1.) When you hear on the news that an actor/actress has quit a TV show.
Katherine Heigl leaving Grey's Anatomy is one example. Her quitting Grey's was one of the more publicized stories in Entertainment news at the time. Yet, I still sat there on that Thursday night, biting my nails wondering if Izzie would stick around. Of course she wouldn't! The real world trumps TV world. And I know that, but I still couldn't believe she was really gone.
2.) When a movie is based on historical fact.
I finally saw Argo a few weeks ago. Not only do I know how the Iranian hostage crisis turned out in real-life, I also had listened to about 8 different people recap the entire plot of the movie before I actually saw it. So I know they rescue the people from the Canadian Embassy. I know Ben Affleck saves the day. (Would Ben Affleck ever make a movie where Ben Affleck doesn't save the day?) But I still was gripping the sides of my chair as they were walking through the airport, on the verge of being discovered.
3.) When a movie begins at the end.
Catch Me if You Can is one of my all-time favorite movies. It basically starts with Leonardo DiCaprio's character saying that when he was younger, he was captured by police, tried for his crimes, and did prison time. And then it goes back in time, and launches into his story. So you know the entire time that he gets caught at the end. But you still wonder if maybe there's a chance he's going to get away, or Carl (the FBI agent played by Tom Hanks) will let him go.
I would venture to say that it is probably a sign of a good movie or TV show if they can create suspense out of a situation where all real suspense has been removed--either purposefully, or because the real world intervened. But, I would also venture to say that I'm just a really high-strung viewer.
"You know why the Yankees always win? Because the other teams can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes."
-Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), Catch Me if You Can
No comments:
Post a Comment