Category Archives: Movies

Shut up Mr.Burton!  You were not brought upon this world to ‘get it’! snapped Lo Pan in the midst of Big Trouble in Little China.  What a relief!  Like Jack Burton, I often don’t ‘get it’.  Not the world; not life.

But at the movies, at least, I’m in good company.  The movies are full of people who don’t get it: not life in general nor their situation in particular.  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid could both qualify for lifetime achievement awards for nil situational awareness—from Sundance’s grudging explanation of his reluctance to leap off a cliff into rocky rapids far below: I can’t swim!; to Butch’s misplaced relief that the Pinkerton men aren’t in the Federales force assembling outside: For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble.

Sundance and Butch are extreme examples, but not singular ones.  After all, as A Fish Called Wanda’s Wanda (the woman, not the fish, if you follow me) pointed out to Otto, The central message of Buddhism is not: Every man for himself. At a more basic, less philosophical level, some of us are even still fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing, like Ghostbusters’ Dr. Venkman.  Inconceivable, you might say (as Vizzini did, repeatedly, in the Princess Bride), but true.

But, as always, the movies do more than show us that we are not alone.  They also tell us how to make the most of our lives, despite all this confusion.     Continue reading →

Sharing is good . . .

Week #2 of my tribute to the movies, marking the 5 weeks from Oscar nominations to Oscar speeches.

I’ll drown and you tow me back to the ship. It sounds like an abysmal plan, doesn’t it?  It was sort of an Abyss-mal movie.

Yet, to be fair, it’s hard to think of a better plan for their situation.  Two people trapped in a submerged and disabled submarine, water level rising, just one set of breathing apparatus.  So she drowned, he towed her back to the ship, and love (and CPR) conquered all.  That’s the movies for you.

Even though it’s a Hollywood scenario, it illustrates an important point—the best plan isn’t necessarily a good one.  And that’s the movies for you, too.  They taught me everything I need to know about organizational life.  Let’s look at the high points.    Continue reading →

Sharing is good . . .

In honour of the 2011 Oscar race, officially launched on 24 January and due to conclude on 27 February, each of the 5 intervening weeks will see an additional, mid-week post about… the movies!  Herewith, Week #1.

Never get involved in a land war in Asia—it’s one of the classic blunders.

Time is not important.  Only life is important.

K-Mart sucks.

Most of what I know about life I learned at the movies, or most of what I know that I know.  Thanks to screenwriters and their memorable lines and situations, the movies help me grasp their lessons, from reminders about not giving up (You get what you settle for, according to Thelma & Louise), to advice on how to treat other people (Be excellent to each other, Bill & Ted told me), to reassurance about treating myself sometimes (it’s OK if I just want it the way I want it, as Harry & Sally pointed out).

I’ve heard of people who don’t like movies because they aren’t real.  What’s with that?  The lack of reality is part of their charm, allowing us to escape from our problems for a little while.  But the movies are real enough—true enough to life—that we can also use them to get some perspective on our problems.

No matter what we’re facing, it’s been done before—and done bigger—in the movies.     Continue reading →

Sharing is good . . .