As an avid movie goer and struggling screenwriter, I constantly look forward to upcoming new movies; in my case it’s action, thrillers, animation and comedies.  Let’s face it, I’m a guy and those are the things that keep me most interested in my love of movies.

 At the start of each year, I look at the release dates of all the prospective movies that I must see and jot them down on my “Must See” movie list.  After that’s done, I make another list called my “Must Get DVD” list; it’s mainly for movies that I want to see but feel that I could wait until the DVD comes out.   

 Now…back to my “Must See” list; I post it in my cubicle at work and look at the release date of the movie and the current date.  I was never good in math but my mind quickly calculates the countdown clock in my head as to how long before I’m sitting in that theater watching that movie with mouth agape and eyes wide open in pure awe.

 In the days leading up to the release, I constantly peruse my favorite movie sites anxiously waiting to get a glimpse of that first trailer. 

Viewing it once is never enough, I need to see it three, four…heck ten times just to soak in and absorb what I missed the first time around. 

 Months turn to weeks and then to days as I wait in baited breath for that second trailer and a final trailer of that “Must See” movie on my list.  Seeing it several times over and over again is the process that I have to go through to catch all the nuances of what I’ll be seeing once I get into that theater.

 Tick, tock, tick, tock…the countdown in my head starts as I wait in feverish anticipation to all the amazing things I’ll be seeing.  I look at my favorite sites to see who got the chance to preview the movie early and see if they divulged any small spoilers about what to expect.  I’m the kind of person that like hearing these things; it never ruins the movie for me.  If it’s on my “Must See”, nothing will detract me from going to see it. 

 The only thing in the build up to seeing a movie on my “Must See” list that I don’t thoroughly enjoy are the early reviews.  If it’s a good one, I’ll read it; guess it’s a way of validating what I knew all along about why I chose this movie. 

 If it’s a bad one, I’ll read it quickly and completely ignore it; sometimes critics over analyze a movie to the point of exhaustion.  If a movie entertained me and made me forget about all my problems for two and a half hours, then it did its job!  End of story!

 On movie day, I purchase my ticket, get the necessities and choose a seat all the way at the back of the auditorium so that I can view this movie in grand spectacular fashion.  It can’t get here any quicker; I constantly look at my watch and watch the minutes wind down.  When the lights dim, I lean back in my chair and sigh in utter relief that that time has come; it’s finally…SHOWTIME!