Why Do You Like Movies?

Scott Hardie | March 22, 2002
The other night, Matt and I had a long conversation about why we like movies. It started with Matt saying that he had realized what kind of movies Kevin Fiore (his roommate) liked: Heroic tragedies, where a hero sacrifices something, especially his life. "Braveheart" is a great example of this and it utterly blew Kevin away. We discussed how Kevin likes just about all heroic tragedies, how it seems he can't dislike one. Then we got to thinking if we have such weaknesses.

Matt has two of them. For comedies, it's farting, plain and simple. He can't help but laugh at any fart in any movie. Even truly execrable movies, like "Bring It On" and "Double Dragon," have been saved by single fart jokes. For dramas, it's macho men. Matt is attracted to tough guys who are unflappable in the face of danger. He likes movies like "Payback" that are only okay otherwise, if they have that masculine code of dignity.

For me, it's a well-made movie. I love movies that are perfectly made, when someone is demonstrating that they've thought of the best way for each scene to go. Watch a throwaway scene in a movie, like two characters talking in a diner or something, and look for effort on the part of the director, the cinematographer, the writer, the actors, to make the scene work. That's evidence of care being put into the movie. The movies that I hate most - the Evil Dead trilogy, "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" - are ones that seem to be made by amateurs, who have no sense of plausibility, continuity, or rhythm. No well-made movie can get be completely bad in my mind, and vice versa.

So then, what kind of movies do you like?

Anna Gregoline | March 23, 2002
I like movies with some fucking cinamatography (pardon my swearing, I'm fucking drunk right now so you're lucky if everything is even spelled correctly). Anything with a shot that could stand alone as a picture, as a well-thought out photo just blows me away. That so much care was taken with just the images that the rest usually carries itself with me.

Scott Hardie | March 23, 2002
Did you see "Snow Falling on Cedars"? So-so movie, but some of the best cinematography you'll ever see.

Hmmm - I had some trouble writing the paragraph about Matt. I don't feel like I explained well enough what he likes. An hour or two after I wrote it, Matt said on ICQ that I "tore him a new one." Re-reading it now, it doesn't sound bad to me, just neutral. Matt likes farting in comedies, and masculine heroes in dramas & action films. What's so negative about it?

Also, I should stress that what I'm discussing here is the kind of film for which we have weaknesses. That is a bad film still has these elements, we tend to like it anyway. We're suckers for these things. I don't know if that came out in what I wrote.

Jackie Mason | March 23, 2002
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Samir Mehta | September 30, 2024
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Lori Lancaster | October 3, 2024
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Scott Hardie | October 11, 2024
Ugh, this old discussion... Samir, I'll respond with what you're asking, but I can't without first acknowledging the huge mistakes that I made 22 years ago when I started this conversation. I was wrong to give such a lowbrow example for Matthew and a relatively highbrow example for myself, and I was wrong not to listen to Matthew and Jackie when they told me how out of line my comment had been. I hurt Matthew and I came to really regret it. I've apologized to Matthew offline, but for the record online, I'm still sorry, my old friend. (This is exactly the sort of thing that I wrote about recently as a key part of my experience with ASD, the miscommunication that unintentionally hurts people I care about. I wish I didn't have hundreds of incidents like this to regret.)

The breadth of my movie-watching has necessarily shrunk in recent years, so I feel ill-equipped to re-answer the question, but my original answer wasn't very good either. I like movies that question reality too, and I enjoy campy B-movie fun too (especially but not exclusively when it's being riffed by MST3K or RiffTrax), and there are other common threads like movies that make me re-evaluate my morality or my artistic sensibilities. But what it comes down to is, I just want to feel happy, or sad, or excited, or whatever the movie intends. If I can laugh or cry, it's worth the cost of admission. I avoid horror and some heavy drama because the feelings provoked just aren't ones that I'm willing to feel any more, and I'm not counting that feeling of sharp irritation that is caused by certain terrible movies. :-P

Regarding The Godfather: Part II, I should re-watch it because it's been twenty years, but I recall it being the weakest of the trilogy for me. It's richly realized compared to the slapdash Part III, but what I and III have are a transformative arc for Michael Corleone, from decent to corrupt and back again. I felt like he was the same man at the end of II that he was at the beginning, which makes the movie feel hollow, however gorgeously designed and well-acted it is. Samir, considering that you say Michael's arc is what appeals to you, I should really give it another chance.

