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Little Intro
Try to Focus on the Positive!
It's so easy to focus on negativity. There's always stuff to complain, whine or nag about. We are all master complainers. In fact, us humans, are the only living creatures that actually complain. Believe me, when I tell you that I'm pretty skilled in that too. But you know what, I'm not proud of that part of me and I'm working hard to try and turn that around.
So let's focus on the positive.
In yesterday's blog, I forgot to mention that I'd seen a movie Sunday night. I usually blog about the films that I watch, so let's make up for that today.
Let me start out by telling you that it was appealing - or should I say 'easy' - to write about that particular movie in a negative way. Naming all the things that could have been done better or even completely trashing it. But you know what, I'm not that kind of person and even though I could, I don't like that kind of easy scoring. If other people feel liking playing that part, let them go ahead. It's not my thing.
You know what? I know - out of experience - how extremely hard it is to make movies. It's never easy. It's very easy to find flaws in every movie though, especially in low budget films.
Temple (2017)
I was at my friend's place. It was Sunday night. While F and I were doing the dishes, F's wife S, picked a movie for us to watch.
Sorry for using the F-word twice in one sentence
The film that S picked that night, was named The Temple. The combination of the word 'temple' and the fact that it was a horror movie taking place in Japan, intrigued me enough to want to watch it.
So how was it?
Let's start out by telling you that it certainly had its moments. Had I known beforehand that it had such a low rating on IMDb, by both IMDb users and movie critics, I probably wouldn't have watched it though.
Although....
You see! There's the negativity again. Or actually, I wrote the intro on positivity later, based on what I experienced while writing a review of this film. ;)
A little note on movie ratings - How Important are they really?
I studied film in University, from 2000 to 2007. During those years, I had subjects like film history and film analysis. This background has made it possible for me to watch movies in many different ways. I can, for instance, focus on the story, but also on editing, acting, its soundtrack, camera movement, -angles and -placement, lighting, color, costume, mise-en-scene and so on.
Finding something positive
These multiple ways to focus on a film, have enabled me to enjoy a film for several reasons. Often times, I can find enough to like in a film that other people find 'boring' or 'bad' (because they don't like the story or think it's not scary, funny or exciting enough).
CUT BACK TO the ratings:
They are just ratings. They don't need to have any influence on how you feel about a certain film. Sometimes a film might not be your cup of tea, but you can like or dislike it as much as you want. It's all dependent on what you focus on.
LET'S GO BACK TO THE 'Temple'
It wasn't a great movie, but I didn't expect that. I never expect a film to be 'great', unless it's a classic that has won several awards. A film that no-one seems to dislike. In that case, it's tough for me not to expect something extremely good.
but... was 'Temple' a 'good' movie? Not really.
Alright, let's try to find some positives, okay?
Positives of Temple:
It had pretty decent visuals and a nice atmosphere. It might actually have been quite scary in cinema. It was a little scary in a semi-dark room on a big TV. The actors were alright and the creature effects were quite nice. The movie wasn't boring at all. Although it helped that it was only 70 minutes or so long.
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The Length of a Movie
Source
There seems to be this trend the last decade or so to make movies of over 2 hours. Sometimes it's a good thing. It creates an opportunity to execute a story the right way, instead of trying to summarize or compress too much story in a restricted time frame. I must admit though, that it's exactly these lengthy films that make the opposite - a film with a run time of an hour and a half or so - so much more appealing at times. So, whenever I have the chance, I tend to pick a shorter film.
Especially these days, when we're all distracted by too many different tasks and people grasping for our attention, it helps to watch somewhat shorter films.
As I mentioned before, it would be a piece of cake for me, to focus on the elements of 'Temple' that could have been done better. I studied film after all ;) but I decided not to do so. Let's try to focus on the positive for a change, okay?
Reasons to watch this movie
If Japan, (Asian) horror and a runtime of about 75 minutes appeal to you, you might want to give this film a watch. If you're able to focus on different aspects of it, not just focusing on story or acting, for example. If you're not somebody who says (s)he didn't like a movie because the ending was 'unsatisfying', you might actually enjoy this movie.
So here's a little exercise for you. You might want to give it a try the next time you watch a film:
Even if it isn't as 'good' as you expected, while watching, try to search for elements that you actually like and focus on those.
Do you agree with me on the above? Do you disagree? Let me know in the comments. And remember, try to be positive. It looks good on you.
Temple Official Trailer
FADE OUT TO
Little Outro:
In case you're curious about earlier write ups of this series, here's links to part 1,2,3,4,5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, where I talk about Stanley Kubrick, in particular the classic The Shining, movies on food and some intense food scenes in films, the power of editing, wintery movies, a neverending story about a favorite movie from my childhood, fifties movies, cinema that takes your breath away, some great examples of French cinema, the benefits of daily writing, a night in Amsterdam and my little blogging successes so far .