Nolan

Videographer and Jackie Chan connoisseur

“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize that something was actually strange.”

Inception

A Few Favorites

  • Inception
  • The Birdcage
  • Legend of the Drunken Master
  • Logan
  • Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out
  • The Gay Divorcee

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been in love with movies.  

I credit my parents. We watched silent era comedies and tons of musicals from the 1930’s and 1940’s. When I was finally allowed to have a TV in my room, I spent many nights up until 2 am recording classic monster movies on VHS. 

Like many other kids, I grew up with animated movies. But there was a special place in my heart for stop-motion.

In elementary school, I saw Frog and Toad are Friends (1985) and was captivated. Then I saw my first Wallace and Gromit from Aardman Animation and I was hooked.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Jackie Chan. I watched First Strike (1996) with my Dad when I was 12 and was completely blown away. I started scouring every video store I could to find more. One night, Spike TV had a Jackie Chan marathon with movies I had never seen. I meant to record them all and go to bed, but I ended up watching all five films through the night and into the next morning. While I can enjoy special effects driven action, well choreographed martial arts sequences are unmatched. 

In 2007, I moved to Boston to study Digital Media Production. I took several classes (many in an actual movie theater) on the history of cinema and filmmaking techniques, like cinematography and editing, which gave me a new appreciation for the craft behind films. I think about what I learned every time I see a new movie. 

My film collection started when I got my first job and I’ve invested more money than I care to admit in the many years since. The collection includes everything from A Trip to the Moon (1902) to John Wick 3: Parabellum (2019), every Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical, over 50 Buster Keaton shorts, and every movie Jackie Chan has starred in (many of which are in Chinese without subtitles).

Watching movies is my favorite experience. There is nothing better than the smell of popcorn, a dimly lit theater, surround sound speakers, and an enormous screen to transport you. Movies can show you a story you never thought you’d relate to or bring you into a world you didn’t know existed, even if only for a few hours.