Sean Penn is always fun to watch |
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Even though we don't want to admit it, we talk to ourselves. A LOT. It's true. We also talk to ourselves when we watch movies. All of us have different thoughts, emotions, and feelings before, during, and after our movie watching. Here's an example: If you're going to the movies to watch a film by Kevin Smith and you're a Kevin Smith fan, you're probably going to be very excited to go to the movies that day. You're going to be pumped up before even entering the theater. That being said, let's say you're not a fan of horror movies. You just can't stand them for whatever reason. You don't like gore at all. It freaks you out. If you're dragged to a horror movie, you're probably not going to be very excited about this experience at the movies. You're dreading it. Needless to say, you enter the theater with a bad attitude. Isn't that interesting? Before the previews even start, we are unhappy or happy about going to the movies. We might not admit it, but it's true. All of us have preconceived notions about films and directors. I think it hurts us in some ways. We don't allow ourselves to sit back and enjoy a movie with an open mind.
With this week's column, you're going to hear some honest thoughts from a hardcore film buff. Can you admit the truth about your thoughts and feelings before, during, and after a movie?
*WARNING* A lot of this column might not make a lot of sense, but I'm trying to come clean with my thoughts and feelings. I'm simply doing my best.
First of all, I think the cast is very important in a movie. If you have a good cast, you know you're going to at least see a decent performance if nothing else. If Sean Penn is in the opening credits, I'm excited about the movie. I'm walking into the theater with an open mind and ready to enjoy a fantastic performance by Mr. Penn. Sean Penn was even great in All The King's Men, which was a horrendous movie. Another example is Denzel Washington. I've seen him in some very, very bad movies. Even so, he never gives an uninteresting performance. He's always a lot of fun to watch and very dedicated. If I know a certain actor is going to be in a movie, I'm excited about seeing that movie. The director is also very important in a movie. You don't have to look any further than Quentin Tarantino. A Quentin Tarantino film is something special. In some people's eyes, he can do no wrong. We need to know we're in good hands. It allows us to relax at the cinema. If we have a good director and a good cast, the movie is probably going to be good. The key word is probably. This is not an exact science, 
Fincher's Zodiac was never boring |
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to say the least.
Second of all, the first half of any movie is very first important. That's the first 30 minutes or so of a movie. It can sometimes go up to an hour and also depends on the length of your movie. I figure that's about the running time of a TV show. If you can't grab me in the first 30 minutes, you've lost me. It's okay to take your time building your story and your characters, but you need to do it an interesting way. You need to hook us right away. You don't need to look any further than Zodiac, which was just released on DVD. Fincher draws us in right away by showing us a local murder at the hands of Zodiac. We don't know what the hell is going on, but that's okay. We have questions. Questions are very good in a movie. Before long, Fincher starts to ask questions with us. We are interested and fascinated by the story. What's his motive? Will they find the Zodiac killer? That's suspense, my friends. We can't turn away. If we even leave the room for 30 seconds, we might miss something very important. In my eyes, that's a great start. You have us hooked from the opening credits. Not only does Fincher get us hooked from the opening credits, he keeps us interested for over 2 hours.
If I'm not interested in your story by the first hour, I want to go home. I don't want to waste my time. I know that sounds rude, but it's true. I hate to admit it, but I don't finish a lot of movies. I usually just fast forward to the end of certain movies. I only do this for movies that I have no obligation to review. If you're going to review a film, you MUST watch the whole movie. I don't care if it's the worst movie ever made, you have to suffer through it. You need to have all your bases covered. You need to be able to have your argument ready for why the movie is terrible. If I'm covering a certain film for a website, I have to sit through the whole thing. If I'm just watching a movie by myself with no obligation to review it, I'll just shut it off. Life is too short to waste it on bad movies. That being said, I don't mind movies that are comically bad. I just watched I Know Who Killed Me last weekend, and the film is funny for all the wrong reasons. I could watch films like I Know Who Killed Me all day. While it's a bad movie, it's never boring. A truly bad movie is boring and unwatchable. A comically bad movie is a work of art. There's a big difference between the two.
I also get annoyed when people are surprised that certain movies are so bad. What the hell did you expect? Did you really think Norbit would be any good? I stay 
What an ending! |
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away from movies that I know won't be any good. I also rely on word of mouth. I'll use the first Hostel as an example. I had NO interest in seeing the first Hostel. After watching Wolf Creek, I was fed up with horror movies. I couldn't take one more horror film. I passed on Hostel when it hit theaters in January of 2006 and also passed on the film when it hit DVD. Finally, I watched the film in the Summer of 2006. I had about 10 people tell me the movie is actually good and worth watching. I finally watched it, and the film ended up making my top ten list in 2006. That's the great part about movie watching. You never know when you're going to be surprised or shocked. To me, that's the best part about watching movies. You walk into the theater, and you have no idea what to expect from a certain movie. You have no feelings or emotions before entering the theater. You're completely fresh. It's so hard to have that feeling these days. With the Internet, everything is out there for us to read. We know too much. Nothing is a surprise anymore. I remember hearing M. Night Shyamalan say that the ending of The Sixth Sense would have never survived in today's Internet world. It's sad but true.
Finally, how do we leave the theater? Do we leave it feeling happy? Are we confused? Angry? Amused? Smiling? Crying?
A truly great movie stays with us for a long, long time. We are thinking about it on the way home. A great movie also prevents us from sleeping. We can't help but think about everything that went down in the movie. Why did he die? Did he make the right decision? What does it all mean? A great movie also needs time to grow and build. We might not get the movie right away, but it will hit us at some point. It might be a week later, but the movie will touch us. All of our thoughts will go out the window if the movie is good. We'll forget what we thought about a certain director or a certain actor. We'll just remember that particular movie-going experience. What did we take away from it? I hope this column has encouraged you to do your best to go into every movie with an open mind. I'm guilty of jumping to conclusions, but I'm doing my best to clear my mind at the movies. This column is like therapy to me. I think Uwe Boll deserves a second chance at the movies with me. I think every director or actor deserves a second chance with all of us. After all, they're providing us with an amazing avenue to live out our dreams. If not for the movies, we would be in a lot of trouble.
If not for the movies, life would be pretty boring.
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| Single and Loving Flicks |
Every other Tuesday
Expect the unexpected from Tony as he'll give you his columns on the way movies used to be, the way movies are, and the way they should be.
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| Tony Farinella |
Tony is an Oak Lawn, IL based film reviewer and columnist looking to have fun and share his unique views on film with everyone. Tony also has an unhealthy obsession with Vanessa Lengies, but that is neither here nor there.
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