on my love of movies

Hi. I really like movies.

When I first meet someone new, and have to arrange a meeting, I usually ask if we could go to the movies. There's nothing more personal than seeing something so emotionally provoking together and then going through the after shocks/feelings together, discussing the movie and our opinions on it. I love hearing what other people think of movies I've watched, though only if the opinions are positive. I know I know, constructive criticism and all. But really, if I'm super happy about a movie, it does me no good to ask someone about it and then they piss all over my parade. That's no fun.

Getting hyped about movies is something I do very well. At least in my own mind. The usual cycle of my excitement goes as follows: I hear about a movie through Tumblr, then wait around for the trailer while fawning over promotional images. When the trailer arrives I watch it,  once or twice or ten times, then go back to Tumblr and reblog every frame and scene and meta-text that is possible. Then when the movie is coming out I reserve tickets when possible, go see it, and then sit around discussing it with whoever I went with. Sometimes I even write a post on Facebook on how much I enjoyed the film.

This admittedly only happens with fantasy and sci-fi films as well as superhero stuff (Marvel only though, I don't have a taste for DC yet). Most of my favorite movies are indeed stuff like this. Pacific Rim, The Lord of the Rings movies, basically every Marvel movie, the list goes on.

To me, the way I feel about a movie is often judged by the feeling I get after. I can't even describe how I feel after a good movie.  I feel like I can do anything. I can turn my life around and do whatever I want. I feel happy, elated, just really really good. Sure, that fades, but I think a movie that makes me forget my own unhappiness is a very good movie indeed. I don't really go to deep in my analysis of whether or not a movie is good. I'm not passionate in the sport of criticism, so I don't really bother. I only really analyze the female representation, because it pisses me off when women are used as props or stand in their underwear for no reason (Star Trek Into Darkness looking at you).

I thought I might as well share some of my all time favorites with you, for you to either watch or marvel (pun intended) at how dumb I look for liking some of these. Your choice really.

Firstly Easy A. Honestly I remember seeing the cover of this movie at Filmtown (local film renting facility) all the time, and it seemed dumb and stupid. The cover made it seem like the main character Olive (played by Emma Stone god she's brilliant) slept with a teacher to get a good grade. That didn't interest me at all. However, it has earned a place in my top 3 due to the excellent humor and really good cast, the acting is brilliant really (and no, its not about sleeping with a teacher). Some of my favorite scenes from movies EVER are in this film. Please watch it, its funny and not what you think it is.

Pacific Rim. Yeah, giant robots fighting giant monsters from the sea. Its amazing. No really, besides the CGI and ridiculously good designs for both the Kaiju (monsters) and Jaeger (giant robots), the acting is better than you'd think for an action film, and it's actually pretty diverse. There's no unneeded romantic subplot distracting from the GIANT ROBOTS FIGHTING GIANT MONSTERS FROM THE SEA and the soundtrack gets me so pumped up I start badly humming along and punching the air. It makes me want to climb in a Jaeger and go fight monsters.

Obviously, The Lord of the Rings movies. If you haven't seen these go see them and then come back. Really, I consider these the basic education of any person living in the modern world. I started watching them when I was 10 years old, and its been a yearly tradition in our family to watch all three. Soundtrack, scenery, acting, its all superb. I haven't personally read the books, so there isn't even a "its wasn't like this in the books" problem. Classics.

Last but not least, Only Lovers Left Alive. I know for some people this movie could be too slow. Its really one of the only "artsy films" I can say I enjoy. Its cinematographically stunning, and the soundtrack and song choices fit the world and story really well. Its very slow paced, and requires some interest in the story to actually follow it and not fall asleep. For me it was easy to concentrate because the main roles are played by Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton, both incredible actors. Really if you like pretty movies you should watch it. Don't be spooked by the initial "eternally living vampire lovers" theme, it really doesn't go the way you think it will.

All of these movies have left me with strong feelings, which is why I hold them very close. Whether or not you think the acting was good won't affect how I feel about them, but it will make me less excited about them when I'm near you. I like being excited about things I love, so I'm just gonna avoid you if all you have to say is negative things. My parade is un-ruinable.

Also, if you usually only go for one style of movies, I encourage you to try something different once in a while. I recently went to see a film called "A touch of sin" that was showing in a more independent movie theater in Helsinki. It was a film about violence in China, and it was entirely in Chinese (obviously) and very violent (go figure). There was no smell of popcorn or trailers or teenagers mulling about, just seats and a screen and the movie. It was refreshing to see something without the usual commercial surrounding. Even though I probably wouldn't watch it again, it was a nice experience, and I think I will try more foreign movies in the future.

I will most likely write again concerning movies, maybe about book to movie adaptations because I have a lot of passion for that. Also proper movie going etiquette. Anyway, bye.

-Becks