What an AMAZING movie!

That movie SUCKED!

I HATED that movie.

We hear and say these things all the time, but what does any one of them mean, really?  I dare say I know a lot about film, but the more I know about it, the less I tend to make such statements.  And lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what they even mean.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to question the definition of “movie” and then get  into some pretentious, loaded version.  This is not a post about “what Andy Warhol does can hardly be called filmmaking,” or “it’s not a real movie if it doesn’t have explosions.”  This post’s very basis is the most basic definition of “movie,” the way we all understand it.

Or better yet the elements a movie is made of – because there are so many!  I notice that the more I learn about film and filmmaking (oh, and yes, I will be using the words “movie” and “film” as synonyms, so please save your pretentious crap about how “a film” is not the same as “a movie” based on some “artistic” grounds, or that “a film” is only “a film” if it’s made on actual film – just please DON’T), the more I tend to evaluate movies like this: “well, the story is predictable, but it’s pretty well written and the lead guy is a cutie, the music is great, too, the cine is completely uninspired, but the editing gives the film a good pace…”

I now get to my number one problem with the sentence “such a [adjective] movie!”: it is passing a final judgement over the film as a whole.  No exceptions.  This phrasing allows no  personal opinions or other “but”s.  I have  a problem with that, because film is such a complex thing: the idea, the message, the story, the writing, the acting, the staging, the direction, the framing, the lighting, the music, the sound design, the sound mix, the editing…..  By saying “such a terrible movie!” one declares an ultimate verdict on all of this combined.  And in most cases, that’s just not true, as there are extremely few films where a single adjective fits all of its aspects.

Furthermore, it has the air of an absolute truth, not a personal opinion.  I am still perfectly capable – in fact, I do it often – to say whether I enjoyed the film or not (to which I might add reasons that have nothing to do with the film, for example: “I was in a bad mood,” “I was on a date with a hot guy,” or “it’s been a terrible week, and this mediocre comedy put a smile on my face”).  “I liked it” and “it’s a great film” are not the same at all.  Opinions like “it’s a good movie, but I personally disagree with its moral message, so I dislike it,” or “it’s a terrible movie, but I like it, because it has a lot of hot women licking each other’s nipples in the backseats of shiny sports cars” are perfectly valid.  Then there’s also the “I guess it’s a good movie, but it bet my favorite at the Oscars, so, yeah…” category (don’t even get me started on my list of these).  However, I suspect that when most people say “it’s a great movie,” all they really mean is “I enjoyed it,” and yet that’s not what it means.

In conclusion: please, think about what you’re saying :).  (Yes, it is something I recommend for all aspects of life and conversation, not just film.)

Yes, I realize I am an overanalyzing quibbler.  I’m also right.

Before you say “what terrible blog post!” please take a moment to realize what it is you’re actually criticizing: the subject matter, my opinion of it, my word choice, phrasing, organization, punctuation, the length of the post, the platform, the idea of blogging…

Or better yet: tell me what you think about “it’s a [adjective] film!”