Our Resolutions for the New Year

Now that we all can take a collective sigh of relief that the days of 2016 are gone (but not forgotten), let’s make plans for 2017.

We each picked three movie-esque items to work on for the next year. And if all goes well, and Damon Killian doesn’t show up hosting some game show, then I think 2017 should be a good, productive year. A better year.

JOHNNY’S

I guess all of my film-based New Year’s resolutions are derivative of one broad idea: Watch more shit I haven’t already seen. But maybe I should detail a few specifics.

1 – Finally get to the stuff I have been meaning to watch for a long time, but haven’t for whatever reason.

There are a bunch of Blu Ray discs we’ve bought over the past couple years that I really want to see…some of them are just long as hell and I always know I’m gonna pass out before the movie ends. This year, I plan to buck up and get through some of those longer films, like Hateful Eight and Showgirls.

2 – More Cronenberg.

Back in March or so, I realized how little of David Cronenberg’s filmography I had actually seen (Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly and The Dead Zone). At that moment, I decided to start a project to get through more or all of his films. Well, in 2016, I watched exactly two: Shivers and Rabid. In 2017, I really hope to knock out a good chunk.

3 – More 60s and 70s genre films.

Doing research for previous podcast episodes, it’s become abundantly clear where my genre film focus has lay for the past 30 years: the 80s. No big surprise there, given the massive amount of horror films from that decade and my age and all that. But outside a lot of the biggies, I’ve severely neglected the 60s and 70s, and I want to start making a dent in the horrors from those years (and before, even).

I’ll check in at the start of 2018 and let you know how well I did with the above. I have a feeling 2017 is gonna be a kick-ass movie year.

JOANNA’S

What Johnny said. Plus…

1 – Watch The VVitch.

Here is one very specific resolution. Since the trailer first “dropped,” I’ve been captivated. Witches, a demonic goat, and creepy-as-shit puritan atmosphere. While we missed out on its theatrical run, we picked up the Blu-ray the moment it hit shelves—in May 2016, I think?

So, why haven’t we watched it? Not sure. Well, I’m kind of sure. Looking back on what seemed to be a less than stellar, pre-apocalypse year, I just don’t think we were ready for a cinematic, gloomy head trip. Admittedly, I know every single plot point of this movie—because I’m addicted to spoilers. But even then, I just didn’t think I was prepared to digest something so heavy that coincidentally targets my personal trigger buttons. Am I ready now? Probably not, but I’m willing to dive in. It’s a New Year after all. All hail Black Phillip. Or something.

2 – Less TV, More Movies.

We started this trend in 2016—and I’m digging it. Not long ago, Johnny and I jam-packed our weeknights with TV watching. We had 2-4 different shows a night going. So, from September through May-ish, we only had room for weekend movie viewings (if that). But as many of our shows ended for good, we stopped picking up new ones. (I think having kids had something to do with this.)

And as of last year, we just stopped watching other shows. We quit ‘em. It’s weird. But I kind of like it. While we still have a handful of “appointment” TV blocks, it’s just that—a handful.  And this leaves oodles of time for movie watching, catching up, re-watching, second-chance viewing, etc. I’m stoked. Sorry, new television stuff, I hear you’re pretty good.

3 – A Classic-a-Month.

To go hand-in-hand with the above resolution, I propose this: instead of TV-designated evenings, why not develop a weekly (or monthly) movie theme. For years now, we’ve done Franchise Fridays during the summer, and now I want to look at a monthly viewing dedicated to some of the great horror classics — personal blind spots for me. What better place to start than by watching the Universal Monster movies? We picked up a nice Blu-ray set a few months back. Whaddya say, Johnny? Third Thursday of every month? Check your calendar and get back to me.

Do you have any movie resolutions for the new year?

Tagged as: 2016, 2017, 70s, 80s, classics, david cronenberg, horror, movies, resolutions, television, the witch, tv, universal, universal monsters

Categorised in: Holiday, Movies, Television, Uncategorized