Why I Love Edgar Wright (and you should too!)

Those of you not so familiar with the latest British cinema may not be familiar with Mr. Edgar Wright. If you call yourself a cinephile, shame on you, and by-the-by, you're totally missing out. Those of you who already know of him know of his greatness. I'm here to convince the rest of you. Here a just a few reasons you need to love Wright:

1) "Spaced." Late '90s British T.V. brilliance. I was a bit of a youngster when "Spaced" was on the air, but the hilarity lives on. The brilliant blend of pop culture, absurdism and the fine writing of Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson Hynes all combine into one awesome T.V. show. However, it's Edgar Wright's distinctive directing style of camerawork (especially whip-pans) that makes you feel like you're viewing something special. Each episode feels like a mini-movie, and was a harbinger of the great things to come.

2) "Shaun of the Dead." If you haven't caught this yet, you must. This is where Wright and writing partner Pegg really shine as both writers and in their respective roles. This film creation is too smart and loving to be a parody, too original to be a complete homage. And it's hilarious, which if you think about it, is quite a feat.

3) "Hot Fuzz." This film, the latest from Wright, is again that loving parody/homage genre only this time of action and buddy-cop films. (If you've seen anything directed by Tony Scott or Michael Bay, you can appreciate this.) Again, the writing is top notch, and you must be doing something right (no pun intended) if you can assemble that cast! Not to mention they have a high speed chase on a British country lane.

4) "Don't" trailer. A mini-creation, this was part of the grossly misunderstood "Grindhouse" package. A fine parody/homage (they really need to name this new genre) of cheesy B-horror films. Again, with the great balance of wit and genuine originality, it makes me want to see the full film, and it's 2 minutes long!

5) The Scott Pilgrim vs. the World blog. Since January 1st, Wright has been doing a picture a day blog of both his ordinary life, and work on his latest project, due out in 2010. This not only gives rabid Scott Pilgrim fans something to look forward to, but also a glimpse of a generous director who actually seems to like his fans.

And you gotta love that.