So movie #1 today, I went to see Brokeback Mountain for the third time. It really is a great movie. I went with a friend on opening night, Dec 23rd, and we expected it to be packed. It was not, there was maybe 50 people at the Oxford. I went again earlier this week to the Oxford again, with two friends who hadn't seen it. A little larger crowd, but still not lots of people. Today, it was playing out at Bayer's Lake, and the theatre was packed. I was shocked and really happy to see this, it really deserves a good crowd. There were lots of people laughing at the funny lines, a few that were upset by the scene at the end and a few murmurs about the two guys when they did it in the tent. And even better, I could see people really felt sad about how it ended. That's what I wanted :) The ending chokes me up a bit, it really is a movie about true love. Despite the hype about the two gay cowboys, what it comes down to is that they just loved one another. The overall impression I had after first watching it (and it has held through since) is that this is a story that could really have taken place. While based on a novel, this movie (in my humble opinion) could really have been something that could have happened to two fellows. I like realism, especially since we're inundated lately by "based on actual events" movies, where the movie itself usually has nothing to do with anything resembling the actual events.
So we left Brokeback, went for coffee and came back an hour later for Narnia. This is my second time seeing this movie. As a huge fan of the books, I was delighted with this movie the first time round, but I felt it was a bit on the childish side. However, the way they introduced Aslan was quite good, it had such a nice buildup to it... When I saw it the first time, as all the creatures and then the four children knelt and Aslan comes out of the tent, I had tears running down my cheeks... geeky, sure, but it was just a moving moment. And once again, today the theatre had a lot more people in it this time and it seemed I was more involved in the movie itself. Perhaps because I've read the books a gazillion times or just that this series has special meaning to me, the first time round I felt like it was a bit jarring and choppy. Today, I sat back and enjoyed it completely. Happiness is I suppose.
The Narnia series really does have a special place in my heart for a few reasons. As a very young child, my first introduction to fantasy creatures was a magical tales type storybook that I used to read over and over. This was lost somewhere along the way, something I've always wished I had kept closer tabs on. The next fantasy thing I encountered was 'The Magician's Nephew', the prequel novel to 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. This little book had a drastic effect on the rest of my life. I found the book while looking for something to do at my uncle's place. At that time, he was a priest and finding it there among hundreds of adult religious books in his library was like striking gold. I read it twice while I was visiting there and packed it away in my suitcase when I left. I can't recall if I asked for it or not, but I was a raving kleptomaniac when I was a kid, so it's possible I just walked out with it. But it lead me to the rest of the series and that very Christmas my folks bought me the entire boxed set (which is currently on my bookshelf beside me). I always had an active imagination as a child, but this new genre of literature took me to a whole new world and I've never looked back. Fantasy's biggest contribution to my life has been the ability to accept whatever comes my way. I firmly believe that reality is not just what we see and know, but all the things we cannot see and do not know. In simpler terms, it helped me to where I am today, a believer in everything. I accept in my mind, the fact that anything is possible and given the myriad of possibilities in this one reality, I choose to accept that everything is possible and therefore probable.
Anyway, too much philosophy for a saturday night.
Two movies that are both special to me. Two thumbs up for both. Now, on to movie-vacation, where I avoid the theatres for a week at least. :)
