I had an eye-opening talk with Tim, my eldest son today. It seems neither of us could remember movie names or actors. "It was, you know, that Freedom guy…" You mean "Mel Gibson?" I said. "Yeah," he said. You know he was in that "Freedom movie." After a long pause when I could almost feel my arm sinking into the back of my brain where I have stuff like this stored, I said, "You mean Braveheart?"
That's when I realized that memorable movies are not always remembered the way we think. Another thing is that people recall and rate movies very differently on the enjoyment scale.
Tim went on to say that he isn't always keen on the storyline, but rather what he calls, "the content." He explained that what he liked most wasn't necessarily the story that the movie tells, the plot or so-called message, but rather, he wants to be entertained. As he gave me an example, I decided what he meant was that he values movies most that feel real to him. The example he used was the Green Zone. He described how it felt. It enlightened him. I think he meant to say something more simple. As he explained, it seems this movie educated him in a way that held his attention and left him feeling that he didn't waste his time watching it.
We got to talking about Green Zone, the movie, because he wanted to share his admiration for Matt Damon. Of course that led to other Damon movies, such as Invictus, which he hadn't seen yet, but planned to get the DVD in the coming days.
It wasn't just action movies he was referring to. No, he listed comedies, and actors such as "Oh, what was his name…" Oddly, he could remember female actors, namely Sandra Bullock. I admire her work, as well. I added Angelina Jolie.
What I found most astonishing about our discussion is how many times, neither he nor I could recall names. Movies or Actors. We painted word pictures for each other as we talked, and we both knew what we were talking about. We could reference snips of a particular movie without remembering the name of the movie. Wow! I wonder what the message is there?
It must be a good movie, or we wouldn't have been able to mention it at all. Does anyone really remember bad movies they have seen? [we discussed about 15 or 16 movies] He smiled in thought as he laughed a bit and named actors, most through the description of the movie he couldn't recall the name of.
It was a day. A day I had a conversation with my son. About movies. Spectacular. My heart is so happy. What a joy to have raised such a wonderful son. A good person who I am so proud of. What mother could want more?
Well, blog, that whole thing got my mind juices flowing like a lazy river that turned into bubbling, churning water rapids racing down the valley of my brain where I have my inspiration stored under lock and key.
I decided right then to start a list. A list of movies, yes. But also, a list of actors. Then, I thought, me of all people must have screen writers on this list. What about directors? They are a critical element to good-movie making, aren't they? Yes, of course. If that be the case, the list must include so many other creative and talented individuals. So, blog, my idea fell to the ground like an apple splattering on the cold gray cement after being dropped from the roof of a ten story building. [GAD]
Okay, let's keep the list and limit it to movie titles and the main actors. I'll update the list as I get to new movie reviews and if anyone comments on a movie or actor that should be on the list, I'll add those names, too. It's going to be awesome. Great idea, blog. Thanks for the inspiration.
