Mad Movie Title Tirade

Last week I saw Inception, Christopher Nolan’s “I-want-to-make –something-between-Batman-movies” movie. It ended up being a lot more than just a filler project for Nolan (I suppose I should have guessed this considering it starred Leonardo DiCaprio, whose film choices have been impeccable of late) and might possibly be the most original heist film I have ever seen. Granted it was a little bit convoluted at the end and probably warrants another watching (which wouldn’t be a problem as the quality of the film also warrants said viewing) but all told it was really enjoyable; well written, acted, shot, etc. And while Inception was great and had a lasting impression on me, there was something else that I experienced at the theater that is causing me to put ink to paper, or fingers to keys to “Print” button to ink to paper as the case may be. That something was my experience with the previews.

Let me preface the rest of this treatise by saying that I genuinely enjoy watching the previews before my chosen film. I always leave for the theater with plenty of time to view the trailers, and if I enter the theater mid trailer I am a little bit bummed. I actually go to Apple’s website pretty consistently to watch the movie trailers that they have on the site, and I don’t even own a Mac. I have this semi-irrational fear that Apple know that I am checking their site without using a Mac and they are going to hit the secret remote kill switch in my ipod, but that is neither here nor there.

So I am sitting in the theater, awaiting my little pre-movie treat, and then the advertisements start, which is something all of us are used to but we can all remember a time when they were not part of the movie going experience. I sort of just talk through them with my friends and then my moment comes, the previews start and the thing I have been waiting for that comes before the movie I have been waiting for begins. The screen turns that familiar shade of green, telling me in white lettering that this preview is suitable for all ages. The first preview begins. George Clooney is working in some sort of warehouse or tool shed or something. He has a gun. He is putting together said gun. There is a priest. He and Clooney are talking. He seems to be trying to bring Clooney, who appears to be some sort of assassin, back to God. The preview ends with the title: The American. I audibly sigh and say in a muted but incredulous voice, “What?! It’s called The American?!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ywmoXZwkA0 There is something intrinsically dramatic about calling a movie The _______ (fill in the blank), so to be taken seriously the movie better deliver. Perhaps more importantly, the trailer better deliver because if you are going to über dramatically say the title at the end of the preview and the trailer wasn’t excellent, it’s going to seem like a joke, which it did. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t anything about the movie that was American or patriotic, which the title would no doubt lead you to believe. I am assuming that Clooney is an American in a foreign country, but come on, that’s pretty weak. I looked it up, and the film is based off of a book entitled A Very Private Gentleman. That’s a way better title! Why couldn’t you just call that movie that?!

Whatever, that preview is over now. My friends have a little chuckle at my genuine disgust. The next trailer starts. It’s a bank robbery, cool. A woman is taken hostage and let go. She seems to have PTSD. She starts a relationship with Ben Affleck and they are in Boston (predictable). Turns out Affleck is one of the bank robbers that kidnapped her, but she doesn’t know because he was wearing a mask. This is weak, but the amount of shooting and stuff blowing up in the preview keeps my attention. There is a quote about there being “over 300 bank robberies in Boston every year” which seems pretty high but whatever, and that “Most of these professionals live in a square mile neighborhood called Charlestown.” There is some more shooting set to a dramatic score and then, BAM, the title: The Town. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ7wcayQQLQ This time I say nothing and just throw my arms up. My friends bust out in laughter. Are they serious?! The Town?! I mean, this preview seemed pretty interesting, aside of the ridiculously improbable love story, and then they had to go and give it the stupidly vague title The Town. Granted I was already soured by the title of the last trailer that was so dramatic I have to go out and see it, but it seems to me that they called have just called the movie “Charlestown” and it could be taken a little more seriously. “The Town” is so vague, and the movie doesn’t even seem to be about a town! At least M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village was about a village! Here again, I looked up, The Town is based on a novel entitled Prince of Thieves…sigh.

Thanks for reading and keep watching.

Introduction

So this is my very first blog post. I have been thinking about it for a while, and have had friends tell me I should start one. Probably because I am so awesome...or so modest. Either way, I was reluctant because there are already about 732 billion blogs (rough estimate) on the blogosphere...ugh, gross. Furthermore, this blog is going to be about movies, or films if you prefer that more academic term, and of those 732 billion blogs roughly 1/3 are about said topic. I basically just figured no one would read it, even if it was good...which it will be. Anyway, I came to the conclusion that it would be good practice and would help me to stay sharp. I wouldn't want that Bachelor's in International Film and Media Studies to go to waste after all.

That brings me to my next point. I graduated in 2008, not the best time to graduate, unless of coarse you planned to live in your parents basement playing ping pong by yourself and yelling upstairs to mom to ask for a drink. In that case you were all set. Getting a degree in film studies is cool and all, I wouldn't have really been all that happy doing anything else, but at the time unless you wanted to to move to one of the coasts (I didn't) there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity. Additionally, my focus wasn't production, which kind of just sealed the deal. So after about 9 months I finally got a job in social services, which is cool because I have always wanted to help people anyway.

So yeah, I wanted to start this blog because I just really like writing about film. I don't know why it took so much convincing, but I am going to do it. Also, I had a cool name for it (which, if anyone knows why the blog is so entitled, comment, or just know that I give you props). Also, I thought of a pretty cool pseudonym (again if you know where it is from kudos). If you plan to read more posts, I hope you like parenthesis and run on sentences, because you are probably going to get a lot of them.

Thanks for reading, and keep watching.