I'm Officially Living in the Year 2007: I Signed Up for Netflix

If you're asking, "What took you so long?" I don't have an answer. I believe I've mentioned a time or two that I'm a procrastinator.

I am having a ball adding films to my Netflix queue. The last movie I saw in the theatre was Up in the Air. Steve and I used to love going out for movie dates, and I don't know why we stopped. I think it's because I was choosing the movies, and I was choosing bad movies. 

The first film in my Netflix queue is Easy A, starring Emma Stone. I love her.

In an effort to complete more items on my list of 101 Things in 1001 Days, I have begun adding movies to my Netflix queue that are Academy Award Winners for Best Picture, to fulfill item #73: See all of the films that have won the Best Picture Oscar.

I got the idea from my friend Jill, who began a similar project a few years ago. Last time I checked, she had made impressive progress. I should have taken a close look at the films on this list before committing to the task. No backing out now.

A few guidelines: I'm beginning with the most recent winner and working my way backwards. I need to ease into this by starting with current films. If I have already seen a Best Picture Winner in its entirety, I do not have to see it again. Halfheartedly watching the edited for TV version and missing chunks of it doesn't count. That's why you'll see classics like The Sound of Music, Casablanca, and The Godfather on the list and wonder how in the hell I've been on this earth, in America, for 29 years and have managed not to see these films. I haven't not seen these films. I just haven't really seen them. I don't remember The Sound of Music having Nazis, let's put it that way. I also have to re-watch Driving Miss Daisy, because I saw it once, in the theatre, in 1989. I was seven. My memory of the film is hazy at best.

I'll update this post to denote when I've watched a movie. I'll even grade it for you--taking a cue from In Living Color's Men on Film: every film I watch will get a grade of "Love it" or "Hate it". If it really rocked my world, I'll give it Three Snaps in Z Formation, known as the Zorro snap.

I don't want to rattle off a list of winners, you can find that on Wikipedia. I will,  however, give a quick run-down of my lineup:

Best Picture Winners I've Already Seen
2009 - The Hurt Locker - Loved it
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire - Loved it
2007 - No Country for Old Men - Loved it
2006 - The Departed - Loved it
2005 - Crash - Loved it
2004 - Million Dollar Baby - Loved it
2002 - Chicago - Loved it
2001 - A Beautiful Mind - Loved it
2000 - Gladiator - Loved it
1999 - American Beauty - Loved it
1997 - Titanic - Loved it
1994 - Forrest Gump - Loved it
1991 - The Silence of the Lambs - Loved it
1989 - Driving Miss Daisy - Loved it
1983 - Terms of Endearment - Loved it
1979 - Kramer vs. Kramer - Loved it
1939 - Gone with the Wind - Loved it

Films I've Always Wanted to See
1993 - Schindler’s List
1985 - Out of Africa
1977 - Annie Hall
1975 - One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
1954 - On the Waterfront
1953 - From Here to Eternity
1950 - All About Eve
1943 - Casablanca
1940 - Rebecca
1934 - It Happened One Night
The Theme Here: Highly acclaimed classics. I want to see what all the fuss is about.

Films I Wouldn't Normally Watch, but I'm Now Looking Forward To
2010 - The King's Speech
1973 - The Sting
1969 - Midnight Cowboy
1967 - In the Heat of the Night
1955 - Marty
1949 - All the Kings Men
The Theme Here: Crime, Drama, Classic Films

Films That Will Make My Husband Happy
1995 - Braveheart - Hated it
1992 - Unforgiven
1990 - Dances With Wolves
1988 - Rain Man 
1986 - Platoon
1978 - The Deer Hunter
1976 - Rocky
1974 - The Godfather Part II
1972 - The Godfather
1971 - The French Connection
1970 - Patton
The Theme Here: westerns, action, war, crime dramas

Films I'm Kind of Dreading
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
1996 - The English Patient - Hated it
1987 - The Last Emperor
1984 - Amadeus
1982 - Gandhi
1962 - Lawrence of Arabia
1959 - Ben-Hur
1957 - The Bridge on the River Kwai
1956 - Around the World in 80 Days
1952 - The Greatest Show on Earth
1948 - Hamlet
1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty
The Theme Here: epics, war movies, period pieces

Movies My Husband Will Refuse to Watch
1998 - Shakespeare in Love - Hated it
1968 - Oliver!
1965 - The Sound of Music
1964 - My Fair Lady
1963 - Tom Jones
1961 - West Side Story
1958 - Gigi
1951 - An American in Paris
1944 - Going My Way
1938 - You Can't Take It with You
1936 - The Great Ziegfeld
1928/1929 - The Broadway Melody
The Theme Here: musicals, films set in Europe, films featuring a cast of carnies and/or street urchins

And All the Rest
1981 - Chariots of Fire
1980 - Ordinary People
1966 - A Man for All Seasons
1960 - The Apartment
1947 - Gentleman's Agreement
1946 - The Best Years of Our Lives
1945 - The Lost Weekend
1942 - Mrs. Miniver
1941 - How Green Was My Valley
1937 - The Life of Emile Zola
1932/1933 - Cavalcade
1931/1932 - Grand Hotel
1930/1931 - Cimarron
1929/1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front
1927/1928 - Wings

Wow. This looks like I'm taking on quite the endeavor. How long do you think this will take to complete? Are there any movies I'm dreading that you think I will like?