Tonight, while Valerie is away in Michigan visiting the Herman Miller headquarters, I attended a Movie Reduction Film Festival at my friend Eman's house. This is my friend Peter's idea, and here's how it works (from the Evite):
What it boils down to is a very social way for people at a party to introduce movies to each other with added personal relevance. It solves the social problem of watching movies with friends, where you have to sacrifice either your attention to the film or your attention to each other. I stayed until the end, through all 18 clips (including mine), and it was a blast. I met some new folks, learned about some movies I'd never seen, and was reminded why I enjoyed some films I HAD seen. I highly recommend this party format.
Anyway, here's the list of all the movies selected (and there were a few breaks peppered in there for more beer, popcorn, pizza, etc.):
1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Brother Sun, Sister Moon
3. Nowhere in Africa
4. Emma
5. Serenity
6. The Namesake
7. Across the Universe
8. Raising Arizona
9. The Piano
10. Dead Poets Society
11. To Kill a Mockingbird
12. Garden State
13. The Two Towers
14. Breaking Away
15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (my selection, and my all-time favorite!)
16. Kill Bill, Volume 2
17. The Departed
18. Three Times
My interest is certainly piqued for some of these movies (Three Times, Nowhere in Africa), and my desire to see some others is much stronger now (Across the Universe, Breaking Away). Brilliant idea, and brilliantly executed by the hosts.
Find a movie that you love, and distill it down (reduce it) to a 1-7min clip that, in your opinion, describes why you love that movie. The sharer, cues up the DVD (or VHS tape) and unveils the clip to an audience. To add a bit of mystery, the audience doesn't know what movie or clip you are going to present until you unveil it. Before the clip is shown, the presenter can say why they love the scene or movie but shouldn't reveal its title.
What it boils down to is a very social way for people at a party to introduce movies to each other with added personal relevance. It solves the social problem of watching movies with friends, where you have to sacrifice either your attention to the film or your attention to each other. I stayed until the end, through all 18 clips (including mine), and it was a blast. I met some new folks, learned about some movies I'd never seen, and was reminded why I enjoyed some films I HAD seen. I highly recommend this party format.
Anyway, here's the list of all the movies selected (and there were a few breaks peppered in there for more beer, popcorn, pizza, etc.):
1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Brother Sun, Sister Moon
3. Nowhere in Africa
4. Emma
5. Serenity
6. The Namesake
7. Across the Universe
8. Raising Arizona
9. The Piano
10. Dead Poets Society
11. To Kill a Mockingbird
12. Garden State
13. The Two Towers
14. Breaking Away
15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (my selection, and my all-time favorite!)
16. Kill Bill, Volume 2
17. The Departed
18. Three Times
My interest is certainly piqued for some of these movies (Three Times, Nowhere in Africa), and my desire to see some others is much stronger now (Across the Universe, Breaking Away). Brilliant idea, and brilliantly executed by the hosts.