Monday, October 15, 2007

Al Gore and Another Note

I enjoyed the following article, forwarded to me by Golf Guy. It's about the whole Al Gore getting the Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps George W. Bush is next, since he has helped so many rest in peace.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/miranda-devine/miranda-devine/2007/10/13/1191696237215.html

Also, my dear old aunt (great-aunt), actually, took my advice and went to see 3:10 to Yuma. She disliked it. One of her primary complaints was that the pistolship of the antagonist was too accurate, and that much of the violence was unrealistic (especially the marksmanship).

Of course she is correct in noting that the skills necessary to do what is done in the film exceeds likelihood, if not reality. However, I decline to accept that as a real reason to dislike the film.

There's a difference between reality and realism in movies. A good movie can take something utterly unreal and make it realistic, in that you accept what is happening without complaining. Based on Russel Crowe's portrayal of Ben Wade, the film's antagonist, I, at least, was able to believe him capable of such fast and accurate shooting. The desperateness of Christian Bale's protagonist, Dan Evans's, situation allowed me to excuse the fact that a man with a Civil-War era prosthesis was able to leap from rooftop to rooftop.

If I let reality interfere with my entertainment, then I would dislike some of the greatest movies ever made, including Star Wars because things can't explode in flames with great noises in space. I would hate Disney/Pixar's Toy Story because toys aren't alive with personalities, and I would despise The Chronicles of Narnia because it is just plain silly to think of talking beavers and all of the other utter nonsense.

I suppose it's a matter of being able to suspend disbelief. It's why were're able to say, "It's just a movie." If we couldn't do that, then movies would be pretty dull.

On the other hand, this criticism came from the same woman who urged me to see Victor/Victoria...

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