This is a banner day in the life of JordanHoffman.com and, maybe, in the life of Jordan Hoffman.
You’ll notice I gave this movie the grade of “W.” “W” stands for Walked Away!
For my entire life I’ve been pretty steadfast about sticking it out through the end of a movie. Even if I absolutely can’t stand it, I let it run its course. Perhaps I don’t give it my full attention, but the disc still spins if I am at home and I never leave a theater early (there have been two exceptions I’ll talk about later.)
Even if I am reading a book I’m hating, I’ll stay to the end. Ask my wife. It’s just the way I am wired. (This is why I don’t like to start reading new comics or watch new TV shows – because I then have to watch/read ALL of it.)
Now I say: no more! I’m not going to be on this planet forever and, dammit, my time is valuable.
If I give something a fair shake, but it just isn’t doing it for me, I’ll toss it.
Obviously, this does not apply to something I am reviewing for work. If I’m getting paid to review it, I’ll stay through to the bitter end. But if it is a 5 year old sequel to an “urban fantasy film” that I only kinda liked to begin with that I’m watching for kicks – and I am feeling tortured by its inscrutable plot – it is a “W.”
I do feel a little bad for Day Watch. God knows I’ve forced myself to sit through far, far worse movies that this. It’s just that the time for the “W” has come, and it happened on this film’s (ahem) watch. But I made it to the 55 minute mark, realized I a) had no idea what was going on, b) couldn’t find a way to care and c) had over 90 minutes to go I turned a new page for my personal development.
Walked Away!
…..now…..as for the movies I’ve walked out of. Visconti’s The Leopard and Joseph May’s Asphalt. Not because they weren’t good movies, but because I went into those theaters (the Film Forum and Anthology Film Archives, respectively) when I was absolutely exhausted and was snoring, loudly, by the second reel. Trust me, I did the right thing by leaving.
