My 2022 Movie Resolutions
Making my film viewing, and criticism, better in the new year.
Yes, yes, I know. Jan. 10 seems too late to be making New Year’s resolutions. But I spent the majority of the last two weeks off work, which meant I wasn’t doing too much writing. Instead, I was relaxing with family, catching up on some end-of-the-year releases, and mentally preparing myself for the next 12 months.
Resolutions seem to be out of vogue these days; they’re usually either obligatory or ironic, delivered with a knowing wink that none of what someone sets out to do in the new year will be accomplished. That’s sad; while I don’t always accomplish every one of my beginning-of-the-year goals, I usually try to pinpoint 10 things I want to focus on in the coming year. A lot of these are health-related, career-related or spiritual, and I’ll keep those ones to myself.
But I do have film and pop culture-related resolutions. I’m constantly striving to evolve as a film lover and a writer, and I usually set out with a few goals to help guide and structure my viewing and my criticism through the year. Sometimes that leads to a good year, as when I vowed to watch more Criterion Channel releases. In 2020, however, I resolved to watch movies in as many different theatrical settings as possible and, two months later, every theater in the country closed down (sorry). So, I hold these loosely, but I still think it’s a helpful way to start off my viewing year.
So, here are three that I wanted to share. And I’d love to hear if you have any viewing/writing goals of your own in 2022. Please take the time to share them!
Bridging the Gaps
I’m 42 and, for the last 16 years, I’ve been able to make a semi professional side gig out of being a film critic. I’ve taken several college-level film courses, and I have a master’s in media arts and studies. So it’s a bit embarrassing to admit that I have a lot of gaps in my film knowledge. Everyone has gaps, and I’m sure most people are aware of their own (and like to keep it secret), but it still always chagrins me to admit “I haven’t seen that” when talking about a highly regarded film with fellow critics.
I’ve also come to realize that there’s great joy in visiting older films and talking/writing about them. It’s why I do Franchise Friday and it’s my favorite thing about recording We’re Watching Here with Perry. While we’ll occasionally tackle newer releases, the bulk of our show tends to come from talking about older movies. Last year we did a series on films of the 1970s, and this year we’re going to continue our series about the movies of Robert Altman. It’s fun to see these films and visit them with the benefit of hindsight; it’s also an essential way of understanding film and its history. And as more films are left behind in the shift to streaming, I think the role of critics as curators is going to become more important. Plus, it’s often true: They don’t make them like this anymore. I might enjoy the Marvel films and there are still great dramas being made today, but nothing tops the joy I had in watching The Godfather trilogy, Dog Day Afternoon, Badlands and The Deer Hunter.
So, I’m going to make a concerted effort to watch and read more creative works from pre-1990 (since the 1990s were when I became really interested in film). I’m not going to be too strict at limiting new releases, but my aim is for at least 25% of my viewing/reading diet to be vintage works. And to hold myself accountable to that, in February I’m going to start the My Gap Year series on this newsletter, every Wednesday. Unlike Franchise Friday, which I have tentatively mapped out until the end of the year, I don’t really have a step-by-step calendar for this, although I have a few early ideas in mind. The fun will be in watching movies as the mood strikes.
Going unsullied on trailers and reviews
I love movie trailers. It’s an art form in itself, the act of marketing movies. A great trailer can be better than the movie it’s hyping up.
But I’ve become annoyed at how much trailers reveal. Sitting in Spider-Man: No Way Home, I found myself waiting for certain shots or lines that were set up in the trailer. At times, such as with The Matrix Resurrections, trailers can create mystery, but I also find myself too prone to digging into those mysteries, to the point where I usually stumble upon some piece of information I’d rather not know. It’s my own problem, but on the rare occasions where I’ve gone into a movie completely cold, I’ve loved the experience.
