VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

LOVEFilm is European for Netflix and up until now I have seen 60 films.
One of the things you can do is to rate each film with 1 – 5 stars. Now this is a bit arbitrary and not something that I like to do – for me, enjoyment and analysis of a film is more complex than 1 – 5 stars!

However, late one evening when I wasn’t quite ready to go to bed, I was browsing the site and decided on a whim to rate those films that I’d seen.
The vast majority got between 2 and 4 stars, but there were three films that reached the Phil-Rutter-rating-nirvana that is 5 stars!

Those films were:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Prestige
and
[REC]

A slow-burning, exquisitely shot and detailed Western, a mystical drama thriller full of twists and turns, and a visceral, shoot-from-the-hip Spanish horror film.

Apart from being pleased that there was a certain amount of variety in these three films showing that I don’t gravitate to a particular genre or film type, I soon realized why these films had reached the heights of the top of my DVD rental list –

I had a strong emotional reaction to everything about them.

That emotional reaction is the main thing I look for in every film I see and what I look for in every script that I read.

I never know where the emotional connection I have with a story is going to come from, which is why it is important that I remain as open as possible to all genres and storytelling styles.

Keeping an open mind will add variety to your life, as well as to your movie watching and movie making, so take each film as it comes and try not to pre-judge – you may find a new experience waiting to ambush you.

Happy writing!