Whirr, Beep, Beep

Recently, I watched and reviewed Wall-E. Most of us know it for its cute approach and it really is a good movie. But there’s an interesting aspect about it that I really want to talk about.

Throughout the history of film, and even the stage, there have been beautiful moments of dialogue (or monologue). I say Shakespeare, you think “To be or not to be”. I say “You were my brother, Anakin”, you say “I hate You!” There are so many beautiful moments of dialogue, conversations between characters that advance the story. There’s no doubt that dialogue is important. But Wall-E is different.

The thing is, Wall-E can’t really speak. Neither can Eve. They manage to say their names but I suspect that is like the Mars Rover singing “Happy Birthday” to itself. Instead of dialogue, we get whirs and beeps, yet we can still understand what they mean. We somehow know what a happy beep sounds like (there’s a whole science of sound that I’m not too familiar with it but this is included).

Why, then, does this matter? For one, there are so many different ways of communicating. Those of us who are able have been talking and listening our whole lives. If we have social media that’s communication as well. But what about the sounds that aren’t distinguishable?

I want you to try something. Sit in a room. It can be your bedroom, a hotel lobby a coffeeshop, whatever. Take out your airpods, turn off your phone and just listen. Listen to the little sounds that nobody really pays attention to. The sound of the coffee machine, the sound of keyboards clacking, the sound of…well, the world.

That’s the beauty of Wall-E. Although it’s a sci-fi movie, it’s so heavily rooted in the real world. The dialogue is minimal and frankly most of it is just humans talking about nonsense.

I know we all love to hear new sounds. It’s what makes movies fun, we get to hear the sounds of TIE fighters. But we also get to hear sounds that we don’t often get too. Try to incorporate more listening in each thing you do. You’ll be amazed at what you hear and what you discover. Sound can be one of the great inspirations and we are bombarded with it constantly. What we have to do is learn to listen.

I’m curious to see what everybody else discovers. Comment down below and don’t forget to check out my Instagram Page (@ChrisMovieReviews), catch up on past reviews and new movie reviews on my YouTube, look at all the movies I’ve yet to review, and submit which movie you want me to review next!

Quick Update

Hello all! Unfortunately, life has decided this week will be the one where everything is a mess and I need to extinguish multiple fires. Thankfully. everything is getting figured out. In the meantime, I know I try to post on Tuesdays but I will not be able to get a video up today. I am also traveling this weekend, but I am going to try my absolute best to review at least one movie at some point this week.

Again, sorry for this. Hopefully it gets better as I get more used to this. You can absolutely still request new movies, follow my Instagram, and look back on the old reviews on my YouTube page.

I mentioned that I’m traveling this weekend to see my college basketball team in a tournament down in Washington D.C. As part of this, I have a competition going on. If my YouTube Page gets to 15 subscribers, I will bleach my hair. If it gets to 30, Ishow the video of me bleaching my hair.

This way when I’m back next week my hair is bleached. So go ahead and subscribe!

Housekeeping!

In addition to the blog about my most recent review, I want to give an update as I’ve been busy working on the site overall.

Logo-Yes, I have a logo now! There’s a few easter eggs in there.

YouTube-What’s that? Start posting the videos from your Instagram on a YouTube channel? And review new releases on your YouTube channel? Well, if you insist. Oh and maybe if you have ideas for other things I can do on that channel maybe let me know?

Instagram-Relatively minor, but the name has changed from @chrismoviereview to @chrismoviereviews. Note the “S”. Everything else is the same and I think it’s fixed across the site.

Schedule-That’s right, I’ve got a schedule now! It is, of course, flexible. But I’ll do my best to stick to it.

Sunday
MondayPost Instagram Review
TuesdayPost blog about Monday’s review
WednesdayNext Throwback movie announced on Instagram
ThursdayNew Theater Review
Friday
SaturdayGo to the movies! (When Possible)

And that about sums it up. Of course there will be more additions such as closed captioning my YouTube videos, adding some channel art, and even uploading the first new movie review. Please share my posts with family, friends, colleagues, enemies, intergalactic warriors, hobbits, time lords, anyone really. As always, feel free to request the next review, follow my Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube Channel, and have a wonderful day!

