 In the Beginning...There Was
Light...and Finally Cinema
by
Kevin Van Belois-DVD Producer-Hollywood, California
Movies have always defined my life. The magic of cinema has
always seduced me. My first cinema experience was at the
drive-in movie theater watching Darth Vader terrorize Luke
Skywalker and friends. I'll always remember the movie's
sound piped into the bathroom...there's nothing that can scare a
three year old like Darth's deep breathing while you're standing
in a dimly lit restroom.
I've seen more movies than most Americans...and sadly, there are
many great ones that I have yet to see. I don't always
agree with the critics..."Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The English
Patient" and "Moulin Rouge" are all terribly overrated in my
book. And I've often fallen for little movies that
people never noticed...or that people have forgotten...check out
Sarah Polley blossoming into an amazing actress in "Guinevere"
or Kathleen Turner at the height of her comic game in "Serial
Mom."
We're getting into that time of year when Hollywood releases
their best films. I've seen only a handful of gems this
year..."Zodiac," "Hairspray," "Eastern Promises" and "Into the
Wild." I thoroughly enjoyed all of these films, but
none have quite scaled the heights of last year's greats: "The
Queen," "The Departed" and "Volver." If you're
looking for three fantastic rentals, check those out.
Most people have probably seen Scorsese's finest picture in
years ("The Departed") and some of us know that Helen Mirren won
a well deserved Academy Award for "The Queen"...but not many
people have seen Almodovar's classic - "Volver." It
doesn't quite achieve the heights of his best film, "All About
My Mother," but one could argue that it's a close second amongst
his films. Of course, when speaking of Almodovar, second
best, third best, fourth best and even fifth best...they're
still far and away better than most, if not all, films released
in a year.
There are a lot of movie fans out there. We're a passionate
bunch...fiercely fighting for the films we love...encouraging
people to see the films we consider masterpieces...discouraging
them from the ones that we don't like. I'm hoping
that I can influence a couple of you out there to check out some
films that you might not normally see. Perhaps you'll
discover a diamond in the rough...a gem to look back on years
from now. So, I'm going to look at this column as an
adventure...sometimes there will be bad movies, sometimes there
will be good ones...but cinema, like life, is a journey.
It should be enjoyed, cherished and lived to its fullest. Now,
it's off to the movies...
Elizabeth: The Golden
Age
The Wizard of Oz-The
Great American Movie?
Gone Baby Gone and
Michael Clayton
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