There’s just something about the movies. The magic of Hollywood.
There’s also something about the cough syrup I just took that’s making me a bit woozy. So this is going to be incredibly stream-of-consciousness. And maybe a little long.
(Edited: Okay, definitely long.)
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I mentioned Monday the goose bumps a good movie montage can create. (Someone made their own version! It’s a bit different now, but close enough.) I’ve been trying to figure out why, and how to put it into words. I’ve decided it’s not going to happen. I just love movies. They move me so, when done right. Disappoint me greatly when they don’t meet my expectations.
I cry at movies. I’ve said many times, “The only requirement of a movie to make me cry is that I watch it.” I’m a crier, in life, and in the theater.
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When I was a kid, the video cassette recorder came into America’s living rooms. We didn’t own one when I was very young, but I remember renting one once. And then…we did own one. And you could record things off television. Even movies! So, of course, we did. Everyone had bookshelves full of tv-recorded movies in their homes, complete with commercial breaks, because buying them prerecorded was pretty expensive at the time.
When I was twelve, I had an incredibly bad case of chicken pox that laid me pretty low, and my parents gave me a gift: Grease and Disney’s Cinderella…my very own copies on video, to watch as often as I wanted. Trying to explain the novelty of this to my kids is…a challenge. I gave up some time ago.
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I met this boy one day at a football game in college. A group of us were going out to lunch at Hard Rock Cafe afterwards, but he couldn’t, because he had to work. At Blockbuster Video. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but his Blockbuster work schedule would dictate our date nights for the next few years. Turns out, in high school, he’d also worked at a local movie theater. And he was a drama guy. All of his high school friends, with whom we hung out quite a bit, were drama folks, and Blockbuster/Theater workers. We played The Movie Game. Okay, they played while I watched, because I suck at remembering actors’ names, and I’d seen only a fraction of the movies they all had.
Challenge: Connect Julia Roberts and John Wayne.
(I looked it up – 2 degrees. John Wayne was in Chisum with Pedro Armendariz, Jr., who was in The Mexican with Julia Roberts. I feel no shame in cheating.)
For hours, they’d play this game, testing their knowledge of movies and actors. They amazed me.
We had Oscar Parties with Oscar pools every year. We were supposed to host on March 26, 2000…but Nicky’s super-early arrival on the 24th put the kibosh on that. I’m horrible at trivia, but I’ll always know the date of the Oscars that year. I assume they still had the party at one of the other guys’ houses. I dream of hosting fancy-dress Oscar parties one day, with gorgeous dresses and pretty food.
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We owned hundreds of PVT’s (Previously Viewed Tapes – cheap at Blockbuster, especially for employees) by the time we got married. It took years, but we’ve weeded most of them out.
As you might imagine, we’re kind of nostalgic about all the Blockbusters closing down.
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Jason’s dream job was to act in film. He still, deep down, would love it, I know. I never had any desire to be on stage or in front of a camera (although I’ll admit to a desire to try voice over work), but the mechanics of it all fascinates me. The hundreds of people who make it possible, the special effects, the costuming, set design, lighting, camera work. It fascinates me in the same way DisneyWorld does – so many people working together to create magic.
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We love going to the movies. Dating, when we got student rates, we went weekly. (The first one we saw together in the theater? Grumpy Old Men. I kid you not.) Now, between the kiddos and the prices, almost never. The list of movies we’d like to have seen in the theater, but have missed, is so long it’s daunting.
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I don’t love all movies. I wish I did. I tried to explain to someone once that I can appreciate a movie and still not like it. The Cohen Coen Brothers come to mind. I see the intelligence there, but their films bore me. Oh, and Tarantino. His movies simply anger me. The dialogue is some of the most brilliant I’ve ever heard. The plots are fantastic. But. The violence? It makes me physically ill, so I can’t watch the otherwise amazing films. That’s why he makes me mad. I feel like he’s stealing an experience from me. He is my Lucy van Pelt, pulling the football away, every time.