Oh and if you have any suggestions as to what you’d like to see, go ahead and comment down below. I’m always open to new ideas!

“Hell or High Water”

More Thoughts

This week’s movie was actually a request! And I have to say that it was actually fairly difficult to review (You can tell by the number of jump cuts on the Instagram video). Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I rated it four stars. The difficulty comes in our expectations of a movie.

When “Hell or High Water” was recommended to me, I hadn’t even heard of it. It’s on Netflix but I’ve never seen it advertised. I truly had no idea what to expect, save for the few words that accompanied the request. I don’t think it quite fits into the general category of film. Rather, it’s a weird crossover into cinema. That, of course, is a strange distinction and perhaps a reason for another blog post.

This movie isn’t one that you watch “for fun”. I doubt it would get favorable reviews from the general public, simply because it’s a beautiful movie. It’s well put together. The environment it builds is astounding. The pacing is a thing of beauty. And yet, it doesn’t have the typical full-on action that we, as a society, have come to see as the only reason for film. God forbid the movie doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat.

Movies were first made to tell stories. Over time those stories have evolved but the general idea hasn’t. I noted in my blog about suspension of disbelief that we go to the movies to escape from our reality. A lot of times it’s seen that they have to be action movies or comedies. But that’s not true. It’s OK to slow down for a while. It’s OK to take a break and watch a movie that is really, truly beautiful.

I do recommend you watch this movie. Take a night for yourself and just enjoy cinema. Enjoy living in a world that’s not yours, enjoy the sounds, enjoy the environment, enjoy the little pockets of drama, but enjoy the tranquility more.

Comment down below what your opinions of this movie are, and don’t forget to check out my Instagram Page (@ChrisMovieReviews), catch up on past reviews and new movie reviews on my YouTube, look at all the movies I’ve yet to review, and submit which movie you want me to review next!

Suspension of Disbelief

The other day, I reviewed Air Force One and in that video I mentioned how many of the reviews on the IMDB page complained of the unlikeliness of the entire situation, that having six people sneak onto a plane using fake credentials or shooting guns in the airplane. I’m not here to argue about whether or not those things are possible. What I want to do is talk about one of my favorite concepts: The Suspension of Disbelief.

Now, to get started it’s best we figure out what suspension of disbelief actually is. We, as humans, live in a world full of laws and constants. Not legal laws but scientific, laws of gravity, the speed of light, the limits of our technological advancement. Everything we know can be generalized under our beliefs. If you jump, you will come back down, if you get hit by a car, you will get injured. It’s just what happens.

Logically, then, disbelief is when those things aren’t true. If we jump and don’t come down, if we are impervious to getting hit by a car. Those are disbeliefs and frankly we see them all the time in films, from superhero movies to Sci-Fi, and even real world scenarios. So then why do we accept what’s on screen as being able to happen even though we know it can’t?

The suspension of disbelief.

When you walk into the movies (or the theater, television, or any form of entertainment really) it’s expected that you follow the laws of the movie being watched. We all know that (unfortunately) The Force doesn’t exist. But as we watch Yoda lift the X-Wing, we accept it because it’s in the world of the movie

However, there is a tricky grey area when it comes to the amount we, as an audience, are willing to suspend. With genres like Sci-Fi and Fantasy, our suspension is easy. They exist in different worlds and behind curtains. We know going into the movie that what we’re about to see isn’t necessarily true.

As you get closer and closer to the movies set in the real world, our suspension becomes more difficult. Yes, there are some outlandish movies that are set in our world and there are movies based on a true story. Each of these has a little bit of wiggle-room. Every movie ever made about a real person has some embellishment, it’s just a fact of the cinema. But provided it’s reasonable, we allow it to slide.

There are a multitude of movies that are set in our world that ask us to suspend our disbeliefs, from Ghostbusters to Jaws and any alien invasion movie. Of course these tend to fit into sci-fi/fantasy, but as they exist in our world we still need to suspend our disbeliefs.

