Too often I am disappointed by the 'latest summer blockbuster' at the cinemas these days, all the hype, 'good' reviews and ratings are anti-climactic. You can easily get caught up in it all, hoping for it to be as good as was stated.
I'm not saying that all big release films are not entertaining, there are many great films that millions of people have seen and will watch again; they are timeless classics that win on Oscar night and that do a superb job of telling the story through the art of film making.
The films that I'm talking about are the ones that you stumble upon late at night when channel surfing or that catch your eye five minutes in and you watch the rest to find out what happens.
Worth watching
When I was studying for my HSC, we watched a great film for English that was filmed in Russian (with subtitles) called The Return; a story of two brothers whose father comes back after a 12 year absence to take them camping.
The Return won a few international awards for best foreign film, but it was made on a budget of under $500,000, surprisingly small when compared today's multi-million dollar budgets that blow things out of proportion.
Another film that caught my attention was a British teen film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It would give most Hollywood teen films a run for its money as it had a simple storyline, a natural performance from the lead actor who is not the usual good looking blonde, tall character but is what a genuine teen should be shown as.
The film is about a teenage girl—Georgia—who wants to have a good birthday bash and get the dream boy while trying to keep her parents happy. Though you can be too old for the film, you can enjoy the world that these girls live in, girls who want to be adults because they are 'too old for toys, too young for boys'.
It important to remember the old tale of 'don't judge a book by its cover' and the same can be said for films.
Even though a film may not be well-known or the vast majority may not have seen it, remember to be open-minded and be prepared to discover an unexpectedly good film.
Christopher Archibald lives in Sydney and is a youth leader at New Life Christian Church in Blacktown. A voracious reader, he ploughs through many books in a calendar year, with a bookcase that is constantly being rearranged to accommodate new additions.
Christopher Archibald's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/christopher-archibald.html