Nine Resolutions for Oh-Nine

As tagged by Fox of Tractor Facts, continuing the meme created at DVD Panache, here are nine movie-related resolutions for 2009:

(In no specific order.)

1. Quit teasing people and write at least one post about or related to Steve McQueen, for crying out loud.

2. Be more dedicated about watching items in my Netflix queue. (Finally seeing Raising Arizona in 2008 was fine and good, but I’m not sure it was worth the $30 or so that I paid to have that little red envelope sit untouched for months.)

3. Be more dedicated about watching DVDs from my own collection, which would happen more often if I could learn to stop worrying and not be so anal about needing to watch movies uninterrupted from start to finish. (Like most people, there are dozens of movies that I’ve seen dozens of times that I let play in the background as I’m doing things around the apartment. But if I purchase a movie after seeing it only once in the theater, I have a nasty habit of wanting that precious second-ever viewing to be entirely disruption-free. Which would explain, for example, why I still haven’t watched There Will Be Blood, despite excitedly buying the DVD within a week of its release.)

4. Find another movie poster that through a combination of its graphic artistry and subject matter is worthy of being professionally matted and framed for display alongside my current collection, which includes The Thin Red Line, The New World, Bullitt, The Great Escape, Amelie … Wait a minute. Maybe my resolution should be to find more wall space.

5. At least investigate the technology purchases that would be required in order for me to be able to create some video-based analyses and celebrations here at The Cooler from time to time. I’ve been writing about movies for more than a decade now. I need to write. Always will. But I’m interested in exploring new forms of criticism, too.

6. Let this be the year that I come to the terms with the fact that this actor ...

and this actor ...

are actually the same person.

7. Find one new-to-me engaging voice on film from around the blogosphere each month, and continue use the “Sharin’ the Love” feature to highlight interesting reads, so that there’s always something new to read at The Cooler (even when I don’t have a new post), and so that others can discover new, engaging voices, too. (On that note, I’d like to give a plug to FilmDr, who this week has provided some very entertaining dispatches from the frontlines of his two-week video production class for high schoolers. Check it out.)

8. Somehow come to terms with the fact that there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do as much reading (not skimming, reading) and commenting at other blogs as I’d like. Alas, I’m going to miss some great commentary. I need to be OK with that.

9. Seize the opportunity created by a thriving newspaper industry and a booming economy to quit my day job and begin a long, lucrative career writing about film. (OK, so it’s eight resolutions and one Dumbo-esque hallucination.)

Happy 2009, everybody! What are your movie-related resolutions?