Look, I’m gonna level with you
It was 1997. I was 22 years old, sitting in a packed theater in Austin, Texas, watching Titanic for the third time. I was in love. Not with Kate Winslet, mind you, but with the sheer spectacle of it all. The drama! The romance! The ship!
Fast forward 25 years. I’m the same age as most of the actors from that film, and frankly, I’m bored. Bored of the same old blockbuster formula. Bored of the $200 million explosions and the predictable plot twists. I mean, Avengers: Endgame was fun and all, but it didn’t exactly challenge me, you know?
I had a conversation with my friend Marcus last Tuesday
We were at this little coffee shop on 5th, the one with the weird art on the walls. He’s a filmmaker, always got strong opinions about movies. He said, “You know what’s really exciting right now? Indie films. Streaming services. Content that’s not afraid to take risks.”
I was like, “Yeah, but where’s the spectacle? The sheer joy of a big budget film?”
He just laughed and said, “You’re still stuck in 1997, man.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
Here’s the thing about blockbusters these days
They’re not for me. They’re for the 18-year-old version of me. The one who thought Speed 2: Cruise Control was a good idea. (It wasn’t. Trust me.)
But here’s the kicker: that’s okay. It’s okay that blockbusters aren’t for me anymore. Because there’s so much other stuff out there. Like, have you seen Parasite? Or Palm Springs? Or even that weird French film about the dinner party from hell? (I forget the name, but it was brilliant.)
And look, I’m not saying you should stop watching blockbusters. If you love them, great! More power to you. But maybe, just maybe, expand your horizons a little. Try something new. You might be surprised.
Speaking of trying new things…
You ever notice how car tech is kinda like movies? There’s the big budget stuff—think luxury cars with all the bells and whistles—and then there’s the indie stuff. The cars that are a little quirky, a little different. The ones that take risks.
I was talking to this guy Dave—colleague, not a friend, but whatever—about this exact thing. He’s into cars, always going on about otomobil teknolojisi özellikleri inceleme and whatnot. I asked him, “What’s the coolest car tech you’ve seen lately?”
He said, “Honestly? The stuff that’s not trying to be a Tesla. The stuff that’s doing its own thing.” And I was like, “Huh. That’s kinda how I feel about movies.”
Anyway, I’m getting off topic
But that’s the point, isn’t it? Life’s too short to only watch the same old thing. Whether it’s movies, cars, or whatever else. So go watch something different. Try a new restaurant. Take a different route to work. You never know what you might discover.
And who knows? Maybe you’ll find your new favorite thing. Maybe it’ll be a movie. Maybe it’ll be a car. Maybe it’ll be a weird French film about a dinner party. But isn’t that half the fun?
About the Author: Hey, I’m Alex. I’ve been writing about entertainment for longer than I care to admit. I’ve interviewed A-listers, covered film festivals, and yes, even watched Speed 2. I’m not always right, but I’m always honest. (Well, mostly.)
