Allow me to say again, I love cinema. Why? Because it's so universal while still allotting for opposing opinions. This kind of debate can and usually does come in the form of abstract and concrete meanings of movies, but doesn't have to.
Case in point: these past two posts. Similar themes, but as I am about to show, different opinions.
I've often touted Netflix as one of, if not the, best business I interact with. Constantly improving their business to make it more accessible while always providing prices that are more than reasonable are two of the reasons I love Netflix. (This site is not sponsored by Netflix, but if y'all want to send a few free years my way, it could be.)
And thus we get to the opposition. I couldn't be more different in use of Netflix than my buddy The Walrus. The slight, and hopefully minimal animosity depicted in the title prompted me to provide a view of the other side.
I've been an off-and-on member for a few years now, mainly because I was in school and couldn't even scrounge up that well-priced subscription fee. Being in the business world with steady income, I believe that I'm now a lifer; and it sure hasn't taken me long to build up a substantial queue.
Playing opposite to Walrus' straight-laced and rigid queue, mine echos the tide; films ebbing and flowing. I'm constantly hearing about movies and I feel compelled to add it to my list same as The Walrus. However, I'm very much a pusher upper. I'm one who likes to be "in the know." Especially when it comes to movies. I see something I like, I add it and push it to the top. If something else comes along that's been talked about, it might get pushed over. Reading about them in textbooks usually equals them getting throw into the single digits.
There's also the problem with spoilers. I recently watched The Usual Suspects. I'd had the movie spoiled forever ago, but thought it was still worth watching. It wasn't. The ending would've been enthralling had I not known it, but instead, I found myself just waiting for the realization to come across the character's faces. I believe we take movies for granted. I saw an interesting question posed on Cinematical that asked, "What movie do you wish you could see again for the first time?" That question got me thinking. We only get to see a movie for the first time once. I know that sounds obvious, but think back to some of your favorites. The Sixth Sense is the uber-referenced shocker movie. Star Wars, The Usual Suspects, Fight Club, and Citizen Kane are part of those as well. Sure it's fun to go back and re-watch those movies when you know the twist, but nothing can really ever match those initial viewings; and when they're spoiled by others, it can really diminish the experience.
Another big aspect of my ever-changing queue is television. I have many television series on my queue. I hate to start and stop, and so I always evolve the queue to make sure I don't start a series before I'm ready. For the longest time, The Sopranos sat in and around the number ten spot, never quite fulfilling its destiny to make the trip home. It's such a long series, and even going straight through the DVDs, it would take me forever to see them all, and so I never began. Until one day, I sent some back and forgot to update my queue, receiving the first disc of the show by accident. Still unwilling to start the series, I sent it immediately back and deleted the whole series from my queue for fear of it interrupting some of those sacred days of DVD travel time.
Maybe as the Walrus stated, it's just a matter age, being just a few tree rings younger than the Walrus, maybe my ADHD generation just doesn't have the patience to go through that queue one-by-one. Self-disclosure: I actually have been prescribed adderall for ADHD. Or maybe it's just a different attack pattern.
Since Señor Morsa has yet to answer my comment on his post, I will ask again. Have you always been this way, or during those honeymoon years were you a 'pusher-upper'?
P.S. - F'real though, you should see Let The Right One In stat. It's on instant view, so it's not like cheating!
3 comments:
Good response, my friend. Let's get right to the question at hand. "Have I ever been a pusher-upper?" I feel pretty confident answering that question with a No. I've always been a date of addition kind of guy.
Now with that said, I concede to you on the point of the spoiler angle. "The Village" sticks out for me. Another Shyamalan flick that I saw almost two years after theatrical release. I knew the ending, so the whole movie took on a different skew as I watched it. Let's be honest, it wasn't that great to start with, and it only got worse with the ending being known. So I do run into that from time to time. But you haven't seen The Sopranos, quite possibly the most influential television series in over a generation. So who's missing out?
So lets do this.....you see my list. Give me 5 that I have to see before the end of April, and I'll move them to the top today. If the world doesn't end, maybe we can make it a regular thing.
Ok, I'm going through your list now.
Obviously I will ask you to move "Let The Right One In" to the top.
I will also choose: "Big Fan"
"In Bruges"
and "Once".
I will use my last request to ask you to move "The Blind Side" all the way to the end. Because I know that asking for you to take it off completely would be rude. :)
DONE!!! I'll let you know how it goes, and maybe even GAF a couple.
Post a Comment