The Impact of Film

This could easily be a very lengthy post because movies* have been an efficient catalyst for many of the deeper thoughts and ideas resonating around my nogin for years.

*Actually - good movies. How do I define good movies ? Well that's quite easy really, I defer to IMDB and any movie with at least a 6.5 rating.

Oops - just got a flat tire on the cyber super blogger highway...I was going to talk about the movie I saw last night called Suspect Zero - but a quick check on IMDB shows a very average 5.8 rating.

Ok, let me re-position on the fly here...

Perhaps those deep thoughts and ideas don't necessary require a good or great movie, perhaps all it takes is: an interesting tale (The Usual Suspects); a new way of telling a story (Momento); a new perspective on life (Crash); or teaching us a little about our world (Whale Rider).

Ok, tire is patched....

Case in point - Suspect Zero. This movie was recommended to me quite a few months ago by one of those rare-breed indy movie store film aficionados. He managed not to give anything away except it had a interstice spin on the common serial killer motif.

[warning - slight spoiler follows]

This film is about an FBI trained "remote viewer". Ever heard of one ? Me neither. I thought the movie was pretty good (7), but the subject of remote viewing really intrigued me and actually kept me up past midnight watching all the DVD extras.

Material like this really tinkers with my inner stuff and makes me truly feel there's something else at work here, and the evidence is piling up !

Another effect good movies have, on me at least, is the immediate impetus for knowledge. Ever have the urge after seeing a movie that you want to know everything about that subject, you just want more ! For instance - remote viewing. It turns out there is a hell of a lot of information about this stuff (and some of it unsurprisingly wacky). You can do the google yourself but if you're a little lazy have a look at this one - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing. Another (far more harmless) example came up while I was running this my editor at dinner this evening. She reminded me of a evening when we were walking home after seeing Shakespeare in Love, I had the urge to read more Shakespeare ! I think I did actually buy a small book on Shakespeare sonnets and do actually pick it up on occasion.

Following on from this last example, I usually judge a good movie but the amount of conversation it generates afterward. This could be in the form of a thorough in-depth review over a multitude of pints at the pub or a quick entry on the your best-of list which you can't help telling other people about or going on for over 10 paragraphs on a blog !