thrillhouse210

I have a problem. Some might call it a sickness. I for the life of me, take every movie too literally, over think every aspect of a movie, and hold all movies to an almost superhuman realism. I just can't sit through a movie without thinking to myself, 'Come on, that would never happen in the real world.' I know, I know, this isn't the real world, it's just a movie, but I wish I could just sit and watch a good flick, without over analyzing it. Any one share the same plight?

CKMorpheus

My father can't stand watching films or TV shows like Goodfellas or Sopranos. He gets upset because there are actually people like that out in the real world. He said growing up in Brooklyn since he was born, he knew a lot of people like that.

I don't know, he's a bit out there.

Rival11

Definitely. You're just a picky bastard like me. There's nothing wrong with that either. I'm the type of person who gets bored very easily as well so watching the same movie twice can be quite difficult for me at times.

I find that people I can relate with tend to usually want things all or nothing. Take the Grindhouse flicks recently released by Tarantino and Rodriguez for example - are they full out Grindhouse? Of course not but I pretty much grew up watching stuff like that and can't believe how much effort went into trying to recreate the experience - I love it and ate every bit of it up.

I'm not the biggest sci-fi fan around either - it's very hard for me to get into those types of films and when I finally do\can - I usually fall out quickly.

With all that said though - I do have an appreciation for any type of film done in any genere when they are well made - even if I can't fully get into them.

covenant

Sounds like you need to find a new hobby.....and forum.

islandclaws

I can relate. I find myself thinking the same thing a lot of times while watching a film, but I usually remind myself that I'm supposed to suspend disbelief for the 2 hours I'm sitting in a theater. Unless something gets so retardedly over the top, like Die Another Die, I usually just let it go.

Brack

I don't have this problem. I watch movies to get away from real life, not to watch real life on a giant screen. How depressing.

JPRaup

Mostly agree, but depends on the genre of a movie.

visitor Q

I'd be interested in seeing some of the OP's examples ..

PopcornTreeCt

I agree. The only thing I don't like is when a movie throws a curve ball that totally goes against everything else shown in the universe of the movie.

Yakuza Bengoshi

This is probably just an indication that you need to vary your viewing lineup. Maybe less action/adventure, sci-fi, horror, and more Neo-realism and documentary.

I agree this does sound depressing. What's wrong with your real life that you're trying to get away from?

Brack

Nothing is wrong with my real life, but I think most would agree that watching something that is completely real would be boring.

Point out a movie that is 100% "real." I'm not talking about documentaries.

terrycloth

you sound like my co worker...

i bring in horror movies almost everyday to watch and every night hell get bored ad sit down and just watch whatever i have on for about 15 minutes and get frustrated and make a generic "wth that would never happen" comment and walk away.

sooner or later he will give up...he did stop for a week when i brought in black sheep.

Goat3001

For me it all depends on the type of movie. If I go in expecting it to be somewhat realistic and I get a ton of unrealistic crap I get annoyed with that. Day After Tomorrow is a good example of that. I went in thinking it would be a good sci-fi/disaster flick about global warming. Instead I get Jake Gylenhaal running away from absolute zero.

On the flipside, I can take fantasy movies and crazy action movies and appreciate them for what they are.

If you don't enjoy a movie because its not real enough for you thats your own business. It gets annoying when watching a movie with some douche that repeatedly says "thats so unrealistic".

Yakuza Bengoshi

That's sad. Are you bored by lectures about interesting topics? Are you bored by concerts performed by bands you like? Were you bored by the 9/11 footage?

If you're not talking about documentaries, then I suppose you're talking about fiction, correct? Fiction, by definition is a work of imagination. I'm not sure how this has anything to do with the OP or my post, but I'm intrigued. And why is it you're not talking about documentaries? I was.

Brack

Sorry, by my use of the word "something," I was referring to "movie." This is a movie forum the last time I checked.

Well, a work of fiction is never "real." Real life is never nearly as well written. I wasn't talking about documentaries, well, because they actually show real footage. But they're still edited in a way that is entertaining and informative. Real life isn't edited so nicely.

Yakuza Bengoshi

If you're not talking about documentaries, then I don't understand what you are taking about. What would this "100% real" movie be then?

I disagree. There's been a lot of real life that blows movie fiction out of the water.

Sure it is. News coverage is edited reality; history is even more edited. Even memory is edited. All observations are selectively edited. A lot of those edits are so nicely done, the observer doesn't even notice that the reality is edited.

I still don't know what you're point is, but I look forward to reading it.

CloverClover

I am a little bit of the opposite, I'm against being too bogged down by reality, because reality is so subjective and imagination is more in line with an artist's worldview, therefore usually more passionate and confident than someone trying to create a world which the entire population can relate to. That is why the art films of the past eras stand the test of time more so than the popular films from then, since reality is ever changing and modern popular crowds aren't in touch with then, not that that's bad... it's instant gratification. Maybe as relics into past cultures, and general film history, old popular films are worthwhile, but I could easily see something like Fellini's work standing the test of time almost like Van Gogh. There are holes and assumptions in what I'm saying but it is generally in line with my view... and thought I'd add the opposite perspective as someone who thinks the best films resemble nothing about reality but are most real of all

An4h0ny

if movies were just recreations of 'real life' then they would all be 2 hours of stuff like your Mom telling you to clean up your room and you posting on the internet...

then if someone actually MADE that movie, people would go ...

