Another weekend passes by with barely a free minute to fit in a movie. Tonight's move viewing was further hindered by the Super Bowl, which is pointless entertainment if you ask me, but I sort of felt obligated to watch it lest someone find out that I'd rather spend my nights at home watching old movies by myself than go out to a SuperBowl party and be a normal kid. Anyway, congratualtions, Green Bay Packers, that was quite a win.
If all Westerns turn out to be as good as my first one, then I sure have been missing out on a fantastic cache of films my whole life. Dances With Wolves(1990) is a sweeping, epic, breathtaking look at Indian-American relations during the Civil War, but the story goes so far beyond that. It's a story of the human capacity to love, to hate, and to make ultimate sacrifices for the the things they believe in. Kevin Costner's directorial debut impresses and inspires...though in hindsight, it feels strikingly similar to Avatar (2009), with which I was sadly underwhelmed. This version of the reluctant-foreign-acceptance story is much more enjoyable.
This latest film reaffirms my deep love for really good movies. With all my heart, I wish I could grow up to be someone who is involved with the industry that creates such art. Specifically, I dream of becoming one of those critics that everyone must consort with before they form their own opinions about movies, like Pauline Kael or Roger Ebert. Though it must be difficult to get noticed in the sea of criticism out there, I hope that one day there'll be room at the top for me.
Many people commented that Avator was just Dances With Wolves with blue people when it was released so you're definitely not alone! I'm sure as you watch more Best Pics, you'll discover more films that echo each other's themes, shots, and styles. For example, after "Traffic" was released, it seemed that every movie afterwards for about a year was shot in the same style of gritty images, playing with colour balances etc etc.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your project! You have a lot of film watching to do!
I didn't know that...I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the two were similar!!
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to look for the similarites after I do watch "Traffic". That's definitely on my list, as well as Soderbergh's other Best Picture nominated film for that year!
Thanks for the well wishes...it'll be a tough project to complete!