Make A Resolution You Can Keep: Cinematic Resolution Ideas For Film Fans

Hands up if you’ve already ditched at least one of your New Year’s Resolutions. There’s no shame in it, my own resolution to be less of a procrastinator fell by the wayside in record time. I’m of the belief that as a custom, New Year’s Resolutions are terrible. We spend approximately one month attempting to become thinner, kinder, more adventurous versions of ourselves before resolution-fatigue sets in around February and we resign ourselves to the fact that we are who we are. Wouldn’t it be nice to make at least one resolution that we stand a chance of keeping? Preferably one that doesn’t feel like a chore?

It’s safe to assume we’re all movie fans here, and as movie fans we all wish we had a little more time to watch movies, so let’s make that our collective resolution for 2013. Watch more movies. But that’s a bit dull, isn’t it? We can all watch an extra movie or two over the course of a year, but like all resolutions, a cinematic resolution should be something personal. Is there a genre you’ve been ignoring for years? Make this the year you check it out. Have you always wanted to check off every movie on the AFI list? Spend 2013 filling in the gaps. Too often we approach resolutions as work, when in truth, the beginning of the year is the perfect time to resolve to actually spend more time doing the things we love–and the funny thing is, all of that thinner, kinder, more adventurous stuff is a whole lot easier to pull off if we’re happy to begin with.

Below I have listed a selection of potential cinematic resolutions, but like I said above, the more personal they are, the better, so feel free to bend them to suit your personal preferences.

We all have at least one “important” film that we’ve never seen, but pretend we have so we don’t have to endure the dreaded, “You haven’t seen _____!?! How is that even possible?” conversation. For me that movie is Star Wars. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the original trilogy, but I’ve never sat down and watched any one of the movies all the way through. As a result, I’ve become that person who nervously blurts out things like “Han shot first” (I don’t know what that means) when a conversation turns toward Darth Vader and Ewoks to deflect attention from the fact that the force has never been with me.

I would love to finally fill in that particular gap in my pop culture knowledge this year, and I’m sure you feel the same way about your own personal equivalent of the Star Wars trilogy, whatever it may be.

Every year I look forward to the Oscars even though by the time they air I’ve only seen approximately 2.5 of the films nominated for an Oscar. And one of those is inevitably whatever Pixar released that year. Watching every potential nominee prior to the ceremony may not be feasible, but it would be fun to try, especially this year since many of the buzzy films are either already on DVD or still in theaters.

This resolution has an ulterior motive behind it, and that is it will get me (and you) to watch more new movies. Most film fans I know, myself included, prefer the classics to the modern offerings, but maybe if we mixed in more quality new releases, we’d feel better about the current state of Hollywood in general.

Whenever I stumble across a new actor or director I love, I inevitably embark on a career tour, wherein I attempt to watch everything they did prior to me realizing they were the greatest thing since Jeggings. Digging through an actor or director’s oeuvre is a great way to not only become better acquainted with their body of work, but also to find hidden gems. My most recent tour was through Adam Scott’s back catalogue, where I found new-to-me favorites like The Vicious Kind and Seven and a Match.

A career tour can also lead you down some truly fascinating rabbit holes. For instance, I dare you to work your way through Marlon Brando’s career without getting sidetracked along the way by director Elia Kazan. Finally, there’s always the promise of stumbling onto that one, truly awful film in every actor’s past that they probably wish they could erase from existence. (And yes, that is definitely the best reason to start digging through your favorite actor’s career closet.)

I know I said cinematic resolutions shouldn’t feel like work, but indulge me on this one. Just once this year, watch something you wouldn’t normally watch–a silly comedy your best friend is dying to see, a film from a director you usually loathe, a dense foreign film–anything that’s out of the norm for you. You might hate it, as you anticipated, or it might surprise you. Either way, your only investment is a couple of hours.

It’s far too easy to get stuck in a film rut, or to let our own various preconceived ideas about what we hate let us miss out on good films. For years, I avoided Quentin Tarantino films because I had a bad experience with Pulp Fiction when I was younger, but I gave Inglourious Basterds a shot and ended up loving it. That’s only one of many examples I could offer up for this one. The most important lesson I’ve learned over the years since I became more than a casual movie fan, is that being open to all different kinds of movies rarely ever ends badly.

Did you make a cinematic resolution this year? If so, share yours in the comments!

Follow me on Twitter @sljbowman