Movie Bytes

The glass door swung open before me, and I could almost smell that sweet movie popcorn. And the candy beckoned for me to come closer, but the hunt was on. My favorite stars were burning, showering talent over movies unknown, and those were the ones that I came for. My fingers walked down the aisles, passing senseless Comedy and too-gory-for me flicks despite my love of Horror, and Sundance fell into my grasp, sliding up against Independent. And my target fell into sight, and lately that would be Cuba Gooding Jr., Ray Liotta, and Christian Slater. And there is nothing more that I love than Blockbuster's buy 4 for $20, but the hardest part is deciding what to put back and who to take home.

5. Hero Wanted

I wasn't born a hero. Nobody ever is. Is it because of the tragedies that we never see coming? Is it because our lives lie in ruin afterward, forgotten by the world? How do we go on, and why should we care? But hope is the haunting image of her, and crisis is the trigger, hurling us into harm's way. But a life needs to be saved, but who will save me? I need hope, and I need her. But my trust falls against the bitter edge of betrayal, and her delicate presence slips through my hands. I failed. A sliver of love are the tears falling from my eyes for I am to blame, and justice needs to hear my cry. But what kind of hero is painted in red? Is it one trying to make right from what went so very wrong, or will there be no forgiveness for what I must do? Will I fail again, or will redemption take me by hand, deny death its bounty, and grant me one last chance? And will love be the wind beneath my broken wings? I wasn't born a hero, but nobody ever is.

4. Garden State

The plane is crashing down, but my world burned away a long time ago. They're clinging to life, but how have I lived but estranged in a cloud of nothing. They're holding to regret, asking for another chance, but I don't have any regrets. The misfortune of my life dangled along a plastic latch, slamming me down into cold, hard reality, and I don't know who I am. But I have to go back, sift through the remains of a youth left behind, and try to figure it, be in it right now, that moment, where everything will either change or won't, but I have to go back. I have to find her. All that I will become rests in her hands, and I have to let go. This cage that has held me still must be broken, and he has to set me free. And in return, I will forgive him, but that perfect portrait of happiness will remain only in his memory. And it is now my turn to let go, touch down, and finally feel what it is like to be alive.

3. Intacto

Life is the fine line that we walk, the chord that echoes to our heart, but it is also the trigger waiting to fire. Crisis and tragedy tear along lives, and most fall away into darkness. But a few remain standing, cut deep, but more than alive. Was it just luck that they were still breathing, or was chance the dice that would cast their lives into the games that lied in wait? Could they go back to normal, walk over the chalk outline of someone lost, and forget the scars that would keep their secrets, or would they race blindly into danger and challenge all odds? What would they do with a second chance? How hard would they play, and how far would they go to push themselves beyond the limit? And what price would they pay in the end? Life is the delicate spider web orchestrated by the conflict defined within, and luck is the grace that takes us by hand, the haunted photograph of soul, and the tears of rain that pour over words of love forever gone. And the bullet strikes the concrete wall, the barrier between life and death, and in its wake does freedom wait.

2. Forbidden Kingdom

Destiny is never a yellow brick road paved with risk and adventure or a never-ending story to whisk you off your feet and deep into the unimaginable, but it is the hands that will push you over the edge and through the gate of no gate and into a land beyond time, a world that dreams across the silver screen. But how do you get home? What journey must you take to get back to what you left behind, and who could you trust? An army of a formidable foe is ready to tear you down, and the wolves are begging for blood. But the misfits hold strong, travelers lingering across the woven strings of their own destiny, but what fate waits for them over the bitter sands of desert and mysterious, majestic mountains? How far must one go to fulfill the footsteps destined for the return of a hero, and what sacrifice must be made to defeat the one bent on having your head? And who are you to become? Destiny is the crouching tiger, circling the sands of time. It is the green-eyed monster, the dragon of legendary tales. It is the heart of heroes, the essence of warriors, and the grains of sand of their greatest adventure.

1. The Celestine Prophecy

Disconnected. We drift across a world crowded with concrete, buzzing with distraction, and where we are searching for answers that will never come. Our eyes are closed. We take for granted what the day brings us, never looking beyond or within. We wrap ourselves in illusion, believing to be connected, but what we really seek remains out of reach. We need to let go. Our way of life is dragging us down, drowning our heart and soul in conflict, and we struggle for control. We fear to just be. We need to be something, someone, so we can't let go. We can't see what lies beyond concrete walls and congested streets, and we remain in limbo, never knowing the purpose of why we are really here. We need to believe. A better world exists, but it remains a dream to the conflict of life. Fear keeps us prisoner, and we remain chained to its side. We have to let go. We have to open our eyes, see the path that waits to be found, and we can't be afraid. We are destined to become something so much more. All we have to do is take a step forward and deny those, who would hold us back. We are connected, and it is that connection that buzzes with energy through the walls and streets of our life.