Though I've never asked outright, I suspect that anyone who meets me will know, after about 10 minutes, that I'm a very indecisive person. Hell, thy name is perfectionism, and such is a hobgoblin I hope to free myself of - or at least control to an extent - with the re-establishment of my online blogging here. Same name, same basic format, now with a more flexible URL and a clean slate to begin anew. The Projection Booth 1.0 and the reviews on it will remain untouched, but the direction I'd like to go in almost demands my being able to start fresh. It already feels like a breath of fresh air.

Among the many damned drawbacks to wanting everything done just right is the fact that, more often than not, nothing ends up being accomplished at all. Hence, you will probably notice that the site has a very rough look to it at this point, and many changes will indeed be taking place over the coming days and weeks. Much as I may grapple with it, the white text on black background is truer to my heart, though I hope to tweak things for both readability and a bit of flair. On the right, you'll notice some defunct links, long out-of-date features and even a months-old "Now in Theaters" roster. I hope you'll forgive me as I get this beast up and running amidst doing the same thing for my life proper, as I'm not going through times both nerve-wracking, exciting, and exhausting, as I look at cementing the next step in a long-term relationship as well as securing a job that may very well see me debt-free within the half-decade (you know you've "grown up" when you find yourself thinking in such terms).

I'll make no hard promises or declarations here, lest I go against the wisdom of Al Swearengen and provoke God's laughter. What I can assure you all of, though, is frequency of discussion, though my hope is that I won't be holding up both sides of the conversation. Whether it's the latest stinkbomb to hit DVD (see below) or the latest life lesson on my mind, I see this outlet less as one for conclusive "reviews" (which, in a way, I've come to disdain) than as one for communal thoughts. I'm indebted to my dedicated (too strong a word?) readers for their contributions to my posts in the past, and hope to take things in such a direction so that such will be the norm rather than the exception.

Not half an hour ago, I read Keith Uhlich's latest Confessions piece at The House Next Door. His work there - along with, specifically, Jim Emerson's output at Scanners - is an inspiration to me in how it seamlessly fuses life experiences, cinema, and online activities into a singular whole that stands as more than the sum of its parts. Such is part of my own aspirations towards self-actualization, but even aside from these matters, this latest article struck a particularly deep blow (it may be my single favorite work of his to date). I'd love to discuss similar inflictions from my own youth (the relics of which I would cling to forever if able), but I'll let his altogether naked 6½ paragraphs speak for themselves. Already, they're rattling down near the bottom of my soul.

In closing (sleep awaits these eyes), let me say that if the second half of Vantage Point is anything even remotely comparable to the first, then I may have already come upon the years worst film -- I may just give up on it now and award it the title in advance. Forty-five minutes of head slapping, eye rolling, impromptu laughter and intense cravings for Percocet... movies like this only serve to remind me that life is too short for them in the first place. Good films, like Wall-E (a movie I very much want to describe with the M word, though for now I'll catch myself and simply call it great; check out the IMDb Top 250, where the movie is already ranked at number 9), fulfill the soul and enrich life, waxing our experiences and perspectives, sharpening our tools for understanding ourselves and our fellow men (and machines). I feel more complete after having seen them, wiser and truer and happier. Wall-E may not be the best film so far this year, but I suspect its relatively universal appeal will make it a likely contender for end-of-year recognition (already, some are tossing around Best Picture hopes/predictions). More on this adorable little fella soon, and count me in as a loyal supporter until the end.

Vantage Point, waaaaaay on the other end of the scale, is pure, music-deprived noise -- condescending faux-serious, faux-complex apolitical bullshit made for morons who need everything spelled out for them with lots of fancy distractions to keep them interested (yeah, I said it). The first half could have easily been covered in 10-15 minutes sans wonky stylistic filler, so I'll assume, for now, that the whole film could have been but a 20 minute short, or a half hour special tops. Damn the makers, then, for wasting countless hours of human life. Damn them for their shrill slow-motion techniques and fucking cantankerous sound design. Damn them for giving non-linear storytelling a bad name. Damn them for making movies a hollow and emotion-deprived sensory bombast. Damn - no, scratch that, fuck 'em. Because they just fucked my head like an escaped convict might a lost teenager, and life's too short for this shit.

On that note, welcome to my new abode. Enjoy your freedom of speech and, above all, let the freak flags fly. Normality will not be tolerated.