Selectively Juggling

Weirdest? Strangest? Most bizarre? These are all superlative adjectives that best describe most of the genres I enjoy watching. I love fantastical, mythical and often genre bending movies, so long as they are well written and beautifully believable. I enjoy sci-fi fantasy, I can get swept away in movies that bridge worlds, universes, parallel universes, centuries and other oddities. I love ‘Doctor Who’, just as much as I do Korean and Chinese fantasy movies that showcase mythology, culture, music, costumes, drama and art. I actually enjoy the movies where people are pulled back through the hands of time.

There’s been some big name movies that are quirky, but I find that they’re too contrived, trying too hard to be weird or strange. Like what was the point of ‘Swiss Army Man’ – it was absurdly irrelevant, but not in a good way. The same as The Lobster – I only watched as I was compelled to see if it really was that bizarre.

I love weird that is fantastical with purpose. I mean my imagination can and does travel to the furthest reaches of the known universe – but if I feel the movie is contrived, too absurd, written or shot poorly, or insults the audience’s intelligence then that’s a real turn off.

I can get behind a Time-lord travelling through space in a tiny blue police box – armed with a sonic screw driver and an irrepressible sense of awe and wonder. I can understand the plethora or creatures and experiences that ensue. Is it absurd? Absolutely! Is it believable? Absolutely! Does it take itself seriously! Absolutely not!

Whereas other movies and series like the ‘Swiss Army Man’ seem like they were thought up and written in a drug-induced hazy echo chamber. Or simply it’s just not my type of humour- I mean Daniel Radcliffe is a good actor.

I actually don’t know how I feel about ‘Fantasmas’ – the jury is still out. I’m not sure if I can fully swallow the premise of the movie. I watched the absurdity unravel – not knowing whether to keep watching or just look away. Much like a train wreck! Either way, I guess it was compelling. Whereas I didn’t enjoy the humour of either ‘Severence’ or ‘The Last Man Standing’ I found them culturally cringy. However, I loved the absurdity of ‘The Good Place’ it was one of my favourite shows. I know it’s not a movie, but it was definitely weird – but oh so good weird.

I was told by an American-Swiss friend to watch ‘The Big Lebowski’ and that it was a cult classic. For the life of me I couldn’t get into it – I didn’t find it clever or absurdly amusing – it was merely a stoner’s movie. I was left scratching my head, thinking perhaps I just don’t get the supposed humour of it! Either way, definitely overrated and not funny. I appreciate this may ruffle some feathers – I guess it all comes down to cultural differences and sensitivities. I mean our humour is shaped by our socialisation, our cultural references and interpretations. Sometimes the differences can be transcendent and translate easily. Other times they are left, not fully being understood or appreciated, except by those with local knowledge. I get that, I’m Australian and I’ve grown up on the absurd, deadpan, dry, irreverent and mostly intellectually-based humour. Not everyone gets the nuanced brilliance of Australian humour.

I like absurdly funny and beautiful movies or shows that challenge me, pick me up and carry me along with their flights of mythology or fantasy – of better still a brilliant bending of multiple genres.