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However, my initial decision was changed. I now believe this film was destined to be massive. Not because the numbers say it but because my brother's very own bachelor party was this past weekend as well. I saw The Hangover on Thursday night at midnight, knowing I would be too busy in Atlantic City over the weekend to catch the movie, and was thrilled from the very first scene. The movie is hilarious, packed with unexpected jokes and the perfect film to see hours before heading off to my brother's bachelor party. Because of The Hangover, I wanted nothing more than to wreak havoc on Atlantic City, kidnap a tiger and/or a child, lose the groom-to-be, throw down with some gangsters and accidentally get hitched myself. None of those things ended up happening but I was drunk and obnoxious for two solid days. Like the film, the pictures found at the end up the trip not only filled the memory-lost gaps of the weekend but ended up providing some of the best laughs.

Life, love, movies, critics and all the rest are products of coincidence, fate AND choice. We'll never know which has the most influence but we always know one thing: how the outcome feels. The Hangover and the bachelor party left me feeling great (albeit a bit hungover myself), no matter what made them such massive successes on the same weekend. I love my brother and his fiancé as individuals and as a pair, no matter what brought them together. And for some unknown reason, I often find myself loving movies that others reviewed poorly or that audiences avoided, despite my equal interest in "critically acclaimed" or "blockbuster" movies.

Last week's Take Five was an example of this blind love. As my fellow BOP writers were kind enough to point out, I am one of few people who enjoyed The Cell. Do I think it's a masterpiece? No. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Was it one of the first movies that I stumbled on while watching our newly installed Fios cable? It would have to be in order for me to recommend it. There really is no method to my madness. I don't have a list of my favorite moves that I take five from every week, I don't think my selections are for everyone, I don't think Oscars should be awarded to all that I pick and I sure don't claim to be the best critic (though I very well may be).

But whether it be choice, coincidence or fate, I love watching and writing about movies (and a little about myself too, of course). The good, the bad, the old, the new, the funny films, the horror films, the indies, the blockbusters... the whole spectrum is on my list. But I can promise you one thing: I will never recommend a movie I personally think is outright awful and will try my best to point out the inadequacies of the films I do still enjoy and recommend. Let's see what I have in store for this week.

Cabaret (1972)

For those who wished I would suggest an "older classic" every now and then (though not one everyone has heard of, like Gone With the Wind), I offer you the musical Cabaret. I probably would have never watched it if I wasn't forced to for a Theater class I took in college but was thankful for the experience afterwards. Liza Minnelli stars as Sally Bowles, a cabaret dancer working at the "Kit-Kat Club" in Berlin. Set in the 1930s during a period of economic and political struggle, the singer must deal with the unrest of the nation while juggling two affairs. One is with a bisexual man named Brian, a man she falls in love with. The other is a wealthy man named Max, who seduces both Sally and Brian. Now THAT'S a love triangle.

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