Well, another year and another decade have come and gone. I thought about trying to come up with some sort of nostalgic look back across one of them before 2010 came, but there were so many other blogs out there that said all I'd have to say and more. I don't have a good grasp of my walk through this decade anyway, it's like trying to remember every move you made in the middle of a drunken, off-the-cuff dance-- you know you were doing things, and maybe a few of them stand out, but in retrospect it was just this chaotic mess that somehow got you to where you are now. The best you can do is look back at it and be amazed at how far you managed to come.
So many people have done great retrospectives (check some of those links at the right hand of the page for a few), that I feel I don't have anything to add to them. So instead, on the first day of the new year, I'm going to look ahead to what I'm looking forward to. I have no idea what's coming down the pipe for me this year, but I do have expectations in a general sense.
1) Things will change. Change is constant and inevitable, and much as I dislike it at times, I don't think it's a good or bad thing in and of itself. It is what it is, and I'm the one who makes meaning out of it. The best way to get through it is not to fight it, but adapt to it.
2) I will be exposed to new ideas. These ideas are likely not new in the general sense so much as they are new to me. Or maybe they will be very old ideas that I've forgotten, or will see in a new way. Some I will like, some I will not. But they're all a valuable part in my learning to grow beyond the state I'm in now.
3) I will look back on the ideas I had and the things I've said now with a slight sense of embarrassment. At least I hope I will. If I've got everything figured out now, I've got some very boring decades ahead of me. I just hope I remember that even then, I won't have it all figured out either, and I hope that I'll have learned to be a little kinder to my younger self than I am now.
4) I will watch a lot of movies. Hopefully I will like some of them. I really hope that I love at least a few of them.
5) I hope that I will continue to meet people who challenge me, who inspire me, and who connect with me in some way. I also hope I can hang on to the people who put up with my quirks, my ego, and my insecurities. I feel like I'm in a very different place than I ever have been in my life, and in some ways it's exhilarating, and in other ways it's lonely.
And so this post has some relevance to the topic of this blog (and I feel less like a sappy blowhard), here are some trailers for movies I'm looking forward to, for various reasons.
The Wolfman
Alice in Wonderland
And just for the sake of perspective, here are trailers for some of my favorite movies from the past year.
Inglourious Basterds
Up
Where the Wild Things Are
Some of those trailers are better at describing the movie than others, but still. That's a mighty fine lineup for one year.
God, I don't want to deal with the Runaways movie. My mother is a crazed Joan Jett fan, so if that movie isn't perfect, I'm never going to hear the end of it! She's been talking about it since it was green-lighted as it is.
ReplyDeleteI plan on seeing a few of those new movies, and I think I've seen all the older ones you posted except for 3 Iron and the Noel one. Netflix thinks I should watch 3 Iron too, so it's somewhere on my massive netflix list!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! And yes, I will challenge you many times no doubt, and mostly in very trivial ways.
Oh geez, I just heard about the Runaways, and while I like Jett, I'm not a crazed megafan, so my expectations are about normal. I may let reviews sway my opinion when it finally comes out as to whether or not I see it.
ReplyDeleteAnd 3-Iron should be moved up on your list. It's one of the ones that's left a lingering impression on me. I'm really curious to talk about it with someone else.
Thanks for being a good kind of challenge. ^_^
I like sappy blowhardiness. Come hang out with me this week. We can rehash the past decade and inspire ourselves stupid. :) How's Tuesday at 6:30PM for you?
ReplyDeleteMuch as I'd love to, Ev, Tuesday's the first day back in classes. =P
ReplyDeleteHater. How about Monday?
ReplyDeleteI can try for a short visit Monday sometime. When should I pop by?
ReplyDeleteWell, 6:30 at night or 9 in the morning. :) Let me know. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll make a try for 6:30, though I might be a little late due to the sky crapping snow today.
ReplyDeleteSounds good. Can't wait! :)
ReplyDeleteRaise The Red Lantern is one of my absolute favorite movies. Glad to see it get mentioned above!
ReplyDeleteI watched it this last spring as part of a Chinese cinema class I was taking and it just stayed with me. It's stark and luscious at the same time.
ReplyDelete