Welcome To “Out Of The Past”
My dad is movie nerd. And when I say movie nerd, I mean a REAL movie nerd. Our Netflix Queue was always filled with weird Polish and French films from the ’20s and ’30s. And if you even mentioned a movie, he would tell you who’s in, who directed it and what year it was released. So, yeah, he’s definitely a nerd even though he might deny it when he’s reading this (Hi dad).
Because he was such a nerd, I grew up on a lot of old comedians. Sure, I had my fair share of Rugrats, Spongebob and Rocket Power, but I was also raised with The Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, etc…
I quickly grew fond of old movies, especially comedies. I would watch classic movies with my dad on TCM when I was young. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t really know what I was watching and I didn’t understand anything. I was just watching it for the hell of it.
My dad quickly came up with an idea in order to “catch me up” on all of the movies that I’ve missed out on. He sent me a list of 10 movies and told me to watch them. The list quickly grew from 10 movies, to 280 movies. And it’s still growing! So, I thought I’d have a little fun with it.
Out Of The Past is my publication about all of the movies that I have to watch. I’m going to be reviewing them, but as an aspiring screenwriter and filmmaker, I thought I’d go a step further. I want to really analyze the story. I’ll be looking at character development, the flow of the story, the 3 act structure, etc…
My goal with this is really to just make myself a better storyteller by learning from all of these movies. But, I figured the only way I’d actually do that (and to get me to watch all of these movies) is to write about it on Medium. I honestly don’t think I would do it otherwise.
Whether people read it or not, I don’t really care. However, I do have plans to make the experience better if I see enough people are interested in this and would like to follow along the movie list with me.
Here’s what you can expect from this publication:
Diversity
This is different from any movie review site you’ve been following. The list he’s given me is very diverse, ranging from the early 1920s, to foreign films, to popular classics. I’m getting a taste of everything, which means you are too. Also, I write very similarly to the way I talk, so the writing will be different from, say, the Wall Street Journal movie column.
Detailed Reviews
I plan to spend a while writing these movie reviews, because I’m analyzing the story. That’s kind of an arduous process. But, I have to write it basically right after I finish the movie. I’ll be taking notes during the movie, but not getting too distracted by them. All in all, the reviews should be longform pieces.
Fun
Overall, I just want this to be an enjoyable experience. I like watching movies and I like writing, so it’s really a no brainer for me. I hope my audience will enjoy this project as much as I enjoy creating and expanding on it.
Here’s the start of an amazing, fun filled journey. Welcome to Out Of The Past.