I love Disney movies. I love the tra-la-la-happy-endings. I love romantic comedy, but my husband loves it more. (The really good ones – Harry & Sally, Sleepless, etc.) I love classics, I love musicals, I love comedies and adventure. I love some sci-fi. I don’t love horror or most suspense.
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I don’t enjoy analyzing films – the acting, the nuances, the symbolism. Like books, plays, and music, I simply want to experience them and enjoy them.
Enjoy them, and, apparently, talk about them in an incredibly long-winded manner.
The Movies
Not really long winded at all actually. I enjoyed this. I’m a movie lover too. So much so that I’ll go alone whenever I can (not often with the kids, but every once in a while I’ll be told to get out, find something to do. I wind up at the movies). I can’t begin to talk about the prices without getting angry, so I won’t. There aren’t many genres I dislike. In fact, I don’t think there are any. I care for others less than some, but I can still appreciate them, especially if the cinematography, music, or dialogue are captivating.
As you can imagine, we’re pretty much run by Disney in here. I’m doubtful there’s a kid’s movie I have not seen (multiple times). Probably in the past couple of years, though, we’ve stopped going to see them in actual theatres and just wait until they’re on cable or rentable. And, um, we still have a VCR and plenty of VHS tapes. Some play, some don’t. We’ve given up trying to explain it to the girls too. Much like cassette tapes or records (both of which we still have).
Arnebya blogged this: Wordful Wednesday: Ummmmm Maybe
Ooh, I am jealous – I do NOT enjoy watching movies alone. Not even at home. I finally forced myself to watch Precious by myself at home, because Jason had no interest in seeing it. It felt weird. (Awesome film, though.) I wish I did enjoy seeing movies by myself. I think it’s a gift to be able to enjoy them that way.
We still have a bunch of VHS tapes, just not the 500+ (seriously!) we used to. Unfortunately, the VCR went kaput awhile back, so they’re unwatchable. It includes most of our Disney movies. *sob*
I love this post! It’s an homage to film. And it’s clear that you love the movies. I had no idea that Jason was a drama guy, but it makes perfect sense, now that you say it. And you’re right about the magic of a movie set. It’s pretty amazing – this huge group of creative and usually weird people, all together working on a common goal. The creativity just sizzles. That’s why there are so many set romances, because it feels so amazingly special. Then, of course, the movie’s over and everybody kind of looks at each other and thinks “Who are you?” And I agree with you about Tarantino. It’s funny, I don’t have a problem with violence in Scorcese films, but Tarantino violence is just particularly unattractive.
You are linked!!
Gretchen blogged this: RTT: Knitting, Quitting and Sir Elton
Do you know, I’ve never seen a Scorcese film?? Maybe be I should start easy, with Hugo, and work my way backwards. Or Shutter Island — it was a great book; I could do that one, if Jason holds my hand.
We were watching Prince of Thieves on TV the other night, and during the forest battle, I turned to Jason and mentioned how different the scene would be if Tarantino directed it. It’s a good example of showing violence without making it nauseating.
I do think, in some cases, true depictions of violence are necessary. Saving Private Ryan, for instance. (Although it still wasn’t as grotesque as Tarantino, was it?) That film should be required viewing for every teenager, to get an idea of what war is like. Can you imagine how different our foreign policy would be if everyone understood what it’s really like to go to war?
Ooh, now I’ve gotten all political. Sorry.
AimeeWrites blogged this: Thoughts on Film
I agree with mostly everything here (except two things – I do love Tarantino, even if sometimes I have to squint a bit at the violence, and the Coen Brothers can do almost no wrong for me. Oh, also, it’s Coen brothers, Swiss … the H isn’t silent, it doesn’t exist.) Love you!
Heather blogged this: Slapstick Moment
I knew that. Let’s blame the cough syrup, shall we?
I loved your long post. I could relate to the Blockbuster stories. Hard to believe it isn’t it–how people would go there for vhs every week. I think we still have a dvr that is a combo vhs and dvd. I don’t watch horror and we get our share of violence around here–that is when I go off by myself and read blogs or something. Enjoyed the montage you posted too.
Michele R. blogged this: Going to the Movies in the 1970′s