The Athletic Nerd has truly become a big part of my life.  Waking up each morning and posting something new from the world of movies was merely a dream a few years ago.  I never thought I would make the time to keep up with the enormous amount of work a daily blog demands.  Overall, 2011 was a fantastic year that saw the biggest jump in traffic, a brand new look and tons of original content.

When I thought about my goals for 2012 I couldn’t help but feel excited.  But goals still need to be set, met and exceeded.

The Athletic Nerd, at it’s core, is a blog about the movies that inspire the aspiring filmmaker.  It’s about the passion that fills the pages of a screenplay, the dedication that fuels a director on set and the commitment of an editor pouring over footage in the cutting room.  Over the last 2.5 years, I’ve written about virtually everything in some capacity including marketing films, producing and how social media influences a new generation of artists.

I love to write about film.  I’m excited to continue writing about my own filmmaking adventures but more than ever, I’m excited to write about the adventures of others.  From featuring films in the latest edition of The Post to interviewing filmmakers about their work, I’ve covered tons of projects over the last year.

2012 will come with an increased focus on interviews and features.  I’ve spent over 2 years developing a work flow for this blog and now I’m ready to refine it.  2012 will be the year I take the content to the next level.   When I start a new screenplay, I challenge myself to be better.  This blog is no different.

This post happens to be number 800 overall.  800 posts about movies, screenwriting & independent film.  2012 will see the arrival of my 1000th post.  I recently received page hit number 500,000.  Half a million!  I can’t wait to find out which milestones I’ll be chasing next year.

I’m excited to share the projects that resulted from the fire sparked by the movies I love.

As always, send any suggestions, comments or links to your films to jason@17west.ca

Go to any major sports website and you will find Power Rankings.  A popular ranking system that lists every team in a league from best to worst.

Since I work for a sports network, it makes perfect sense to take that system and rank my favorite movies of all time.

Except I’m doing things a little differently.  These won’t be updated weekly. (That would be ridiculous) However, you will find links to stories I’ve written on the films in addition to trailers and bonus posts.

We start with 16-30.  Click here for 1-15.

Saving Private Ryan

I made a couple war movies when I was in high school.  I think every film nerd did.  To me, Saving Private Ryan is the definitive war film.  Hanks, Spielberg and a phenomenal story.

• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorties
• 10 Flicks: Movies From Awesome Directors
• 10 Flicks: Yearly Favorites

Star Wars

I can’t wait to get my hands on the complete series on Blu Ray.

• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Movies I’ve Seen In Theaters More Than Once
• Why Special Features Inspire Filmmakers
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorites

Pulp Fiction

Like millions of film fans, I’m completely addicted to Quentin Tarantino’s films.

• Movies That Changed Everything: Pulp Fiction
• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Best Editing Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: VHS Movies I Need To Upgrade
• 10 Flicks: Bad Ass Movies
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

Transformers

I’m a fan of Michael Bay.  I had so much fun watching this movie.  I can’t think of a better compliment to give the film.

• All Time Best: Movie Character You Would Want To Be Friends With
• 10 Flicks: If I Could Only Own 10 Movies
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorites

Forrest Gump

The perfect movie to watch on a lazy day.

• 10 Flicks: Character Driven Movies
• 10 Flicks: Lazy Day Movies
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

Varsity Blues

This movie heavily influenced a basketball screenplay I wrote in high school.  Love ‘The New Twitter End Zone Dance’.

• 10 Flicks: Movies With Championship Games
• 10 Flicks: Pre Drinking Comedies 2

The Sixth Sense

Someone ruined the end of this movie for me.  I still loved it.

• Movies That Changed Everything: The Sixth Sense
• 10 Flicks: Horror Movies With Great Stories
• It’s Time For Another Twist Ending
• All Time Best: Twist Ending
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorites
• Director Wars: Nolan vs Shyamalan
• Director Wars: Nolan vs Shyamalan 2
• 10 Flicks: Yearly Favorites

The Last Samurai

I thought this movie was fascinating.  Well written, well acted and tons of amazing action.  My kind of movie.

