Paranormal Activity: Demanded, voted, and now landed in the Philippines
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Well, what do you know? Paranormal Activity is going to make it here in the Philippines after all. I would like to thank those who took the time to demand this film and promote it themselves. Now, with that taken care of, I would like to make some few points on how to watch a film of this hype.
Paranormal Activity now in the Philippines
I thought the “demanding” part was the hardest to get by, turns out that was the least of my problems as a number of people have either texted me or come up to me and complained that Paranormal Activity was a disappointment. As a semi-anti-social person who watches movies by himself and considers it his definitive moment of peace and entertainment, I get why these certain people felt the way that they did.
The all-access, presumably-illegal luxury of Torrent is technology’s most popular tool for the drool-while-you-wait art of downloading. And if you have a rabid combination of curiosity and love for movies, then I’m guessing that you already know that Paranormal Activity is just a click away from possessing the movie right under your roof.
Now, I do not have any problems with laptops and PC’s. Without it, there would be no Youtube, Google and Facebook but most importantly, Plants vs. Zombies would go missing from my life, but when people use it as the medium for movie watching, then I feel a deep and sweaty sorrow because I know, in the bottom of my gut that I dearly named Joban, that people are missing the point.
Everyone who has complained to me that Paranormal Activity was nothing special has all one thing in common- they all watched through a laptop or a PC. Believe me, I’ve tried to do this, and I failed joyously. The act of watching a film through a laptop was a personal nightmare. Slouching towards the screen, trying to understand each line, attempting to enjoy the visuals is what I would define as a teen-life crisis.
I once recommended a great horror movie to a friend. He watched it with friends (on a laptop), and told me that it was just “okay”. ‘Okay?” How can a rational person make a rational judgment of a film if he spends more time trying to tip-toe his way on a good view rather than enjoy the film itself? Do whatever you want to do with your laptop- type on it, edit videos with it, eat with it, sleep with it, heck, even use it as something to hit a thief with, but never, and I mean never, use it to watch a film.
As my favorite critic, Roger Ebert, confidently states, movies are meant to be experienced in the comfort of a cinema. Because in a cinema, the movie is the main attraction. All seats are arranged directly to its attention. Lights are turned off solely to enhance its beauty. Screens are widened to enlarge the visuals. Speakers are improved to increase its impact.
The movie house is the Disneyland of moviegoers
A movie theatre for me is a kid’s view of Disney Land.
I never get tired of it. Other’s go to the movie house to spend time with their girlfriend. I watch movies alone because the movie house IS my girlfriend! (If you happened to be my crush, and you are reading this, the sentence beforehand is just an exaggerated pun. I am still single.)
I’m not saying that you are guaranteed a masterpiece if you watch Paranormal Activity in the theatre, it may still suck. What I am saying is that it may suck a lot less for you if you watch it in the theatre rather than through a laptop.
The ratings of Paranormal Activity in the States have lowered since it has gained popularity and got a wide release. This is because when people entered the cinema when the movie was still “unknown”, they didn’t had an ounce of expectation, so they went out of the cinema with a surprise. After word got out, people came in with a giant expectation and an increased standard- leaving a lot of the audience hugely disappointed that they didn’t get what they expected. Here’s the thing: Your imagination will always exceed the product.
Paranormal Activity will be released soon here in the Philippines, and I am trying my best to see it as just another horror movie rather than the biggest success of the year in terms of budget-to-gross ratio. I apologize if my post was too long, but I wanted my point to be IMAX clear. But to sum it up, here it is: Say NO to laptops, OORAH to the movie house, and don’t expect a masterpiece. Ninja out.
I hate to say this but when a movie is good and i mean real good it doesn’t need to have restrictions on where and how u watch it. If its good as others say it is then its good but if it’s not maybe it’s just not after all right?
Amen! Hurrah! Let’s watch it on iMAX, babe!
I say this because my most recent experience is with Wall-E. I bought a DVD of it two weeks before it premiered here in the Philippines. I watched it, thought it was a 4 Star film. I decided to watched it again on the cinema and I was blown away. The 2nd viewing was even better for me (5 Stars). The visuals were far more engaging. There were no distractions in the cinema. I was isolated in the movie house for pure entertainment.
I think it depends on the movie and it’s purpose on how you watch it. You can watch Die Hard 4.0 on the laptop or on the movie house because its sole purpose is to kick ass, and the width of the screen has no effect on its coolness. But You NEVER watch a visual feast like UP or a classic horror movie like John Carpenter’s Halloween. It contained one of the truly scary moments in movie history. People NOW don’t like it as much as the people THEN who watched it on the big screen because that particular scene was perfect on the movie house. Through a laptop, no one would even notice the scene happen.
Again, I’m not saying that Paranormal Activity will be a scare-a-thon masterpiece if you watch it on the movie house. I might even give it a bad review here on this site if it deserves it. I am just saying that movies are meant to be watched at the big screen. The TV at least. Just not through a laptop.
Speaking of scary scenes- Coming soon: Top (and only) scenes in movie history that was able to scare me. haha.
Actually , It already landed here in Philippines , I was in SM Fairview last Saturday to watch 2012 and I saw big posters of Paranormal Activity near the Ticket booth and another under the “Next Attraction”.While waiting for the movie to start , the full trailer was also played inside the cinema . Oh ! Can’t wait ! But I’m not sure if it will be showed nationwide here in Phils. but it is sure to be showed at SM Fairview.
I probably saw the same posters you are talking about at Alabang Town Center about 3 weeks ago. That was what inspired me to write this post. People keep downloading it, watching it on their laptop and complain afterwards. Haha. Can’t wait either!
This is a boring movie….try to watch SAW VI….
Oh well i did download this movie, except that i didn’t watch it in the laptop. just transferred it to my USB and plugged it into my DVD player. knowing about the tremendous hype around this movie (and reading 50/50 reviews on IMdB) i watched it with sober expectations. and you know what? i enjoyed it, despite what others find to complain about. it’s different. i don’t know about you guys but for someone as me who watches horror (but not gore) i find it as amusing as pointing out the characters and storyline’s stupidity, or, as some people always expect from horror movies, just get shocks.
But P.A. wasn’t like that. it didn’t feel like a movie. it felt real and genuine. the scare is subtle and chill-in-your-spine creepy. and seeing how my house is quite similar to that in the movie, i looked over my shoulder, and didn’t dare go downstairs with the light (strangely) busted after watching the film.
Okay i think i’m blabbing now. I actually didn’t plan to comment, haha. I might try experiencing this movie on the big screens when it arrives.
Social media can really be a big push… Votes from social sites helped a lot in bringing the movie to the Philippines. =)
I definitely enjoyed reading your cool insights and learning from your blogsite. Thank you for sharing such interesting and informative article. – Pilipino Movie
LOLZ the movie really gave me a different kind of creepiness – it was nothing compared to most horror movies I watched. I definitely enjoyed reading your cool insights and learning from your blogsite. Thank you for sharing such interesting and informative article. – Tagalog Movies