Although Ryan may have already claimed 2009 as a tragedy (and this seems to be a fairly widespread opinion across the social networks), 2010 has started no better. Think. This is the first year in a decade that novelty eyewear manufacturers can’t make a pair of gaudy baubles using the year as the frames. What will these fine people turn to in the wake of the ‘tens? Hopefully by the end of this year, someone will have come up with a nice name for this bizarre grouping of years. The ‘tens just doesn’t seem to capture it. This, more than ever, is the future.

I digress.

It’s a new year. The Red Circle is looking forward to its first stage of metamorphosis. The previous three months have been a modest success. We have readers, we have discussions, and people visit the site, even if we don’t have an article posted. Hell, sometimes they show up even if we don’t link to the site directly every day. This is a good thing, and I want to sincerely thank Ryan, Cory, and Jamie for making The Red Circle at least a tiny little pinprick of a destination for some folks.

This year, everything gets complicated. The Red Circle is expanding. The previous three months were a practice run; something to test ourselves and make sure we’d still want to do this in 90 days time. Well, apparently we do. This year will see a few things start, and a few others end. Goodbyes are due to the “theme” months. We will be focusing on our columns, the new and the old, as well as diving into some more in-depth feature articles. The site will start taking a much more intensive view on the medium of comic books and graphic novels, and, god willing, we’ll actually start talking about things that are on the television.

Look forward to a roundtable on the Passing of the Tenth Doctor, and a weekly capsule of the new series starting in April. 2010 will also see the inaugural class of The Red Circle’s Hall of Fame.  We have and will continue to champion the best of film here at TRC, and the people who have made this possible will have our highest honour bestowed upon their deceased skulls.

It’s a rumor that the people who run and write for this site are a bunch of stodgy, angry, bitter, scalliwags who hate everything they see. This is, of course, absolutely true. And in an attempt to prove it, I will be watching and reviewing 201 movies I have never seen before in this calendar year. I do honestly hope that most of them are good, or else my fate is sealed.

But, as for the evolution of this site, you will just have to wait and see. There are many things in the works to increase the diameter of The Red Circle out as far as it can go. We hope to encompass as many new ideas and people as possible. One day, we will all stop talking about what we have been watching, and begin talking about what we are creating.

And we hope you’ll talk about it, too.

Tom Nix, Co-Founder of The Red Circle

01.03.10

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Tragedy by the Bee Gees blared at BP while I pumped gas. It was the first song I heard on the last day of the year. Having been searching for a way to sum up the year, I had just realized that the Brothers Gibb gave me the answer. Tragedy, art based on human suffering that paradoxically offers its audience pleasure. A specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization. Our last tens years have brought us nothing but endless outlets for the propagation of tragedy. Every advancement in technology and social media makes it easier to know that some sad sack has got it worse. We are defined and fueled by Tragedy (although most of you will never admit it). If you do not believe me, then explain why Michael Jackson died for six months.

And so it was amidst this tragedy, heroes would rise to bring us all back from the darkness of John and Kate. There were those who wanted to help the world understand visual storytelling in a fuller light. Aimed to combine themselves with the art-form, and explore how the best push far beyond the border of entertainment and use it as a unique form of communication. Unfortunately they died in a car crash. Fortunately for Tom and I, we discovered the scene. After liberating $22.37 from their wallets and taking their plan for a movie site to end all movie sites we decided to make their cause our own. On the first day of October, in this foul year of our lord two-thousand and nine, The Red Circle was born.

We launched with a monthly focus appropriately devoted to Horror (hey, it compliments tragedy). Each day we counted down the best of the Horror genre in mini-reviews to prepare you for All Hallows Eve. Along the way starting a series of weekly posts known as Long Good Friday, Tom reviewed a few films and we generally tried to not fuck it up.

In November we lined up grudge matches of love and hate in our Flip/side feature (to argue often ends in tragedy). I started “Ice Skating Up Hill”. Tom took it to Twilight and Cory K.O.ed Cameron before he even had a chance. Thanksgiving arrived with Tom educating you on Blu-ray as you started your holiday shopping. I closed the month out with my half of the final Flip/side, informing you that 2009 was a tragedy at the cineplex.

Heading into the winter season we were officially joined by Cory Maidens and Jamie Dull to discuss music. Cory counted off his Top 50 Albums of the Decade and Jamie brought us Song of the Day selections. I changed the direction of Long Good Friday, switching from movies to discuss the TV shows canceled before their time. Before the month ended Tom and I took turns skewering what was left of Avatar. Each of us ended the month with a list of our Ten favorite films…ever (or rather the ten reasons for doing what we do).

