"Have you ever seen a movie that you really didn't like, but you can't disagree that it is a good movie?"
Once I heard that question my mind screamed, 'Yes I have!!'. Then my mind screamed, 'Yes! Somebody else who also has had such an experience!'. I don't know why -- but I think it's pretty rare to experience this. I remember one time recommending a movie to a friend and I said, "It's a good movie -- but I don't like it." My friend gave me a puzzled look, as if to ask, "How could you say it's a good movie if you don't like it?"
I guess often when I watch a movie (or anything really), I'm watching from at least two different angles: an objective angle and a personal angle. The objective angle would be my critical eye, seeing if things were structured nicely, if the acting was good, if the animation was done well (if it was animated), etc. The personal angle would be me just seeing if I'm enjoying it.
This is how I sometimes find myself thinking, "This movie is really nicely done!" but also "I... can't watch this again..."
Below are some such movies for me. I would recommend almost all these titles, so if you are curious about them, feel free to check them out. From looking at my short list, there seems to be a couple common factors.
1. I can't re-watch movies that are too dark or grim -- When the movie's tone is consistently dark throughout the movie and I feel no sense of hope, it really brings me down. I tend to be very empathetic so I need to have some kind of light in my movies. Otherwise I will be stuck in that dark / grim state for a while.
2. I can't re-watch movies that are too scary -- Well, scary movies tend to scare me, so I don't think this needs much explanation.
My List (with whatever commentary. The list will probably grow as I watch more movies.)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street -- As much as I enjoyed the acting and the singing, the atmosphere was really way too dark and grim. I'm not even sure if I can listen to the music again, even though I've had the soundtrack for years now. From the actual musical, I've always liked "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" musical number, but the vocal version never made it to the movie, hahahaha... *sigh*
Watchmen -- I left the theatre feeling completely emotionally drained. Even though the movie offered some kind of light / hope, I took it to express something negative so I was stuck in a state of darkness for a while. This movie... really depressed me, lol.
21 Grams -- So... even though this movie was really well done, I don't think I would actually recommend it to anybody. I personally don't think anything can be gained from watching this movie, except for maybe feeling that your own life and situation is possibly (hopefully) better than the characters'.
The Mist -- This was way too grim for me. I still think about it from time to time. I would really like to re-write the last act. You can read my review of it here:
The Descent -- I'm sure some would contest to this, but I found this movie way too scary. I kinda think, well, that the premise is kinda plausible. I really doubt that every inch of this planet has been explored... so there's bound to be some unknown places... with unknown... things... Though I was able to watch it one more time after the initial viewing. I bought the DVD, watched it with my sister, and then gave her the DVD.
Honourable Mention
Silent Hill -- This is placed as an honourable mention because I don't think many people actually think Silent Hill is a good movie overall. For me, I think it is a really nicely done movie for video game movie adaptations. I think the movie captured the sombre atmosphere of the video game very well. But -- I hate its unfaithfulness to the video game's story and characters. I guess this wouldn't be an issue if I never had my sister play the first game in order for me to see its story. But I did and I was hoping for certain character relations and themes from the video game to make its way to the movie adaptation. They didn't and I hate the movie because of it, hahaha.
That's it for this blog! Have you ever watched a movie where you thought it was good, but would never want to watch again, for whatever reasons?
Thanks for reading! Take care, stay warm, and have a great week! :)
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