And then, we have the reason why so many critics don’t like Air Force One. The movies in which we’re asked not to entirely suspend our disbelief but to suspend it just a bit. Air Force One is not a fantasy/sci-fi movie, it must exist within our world. However, it’s also not based on a true story so really it’s up to the filmmakers to finesse their way into a movie that is both believable AND interesting.

In the case of Air Force One, the filmmakers ask us to just roll with it. Sure, maybe the real plane doesn’t a have a full armory and much stricter security and would crash if bullets were fired inside of it. But that’s not the point of the film. If you want true realism, watch a documentary. If you want action and adventure, watch a movie. Don’t get me wrong, the filmmakers still have to make it believable. Had a bomb gone off and the plane stayed in the air then believability is out the window. But I think it’s also fair to say that not many of us have seen a bullet shot in a plane before and therefore aren’t counting the rounds. Plus many of those rounds probably went into chairs and furniture, not necessarily the side of the plane.

For the security aspect, well, how else can you get those characters on the plane? Plus they had inside help and this was all before 9/11. Sure it’s the president’s plane but it’s a movie. It’s not that outlandish to think that someone could make fake press badges. And by the way, there’s no escape pod on the real Air Force One. It’s just a part of the movie and we can reasonably say that it could exist.

When we go to the movies, we allow ourselves to be transported to another world. Maybe it’s similar to the real world, maybe it’s a fantastical creation. Regardless, film asks that all viewers suspend what they believe, just for those two hours. Just allow the movie to happen, accept that people will break into song in a musical and that a traveling salesman can convince an entire town to buy uniforms for a band. Even movies that are based on a true story, there has to be a little spice otherwise nobody will want to watch them.

I hope this clears things up. As you can tell, I love suspension of disbelief. That Air Force One did so many good things yet gets hounded for having guns on a plane is something that gets under my skin. Allow movies to show you their world and go with it!

As always, let me know if you agree or disagree. Comment down below what your opinions are, and don’t forget to check out my Instagram Page (@ChrisMovieReviews), look at all the movies I’ve yet to review, and submit which movie you want me to review next!

Air Force One

More Thoughts

If you saw my Instagram Review, you know that I believe that Air Force One is criminally underrated. Now there are some moments that I’ll admit are not the greatest, but overall it’s a fantastic movie, for several reasons.

Reason #1-Music

I started playing trombone in fourth grade. Since then, I’ve continued to play and fall in love with the music. Air Force One has a truly spectacular score. The rich trumpets as we open, the heroic theme as the hostages escape, it’s all so well chosen and very fitting of this movie.

Reason #2-One Location

Alright fine, it’s not ONE location. But hear me out. The action of the movie all takes place on board the plane. With some minor edits you could literally have the entire movie take place in the plane. We only see the situation room and the Russian prison because they help the audience build drama. It’s the classic adage of “show, don’t tell”. It’s one thing to hear, “General Raddick was released from prison, then shot dead”. It’s an entirely different thing to see it happen.

I will say the filmmakers had an advantage choosing to use one of the most custom planes in the world, and a bit of fictionalization, but still if you’ve ever flown on a Boeing-747, it’s the same size. Just more legroom.

Reason #3-Harrison Ford

He’s a fantastic actor. And truly the perfect choice for the role of President. He’s portrayed as he always is: rugged, determined, creative, and daring. Whether you like him or not, he does a fantastic job of sneaking around, kicking bad guys’s ass, and showing a human side. So often throughout the movie (and indeed all movies he’s done) he’s faced with these moments of decision. Between himself and others. And so often he saves the others. He’s not a superhero, even as the most powerful man in the world. He’s still a human being.

Reason #4-USA! USA! USA!

I’ll be honest, there are days where I’m not thrilled with the state of the USA today. Frankly I’m not going to get into the politics of it all. However, there is something about seeing Air Force One being escorted by fighters, a candlelight vigil in front of the White House, and just those little moments throughout that remind you of how great our country can really be. And I’m not saying that in terms of military might but rather how far we’re willing to go to help others, how we find our ways out of hairy situations.


