March madness

Here are the movies I have watched since my last post:

The Science of Sleep
Balls of Fury
Knocked Up
Top Secret!
Creepshow
Funny Games
I Am Legend
Beowulf (kind of)
Shoot 'Em Up
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (most of it)
The Crying Game
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Ultraviolet

So, I've watched lots of movies of all sorts. Silly comedies, controversial action, bad comic adaptations, neo-classics, film fest movies and even kids movies. None of them are ones I can wholeheartedly endorse, but there are plenty to recommend. I of course love Shoot 'Em Up, and OSS-117 is pretty dang funny. Bon Cop was a nice Canadian action comedy, and I really enjoyed what I saw of Magorium.

But the one that struck me hardest was Funny Games, although neither in a good way or bad way. The film is controversial in it's no-holds-barred look at the audience that watches these movies. So, essentially, it's a movie about me. Some people can't finish it, and some people (weird people) would love it. I fell into neither category. The truth is, it was just kind of there. I liked Michael Pitt's performance a lot, but I didn't get sick, wasn't worried about the characters. I liked a lot of the flourishes, too, including the hyped fourth-wall breaking and the "rewinding." So, why did it stick with me? Because it didn't bother me. That probably because I knew what I was getting in to, and because even though I am very fond of life, both mine and other people's, I recognized the characters as actors, and wasn't fazed. In other words, I'm bothered by the fact that it didn't bother me.

Comments

[Adam Fiedler]

"Music critics are failed musicians, movie critics are failed movie makers. They're just jealous"
-Frank Zappa

"It's only entertainment..."
-Dr. Greg Graffin

[John S.]

It's odd, because I'm certainly not desensitized to violence, I'm just desensitized to violence in movies (most of it anyway - true stories bother me immensely).

And since I do have a strange desire to see movies like this (ie - I've seen 3/4 of the Saw movies, and I still don't like any of them), I guess it is intended for me. But maybe not.

But I don't really imagine that its arrogance on the film-maker's part, except in the way that all film-making (with few exceptions) is essentially arrogant.

[Ryan S]

Don't worry. I'm bothered by it enough for both of us. Then again, I haven't seen it, will never see it, and since I'm not a fan of violent movies, I'm not the intended audience. But I'm still bothered by it. Both by the arrogance of the filmmaker and at the actual idea as well.

Did that make any sense at all? Good.