So I’ve been talking a lot about the project I’ve been doing (I’m trying to watch all the Best Picture Winners, all the Independent Spirit Award winners, all of Hitchcock’s movies and—God help me—all the AFI movies except for the 100 Years, 100 Cheers* movies.) I have seen some of the movies that aren’t hyperlinked to blog posts, but I am not counting them until I watch/rewatch and blog about them.
As you can see, I have a long way to go but I have also made some progress. I’ve been doing this for years, but I’ve made the most progress over the course of this year, I think.
The best part about it is that it’s introduced me to so many things that I love that I may never have watched before. The two biggest examples are Breaking Bad and Parks and Recreation, both of which I started watching to fulfill some of their “Best TV Show” awards. I had watched some of P&R’s first season and wasn’t at all impressed. So unimpressed, actually, that I will admit to groaning when I saw that it had been named one of the 10 best shows for 2011. And then I watched an episode from the fourth season and laughed so incredibly hard.
I hadn’t seen any of Breaking Bad, so I watched the pilot. A few minutes in, I paused it and went to Amazon to order the first two seasons. Season three premiered a week and a half after I began viewing the pilot; I watched seasons one and two quickly enough to be able to watch season three live. It is my favorite show currently on the air.
It’s been true for movies, too. Shane is the movie that proved to me that I don’t hate westerns. I loved The Adventures of Robin Hood, and I’m pretty sure there’s no way I ever would have watched that without this project.
They haven’t all been winners. I hated The French Connection, Duck Soup, The Deer Hunter and Taxi Driver (but I will admit that the latter two were amazing movies). But even when I see a movie I don’t like, it’s generally still worth watching. So far, the majority have been wonderful movies (and TV shows), things that become my favorites. And in the case of something like Curb Your Enthusiasm, at least I never have to watch it again.
* = I am skipping that one because it has Babe on the list and I have sworn never to watch Babe**. I am also not doing the Heroes & Villains, Songs and Quotes lists.
** = long story.
One day I’m going to have to hear the Babe Story. I happen to love that movie.
Like all longheld grudges, the story is pretty silly. But also written in stone: no Babe. Ever.
That WON’T do, pig. Stay strong, Kel. ;-)
You know I’ll never see that movie. EVER. :)