' ' Cinema Romantico: A Midpoint Review

Friday, August 29, 2008

A Midpoint Review

Well, I knew it. I predicted it. In my post for the Top 5 Movies of 2007 I advised after the most glorious year for film I've ever beheld that we were on a collision course for "one hell of a letdown in 2008". And so it's come to pass. My intent today was to compose my annual Midpoint Review, a list meant to include the best films and best performances thus far of 2008 and came up with.....not much.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was pretty great. And....well....that's about all we've got, as far as I'm concerned, and so this led me to ponder the cause of such a strange, freak spate of cinematic glory last year. Was it the pull of the moon? A bizarre wombat plague? Thus, I decided to do some research. Here's what I found....

It turns out in 2007 The Doomsday Clock was moved from 7 minutes to 5 minutes. Is this meant to indicate that years which overflow with quality filmmaking simultaneously bring us that much closer to our ultimate demise?

Upon further review, however, The Doomsday Clock also moved from 9 minutes to the aforementioned 7 minutes in 2002 and, rest assured, cinematically-speaking 2002 was no 2007.

No dice. Ah, but no so fast, there's more.

In 2007 the Pound Sterling hit a 15-year high against the US dollar, breaking through the US $2 level for the first time since (gasp!) 1992. What makes this significant? "Last of the Mohicans" was released in (gasp!) 1992.

Interesting, eh? But there's still more.

On September 12, 2007 the Burj Dubai became the tallest freestanding structure in the world, surpassing Toronto's CN Tower which originally became the tallest freestanding structure in the world in 1975. Do you know who was born in 1975? Kate Winslet, my favorite actress.

Curious, no? But now it gets positively spooky.

December 7, 2007 marked Uranus's extremely rare equinox. December 7, 2007 was the very day I first saw "Atonement" in the theater. It was Uranus's first equinox since....1965. Bruce Springsteen's first public performance was at the Woodhaven Swim Club....in 1965.

Are these all mere coincidences? You be the judge.

No comments: