Movies

There are many reasons why we enjoy watching movies. The professional movie-watchers like to watch them because it's their intellectual pursuit, they sometimes become movie critics. The regular folk watches movies because it's pleasurable, it helps to escape reality that is often bleak, it inspires, motivates and provokes thinking. Sometimes it's just the experience of going to the movies that counts - the popcorn, a girlfriend or boyfriend wrapped around one's shoulders, a giant cup of delicious coca-cola...

People have all kinds – some good and some bad -- memories associated with the whole movie-going experience.  I remember feeling particularly sad one day and going to see The Pianist, I thought the only time I'd be able to watch was if I was in an already sad mood… it was a beautiful and heartbreaking experience to see that movie. 

A friend and I went to see another movie once, when we felt we couldn't really function after a night of partying.  It was great, the movie was, of course a Hollywood blockbuster, loud and obnoxious with great side effects and a story line that would be understandable even by monkeys.  A perfect movie for a hung over type of a day. (The movie was called Troy and it had Brad Pitt in it and everybody else that's cute and plastic in Hollywood)

I've never studied film so I'm not qualify to judge a movie or assert its value but I'm sure it's similar with anything that claims to have artistic merit: some things are kitsch, some are masterpieces.  It is the masterpieces that make movie-watching worthwhile:  you will forget a kitsch in a minute (unless it's one of those that it's so bad it's good) but you'll always remember a masterpiece.