Metaphilm

So, it took a little longer than I had initially promised, but I assure that the wait was well worth it for the first installment of the feature I have decided to simply call, "must see."

First up is Metaphilm, one of the most interesting, deep and hilarious sites I have ever found. If you're trying to envision it, think of a collection of movie reviews. Now forget the review part. This site's contributor's aren't concerned with how good or bad a movie is (How else do you explain the presence of Alien vs. Predator on Metaphilm?), but the true meanings of film, from movies as disparate as Fight Club, Akira and I Heart Huckabees, are. Connections are drawn between the conspiracy theories surrounding the assasination of President Kennedy and the board game turned movie Clue and between the celebrated comic Calvin and Hobbes and Fight Club. Both are personal favorites and make a visit worthwhile. Besides these interprative essays, Metaphilm also has a number of fascinating links which consider the purpose of film and the experience of watching it.

At a philosophical level this site's greatest appeal, for me, is its structure. Metaphilm's contributors look for and find meaning in everything. All movies, no matter how banal or excellent, are passages to greater understanding. For them, life has meaning and is very much worth living.

Okay, the last paragraph is a overly romantic, considering how sarcastic these writers can be and how lightly they treat some movies, but I still stand by it. If someone can find any redeeming worth at all in Gothika, it gives me hope for everything else.