• Rainy Sundays: The Last Samurai
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features
• 10 Flicks: Yearly Favorites

Tommy Boy

What can you say about Chris Farley?  One of the funniest people who ever lived.

• All Time Best: Punch In The Face
• 10 Flicks: Pre-Drinking Comedies 2
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

The Social Network

Nerds.  It’s a trademark on this site and I loved every second of watching the creation of Facebook unfold on the big screen.

• 2010′s All Time Top 5 Movies
• Nerds & The Social Network
• 10 Flicks: Movies With Smart Characters

There Will Be Blood

Daniel Plainview is one of my favorite characters of all time.  Amazing performance by Daniel Day Lewis.

• Movies That Changed Everything: There Will Be Blood
• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Character Driven Movies
• Rainy Sundays: There Will Be Blood

Old School

One of the best Pre Drinking Comedies.  A classic.

• 10 Flicks: Pre Drinking Comedies

Paranormal Activity

My favorite movie of 2009.  The most fun I had in theaters in a long time.

• 2009′s All Time Top 5 Movies
• I Call These Movies, Awesome Movies
• Director Wars: Gareth Edwards vs Oren Peli
• 10 Flicks: Movies I’ve Seen In Theaters More Than Once
• Why Paranormal Activity Saved Horror Films
• Paranormal Activity Director Is Awesome

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I grew up with Ninja Turtles.  I love Ninja Turtles.  I’m obsessed with Ninja Turtles.

Note: What’s with the voices in this trailer?

• Why Ninja Turtles Made Me Cry
• Rainy Sundays: Ninja Turtles
• Wouldn’t It Be Awesome If TMNT 2 Featured Bebop & Rocksteady?
• All Time Best: Movie Henchmen
• 10 Flicks: Movies That Make Me Hungry

The Lion King

A wonderful classic Disney movie.  One of the best.  I love cartoons.

• Rainy Sundays: The Lion King

A BRAND NEW FEATURE ON THE ATHLETIC NERD!

The Athletic Nerd is nearly 2 years old now and has grown a lot.  What I love about this site is the ability to write about movies, screenwriting and independent film on a daily basis.  Beyond that, I’m a huge fan of regular series and features that readers can expect to see.

The first was Rainy Sundays.  A look at the best lazy day movies that are perfect for a rainy afternoon.  I followed that up with a series called Movies That Changed Everything.  The 12 part series was all about the movies that had the greatest impact on me.  It dealt with the movies that inspire as well as the films that drive my passion for filmmaking.

My third series, Movies That Scarred Me For Life, is winding down now.  It’s another 12 part look at the movies that changed everything for all the wrong reasons.  These films range from the awful to the horrific and many in between.

Now it’s time to announce my next series: If I Could Only Recommend One…

I’ll explain more when the first post goes live in the next few weeks.

KEEP WRITING.
KEEP GETTING BETTER.

If I had any advice for someone just starting out in the blogging world I would tell them to completely immerse themselves in the medium.  It may seem like all there is to blogging is a domain and a platform like WordPress but that’s far from the case if you want your blog to succeed. 

I may not get a million visitors per day but I can work my ass off to get there someday.

I think a huge part of developing a blog, especially in a crowded niche like movies, is about evolving and raising your game.  You have to constantly learn new things and apply them creatively.

When I first started this blog, it wasn’t focused and I wrote about a lot of random topics.  They were all related to movies but the site lacked an overall identity.  You have to ask yourself, what do I want people to EXPECT to see when they visit.  Beyond that you have to ask yourself what they WOULDN’T expect as well.

Personally, I put a lot of time into a system of graphics and styles to give each post a unique look.  I’ve launched new features, I’ve canceled others.  It’s all about evolving and finding your blogging groove.

