“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” - Albert Einstein
I must confess that like any one of us I have my faults. One always tries of course to better oneself and expunge parts of one’s character or disposition that are unwholesome or irritating or annoying, even (or especially!) to oneself. However, there is a batch of niggling traits, ideas, misconceptions, petty prejudices and irrational little bêtes noires that seem to stick and pepper one’s life with their absurdity. One example of such a dislike of mine is the antipathy I have towards Facebook. Even though I consider myself technology savvy (even geeky to a certain extent), even though I blog, tweet, pin things on Pinterest, subscribe to LinkedIn, etc, etc, I took an instant dislike to Facebook as soon as it appeared on the horizon and have never fallen to the temptation to even try it out. As I said, it may be quite irrational, but there it is, it’s just me…
Now how does this relate to Movie Monday? I was thinking about films I had seen to review for today and then the thought struck me, what about the movies I haven’t seen – or worse still, the films I refuse to see… “The Social Network” (2010) is an obvious example. Friends who have seen it and recommend it, are mystified when I inform them that I won’t watch it. I have absolutely no interest at all in this film or its bunch of geeky heroes, that are one of the real life success stories of the 21st century “.com bubble”. My antipathy to Facebook has been transferred to the film – sight unseen.
Another film I would not see is “Sex and the City” (2008). Once again, I am showing my prejudices here, as I have not watched a single episode of the TV series. Just reading the description of the series and plot outline of the first episode was enough to put me off. Watching the film trailer out the cherry on top of the cake and confirmed my dislike. Something about the concept, something about the leading actresses, something about the setting and the whole conceit of the thing was quite distasteful for me.
Another set of movies that are do not appeal is the recent clutch of reprocessed and transmogrified fairy tales of the ilk of “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” (2013) and “Jack the Giant Slayer” (2013). From the publicity material that is being splattered across the internet, I have been completely put off the Hollywoodised CGI-rich, updated and modernised tales that to me reek of the ludicrous – a modern version of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964). Not that fairy tales are not fantasy, but there is good fantasy and bad fantasy…
Then there is another group of “contemporary” comedies which seem to rely on the scatological, grubby, slimy, profane humour, and in which is a cast of unlikeable antiheroes that give me the willies even when I see the movie poster or DVD cover. “Get Him to the Greek” (2010) is an example, as is “Wayne’s World” (1992) or “The Campaign” (2012).
As I am not a spectator sportsman nor a couch potato sports fan, so movies about sports, sportspeople, teams and struggles of sportspeople to get to the top of the pecking order in sportsdom leave me quite cold. “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) seems quite distasteful to me from the plot description and the trailer, although some friends have recommended it highly to me. “Coach Carter” (2005), “Resurrecting the Champ" (2007) and a multitude of movies about baseball and football (e.g. “Remember the Titans" [2000]), also leave extremely cold.
There are many others, of course, but that’s enough of my ranting for today. If you think you have a good reason that will make me shed my prejudices about any one of these films, please tell me. I’m always willing to reform, if I am shown the error of my ways…
I must confess that like any one of us I have my faults. One always tries of course to better oneself and expunge parts of one’s character or disposition that are unwholesome or irritating or annoying, even (or especially!) to oneself. However, there is a batch of niggling traits, ideas, misconceptions, petty prejudices and irrational little bêtes noires that seem to stick and pepper one’s life with their absurdity. One example of such a dislike of mine is the antipathy I have towards Facebook. Even though I consider myself technology savvy (even geeky to a certain extent), even though I blog, tweet, pin things on Pinterest, subscribe to LinkedIn, etc, etc, I took an instant dislike to Facebook as soon as it appeared on the horizon and have never fallen to the temptation to even try it out. As I said, it may be quite irrational, but there it is, it’s just me…
Now how does this relate to Movie Monday? I was thinking about films I had seen to review for today and then the thought struck me, what about the movies I haven’t seen – or worse still, the films I refuse to see… “The Social Network” (2010) is an obvious example. Friends who have seen it and recommend it, are mystified when I inform them that I won’t watch it. I have absolutely no interest at all in this film or its bunch of geeky heroes, that are one of the real life success stories of the 21st century “.com bubble”. My antipathy to Facebook has been transferred to the film – sight unseen.
Another film I would not see is “Sex and the City” (2008). Once again, I am showing my prejudices here, as I have not watched a single episode of the TV series. Just reading the description of the series and plot outline of the first episode was enough to put me off. Watching the film trailer out the cherry on top of the cake and confirmed my dislike. Something about the concept, something about the leading actresses, something about the setting and the whole conceit of the thing was quite distasteful for me.
Another set of movies that are do not appeal is the recent clutch of reprocessed and transmogrified fairy tales of the ilk of “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” (2013) and “Jack the Giant Slayer” (2013). From the publicity material that is being splattered across the internet, I have been completely put off the Hollywoodised CGI-rich, updated and modernised tales that to me reek of the ludicrous – a modern version of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964). Not that fairy tales are not fantasy, but there is good fantasy and bad fantasy…
Then there is another group of “contemporary” comedies which seem to rely on the scatological, grubby, slimy, profane humour, and in which is a cast of unlikeable antiheroes that give me the willies even when I see the movie poster or DVD cover. “Get Him to the Greek” (2010) is an example, as is “Wayne’s World” (1992) or “The Campaign” (2012).
As I am not a spectator sportsman nor a couch potato sports fan, so movies about sports, sportspeople, teams and struggles of sportspeople to get to the top of the pecking order in sportsdom leave me quite cold. “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) seems quite distasteful to me from the plot description and the trailer, although some friends have recommended it highly to me. “Coach Carter” (2005), “Resurrecting the Champ" (2007) and a multitude of movies about baseball and football (e.g. “Remember the Titans" [2000]), also leave extremely cold.
There are many others, of course, but that’s enough of my ranting for today. If you think you have a good reason that will make me shed my prejudices about any one of these films, please tell me. I’m always willing to reform, if I am shown the error of my ways…
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