What I've Been Watching
Recently I have been on a big movie binge. I realized that there are so many movies that I know about but haven’t sat down and watched. I’ve enjoyed getting the full scope of a story in one sitting with a beginning middle and end. That doesn’t mean television has been completely cut out of my watching habits, Kendall Roy has a special place in my heart, but it’s been a new story on my screen almost every night. Sitting through so many styles of filmmaking, I’ve come to appreciate every movie for the purpose they serve. Here are a few of my favorites from my recent watches and what they’ve taught me.
About Time
The elevator pitch for this movie is quite simple. It’s your standard rom-com but the main character can time travel. I didn’t have much expectations going into it, but once the credits rolled I realized that was far and away one of my favorite movies of all time. First off, time travel is used perfectly as a device to further the story. There is no diving deep into the lore of why time travel exists or the certain rules that go along with it, it just simply exists within this universe. By the end, the father talks about going through each day like normal and then reliving it but appreciating everything that is around you. Eventually, the main character comes to the conclusion he must simply enjoy life coming at him as it does without having to time travel back to the beginning of every day. This made an impact on me and made me appreciate everything about my days, even the shows and interactions that absolutely stink. It’s all a part of our journey and it is a beautiful thing to be alive.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3
People who dislike Marvel need to watch GOTG 3. One of the things that has turned me off a bit to Marvel has been their need to introduce potentially world-ending stakes in hopes to top Infinity War. This movie finds its roots in the characters and the main thing at stake throughout the movie is saving the life of their best friend Rocket Raccoon. Everything doesn’t always have to be world-ending for us to care about it, it can be a grounded story even in space about a group of people trying to save someone who they love dearly. Peter and Gamora’s relationship is explored in this movie (if I were to go into all the details it would take a bit so I assume you already know a bit about them) but ultimately they do not end up together. A lesser movie would reunite their romantic leads as quickly as possible, but this movie shows that it is okay to not always have that big kiss at the end. Sometimes it’s better for two people to walk their separate ways and focus first on themselves.
Sound of Metal
This movie hit home for me mainly because the main character had to cope with sudden hearing loss in his twenties and I dealt with losing 50% of my hearing when I was 13. I know what it was like to hear out of both ears, but now my left is the only one that works. The entire thesis of this movie was that although your hearing might be gone, you still have a wonderful life to live. The main character invests all of his money in cochlear implants that “heal” his hearing and although he can hear, it’s nothing like it was before. The fear of losing all my hearing has loomed over me since I was 13, and this movie taught me that there is so much to appreciate around you that you don’t have to hear. Regretfully I have never cried at a movie but this was the closest I have gotten.
12 Angry Men
I am going to try my best to write about this movie and not seem pretentious. I have made a conscious effort recently to watch older movies that are heralded as the best of our time. Although this is not one that I would gravitate towards, there comes a point when so many people say something is good that it has to be good. After watching this movie, I understand the hype. The most important thing is how compelling the dialogue is. The movie takes place in one room and it’s twelve men having a conversation. The entire time I was locked in and my time with this movie flew by. To put it simple, this movie showed me the importance of the words coming out of your mouth. Your actions don’t have to be flashy, if you’re saying something compelling people will listen. And I sure did.
House
And if talking about 12 Angry Men wasn’t film bro enough for you, House is a 1977 Japanese movie that is a wild ride. A piano completely devours one of the main characters except their fingers that are still playing the keys, but by that point it doesn’t feel out of the ordinary. If nothing else, this movie chose a lane and stuck with it hard. I would imagine the entire cast and crew had a blast filming this entire movie just laughing each and every day with what they were able to pull off. Whatever you do in life, however crazy it may be, as long as you commit hard to the lane you’re in you’re gonna be fine.