With the start of October, 2015 will soon rapidly be drawing to a close. I DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, for one selfish reason. That reason is the movies this year are to damn good. I do cringe at the inevitability of the new year.
What makes these movies so good? The roller coaster of emotions I’ve ridden while viewing them.
Inside Out is a perfect example of a roller coaster of emotions. No pun is intended here. I cheered out loud when the protagonist’s journey came to an end. Along the way I genuinely laughed in between moments of having a lump in my throat.
Happiness is a very powerful emotion and in my mind the most powerful. Many films have brought me happiness this year. Doing a midnight party for Avengers: Age of Ultron is still a high of happiness for me. Same can be said for spending a weekend in February watching films like Dig Two Graves at the Nevermore festival. Of course the happiness of emerging from my cocoon after the snow melted to go see McFarland USA with my mom goes without saying. Having someone I know share in my movie going journeys is always happy. This is more powerful then any prescription pill can ever achieve.
Anxiety, of course, is also a very powerful emotion. A pair of films that have yet to flicker across cinema screens currently are playing with this emotion. Spectre (releasing11.6) and Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (releasing 12.18) are those two titles. I can’t currently say I’ve lost sleep over it but my stomach fills with butterflies when I read gossip or see an advertisement for each flick. It’s a good kind of anxiety.
Excitement can be argued as more of a feeling but I in turn argue that feelings are on the same plain of emotions. Action adventure films like Jurassic World, Furious 7, and Mad Max: Fury Road got that adrenaline pumping and excited me very much. Not all the excitement came from action blockbusters. The excitement of my annual Oscar party comes to mind. As does standing in the lobby discussing indy films like Mr Holmes with those who just viewed the flick. There’s a lot of excitement when seeing a documentary with a friend that fascinate both of you. Seeing Spaceballs on the big screen was exciting as well. It’s a personal favorite that I have viewed countless times on dvd and had the good fortune to see it big for the first time this past summer.
A few times this year I’ve gone to the movies to hide from the world. Turning off my cell phone and being off the grid for a few hours is ok every now and then. It gives me time to pull myself together and overcome whatever funk I maybe in at that particular moment. It’s kind of like a reset to a baseline for me. If it weren’t for moments like those I would not of seen some incredible films like Dope or Southpaw.
Movies can be a great place to celebrate, like seeing Jurassic World for a friends birthday (or Blackhat for mine). They can be a place to mourn. This year on the anniversary of my sisters passing I did a double feature of Everest and Black Mass. It’s not the best way to remember a really good film but a powerful way to remember a really good film. Sometimes even a necessity to get through a really hard time, even if you don’t want anyone to know what’s going on. That happens.
So with that said dear readers the chair next to me will always be vacant for anyone wanting to go see a film. You never know what emotion, good bad or indifferent, is going on as the cinema lights make their voyage across the gulf of the auditorium to dance upon the screen.
