3/5

I watched Dealer's Choice a few nights ago, Attack the Block before that. Both were ok I guess. 3/5. Life these days is filled with 3/5 movies and plays. I can't find something that really grips me. I'm not sure if this is due to me growing up or me just not having the time to catch some of the potentially nice shows I missed. I yearn to watch a movie, or a play, that will leave an indelible mark on me. Something that really grips me, something that will recur in my mind 3 days later, 3 weeks later, 30 years later.

Examples? Battlestar Galactica qualifies. (Yes it's a tv series but it'll count) A couple of scenes were great: every now and then I would go to Youtube and re-experience the scenes again. And the overall quality of the drama is good, though it did sag somewhere between the 2nd half of Season 1 and the first half of Season 2. Half Nelson qualifies, because of scenes such as this. Ponyo was good (4.25/5), so was Inception (4/5), Confessions (4.25/5). There are definitely more, but I'm too lazy to search through my compiled ratings list and movie tickets now; these are just the things off the top of my head.

What makes for a great production? I've only 2 benchmarks. 1) The production must be impactful. It must have me leaving the theater stunned, or my mind reeling. This is a necessary condition for 4 stars from me, but not a sufficient one. Benchmark 2): the production must be consistently good. It mustn't leave my mind wandering at any point of time. This is necessary though not sufficient too. 1) and 2) are jointly sufficient for 4 stars from me. What happens if 1) obtains but 2) doesn't? This happened in Milk: the last few scenes were extremely powerful, poignant ones. But I felt the middle parts were too draggy. So I gave it a 3.99. 2) is very important as well. What happens if 2) obtains but not 1)? Slumdog Millionaire,Valkyrie and The Hangover are examples of such cases. They would simply go into the 3-3.5 star range.

So now, what exactly would have a great impact on me? Many things actually. One good way is to have a striking ambiguity in the end: that's why I like Inception and Pan's Labyrinth. Another way is simply to have masterful acting, plot and pace: that's why I like King's Speech, The Dark Knight. A reliable way is to simply have well-crafted, emotional scenes: that's why I like Half Nelson, The Cove, The Brave One. An 'artistically brooding' atmosphere works too: that's why I like Shutter Island, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Confessions (and many other arthouse films I'm sure). Artistically macabre/surreal stuff work too: that's why I like Chaser, Pan's Labyrinth, Confessions, Space Odyssey, Ponyo.

Thinking of all these is making me want to watch films again. I just need to get a presentation over, take a break, complete an essay and some other teaching assignment, take a final exam, and then I have some time to myself.