Friday, February 8, 2008

A Night at the Cinema

Went to the cinema with friends last nite....we watched Cloverfield. I knew nothing about this show except the picture on the wall...which showed lots of destruction of, where else, New York City(how come nothing ever happens in the midwest america other than the occasional UFO sighting or crop circles). For anyone that hasnt seen it...some friends are enjoying a party when suddenly the earth shakes similar to an earthquake...from that point its pretty much "the end of the world"...or at least New York City(I wonder if this is supposed to have happened before or after Will Smiths infection leveled the city...hmm). Anyhow, the different aspect of the movie is that its filmed from the perspective of a hand held camera one of the friends was using to film the party with....similar to the Blair Witch Project. Interesting thing is that the movie starts slow...at least 20 minutes of just watching the party goers do their thing,(some emotional drama with two lovers and all that baggage) nothing too exciting(all though hindsight tells you that we are all caught up in the small stuff that comes with human interaction and then when "the world comes to an end' we realize quick that none of that 'drama" means a damn thing)...the audience sat through this with mild complaints of "when is the movie starting all ready?"...but once the shit starts and we all realize that the hand held camera view is there to stay...at least a dozen movie goers got up and left(all men I might add).

Now the premise of the movie is out there....some gigantic monster apparently from the sea, decides it has a beef with New York and to settle the beef New York City must be destroyed. Now if you can leave that far out premise to the side...I found the movie itself very emotional and insightful. The camera angle gives you the impression that you are right there in the mix...experiencing the terror with them...if you can get past the shaky view....the sometimes inability to actually see whats going on...the chaotic nature of the whole set up...then what comes out of it is the very real sensation of what it must have been like for the victims of the 9/11 tragedy which I actually heard people whispering through out the movie. To be at ground zero in complete terror and not understanding what was happening...watching buildings coming down that shouldnt be...watching people die right in front of you....and the whole time running for your lives....very dramatic and emotionally charged.

I was glued to the chair....but for some reason others in the audience were laughing and being very noisy...commenting how ridiculous it all was and what a waste of money etc. Considering some of the "hits" that people thought was money well spent...I dont understand why they were so upset...you go to the cinema you take your chances...you dont like it...leave and let those that stay to watch...watch without distractions. Other than the disturbance they were creating I was irritated that they weren't paying attention to the big picture within this monster from the sea tale....it didnt take much psychology to figure it out....

The movie starts out with petty arguments and a lovers tiff...someone who wanted to declare his feelings but couldnt swallow his pride long enough to go through with it. How many times have we felt like we should say something but just couldnt bring ourselves to swallow our pride and do it or say it? Then later we discover its too late...shit happens...the world continues and the moment has past us by... we shouldnt let the moment pass us by...never know whats going to happen in the middle of a send off party...lovers tiff...monster from the sea...its all the same...a lost opportunity to express our true feelings to the one we love.

We are here only temporarily...only a blip on the history radar...once chance is all we get to live the life we've been given...why does it take something like a large unrecognizable creature from the sea to make us realize life is short....we dont have time to stand on our pride and ego and be the 'right' one...when it comes to love...everyones right...everyones wrong...and the moment can pass if we dont decide to bite the bullet and take the first step....

So what would you do if a large sea creature came ashore on the beaches of Bahrain and started knocking buildings down and destroying life as we know it....what or who would be the one thing going through your mind...the one you wanted to get to above all else...the one you wanted to see before life was past....the one that called to you when all others grew silent and faded into the background? So rather than wait for that mythical creature...take the chance to express yourself...whats the worse that can happen...get eaten by the monster(happened in the movie...lol) or shot down with unrequited love...lifes a chance...a game...you play it or you watch it be played...choice is up to you....more on that later.

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