As I look ahead, there is a lot to offer waiting in the wings. Twenty-Ten will see the launch of the TRC Movie Poster Graveyard, Comic Book reviews, more Television commentary, more reviews, and much more that Major Tom will divulge in his welcome to the future.

Needless to say, The Red Circle was not a tragedy. The best part is this was only a soft-launch for us, our beta period or time to make mistakes. We have lots of new features and articles in the works. It is our hope that Cory and Jamie stick around and continue to contribute articles about the things that make them take notice. Thanks to Tom who shepherded us all along the last three months (especially when it concerned my grammar skills), he might be an editor yet someday. Thanks to myself for generally being fantastic and coming up with anything that was good on the site, but I digress. Tomorrow starts a new year and a new decade; The Red Circle will only get bigger.

Be seeing you,
Ryan Brlecic

Co-Founder of The Red Circle

PS – In 2010, You need to get Disenfranchised!

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Another month come and gone. Perhaps too quickly. The Red Circle is now entering its third month of continued existence on the web, and this month we aim to change it up a bit. We’re slapping a theme on virtually everything we do in December, and that theme is Music. Featured author Cory Maidens will be counting off his Top 50 Albums of the Decade for us every weekday in December. We’ll also be introducing new contributors to the fold as we unveil Song of the Day selections, and hopefully some more technical articles around how to get the most out of your home stereo. We had some successes in November. Our Flip/Side features certainly gathered some steam and some discussion. This is something we are proud of. That said, it’s time we switch it up again and hope that you’ll find the time to make the Red Circle a daily destination. We’re certainly working at it. We’ll still continue to review first run and catalog movies here. The Long Good Friday will press on with a theme all its own: One and Done TV shows. We’ll give you a chance to enjoy these One Season Wonders every Friday. Its too bad the vast majority of people didn’t. Hopefully we’ll have a few more surprises in store before the first year of the new decade begins.

Christmastime is inseparably tied to music. Carolers, shopping malls, Christmas mixes. We’d like to take that connection and push it a little farther. We’d like to introduce you artists you may have never heard of, and deeper cut songs by the artists you already love. Celebrate the season with music, even if it doesn’t mention Santa, Reindeer, or First Noels. It’s going to get colder outside, but you’ll have a spot to warm your feet inside The Red Circle.

Tom Nix // 11.30.09

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In last month’s running feature, we discussed a horror film a day. This month’s feature will be series of Flip/Side debates that will discuss cinema and entertainment on a much wider level. We will feature multiple takes on one subject with the goal being to open up the topic for further understanding and discussion. We hope our comment boards get a little more active with this feature. We’d love to hear what you think about our selected subjects. These columns will be posted every Wednesday this month, and will feature outside guests and contributors from all over the web.

Once again, thank you for giving us a great first month. We hope you will continue to make The Red Circle a regular stop in your web traffic. We’ve got a totally different approach this month that should make it a lot more palatable for movie and media nerds of all speeds. See you on the Flip/Side.

Tom Nix // 11.01.09

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Good Morning, errant web traveler. You’ve probably accidentally come here, so let me help clarify
what it is you’re looking at.

You’ve happened across the very beginning of a very long work in progress. This is how it breaks down:

To kick off The Red Circle’s rebirth during our absolute favorite month, we’ve put together a month-long feature will look at some of our favorite horror flicks leading all the way to the beginning of November. We know it’s passe’ to do a Horror Halloween List in October, so look at this as a daily tribute to some of the greats. One’s you’ve seen a thousand times and maybe some you’ve never seen at all. There will be a movie-a-day mini-article running up until the 31st. This will be the M.O. of The Red Circle for the first few months. A monthly feature combined with a running column on Fridays. You’ll catch various reviews and opinion pieces scattered throughout. For sure, there won’t be a lot going on here for the first couple of weeks, but this place will be brimming with words and images by the end of the year. Keep checking back!

Welcome to The Red Circle.

Tom Nix // 10.01.09

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The Red Circle is a collection of people and ideas gathered around all things art, trying to uncover the layers of storytelling.

The Red Circle tries do a lot of things. It’s a home for people that love movies, music, comics, and books. It’s a place where in-depth discussions take place about the stories we love. Look here for films you’ve never heard of, and ones that have been a part of your whole life. Look here to get opinions from people that have been through the trenches of media engrossment. Look here to share our own war stories. Look here for visual interpretations of the media that means so much to us.

At the start, there will be a slow trickle of content – monthly features, random opinion pieces, weekly columns. Over time, this will be a patchwork of ideas and images. It has the makings of something actually great. Don’t come here to get the latest movie news. Come here to understand why movies make us better people. Come here to find out how art shapes you.

And that’s really the point of it all. This is a place for two men to talk about why they are the way they are. We’d love for you to join us.

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