8. We Complain About Things in Movies You Probably Didn't Notice
Product placement. Faulty editing. An off-kilter mis-n-scene set-up. Maybe you didn't notice, because you were actually involved with the picture itself. Maybe you don't even know what those things are. But a cinephile will often distance themselves from a picture and have a hard time coming back to it when something stands out that warps out of the story being told. When Mountain Dew bottles line a floor or when we linger on a Ford logo for a bit too long, cinephiles roll their eyes. It may have shot over your head and you'll probably be wondering what we're complaining about by the time the movie's over. Cinephiles have an appreciation for the components of film, which includes elements of editing, narrative, set design, stunt practicality...which means we have a lot to complain about when something stands out enough to push us out of the film. And a lot of times, we're called pompous or pretentious because we can't ignore it. Or because we waste time on thinking about it. But the fact is, when you see as many movies as we do, it sticks out because it's often the result of laziness. And we hate laziness. You hate it when your sports team starts to slack off on the field, and likewise, we hate it when the director slacks off behind the camera. No, there's nothing we can do about it, but it's there and it's annoying. Just nod your head and listen to us. Maybe hold our hand or stroke our arm. But let us get it out. If we see that you're genuinely listening to us, we're more prone to invite you in to further discussions that may not be so one-sided. And that's where the connections are made. We're a lot to put up with over such a simple thing, but we will try to make up for it, I promise.