January at Movie Moxie

As the days are short and the air is cold here in the Great White North, it's a great time to shy away from the snow stay warm indoors and enjoy classic film. When I hear the term 'classic film' my first reaction are the films I would watch on Sunday afternoons on tv growing up, almost always black and white, often musicals but over the years I can see that there is much more to it than that. Those b&w beauties will remain classics of course but the genre is much more layered than that. According to 'The Art of Watching Films', they do admit that although there is no real formula for classic film, but it "has a sense of rightness to it time and time again. Its power does not fade or diminish with the passing years but actually grows because of its universal themes and motifs." (p.24) Fair play, I would consider this a really strong point in determining a classic. The last thing I would consider in defining a classic is something I learned in a film class, and that is that every element of the film is excellent, be it the direction, writing, acting, cinematography, etc. This also allows me to expand classic film to include new film which is something very exciting. In January, I will be exploring and saluting classic film be they new or old.

Speaking of excellence, January also marks the full throttle of awards season. I had considered not following as much this year but as you can see from my post yesterday I have already got swept up in the buzz. With the Golden Globe awards in less than 2 weeks and the Oscar nominations on the 22nd, I will inevitably write about the awards, making many lists and scouring sources for films out of the regular theatre. I will also offer my views and reviews of the nominated films I have seen.

Last but not least, the film newsletter Film Fan Fridays will be making it's home here at Movie Moxie. Film Fan Fridays is a weekly newsletter of releases in Toronto, Ontario be they wide or limited and I always like to highlight Canadian, Foreign and Independent releases. It was first sent out in Spring 2003 (oh my!), and is still sent out by email every Friday. As of 2006 it has been available online and as of 2008 it's home will be here at Movie Moxie.

Have a great month everyone!