So I saw THE HOST over the weekend. It’s a korean monster movie, much in the like of JAWS.
Interesting. I did like it. I won’t bore you with details of what its about or why I liked it. That can be seen on reviews and all over the web. I do have something to say about this though…
this movie played at the Embarcadero Movie Theater. This movie cineplex is usually intended to bring indipendent, artsy, or foreign films. They rarely, almost never play Hollywood movies. The clientelle are usually targeted to be “middle to upper” class americans. Mostly people who I have met to often say they prefer “foreign films”, or “indipendent films”, as opposed to Hollywood movies. If you know americans, you would understand why there are these types. They are the types that feel their own home is not good enough…. they often talk of travel and random impractical things that they have experienced, to show their “heightened” sense of culture… beyond the regular human needs of simple food, shelter, clothing, love, and water. What’s interesting… these people clapped during this movie!!!! It was no different than Jaws, or ALIEN… sure it was done well… but so was Alien, or Predator. Just with a different culture. While american monster movies often deal with the incredible and superfluous… this movie was rooted in reality. But the rest is still the same… a monster, viciously attacking people as a mutation. Killing, eating, killing some more, till it dies. No lesson learned. Nothing in the way of a moral story… just mindless action, and twists. All enjoyable… but the audience, while clapping and laughing during the movie… would never be caught dead at a Hollywood movie…
these types are the ones that would watch Ju-On …. but not The Grudge (american version). Or if they watched both, would say they prefer the “original” better. Yet, why? Because it strikes more sensations? foolish… that only happens because they don’t necessarily know the foreign culture enough to be bored by it. They instead are bored of their own culture… so much that they look elsewhere to entertain themselves…
Again… the grass is greener yonder complex….
Mind you, i don’t take to think that ALL are like that… in fact… majority are not… many indeed must speak other languages, have traveled, and there were koreans in the theater… but… i’m sure there must be at least 1 out of 20 people attending this movie with the mentality i’m describing… and that… my friend… is too many….