Topic: The Movie Thread

@Ralizah Spot on, regardless of the literature. It's a similar argument I use when people I meet (mostly those of an older generation) turn their nose up at gaming. In the same way I used to smash a punchbag off its chain to vent anger and frustration, shooting a bunch of polygonal people in the safety of my own lounge is a far healthier way of expressing myself than any real-world alternative.

@RogerRoger @Ralizah I have to agree on the benefits of music, movies, and gaming as an emotional outlet. I’ve been known to come home after a particularly stressful day and retreat to video games as a means to express frustration and lose myself from reality for a couple hours.
I’m no psychologist, but it does seem a healthier way to deal with stress. But I don’t know.
[To keep from getting too off subject for the thread] I find that movies can have a similar alleviating effect if/when they either A) portray an uplifting or inspiring message to motivate me to confront my problems, or B) have a fantastical and surreal plot to serve as an escape to let my brain rest from reality.

It being a movie thread I was trying to avoid arguing about this but I think it's worth sharing that I believe the the newest research shows that expressions of cathartic anger don't act as a vent; instead it's more like anger practice, basically expanding your capacity for anger.

What that means for our metalheads I couldn't say but as someone who has struggled with anger all my life, this feels true. Giving in to anger, regardless of the outlet, seemingly just feeds the boiler, so to speak.

Of course my experience is anecdotal but I encourage anyone struggling with anger issues to look into the relevant data.

@zupertramp I think it depends on the individual. Likewise, I'm no expert but I've been given a lot of advice on the subject over the years, from a lot of different sources, and there are definitely some who, as you say, believe frequent indulgence of anger can make anger management more difficult. I imagine that's dependent on the personality type, as well as the source and type of anger they're dealing with, and the balance (or otherwise) that they're able to strike with it.

Any academic research which doesn't take individualism and personal diversity into account, and instead paints in broad strokes to implement new generalisations, I'd be extremely wary of. That being said, you're absolutely right to encourage further reading (to both those who struggle with anger, and those who know somebody that does) because personal context is everything.

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@Th3solution That's actually a good question for the topic, to keep things on track; what are your "comfort food" movies? I'm sure we've all got them. We're feeling unwell, or we've had a rough week, so we reach for something we know and love. Something we trust to cheer us up.

Mine are the Naked Gun films. They're short-ish and so the entire trilogy is easy to marathon, and I always come away with a smile on my face. Leslie Nielsen should be available on prescription.

@RogerRoger Definitely agree regarding individual personalities and if someone finds something that works for them, in the end I suppose that's what matters. Psychology does often feel like a decidedly inexact science but y'know, food for thought and all.

And most of my comfort movies aren't very comforting lol. Or I find profoundly sad movies comforting for some reason.

You've reminded me I need to download Airplane for my kids. They're old enough and have never seen it.

@zupertramp It's so inexact, I wouldn't even call it a science! But agreed, it's always good to keep an open mind, and thanks for putting forward your own experiences.

And hey, as you say, whatever works. Cheering yourself up doesn't always require comedy!

"They can't be off course! They've got instruments!"

One of those movies I wish I could erase from my memory, so that I could discover it for the first time all over again. Hope your kids enjoy watching it!

@zupertramp @Th3solution I'm inclined to think anger is going to express itself in an individual's behavior one way or another. As someone who was taken to a therapist as a preteen and who was given ineffective methods for dealing with my own aggression (I was supposed to write in an "anger log" when I became upset, lol; I tore that thing in half a day later), I'm inclined to think that different types of people manage anger in different ways. I also think "cathartic anger" expression is more or less healthy depending on what the behavior is and/or how the individual relates to. If you use a rifle to shoot cans to blow off steam, maybe it's a good thing. if you keep seeing your boss' face and imagine his brains splattering across the dirt, maybe you're just rehearsing unhealthy thought patterns that'll lead to something worse in the future.

