SHOCK! FLASH! DISNEY BUYS MARVEL!

In crazy "I-didn't-see-this-one-coming" news today, the Disney empire has finalized negotiations with Marvel Entertainment to buy the comic giant wholesale. The move is one more step in Disney's ultimate plan to take over the entertainment world as we know it and eventually assume command of the remaining governments and social institutions of the known Universe. Consumers are expected to pay a quarter earnings tithe and surrender their first-born children once said usurpation is completed.

Maybe we'll get to see a Disney/Marvel theme park mash-up! Kewl!

For the official press release click here.

Seeing as everyone loves a good list...

Slowly but surely I have been compiling a list of my favorite films as well as the movies that have had the greatest impact-- artistically, emotionally and otherwise-- on my life. What began as a compilation of about a hundred films has since swollen to around three-hundred, and there are likely to be more (although I'm sure to eventually install a cap of some sort in order to prevent the kind of unwieldy bloat that has me including films I only think I like or feel obligated to include).

The reasons for such a list are both cathartic and practical, allowing me at once to organize a compendium of influential filmic material that I might share with others and construct a definitive personal collection to prevent my own movie library from getting significantly out of hand. Sure, I remember enjoying such-and-such blockbuster when it was released theatrically, but does it warrant the finality of purchase and display on the shelf at home? Will I watch it again and again? Probably not. Also, as new movies become favorites, it may be required that they supplant older selections, thus ensuring I take a long, hard look at my choices and regularly weed the garden for a more perfect treasury.

I plan on sharing chunks of my list as time goes on, exposing my startlingly contradictory inner-self to all the world by including Paul Flaherty's Clifford alongside Akira Kurosawa's Rashamon. Stay tuned, gentle-folks!

Darn shuck it! I need me some role models!

I need new role models. I used to have a few role-models, but I can't find them anymore and I have this inkling that I may have left them on the counter at the laundromat the friday before last. Annoying yes, but it isn't the end of the world. I'm sure whoever found my role models has put them to good use. That being said, I'm still a little frustrated they never called considering I had scrawled my contact information on their smoking jackets. There used to be a day and age when you'd drop twenty-five cents on a jaunt through the park and some good soul would catch you to return the quarter, let alone a role model. Nowadays such consideration is a figment of the past.

I'll be on the lookout for role models this week. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.