Everyone has a favourite movie, right? One that you tell all your friends about. One that you recommend to all your friends' friends. Something you tell everyone you could watch "over and over and over again."
Bollocks to that! I think it's impossible for a movie to be perfect, let alone for a movie to be good enough that you could watch it endlessly.
There are movies however which I do love, though I don't know if I could commit to saying that I love watching them every time. Take the movie that woke me up HK cinema...no, not Magic Cop but Armour of God. The first time I saw it I just couldn't believe my eyes. It was so fresh and original that I watched it religiously again and again. I watched it three times in one day, then once a week for several months. I've probably watch the damn thing close to 40 or even 50 times.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of the remastered version of the Armour of God DVD a couple of years ago and decided to watch it again because it had been a good few months since I last watched it...
Suddenly I saw how painfully drawn out the movie was, with its occasionally silly comedy and 30 minute action-free "interlude". Don't get me wrong, I still think the movie's good and that the action is among some of the best ever filmed, but the "zing" you get when you watch something truly breath-taking and fresh was gone.
Seeing how this could lead to future disappointment for other board-goers, I thought of three handy hints to beat the "favourite movie fatigue blues".
1. Try not to watch your favourite movie more than once a year for the first three years, and then once every 2-3 years after that. It's important to give yourself a break from the movie otherwise over-familiarity will lead to boredom and fast-forwarding through the film.
2. Try re-watching the movie with someone different each time. The fresh set of eyes will hopefully also appreciate your movie and will encourage you to continue loving your favourite movie with their own enthusiasm.
3. Watch the movie only when you really want to, not when you simply want to fill time. This will leave you wanting to watch the movie for the movie, not just to simply keep yourself from getting bored.
Anyone else have tips on this?