Movie Confessions Blogathon

It’s been awhile since I participated in one of my blogging colleague’s blogathons. This is due entirely to the fact that I feel like I have been behind on my regularly scheduled writing for, like, 6 months or something and haven’t had time to add in many extra ventures. But I’m making a concerted effort to get more involved with my blogging community and so…here we are. Nostra over at My Film Views (link to the left) has presented a blogathon entitled, “Movie Confessions”: 13 questions about the movies you hate that everyone loves, the ones you love that everyone hates, and the like. I encourage you to head over to Nostra’s main page and check out the various responses to this blogathon. There’s some great reading over there! And, should feel the urge to answer a question yourself or vehemently disagree with one of the following statements, feel free to join in the discussion. 

Which classic movie don’t you like/can’t enjoy and why? 

Without question, this honor belongs to 2001: A Space Odyssey. This kills me, too, because as a sci-fi nerd I recognize the importance of this film and I understand how ground breaking it was when it debuted. But after three failed attempts to fight through the utter dullness that is 2001, I’ve finally given up on ever finishing it. 

Which ten classic movies haven’t you seen yet? 

This could be a very extensive list. I am admittedly bad at catching up on the classics that I missed through the misfortune of not being born yet. This is due in part to the fact that I already have enough trouble staying on top of all the new releases and in part to the fact that many of my experiences with the classics have been disappointing. As such, I have never seen (let the judgment begin): 

Citizen Kane 
On the Waterfront 
Casablanca (at least not all the way through) 
Apocalypse Now 
Easy Rider 
Taxi Driver 
Dr. Strangelove 
Vertigo 
A Clockwork Orange 
West Side Story 

Have you ever snuck into another movie at the cinema? 

For some reason (I suspect this had something to do with girls), my buddies and I snuck into Scream 3 when I was in high school. We bought tickets to Galaxy Quest, which turned out to be the far superior film, and went to see that miserable horror movie. 

Which actor/actress do you think is overrated? 

*Sigh* I hesitate to even say it because I always take grief over this. But my answer is Meryl Streep. There’s no questioning Streep’s abilities as an actress; she’s probably (or definitely) the greatest actress ever. But the problem is, she’s almost never in a movie that I can find even a smidgen of interest in. You couldn’t pay me to see The Iron Lady and she won the stinking Best Actress for it. I also get a little tired (okay, A LOT tired) of all the award nomination she garners with every film release. If she’s in a movie, she’s going to be nominated for an Oscar or she’ll be on everyone’s snub list and that gets annoying. 

From which big director have you never seen any movie (and why)? 

Federico Fellini. As mentioned before, I don’t have much time to catch up on the classics. I also lack the attention span to follow along with subtitles. So Fellini, to my great embarrassment, has slipped through the cracks. 

Which movie do you love, but is generally hated? 

Hmm, this is a tough one. I often have strong feelings toward a movie than my friends or colleagues (I truly LOVED The Dark Knight Rises) but I don’t think I really love many movies that most people hate. Maybe the film that best applies is MacGruber. I think MacGruber is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen but almost no one, critic or viewer, agreed with me when it came out. Now it’s starting to develop a cult following, though, so maybe people don’t hate it anymore. 

Have you ever been “one of those annoying people” at the cinema? 

I am very conscientious about those around me in any social situation, especially the theater. But, I do see a lot of movies during the middle of the day when the theater is practically empty. And when that happens, I’m not above checking my email during a dead scene, as long as no one is sitting behind me or on my row and the brightness of my screen is turned all the way down. Sue me. 

Did you ever watch a movie, which you knew in advance would be bad, just because of a specific actor/actress was in it? Which one and why? 

I’m sure I have at one point or another but nothing springs to mind immediately. I am much more likely to see a movie I know will be bad if it falls into a given genre, though. I’m a sucker for action movies so there are plenty of times when I’ll head into an action movie knowing it is going to be ridiculous, over the top, and/or awful. 

Did you ever not watch a specific movie because it had subtitles? 

Yeah, I’m really bad about this. There are very few subtitled films that make it to the big multiplexes where I see most of my movies so I usually have to wait for DVD. The problem there, however, is that my ADD kicks in when I watch a movie at home and I have a hard time following subtitles. 

Are there any movies in your collection that you have had for more than five years and never watched? 

That’s a negative. I don’t buy movies that I haven’t seen. I do own several, however, that I saw in theaters and loved then bought a copy on DVD/Blu-Ray and haven’t watched since. 

Which are the worst movies in your collection and why do you still own them? 

Outside of my wife’s DVDs (which can be truly awful), I own a few bad comedies that I liked when I was younger (read: “dumber”). But probably the worst movie I own is The Island, a Michael Bay movie from 2005. It is not good. But I rented it once and watched it during a bought of insomnia and thought it was great! So I bought it. And I watched it again. And it was terrible. But I can’t sell it on eBay for anything and I’m not a big fan of just throwing semi-useful items away so…it remains. 

Do you have any confessions about your movie watching setup at home? 

My entire DVD/Blu-Ray collection is alphabetized. (I see that my friend Terrence has the same affliction.) From 21 Jump Street (numbers come first, of course) to Zoolander, every film has a specific place on my shelf. More than once I have attempted to do more of a numbering system so that I don’t have to go in and move half of the cases around every time I buy a movie but I’ve never been able to handle it for very long. I may have a mild case of OCD… 

Any other confessions you want to make? 

I probably watch more TV shows than I do movies. I love movies and will gladly go to the theater or rent a movie I haven’t seen before any day of the week. But when I’m at home and looking to watch something I own, I usually opt for a disc of The Office, Parks and Recreation, or a similar comedy/sitcom. 

In addition (and this is hardly a confession since I reference it all the time), I cry in movies constantly. I’m a total wimp on that front. I fought it off for a long time but now I just embrace it. I’m a Movie Crier.
Be sure to stop by My Film Views to check out Nostra's main page for this blogathon.