One of my psychology professors in school was very pointed about drilling home the point that the term "social science" is a bit of a misnomer: while you can (and should) adopt a scientific attitude to the study of human behavior, cognition, and development, people are weird, complex things that can't be studied or categorized in the way you'd study or categorize a rock, and you're rarely going to find that people react similarly to almost any sort of stimulus.

Which is why I added the bit about not knowing what the literature says on this subject, because even if something is true to MY experience, it's not necessarily going to be true for other people.

Personally, when I'm angry, I'll sublimate my feelings into aggressive cleaning. I've thrown away a few things I've regretted after I came to my senses, but it's overall a healthy outlet for emotions that I know will just get me in trouble if I either try to talk about them or especially just repress them.

@RogerRoger I'm not sure I have any movies like that, but I will say that it's extremely difficult to not to grin like an idiot when watching My Neighbor Totoro (specifically the original Fox dub for me, although I also enjoy the film in Japanese; hate the newer Disney dub, unfortunately), which is probably why it originally featured as the back half of a double feature alongside Grave of the Fireflies, which is flat out the most upsetting film I've ever seen in my life. 😂

I've also watched A Nightmare on Elm Street a LOT since I was a kid, although I don't know if I'd call it a "comfort film." I just like it, and it's a great go-to if nothing else will do.

@Ralizah Haha! Sorry for the late reply, but yes. You should absolutely watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Despite my cynical tone, I wasn't taking the piss there. I realise that a French-language romantic movie probably doesn't send shivers down your spine, no, but it's a gorgeous movie. I'd go as far as call it the best one I've ever seen. The story is fairly simplistic, but the way it's executed is just a thing of beauty. The leads ooze chemistry left and right, but still manage to play their fairly reserved characters to perfection. The movie has some incredible cinematography and directing, some of the best and best looking I've ever seen in a movie. When people say about movies that every frame could be a painting, that's quite literally Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It's paced incredibly well, and even though in the middle there might be a bit of a questionable decision, the ending is fantastic. It's certainly not your average American romcom, or even just romantic film. I hesitate to say this because I acknowledge it's pretentious nature... but it's art. Hopefully that's enough convincing for you to give it a shot at least! I'd love to hear back what you thought if you do.

P.S. I don't appreciate the Paul Feig slander! Spy, A Simple Favour and Last Christmas were all highly entertaining movies!

@nessisonett Ha! I remember really not liking The Dark Knight when I first watched it, but it was also my first "rated 16" film and Two-Face got me scared out of my pants. The power of Heath Ledger in that movie is undeniable though. I've always wanted to revisit it and see if my opinion of it would've changed now that I'm older (and wiser), but honestly... I'd totally also rewatch Mamma Mia before I'd rewatch The Dark Knight. Maybe we'll have to hold a Mamma Mia rewatch party. This is a HEN party! WOMEN ONLY!

And reading the replies over the last few days, I suppose this isn't the place where I should mention I wasn't a big fan of Midsommar...

@zupertramp @Ralizah Thanks for the insight. I agree that it’s likely a more complex issue that depends on several factors - individual personality traits, circumstantial triggers for the anger, the outlet being used to cope, etc. As you say, controlling for these variables is near impossible in a human psychological study, so we just have to piece it together best we can. The discussion is akin to the ‘violence in video games‘ debate and whether violence breeds violence. Most of us gamers feel it’s preposterous to suggest our games are making us violent individuals. Most in our community think that it depends on the age and emotional maturity of the individual, and the same could be said here of movies, music, or writing in an anger journal. Whatever the coping mechanism, it could backfire or lead to a healthy control of unsettling emotion.

@RogerRoger As far as ‘comfort food’ movies, I usually go to my favorites like Star Wars and Harry Potter. But I find particular solace in The Lord of the Rings. I think it’s because of the themes of “the little guys hold the keys to saving the world” theme, and that always buoys me up to think that no matter how bad things are, and no matter how small and helpless I may seem, like Frodo I am endowed with power that can overcome even the darkest threat.

