I find that in Malaysia most movie goers are kinda stereotyped. Certain kind of films do not get many viewers while others gets swamped even if the film is not particularly good. Do you fall into such stereotype? Well, read on and find out!
1. The Action Movie/Blockbuster Buff
Most Malaysians fall into this category. If the movie has a lot of explosions and action sequences they are all for it. Better still if there are superstars in the cast. Nevermind the story. Just go for the special effects and action.
You would fall into this category if you have:
a. Watched all 4 Pirates of The Carribean movies
b. Watched all 5 Fast and Furious movies
c. Will watch all comic book superhero movies
d. Adored James Cameron's Avatar
It's ok to be a Action Movie/Blockbuster Buff but don't become a fanboy. Claiming Avatar to be the best movie of the decade is one sure sign of a fanboy.
2. The Pseudo Sophisticate
These are people who like to act as if they are sophisticated and discerning movie goers. They will shun most Hollywood blockbusters and say they are rubbish but shows their ignorance when they shun all animated movies as well, dismissing them as childish. If you claim to be a discerning movie goer and have not seen Pixar's Up, you're a Pseudo Sophisticate.
Good movies have a solid plot and it does not matter if the plot is in an animated film. A good plot is a good plot. Have you seen Pixar's Wall-E? That's one good romantic movie and the leads are robots. Refreshing enough? Of course! Death Note also has a very good plot although it is an adaptation from a manga series.
On the other hand, movies that win the Oscars are not necessarily good. While movies like Gandhi and The Last Emperor are fine, Oscar winners like Dances with Wolves and The English Patient are downright boring and the year 2010 winner, The Hurt Locker is quite unwatchable. I couldn't even finish it. If you didn't already know, Avatar is a rehash of Dances With Wolves.
3. The Star Chaser
These are people who go see a movie just because their favorite star is in it. They come out and don't quite remember the story but they will definietly remember how cute/handsome/sexy their favorite star was in specific scenes.
What about myself? Well, I don't know. I don' think I'm steroetyped but why don't you judge for yourself. Some of my favorite movies are aslisted below:
- Fast and Furious franchise - I liked the first and the fourth movie. Haven't seen the fifth one though.
- Pirates of The Caribbean - the first movie. Gave all the others a miss.
- Watchmen - a film about superheroes but is not a superhero movie.
- District 9 - beats the pants off Avatar in my books.
- Enchanted - Disney's parody of it's own princess cartoon franchise and a musical. Refreshing!
- Ip Man (that's Yip Mun in Cantonese) - Donnie Yen's portrayal of Bruce Lee's master.
- Battle Royale - a Japanese adaptation of a manga of the same name. Disturbing but compelling.
- Reign of Assassins (that's Jian Yu in Mandarin)- Michelle Yeoh's romantic movie disguised as a martial arts flick.
- The Host - a Korean monster movie where the monster is not the star of the show.
- 200 Pounds Beauty - Korean romantic comedy that's hilarious and pokes fun at plastic surgery.
- Rule #1 - Hong Kong horror flick with a twist. No happy ending for this one but still a good watch.
- The Matrix Trilogy - I treat the whole trilogy as one story and don't think they can be broken up.
- Indiana Jones and the Raiders of The Lost Ark - best of the Indiana Jones series.
- Inception - mind bending good stuff!
- Sleepy Hollow - Johnny Depp in his pre Jack Sparrow days.
- Pixar's Animated fare - there's not one that I missed from where it all began with Toy Story.
- Star Wars - all six films. I'm a Star Wars fan!
So what do you think? Let's hear it in the comments.
