As we find ourselves in a crisis of . . . well, seemingly so many different kinds of crises, ranging from the financial to the foreign to the domestic and within . . . a lot of people are scared or completely unmotivated to leave the house for any kind of fun.

Hopefully that's not the case for everybody. And hopefully not the case for you! But it's nice that, whether it's just your own home collection or the selection at your local theater, we have that wonderful world of movies to escape into for at least a couple hours, whenever we need. Hooray for movies!

I don't know if its basic California stubbornness or general short-sighted stupidity on my part, but I remain not-so-bothered by everything going on recently. That said, with the stomach-churning anticipation of the last weeks of the 2008 Presidential Election keeping me up (a little) at nights and everything else in the news cycles, it's hard not to be at least slightly affected by unpredictable turmoil and complete uncertainty. Every night, whenever I feel like I'm too tired/store/other to hit the bar(s), I think, "Then again, the world could literally end tomorrow. Best to enjoy myself TONIGHT."

All of which is preamble to the fact that, possibly subconsciously, I've found my recent enthusiasm for theatrical releases totally waxes and wanes in a very different way from my usual system. Or maybe it's just still residual disappointment from the blow-to-the-system-and-childhood-remembrances that was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (I can't even imagine a circumstance where I would want to view it again, let alone own it. How disheartening is that?)

My flimsy thesis here is that it's so utterly wonderful to have at least a "cool" movie every few weeks to look forward to and find myself transported into a happy place by. It helps to have some personal and occasionally bizarre pleasurable elements involved with quite a few of these recent movies, including wonderful soundtracks (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), perspectives very similar to my own (Religulous), or Shia LaBeouf (Eagle Eye on IMAX: fun times!).

This is completely self-evident, but just in case: go to the movies! Or rent one! Enjoy yourself! I've found that movies, especially ones of the recent year(s), tend to deliver extreme joys on very specific wavelengths if such elements that you're looking for (histrionic Al Pacino performances, an exclusive Vampire Weekend song on the soundtrack, a film set in Canada, etc.) is prominently included. As critical as MRFH can be, I think it's very important to remember that we are first and foremost driven by the kind of cinematic celebration that allows you to overlook numerous flaws in a film just because a zombie eats the brain of an actor or actress you really, really don't like.

Is that so wrong to cherish? Especially in uncertain times like these? Not at all! Go forth and live, dammit!