Delayed Reaction: Citizen Kane

The Pitch: Originally, it was something like "the story of William Randolph Hearst Charles Foster Kane's life told through interviews", but these days, it's more like "See why AFI keeps calling it the greatest movie ever made".

How I Came Into It: I went into watching this defensive. When so many people call something "the best" there's an inherent challenge to seeing it. You know, I'll be the judge of that. I've been aware of the movie ever since that episode of Tiny Toons and I was excited to finally get around to it.

Why I Saw It: Along with Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane was one of my most glaring omissions on my movie list. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. I haven't seen enough older movies to put it in context in terms of influence and style, but it holds up remarkably well. There's nothing to say about it that hasn't been said already, so I'll keep it simple. Orson Welles is a force to be reckoned with and I love the style. Even knowing about Rosebud, the ending is still damn poignant.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: There is no reason to not see this movie. Ok, there is a reason. You could avoid it to be contrarian, like all those people who say "I haven't seen Star Wars" like they deserve a merit badge. There's no good reason to not see this movie.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend