Movies and the Oscars

Do you enjoy movies? If you're a regular reader, you know that I do. IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) is my friend. I’ll be watching a movie and see a familiar face. Immediately, I want to know who s/he is and what movie or TV show I know them from. I love the ease with which I can find the information. That aside, I enjoy movies.

When I was growing up, we saw lots of movies on television. I saw few movies at the theater. When I did, it was a real treat. We did go to the drive-in. Dad would pile us all in the station wagon with bags of popcorn we made at home. No running to the concession stand for us. We brought our own refreshments.

Fortunately, I married a guy who enjoys movies, too. He introduced me to James Bond and I introduced him to The Lord of the Rings. I fell in love with action adventure. I can’t say the same for him with fantasy. Even so, he indulges me by sitting through The Hunger Games and Divergent series, and I watched Mad Max. One movie genre we both enjoy is science fiction. Together, we eagerly awaited the seventh Star Wars movie plus all the Star Trek movies.

So last night, we watched the Oscars. Sorry to say, a lot of the movies nominated were unfamiliar. And many movies we did see weren’t even nominated. Oh, well . 

We get a phenomenal amount of enjoyment from a couple of hours in a darkened theater with a shared box of popcorn and a soft drink. Or at home in our living room. Gotta have that bowl of popcorn. 

I know a book lasts longer. I love it when a book I’ve enjoyed is turned into a movie. I’m always skeptical that the movie won’t live up to the book. Most don’t disappoint.

I hope you enjoyed the Oscars. Did you see any of the nominated movies? What about the winners?

Movies

Those of you who know me, who follow this blog or any blogs I’ve been a guest on, know I love movies. Action movies, romantic comedies, adventures, mysteries, musicals, fantasies, slice-of-life. Anything with a satisfying ending. I like movies better than books. Is that heresy for an author? Unlike books, I can share movies with my husband. He’s not a reader like I am. While he reads my books (out of loyalty), fiction is not his thing. But an enjoyment of movies is something we share.

If I have a choice, I’d rather see a movie at the theater. In the dark, on a wide-screen, with surround sound. For a couple of hours, I can be anywhere and anyone. Which is a lot like reading, isn’t it? If Hubs and I really like a movie, or missed it at the theater, we’ll buy the DVD. Some movies I’ll watch over and over. Hubs, not so much. I have sort of tunnel vision when I watch a movie. I concentrate on the main character and miss subtle things going on off to the sides. So re-watching a movie helps me see what I’ve missed. I had to watch Inception three times before I got it all and even then I wondered if I really did.

I love the “behind the scenes” feature of movies. Most of the time. When they tell/show too much of how something was done, it spoils the illusion. But learning why a film was made, what convinced the producer/director/actor to do that movie enhances it for me.

While plot and character are as important in a film as they are in a book, movies have something books don’t. Music. What an enrichment the music makes to a film. Can you imagine an Indiana Jones movie without John Williams’ soundtrack? Or Jaws?

With my enjoyment of movies, I’m sure you know what I watched last night. The Oscars. What fun to see the Bond films honored. Fifty years! Having seen Skyfall at the theater and on the DVD, I was so happy to see Adele win for the theme. It’s always exciting to see the people who worked on films we saw be rewarded by their peers. There were disappointments when actors I wanted to win didn’t. Surprises when others won. Clips from movies I hadn’t seen made me want to go to the theater or find out if it was available on DVD.

As much as we enjoy going to the movies, it’s rare that we’ve seen the film that won Best Picture. That happened last night. For me, that was the surprise of the night. After we saw Argo, back in October, I wrote on Facebook that even though I knew the ending the movie kept me on the edge of my seat. Would they escape or be captured. Well done. Too bad its director (Ben Affleck) wasn’t even nominated.

Were there any surprises/disappointments for you?