Most
Movies Are Alright
Most
movies are just alright: average, middling, okay. However, I usually put them
into one of two buckets in my mind: terrible and awesome (t and a). Is this due
to the binary polarization of modern political culture? New York Times or New
York Post? Or the internet era of “hot” or “not”, YouTube switching from a
rating out of five to “like” and “dislike”?
I
can usually pick out at least some good in every movie, even if the good is
unintentional such as in The Room or The Rock and Roll Nightmare.
Unintentional comedy is still a form of good, as I’m looking at the result not
the attempt in judging a piece of film. Sydney Sweeney’s performance was pretty
good in Immaculate despite the movie’s other flaws, the music in Colors
was great despite the weird attempt at action comedy or seriousness (I’m still
not sure which it was going for).
I
have watched enough movies, read enough books, to get a sense of quality early
on. Not too many movies get better as they continue, though as in movies like Déjà
Vu when the CIA security camera that can distort time was introduced, they
can make a decent movie much worse. Usually somewhere between ten to thirty (at
the charitable end) minutes, is all I need to see that a movie is red dogshit.
My
sensibility is not the norm for most filmgoers. It’s more difficult for me to
suspend disbelief, perhaps because I listen to a lot of podcasts that are
closer to real conversation, I am more sensitive to the perfection of modern
Hollywood films. I also prefer older movies where there is a more gradual
ramping of emotion, more empty space, more time. Akira Kurosawa is the master
of believable drama in my view, at least when it comes to drama. It is
difficult for me to take things overly seriously because I am a silly goose by
nature. Overdramatic reactions not intended for comedy will make me laugh.
Having the perfect zinger at the perfect moment will make me hold my head in my
hands in shame.
Comedy
and drama are different beasts in this regard.
Well-written essay here. I’m picky about the movies, too, though we likely have some differences of opinion. And I agree you don’t have to watch for too long to tell if a movie is lousy.
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