Post-Apocalyptic February

Today is February 1, and if we weren’t already committed to watching Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith tonight, we’d be diving into our growing list of post-apocalyptic movies.

Explanation 1: David borrowed my brother’s Lego Star Wars Wii game while he’s off on a mission (left last week, miss him already) and I didn’t recognize quite a few of the characters and story lines from the video game. We figured maybe it was time to revisit the newer films. Last night we remembered why we aren’t as familiar with them as the originals: they’re terrible. George Lucas does a fine job with space politics and strategies and epic battles, but his attempts to write scenes focusing on human emotion and realistic one-on-one relationships are laughable at best. Plus Hayden Christensen is a total creeper. His icky portrayal of Anakin makes Darth Vader seem almost endearing. And Natalie Portman is not much better. Makes me seriously wonder how good she can be in Black Swan, because in my opinion, she’s never been that great an actress and hardly deserves an Oscar nod.

That got a little long-winded. It’s just…well, David and I talked for hours last night about how much better Episode II would have been with a few minor changes. Ok, maybe some major changes, but it had such potential! Alas.

Explanation 2: Who needs Valentine’s Day? Post-Apocalyptic February is a much better idea, not to mention more practical. If the world really does end in 2012, we’ll have spent a full month picking up tips on how to survive it all. We’re not unsentimental; we’re just getting prepared. And, if you’re interested or have some good ideas, we are both inviting over anyone who wants to join in the festivities and soliciting suggestions for movies to watch.

See, we figure there are A BILLION (yes, David, a billion) movies out there that we a) haven’t seen but want to, b) have seen and want to see again, and c) have never heard of but would probably love if we gave them a chance. So we’re breaking it down. Each month this year–January excluded–will have its own theme, and we’ll watch movies that fit that theme exclusively.

We’ve already decided that, because movies about the end of the world can get a little depressing sometimes and because David has never seen Cats, we’re countering February with Musical March.

That’s about as far as we’ve gotten, but we have been working on some themes to work with. Movies about genetic experiments gone wrong (inspired by Croctopus, of course). Movies whose only redeeming value is that they are GORGEOUS. Cult classics from various eras and genres. You get the idea.

So again, if you have suggestions (for movies, themes, etc.) please shout them out. And if you want in on any of this action, let me know. I make really good treats.