XTRA: Movie Blogging: Behind The Scenes

I’ve reached the point now where I hope readers know the kind of content they can expect to find here on a daily basis.  I’ve got a set of regular features and I’ve added more ambitious features like interviews, original 12 part series and more.

But new features and approaches aren’t enough.  I spend a lot of time reading about how to increase traffic and I’ve got a pretty decent amount but now I have to make sure not to lose sight of my main goals.  Traffic is one thing.  Keeping it is another.

The content has to evolve too.

I want to write about how much I love movies, screenwriting and independent filmmaking.  That’s The Athletic Nerd in it’s simplest form but I have to demand more of myself when it comes to new and original content.  Especially since I remain committed to at least 6 posts per week and have been for nearly two years.

The idea for this post came along the other day when I sat down and mapped out a month’s worth of post ideas.  When I finished I realized that nothing was stopping me from brainstorming even more.  So I started a new calendar with ‘Tent Pole’ as it’s title.

What I mean by Tent Pole is what people in the blogging world refer to as pillar content.  Hero posts that are well researched and thought provoking.   Great content.  Slowly, ideas started to form.  Bigger and more ambitious ideas and now I have TWO schedules to work with.

You have to raise the bar.

What better way to challenge myself to be better than by printing it here.  It’s time to hold myself to a higher standard. (Especially when it comes to grammar and typos.  Am I a writer or not?!)

There’s something exciting about really thinking about the quality of my posts and trying new things.   At the end of the day, I love to write about the movies I love.

Comments?  Suggestions? Post ideas?  Looking to contribute?
Email me at jason@17west.ca

New to The Athletic Nerd?  Find out more about me here and take a tour here.

For a huge amount of information and tips on blogging visit Problogger.

I started preparing my Top 5 movies of 2010 a few weeks back and quickly realized that I could only make a case for 4…

Today I found the 5th.

The Fighter

Except I almost didn’t make it in time…

The movie was showing at 12:20.

It should have been easy to make it in time but a series of events including the dog needing a quick bath complicated things a bit.

I’m really started to get annoyed with the TTC these days. I’m considering filming some of these adventures with my phone just to show people how many times I get to the subway and JUST MISS a train.  I suppose I can’t fault the TTC but it would be nice to arrive just as a train comes IN to the station.

Today I missed all three of my connections by 15 seconds or less. It’s aggravating.

If I would have made 1 of them, things would have been a lot better.

Regardless, once I reached the theater, I was sure that being 12-15 minutes late would mean missing the first 5 minutes of the movie.

I was wrong.

Apparently, you can be up to 20 minutes late for a movie and not miss a thing.  I had time to buy my ticket, check out the theater, leave the theater to buy 2 hot dogs, a quick washroom break and back to find a seat.

I even ate one of the hot dogs before the movie started.

Still, I would have loved to see ALL the trailers but I’m not complaining.  I got to see every frame of a pretty fantastic movie.

How good was The Fighter?

The true story of Mickey Ward and his brother Dicky Eklund is one I’ve never heard of before. I’ve never really been a boxing fan let alone a boxing historian so I went in not knowing anything about these two boxers.

I absolutely loved The Fighter.

Christian Bale’s Dicky is a triumph. It’s a performance that should earn Bale the Academy Award.

I went in expecting an underdog story but was surprised to find a movie about a family and the struggle to find success.  The Fighter takes you from the rock bottom life of drugs, poverty and despair all the way to championship glory and redemption.

It’s an inspiring story and well worth the trip to the theater no matter how late I was.

Thankfully, I’m happy I was there for the first scene where you truly get a sense of how Christian Bale transformed himself into Dicky.  It’s remarkable.

The rest of the cast including Mark Walberg and Amy Adams are also at the top of their game.

Find out next week where this film ranks on my top 5 of 2010.  I would have been happy to write a Top 4 post but it’s still a relief that I found time to see The Fighter.

Great flick.