Matt Fest 2012

A lot of people remember Matt Dillon on his birthday (Feb. 18). Precious few think of him every other day of the year...

Inland Empirical presents: 
Matt Dillon Film Fest

Or, MATT FEST, if you prefer. 

Why not? It's his unbirthday! This man has worked the industry for decades: acting (since his teens), directing, writing.

Am I a fan of Matt Dillon? Not particularly. I think he's underrated in general for someone with such a long career in film. I know the few things I've seen that his name was attached to were quite varied though my perception of him remains "late '70s teen idol." Is this the same for others? Is the perception of Matt Dillon what keeps him from larger successes? That's not to say he isn't a successful man; I'd simply like to see more from this talented fellow. 


Honestly, I probably couldn't name 5 of his movies without the help of IMDB (this is more a statement on my own mental gaps than his career) so I've consulted with film buff aipohaku to curate this year's selections. So I will be watching these films in the order you see here, top to bottom. 

• Tex
• The Flamingo Kid
• Liar's Moon
• Drugstore Cowboy
• Rumble Fish

You can try your local library or rentals for the titles that interest you. They should all be fairly easy to locate. Let's give it at least a week. You can Tweet me or comment here as you watch along and I'll be keeping everyone informed in my own progress. (I'll probably set up a post for each film where we can discuss in the comments.) It's been awhile since I've hosted a movie watching project; join us won't you?