I love movies, I work in the movies, but I have always been a bit of a snob about what I will go see in the movie theater. And this has been the case long before I knew what ‘green screening’ was or how to tell when it had been poorly done, or noticing continuity, poor acting or directing choices, or what’s happening with the background or set deck. For me these things have actually made movie watching that much more interesting (especially once I learnt to turn them off and just enjoy the story). But when I can go see live theater in Vancouver for the same price as a movie, the movie had better be something special for me to watch it in the theater.
What does ‘pretty damn good’ translate to in my head? Well – great cinematography, story and acting. Other wise, I may still enjoy watching it, but from the comfort of my couch with the cat curled up with me. Being a lover of children’s stories – this means all the children’s greats (even if the movies rarely do them justice, and yes I am insanely jealous of Walden Media – although I’d rather be creating new stories), I tend to give them priority in the theaters. Also I’m a sucker for British Films. Love the fact that the people are real and can really act, not just pretty faces. Also love that the British give us variety and not the same A listers over and over again (although there are a few A Listers that deserve to be there and are fabulous to watch – a future one to watch out for in my mind is one Miss Alexia Fast – the performance she brings to the camera always moves me). British humor also really speaks to me – yes, I’ll admit it, I am all about the potty and naughty humor. Calendar Girls and The Full Monty are two of my favorite all time movies.
So I was genuinely surprised and thrilled by what I saw when Ken MacIntrye, Account Manager of Paramount Pictures Western Canada, invited me to an advanced screening of ‘Ghost Town’. I haven’t seen a picture in the theaters in months that I enjoyed more! It was absolutely hilarious and I was thrilled to see that North American filmmakers had actually taken a page out of our British colleagues books. We had finally created something with a solid story and solid acting, rather than just Hollywood gloss with whichever A Lister they could get their hands on. Ricky Gervais and his costars were an absolute hoot! And it’s not just because Ricky has a sexy British accent. He truly brings this delightful story written by David Koepp and John Kamps to life and without the typically grotesquely large Hollywood budget.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CLx7XiOO_Y]
Check it out! It comes to theaters this Friday – September 19th.
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