Last year, between the two of us, we watched an average of 317 movies.
This year our goal is to top that by watching at least one a day.
And as an extra special torture, we've decided to write about all of them.

17 May 2008

Jaws, dir. Steven Spielberg (1975)

STEVE says:
So we got offered this LCD projector. Nikki's friend Trish who works at a local kindergarten says they've got one they're looking to get rid of but can't find a buyer. Meanwhile, I'm getting light-headed. I've wanted one of these for years but haven't been able to put the $1300 together to pick one up. Turns out the kindergarten only wants $350 for it.

Light-headedness turns to outright dizziness, and I'm starting to sway back and forth. Nikki grabs my arm to steady me. That's about 26% of what we'd pay for one new.

And a new one wouldn't come with a big-ass 6X6 screen.

I was thinking we'd just project the movies onto the wall, or a sheet, something. But the screen is part of the package. Yeah, that sealed the deal.

So we brought it home and have been watching the occasional movie on the screen, only taking it out on special occasions, but those occasions came more and more frequently until finally we just hooked our TV up to the computer and are now using the screen exclusively.

This week is dedicated to Movies We Wish We'd Seen In The Theatre. My first pick was Jaws.

If you haven't seen it by now, chances are you're not going to. And if you have, there's no need to recap. You already know it's awesome. I'll say only that, getting to experience it finally on a big screen (not 40 feet tall, but still mighty impressive) was like seeing Star Wars or Blade Runner again in widescreen instead of the crappy VHS pan and scan version I'd been subjected to for years. Very nearly a religious experience.

4.5/5

NIKKI says:

Lovecraft Week is over and Steve and I have moved into a week of "Movies We Want to Watch on the New Awesome Screen". Steve picked some big sci-fi and horror pics -- all among his favourites, while I've gone for something a bit, let's say, dance-ier (which involved a trip to the video store with eight dollars in silver coins to buy Xanadu... more on that during the week).

We flipped a coin to see who started, and ended up with a night of huge sharks! It was so great. Steve up on the couch with Fulci, me down on the floor resting on some huge pillows, looking up at the wall consumed by beaches and boats. It was great. It really felt like the cinema.

And a great opening movie. I'd forgotten just what a brilliant movie Jaws is. It's the quintessential movie when it comes to pacing and structure. There's not a superfluous or redundant moment -- every word, every action is necessary to develop and further the motion. It's just superb on that level. And it's still scary. I still jump and squeal when the shark pops his head out. As well, I still laugh at the jokes, I still get freaked out when Quint acts mental, and I still feel the frustration Brody and Hooper go through when faced with Amity's Mayoral roadblocks. It all holds up magnificently.

I really love, too, that the final action takes place in the daytime. I never really thought about it before, but Quint's demise and Brody's eventual blowing up of the shark are all in broad daylight, which really subverts the standard notion of horror or terror. It's bright as Quint is swallowed, so instead of creeping that up in darkness, we're watching it take place in morning light, no Hitchcock-y shadows, no crazy camera moves -- and it's way more horrifying.

So, great experience, heaps of scary fun. A brilliant movie that gets better with age.

4.5/5