I apologize if we've dished on Shyamalan's presence enough in earlier threads, but I wanted to ask how much his presence affected the movie's flow for you. I thought his acting was good and his presence plausible. But watching him kept yanking me out of the story and movie-watching experience. I wondered whose role had been cut down to give him more screen time. I wondered where, as a principal character, he was during the swimming pool party scene. (I guess he had to be behind the camera then.) So he kept interrupting the movie for me and, like the implausible scenarios I listed in the comments with dw's first post, there were too many reasons to lose the "story" feel and stay in critique mode instead.
And another question: Does watching a movie for Cinema Chatter disrupt everybody's ability to "lose" themselves in the story? I either watch it through and enjoy, or take a few notes along the way, and then rewatch parts, especially after discussion starts. Can you watch a film the same way if you plan to critique it?
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Can you watch a film the same way if you plan to critique it?
I think I can. I'm just a little more attuned to making mental notes as I'm watching it. But my experience of it isn't really different.
And actually now, virtually every movie I see I think of how you guys might respond to it if we were discussing it on the blog. Ooh! This movie would be so awesome for film club.
(I like how "film club" brings to mind "fight club." Makes us sound like real badasses.)
I think I start looking at films more critically, and that’s good -- I understand a lot more than I used to, and that helps me to enjoy the films I enjoy a lot more.
I had no idea that Shyamalan was in the film until after I watched it. Without knowing who he was, his character seemed to fit in well and have just the right amount of screen time. But, then again, I loved the movie.
Since I’ve for years considered film to be worthy of critical attention, I think I now watch with “two minds”. I can lose myself in a well told tale, but I also almost unconsciously mark bits that I’ll return to later for more contemplation. And if I’m watching a movie that is failing, I often switch to a quite conscious—and gleeful—dissection of its weaknesses. For instance, “Babel” wasn’t quite the trash that “Crash” was, but it sure used the same heavy handed manipulative crap. Instead of feeling cheated out of more than two hours of my life watching it, I was mildly amused by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s big hammer: what is he going to flatten next?
If I'm enjoying a movie, it's much easier for me to get lost in it and not pay attention to things that might be discussed later. I generally don't like to rewatch anything unless I REALLY loved it. But if I'm not enjoying it, or if I find it merely passable, I do make more mental notes as I watch.
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