December Meme: Films

lycoris asked tell me about your favourite film?

This is a difficult question, not because I don't have a favourite film, I do and it's Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I just don't go to see films that often. I fell out of the habit when I was a carer and the very notion of being able to get out for an entire afternoon/evening, somewhere where I'd have to have my phone off no less, was unthinkable. Then after some semblance of normality was restored the first film I remember going to see was Star Trek: Into Darkness, and the friend who I went with bought both our tickets and I was to reimburse him when we met at the cinema. I remember just staring agog at the price on the ticket going... how much!? Okay, my friend had bought tickets to a 3D showing where you sit in those seats that vibrate; both of which are tricks, I think, to fool gullible people out of some more money.

Well, now I've succeeding in making myself sound like an old biddy. I'm a very youthful thirty-one, honest.

I've seen a grand total of two films this year. The first was the last Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, I think? I saw it on a Friday night, and I remember that specifically because my best friend was getting married on the following Tuesday, and I was in the wedding party, and I remember sitting there what couldn't have been more than two hours but felt like thirty-seven years into the film thinking: Tom's wedding is on Tuesday, God, I hope this film is over by then.

My genuine and lasting rage about The Hobbit films is a source of great amusement to my friends; the very worst thing about it though, the very worst, is that I know I'm going to go and see the third film. I won't feel good about myself, though.

I did like Tauriel, I remember that. I agree with that thing Evangeline Lily said about how it would be irresponsible in this day and age to send little girls into a cinema for nine hours of entertainment without a single significant female presence on-screen. That however does not change the fact that in no sane universe should The frickin' Hobbit have been made into three films.

The other film I saw this year was Maleficent, which I really loved a lot; half because as anyone who's known me in fandom for more than three minutes could tell you, vaguely feminist retellings of existing stories are pretty much my jam, and half because it was a sensible length and not part one of anything.

I would have gone to see the first half of Mockingjay, except I still haven't managed to watch Catching Fire. I have seen shots of Natalie Dormer in costume, though, and it looks like every lesbian in the world joined hands and wished really hard.

Before that the last film I remember really enjoying was Skyfall, and before that-- what was that Maggie Gyllenhaal film about the invention of the vibrator? Hysteria, that was it. Fun story, I saw that with my sister and the only other person in the cinema was a lad (that's a descriptor - think 'bro' - not me just being extra Scottish) in his late teens or early twenties there by himself. Now he may have been a big Maggie Gyllenhaal fan, or it may just have been what was starting when he wanted to get out of the rain, but at the time all we could think was that he'd probably expected it to be a very different kind of film.

Sort of related, remember when Brokeback Mountain first came out and everyone and their dog was referring to it as the gay cowboy movie. Well, me and friend from work had the dubious joy of sitting behind a couple who'd taken their teenaged son to see it (it was rated 15 in the UK) all of whom got up and stormed out at the first sex scene; well, the parents stormed, the boy was sort of... hoiked. It gets better, about half an hour later my friend goes to the lobby to get refills on our drinks, and they're still there, remonstrating with the manager about how they could have been allowed to see such a film unwarned...

I have a weird relationship with films, especially as related to TV. I haven't watched any of this season of Once Upon a Time because of the Frozen storyline. Now I'd always intended to see Frozen, and not having seen it probably wouldn't interfere with my enjoyment of the show, but I resent OUaT assuming I've seen Frozen. Similarly I'd only been half following the first series of Agents of SHIELD, but I gave up at the HYDRA stuff just when everyone said it was getting good because I resented the show for, in the first instance, treading water for two thirds of season waiting for The Winter Soldier to come out, and in the second instance, assuming I'd see The Winter Soldier and see it opening weekend. Note: this may not actually be what happened, but it's what it looked like from my non MCU person perspective.

To answer the original question, my favourite film is Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which I think is the best of the Python films. The Meaning of Life has that one scene in the restaurant which grosses me out, and The Life of Brian is great and all, but having been brought up in the total absence of religion satire of it goes a little over my head.

In addition to being hilarious it may also be responsible for making me a small-r-republican.

( Ah! Now we see the violence inherent in the system! )