EDITORIAL - 10 Movie Facts About Me

10 Movie Facts About Mesa

I wasn't tagged as far as I know, but a meme is a meme, and I'm a sucker for (most of) 'em, so what the heck, here's my results:

01. My first theatrical experience was at the age of 3 seeing and subsequently falling in love with Aladdin. The musical numbers were fun, but it was the near-death by drowning sequence around the middle when Aladdin is thrown over the castle into the water and any exterior shots of the sand creature's mouth (which leads to treasure) that got me giddy.

02. As a wee lad, I was obsessed with The Jazz Singer - the Neil Diamond edition.

03. There's plenty of "classics" that I just don't care for, such as The Godfather and Scarface. 2001: A Space Odyssey just looks boring and unless I'm forced to sit through it in class, the probability of me watching it out of my own free will is extremely, extremely slim. To this point, only Seven Samurai and The Godfather Part II (bits and pieces) really live up to all the classical hype and accolades people attribute to them. At a critical level, it's almost like folks are trying to find deep, philosophical, brilliant meaning in some flicks that, in all probability, there wasn't one to begin with. In regards to Seven Samurai, I will concede that a phenomenal amount of planning and detail went into every shot, but the entertainment re-watch value is rather lacking. Er, crap, this has turned into a opinion piece instead of a fact meme. Moving on...

04. Back in '97, at the age of 7, when the Star Wars Special Editions were released in theaters, I absolutely hated them. I was bored to death, especially with The Empire Strikes Back. I confess I don't recall my displeasure vividly, but I do remember seeing the Yoda/Luke Dagobah stuff on the big screen. Even at 7 that stuff made a impression.

05. My favorite movies of all time: Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, The Bourne Supremacy, Batman Begins, Hot Fuzz, The Dark Knight, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Serenity, and Digimon: The Movie...

06. My all-time record for repeated theatrical viewings: Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith with 7 screenings. 3 times at the Marcus Oakdale UltraScreen, once at the Plaza Maplewood, some other random times, and the final time being a nice coincidental screening when my mum and grandma were gonna roam around Slumberland for a few hours. Good times, good times.

07. Dr. Pepper, popcorn (no butter), and a King Size Kit Kat or Crunch bar are my normal treats for a flick.

08. I absolutely hate having to use to the bathroom during a movie, so I'll do my damnest to hold it until the very last second. Unless it's a really crappy movie, or I'm not particularly interested in it (although I nonetheless feel a tad guilty).

09. The first DVD I ever owned was Jurrassic Park III, which I still own. I can't seem to part with something so important to my movie history (although I have yet to still buy Aladdin).

10. When there's a flick coming out that I've been eagerly anticipating - take The Dark Knight, for instance - the first viewing is looking at the film from a critical standpoint: editing, score, cinematography, storyline, performances. The second viewing is the pleasure one, where I can just sit back and enjoy the ride, and anything I had problems with (or really liked) can be re-evalued to see if my opinion changes. Critical first, pleasure second.