It's not so bad. A swipe down reveals past ones and logs the date:
Only....
Only....
Only if you told me a year ago that I'd be using my phone to keep a to-watch list, I'd have said I wouldn't dare waste something so potentially productive on something so patently procrastinative.
I must have (because I can't actually remember) added one movie as a separate to-do, then more, and then decided that it would make more sense to have a "project" dedicated to watching films. But where did this habit come from? I think I may finally have an answer.
It is no secret to any longtime reader of this blog that I wasn't really very happy for most of 2009. But in film, I could lose myself for 90 or so minutes. And so I did, with some regularity. But something else happened. After watching so many, you begin to be able to appreciate what makes a good movie, and a good story.
Other stuff that you begin to be able to do:
- Anticipate plot turns with increasing accuracy.
- Notice formulaic elements within the same genre of movies.
- Cringe more often with really bad acting/bad storytelling.
Result? Since then, I have watched a LOT of movies. A conservative estimate of movies watched would probably be something like 100, a liberal one something like 175. The truth lies somewhere in between, with perhaps a small chance that I have seen more.
Proof? I just did a little experiment. Without pausing, I was able to name 50 films that I had seen in the 2 years. That's a lot. At the very least all that time could be put to better use.
And it will. Eventually. I am healed now, so I don't need to turn to them for comfort anymore. Truth be told, I probably shouldn't have turned to them for comfort in the first place. Now I just look for exceptionally brilliant, well crafted tales, and, by and large, I find them. Now that I know what I seek, I know I don't need to spend to much time looking for them.
Anyway, I can at least put my knowledge to good use and recommend a few films. These are not universally well known, but they are all very well made. Enjoy.
- Empire of the Sun
- Bigger than the Sky
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Elizabethtown
- Bobby
- Up
- Twilight Samurai
- Open Range
- Spirited Away
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- The Usual Suspects
- A River Runs Through It
- Tron
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- Serendipity
Aaaand I just purchased the things app, £5.99 :O! But well worth it, specially for movies to watch project managements lol
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't actually the point I wanted to make. More like the opposite.
ReplyDeleteBut, enjoy :)
100+175/2= roughly 138 movies.
ReplyDelete138*90mins=12,420 minutes (207 hours)=about 9 24 hour days.
It's not too long comparatively. Unless ofcourse you ask the question what other things you could have done with 12,420 minutes. If you can come up with 3 things that you would have enjoyed (lost yourself in) as much.. then...
That being said, I watched a lot of movies when I was at campus. At the time, it seemed a good way of distracting myself from homesickness and loneliness. Now, looking back, I don't see what I gained. But I do know I lost a lot of hours that I cannot regain in any way. And which I have to account for on that day.
I think I would clear my current *must read* reading list if I put in 9 full days. ^_^