Mooovies

Warning: Contains Spoilers.
Double Warning: May Contain Highly Subjective Opinions (but probably not).

I first saw Slumdog Millionaire about a month ago. It started out as an entertaining flick. A young child suffers the hardships of growing up in a slum in India, but manages to get by with a positive outlook on life. Who wouldn't want to hear a story like that? Well, I wouldn't want to if the story was bottled in the very factories that exploit poverty (not that it isn't a mutually beneficial relationship). The pretty packaging abstracts away the means by which it is delivered at such a wonderfully low price.

SLC Punk teaches you that you can't wear a uniform to become punk, and South Park teaches you that you can't go to Hot Topic to become goth (if you learn everything from film and TV, like me). Similarly, just because they cover a kid in poop and blind another doesn't mean they're capturing a life in poverty. And if that's not the goal, why am I watching this movie? And why are you covering a kid in poop?! Maybe to shock you enough so they can shove something down your throat without you noticing.

It was still an entertaining movie, but it promised too much in the beginning and left me feeling let down. Not long after seeing that movie I happened to come across a couple movies that got very high ratings on IMDb (both top #70 all-time). I was very excited to see these movies, because it isn't often that a truly good movie comes out. They were The Wrestler and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I watched them as soon as I could.

The Wrestler was AWESOME! It is a little bit intense at first, but it wasn't too much for Heather, so it should be fine even for children as young as six. This movie may not provoke life-changing thoughts, but that's not something I expect from a movie. This movie felt like a true snapshot of some part of the world. It entertains you with its unfamiliarity (like Slumdog), and captivates you with its reality (unlike Slumdog).

After seeing The Wrestler, I was excited by the possibility of watching another great movie rather than the typical distraction I that keeps me company while I work. I'm talking about movies that are almost too distracting in how bad they are (although they do produce the occasional gem, such as "karate-chop sandwich"). I tried to wait until Heather had time to watch the movie, but I couldn't wait.

I should have known what was coming. With a name like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, you can't expect much. I was hoping it would result in something as unexpected as Death to Smoochy, but it didn't. This movie was even worse than the typical big-budget distraction. Unlike The Wrestler, it constantly judged the characters. I saw a review that contrasted it with 2001: A Space Odyssey. I think that was the perfect way to criticize this movie. I'd like to call The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Hollywood Buddhism/nihilism and 2001: A Space Odyssey compelling nihilism/apathy/misanthropy.

Such a highly ranked movie was so unexpectedly terrible. I later looked at Slumdog Millionaire's ranking and saw that it was right up there as well. I wish I had seen that earlier so I wouldn't have expected so much. Apparently, inflation applies to movie ratings as well.

I didn't go into much detail, but you get the point; see The Wrestler (and like it)!

P.S. - Redbelt!