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.