the lousiness of the long-distance movie

25Sep07

Knackered Downunder loses the will to watch

The boredom of long-haul flying is doing wonders highlighting the unimaginativeness and mediocrity of much of modern-day Hollywood, as well as reinforcing the old adage “100 channels and nothing to watch”.

On a recent flight from Sydney to Tokyo — almost 10 hours — it occurred to me that there is also a certain irony in the situation; ever-growing lists of in-flight movie selections which are meant to relieve the tedium and provide greater choice ironically achieve the opposite.

Ocean’s Thirteen feels remarkably like Ocean’s Twelve, which in turn reminds you of Ocean’s Eleven. Meanwhile, Pirates of the Carribbean 3 is definitely worse than Pirates 2, which is a disappointing outgrowth of the outstanding Pirates 1. Performances by Johnny Depp and Keira Knightly couldn’t do much to salvage Pirates 3 (At World’s End), which is convoluted and way too long, much like the flight.

Rather than keep you entertained, movie selections of such quality only engender more boredom and then frustration as you channel-surf, desperately hoping for something watchable as you realize you still have five long hours to go.

In-flight movie selections are, as indicated, getting wider. But unfortunately it’s a case of more of the same. And while there are attempts to throw in “classics”, it’s usually more a case of anything pre-2000. In the end, the standard is predictable and “lite”, much like the menus offered.

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2482 Responses2007-09-25+14%3A16%3A30knackered+down+under to “the lousiness of the long-distance movie”

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1 knackeredhack on Sep 26th, 2007 said:

If you have noise-cancelling earphones and a laptop or pda/ipod/smartphone the choices and quality will be much higher. For example, the podcasts at EconTalk are second to none and I keep several on my smartphone which I will listen to several times. The beauty of having your own media is that you are in control. Too often has my viewing pleasure been interrupted by one of the numerous distractions airlines have invented to conceal the improbable nature of flying in a metal tube 35000 ft off the ground. And of course, there are the people next to you. My worst experience was when my flight was turned back over the Atlantic because an inflatable escape chute had fallen out of the door, landing on a lorry driver in Slough. My neighbour retrieved a bible from her bag and started praying. That said, one time I had an intense headache/migraine which painkillers weren’t shifting. The relaxation/meditation channel was a real boon.
2 Simon Fellows on Sep 26th, 2007 said:

Bored primates, out of evol context, biochemically outta whack cos of our lifestyles(nutritional ‘choices’, exercise profiles, lack of vit d and essential fatty acids) redundant from our ‘day’ job as we no longer hunt nor gather but simply try and replicate those impulses in a modern society.

We produce as we are…little wonder aye, sunbeam ?