April 30th, 2016

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She’s threatening to jump, but we’re not overly convinced that she’s particularly high up

Am I the only one fed up with the over-use of CGI in movies? It’s just a load of crap.

Computer-generated imagery, I’m talking about. Not a big fan at all. It’s such a lazy over-used tool. Not that I think it should never, ever be used – even I use it sometimes – but for crying out loud, keep it subtle.

It’s mind-numbingly over-used in too many fantasy and re-fucking-makes. Enough already! For me, it’s just not very impressive and frankly uninspiring and repetitive. Every new superhero movie is like an animated cartoon. Don’t get me wrong, I love an action flick like anyone else, but c’mon, get more creative.

It seems story, interesting characters and acting/performance take back-seats nowadays, which is a shame. Even Danish movies are getting in on the act because, hey, Hollywood is the best, right?

Missing the bigger picture
What it comes down to is, the aesthetics of CGI feels off. Modern movies feel like watching video games and you know how that feels: bloody boring.

Remember ‘The Thing’, ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘Taxi Driver’? Now, I’m no Luddite, but there is something to be said about the old art of prosthetic effects, action and even stop-motion that generates more excitement than CGI.

That was when special effects were really special: when it was an art form in itself. So while there’s still a place for digital VFX artists in filmmaking, you’ve got be careful you don’t smother the cake with a ton of icing, saying it costs 100 million so it has to be good! That’s why you need to sometimes go elsewhere to catch the gems, or at least get a little soup injection as my mother says.

The reason why I fell in love with movies in the first place was because they moved me. They can take you away to another world, you can be in awe of a beautiful love story, or gob-smacked by a crazy character or repulsed by a horror film. It’s a little window into another universe that pleases the story teller inside us, and I wanted to tell strange little stories too. I don’t go to the cinema to see two CGI superheroes bounce off each other. I need more.

More than a spectacle
With some of my close friends, we have groups and we chat about lots of stuff. One of our recent chats was about what films have inspired us to go out and become filmmakers or film fanatics. You can sometimes forget why you want to do what you want to do and it’s good to remind yourself why you fell in love with the movies!

I’m a big fan of underground and indie movies of course, but I also watch all the other stuff – there’s a lot out there!

So, I’m presenting my all time top ten list of films that have made a big impression on me in different ways. And in no particular order!