Back to the movies

I have started watching movies again – for the fun of watching them, and not for serving the social necessity of hanging out with friends. I probably have never liked watching movies with friends. Well, except Ray perhaps – but, Ray and I had a special chemistry which set us apart from anyone else. Coming to think of it, even Ray used to like going to the movies alone, more often than not exploring the realms of cruising. I’m digressing…

I watched three movies over the last week or so. “Clash of the Titans” was horrible as a movie – but movies aren’t meant to always titillate our “cinema” sense. It served as an educational medium that lent its hand to me and dragged me into the world of Greek mythology. Movies like this help me put faces to Greek Gods and other characters and would definitely help me in understanding the intricate web of stories that Greek mythology comprises.

Then came “Date Night” over the weekend. It was really funny with sexual innuendos and stuff. Steve Carrell and Tina Fey are masters in their art, and Tina Fey is a master in imitating the now infamous Sara Palin. The plot was not all that riveting, but the characters had enough eccentricity to keep the movie entertaining all throughout. Plus the vignettes from my dream city, the Big Apple, helped to make the movie not forgettable, if not memorable.

Having done two, almost at leisure, I needed to see something more substantial. I was surprised to find “The Hurt Locker” listed on the newspaper when I was searching for something interesting. Three years back, when “Brokeback Mountain”, “Syriana,” and “Crash” were competing against each other at the Oscars, I made it a point to watch all these before the Oscars were announced. This time, however, I was in my “I can’t watch no movie because they are pricey” mode – pricey is because you go with other people who want the whole movie “experience,” with pop-corn and stuff like that.

Thanks the previous two movies, I went to this movie, alone, on a weeknight. The movie hall had about 30 other people – amazing how people pile up to watch bullcrap like “Prince” and other stuff. “The Hurt Locker” is an amazing movie just because it opened my eyes up to what’s happening in the world outside of my countries borders. It’s incredible how we are so infatuated with our own lives and forget what’s happening in a country near you – how people and families from other countries are affected by acts of craziness of certain minority of people, be it the protagonist or not.

This has been a rewarding experience to me – especially as a movie admirer, and as a seeker for inspiration from everything that I come across. It finally liberated me from the social locker that I had hid myself in – to make me believe that I can’t enjoy movies just because they are expensive. They aren’t, especially if you pick the right shows and the cheapest of tickets, and more importantly, if you are alone and can enjoy it all by yourself.