my blabbering about my favorite films only made me want to see them all over again.

I'll also be catching up on the movies I missed last year. I feel pretty darn good about the quantity and variety of movies I was able to see in 2008, but that doesn't mean I saw every film I'd hoped to. Which 2008 films am I still working on? To name a few:

• Ballast
• Trouble the Water
• Che
• Chop Shop
• My Winnipeg
• Role Models
• Cadillac Records

And that's just a taste. Ugh. I've got my work cut out for me. But the uphill battle is nothing new. New, interesting films come out far faster than anyone can hope to watch them. But am I gonna complain about a glut of (potentially) good movies? No way. If my biggest problem is too much of my favorite thing, I think I'm doing all right.

[Quick note about the future of this blog. I'll keep posting as frequently as I can muster anything interesting to say. You can probably expect to find some brief notes about whatever I've been watching, a recommendation or two, perhaps the occasional slam, and a couple of heated rants and raves, no doubt. Whatever happens, I'll try to keep it consistent and fun. I hope you'll keep reading. Thanks.]