THE MOVIES OF YOUR MIND

The 10 Oscar-nominated films are all good and worthy choices; but this is to assert, not a one can surpass the movies of our own mind. Think about it. We get to pick our own stars, our own sets, our own on-location countries, and most important our very own endings...!

Now take "Avatar." Glistening with all kinds of special effects and 3-D spectacle. But when I curl up under winter- time bedcovers, the screen of my mind flashes with the time I too traveled -- in dazzling 18-year-old romantic flight -- into the three-dimensional world of the first girl I learned to love. And -- not unlike Mr Cameron's plot -- I too saved her from a disastrous fate. OK, so her "fate" was only Ray Korzon; but if you ever saw his body fill out a tux, you'd appreciate how disastrous my chances would have been had I not asked Bonnie to the prom first.

So I like this particular movie, even though neither Ray nor Bonnie remember it in quite the same way. But you see, that's what I mean by getting to pick your own endings!

"Inglorious Bastards" turns out to be another movie I've lived in my mind for years. The raw, devil-may-care courage to take on the Nazis. When you're growing up as a kid with the daily images of these sleek, black-uniformed bastards ruling the world, who wouldn't want to sweep them off the face of the globe. Especially with Bonnie and the other heroines in my script watching?

So this WWII storyline is already perfect as is. The only thing I need to do in my dreams is replace Brad Pitt with me in the role. Yes! when I watch this version, it's a sure winner. Even Angelina couldn't argue with Jen about it!

By now you're probably getting the drift of this thing. Hollywood is good, but in the movie house of your own mind, it can be even better. It's an artform you start perfecting at an early age. In my case, that meant casting myself in the roles Clark Gable and Tyrone Power used to play. But for the younger set, nothing's wrong with Tom Cruise or George Clooney. As for the heroines, my Lana Turners and Hedy Lamars are easily interchangeable with your Nicole Kidmans and Catherine Zeta Jones. Just remember -- you're the director and the cinematographer.

Important footnote...

Movies-of-the-mind are an artform worthy only of those who can authentically appreciate the realm of the imperishable imagination. Especially in the case of a glory-bound narrative coupled with an MGM happy-ending. In today's tougher age of neither, the young may have to work a little harder at this. Still, from my directorial seat on the boom-camera, these are the only movies deserving my Oscars.