Movies. They’re a way for us to travel – away from the current world we find ourselves in and into a new one. Maybe you find yourself feeling like life is a constant drag, a boring repetition of the same thing every day – a copy of a copy of a copy. So you decide to turn on Fight Club and find a way to fight back against “the man.” Or maybe you feel stuck and like you need to push through some proverbial borderline that is holding you back – so you turn to Moana. And sometimes, you just want to laugh until your stomach hurts, so you throw on Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
Whatever your reasoning may be, putting on a movie brings you to a different place. I have found myself enjoying more and more being whisked away to Arrakis or Los Alamos or Arendelle, and simultaneously found myself enjoying more and more talking about all of these films, and what makes them so great. So, I started this blog!
My goal with Multiplex Confidential is very simple: to talk about movies. Each post here will follow the same general flow and feeling, consisting of my thoughts in general, followed by a few fun categories a la The Rewatchables (please don’t sue me). Let’s take a look at those categories, since some of them will need explaining:
By the Numbers: This category will take a look at some of the statistical aspects of each film, such as the runtime, budget, box office numbers, Oscar nominations, and so on. This category is almost entirely meaningless, but I love numbers and stats and this is my blog so I’m gonna need you to get all the way off my back about it. 1
Best Scene: This category may be slightly more complicated than you might think, in that I will probably change my mind on what it means with every movie I write about. Sometimes, it might be my favorite scene. Sometimes, it might be what I think to be the best acted scene, or the most beautifully shot, or the most rewatchable. Don’t worry though, I’ll always let you know what I decide it means every time.
What’s Aged the Best: Since the movie originally came out, what has aged the best about it? Did it have a big part for a burgeoning actor that is now a household name? Was the plot forward-thinking in a way that predicted the future? That kinda stuff.
What’s Aged the Worst: Basically the opposite. Did a bunch of white people say a bunch of racial slurs? Does the CGI/VFX used look terrible in today’s standards? Does the entire plot of the movie become moot with the invention of cellphones? That kinda stuff.
The Jason Clarke2 Award: The fact that you read that and said to yourself, “Who is Jason Clarke?” is the reason this award is named after him. It’s this guy right here:
So basically this award is given out to the actor in the movie who you don’t know their name but you’ve seen them in a thousand movies. This award will probably be re-named from time to time to honor the other Jason Clarke’s of the world.
The Jack Nicholson Award: This award is named after Jack specifically for his performance in A Few Good Men. Nicholson only has three scenes in the entirety of the movie, but his performance takes up so much more space. This category will be dedicated to those who did the most, with the least.
The Roger Deakins Award: For those who don’t know, Roger Deakins is one of the most talented, and prolific, cinematographers of all time. You may not have known his name, but you’ve definitely seen his work; he has been the cinematographer on such films as No Country for Old Men, Blade Runner 2049, 1917, The Shawshank Redemption, The Big Lebowski, Skyfall, and many more. This award will be handed out to the cinematographer, and more specifically, the scene or shot that steals the show and takes your breath away.
And that’s it! Overall, I don’t want this blog to feel like reading a film critic’s novel on a certain movie, but I also don’t want it to feel like you just read two sentences on why I think Attack the Block is John Boyega’s best performance. All in all I hope to share my passion and joy for film in this blog, and to entertain and maybe show you a thing or two that you didn’t know before about the movies we all know and love (or don’t).
