My Taste

I always claim myself to be the type of person that isn't much into movies. I've seen a good number of movies in my time, but still, probably no where near as many as most people my age.

Still, not much into movies, I do have a goal I'm working on to see all the films that have won the prized "Best Picture" Oscar award. I've currently seen 38 out of the 79 "Best Picture" films, but that goal is basically due to my interest in having the knowledge tagged to having seen all the "Best Picture" films. You KNOW it would help me through a round of Trival Pursuit! ;)

I think there's two good reasons to why I'm not much of a movie type person. 1.) I typically don't have the attention span to sit throw an entire movie if it doesn't really grasp my interest. And 2.) I just don't find too many movies that "really grasp my interest." In other words, I have real picky movie taste.

For one thing, most "comedy" films just aren't funny to me. I find most of the modern day comedies as corny humor, or vulger humor, or just plain stupid humor and I just don't find it funny most the time. I guess this would make me picky in the department of humor too, huh? HA!

As for action films, eh, I just don't get all excited about hunt-him-down-and-kill-him films. Some aren't bad, but most just kinda bore me, even though they are meant to keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat.

Most the movies I like leave me feeling inspired. They get me thinking about life as I'm following along with the characters. They get me thinking about my life, or my friend's lifes, or someone else's life that I can relate too. They leave me feeling like I want to do something, or change something, or they just leave me thinking about them in general.

Many times the movies I really like are dramas. And as most dramas tend to go, someone typically dies and the death plays a major part in the film. I like those for some reason. The ones where the death isn't one of MANY (like in the action films) and it leaves the audience to think about it's reference to life in reality. Mortality and how it affects people in real life.

Strangely, two of my ALL time favorite films are two that are classified as fairly depressing films...HA! Million Dollar Baby and Life as a House are easily in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. I love the storylines of love, outside the setting of romantic love. I love the inspiring nature the stories bring about in the viewing audience to strive to do more and exceed the limitations life might try to put on us. I like to look past the depressing side of death and see the love the person brought about.

Here is a listing of more of my favorite movies: Patch Adams, Crash, The Village, The Green Mile, Remember the Titans, A Beautiful Mind, The Shawshank Redemption, Silence of the Lambs, Backdraft, Phenomenon, Rudy, The Client, Signs, Glory, John Q, Finding Nemo, and Rent.

Out of that list, many others include death and inspiring storylines filled with aspiring characters. After watching any of those, I have a good feeling within me. There's something about a movie that can "do it" for ya. It makes you feel like you are there and can feel it.

Tonight I have the pleasure of seeing another film that my first impression has left me thinking, "why is it that I really like these depressing dramas?!?" HA! But once again, I watched this film and felt a sense of relating to life and understanding the characters roles.

House of Sand and Fog was a great movie to me. It was one I wasn't able to predict and it was one that had me feeling for the characters. I wanted to keep watching and wonder what other hardships could these characters face and how would it be handled this time. There was a part where I cringed and literally said "ouch" out loud. There was a part I wanted to help the characters. And there was a part I found myself feeling the emotional hurt the characters were feeling.

It's a movie that left me not only feeling inspired, but thinking to myself, "you know, that's exactly how life is--it's hard sometimes and it just sucks sometimes, but there will be times among the hardships that good-hearted people will overlook their differences and allow love to direct their actions."

I like those kind of happy endings to a thought that begins as generally unattractive.