Monday, August 2, 2010

Maddeningly Unhelpful Advice-What makes a great movie

As mentioned in my last post, my husband recently signed us up for netflix and I've been obsessive. Take what you would normally consider "a lot" and then double it. That's how many movies I've watched in the last two weeks. (Yes, I have an addictive personality. It's a good thing I don't drink.) So, today I will answer the question: What makes a great movie (for me)??

To make it onto my husband's list of "best movies of all time" a movie has to have one of the following three plot devices (if it has all three it is epic): 1. Time Travel 2. Alien Presence 3. Underdog rising to the top (preferably in sports). Some of his favs: Back to the future, Rocky (all fifty of them), Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, Tron

Someone would just have to make a movie about a loser traveling back in time and saving the world from a hoard of aliens then coming home as the hero and my husband would love it.

And apparently these are the types of movies I like because I keep picking movie after movie with the following themes:

*Troubled teenager who has to learn something life changing in order to overcome angst (and get the guy).
*Young women from the 1800s who spend the whole movie fighting with and/or pining after the guy and the last five minutes finally telling him how she really feels.
*Young women from today who spend the whole movie fighting with and/or pining after the guy and the last five minutes finally telling him how she really feels.

Why must I torture my poor heart with so many coming-of-age/pining romances? Seriously, it's killing me to watch the guy my heroine likes frolic all around England (or high school) with the totally silly, shallow girl. Must stop watching movies and read more. I can read about teenagers pining after werewolves (I get Linger today--Yay) which is a totally different scenario.

What about you? What plot points make up some of your favorite movies?

17 comments:

  1. Tragedy! I'm a sucker for horrible circumstances, but the MC rising above. Like Precious.

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  2. I think I would love the same movie your husband would love....

    (Did he ever see Time Cop back in the early 90's?)

    Shelley

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  3. a movie has to make me LAUGH! Seen waaay too many movies lately that LOOK funny and end up sucking in the end.
    I too love the coming of age teen stuff (Twi, of course).

    have you read Secret Circle? House of Night? Sookie? Vamp Diaries? Night World? The Host?

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  5. actually, this post is helpful. Don't YA books often fall for that plot device?

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  6. Have you ever seen Doctor Who? Yeah, he's a time traveler who saves the world from aliens over and over. I eat it up.
    My favorite movie types are very different from favorite book types. I love underdog movies, too, like Rudy. Also I'm a sucker for a sad movie or a thinky movie like Dead Poets Society or Shadowlands.

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  7. I'm a sucker for any suspense movie involving psycho people. Or comedies involving psycho people, or any ... ut oh, I'm seeing a pattern. Revealing too much. I'll stop now.

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  8. Anything sci-fi, pretty much ANY 19th century British romance novel adaptation, and anything with lots of gore and blood. I'm a picky, picky movie watcher actually. I really only watch a movie if I REALLY want to see it. Okay, I was just kidding about the gore and blood.

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  9. Well, I'm with your hubby on Remember the Titans - that's one of my all-time faves. My tastes vary a lot, though. :-)

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  10. I have the same taste as you! I'm a sucker for romance!

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  11. I just have one question, where is Hot Rod?? Shouldn't that be on Jared's list. It qualifies under #3 on his list.

    Personally, I like any movie that meets the following criteria:
    It is Pride and Prejudice (I have a whole library of these movies).

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  12. I'm with Jessie, anything 19th century England, much to my husband's displeasure.

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  14. Sounds like our husbands would get along! Rocky is the only movie that has made him cry, and Back to the future is one of his all time best classic favorites.

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  16. First of all, the rules are 1. underdog story (if they get the girl or boy in the end that's a bonus.) 2. A supernatural or alien presence of some sort. 3. Time travel 4. humor. That is why Back to the Future is the greatest movie of all time. Now, as to Hot Rod, what more powerful underdog story is there than a boy who wants to raise money to get his step-dad a heart transplant so he can then beat him up? The supernatural presence comes in the form of the animal spirits that Rod calls to him before his jumps. (spirits of the animal kingdom-Housecat, bottlenosed dolphin! etc.) The time travel is a stretch, but in Rod's case, in one scene he does in fact time travel back to 1984 and the scene of "footloose" when he goes to the woods to punch-dance out his rage, exactly mirroring Kevin bacon's gynmastic/dance scene down to the same music in the background. As for humor, there is no higher form than can be found in HotRod! Thank you.

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  17. Jessica, oh yes, they would have an instant connection if he likes those two movies. :)

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