How many times have we
fallen for false comments like: “OMG did you see that new movie that is
awesome??????” And since “everyone” likes it, well you do too.
Well guess what? That is
baloney… and cheap baloney at that… although I’m not sure something like fancy baloney
exists…. Well maybe if you insist on spelling it bologna, but damn…. That G.
But I digress. The point is that often times people are led to not only believe
but accept movies based on merits perceived by others and when I hear this, I
have to think of Avatar and Rosemary’s Baby as two examples of steaming piles
of meh that people adore, made a ton of money, and are considered not only
classics but canon.
Let us be clear on
something. I wanted to see Avatar in movies and have that be my first 3D movie
experience. I had also been meaning to see Rosemary’s Baby for so long because
I’d heard such great things about it. And although thematically, stylistically,
and pretty much anything you can think of is different between both these
movies, one thing is shared as a constant between both movies in my life: I
hated them.
Btw, I’m not saying I disliked
them, I’m saying, wow what a steaming pile of a movie and have scratched my
head trying to wrap my head around what makes both of these movies so great.
On one hand, you have
Avatar, probably the least original most derivative film I’ve possibly seen in
my life. It’s a piecemeal of a movie that takes elements of videogames and
movies I’ve seen and loved and done a half ass assembling that made a ton of
money. If ever a movie was not carried by its special effects for me, it has to
be Avatar. The protagonist is shallow, the plot is as been there and done that
as it gets, and I see plot elements of Fern Gully, the Last Samurai, HALO,
Secret of Mana, and beyond. I cannot and will not accept that this is a super
original film, because it is not. If people like it, then fine. People have the
right to enjoy it. But that door swings both ways and you are allowed to
dislike it. And boy do I dislike it.
You see, beyond Sigourney
Weaver’s acting (which is the only I actually enjoyed) and a scene where they
are in organic hammocks that close uniquely, everything else seems lifted from
other places and the script is as unimaginative and predictable as it gets. For
me, the only thing I didn’t get right was that I think that both the Avatar
femme’s parents would die and one was spared. Wooha. Beyond that, it was paint
by numbers and painfully so.
Then you have Rosemary’s
Baby… an American Classic… one of the best movies of I don’t know when said I
don’t know who…. And I bought into the BS hook, line, and sinker. I was
expecting an epic soundtrack… didn’t deliver. I was expecting amazing
cinematography. Didn’t find it remotely amazing. Expected an intense plot… this
puppy drags more than a dead limb. In a phrase, what a piece of crap. To say I
didn’t like it is an understatement because there are crappy movies I love
because I can laugh at them or they’re so bad they’re good. Sharknado, Gymkata,
The Last Dragon… these are movies I’m fond of. Rosemary’s Baby was as big a
waste of time for me as it gets with movies. Didn’t like the acting. Didn’t
like the direction. Wasn’t impressed by anything and if you ask me, Roman
Polanski can sit on a sharpened porcupine for all I care.
Why do I say this? Because
you have the right to not like something, to think differently, to disagree
with the consensus because your brain and your opinion are yours and saying you
like something to fit in is about as stupid as doing drugs, drinking, and
having sex just for acceptance. You are better than that. You are your own
person and your opinion matters. If someone can’t accept that, that’s their
loss because we need people to be true to who and how they are.
For me? I think Avatar is
a lame sci-fi movie with over-elongated Smurfs obsessed with unobtanium and I
really could care less if James Cameron scraps this project altogether because
one movie was more than enough. As for Rosemary’s Baby, there are classic
movies and then there are movies imposed upon us. Rosemary’s Baby was as bad as
Flashdance except I can laugh at seeing Flashdance while being angry at myself
for investing time on that steaming pile.
I say all this because we
are better than following popular opinion just for the sake of acceptance. We
are better than doing stuff because we want to be liked. And we are most
definitely better than Avatar and Rosemary’s Baby… although that isn’t saying
much.
Peace, love, and maki
rolls
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