On the Filmcast podcast, co-hosts David Chen and Jeff Cannata talk about their choice to live an “unsullied” lifestyle (Jeff is the most stringent about this, and the third host, Davindra Hardawar, makes a good argument for trailers as part of the fun). I have to admit, though, that when Jeff is “wowed” by something he had no clue was coming — even though it was revealed in the trailers — I’m a bit jealous of his glee. How much more fun would a movie be if I could truly be surprised by it, not anticipating some twist, appearance, line or shot?
And so, I’m going to make 2022 an unsullied pilot program. I’m going to try to stay away from trailers for upcoming films until I’ve seen the movies. In most cases, this should be fairly easy, so long as I practice self-control (just don’t click the links, right?). I’m a little more unclear on how this will play out when I see a movie theatrically, although I can always look at my phone or leave the theater, so long as I’m not with my kids. I’m also going to attempt not to read any reviews of movies pre-release.
My hope is this makes my takes on new films a bit more exciting, fresh and fun. I know that reading reviews can set certain expectations, and I’d rather go in cold. Same with trailers; I want to be surprised. In addition to hopefully making my reviews better, I’m also thinking I might start a feature where I go back after seeing the film and examine the marketing. Probably not a huge regular feature, but I think that’s an interesting aspect of the industry to discuss.
Enhancing the cinema conversation
I’ve written about this before, but this newsletter has turned into something more fulfilling and enjoyable than I could have imagined. Originally, it was going to be a place to direct you to my other writing and podcasts. Over time, as I learned more about the type of conversation I wanted to engage in, it became my primary platform. In the fall of 2021, I feel like things “clicked” and I kicked into a higher gear, and I’ve been proud of the regular progress made since then.
I’ve had a lot of great opportunities since then. I’ve been invited on podcasts I admire, brought into conversations with other critics, and even asked to write some pieces I hope I can share with you later. And I’ve seen this conversation spread; I won’t discuss the numbers of my subscribers here, but I can say that it’s risen measurably since I became more consistent. And that’s a lesson I want to remember. It’s easy for me to walk away from these projects when I feel they’re not gaining traction or to be attracted to a shiny new idea. Consistent, (hopefully) quality work, however, is what brings in readers and makes this conversation worth having. And I want that to continue in 2022, and I want it to expand as well.
I’m intrigued about the future of film criticism. I think advances in new media present a great deal of potential opportunities for the form. I still think some of the best film criticism is being conducted on podcasts, and I think YouTube is giving many up-and-coming critics a platform and an opportunity to use the cinematic form to critique it. I think Twitter’s place in the film conversation, however annoying it might be, can’t be underestimated, and I’m curious how apps like TikTok or technologies like virtual reality might be able to further the film conversation.
I want to learn more about that, and I also want to dig back into film history. And so this year, I’m going to commit to studying that a bit more. In addition to looking at film, I want to really pay attention to film criticism, and I’m considering ways in which I can do that.
In the meantime, I also want to use what I know to be a better critic. And I think that will mean getting experimental on here, as well as putting new energies into the We’re Watching Here podcast. I have some ideas I’m kicking around about a visual component via YouTube, but I think that’s still going to be a few months off, as I need to play around with the ideas and also train myself on how to go about it. But as criticism becomes more untethered from a central source and critics aren’t tied to a platform, the opportunities to explore film in unique ways are going to increase, and I want to be there when it happens.
Of course, this is going to be hard. I have a full-time job and two young kids. And while I’m striving on a way to stay ahead of schedule, I’m sure there will come times when that’s just a bit harder. And, to be honest, I also need to make this worth my while. I spend several nights away from family so I can write these pieces and watch these movies, and after a bit, I need to show something for it. So, I’m anticipating that sometime this year, I’ll be adding some sort of paid component. From the start, I’ve said that there will always be a portion of this newsletter that is completely free, and I mean it. But I think some of the features might end up as bonuses for paid subscribers. If the YouTube component kicks in and We’re Watching Here continues to keep on track, maybe that means a Patreon instead. I don’t quite know how that will all shake off and, again, we’re still several months away from that. But I did want to float it now so that no one is taken by surprise; and, like I said, there will always be a way to access some free content here.
So, those are the goals for 2022. Would love to hear some of your own!