Me? I'm Nobody

This is, and will be, a blog about movies – and, occasionally other stuff. But first I must explain: I don’t know squat about movie history or the art of movie making. I have never viewed a movie frame-by-frame in a class, I have never attempted to write a screen play, nor have I taken acting lessons.

Movies are part of the fabric of my life. My grandmother loved movies; my father loved movies. My grandmother – who dyed her hair white at an early age – twice weekly took my father on the journey from their house deep in the woods of Elmore County into Montgomery to sit in the dark in the cavernous, air conditioned movie palaces to watch stories of great lives play out before them. She always wore heels and pearls – to match that movie star hair -- on these sojourns to a grander life.

My father often told of an embarrassing moment in the segregated South when he was sent into a “colored” movie theater to retrieve twins who had come to town to the movies with my grandmother and him. The movie my grandmother and father were watching ended early and my father simply walked into the “colored” theater, stood in front of the screen as the twins’ movie played, and yelled, “Tootie and Flootie come on, its time to go.” Tootie and Flootie got up and walked out with my father – a child himself – into the heat and sun of a Montgomery summer afternoon.

My parents are now gone as is my brother, who was killed in a car accident at the age of 28. But my sons and my nephew – who was four months old when my brother was killed – all share a bond through movies. We talk a particular language where bits of dialogue dropped in conversation mean more to us than we can readily explain. We have all seen Used Cars, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Magnificent Seven, Scrooged, Army of Darkness, Raiders of the Lost Ark and many others enough times to remember chunks of dialogue that easily add irony, humor – texture -- to any conversation for those in the know.

Movies are also serious business for me. I enjoy them on some level I cannot fully understand. Raging Bull and A Clockwork Orange disturbed me, made me mad. In Harm’s Way and Saving Private Ryan inspired me although they were equally as violent. The Magnificent Seven, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Silverado and The Unforgiven left me pondering life in ways that only westerns can. Nosferatu and Metropolis are beautiful to watch as are 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Last of The Mohicans and The Godfather. Out of Africa and Citizen Cane are simply magnificent; Being There is the greatest comedy I have ever seen (although Used Cars, The Hangover and Ruthless People are pretty damned good).

And I really, really, really like My Name Is Nobody, Enter The Dragon, Circle of Iron, Blade Runner, The Highlander and Pulp Fiction.

So why do we sit in the dark and care about the pictures? Are movies our shadows on the cave wall? We will leave that question for “reviewers.” What I do know is that I like movies … and so do you. The great thing for me is that I get to go for free.

But you must understand, you will not read reviews of all movies in release in Birmingham in this blog. I’ll see some movies, review them some, discuss them a lot. I may even mention whether the over-priced theater candy was stale. But there are some movies – mostly teen romances and horror flicks – that I will not see.

So, if you see one you like, tell us about it.