"Ehhh... that'd never really happen..."

Brack

There are no 100% real movies. That was my point. Sure, I like movies that are realistic in the universe that it creates. But isn't not real life. Documentaries are edited, real life isn't edited. That's also my point.

People also may act differently in front of a camera than they would in real life. Do you consider the Real World on MTV to be real?

Care to elaborate? Are you talking about nonfiction work? They tend to edit out all the boring parts. You can't edit out the boring parts of real life.

The fact that's there's edits tell you that you're not seeing everything, which is usually a good thing. But I know I can't edit out the boring parts of my life. I'm happy you have one of those little remotes like Adam Sandler has in "Click."

See the first post I made in this thread. The rest were answering your questions. The things you mentioned, history, news, etc. aren't boring, but it's not exactly real life, but merely moments in real life. Those can be very interesting.

Yakuza Bengoshi

I agree that reality is subjective, but I think most often when the writer or director is trying to create a world that the entire population can relate to, that world is most likely to be a highly simplified fiction: for example, the world of Jurassic Park. Creating a realistic world, for example that of Old Joy, is more alienating because it seems so real as to be boring or so alien as to be unrelatable.

I think what the the modern crowd finds so alienating about old popular films is not that reality has changed so much since those films were made, but that the old popular fictional conventions are no longer novel, whereas modern fiction is, when well done, still fresh and unexpected. Old films that attempted to accurately depict reality can, when well done, still be interesting even if it's now apparent how stylized those depictions of reality really were (e.g., Battleship Potemkin, All Quite on the Western Front, Bicycle Thieves, A Streetcar Named Desire, Breathless and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf).

I think there's room for both efforts in impressionism and realism in the ranks of great films. Give me Fellini and Tarkovsky, but also give me De Sica and Cassavetes.

Yakuza Bengoshi

Since nobody disagreed with this, I'm not sure why it's a point that had to be made. It's like saying a square has four sides, true, but so what?

To say that "real life" isn't edited is like saying a tree in a forest makes a sound even if nobody's there to hear it. Technically true, but of no consequence. All perceived reality is edited.

I hesitate to follow you down another rabbit hole here since you don't really seem to be leading me anywhere, but what the hell, no I consider the Real World to be highly contrived. And?

9/11 and sex, to name two things.

You never see everything ever.

I'm very rarely bored, but I'm sorry to hear that you are.

These points of reference of yours, the Real World and Click may, if typical of what you expose yourself to, account for your dissatisfaction. I'd be unhappy too if these were the types of entertainment I exposed myself to on a regular basis.

See my first response in this post.

Again, I'm sorry you're bored with real life.

TomOpus

I might be wrong, but I think Brack is not saying HIS real life if boring but watching someone else's real life could be boring. As an example, say you're sitting in a chair reading a good book. You're not bored because you're enjoying the book. But say someone filmed you sitting there reading the book. Watching that film for 2 hours might be boring.

Brack

The OP wants movies to be "real." I thought it relevant to mention.

Documentaries aren't necessarily real either. I'm not trying to make some huge point to you. You keep asking the questions, I'm simply answering.

How are these better written exactly?

Very true, but you're only seeing what someone wants you to see in this case.

I'm not bored. But there are plenty of moments in my life that I wouldn't consider very interesting.


Whoever said I was dissatisfied or unhappy? Not me. I've never even seen "Click."


Stop watching sci-fi? Or that you feel sorry for me?

I'm not bored with life, I'm happy to be alive. But I wouldn't expect someone to watch a movie about my life either.

Yakuza Bengoshi

Why direct your comment at me then? How does it help the OP to ask me to "Point out a movie that is 100% real"?


Well I think your definition of "real" is a little squishy, but I agree with you. Documentaries are merely selectively-constructed depictions of reality.

You may be responding to my questions, but you're not answering them.

They're as much "written" as any of life's events are. I assumed you were using a loose analogy between fictional drama and the drama of real life when you said "Real life is never nearly as well written." If you didn't intend to analogize there, what did you mean by this expression?

In what case?

You said previously, "I know I can't edit out the boring parts of my life." Was this merely theoretical then?

Statements like "I watch movies to get away from real life" and "I know I can't edit out the boring parts of my life" sound like signs of dissatisfaction to me.

Odd to reference it then, but okay, good for you; me neither.

You're not reading very carefully. I said post not thread.

I never suggested anyone would want to see a movie about your life, but I have no doubt that you'll accumulate enough experiences in your life to fill several hours of small screen television drama, if not necessarily the makings of a summer blockbuster.

Yakuza Bengoshi

You're guess about what Brack is saying is as good as mine. His statements about "I watch movies to get away from real life" and "I know I can't edit out the boring parts of my life" sound like statements of boredom to me, but I could be wrong. As for a film about Brack reading a book, that sounds a lot like the films of Andy Warhol, especially Sleep and Eat. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but I did enjoy Gus Van Sant's Last Days so I'm not too far off from finding that to be a topic that could be interesting if done well.