Movie Review…and Then Some.

Well, in the past week, I’ve watched two movies – Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. Consequently, movies have been on the mind lately – movies, why people prefer some over others, what makes a movie good, etcetera. And, as always the case (or is it always?) there’s a lot to think about and ponder when I’m chewing over movies – one, because I like movies, and two, because I like pondering.

I won’t talk about Avatar, but I will mention something about Sherlock Holmes, only because the movie is fresh in my mind (despite how mind-numbing I allowed my brain to be during the film) and because, for some reason, today, my thoughts have decided to organize themselves quickly and coherently enough for me to feel confident to release them to the blogosphere.

Well then, Sherlock. You’ve made a nice movie. But is that all we want to settle for? Nice? You didn’t make a bad movie, but you could’ve done a lot better, you know. Or is it the other way around? That You could’ve done better, but you didn’t do badly? Is there a difference? Anyhow, I should’ve expected Moriarty to come in some way or the other. With a name as big as yours, it’s no wonder that Hollywood would want to milk you for all you’ve got. Not that they don’t have a good actor for you or anything – it’s just that I don’t know if I should be sad that I’m indifferent towards it or if I should accept the way things work. I can’t expect art to be pure all the time – or at least the way I want it to be.

It’s doubtful you (the reader) understood what that paragraph above meant – I’m not sure I do. But hopefully the general sentiment is there, because it reflects upon something I’ve been chewing on for a long time. Since I’ve gone off to college I’ve started realizing that I no longer form concrete ideas as quickly as I used to in high school. In high school, I would crunch over things quickly, come up with some sort of thought or idea, and then talk and write about it. I blogged and wrote constantly because of it.

Then, for some reason, I stopped blogging for a while. I don’t know why. It wasn’t only because of my media fast, because I could’ve written blog entries into word documents and then waited to post them – because that’s what I used to do when I had something I wanted to write about but didn’t feel it to be ready yet. I did, however, write a bit in my journals. But even then many times when I was trying to wrap my mind around something I wouldn’t write anything down, which was very unusual because I like to think that way – pen, ink, paper, keyboard, computer, whatever.

I got to the point where I surprised myself by letting go of whatever I was trying to work out in my mind. Usually, if I was occupied with some sort of concept or idea or theme in my head, I would write and work until I got that idea out concretely somehow – that way I wouldn’t forget it later and that way I could feel a little closure. But recently, whether it’s because I’ve been busy or lazy or I-don’t-know-what, I’m more willing to let myself let go of something and come back to it when it naturally rises up in my life again. But this is for another post.

Ever since I watched Star Trek of last year with a handful of friends from Berkeley thoughts about movies and media and entertainment in general started working themselves into my train of thought. This was probably the first time where I started to do the actions mentioned above – let go of a thought to let it come back again. Most of the time I’d form an opinion about a movie and it’d be set in stone, but with Star Trek it was different. It was weird, actually.

I felt like I liked it, but my favor towards the movie wasn’t…sincere. At all. Even though other people’s favor towards it comforted me with my judgement of the movie, I still knew, that for some reason, I was dissatisfied. I soon figured out it was because of my expectations – I had expected Star Trek to be as deep as Ender’s Game or Ray Bradbury’s science fiction but it turned out to be a typical summer blockbuster. If I had gone into the movie expecting a summer blockbuster, I might’ve enjoyed it a bit more. I think the same goes for Iron Man for me.

As late as this realization could’ve come, I’ve realized that movies are in different categories and different leagues. And it all depends on what the director chooses to emphasize. Some movies are flat out escapism. Others are simply entertainment. Others emphasize a certain character so much so that the character becomes the icon, and that icon becomes part of pop culture. Others emphasize a certain story so well that the story becomes repeated over and over again, to the chagrin or delight of the audience. But I think the movies that are the strongest emphasize certain underlying themes (and do it well) through the utilization of the story and characters and whatever other mediums movies use – because those themes (which are, in many cases, tied to a certain character or story, although I think a timeless theme is more pure of an art and actually is the reason for a timeless character or timeless story) speak powerfully to the human soul.

It is those movies which do this that I really love.

Is it sad then, that I’ve come to accept that not all movies do this? That I’ve come to accept that people will prefer movies that I absolutely would never watch because, though there is valid objective value to draw from movies, ultimately whether or not someone likes a movie is up to them? Because it is a subjective decision – I like this movie, I don’t like this one, etcetera. That’s why I will never understand why crude humor and horror movies continue to be made – only because there is an audience for them.

Or is it simply acceptance of reality? Not every movie can be breathtaking, inspiring, and soul-moving (e.g., Sherlock Holmes, which was “nice.”) because that’s the way it is. And because that’s the way it is, we can recognize the diamonds among the pieces of coal – in short, the poor quality of some movies really makes the good ones stand out. Or maybe actors, directors, producers, and the entire movie industry just sometimes settles for mediocrity instead of shooting to make every single damn movie the best one they’ve ever produced? Humanly impossible, though, isn’t it? To keep up such good quality of work?

Maybe it’s for all of this that my grip on quality control of movies (and music, and art, and all else) has somewhat loosened. I’ve found a little more mercy to give to friends and strangers that like/dislike certain mediums of entertainment. But a nagging thought continues to come up in the back of my mind – am I settling? Have I gotten soft? How have I reconciled my belief of objective truth to the subjective nature of opinions and judgements and criticisms about movies? Have I contradicted myself? Have I placed my reconciliation in a wide spectrum of possible actions?

Because a part of me wants to scream and shout at the injustice towards these mediums of arts by our media today. I want to scream, “You call that a movie?” And still another: “You call that a SONG?” Because a part of me believes in the higher standard of things and wants the masses to rise above the demand for movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and The Hangover (and music artists like Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears).

So once again, life is characterized by tension. Struggle. Change. But I still hate Britney.*

Tension. So instead, I hold onto that which gives peace, which brings joy in struggle, and is forever unchanging. That which really matters, and all else is considered loss – the Gospel.

Merry Christmas to you all. And even though Christmas was originally a pagan holiday and Jesus wasn’t really born in the wintertime, He still is the reason for the season. I find no better reason to celebrate than Him.

* – Sorry, Spears, I don’t hate YOU specifically, but you’re simply the figurehead for a lot of entertainment that I abhor. I understand that as a celebrity, you are someone, but as a person, you are someone else. It is that celebrity, that figurehead, which stands for much more than we think it does, that I have major problems with, and right now, you just happen to be the good name stylistically to throw in there because I referenced you in the last paragraph. Why not Miley? Well, it’s a little too cliche to insult her now. And take that statement more as a joke, hence the smiley. It’s more of a just a throwback to the overarching theme of tension in this little insignificant blog entry. I hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas this year, away from cameras and the media.

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