The strange thing about movies is that they offer up a different experience each time you sit down to watch them - this experience depends entirely on who you're watching the movie with, what your mood is at the time, and how familiar you are with cinema history in general (the more you know, the more you can appreciate different styles, genres, homages and techniques, thus boosting your appreciation). It's also true that watching a movie more than once can help you to understand things that must have frustrated or confused before - sometimes it pays to revisit. Critic Pauline Kael was renowned for the fact that she never watched a movie more than once, and insisted that was the best way to approach cinema. But had Roger Ebert followed her advice whilst reviewing Blade Runner, he would have never have changed his mind when he reproached the movie years later, having derided it on his first viewing. His original view was that the movie was worthy of just two stars - later, he added it to his prestigious great movie list, and insisted that it was a "grower" - a movie that gets better and more interesting the more times you see it. Which got us wondering about those films that you hated the first time around, but loved the second. Our pick goes to Napoleon Dynamite, a movie that is very nearly impenetrable in its weirdness upon first viewing - almost as if it's been rendered purposely as a sort of bizarre in-joke designed to exclude you. Approached for a second time, however, firm in the knowledge that the movie is weird because... well, because it's just weird... and its idiosyncratic comedic beats are noticeably hilarious - and more so with every viewing. It just takes a while to... settle in. Question of the day... which movie did you hate the time but love the second? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
