As much as I love motion pictures and feasting on all kinds of food I would be hard pressed to name a number one favorite in either category. If it sounds like that’s the preamble to an excuse about why I have such eclectic taste in everything, it is.
Since I officially became a credentialed film critic, I’ve had a number of people ask me, “Are there movies you don’t like?”. Silly mortals. Of course there are! I generally have the good sense to stay well away from something I know is going to be a train wreck. Will I watch anything if asked? Yes. I spent a particularly forgettable evening watching “The Words”. I could elaborate at some length all the ways in which I found that particular film wanting, not to mention grasping, but for me, it’s much more fun to talk about pieces with merit. I would rather describe my explosion of word-nerd-film-geek joy that lasted than entire course of “Zero Dark Thirty” than lament all that was “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”.
That said, I simply refuse to go out of my way to watch things I know to be, shall we say, the opposite of my taste. If it sounds like I am a fan of most movies I watch, that’s because I know my taste and I try to view accordingly. I concede that scathing reviews are often more fun to read than those on the opposite end of the spectrum, but what can I say, my snark is best delivered in a wry fashion. To know me is to see what I call wit woven into my reviews. I’ll leave the burns to more seasoned professionals (most of the time) and dedicate my energy to spreading the word about the projects that deserve some face time.
You can see all my reviews and pop cultural musings here.
My approach to food is much more simple. If is sounds/looks/smells good, I’ll try it. If I like it, I’ll keep eating it, if I don’t, I won’t.
When I find food or some bit of pop culture that I love, there can be no stopping me from trying to convince everyone I like to get in on the action. I think my closest friends must find this endearing in some way, or they wouldn’t still be indulging me. That or they are far too nice. If the latter, I have no intentions of liberating them just because I came to this realization. Sorry. (I’m not sorry).
Now that we’ve got a bit of how my mind works out there for the consideration of the virtual world, here are a few things I am currently and shamelessly obsessing over.
- Claire Danes. Because cry face. Well, and the whole amazing actress thing. But seriously, cry face.
- Harry Potter. Always. Duh.
- Downton Abbey. I’ve always been a bit of an anglophile, and early exposure to Beverly Hills 90210 made me a sucker for soapy prime-time. Add to that production value to make any self-respecting cinephile swoon and you’ll start to understand that Downton is basically crack in my world.
- Jennifer Lawrence, Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Ellen DeGeneres, Katy Perry, Shannon Woodward. Can we all just be best friends already?
- Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Gosling. Presented without context. As if they need any.
- Justified. I came late to the party, but at least it’s nowhere near over.
- Complaining how long I have to wait until Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Homeland will return for new seasons. It’s seriously been forever. Since my season pass gives me early access to the last few episode sof series 3 of Downton that will soon join the ranks, too.
- My Apple TV. We’re involved. I’m fairly confident I love it more than it loves me. But it’s cute and convenient, so who cares?
- Sin City 2. That it is in production and there is a solid release date is pretty much ineffable at this point. Cue Etta James’ ‘At Last.’
Downton abbey is just awesome.. I dont know how it is so slow and awesome at the same time.