Regarding The Wild Robot, which I will definitely see as soon as I can: Samir, what is your opinion of Lilo & Stitch by the same writer-director? Just curious. I feel like that one only worked because Disney was so focused on other films and let him do what he wanted, and it's the feeling that it was made by someone with a singular vision instead of an ultra-generic corporate committee that makes it so appealing.

Regarding Leslie Nielsen comedies: The last few toward the end of his career were kind of running on fumes, but man, he had such a great run. And yeah, I'll still watch those today and laugh and laugh, outdated 1980s references and all. I don't approve the idea of remaking the original The Naked Gun today (the pop cultural mindset has shifted dramatically, and does anybody even remember what the title is parodying at this point?), but the casting of Leslie Nielsen feels just about perfect.

Regarding Christopher Reeve: Lori, have you heard of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story? It might be worth seeing when it becomes available. The thing that I always liked about Reeve was that he retained a light sense of humor about his circumstances; he experienced a lot of good fortune as an actor and then bad fortune in the form of his injury, but he kept both in perspective, at least in public.

Evie Totty | October 11, 2024
Whoa Samir, thanks for resurrecting this thread i didn’t know existed!

Why do I like movies?

That’s actually a loaded question for me: Because they allow me to escape my real life, starting when I could drive myself to the theater at the age of 17. I didn’t have friends until I was in ninth grade (whatever age that was with a December birthday). And I only made them because I was in LA with an adorable Southern accent.

I had acquaintences at school before that, but my mom was so afraid something would happen to my sister and I - we weren’t allowed to socialize. After LA - because of circumstances I won’t get into here - I could have a social life, because although I’d moved back to Alabama, I was in a new school and was no longer the kid who learned how to read so fast in the first grade, I spent most of my time in the school’s library. I was the smart kid with glasses, blahblahblah.

However, I was still left out because I didn’t live in the right neighborhood as my classmates, but at least I wasn’t shuneed or bullied. Add to that undiagnosed neurodivergency (I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 52, and am certain I have ASD as well). But all that’s off topic..

I love the movies because I could stop. thinking. for two hours or more (I hated when they only lasted 90 minutes). I’ve never had a problem going to the theater by myself and sometimes I actually preferred it because when whoever I went with said something, I was pulled out.

I like all kinds of movies. Like Scott - a terrible movie can be redeeemed with one wise statement. A stellar performance. And I’m a sucker for cinematography. I never noticed it until I saw Road to Perdition My god, what a beautiful movie. I don’t remember what it was about, but I think Tom Hanks and Jude Law was in it. (After grabbing the URL, seems Jude was not.)

I adored Blade Runner: 2049. Dune Part 1 was saved in my mind because of the cinematography (and Rebecca Ferguson’s performance - an actor I actually didn’t care for prior to this). Don’t get me wrong, it was a good film, but because I’d read the book - I knew what was coming and it made Part 1 boring as a result.

Because of my ADHD, one of my ingredients is the inability to remember details of movies or books. This is why I give them ratings between 1-3:

1 - I want my money back
2 - Go see it
3 - See it again and again

Rarely do I give them a 1 or a 3. And rarely do I see movies more than once - even after it was on DVD (RIP) or streaming. I literally bought DVDs so I could force movies I loved onto other people.

