9.18.2015

There are life altering events in everyone’s life.  Some are for the better while others are for the worst, its all part of the yin and yang of life. In September of 2001, a week after the towers fell, I experienced one such event.  Every year for fourteen years now, I dread September.  Solely because of this event.  (I’m not going to put the event in writing.  I just don’t want to.  I’m sure the vast majority of those reading this blog do know.)  This event led to an eventual diagnosis of a heart disorder.  One that I tend to ignore more then pay attention to but that is a whole different topic of conversation and its one I intentionally am vague on.  

So back to the topic at hand.  9.18 is the anniversary of the before mentioned event.  I prefer to take the day off from work.  On this day there are years where I am perfectly fine and others where I am not.

This year I spent the morning with my mom, doing errands and what not.  Busy work that I enjoyed.  I had lunch with my cousin and chatted with my Dad on the phone.

Then came the part of the day I was both dreading and looking forward to at the same time.  It was the time I was by myself.  

So as always I found myself at the movies.  This year I did a double feature.  It started with an IMAX matinee of Everest and was bookended with the Johnny Depp gangster picture Black Mass.  I throughly enjoyed both movies, the ladder one more so.  More importantly I enjoyed and appreciated the distraction.  For not one but two features I got to hide behind the unfolding stories and live the lives of the characters on screen.  For that distraction on today of all days I am truly appreciative of being able to go to the movies.  

Had I seen these movies on any other day of the year I would of throughly enjoyed them.  Would I have enjoyed them as much?  The question of circumstance while watching movies is one I will have to address in another blog.  Right now though I am going to close my eyes and bond with their insides sleeping away the rest of this awful day.

My Movie Choices can be a reflection of my Mood

In good times and bad movies seem to be a constant baseline for me, especially this time of year.  I have my go to movies for both occasions, like a prescription only better.  Sometimes it seems nice not to go back and forth in selecting a title to watch, just grab something and view.

The James Bond franchise seem to go both ways for me.  It doesn’t matter which franchise entry goes in the player they all tend to do to the trick.  When I’m feeling super excited or feeling down in the dumps a 007 adventure always seems to be a good choice.  Sometimes one of these adventures can change a bad mood into a good one or keep a good one going.  Bond films are my favorite and that may contribute to being able to be go to films no matter what my mood.

Like Bond films Gattaca and Waking Ned Devine, two films from almost twenty years ago, do the same trick.  They both help me turn a bad or down mood around as well as keep a good mood going.  Both films routinely top my all time favorites list.

Other films that tend to keep a good mood going, sometimes increase it, are slap stick comedies.  Airplane, The Naked Gun, Monty Python & the Holy Grail lead the pack in that regard.  Other films that tend to ride a good mood forward are horror flicks.  The Conjuring, The Haunting, The Shining among others help that movement.

Movies that make me think are also something I enjoy watching when in a really good mood.  Typically espoinage films like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Zero Dark Thirty top this list.  Also films I find inspirational like Flight are good films for me to watch when in a good place.

Of course not every mood I have can be a winning one.  I do tend to have my down days.  Who doesn’t, right?  

When in comes time to veg out when having a bad day or a mood that’s down action flicks tend to help turn a frown upside down.  Top Gun, The Rock, The Fugitive are a few that are reliable in turning things around.  When I’m just not feeling myself monster movies tend to help a little.  Jurassic Park (which is also a go to for a rainy day) and the classic Godzilla battle films tend to help.  Also something just minding numbing like Uncle Buck or Tommy Boy tend to do the trick. 

Regardless of the mood I always find it nice to revisit a flick that I haven’t seen in a while.  War Games most recently was one I pulled off the shelf and wiped the dust off.  It made my day to watch this one again.  The feeling was almost like hearing from a good friend.

Either way it’s hard to beat a really good prescribed movie for any high or low that life produces.