Once in a lifetime...

...you come across a movie you absolutely love. Actually, that's a lie. I come across movies I love all the time. I guess I'm not a very picky movie watcher. I like most genres and I've learned to sit through films that in another lifetime I would have probably ignored or given up on because I wasn't yet mature enough to enjoy a movie that didn't immediately cater to my entertainment needs.

Well, that's not true either. There are movies I stay away from simply on the grounds of principle (slasher flicks, chick flicks, Disney movies, to name a few - although once in a while I will oblige).

But today, man, today was the day. Excuse my language but - HOLY SHITAKI MUSHROOMS, this movie was good. Better than good. It blew my mind. It was a visual feast that lasted for several days, like those meals they served back when Anglo-Saxon was actually a legit word (no racial strings attached) and meals resembled actual marathons rather than fine dining experiences. The kind of feast where you would just keep eating even though your stomach felt like it was threatening to explode any minute and you knew it was against your better judgment to cram that one last morsel in your mouth but everything about the dishes and the environment and the company was just too good to pass up...

Okay so maybe I'm getting a little carried away. I tend to do that when I'm really passionate about something, and Coraline is definitely a movie I'm passionate about. Honestly, from the moment I first saw the trailer I knew I was going to love it. It just looked quirky enough and dark enough and Tim Burton enough to trigger my taste buds...metaphorically speaking. I didn't even know until much later that it's actually based on a story by Neil Gaiman (Stardust, American Gods, Sandman), a fantasy/science-fiction writer who could give Stephen King a good run for his money, if I say so myself. I haven't read a lot by him but that guy sure has an imagination working to his advantage.

The storyline behind Coraline alone is proof enough of that. It basically follows the story of a girl who moves to a new neighborhood and encounters all these strange characters who in themselves seem so utterly random that you wonder if they were pulled out of a who's who hat of eccentricity. But put them together and you got a story that begs to be told. Coraline is horror, thriller, comedy, drama, and very clearly Burton-esque all in one. And the special effects were phenomenal; I'd say the ingenuity of it all can be comparable to the well-acclaimed works of Miyazaki himself.

It was such a marvelous (yes, I used the word marvelous, get over it) experience to see something so refreshing and weird and well done after being repeatedly bombarded by formulaic Hollywood movies that all begin to look the same after awhile (Wanted, anyone? Eagle Eye? The International looks like it'll be an unhealthy blend of the two. I am so tired of watching conspiracy played out on an international scale, orchestrated by the powers that try to be but end up only being lame. Unfortunately not even the chiseled face and rugged charm of Clive Owen can compensate for such a worn-out idea).

If you know me but at all you know that I have a strong grudge against formulaic movies, and American films, namely those hailing from Hollywood, don't have much going for them in the originality department. The fast and the furious they can do but for something to be both innovative and entertaining (they seem to go for one or the either) seems well beyond their reach. I guess when you're making movies solely for profit, a little quality gets lost along the way. But only a little. Who really gives a shitaki? I mean, most audiences are too oblivious to notice the similarities anyway. Feed them another spoonful of that melodramatic, painfully predictable, week-old gimmick packaged like new crap and they'll swallow it without a second thought, and what's more, they'll do it happily.

Don't get me wrong - I understand that the film industry, like most enterprises, wouldn't exist without all things monetary but I'm also not pessimistic enough to believe that it's impossible to make a movie that's both profitable AND not solely geared towards the mainstream. The mainstream is such a weird concept to begin with. There was a time when audiences could watch black and white silents not only without a great deal of impatience but with a heightened sense of awe and even admiration. No spoken dialogue, hardly anything that could constitute "action" as we know it today, but the writing was good and the acting was good and that was all one needed to know.

Now, it takes more than a couple explosions and several naked bodies to even get viewers to turn heads. Going to the movies has become a dead art because people are heavily desensitized to the point where nothing shocks them anymore. And they don't even know it. Suddenly every male protagonist has to be like James Bond, every car has to be ten times sleeker and more powerful than the one that came before it, explosions have to occur not only in one portion of the movie but be heard from all around - girls come in pairs, even groups, weapons are unlimited, and leave the kids at home, folks, for there will be blood. Lots and lots of it.

But Coraline goes against the grain. It lives up to its dark allure, delivers a concrete plot with stunning visuals and more. It has managed to do what so many recent films lack - it has managed to be, dare I say it, original. Originality - it's quite a concept. Certainly easier said than done. So thank you Henry Selick, for restoring my faith in the American film industry, if only for a short while. I'm sure I'll watch another happily cliche movie within the next week or two and lose the euphoria I currently feel, having seen something that is capable of being mentally, emotionally, and visually satisfying all at once.

