To Which I Admit I was Wrong (Just once)

It's the 20,000, with probably a whimper for some, but who cares...

I'm kidding of course, I'm wrong frequently. Not when it concerns Tom Hanks, but I'm wrong enough haha. Last year I had a turnaround on Russell Crowe, I forgave his lame win for Gladiator and enjoyed his bravado at Les Miserables, not necessarily because he was great in the role, but because he had the bravery to not be great and still go after it. When a man who has accomplished a fair bit in film unquestionably attacks a role that he may not be suited for, it shows vulnerability and fearlessness. And I can admire that in Crowe. Not only that, but I have no idea what the heck he was doing in Rza's movie. After reading some longer articles on acting, I do have a bit more respect for the craft, even more so than before.

But this isn't a normal rant, or maybe it is. See there's one film maker who I've routinely critiqued as over rated, boring, pretentious, soul sucking, I'm running out of adjectives, but you get the point. This past weekend I completed a watch of his films, my first on most, my second on two, but I did it because I've now watched them basically in reverse order. We'll get to that in a second.

For a bit, I want to talk about the lure of discussion here, even amongst the comic book threads, the GoT-masturbatory celebrations, the hottness tournaments, MWADS voting, etc. I think we celebrate a fair bit of good cultural production. I think most films, most television series, have a place, an audience and although they aim to make money (makes the world go round and all), they can sometimes hit us in just the right way, at just the right time to affect us a little bit more. Maybe it's the geekiness of seeing Captain America on screen, or the appreciation of a time we never want to experience for ourselves in 12 Years a Slave, there can be something better, something more effective about a film.

And I applaud everyone on this board for keeping that idea in mind: Tireless fans devoted to celebrating the things they enjoy. You might not see the much more effective piece, but I don't think we ever try to stop convincing each other that it's there. On the flip side, our enjoyment, or appreciation, may blind us just a bit from a fault or a valid criticism. As often as we get into quarrels, continuing to enjoy everything other people creatively put their talents into is a good thing too. We all meet in the middle and share ideas. And usually the truth is somewhere in between.

So let me get down to my apology.

So although I want to thank everyone, I do want to thank one smaller group for never backing down. You see, I watched my first film of this director when I was 17. I mean it was a war movie, come on! And I promptly hated it, fell asleep, tried to watch it again, but turned it off. Ugh. Ok, next try. How about yet another historical event, a kind of mesmerizing trailer and some young talent? Nope, it might have been even worse. So I was done. Granted 2 films isn't a big set of films, but considering the director's limited output, it was about a third of what he had put out at the time. Over the years, I saw trailers of the other movies. Clips here and there, and on this board I was always urged to watch it. Naaaa, I'm good," I would reply, or I might just say maybe later, "it's on the queue!" I didn't hate the director, I mean hate is a strong word, but I probably sounded like it. Remember, these are all (for the most part honestly) artists. Yes, even Michael Bay is one he just happens to paint with fire and noise.

But Sometimes, you just have to grow up. Part of that is admitting we're wrong, oh so terribly wrong.

Two months ago I watched this director's latest film. Which was honestly supposed to be his worst movie. I thought "Hey, I think I like the content, I've hated everything I've seen, so maybe if his fans hate maybe I'll like it."

I liked it enough. It was a film that hit in the right way, at the right time. Then I watched the director's second-newest film...

And I was blown away. Legitimately. I haven't seen a film like that since 2001 (I dislike agreeing with critics sometimes), and I'm not sure a film has hit me so hard before. Not even City Lights. I mean, I'm not one to say that films are life changing, I mean even though they are art, films are still produced as catalysts for income. It is the sad truth. But that doesn't mean they CAN'T effect us. That doesn't mean they can't teach. If books can teach, so can a film. So I promptly watched the rest, backwards. Revisiting the two previously mentioned films which were agonizing at first, were much better. The rest, almost just as awe inspiring.

I don't mean to discuss the director here, we can do that in another thread. Here are the takeaways:

1) I was dead wrong on this guy, I think the fans know who. I do apologize. He quickly went from probably one of my most hated film makers to a Top 10 for me in the span of like 4 weeks. That's rare, hence the post.

2) I was sort of wrong on a film only need one watch to appreciate. While I still cling to that in theory, sometimes our watch doesn't really come when we're ready, that's the problem.

3) It's ok to disagree, it's ok to not back down from our opinions. But always, always:
--Keep an Open Mind
--Realize that your perspective is based solely on that of your experience. Sometimes that means your life, sometimes that means what you appreciate in film.

4) If you like film, watch everything, any time you can. It's really that simple. Go out of your way once every couple of months and watch something that you specifically WON'T watch any other time. Just do it. Maybe something with a small sliver of something you MAY like. You never know what you'll find.

Anyways, 20k posts...15-16k probably on this place alone.

This board is awesome. You guys are awesome, (most of the time, ha).
TL;DR

We need a banner.

I'm out.