A thing or two about movies...

I've been a huge movie fan for years. When I hit my teens, I spent a lot of my time watching one movie after the other. It was also a time when I got stuck into any (and every) horror movie I could get my hands on. I actually became a huge horror freak, chasing them down so we could borrow the VHS copy as soon as it was released. I know, that makes me sound kinda old, huh? But when I was a teenager, video tapes and video shops were all the rage. And of course, there was a new horror movie every other week. It was so cool.

My other personal faves were post-apocalyptic futuristics. There were a lot of those then too. :) A lot of bleak stories about humans running out of water, or having to survive after a nuclear war. It was bleak, but I still loved watching them. Actually, around that time, my favourite book was CHILDREN OF THE DUST. We had to read it for school and I loved it. I also loved FAHRENHEIT 451. So much that a few years ago, I chased down and bought a copy of each. They're both on my bookshelf now.

But anyway, I was talking about movies. Not books. That's for another time. ;)

It's just strange to realise that the love for those genres - which started with movies - never faded. Most of my writing is still influenced by horror or futuristics in one way or another. I was always attracted to the dark side of a story, to the monsters that hid there and the gruesome things that can happen when we cross into the unseen world. That's how I got seduced into the paranormal and urban fantasy worlds. Because, urban fantasy pretty much caters for a bit of everything that I love to watch and read. They can even be set in the future!

Unfortunately, one thing that I've noticed about movies lately is that for some reason, they seem to be getting worse. The last movie that I REALLY enjoyed and had a lot of fun with was the second TRANSFORMERS movie. I know a lot of people gave it negative reviews and just didn't like it, but I really, really enjoyed it. As much as I enjoyed the first one. There was a bit of everything in and it kept me glued to my seat the whole time. Instead of rolling my eyes, like I've been doing for a lot of other movies lately.

Not even the horror movies seem to impress me anymore. The last horror movie I watched was MY BLOODY VALENTINE and I was terribly disappointed. I think that with so many brilliant TV shows nowadays, I'm finding myself swayed and addicted to them in the same way I used to feel about movies.

But then I watched this trailer:



And thought that maybe the horror that I used to love is back. I don't know why, but hearing that Sam Raimi has a new horror movie out makes me happy. :) Maybe it's because I absolutely loved the EVIL DEAD movies.

Of course, I've got a bunch of horror movies that I still haven't watched and need to catch up on. So, hopefully, I'll find several awesome ones in that bunch.

I know that the special effects are brilliant nowadays, but are we overlooking great stories at the expense of how realistic they look? There are a lot of movies that can blend both story and special effects to make them amazing - the Harry Potter movies come to mind. But I wonder if all that will take something away from the gruesome dodgy effects I used to love and laugh at in the 80s... Anyway.

But what about you? Are you finding yourself being lured away from the big screen and towards the small screen like me? Or do you totally disagree with me and think that movies are as great, or even better, than they used to be?

Leave me a comment with your opinion and I'll pull one person's name out of the hat... that person can pick whichever one of my currently available eBooks they want. I'll leave this open until Friday night, Sydney time and will pick a winner then.

I'd really love to hear your personal comments on movies, TV shows, etc.