pretty darn good movies
inspiration
It isn’t often I watch movies, nonetheless actually take away anything from them. But this week I’ve done both! I have the knot in the stomach, hard to swallow feeling in the back of my throat just before you well up and tear, and the overall anxious feeling you get when passing a bad accident. I have these feelings after watching “Yes Man” starring Jim Carrey and “Seven Pounds” starring Will Smith. Although completely different genre films they share one very striking similarity. They offer the possibility that if you wanted to, you can make a HUGE difference to people. Now I know what you’re thinking. What can you possibly take away from a Jim Carrey movie? Well, a lot really. Or what movie Will Smith is in nowadays isn’t good? Touché. At least hear me out.
With most movies being released today having either terrible or hard to follow plots, or worse yet…NO PLOT. These two films offer inspiration. One using comedy and romance to lead the way and the other using tragedy as a path forward. Without giving the movies away I’ll offer what these movies have that make me want to be better! Better at life, being a friend, and better to other people.
Why else watch a movie, if only to feel inspired after watching it? Because it is exactly what you will get from these two movies!
- Reality. Both movies are believable! Each of these could have been taken from any number of real life stories. With so many movies today being as far as can be from real life these hold a substantially different and refreshing stance. Well done.
- Great acting. Will Smith plays about as believable a character in this drama as anyone could without actually being the real person. He has you thinking to yourself, if that was me, could I really do that??! Jim Carrey needs no help here. He’s perfect for this role. Who else could play the part of a lonely, unhappy, and romantic sap other than Jim. He has you saying “come on, please, PLEASE, don’t do what I think you’re about to”, and actually thinking, well why not?! And just to set the record straight, the part I’m referring to is obvious once you’ve watched it. (*enter the seemingly helpless neighbor*)
- Substance. This can make or break all movies. Thankfully both have it. This is where I will begin, without ruining the movies, to convey the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the films which make them (merely in my opinion) great! I’ll start with Yes Man. What is so great, so revolutionary, so easy, and yet so many people don’t do it that Yes Man has? One word. Yes. With this one word, Yes Man takes you on the unimaginable roller coaster ride of possibilities that can be released just by using this one word. Take note, it’s not just with word, but the mentality it opens that makes this so great! This movie left me wanting to go volunteer, to go try new things, to actually say yes more. And better yet, it’s a comedy slash romance movie. Guys will laugh their heads off and girls will love the sensative side. A win win situation for movie watching couples. Moving on to Seven Pounds, I’d like to first say after watching this movie only once, it is a thinker movie. I have questions that I’m sure will be revealed once I watch it again this weekend. If any of you have ever seen “Momento”, you know the backward/forward, reverse plot movie is definitely worth the re-watch. This one is flawless in it’s conveyence of shifting it’s plot from end, to beginning and then eventually to the end again. This movie made me want to self-examine my own thoughts and beliefs and can only make others do the same. This story is one that makes connections between good people based solely on, what can be best described as, the madness of one man’s way of helping others using felony identity theft mixed in with well to do good fortune, with a hint of stalker tendencies. I felt sick to my stomach watching this movie. Not the ‘I drank to much the night before’, sick to my stomach, but rather the kind you get when you’re nervous or scared for the outcome of something you have no control over. The type of feeling you have when you want to make a change. It makes you examine your passed regrets, the wrongs you’ve done. And perhaps the catalyst one needs to change. In my opinion this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time.
Well there you have it, a full post about two movies I watched this week. Let me know what you think of them if you’ve seen either. Until next time, stay tuned! matthew Z
