I'm hoping that a good chunk of my "New Things" this year are movies. I just don't watch a lot of movies.

My thinking is that if I'm going to spend 2-3 hours on something, I'd rather give that time to sports rather than movies. (It's not that I don't enjoy the movies - I like movies a lot. It's more about just not having the time.)

But this year is about trying new things, and seeing movies is part of that.

And last Saturday, for the first time in 2013, I went to the movies to see 'Lincoln'.

I love history, and to be honest, I felt this was a movie I had to see more than I wanted to see.

But man, am I sure glad I did.

'Lincoln' was excellent.

Best Movie of the year? I don't know - I'm hoping to see a few more nominees so I can make an informed judgment. But it certainly deserves its place in the discussion, and Daniel Day-Lewis earned all the accolades being thrown his way. Every single thing about the movie was outstanding.

I think it's especially meaningful since it's out now, when we have a black president, and you think of how far our country has come. (And reflect on how scary it is to think about what our country was like not all that long ago.) You have to see 'Lincoln'. It's that good.

When I see a good movie like 'Lincoln' it inspires me. Sometimes it's to try to write my own movie. In this case there was a little bit of a desire to explore politics some more. But I also left 'Lincoln' thinking I need to learn more about him and the Civil War.

My favorite part of history is the American Revolution. Maybe not even the war itself, but the lead-up to the war. I know there's tons to learn about with the Civil War, but for some reason it never caught my interest as much. I've been to Gettysburg - I enjoy seeing sites like that - but maybe all of the info just seems overwhelming to me.

Anyway, that's how good 'Lincoln' was. For years I didn't think I cared to learn any more than what I already knew about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. Now I just want to learn it all.

Maybe Steven Spielberg can put together another movie for me.