I’m sure there are tons of other reasons why you love Air Force One. Or maybe you didn’t like it? Comment down below what your opinions are, and don’t forget to check out my Instagram Page (@ChrisMovieReviews), look at all the movies I’ve yet to review, and submit which movie you want me to review next!

The Duality of Movies

If you’re not aware, the Oscars are coming up soon and I’m taking this time to try and catch up. It’s been a crazy year and I’m sad to say I didn’t see nearly as many movies in theaters as I would have liked. But that’s OK because I’m using this time before the Oscars to watch as much as I can. And as I was watching some movies, I felt the need to write this post about the duality of movies.

Last night I watched “The Two Popes”. The night before I watched “Marriage Story”. Now each movie is phenomenal and worthy of their Oscar nominations. But at the same time they are incredibly relatable, even for someone who hasn’t experienced those situations. I grew up going to church but now as I’m older, I’m not sure exactly what’s out there. I’ve also never been divorced. And yet these stories are so visceral, so relatable, without having to relate to you personally. Why?

The Duality of Movies.

Every great story has some form of duality. Good vs. bad, man vs. nature, hot vs. cold. Think of any movie and there is bound to be an underlying conflict pitting two forces of nature against each other. It might be a level or two down, but it’s there. Those two movies I watched are perfectly opposed. One is the classic Husband vs. wife, the other old vs. new. We can all relate to those oppositions.

When we go to the movies, we want to see a bit of ourselves in the film. Some films let us in a tiny bit, especially sci-fi and fantasy movies. We can see ourselves as the brave sorcerer or the young rebel. When a film allows you in fully, you get masterpieces, like “The Two Popes” and “Marriage Story”.

More Thoughts on “The Meaning of Life”

I’ve always loved British humor, especially Monty Python. There’s just something about it (probably the 50% of me that’s British) that always gets to me. Having watched “The Meaning of Life” (again) there are some things which I enjoyed and some which I didn’t.

I ENJOYED the meta humor, what with the fish and all that. Plus there’s multiple scenes that lend themselves into one another and I think it’s very well done.

I DID NOT ENJOY the Mr. Creosote scene. I know, everyone says it’s Terry Jones’ best performance and I’m not knocking that. But I just felt it unnecessary. The sheer amount of puke and the absolute mess was honestly nauseating, and that doesn’t happen often to me.

I ENJOYED the songs. I’m a sucker for a good song, and Python always delivers. Sure they can be a bit…daring…but that’s Okay.

I DID NOT ENJOY the various…excessive displays of nudity. And yes, I know “It’s Python” and “It was a different time” but even still it just seemed like overkill. I’m not against nudity, but when it’d done right it’s much better, rather than them just throwing a bunch of nude girls in.

I ENJOYED the seemingly modern points of view, even if they were made in jest. The first example is the delivery scene where they ask if it’s a boy or a girl and the doctor replies that it’s a bit early to be enforcing gender roles. Now, I know it’s a comedy and that they probably didn’t necessarily mean it, but throughout all of Python there’s actually quite a few examples of acceptance, whether it be for who you like or how you identify.

What do you like/dislike about the film? Make sure to tell me in the comments and don’t forget to choose the next film!

A Rating System

Later today I’ll be watching the first film that I’ll be reviewing (Sneak peak on my Instagram-@chrismoviereviews later today). As part of this review, it’s important to establish a rating system for each film that I review. Below is a list of everything a film could be rated.

1 Star: Truly a horrible movie. I want every minute of my life back that I lost from watching it.

2 Stars: I can tolerate it. Would I watch it again? No.

3 Stars: Pretty Ok. Average, I’d watch it again but wouldn’t seek it out.

4 Stars: Damn good. Not perfect but so good. Definitely worth a rewatch.

5 Stars: Perfect. A beautiful movie all around.

Popcorn Bucket: Added to any movie that is especially awesome. Maybe not a perfect movie, but you keep going back for more.

It should be noted that I’m not just going to look at the IMDB score or whatever. I’m going to be giving the film the rating I believe it deserves.

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