Another more classic comfort movie that serves as a comedic distraction for me would be The Princess Bride. I must have seen that a thousand times.

My ‘comfort food’ movie is absolutely Happy Gilmore. Seen it a million times but it just never fails to make me laugh.

@Tjuz Batman Begins + The Dark Knight > Disney's entire MCU run

I'll absolutely give that film you mentioned a watch as soon as I'm able.

Happy Gilmore is a really good call. And I'm no Sandler fan.

Also, for the record, I'm team Dark Knight. Watched the whole trilogy again recently and honestly even Rises was much better than I remembered. I'd still get rid of Hathaway as Catwoman if I somehow could.

And side rant but speaking of poor casting, saw Little Women last night and man did they blow it on Father March. Completely took me out of the film. Oh well.

@zupertramp I really didn’t like that Little Women and I’m a fan of the book, the 90s version and Greta Gerwig. Ok, part of that is due to me just not liking Florence Pugh as an actress and also because of Timothée Chalamet stans wetting themselves over Laurie, literally the worst character in literary history. My hatred of Laurie extends across different media, across time and space. Never has there been a single character that personifies the ‘nice guys finish last’ attitude like Laurie. Also somewhat confused by the changes from the book at the end. Apparently it’s what Louisa May Alcott intended but she still went on and perfectly happily wrote sequels that followed the original ending?

@Ralizah Haha, if that was supposed to trigger me, you're sadly mistaken! I'm not big fan of the MCU at all, and much prefer DC's stuff like Joker, Shazam and Birds of Prey. Even though I can barely remember either of those Batman movies you mentioned, I can fairly safely say that I'd probably agree if I were to watch them!

Glad to hear you'll be giving Portrait a shot, though. I'll be eagerly awaiting your thoughts, along with a 1,000 word essay like the ones you write for your video game reviews.

@nessisonett Never seen the original nor have I read the book so I was going into it blind. Just thought it was off-putting to have Saul walk in out of nowhere. Really seemed out of place to me. And it's interesting you point to Florence Pugh as a negative because she's partly why I even gave it a shot, okay that and the Greta Gerwig/Saoirse Ronan team up.

I didn't dislike it but I think it would have been better if it had just been told chronologically, for the most part. Some things didn't hit as hard as they could have because of the mixed order. Seems unlikely that the book is like that but I don't know, maybe it is?

Can't really relate on the Chalamet/Laurie hate as I don't mind the former and know too little about the latter... well, other than what I saw in this film which, eh, seemed fine.

@zupertramp I like Chalamet as an actor, the weird queerbaiting aside which I mostly put down to his rabid fan base. I do think it would be interesting for you to go from that version to seeing a more traditional take on the book, maybe it would be different going in that direction. I just don’t like Florence Pugh in the movies I’ve seen her in, nothing against her as a person. She’s come up a fair bit recently talking about movies here 😂

@Tjuz Still haven't seen Birds of Prey, but I like Shazam well enough (it's funny, but in more of a wholesome way and less of a snide Marvel way where every other line is delivered with some level of snark).

If I'm being honest, though, my favorite non-Nolan DC stuff is animated. This is going back a bit, but have you ever watched Batman: Mask of the Phantasm? Really excellent companion piece to The Animated Series.

Wow, the Mulan stuff got worse. Not only is the lead actress right up the CCP’s arse, the credits specifically thank the “publicity department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomy Region Committee”, y’know the region where roughly a million Uyghur Muslims are in concentration camps. We’ve known for ages that Disney are dodgy but this is definitely not looking good.

@nessisonett Not defending Disney here but if they'd shot in another province would it then be okay to have filmed a movie set in Northern China, in China? I mean surely not everything can be shot in Georgia, right?

EDIT: Actually, I guess that is defending Disney but for what it's worth, I don't want to be.

@zupertramp 90% of these movies are CGI anyway! It just feels a bit Goebbels-esque, filming movies while ignoring the people in cages roundabout.