I think the last time I was this satisfied with a movie was when I saw Let The Right One In. Both times I left the movie theater feeling like I actually watched a movie, and not just another product that the producers/directors wanted to call a movie but really didn't have the balls to make. Both times I found myself still smiling after the credits started rolling and people began trickling out of the theater, happily anticipating (already) my next planned viewing of a great film.

Yeah, the good ones will do that to you. I'll take what I can get.

Some Recent (Almost Decent) Viewings

Taken; The Uninvited

There are two things in life that I think should rarely be done alone:

One of them is eating. I just think food tastes so much better when you're sharing the experience with someone else. Unless of course that person is a food-hog and eating with them means not eating at all. In that scenario, I opt for eating alone.

The second thing is watching horror films and action flicks. One should never watch a horror film by themselves because that's just stupid. No really, what's the point of experiencing the dark alleyways and the gruesome theatrical effects, as well as the stupidity of the main characters (who, sadly enough, are often attractive female bimbos with fluff for brains - part of the appeal of the horror genre, I suppose. Maybe that's why so many more guys like them than girls), without someone else there to placate the intensely riveting and adrenaline-producing experience with? I understand that certain films are better off viewed alone (won't name any now but I'm sure you know what I mean) but those lurking in the realm of horror are not one of them. Because the only thing funner than being scared is being scared with someone else.

As for action flicks, high-speed car chases and enormous bouts of ass-kicking are just that much cooler and/or impressive when viewed in a crowd. Enough said.

So recently I had the opportunity to preview Taken and The Ininvited, both of which were immensely enjoyable experiences because they were viewed in a crowded setting filled with rowdy college students. In terms of quality they weren't the most original of films (duh - they are blockbusters for a reason) but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

I'm sure half the people in the audience went to see Taken solely for the sake of watching Liam Neeson star in an untraditional role, which is understandable because that reason alone is enough to make it a worthwhile movie. Very few actors nowadays have that kind of charisma - you know, the kind where one can play both the loving dad AND the unrelenting badass all in the same movie. It reminded me of watching Will Smith in I Am Legend because man, if I didn't like Will Smith so much beforehand, that movie would have reeked for sure. I still didn't like it in the end but at least he made it bearable. Same with Seven Pounds, which I actually really liked.

Anyway, Taken was a great experience because it was exactly what I expected, no more, no less. There was nothing innovative about the way the movie was constructed, shot, and executed but it didn't fail to disappoint because my expectations weren't geared towards ingenuity to begin with. I just wanted to be entertained, and it gave me an earnest show. Plus some parts were just plain funny, like the constant replaying of the threatening telephone call ("Goooood luck") on the plane or when he finally comes face-to-face with his daughter's kidnapper. That guy just didn't know what hit him (literally). Oblivious people - aren't they fun?

The Uninvited was basically a hybrid of every horror cliche in existence but again, I had no real expectations for that one. Like most people, I'm not a fan of American remakes of Asian horror movies - the genre has basically been maxed out - but I remember seeing the cover for the Korean movie upon which The Uninvited was based and it looked pretty intriguing. The original title is called A Tale of Two Sisters and based on what I've read and heard, the original is a lot more creepy and a lot more confusing than the new remake. One thing I gotta give it kudos for, though - it did manage to tie up the loose ends pretty well, especially with the twist that comes at the very moment when you think that the movie can't get any more predictable. By golly, she's not who we think she is! Who could have guessed!

Luckily for me, the crowd was very receptive to the scares, practically jumping even when there was nothing to see or hear (I think people were just twitchy because it was so late at night), and the group behind us had a running commentary on just about everything that was happening on-screen. Normally this could be very annoying and obnoxious, depending on the movie, but they were actually quite entertaining with their sarcastic remarks ("This girl is either really dumb or not very smart") and unabashed chortling.

It was one of those movies that are so bad that its pure and unfiltered badness paradoxically makes it good, and in this case, watching it in a crowd definitely heightened, maybe even redefined, the experience.

The Beginning

So I figured I'd start blogging about any weird/quirky/extremely good (a rare occasion but still, you never know) or just overtly bad movies I've watched since my love of film has grown exponentially this year and I'd like to have a record of some of my thoughts while I'm still young and learning. Because even though my interest in movies has grown tremendously, it's still a relatively new interest and probably not grounded in very much political/social/historical background, if any. I haven't seen a lot of what are traditionally considered "classics" and I don't know if I'll have the time to anytime soon. I guess this is just another way for me to escape the audacity that is schoolwork, which, to be honest, has been difficult to concentrate on lately.