I do love horror - but that’s just chasing the “thrill” I got when I saw my first horror film, John Carpenter’s The Thing when I was…nine? or so at my aunt’s. It takes a lot to scare me. Sure there are jump scares, but I want to see one that will give me nightmares. The last one to do that was Jurassic Park. I literally had to go see it again to get them to go away. (Part of the problem is that I can’t immerse myself enough to believe them.)

I will say Train to Busan was one of the best horror movies I’ve seen - but not because of the horror. But because of the story. Triangle is a favorite because it is a puzzle. (I’ve already given away too much, believe it or not. And if you see it - I have a follow-up question that can only be asked post viewing. Warning though: very violent - but the question takes it in a whole new direction.)

I don’t like dramas because I go to the movies to be entertained. I saw Far from Heaven in 2002 and my heart was so broken, I decided not to see any more at the theater if I could help it. And some I still haven’t been able to bring myself to see, such as Hotel Rwanda.

I do have a thing for superhero films - though they have become tedious as of late, but my favorites seem to have underlying themes, such as Captain America The Winter Soldier and Thor: Ragnarok. And is Constantine considered a superhero film? It’s certainly a comic book movie. (Huh. A sequel is in the works.)

I love action and violent films because they get my adrenaline pumping. I feel so alive after. I left Blade feeling like I could kick anyone’s ass. Gladiator, Dredd and Boondock Saints are also favorites (I now bring rope when I play RPG games - super disappointed Baldur’s Gate 3 has no use for them). My favorite quote is from Gladiator: “What we do in life, echoes in eternity”. Though of course, some I like for more than just the gratuitous violence.

Samir mentioned Coco. IMO Pixar’s best film for the very reaons he stated. (I actually “met” the director on Clubhouse when he came into a movie room one time to discuss The Shinng, a film he’s obsessed with and another great film, despite how far it strayed from the source material.)

I also like romances. I’ll watch those Cristmas ones every year, even though they are the same recycled story and the female lead is usually involved with someone - more often than not engaged - who is portrayed as an asshole, making her a horrible role model for women as a result. However my favorite one is Ever After - a retelling of Cinderella that has a strong female lead. I just simply want to believe I’ll find true love, although at the end I end up crying because I believe I won’t.

I want to keep naming my favorite films and why I like them - I haven’t even mentioned scifi and fantasy - but I’ve written too much already I think (movies are my thing - the thing I know too much about and have a warehouse of useless fun facts filed away).

I haven’t been able to go to the movies for the past couple years due to my current circumstances and after going through the above - I realize my mental state may be due partly to the fact that I haven’t been able to go to my “happy place”. Sure, I end up seeing them streamed, but nothing is like completely losing yourself in the dark and all that goes with it. I am trying to remedy that though.

So I’ll wrap this little novella up by saying: if I get some sort of emotional reaction from the film, I like it. (Hello, 2005’s King Kong.)

And if you have read this far, many thanks.

After many edits: holy shit, the havok a missed greater than sign makes. That’s what I get for mentioning so many films though

Samir Mehta | October 11, 2024
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Evie Totty | October 11, 2024
It's a crime Serkis didn't get recognition for the trilogy, Samir.

Lilo and Stitch was wonderful because it taught us about Ohana.

And Wild Robot was already on my radar - so glad you liked it, so I'm looking forward to it even more.

Steve West | October 11, 2024
A joke from the screenplay I'm writing that would have starred Leslie Nielsen:
Nielsen - The scary part from Born to be Wild is when they find a head out on the highway.

Denise Sawicki | October 12, 2024
I love a movie that makes me feel something and to be honest I am not that into action parts. I tend to get sleepy on the action parts and not able to follow when things go too fast! Seconded on Train to Busan though, because of the emotion and the characters. I don't usually watch the same movie multiple times but a few that hold up to multiple viewings for me personally are Galaxy Quest, the first Pirates of the Caribbean , and (perhaps weirdly) Edge of Seventeen (2016).

Evie Totty | October 12, 2024
Yes! Galaxy Quest is definitely a repeat watch.

And for some reason - Groundhog Day.