Back in 2012, I moved, physically and metaphysically, from a bad place to a good place, and I’m delighted to be back in California. Yay, California!
Life has been looking more like this
…and less like this.
Why a Film Blog?
My debilitating need for stories keeps me watching movies and reading books instead of more remunerative pursuits, so I thought I’d make it official. I am quite shamelessly addicted to narratives of all types, but I especially love the experience of going to the movies—even if, to The Husband’s endless chagrin and disbelief, the movie isn’t very good. Once I’m in the dark and there’s a picture on the screen, I’m happy. I grew up in Culver City, “The Heart of Screenland,” and until I left the Los Angeles area, I thought everyone went to movies all the time.
Origin Story
My first love was always movies, inspired by my Dad and watching old movies on television, either with him or on my own. As a kid, I watched The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music religiously every year when they came on television. (Most of the time, those events were the closest thing to religion in my house.)
My Dad introduced me to some of my favorites—we watched the Bond movies when they came on television, and he took me to see Peter Sellers in the Inspector Clouseau films, thereby indirectly (and inadvertently) introducing me to kung fu.
My Dad also took me to see revivals of Jacques Tati films. When we got home from a screening of Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)—probably at the wonderful Nuart—I insisted on reenacting one of the gags with him, ad nauseum, for my Mom.
So, Yeah
“Random Pictures” is designed to be a commentary on films, film history and criticism, and, to a much lesser extent, the film industry—in particular, film festivals. It’s an excuse for me to keep writing, to watch movies (and go to festivals), and to learn more about the history of film. My tastes are promiscuous, from Pabst to Pixar, so the blog may look random, at least for a while. Of course, the name also hearkens back to when movies were “the pictures,” when some of my favorite films were made, when it seemed almost everybody did go to the movies all the time.
Mostly, I hope the blog will inspire readers to watch some movies and help deepen their enjoyment of those movies.
Enjoy.
Unless otherwise noted, all text on this and other pages of Random Pictures copyright reserved.©
Random Pictures Blog by Amy M. Johnson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://randompicturesblog.net/about/.