Skip to main content

Should I be Ashamed?

I like movies. I love movies, but in my own peculiar way.

I only go to see the movies with big stars in them. I go to the theater only if the movie had a considerable budget to spend on the special effects. Otherwise I wait until it's out on DVD, most of the time i don't even watch the movie I wanted to watch(For example Michael Clayton, No Country For Old man are still waiting somewhere, and there's a whole bunch of them I don't even remember of wanting to see). Of course, I have my rating for the movie and about 90% of them I skip based solely on the previews and ads available.

I bestow myself with a superpower of knowing when the movie is going to suck just by the description of it and a two-minute preview available. Ninety-five percent of the time I am not wrong.

But here is the problem. Am I lacking understanding of why a movie is appreciated? Some of the higher acclaimed ones:

1. Adaption - comedy? Boring, couldn't watch the 20 minutes of it.
2. Sideways - comedy? Don't even want to.
3. Napoleon Dynamite - comedy? Hah?

For whatever reason, Sundance Festival Winner, or Cannes Winner is like a red flag for me.

What do I lack in understanding "artsy" movies? I get the beauty of the shot, the story, and the flawlessness of the movie. But why do these things have to be in front of the "ENTERTAINMENT" factor.

Jason talks about "guilty pleasure." Well all of the movies that I love come from that category.

1. Reservouir Dogs
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Kill Bill
4. Star Wars The Original Trilogy (Part 4 is my favorite)
5. Lord Of The Rings
6. Fifth Element
7. Ace Ventura - Pet Detective
8. God Father (Part 1 is my favorite by the way)

Couple of movies that I liked that were destroyed by everybody else

1. Payback
2. Last Action Hero

I love these movies because I remember them ENTERTAINING me to no end.

What do I lack that I can't appreciate less pop-cultured movie-making?

Comments

Jason said…
I don't see why you'd need to call any of your favorites (aside from Ace Ventura, maybe) "guilty pleasures" -- Lord of the Rings, the Tarantino films, and the original Star Wars were all very well-reviewed and remain highly regarded by both critics and the public. The Godfather is consistently referenced by film critics and academics as one of the best films of all time. And The Fifth Element, while not a critical darling, has found a strong fan base in the home video market.

I think the issue is simply that your tastes don't run to the "artsy-fartsy festival films." Neither do mine. Nor do a lot of other people's. I found Adaptation tedious, Napoleon Dynamite downright painful (for some reason, this is a deeply beloved film here in my home state, but I don't get it), and while I did like Sideways, it sure as hell isn't a comedy.

I've continued to think about the whole "guilty pleasure" concept, and I think maybe the guy I quoted the other day is correct: forget the guilt, just like what you like. You can be certain somebody out there agrees with you...
Thank you, Jason.

Ace Ventura was the last Jim Carrey movie, that i thouroughly enjoyed.

What about enjoying jackie Chan movies, and basically any B-Type thing that was put-out by the Honk Kong studios over the ages.


I guess my biggest problem is that I certainly want to enjoy "artsy-fartsy" movies, but always find it difficult. I know there are movies from indy companies that I would certainly enjoy.

Lost In Translation, Fargo(loved it!) are some of the types that I enjoyed, and certainly would not put them in the main-stream movie making.

But these movies in my opinion did not put the entertainment value behind the "artsy" traditions.

What am I missing? There's got to me more of them. But again, any time I see a preceding Cannes or Sundance quote, it puts me off instantly.
Ilya said…
Interestingly, brother, I largely share your overall approach to movie appreciation - entertainment above all! - but I have no affection for Tarantino or Ace Ventura. And I like Sideways quite a lot - and would, by the way, classify it more as a comedy than any other genre... De gustibus non est disputandum, truly.
Jason said…
"...any time I see a preceding Cannes or Sundance quote, it puts me off instantly."

Perhaps it would help if you look at it from a marketing perspective and think of Cannes and Sundance as brands. In other words, certain kinds of movies with certain characteristics get those quotes. The brand appeals to some, which is why those quotes are used; the brand doesn't happen to be your cup of tea.

Popular posts from this blog

Things you never cared to know about Mayonnaise

I have decided to start a new Rubric. Once a week I will write a post about a random subject. Having the subject coming out of MY head, it can be about anything. I constantly have a lot of random "Why?" and "How does?" questions floating around in my head. I will try to explain how I arrived to the subject at hand and promise to do diligent research on Wikipedia and provide you, the unfortunate reader, with either the interesting or unusual bits of info. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! In addition to that I have a slight fetish for trivia. The rubric will be called: Things you never cared to know about Today's topic is Mayonnaise . How did I arrive to that? As I was making breakfast in the morning, I decided that I wanted to take a pita pocket and stuff it with something. The pitas are usually fairly dry, and you have to toast them. I did not have Hummus or Babaganoush (GOD! I just love saying BA-BA-GA-NOUSHHHHHHHHH!) I put a little Mayo inside to soften it up. So, ther

Crazy ideas - UPDATED

Here's a crazy survey I thought off. If you had a time machine where would you travel first? Assuming the fact of course of universal invincibility. ----UPDATE---- As my brother mentioned, with time travel universally available getting rich schemes would be less than doable. My aim is more towards investigating great mysteries of history. Therefore: a. To the Big Bang b. To see an asteroid killing dinosaurs c. To see the exodus of Jews as it really happened d. Try to see if Jesus hubbub really happened e. Forget the past, I'd go to the year 2020 to see who winds World Series and place a bet accordingly. f. Suggested by Ilya . Back a day or to to purchase winning lottery ticket. e. Try to see if Atlantis existed. f. Travel to the future to see the explosion of our Sun. I am torn between the dinosaurs and the World Series. Please suggest the choices. Should I add Buddha and Muhammed to the list as well? From the curiousity stand-point. I still rather see the dinosaurs.

Olympics

I watched the opening ceremony over the weekend (after all these years i still rave about TiVo). Am I the only one who is intimidated by the sheer amount of human power involved in the theatrics? I was impressed and a little scared at the same time. Paranoia kicking-in. Did they do that on purpose, to show how much cheap labor they can employ, to pull almost anything off?